The death of Duke Feng and the annihilation of the Fifth Hunting Squad—these two events quickly ignited public opinion in both nations.
However, before public opinion could be converted into fighting spirit to boost morale, even more explosive news broke.
The Iron Armor Man had carved a path straight toward the Eternal United States, having obtained some kind of powerful Sacred Artifact and forcibly opened a way.
This made the Xuan Empire hesitant to make any rash moves.
As for the Eternal United States, they mobilized a large number of troops to begin an encirclement campaign.
Unfortunately, the enemy was just one person and extremely mobile. Even when an encirclement was formed, he was able to escape.
However, if the Iron Armor Man had actually fled, it wouldn’t have been a major issue.
What was truly terrifying was that he had no intention of running. Instead, he used an unknown Sacred Artifact to blast a path straight through.
According to high-level speculation from both nations, if the Iron Armor Man hadn’t suddenly made a sharp turn midway, his target would have been the capital of the Eternal United States.
This act was a blatant provocation against the Eternal United States.
Normally, the Eternal United States would have had to kill Qi Suian to save face.
The problem was, however... while the Eternal United States was busy mobilizing its forces, the Xuan Empire and the Survivor faction took the opportunity to attack with even stronger forces.
The two sides even seemed to have formed a tacit, temporary alliance.
After all, the animosity between the Xuan Empire and the Survivors wasn’t that deep.
Therefore, a temporary cooperation was still possible.
As a result, the Eternal United States found itself stretched too thin.
Go after the Iron Armor Man, and the enemy pushes forward on the border.
But go deal with the enemy, and the Iron Armor Man is about to reach the capital.
The final result was, naturally, that they had to adjust their plan.
Troops were sent to the front lines to hold the line. As for the Iron Armor Man, secret units would be dispatched to kill him.
One relies on quantity, the other on quality.
And this time, the unit assigned to the task was the strongest secret force in the Eternal United States: the First Imperial Guard.
Their original duties, besides protecting the King, included quelling rebellions, eliminating evil, and so on. They were the sharpest Long Sword in the King’s hand.
And then... they never found the Iron Armor Man.
Qi Suian didn’t know how strong the First Imperial Guard was, but he understood that if they could be called "the First" among all the secret units, the chances of it being an empty boast were slim.
So he bypassed them directly, with no intention of a head-on confrontation.
His goal, from the very beginning, was to bomb the capital of the Eternal United States. There was no need to get entangled with them.
Of course, the reason he killed his way here was because the enemies were weak, and killing them served as fuel.
Whether it was people or Sacred Artifacts, although it was just scraps now, the latter at least provided a percentage-based gain.
Even if the ratio had decreased, it was still some gain.
Low cost, low risk, and low reward.
In contrast, fighting the First Imperial Guard would be high cost, high risk, and high reward.
Qi Suian would naturally not make such a choice.
However, he had still underestimated the Eternal United States. He had successfully bypassed the First Imperial Guard, yet someone still managed to block his path.
An old man, who looked like a scholar or a strategist type, was waiting for him. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to have been waiting on the road for Qi Suian for some time.
He held a strange-looking book in his hand, its cover seemingly made of human skin.
As for his appearance and demeanor, he had the air of a handsome old man. He must have lived a life of comfort and privilege to maintain such a bearing.
Otherwise, if he couldn’t even fill his own stomach, he wouldn’t have the mind for grooming or cultivating such an extraordinary air.
"I don’t quite understand why you are heading to the capital, but your journey ends here." The man spoke, his tone unhurried and composed.
Qi Suian had no intention of paying him any mind. The Tai Sui God lunged forward, bypassing him directly.
"I am Ruto, the Royal Clerk. You’ve likely never heard of me."
"But that’s all right. I’m used to it," Ruto said, muttering to himself as he watched Qi Suian’s retreating figure. He opened the book in his hand.
In recent years, he had been less active in war, spending more time assisting the King with other matters.
Back in the day, he was known as the Space Sage, not just because he had mastered spatial abilities, but also because his puzzle Sacred Artifact was called by the same name.
A puzzle Sacred Artifact that allowed him to master spatial abilities.
The next moment, Qi Suian’s retreating figure looped around and returned to its original spot.
Qi Suian’s expression grew grim.
The Tai Sui God had been flying straight ahead. With its various modules and the control of the A.I., it was impossible for it to fly in a circle like that.
Even if it did, it couldn’t possibly have made such a small loop.
"Kill him," Qi Suian said decisively.
The man seemed to want to say more, but the Floating Cannons unleashed a dense barrage of Dark Energy Beams.
The Floating Cannons scored a direct hit... and passed straight through Ruto’s figure, as if they were intercepted midway.
The Tai Sui God suddenly moved, the Wind Master aviation system instantly overloading as it dodged at extreme speed.
From behind it, a Dark Energy Beam erupted.
"So, I’ve run into an expert," Qi Suian said, the Tai Sui God’s evasion speed increasing.
The reason was simple: the man had used his spatial abilities to turn the dense barrage of Dark Energy Beams into an attack against him.
"I thought Dark Energy could disrupt spatial abilities to some extent. How is he able to turn it back on me?" Qi Suian asked.
’He didn’t really understand the situation. After all, his knowledge of Dark Energy was basically limited to knowing what it was called.’
[Transmission can be achieved by expanding the teleportation channel, reinforcing its structural integrity, and providing it with a protective layer.]
Qi Suian didn’t ask the A.I. why the enemy would have such defenses prepared.
’The man was a master of space, after all. Back when he was on the battlefield, it was impossible that no one had ever tried to counter his spatial abilities.’
’So naturally, he would have developed corresponding countermeasures.’
’It wasn’t just Qi Suian’s Floating Cannons that could deal with spatial abilities; there were surely other Sacred Artifacts with similar powers.’
After finally dodging all of his own attacks, he saw Ruto continue to flip through the pages of the book in his hand.
’Conventional methods definitely won’t kill him.’
’Spatial abilities are a real pain.’ Qi Suian knew that even without the spatial counter-attacks, the man was capable of on-the-spot dodges, instantaneous movement, long-range teleportation, and more.
So even if the man couldn’t defeat Qi Suian, the chances of capturing him were slim.
"You are very powerful, but it matters not. I have encountered many strong foes."
"I am not actually adept at combat. So, for powerful enemies like you, I usually just trap them in the Mirror Space."
Ruto explained to Qi Suian with a benevolent expression.
He didn’t explain what the Mirror Space was, but Qi Suian understood it was definitely nothing good.
"Well then, I wish you a pleasant life," Ruto said, and his entire body shattered into fragments like a mirror struck by a stone.
Qi Suian’s eyes widened. "Fuck, you old fox! I thought you hadn’t even started casting yet."
"Turns out you’d already trapped me."
’But on second thought, it’s perfectly reasonable. Why would you tell your enemy you’re casting a spell? That’s just asking to be interrupted.’
’Qi Suian was the same way himself. Unless the enemy was worth talking to, he’d kill them first and do all the trash-talking later.’
’It’s a one-to-one replica of the surrounding environment, swapped in an instant.’
’And now this special area, the so-called Mirror Space, is gradually shrinking.’
’Like a poison circle?’
’Except this one is an instant kill. A poison circle at least lets you take some damage over time.’
’That old geezer Ruto’s puzzle Sacred Artifact really isn’t suited for combat.’
’But he never said it wasn’t good at turning an enemy’s strength against them.’
’Figures. Anyone who lives to be that old is never an easy opponent.’
In the Sacred Artifact World, war raged constantly. Those who survived to middle age were all highly decorated veterans, every last one of them having crawled out of a pile of corpses.
And those who lived to old age could all be called old monsters.
"A.I., any solutions?" As soon as Qi Suian spoke, all the Floating Cannons opened fire in unison.
The Dark Energy Beams struck the barrier of the Mirror Space, and it shattered in an instant.
’Looks like that old geezer didn’t realize the intensity of the Dark Energy Beams.’
The Floating Cannons certainly had their share of drawbacks, such as targeting and locking systems that couldn’t keep up with powerful enemies.
But in terms of power, they had never been a letdown.
To withstand the Floating Cannons, one would probably need a Destructive Sacred Object.
As the Mirror Space shattered, a look of astonishment appeared on Ruto’s face.
It wasn’t that no one had ever escaped his Mirror Space before. However, the number of people who had escaped by shattering the entire Mirror Space could be counted on one hand.
In his view, a young brat like Qi Suian shouldn’t have possessed the knowledge and understanding of space necessary to shatter the Mirror Space through brute force.
But astonishment was one thing; he didn’t stop his attack on Qi Suian.
He flipped another page in his book. The space around them slowly tore open, and a violent spatial turbulence engulfed Qi Suian’s position.
’Since he didn’t die in the Mirror Space, another method of death will do just fine.’
But there was one thing he miscalculated.
And that was that Qi Suian had plot armor.
A direct attack, Qi Suian would have had to dodge.
But with an attack like this, which relied on luck to navigate the spatial turbulence...
...Qi Suian’s evasion stat was practically maxed out.
Plus, with the A.I. controlling the Tai Sui God, he passed through the spatial turbulence with ease.
Without encountering the slightest obstacle, he charged right up to Ruto.
"The young are indeed full of vigor. The times are truly always changing," Ruto said upon seeing this, shaking his head.
Looking at Qi Suian, who was now right in front of him, he snapped the Space Sage in his hands shut.
Qi Suian didn’t believe for a second that the man was surrendering and waiting for death.
The moment the book closed, Qi Suian could feel a strange fluctuation of power from the man begin to intensify.
Ruto’s human skin began to wrinkle and rapidly shrink, starting from his head.
Beneath the skin was a pale, bluish-white, locust-like creature covered in a carapace. It wore a magnificent robe, like some kind of nobleman.
’Another transformation...’ Qi Suian had figured it out. ’It seems that with these puzzle Sacred Artifacts, if you don’t have a second-stage ability like a transformation or elementalization, you’re just considered second-rate.’