121: A desperate counterattack, a hundred schools of thought contend in the world (Part 1)

The torrential rain poured down, crazily washing over the ravaged land of the crater area. In the mud, the slaughter between the undead and the living continued, but the pace was significantly slowed by the rain and mud, turning into a more brutal war of attrition. The grey-white fog of negative energy, washed by rain containing a faint trace of yang energy, became much thinner and could no longer wantonly corrupt the environment as before.

Under the command of Elwin, Bronzebeard, and Snik, the defensive line of the Cloud City Team stood like a reef in a storm. Although it was constantly battered by the waves of undead, it never collapsed. The arrows of the Literary Heart Elves wove through the curtain of rain, precisely sniping at the vengeful spirits attempting to break through; the warhammers of the Tiangong Dwarves swung through the mud, smashing skeletons into pieces; the Law Fishmen held fast to the nodes of Order, maintaining the final stability of the defensive line.

However, Su Yueyao's heart sank.

Supporting Lin Zhou, she could clearly feel that the power she was using to maintain the "Call the Wind and Summon the Rain" Spell was rapidly fading. Her Moonlight Divine Power had long been exhausted; at this moment, she was consuming her own Origin and the faint power drawn from Lin Zhou's body, which originated from the Temple of Civilization. Lin Zhou's face remained pale, and in his coma, he seemed cut off from everything in the outside world. Only the faint mark of the Temple of Civilization between his brows proved that his connection to this battlefield had not been completely severed.

What made her even more anxious was that the cold, evil, and wise aura coming from the depths of the negative energy rift was becoming clearer and more powerful! It was like a sleeping monarch, awakened by the clamor of the outside world and the rain that displeased it, slowly opening its eyes from an eternal slumber.

"Crack... Boom!"

A blinding flash of lightning tore through the dim curtain of rain, briefly illuminating the world, followed by a deafening roll of thunder. In that instant of flashing lightning, Su Yueyao's pupils constricted!

She saw a figure rising slowly, like a ghost, at the edge of the rift that was spewing grey-white fog!

It was not an ordinary undead. It wore a tattered black robe that still looked vaguely luxurious, embroidered with dim, twisted runes that exuded an ominous aura. Its body was not purely skeletal but had a semi-transparent texture, like grey crystal, within which a vast amount of negative energy could be seen flowing. On its head rested a crown inlaid with dark gems, and in its eye sockets burned two deep purple flames that seemed capable of devouring Souls!

In its hand, it held a long staff carved from unknown black bone. At the top of the staff, a large, constantly rotating shadow crystal was greedily absorbing the surrounding negative energy and death aura.

Lich Monarch (??? - Extremely High Threat)

Observation Rank: Estimated LV 55+ (Due to cross-boundary and rule suppression, the true Rank may be higher)

Identity Speculation: Ancient Lich / Lich Monarch / Rift Dominator

Status: [Awakening], [Controller of the Death Domain], [High-Rank Undead Commander]

Characteristic Perception:

Undead Domination: Possesses absolute control over all undead units within range and significantly boosts their combat effectiveness.

Death Spells: Proficient in various necromantic Spells, curses, and negative energy manipulation.

phylactery Sensing: Its main body does not seem to be entirely here; there exists a weakness similar to a "phylactery" (requires extremely high insight or specific methods to perceive).

Domain Opposition: Shows obvious aversion and rejection toward the [Rainstorm Domain] and is attempting to erode it with its Death Domain.

The moment the Lich Monarch appeared, it did not immediately launch an attack. Its eye sockets, burning with purple flames, acted like the most precise probe, instantly scanning the entire battlefield before finally fixing on the unconscious Lin Zhou, who was being tightly protected by Su Yueyao.

An indescribable mental fluctuation, mixed with greed, desire, and a trace of wariness, spread across the rain curtain like a cold tentacle toward Lin Zhou! Its target, from the very beginning, was Lin Zhou! Or rather, it was the Fire of Civilization within Lin Zhou that made it feel both disgusted and covetous!

"Protect my god!" Elwin was the first to detect this malicious mental prying. Enduring the freezing pain at the Soul level, he shouted sternly, simultaneously channeling his remaining Vast Righteous Qi in an attempt to form a mental barrier to block the invisible intrusion.

However, the gap in mental power between the two sides was too great! Elwin's mental barrier was like paper, easily pierced by the Lich Monarch's mental tentacles!

Su Yueyao's expression changed drastically. She felt a bone-chilling force, full of death and annihilation, attempting to invade Lin Zhou's Sea of Consciousness, aiming directly at the flickering, dying Fire of Civilization! She desperately transformed her remaining Mental Energy into a Moonlight barrier to protect Lin Zhou's Sea of Consciousness!

"Hum—!" The Moonlight barrier collided violently with the deathly mental tentacles! Su Yueyao was struck as if by a heavy blow; she spat out a mouthful of blood, her face instantly turning as pale as gold paper, and her body swayed unsteadily! Her Mental Energy was not known for defense, let alone when facing such a powerful Lich Monarch!

The Lich Monarch seemed somewhat surprised by Su Yueyao's stubborn resistance; it let out a silent snort that resonated directly in everyone's Souls. It slowly raised the black bone staff in its hand, and the shadow crystal at the top suddenly erupted with a deep, dark light!

"Death Decay!"

A visible grey ripple, like water waves, spread from it toward the Cloud City Team's defensive line! Wherever this grey ripple passed, the rain seemed to be instantly drained of its vitality, becoming grey and lifeless. The mud on the ground also quickly lost its moisture, cracked open, and emitted an even denser Death Qi! Several Law Fishmen standing slightly in front were swept by this grey ripple; before they could even scream, their bodies rapidly shriveled, decayed, and turned into dust!

Lich Monarch Skill: Death Decay (Area Curse / Domain Erosion)

Effect: Deals massive continuous negative energy damage to living units within range (50-100 points per second, based on resistance) and applies multiple negative status effects: [Aging], [Weakness], [Despair]. Simultaneously strongly corrupts non-undead environments, weakening hostile Domain effects.

Impact on Rainstorm Domain: [Rainstorm Domain] effect reduced by 30%, and the Vast Righteous Qi in the rain is significantly neutralized.

"Hold the line!" Bronzebeard's eyes were bloodshot. He roared, activating the Stone Bloodline of the Dwarves, trying to resist the erosion of the grey ripple, but the Dwarf Warriors beside him still fell like harvested wheat! The defensive line was instantly in jeopardy!

Elwin and the Literary Heart Elves desperately channeled their Vast Righteous Qi. The white halo flickered under the impact of the grey ripple, only barely protecting themselves and a small area.

Snik's Net of Law was directly torn apart by this powerful death rule. He himself suffered a backlash, spewing blood, and fell to one knee.

Su Yueyao held Lin Zhou tightly. Under the double blow of [Death Decay] and the weakening of the rain, the Moonlight protection was dim to the extreme, like a candle in the wind, ready to shatter at any moment. Watching her kin fall one after another, and looking at the Lich Monarch that was closing in step by step, exuding an aura of despair, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness and grief surged in her heart.

Could it be... is it really going to end here?

Just in this abyss of despair, Su Yueyao felt Lin Zhou's body in her arms suddenly tremble slightly!

It was not a muscle spasm, but as if some kind of sleeping, vast consciousness, stimulated by the extreme malice from the outside and the despair from within, had begun to instinctively... awaken and counterattack!

At the same time, deep in Lin Zhou's Sea of Consciousness, that flickering, dying Fire of Civilization seemed to have been fed its final firewood, suddenly erupting with a point of light that was brilliant to the extreme! This light was not hot, but a light of wisdom that encompassed everything!

The long-silent Temple of Civilization, at this moment, vibrated autonomously and violently as never before! Inside the sanctuary, the light clusters representing the Confucian School, School of Names, Mohist School, Daoist School, School of Military, School of Agriculture, School of Medicine, and all the schools Lin Zhou had lit up—even some that were still vague—at this moment, like stars summoned, all lit up!

It was no longer a single flicker, but a resonance! A symphony!

A vast, majestic intent, containing an endless torrent of civilization information and wisdom, rushed out from the Temple of Civilization like a bursting river, instantly submerging Lin Zhou's nearly exhausted Sea of Consciousness. Through his close support linked with Su Yueyao, and the belief link that had never been severed from all his kin and allies, it spread outward!

Su Yueyao bore the brunt of it. She felt as if her consciousness had been swept into a rushing, brilliant river composed of countless knowledge and wisdom! She saw Confucian scholars holding scrolls, teaching the masses; she saw impartial judges wielding the Law; she saw craftsmen creating miracles with ingenious skills; she saw Daoists living freely outside the world, in harmony with nature; she saw military strategists devising plans and winning victories thousands of miles away; she saw farmers tilling the fields and nourishing all things; she saw physicians saving the world and bringing the dying back to life; she saw sophists with unimpeded eloquence, analyzing all things...

The essence of the Hundred Schools, the myriad principles, at this moment, opened their doors to her with unprecedented clarity! Although she could not understand everything instantly, that vast aura of civilization, that unyielding will of the Legacy, and that spirit of rising to fight even in the face of despair were deeply branded into the depths of her Soul!

And Lin Zhou, in her arms, under the impact of this torrent of civilization, suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes!

But those eyes were no longer the calm or sharpness belonging to Lin Zhou personally; they seemed to carry the vicissitudes of eternity and immeasurable wisdom! In his pupils, the sun, moon, and stars rotated, mountains and rivers changed, and civilizations rose and fell! An indescribable, magnificent will, transcending the individual, temporarily took control of his body!

He gently pushed away Su Yueyao, who was supporting him, took a step out, stood in the muddy rain, and stood at the very forefront of the desperate defensive line!

He ignored the Lich Monarch, which was exuding terrifying pressure, and his gaze swept calmly over the remaining, scarred kin, over the pale-faced Su Yueyao, and over this battlefield shrouded in death and rain.

Then, he spoke. His voice was not loud, but it seemed to contain the supreme truths of heaven and earth, and the Fire of Civilization. It clearly drowned out the sound of the rain, the thunder, and the roars of the undead, resonating in the hearts of every member of the Cloud City Team, and even everyone watching this battlefield:

"Civilization shall not perish; the fire shall be passed on."

"Where are the Hundred Schools?"