Chapter 1121: A Duel
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the present, in front of the Heavenly Pillar that was faintly visible and hidden in nihility, twelve Heavenly Generals suddenly appeared.
Each of them was clad in a gold armor and silver helmet that gleamed with a splendor that rendered the sun and moon lightless. They were fanned out around the Heavenly Pillar.
Regardless of how great their actual powers were, they had at least made quite an impression with their outward appearance.
Although Fang Ning had previously been speaking in such a powerful and resonating manner, he still felt a sense of fear at this moment. After all, he had always been an ordinary guy.
He secretly sent a telepathic message to his two other partners before they vanished, one after another.
This was the advantage of having the backing of a greater power — they had more room for maneuvering.
The Heavenly Axiom that was in control of the Primary World would not seal off his escape route, so the green-skinned frog could send the other two back home whenever necessary.
Looking at how the Heavenly Axioms of both the Upper Realm and the Earth were working together so well, it was not surprising that Fang Ning would think of some conspiracy theories. After all, he had always been taught that good things would not just fall from the sky. That is unless one had an Axiom Daddy…
Without having to worry about any future consequences, Fang Ning could finally put his heart at ease.
He secretly asked, “System No. 2, can you defeat these people?”
“I can’t,” admitted the System Incarnation.
“Sss…” Fang Ning sucked in a sudden breath of air and said incredulously, “That shouldn’t be the case. You have the home-ground advantage. Upon entering that Chaotic Space, you’ll be able to receive assistance from the Heavenly Axiom.”
“There are too many opponents, unless they’re foolish enough to use “adding oil tactics”. (TN: This is a literal translation for a battle tactic called “添油战术”, which is executed by slowly sending in troops and increasing them until the enemy is defeated.) Otherwise, it is too disadvantageous for one person to go up against twelve people,” said the System Incarnation in a practical and realistic manner.
“Uh, let’s try and fight them anyway,” Fang Ning instructed.
“Oh, Host, you’ve broken a huge military taboo. A person, who is destined to be defeated fights first and then looks for victory. This is exactly your current condition,” the System Incarnation cautioned.
“You’re quite a fast learner.” Although Fang Ning was not admitting defeat on the surface, he knew deep down that its words were true. “In that case, I’ll get them to duel with you.”
“If you can turn them into fools first,” said the System Incarnation doubtfully.
“Hehe, now this is something you don’t realize. Under the influence of the Heavenly Axiom, they have no choice but to become fools,” Fang Ning said confidently. “Look at how I shall launch my great mouth-cannon technique.”
With that, Fang Ning raised his head and shouted at the twelve Heavenly Generals who were guarding the pillar, “You don’t seem to understand your fate yet, seeing as how you’re all still putting up a stubborn resistance here. How foolish.”
The leader of the Heavenly Generals looked very tall and valiant, and clearly stood out from the rest of the Heavenly Generals. He looked at Fang Ning as if he was watching a savage monkey, and mocked, “You’re just a god who has recently been promoted to this position, and you dare to talk nonsense about fate? This Heavenly Pillar has stood here for a very long time, even longer than a trillion years, and you’re thinking of toppling it. Don’t you know that this will bring about a huge Karma? Don’t you realize that this world will then perish because of you?”
“Haha, the only thing that will perish is the Immortal God World that has been leeching off the wealth of the people. This Primary World, on the other hand, will not be harmed in any way. All those lofty masters and lords always think that without them, the world would fall into chaos, lose their enlightenment, and become incurable. But they don’t realize that without them, the world will still spin. In fact, it can go on even better!” Fang Ning sneered.
The Heavenly General leader became furious. “Retreat immediately and I shall not pursue this matter further. If not, I’ll turn you into ashes!”
“As expected, one can never bring any changes by only using words. Well then, would you dare to duel with me? If you win, I shall take my leave right away. If not, get out of my way immediately, for I shall destroy this corrupted place once and for all!” Fang Ning said forcefully.
“What a joke…” As soon as the Heavenly General leader said these words, in a moment of anger, he said involuntarily, “A duel it is then. I’ll have you, a god of the Lower Realm, know what true power really is!”
“All hail the power of the Heavenly King!” The other eleven Heavenly Generals did not seem to notice anything fishy as they cheered on him.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Heavenly Generals had sensed that something was not right but proceeded to charge at Vigilante A to begin the duel.
In the next instant, the two gods simultaneously disappeared.
By then, Fang Ning had already withdrawn himself from the situation and returned to the System Space to watch as the battle erupted on the large screen.
“You called me cowardly, yet aren’t you running back here at this crucial moment?” Sir System scorned.
“What do you know? This isn’t called cowardly. This is called dropping the auxiliary fuel tank before entering a fight to reduce the weight of the fighter jet,” Fang Ning argued.
“Can’t say anything to that,” Sir System grumbled. “However, is that guy a fool? He’s neither making use of those eleven strong helpers or seeking external assistance. Instead, he’s fighting a duel with you?”
“Ah, it’s about time you understand this. Now, it can be confirmed, without a doubt, that this Heavenly Axiom of the Upper Realm is indeed using us as its harvester. And because of that, it’s willing to manipulate these people’s intelligence. No matter how powerful the gods are, as long as they have yet become saints, they have no way of escaping the ubiquitous influence of the Heavenly Axiom. After all, consciousness is determined by matter, and such is the case with the gods. Given the Heavenly Axiom’s ability to influence all material things, it can naturally affect them. It’s just that for the gods, they have a stronger sense of self-control,” Fang Ning said, sighing.
“Ugh, I never thought we’d be made a puppet leader after becoming a god. This is so upsetting.” Sir System became quite depressed.
“This is very common. In those prehistoric novels, it has already been said before that if one doesn’t become a saint, the person will become a pawn. The Heavenly Axiom has been allowing the gods and deities to live because it has its own use for them. If these gods and deities lost their usefulness, then they’ll have to be reaped,” Fang Ning said, shaking his head.
Instantly, Sir System became confused. “Why would it go through so much trouble then? Can’t it just cast a great catastrophe upon these gods and deities to kill them all? Why bother going around such a big circle? It’s so odd and not logical at all.”
“Hahaha, let me ask you this. People can easily commit suicide, but can they do surgery on themselves to remove ulcers and lesions?” Fang Ning questioned.
“Of course it’s possible. I can do that. Don’t you remember? I could carry your heart, liver, spleen, stomach, and kidneys. I’ve even created back-up copies of your kidneys and testicles… They’re still being kept in the System Storage Area,” Sir System argued confidently.
“…” Fang Ning instantly became speechless. He had forgotten the existence of this shameless being.
Thus, he had to forcefully change the subject back to his earlier topic. “Stop talking nonsense. I remember we’ve discussed this before. The Heavenly Axiom can only rely on external forces to repair itself, so we’re like a physician to the Heavenly Axiom.
“What it can do is to cooperate with the physician by taking the anesthetic to become anesthetized, or by training its body in order to regulate hormone secretion and improve its immune system… However, it cannot violate the Maxim by personally intervening and dealing with the gods and deities — that is, unless the gods themselves have violated the Maxim. Nonetheless, the gods and deities have depended on the Maxim to become gods, and they must’ve already studied it through and through, so how would it be possible for them to intentionally violate it?”
“Too long-winded. Not listening,” Sir System remarked directly.
“Anyway, this is the reality of the situation. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re not listening.” Fang Ning was too lazy to talk about this further.
“Hmph, you’re just shoving false arguments down my throat. You’re not the Heavenly Axiom, so how would you know if it can’t manage to do this. Maybe your suspicions are all wrong since there isn’t any real evidence for them anyway,” Sir System said in detest. “You’ve even said before that the Heavenly Axiom and the saints are afraid that the gods will destroy the good and the bad alike, and bring the world to ruins. That’s why they don’t dare to make any direct moves.”
“Clearly, you were the one who said it.”
“No, at the time, I was just making a rhetorical question out of it.”
While the man and the system were staring each other down with contempt, the System Incarnation had already defeated the leader of the Heavenly Generals, directly killing the so-called Heavenly King…
“F*ck. This was way too fast. The difference is too big compared to that God of Plagues. Are the Heavenly Generals so weak in combat?” Fang Ning exclaimed in shock.
“Are you stupid or what? Have you forgotten that I’ve previously used thirty trillion experience points to strengthen the System Incarnation’s combat abilities?” Sir System said with despise.
“Uh, I’ve really forgotten about that. I thought you were just speaking thoughtlessly,” Fang Ning admitted, embarrassed.
“Hehe, I’m not like you. You’re always shooting your mouth off and stumbling about clumsily in all directions with no overall vision. How unreliable,” Sir System said with annoyance.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be like that anymore in the future,” Fang Ning promised before entering back into the casket.
“As if I would believe you.”
Fang Ning came out of the Chaotic Space and began to sneer at those Heavenly Generals again.
“You’re all capable of talking big, but your powers are nothing more than this. As expected, you’re just paper tigers who are to be defeated in one blow! If you can, send one more over then!”
When the eleven Heavenly Generals sensed that the presence of their Heavenly King leader had entirely disappeared in an instant, they were immediately dumbstruck.
This leader of Heavenly Generals, who had been guarding the Heavenly Pillar for a million years had earned a great reputation for his meritorious service. Yet, just like that, he was gone?
They found this utterly unbelievable.
“Something’s not right. This thing that has happened today is way too odd. How could the Heavenly King have agreed to a duel with this person? Guarding the Heavenly Pillar is such an enormous responsibility. How can it be taken as child’s play!” a Heavenly Guard said, flabbergasted.
“The Pantheon King has previously given the command to take extra precautions against a certain being. Could it be…” Another Heavenly General looked around at his companions with a meaningful gaze.
“Hmph. Sure enough, we must’ve been cast aside and left to be eliminated. I’m not guarding this place anymore!” One of the Heavenly Generals responded, seething with such fury that he threw the sword he was holding into midair before he disappeared.
The remaining ten Heavenly Generals quickly followed suit and disappeared at the same time.
They were, of course, aware of the punishments they would face for abandoning their duties, but in any case, the worst punishment was simply death!
Nonetheless, before disappearing, some of them could not resist leaving behind a few harsh words.
“Hmph, you won’t meet a good either! Whatever happened to the Heavenly King will happen to you later on!”
“If the Heavenly Pillar goes down, you won’t be let off so easily!”
Fang Ning was struck dumb by this scene as well. Were these Heavenly Generals retreating just like that?
How were they to even compare with the army troops of the mortals?
Although Prince Yue had experienced such great injustice, his troops did not so openly rise in rebellion. (TN: Here, the author is referring to a Han Chinese military general called Yue Fei, who had been sentenced to death by the Southern Song government under a false charge and was later granted the posthumous title Prince of È”鄂王”.)
As for these Heavenly Generals who had been guarding the Heavenly Pillar for a million years, were they really going to just abandon their duties after that uproar?
Just as what they had said, this was being taken as child’s play.
This situation was indeed a sign of the approaching doomsday, where the people’s hearts had been lost while the gods’ confidence was also on the verge of collapse.
After such a shocking turn of events, Fang Ning momentarily put aside his plan of directly toppling the Heavenly Pillar, and decided to seal it first instead.
