Chapter 403: The Power of Three Strikes (Patreon)

Chapter 403: The Power of Three Strikes

Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, Jimmy found himself torn between laughter and tears.

He'd already taken the potion, delivered his last words, and suddenly—he didn't have to die after all.

Jimmy relaxed his stance as the magic power surging through his body receded like an ebbing tide, his form shrinking back to its normal appearance.

"Everyone, it seems we still have some luck left," Jimmy said weakly. His cells were completely drained; even though he hadn't unleashed that final strike, it had only delayed the onset of his exhaustion.

"The supplies the Dean sent us have finally arrived."

Hearing this, the command center staff felt a surge of relief, their faces unconsciously relaxing. Though they had prepared to die in battle, no one truly wishes for death when survival is possible.

"But retrieving them won't be easy," Adams remarked, eyeing the distant glow shifting from deep blue to crimson with concern. "We'll need to carve a path through these Treants."

A fierce glint flashed in Jimmy's eyes as he growled, "Deploy the Magic Support Vehicles for saturation bombardment, with the White Wizard Legion providing auxiliary fire. No matter how fast these Treants absorb fire elements, they can't outpace the casting speed of our support vehicles!"

Adams nodded slightly. "Understood. I'll arrange it immediately."

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on the distant red light. Something about it felt strangely familiar.

...

Behind the Treants, Richard stood atop the massive floating mother unit, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. Around him, swarms of floating cannons emerged from the mother unit's rear compartments, working in tandem with Arachnid Armored Puppets to swiftly cut down the Treants.

Though the Treants shared fused consciousnesses and interconnected energy, they remained individual entities. Against the Arachnid Puppets—capable of killing Wizards upon first encounter—the Treants proved fragile. Their combined shields, while formidable, were no match for the floating cannon salvos and the puppets' magic-piercing limbs.

The concentrated fire of tens of thousands of floating cannons rivaled the destructive force of an Elemental Storm. And when focused on specific points, even the energy barriers of a Great Wizard could be breached.

"Gah, had we arrived any later, that kid Jimmy would've turned himself into kindling alongside these logs," Ulysses perched on Richard's shoulder, his eyes glowing faintly as he scanned the surroundings.

They had been traveling day and night, with Richard even meditating while Ulysses carried him onward. The journey from the ancient battlefield to the toxic swamp had taken just a day, but traversing from the swamp to their current location had consumed an entire month.

The distance alone was staggering—the ancient battlefield and the Floating City lay on opposite ends of the world. Worse still were the Insect tides they encountered along the way.

Three months hadn't been nearly enough for all the World Tree Sub-bodies to reach the Floating City's vicinity. Fortunately, once they broke through the Insect tides, the remaining path was clear. Every Biological weapon within a thousand kilometers of the Floating City had been summoned by the Sub-bodies to serve as cannon fodder. Otherwise, their travel time would have doubled.

"Timing worked out perfectly," Richard said with lighthearted relief. "Any sign of those World Tree Sub-bodies?"

"Not too hard to spot, these Sub-bodies," Ulysses replied.

As he spoke, a majestic Holy Light suddenly radiated from Ulysses, establishing a soul link with Richard that allowed him to share Ulysses' vision.

Through Ulysses' eyes, faint glows emanated from each World Tree Sub-body.

Standing among ordinary Treants, they shone like stars in the night sky.

"So many. It seems the other Wizards haven't been clearing the World Tree Sub-bodies fast enough."

In Ulysses' sight, there were at least a hundred World Tree Sub-bodies nearby.

And this was after Wizards had already purged the area of them.

"Can you handle it?" Ulysses asked. "If not, we'll have to break through immediately."

By now, some of the Treants had turned their attention and were advancing toward Richard.

Meanwhile, massive vines emerged from beneath the giant floating mother entity, poised to envelop it.

"Clearing them all is impossible. Even if we expend every floating cannon and every puppet, we'd only take out a fraction."

Richard severed the link, his tone still relaxed.

"The real protagonist here is the Dean's creation."

With that, he gestured behind him, and the white bear entrusted to him by the Dean lumbered to his side.

"Roar!"

Richard pointed forward and commanded, "Charge ahead. Don't stop until I say so."

Before Richard could react, the bear shot forward like a bolt of white lightning, reaching the front lines in the blink of an eye.

With another roar, the earth and stones surged like liquid, climbing up its body to form a suit of black stone armor.

Then, the bear assumed a stance, and the ambient Magic Power in the surroundings converged toward it.

Richard recognized it instantly—this was the Unity of Heaven and Man technique Jimmy had once used to demonstrate the pinnacle of physical evolution.

In the next moment, the bear swung its paw, and a brilliant fist-light plowed through the forest like a steamroller, carving a wide path.

Dozens of Treants blocking the way were obliterated in an instant.

"Incredible," Richard gasped. "That bear could probably take three of me."

"Three?" Ulysses countered. "I'd say you wouldn't even have a chance to escape against five."

Richard stiffened, a hint of defiance in his voice. "That's underestimating me a bit. I'm not weak, you know."

Ulysses' eyes gleamed faintly as he stared intently at the bear.

"You're not weak, but this bear is far stronger than you think. What you're seeing is only a fraction of its power.

There's an immense force still locked inside it."

As he spoke, Ulysses even shuddered slightly.

When the bear moved, he had sensed a faint aura of death.

"That strong? No wonder the Dean said that with it, the war in the surface world would be as good as won."

Richard was momentarily stunned before establishing a mental link with the Arachnid Armored Puppets around him and the giant floating mother entity beneath him.

"No prolonged engagements. Full-speed advance."

The command issued, all the Arachnid Armored Puppets and floating cannons paused for a split second.

[Command confirmed. Full-speed advance.]

In the next instant, the previously scattered puppet formation swiftly coalesced into a spearhead.

A massive swarm of floating cannons, combined with Arachnid Armored Puppets whose combat power rivaled Third Circle Wizards, proved unstoppable even for Treants that had completed their second-level Gestalt connection.

Not to mention, these puppets were followed by an enormous floating mother unit.

Though the giant floating mother unit wasn’t designed for frontline assault, its combat capabilities were anything but weak.

Treants blocking its path were effortlessly crushed underfoot—just a simple step.

And that wasn’t even accounting for its defensive artillery.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning as thick as an ancient tree shot straight toward Richard, who stood behind the floating mother unit.

BOOM!

Beneath the giant floating mother unit, massive vine-like tendrils erupted from the ground, firmly binding it in place.

Yet Richard showed no trace of panic.

"I declare: No thunder shall strike this place."

Ulysses’ deep voice resonated alongside a surge of Holy Light, and the colossal lightning bolt abruptly dissipated midair under the weight of those plain words.

Such was the unreasonable power of the Divine Word Art.

Richard glanced at the World Tree Sub-body that had unleashed the lightning and casually waved his arm. Instantly, thousands of floating cannons surged toward it.

The swarm of floating cannons, enduring heavy losses, encircled the World Tree Sub-body, trapping it within a stasis field.

In just ten seconds, they unleashed tens of thousands of energy blasts, reducing the World Tree Sub-body to ashes.

Richard withdrew his gaze and muttered to himself, "I may not be able to kill them all, but taking out one or two is no issue."

……

In the distance, the command center watched in stunned silence.

"Just… gone?" A White Wizard stared in disbelief at his comrades. "Are those new strategic weapons from the Tesla Conglomerate?"

"No," a Third Circle Wizard, half of whose body was mechanical, shook his head. "The Tesla Conglomerate doesn’t produce anything like that. Unless… he’s an internal member of their organization, but—"

"Those are weapons of The Lost Ones," another Wizard interjected.

He pulled out a Crystal Ball from his pocket, inside which a similar floating cannon was sealed.

His tone carried a hint of envy as he said, "During the pre-battle meeting, he kept a low profile. Who would’ve guessed he could even wield weapons of The Lost Ones?"

Every weapon of The Lost Ones was extraordinary, and what Richard commanded wasn’t just a single piece—it was an entire arsenal.

Richard had acquired a batch of their weapons.

"Looks like Adams’ Magic Support Vehicle was mobilized for nothing," Jimmy remarked dryly as he watched the floating cannon swarm. "Richard could’ve blasted his way in without us."

As he spoke, a stone-armored polar bear slammed its fist into the ground, plowing a path straight toward the Floating City. Behind it, pitch-black Arachnid Armored Puppets swiftly widened the breach, preparing to cover the giant floating mother unit’s advance.

At that moment, Adams finally deployed the Magic Support Vehicle.

With his command, a torrent of fire rained down precisely on either side of Richard, incinerating the flanking Treants into cinders.

Seizing the opportunity, Richard led the giant floating mother unit through the sea of Treants at full speed.

The moment they broke through, the White Wizard Legion immediately launched their counterattack.

Without regard for resource expenditure, they unleashed a deluge of fireballs, igniting another Fire Elemental Storm and briefly halting the Treants’ advance.

"Master Jimmy, long time no see." Richard flew to Jimmy's side with the white bear. "Mission accomplished. The Dean's task is done."

Jimmy looked at the white bear, a relieved smile appearing on his face.

He turned to Richard with a grin. "You came at just the right time, kid. Any later and you wouldn't have seen me again."

Richard burst into laughter. "Better to arrive at the opportune moment than to come early. Now it's up to you, Master."

Jimmy chuckled and patted Richard's shoulder before flying over to the white bear.

In the next instant, Jimmy actually merged into the white bear's body.

"Richard, you must have been curious all this way about the significance of the Dean sending you with this thing."

The white bear spoke with Jimmy's voice, giving Richard the illusion that the bear had gained sentience.

Richard answered honestly, "Indeed. Although this white bear is powerful, it hardly seems capable of turning the tide of battle."

"Just this beast puppet alone wouldn't be enough," said the white bear as it walked to Richard's side, facing the distant sea of Treants.

"But this puppet is merely a container. What's stored inside is what you were truly meant to deliver."

"What's inside?" Richard asked with growing anticipation.

The white bear assumed a stance, drawing back its Arm as if gathering strength.

"What it contains is—"

The white bear thrust out its palm.

"Three strikes from the Dean!"

A sky-piercing, earth-shattering fist radiance flashed across the sea of Treants like a storm.

After the storm passed, nearly half the Treant army had vanished as if evaporated.

(End of chapter)