Qlipoth's giant hammer slammed down against the Ender Dragon's beam, crashing violently onto its head.
Yet, the blow had no effect whatsoever. Not only did it fail to harm the Ender Dragon, but Qlipoth discovered that its own hammer had shrunk by a fraction, evidently diminished from its clash with the beam.
Seeing the attack fail, Qlipoth immediately retracted its hammer and brought it down again with vicious force. Each swing carried enough power to annihilate a star system at will, yet every one of Qlipoth's strikes on the Ender Dragon's body failed to even make it flinch.
On the contrary, after being attacked several times, the Ender Dragon shot Qlipoth a mocking look before spewing Dragon's Breath at the Aeon's divine form.
The sight of these two beings trading blows in a brutal melee left everyone dumbfounded.
The IPC representatives, like Jade, broke into a cold sweat when they noticed that Qlipoth's attacks seemed to have no effect on the Ender Dragon.
"How can this be… Even the Amber Lord can't harm the Ender Dragon?"
Jade and the others were already drenched in sweat. If even the Aeon they worshipped couldn't damage the Ender Dragon, what hope did mere mortals like them have?
Jing Yuan, noticing this, immediately contacted the remaining fleets.
"Attention, continue to execute the previously decided plan. Now that it's occupied, this is our best chance!"
There were some things Jing Yuan didn't want to say in front of Jade and the others, but it was likely that Qlipoth was no match for the Ender Dragon.
While the Aeon was certainly powerful, the Ender Dragon's bizarre protection seemed superior. He feared the rest of the battle would play out just as Herta had said: only Fu Zhu could inflict damage on the Ender Dragon!
---o---
On Amphoreus, ever since Qlipoth had attacked the Ender Dragon, Fu Zhu had been staring intently at the dragon's health bar.
Despite the ferocity of Qlipoth's attacks, the Ender Dragon's health bar hadn't budged an inch.
If it were any other opponent, their head would have been smashed to bits by Qlipoth by now. Unfortunately, it was up against the original mechanics-based boss from Minecraft.
"Phainon, and everyone else, get ready. It's our turn."
Fu Zhu's words stunned the group. Phainon pointed a disbelieving finger at his own nose and asked, "Us? Can we really do it?"
It wasn't that Phainon wanted to belittle himself and the others, but even the divine being named Qlipoth couldn't harm the Ender Dragon, let alone them!
Lygus, standing to the side, also didn't understand why Fu Zhu would say such a thing.
"Do you think they can harm… no, even get close to it?"
Fu Zhu turned his head and gave Lygus a mysterious wink.
"Lygus, here's my third thesis for you: to whom does the world of Amphoreus truly belong?"
Lygus looked bewildered. He simply couldn't grasp Fu Zhu's train of thought. What did the ownership of Amphoreus have to do with fighting the Ender Dragon right now?
Seeing his confusion, Fu Zhu said with a smile, "The answer is, my world. You'll understand in a moment."
With that, Fu Zhu immediately opened his system's backend and began modifying some data.
After unlocking the Amphoreus MOD, he gained the right to modify anything and everything related to Amphoreus, including but not limited to making Cerydra a few centimeters taller or forcing Phainon to abandon his yellow-and-purple color aesthetic.
Likewise, adding a player tag to the Chrysos Heirs was a simple matter!
…
While Fu Zhu was busy modifying data for the Chrysos Heirs, Qlipoth, locked in a fierce battle with the Ender Dragon, also realized something was wrong.
No matter what kind of attack it used, it simply couldn't harm the Ender Dragon. Even an attack that had once shattered the Path of [Propagation] couldn't move the Ender Dragon's Path of [Finality].
Conversely, every one of the Ender Dragon's attacks wounded it. As this imbalance continued, its defeat was inevitable!
This lopsided battle immediately forced Qlipoth to make a decision.
With one heavy swing of its hammer, it knocked the Ender Dragon back some distance. It then immediately withdrew—not to flee, but to build a wall!
Since it couldn't defeat the Ender Dragon, it would trap it here to prevent it from endangering other star systems.
Of course, Qlipoth had no intention of abandoning the star system where Amphoreus was located.
That fellow was still on Amphoreus, watching the show. The Ender Dragon was his nemesis, yet he was content to spectate from the side.
With a wave of Qlipoth's hand, a wall of Bedrock enveloped Amphoreus. This wasn't real Bedrock, but a fake that it had created by imitating the Bedrock in Fu Zhu's hands.
Though fake, it could still serve as a temporary barrier.
After enclosing Amphoreus, Qlipoth immediately retreated behind the wall. It did not leave, but instead cast its gaze towards Fu Zhu, who was busy modifying data on Amphoreus.
'I leave them to you.'
A timeless and ancient voice echoed in Fu Zhu's mind. He nodded silently.
Modifying the Chrysos Heirs' data was simple. After applying the player tag to the first person, all he had to do was copy and paste.
"All done. You can all harm the Ender Dragon now."
"Just us? …Shouldn't you go, Fu Zhu…"
Phainon's hesitant words were cut short by Fu Zhu raising his hand.
"Everyone, although you don't have the memories of those tens of millions of cycles, your determination to protect Amphoreus has never changed. This is the final battle for Amphoreus. Do you intend to watch from the sidelines, or will you fight alongside me?"
The hesitation on Phainon and the others' faces vanished as quickly as it had appeared. They all gripped their weapons, their expressions turning incomparably resolute as they looked up again.
"We will fight with you, side by side."
Receiving the answer he wanted, a smile spread across Fu Zhu's face once more. He turned to face the Ender Dragon and swept his arm out in a grand gesture.
"Resources are unlimited, reinforcements are on the way. Crush it!"
Phainon and the others exchanged a look, then grabbed their weapons and charged towards the Ender Dragon.
After Qlipoth's retreat, the Ender Dragon had refocused its attention on Fu Zhu. Now, seeing this group of ants choosing not to flee but to charge at it, it immediately spat a stream of Dragon's Breath in their direction.
The Dragon's Breath instantly engulfed Phainon and the others, their bodies melting away in an instant.
[Player Phainon was killed by Dragon's Breath.]
[Player Cerydra was killed by Dragon's Breath.]
[Player Aglaea was killed by Dragon's Breath.]
[Player…]
So fragile.
A hint of mockery appeared in the Ender Dragon's eyes. Not everyone could come back again and again like Steve!
"In [My] name, I grant you the will of [Unyielding]!"
As his voice fell, the vanished forms of Phainon and the others appeared on the battlefield once more.