75: Chapter 75: One more health bar?!

The echo of the funeral bell still reverberated through the gloomy dome of the Underworld. That jet-black sword light, which had pierced through heaven and earth, not only severed the wings of the Mother Goddess of Creation but also shattered the invincible health-locking mechanism that had plunged players across the entire network into despair.

Watching the dark red health bar above Tiamat's head finally display concrete numerical values, PD roared from within his VR pod, his voice cracking with fury:

"Brothers! She's bleeding! As long as it's a god that can bleed, it must die here today! All units, attack—!!!"

Accompanied by this war cry, the Blue Star players, who had been bottled up for so long, finally welcomed their desperate counterattack!

"Zhuge Liang! Max out the buffs!"

"Jeanne dArc Alter, burn right through her for me!"

On the tactical sand table, the Golden Squad, which had fallen silent because they couldn't deal any damage, instantly erupted with terrifying firepower capable of destroying the world, bolstered by the concept of death.

"Roar! My Fury (La Grondement Du Haine)"!

"Bull King's Thunderclap: The Net of Heaven"!

The jet-black flames of vengeance and the violent, sky-filling thunder intertwined, slamming solidly into Tiamat's mountain-like body.

This time, it was no longer the despair-inducing "0" or "Immune." Amidst a series of dull, flesh-tearing sounds, rows of enormous red critical hit numbers, representing extreme damage, popped out frantically from above Tiamat's head like a waterfall!

"Aaaaahhh—"

The Mother Goddess of Creation, experiencing "death" and "pain" for the first time in her life, let out a shrill scream that shattered the rock layers of the Underworld.

The obscenely thick health bar above her head, under the frenzied, bloodshot focus fire of the players, plummeted at a speed visible to the naked eye, like ice and snow melting in a raging fire!

"Awesome!!! That's so freaking awesome!"

"This is the power of pay-to-win! This is the fury of humanity!"

"Lose health, damn you! Who told you to lock your health and show off earlier! Old Man Hassan broke your defense, and now it's our turn!"

In the live broadcast rooms across the entire network, players erupted in tsunami-like cheers the moment they saw the health bar empty out.

"Snap—!"

As Jeanne dArc Alter's final attack pierced through Tiamat's chest, the Mother Goddess of Creation's dark red health bar completely cleared and shattered.

However, before the players could even celebrate their victory, a blood-red system warning box instantly dominated everyone's retinas with an even more violent demeanor!

"Warning: Beast II vital signs recombination detected!"

"Mechanism triggered: Multiple Life Core (Break Bar) shattered! Target has entered Berserk Phase!"

"Hum—"

In the terrified gaze of all the players, beneath Tiamat's originally empty health bar, another even deeper, even longer jet-black health bar extended out!

Not only that, but her body, which had been listless from her severed wings, suddenly erupted with an unparalleled magical power storm.

The surrounding black mud surged into the sky like boiling magma, forming a massive black hemisphere that firmly encased her in the center.

"High-risk skill warning: Nega-Genesis beginning deployment!"

"Mechanism explanation: The Mother Goddess of Creation is reshaping the laws of the world. Centered on the target, the 'Nega-Genesis' barrier will continuously expand outward! Allied Servants within the barrier will be forcibly inflicted with 'Concept Erasure (Absolute Instant Death, ignores Invincibility/Evasion/Health-Lock),' and this area will permanently become a void zone where deployment is impossible!"

That's right, this was the ultimate despair Gu Yi had prepared for the Blue Star players—the "Break Bar mechanism"!

In the original Earth timeline, this mechanism, which caused countless Masters immense suffering, wouldn't be officially implemented until the Pseudo-Singularities of Part 1.5.

But Gu Yi considered that this was, after all, a holographic masterpiece that had been heavily modified to incorporate hardcore tower defense gameplay. If a dignified Mother Goddess of Creation, the ultimate Boss representing "Beast of Humanity," were to be directly one-shot by a fully buffed Golden Squad assembled by players, that would be too underwhelming.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to break the original implementation order, bringing this mechanism out early and perfectly replicating the most classic "Boss Phase 2 Resurrection" from tower defense games!

"Holy crap! A second health bar?! Does this game give even the Bosses revival armor?!"

"That 'Nega-Genesis' thing is expanding so fast! It's devouring the sand table grid!"

PD watched helplessly on the tactical sand table as that jet-black barrier, expanding like a black hole, turned everything in its path—whether it was hard rock or the Servants deployed in the very front row—into ashes the moment they made contact, without them even having time to let out a scream!

Ignoring all defenses, an absolute mechanism instant-kill! It was like an unstoppable red line of death, pushing forward at a suffocating speed toward the players' final high-ground defense line.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat! All melee units, fall back!" PD was sweating profusely, frantically clicking the retreat command.

But the barrier was expanding too quickly. If this continued, in less than thirty seconds, the entire Underworld battlefield would be completely devoured by "Nega-Genesis"!

"We have to block that barrier! Otherwise, the high-ground DPS will have nowhere to stand!"

The lore enthusiast Chu He murmured in the live broadcast room, "We need a defensive Noble Phantasm capable of withstanding a 'world-destroying' level attack!"

Just at this critical moment...

A petite figure holding a massive cross-shield bypassed all the retreating Servants, moving against the black barrier capable of erasing everything, and unhesitatingly stood at the very front of the defense line.

"Senpai! I will block it here!"

It was Mash!

"Mash, are you crazy?! That's a mechanism instant-kill that ignores defense! Come back!" PD shouted, his voice hoarse.

"It's okay, Senpai. Because I am standing here for this very moment."

The purple-haired girl turned her head and offered PD a smile that was incredibly gentle, yet exceptionally firm.

The next second, she slammed the massive cross-shield in her hands, which carried the reason and hope of humanity, heavily into the hard rock layers of the Underworld.

Vast magical power burned frantically within the girl's petite body. Facing the 'Nega-Genesis' barrier capable of reshaping the world, she recited the true name hidden deep within, which represented absolute protection.

"That is the home of ours that heals all wounds and resolves all grudges—"

"Manifest! [Wall of the Distant Utopia (Lord Camelot)]—!!!"

"Boom!!!"

A magnificent, holy phantom of a massive chalk-white city, radiating endless chalky brilliance, rose from the ground behind Mash!

The city walls, symbolizing unyielding will, slammed head-on into the jet-black barrier representing destruction.

"Sizzle—" That seemingly unstoppable "Nega-Genesis," the moment it struck the chalk-white city, was miraculously brought to a halt!

"Blocked... it's blocked! Mash tanked a world-destroying level instant-kill mechanism with her face!"

"This is the strongest Defender! Whatever invincible Boss, it has to obediently stop in front of our kouhai's shield!" A-Dai said, her eyes brimming with moved tears.

"Well done, little girl. Now, as for the environment, I, your big brother, will stabilize it."

Merlin smiled slightly, holding his staff high. Pink flowers bloomed all over the sky behind the chalk-white city, turning into a pure land filled with vitality, completely purifying the black mud that was trying to seep out from underground.

"Only thirty seconds of DPS time! This is the final chance!"