**Chapter 1: The Black Hand Emerges (5)**
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In the murky sky,
a gigantic umbrella, large enough to cover dozens of square kilometers, spun rapidly in the air, emitting an increasingly ear-piercing “buzzing” sound.
As it twirled, even those underground in the Sky Tower felt an odd urge to float upwards.
“Not good! This must be some bizarre spell of the enemy!”
People gasped in alarm.
The cannoneers on the fortress immediately targeted the giant umbrella with a hail of fire.
This represented the highest firepower level achievable with their current technology.
These cannons were akin to WWII’s Katyusha; one round would unleash a swarm of rockets that shot straight towards the spinning canopy overhead.
But when the smoke cleared and they looked hopefully, despair washed over them. Miraculously, that giant umbrella remained completely unscathed, without a hint of explosion.
Is this… the terrifying power of the gods?
In reality, it was merely a basic operation.
Even with technology advanced enough to wield nuclear weapons, it still paled in comparison to the enigmatic world of the divine.
The Divine Clan possessed numerous bizarre abilities, and their godhood stemmed from having accumulated enough energy to alter reality.
Thus, Lin Nan never held any hopes that gunpowder and weapons would be sufficient to defeat invading foes.
War with deities was destined to be arduous and filled with unpredictable factors.
“Everyone withdraw!”
To prevent more innocent casualties, Lin Nan bellowed and immediately charged forward, sword readied.
The suction of the giant umbrella was far greater than she had anticipated.
At one moment, Lin Nan even felt a brief blanking of her mind.
She quickly realized the implication—this contraption might well be a powerful tool used by deities to siphon memories.
“Teleport!”
Lin Nan intended to immediately shift herself and engage the deity in close combat, hoping to dispel the giant umbrella’s influence on her.
But unexpectedly, the skill she had relied on countless times decided to take a day off today, as if it had been sealed and muffled.
The Broad-eyed Heavenly King had no intention of explaining himself.
Why would he inform an ant about the reasoning behind its impending doom before stamping it out?
Deities owe no explanations to mortals.
At least, her passive skills seemed unaffected.
As long as she held the Black Wind Sword, a continuous flurry of black snow descended from the heavens.
Within this black snow, her attributes were boosted by 50%.
It was a pity she couldn’t use her newly learned active skill, “Moon Elope,” or she would’ve transformed into a 260% super-powered version of herself in an instant.
Adding in the 10% attribute boost from her Black Robe set, she was currently at a 160% base attribute status.
On top of that, with the Harpists and Mages chanting in unison,
even without casting “Moon Elope,” Lin Nan wielded comparable destructive power and a terrifying presence.
“Illusory Sea!”
Since the Illusory Sea active skill stemmed from the Black Wind Sword, it seemed not to be affected by the umbrella’s swirling.
Countless flakes of black snow coalesced into a swirling black tornado, racing towards the giant umbrella like a speeding wheel.
The two forces collided violently high above.
The black snow was as hard as diamonds and could go toe-to-toe with the umbrella.
The surface of the umbrella emitted a painfully screeching sound as it grazed against the black snow.
The Broad-eyed Heavenly King had maintained a smile until then, but soon, that smile faded.
To his shock, the giant umbrella’s descent slowed due to the obstruction of the black tornado, creating a standoff in midair.
Such power was unprecedented; no ordinary creature from the mundane continent could achieve this.
Recalling that hint of divinity whispering within her, the Broad-eyed Heavenly King’s eyes bulged with rage.
“How dare a mere underground soul even consider the path to godhood?”
He simply couldn’t tolerate the emergence of a new deity in a continent ruled by his four brothers; it was a blatant challenge to their established order and could jeopardize their positions.
Creatures with potential to become divine were not to be spared.
They had to be snuffed out one by one, their souls obliterated to ensure the Heavenly King’s peace of mind.
For the first time, he took matters into his own hands.
In his grasp was a scaled-down long umbrella, its edges as sharp as blades.
“Swish!”
The Broad-eyed Heavenly King suddenly vanished from sight. When he reappeared, he was already behind Lin Nan.
Teleportation was as second nature to a deity of his caliber, the cooldown so brief it was laughable.
Fortunately, Lin Nan had the reflexes of a wild animal; just a hair’s breadth before that long umbrella would’ve cleaved her in two, she rolled away from the lethal strike.
Even so, the edge of the umbrella still sliced through her skin, and bl**d poured forth.
The Broad-eyed Heavenly King relentlessly pursued her, appearing in a new spot every second like a frame from a cartoon, launching attacks at Lin Nan’s most vulnerable points.
Thank goodness for the robust defense of the Black Robe; even though she was ambushed, most of her wounds were superficial and didn’t hinder her mobility.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Nan felt a surge of apprehension as her opponent suddenly halted.
Something was off; he seemed to be holding back.
But at that moment, a wave of dizziness struck her, nearly making her topple to the ground.
When she finally regained her senses, she looked around bewildered, utterly lost as to why she was floating in midair, faced with a multitude of scenes that terrified her.
Yes, at the moment when the Broad-eyed Heavenly King clashed with her,
the celestial soldiers and generals launched a fierce assault on the fortress.
Having witnessed the power of gunpowder and weaponry, these celestial beings strengthened their defenses, ceasing to linger in the air, instead darting past targets at high speed and attacking them.
As a result, it became increasingly difficult for the people to hit the enemy.
Though cannon fire filled the air, there were few celestial beings actually struck.
Instead, the fortress found itself in a dire battle, with the thousands of celestial soldiers resembling a sharp scythe, mercilessly cutting down anyone foolish enough to stand against them.
In no time, the scene was drenched in bl**d, with the air thick with a nauseating stench.
Who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing?
Lin Nan looked down in confusion, noticing her upper body morphed into a round shape; the long skirt she was used to wearing now felt so very embarrassing.
She turned into a woman?
How could that be?
She remembered just stepping into the newly bought Game Pod for “The Way of Inquiry,” and in the blink of an eye, she was met with this utterly surreal scene.
Is this some kind of player-involved game CG animation, so she ended up inhabiting a female character to watch everything unfold?
No way!
Why could she control this body?
Lin Nan was completely stunned.
