In less than half a nanosecond, Herta and Screwllum felt a deluge of useless information flood their minds. It was an endless stream of question marks fired off by Nous, giving them both an unbearable headache.
Herta's mental form couldn't help but press against her temples. The throbbing pain in her head forced her to keep her eyes shut tightly to find some relief.
"You machine head, what's with all the question marks?! If you don't understand something, just watch for yourself and do your own damn calculations! I linked you for nothing, didn't get any information, and ended up suffering for it!"
At this moment, she and Screwllum couldn't just sever their connection with Nous. The longer they remained linked, the more severe the damage they sustained would be.
But the upcoming event that Fu Zhu was about to participate in was a divine battle. The power of an Emanator was completely insufficient. To weather this crisis safely, they had to ensure they had the capital to interfere in a divine battle!
And this link to Nous's consciousness was precisely that capital!
---o---
After Herta's tirade, Nous fell silent, no longer spamming them with question marks. It, too, was curious about what would happen next in this moment that fell outside its calculations. Would Fu Zhu defeat the Ender Dragon and save the universe, or would the Ender Dragon bring about the fifth kind of Finality for the cosmos?
…
On the vast continent of End Stone, Fu Zhu had just teleported Stelle and the others back to the Express. He then turned to the remaining Chrysos Heirs with a slightly apologetic look.
"I can't be certain that people with your current status would survive after leaving Amphoreus, so I could only send them away first."
Phainon and the others didn't mind at all; in fact, they were happy that Stelle's group had left.
Hyacine crossed her arms and squinted her eyes happily. "Fu-bao, you don't have to apologize to us. Your decision was the right one. Someone who always thinks of their companions is truly wonderful!"
Phainon also nodded in agreement, reaching out to pat Fu Zhu's shoulder and giving him a thumbs-up.
"You've already helped us so much. There's no need to let Stelle and the others take this risk. At the end of the day, Amphoreus is our home, and it's our turn to protect it!"
The others nodded and murmured in agreement. Aglaea's gaze, however, shifted to Lygus, who had also been left behind, a hint of hesitation in her eyes.
"That may be so, but Lygus… he…"
Aglaea was worried. Would Lygus try to backstab them while they were fighting the Ender Dragon?
Phainon understood what she meant. He immediately gripped his weapon, his brow furrowed as he walked towards Lygus.
"Let's just kill him!"
"Don't be hasty."
Fu Zhu, however, reached out and stopped Phainon.
"He is now, in the truest sense of the word, a 'Divine Ritual Spectator.' He won't get in our way. Besides, without him watching, the show I'm about to put on would be a lot less fun."
As he spoke, Fu Zhu flashed a malicious grin at Lygus. Although the others didn't understand Fu Zhu's intentions, seeing his smile eased their anxious hearts.
If Fu Zhu could still smile now, it was clear he was very confident about the upcoming battle!
Lygus was also looking at Fu Zhu, his heart filled with doubt. With such a powerful enemy right before them, why could Fu Zhu still smile? What was he planning? Why did he insist on keeping him alive?
"What are you planning?"
"Hehe, you'll see."
Saying that, Fu Zhu took out a carved pumpkin. Using a command, he enlarged it, planning to place it directly on the head of the brain-craving Irontomb.
Although a small pumpkin head would probably work, he was a little worried that The Irontomb preferred things "big," so he decided to enlarge it just to be safe. It was no trouble at all.
Beyond the fun and curiosity of it, he had another motive for turning The Irontomb from its designated role as a Lord Ravager into a Guardian Lord!
"Watch closely, Lygus. This is how you play with The Irontomb!"
Fu Zhu showed the giant pumpkin in his hands to Lygus for a moment before it vanished from his grasp.
Seeing the pumpkin suddenly disappear, Lygus's heart skipped a beat—not because of Fu Zhu's magic trick, but because he was shocked by what Fu Zhu intended to do to The Irontomb!
Lygus immediately projected a screen before him. On the screen, the massive form of The Irontomb was waiting quietly, idle outside Amphoreus.
The Chrysos Heirs also turned their heads in unison to look at the screen projected by Lygus, equally curious about what Fu Zhu was planning.
In the next second, a giant yellow pumpkin head suddenly appeared on the headless neck of The Irontomb on the screen. The moment the pumpkin head connected with The Irontomb, its massive body began to transform!
Its originally pitch-black body rapidly turned a bright white. The connected pumpkin head also quickly transformed into a face resembling an Iron Golem's, only it looked far more majestic and domineering than a normal one!
The Irontomb's transformation was completed in almost an instant. A second later, the original Irontomb was no more. In its place stood a mutated Iron Golem with four arms!
When Lygus saw his masterpiece of many years of hard work completely transformed into Fu Zhu's plaything in a single second, he completely lost his composure.
He finally understood why Fu Zhu had kept him alive. It was for this, to make him watch this humiliation unfold!
"Fuck!"
Just when Lygus thought it was all over, something happened that made him feel even worse. Outside Amphoreus, an even more heavyweight guest had arrived!
[Preservation] Qlipoth had come!
After The Irontomb transformed into the shape of an Iron Golem, Qlipoth cast its gaze upon it! And this time, its projection was even more solid than the few times Fu Zhu had seen it before!
It swung the giant amber hammer in its hand down towards The Irontomb with ferocious speed, but just as it was about to make contact, the motion became incomparably gentle. Countless specks of light flowed into The Irontomb's body.
At that very moment, anyone with even a little bit of power could feel a new energy emerge within The Irontomb, one that counterbalanced the rampant [Destruction].
On Fu Zhu's minimap, The Irontomb's name had also changed.
[Guardian Lord · The Irontomb]
More importantly, the current Irontomb was now completely loyal to him, just like an Iron Golem he had created himself!
Seeing his plan succeed, Fu Zhu walked over to Lygus's side, cheerfully slung an arm over his shoulder, and shook him vigorously.
"So, how about it, Lygus? Are you satisfied with my thesis?"
Lygus was silent. He didn't know what to say, nor did he want to deal with Fu Zhu. He just wanted to be alone.
Seeing him silent, Fu Zhu shook his shoulder again with "concern."
"Don't be sad, there's another main event coming up!"
"There's more?!"
Lygus's voice cracked.
Fu Zhu nodded, pointing to the still-present projection of Qlipoth, a cryptic smile playing on his lips.
"The next thesis is, will [Preservation] turn a blind eye to a catastrophe that could potentially destroy the entire galaxy?"