The Almighty Ring

Although the Prophet was not seen as a strong foe by Jiang Fei, Tchaikovsky and his group could not afford to behave with such confidence.

“Just how were the officials able to hunt and capture these odd living beings…” one of the group members grumbled. They too had scopes and combat level measuring tools and with it, they knew about the Prophet’s abilities.

“The more you know… Count ourselves lucky for getting this thing instead of a Grundel. We would definitely not survive a fight with that one,” said Tchaikovsky. Unlike Caylan, he was not stingy in sharing information he had obtained before the trial. He had made sure to pick out the location of easier targets. That was why no “V.I.P.” had ever ventured into the valley in the first place. They already knew that they would be facing a Grundel there. Only folks like Jiang Fei would have to rely on luck. If he had been without the power of the Blackhole Core, he would have died before he could even breathe.

“Fleshlings… How lucky!” said the Prophet when he noticed the large group of trainees.

“How nice of you to prepare a meal for me just as I was summoned! Hahahaha! Marvelous!” said the Prophet with a long, eerie laugh. If Jiang Fei would have to guess, that would be the battle opening speech.

As a Spiritual Being, the Prophet loved to consume beings that had powerful, resilient mental strength such as these trainees. They were, as the Prophet saw them, nourishment for his strength.

“Come to me and be my food!” Prophet Nas roared as he slammed his ethereal staff on the ground, releasing a wave of concentrated psychic attack.

“Oh no!” Tchaikovsky grunted. He had prepared a counter tool for this engagement but he was not ready to use it so soon!

So was the behavior of pampered trainees. They had never experienced genuine combat or any life-threatening situations. Even with powerful tools, weaponry, or armor, they would still lose in a real fight if they were all consistently behaving like so. Who would wait for the enemy to finish their speech and then only start reacting? If it were Jiang Fei, he would have struck first and asked questions later!

Fortunately, Tchaikovsky’s group was not weak, so after taking the first wave of attack, none of them were gravely injured.

“Time to f*ck off!” Tchaikovsky snarled as he withdrew a crystal ball and held it high in the sky. As soon as the crystal ball was exposed, a bright radiant light flashed, illuminating the surroundings with a bright, piercing golden light.

As soon as the light of the ball touched the Prophet, he quickly shrank away like a vampire being exposed to sunlight. The crystal ball was a special psionic tool that radiated powerful psionic energy. This energy was weak against any material and could be easily stopped by a single sheet of paper. Like light itself, as long as there was a material dark enough to block out the pathway, it would stop shining out. Hence, it was extremely weak, so much so that it was completely ineffective on any living creature.

However, without flesh and bones, a Spiritual Being would be completely exposed to the psionic energy. They were without a physical form which could not prevent the energy from penetrating their bodies. The energy acted like particle beams to humans, inflicting penetrative damage, causing wounds. A tool that was a hot knife to butter to a Spiritual Being.

“Curses! Argh!” the Prophet screamed in agony as it tried to hide and shrink away from the light.

“How intriguing… Just a shining ball of light…” Jiang Fei thought as he continued to observe the entire event.

“Captain, that crystal ball is made out of a crystal ore found associated with Khorium. It is so rare that the crystal ball he is currently holding would be more than enough to purchase half a planet,” said 0541 after searching through the scope’s database.

“What’s Khorium?”

“Khorium is a real metal that has the highest knowing conductivity of all other metals. As such, it was generally used as memory storage devices. The scope you are wearing is generally made of Khorium,” said 0541.

“This thing is made with Khorium?!” Jiang Fei gasped as he unconsciously caressed the scope on his ear. He had gotten used to the scope as it sat on his ear so comfortably. As such, he had never properly examined the scope. Until today, when he found a signet symbol on the corner of the scope. The signet was carved into the scope and was shaped like a dog’s head.

“Khorium is rare and those that could properly smelt them are even rarer. The optic scope you are currently wearing is made by a great master. The signet on the scope is a dog’s head which gives the scope the name, Hound’s Eyes!”

Thump…

Just as Jiang Fei was putting his scope back onto his ears, a loud explosion was heard and the ground shook a little.

“You lots forced my hands! If you are to bring destruction down upon me, I shall do the same unto you!” the Prophet roared. While enduring the radiance of the crystal’s light, the Prophet slammed his staff onto the ground, sending out a saturated wave of psychic energy outward.

“ARGH!”

“Help!”

“Ough!”

“Help me!”

“I give up! I give up! You hear me?! I give up!”

…

The ones standing closest to the Prophet suffered the most lethal dose of psychic energy and had both external and internal haemorrhage. It got so bad that blood vessels inside their brains were exploding. Not two seconds after the initial blast, seven pillars of light shot down from the sky and saved those that had given up. Even though they were rescued, it would take the best of surgeons to save them all.

“You should have left me alone!” the Prophet roared once more, shooting out waves of invisible psychic energy toward every trainee that was still standing. However, something changed. His staff glowed with a black hue and instead of psychic energy, he was shooting out a wave of death energy instead.

Grass and moss that were growing around the bones on the floor decayed instantly, as if they were devoid of life itself.

“Ack!”

With a sudden shriek that ended as abruptly as it started, a trainee fell to the ground, with eyes wide open as he was exposed to the dark energy. Before he could open his mouth to utter the words that could save him, his entire body decayed away, leaving nothing but bones and dried up flesh.

“F*ck!” Tchaikovsky grunted. He was not prepared for this! He had failed to factor in the amount of time it would take to kill the guardian! Based on the current situation, it seemed that it would be a test of endurance for both sides.

If the Prophet bit the dust first, he would be killed by the light of the crystal ball. If Tchaikovsky decided to throw in the towel, he could simply give up the trial and return to the outside world and forever be a low ranking soldier.

Knowing fully well what would happen if they gave up then, the trainees were still hesitant in making a decision. Unfortunately, due to the previous psychic attack, they were unable to move just yet as they watched the incoming dark energy radiate closer and closer to them.

“I give up!”

“I give up!”

“I surrender!”

…

Another five threw in the towel and were teleported away. Not 3 minutes since the start of the fight, Tchaikovsky’s group members had been reduced to only seven.

“Dammit! How is he not dying?!” Tchaikovsky groaned nervously as the dark energy was coming toward him.

“Almost time…” said Jiang Fei as he rubbed his hands together. From the looks of it, it would be soon before all of Tchaikovsky’s group perished. The Prophet himself was also down on his knees and was relying on the dark energy to kill his opponent. When the time was right, Jiang Fei would swoop in to deliver the final blow and take the weapon for himself!