Chapter 229: Within the Darkness (Part 2/2)
Translator: Strivon
Darkness had suddenly descended on Frost River Reality like a cleaving curtain covering one's head. Theoretically speaking, neither the ability users possessing supernatural powers or the special forces equipped with exoskeleton armor should be affected by this darkness. But when this darkness arrived, the atmosphere became filled with evil thoughts and killing intent. Such sensations floating in the air might have been a fabrication. However, the restless and negative psychic pressure was substantial and real.
The members of the Society were not certain about the range that the darkness covered but they were able to directly experience the flavor of urgency and mania within the darkness.
The more things were like this, the more they needed to stay steadfast.
He Yueyin had the gun-toting and shield wielding special forces deployed in such a way that Luo Nan was surrounded by them. He was in the center. Their movements were not that fast. Maintaining the formation was the number one priority.
Ghost Thunder and the other Oblatum Knights assaulted them with an all-out effort. The distance between the two sides suddenly shrank.
Every Oblatum Knight was equal to a C+ Rank Awakened. They were limitlessly close to the Architect level. Looking at them as a whole, they followed the same consistent logic of their order in their rigorous cultivation. The power they possessed was much more concentrated than that of even a focused ability user. Their power was direct and tyrannical. Moreover, they had a natural tacit understanding in regards to cooperation and coordination with each other.
Four Oblatum Knights placed their attention on the Society's squad as their fierce intent intertwined with each other and merged with the darkness. It was like the noiseless howl of a vicious evil beast of the void.
The Format Pyramid upon the bodies of Xue Weilun and the several special police officers began to sway at this moment. The pyramids were like candle flames swaying in the wind, nearly going out. The entirety of the attack then followed the flow of energy and information, going toward Luo Nan. They exploded over and over like firecrackers on Luo Nan's mental plane.
The attack on his mental plane disturbed the structure of his body and soul. Luo Nan's feet trembled and then Cat Eyes and Xue Lei held him up by his arms. They moved while carrying him.
Cat Eyes did not utter a word but Xue Lei whispered, "Nanster, you okay?"
Luo Nan shook his head. The enemy had responded in quite the decisive manner. They changed the direction of their assault in the first instance to match with the changes in the power outage. They utilized the darkness to unleash powerful attacks. Their actions were filled with the taste of being premeditated.
The uncomfortable feeling appeared once more, the same feeling he could always faintly discern ever since they left the private room. But this time, the feeling of unclearness and fuzziness lessened. The constellations, which were constantly revolving and traveling within his mental senses, were clearly revealing something.
Luo Nan used a completely different perspective to analyze the subtle hidden information in the dark and the gloom. The most essential purpose of drawing the Life Sketches was to pull new interpretations of the world in a dimension that was best suited for him. It was to install an axis. It was to establish a standard.
It was because of this that something marvelous would happen each time he drew a Life Sketch. As he pieced together the wonderful constellations, great quantities of noisy information collided with him like a swarm of bees. They circled within the surroundings of each constellation and there were mutual influences. The information was slowed down by the constellations, giving Luo Nan time to comb through them and pick his choice.
Such methods were quite rough. The big and small details fed back to him when compared to being in an out-of-body state were much more difficult to capture. He would certainly lose several meaningful details. At the same time, a lot of redundancy would remain. Yet it was an effective method of interpretation in the end. It was the most practical method that was best suited for Luo Nan.
It did not matter what sort of hidden tricks the enemy used. As long as they were employed against Luo Nan to be sensed by him, he would naturally gain new interpretations from his star atlas. These interpretations were then integrated into Luo Nan's standards and rules. This allowed him to ultimately trace things back to its root and lock onto his target.
The original information was fuzzy but after the hurricane-like assault by the four Oblatum Knights and the onset of the omen of danger appeared within Luo Nan's mind, the information grew in clarity.
In his eyes, the darkness was the deep background that was the void of space. Dozens of constellations and thousands of stars spiraled and roamed about. They were rapidly drawing closer to each other and were going to collide. What had once been a relatively static star atlas suddenly lit with unprecedentedly dazzling life force. It formed quite the interesting contrast with the restless negative psychic pressure on the plane of reality.
The Life Sketch of each person was not the same as one another and this difference was manifested within the form of their constellation. Some were simple. Some were complicated. Some were clear. Some were fuzzy. Those that were clear like Zhang Yingying's and Cat Eyes' were of those he had a deep understanding prior. For instance, He Yueyin and Bai Xinyan. They had powerful strengths and had configurations that were profound and exquisite. With his current level of analysis, there were naturally more constellations that were blurry and ambiguous.
The four Oblatum Knights with Ghost Thunder as their leader possessed staunch strength and deep hostile intent. It would be much more difficult to draw them clearly. From Luo Nan's mental senses, the four Oblatum Knights, one in front and three in the back, were like four masses of nebulae exploding within deep space. They came leaping at his face.
The collision on the star atlas was faster by a beat than the events on the plane of reality. When the fuzzy chaotic mass of the two sides collided, the nodes and lines that were previously unclear changed. The blurring fog was cleaned and their clarity was sharpened substantially.
As the star atlas changed, He Yueyin, who was protecting their flank, issued an order. "White Salt, shield us!"
The ceiling amidst the sheet of darkness burst and exploded as her voice fell. Boarding materials used for decorative purposes shattered into pieces amidst the explosion and turned into shrapnel that came flying from all sides. The special forces were well trained and experienced. They raised their shields and blocked the space above. The ring of debris pelting their shields rang for a time with some loud sounds of pounding mixed in. The minute splitting of the structure of their shields suffering damage could be heard as well.
The blast shields could guard those in the inner ring but they could not extend their protection to the three women, He Yueyin, Bai Xinyan, and Zhang Yingying who were roaming outside.
Zhang Yingying was alright. She made two quick steps and evaded to the side. However, the remaining two women were caught in the range of the explosion of debris and their reactions were entirely different.
Bai Xinyan did not vary her movement speed at all but a wave of coldness burst from her body to sweep across the empty space. No matter the debris, no matter the explosion, it was all instantly frozen. They were even stripped of their corresponding kinetic energy. They rustled like snow as they floated to the ground. Such a science defying marvel nearly caused the eyes of the special forces to explode out from their sockets. Only then did they understand what He Yueyin meant when she told White Salt to ‘shield us’.
He Yueyin responded differently as the cold wave flooded the darkness. She pressed closer instead of retreating. With her first step, her figure could still be seen. With her second step, her figure blurred and warped. By her third step, her figure had disappeared completely. All that remained was a brilliant arc of light that sliced through the darkness. The arc of light traveled over thirty meters before anyone realized its existence... Currently, the four Oblatum Knights were at distances that were less than forty meters away on average!
Clearly, He Yueyin's attack had slayed the enemy in the front of the assault formation. Her attack was slowed by a bit, so she ran the risk of mortal danger from the enemy's combined assault from all sides.
Yet the arc of light traveled far too fast, leaving no time for anyone to be concerned with the matter. The radiant arc of light suddenly flashed and extinguished.
Practically not a sound could be heard when the arc of light flashed and perished, yet a certain constellation collapsed into pieces within the star atlas of Luo Nan's senses. The constellation darkened and faded away.
Even those with the keenest of ears were able to barely hear the spurting of blood within the darkness.
Xue Lei drew in a breath of shock to the side. "A kill in less than ten paces!"
Cat Eyes voice was also dry and hoarse in the encrypted channel. "Confirmed kill on Ghost Thunder."
A sheet of silence hung in the encrypted channel. It lasted until He Yueyin issued new orders. "Accelerate toward the 12 o'clock direction."
Zhang Yingying did not utter a word when the orders were issued. She changed course and increased her speed. As the team merged with the fringe of the darkness, He Yueyin's figure appeared. She continued to guard the flank, acting as if nothing had happened at all.
If there was a change, it would probably be reflected in the glance of her eyes toward those in the center of the team formation. The target of the gaze was not Luo Nan but the speechless Xue Lei.
Xue Lei remembered He Yueyin’s order to keep all communications within the encrypted channel. He immediately tightened his lips as all the hairs on his body raised.