216: The Round of 16: Titan's might shook heaven and earth.

The moment the bracket for the Xinghai University Freshman Cup Round of 16 was announced, the entire campus felt as if a heavy bomb had been dropped.

It wasn't because the matchup was unexpected; on the contrary, when that name was drawn alongside the other, everyone felt—it's finally here.

Lin Zhou vs. Thor · Wrath of Thunder.

Ranked 7th on the leaderboard, a dark horse who had fought his way through with the treacherous and ever-changing "Hundred Schools Divine Domain" and astonishing tactical wisdom.

Ranked 2nd on the leaderboard, possessing an S-Rank potential assessment, an undefeated "Storm Titan" who crushed everything with absolute violence, and one of the biggest favorites to win the championship.

The ultimate "finesse" and "change" versus the ultimate "force" and "rigidity."

This was almost a pre-destined Peak duel of philosophies and power forms, and its level of attention even vaguely exceeded that of the other Quarterfinal matches.

The virtual combat network, the highest-specification platform dedicated to the Quarterfinals, was a subspace projection of the "Ring of the Universe."

Lin Zhou's consciousness descended. He "stood" upon a vast, cold-toned gray rock plain. The sky was iron-gray, with low-hanging clouds like heavy lead weights; there was no wind. The ground was composed of solid, incredibly hard dark-gray granite, with only a few scattered, massive rifts and pits that seemed to have been violently smashed out by brute force, speaking of the terrifying power this place might have experienced. The environmental rules were extremely stable and inert, with almost no elemental activity, meaning that tactics relying on environmental bonuses (such as ice, fire, wind, or even the natural affinity Lin Zhou had just improved) would be greatly diminished here.

This was a battlefield born purely for the collision of power.

The map information displayed as 【Immortal Stone Plains】. With an area of about 50 square kilometers, the terrain was flat and open, with almost no complex terrain for tactical flanking, providing excellent visibility.

"The System is really... 'thoughtful.'" Lin Zhou thought to himself. This map was almost a perfect stage tailor-made for Thor's Titans, eliminating most fancy possibilities and pushing the battle infinitely toward the most primitive duel of power and will.

Without giving him much time to think, on the distant horizon, the air suddenly became heavy and oppressive.

A low rumble, sounding as if it came from deep within the earth, rang out—not from the sky, but from... beneath the ground, and it was getting closer!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by uniform, heavy footsteps that made the entire gray rock plain tremble, a series of massive figures like moving mountains tore through the iron-gray sky backdrop, slowly "rising" from below the horizon.

They had arrived.

The Titans.

Their numbers were few, only twenty-five. But at this moment, the pressure this number brought to Lin Zhou far exceeded any legion he had encountered before.

Their average height exceeded twelve meters! Their entire bodies presented a deep, dark-cyan stone texture that seemed to have been tempered by ten thousand years of lightning. Their skin was not smooth but covered in coarse, naturally formed rune patterns that flickered with faint electrical light. Their muscle outlines were exaggerated to an unbelievable degree, as if every muscle was a condensed small hill. Most were bare-handed, but their stone fists, comparable to battering rams, radiated suffocating destructive power. A few Titans held massive, crude weapons forged from a mix of unknown black metal and rock—giant hammers, battle-axes, or spears entwined with lightning.

Their pace was not fast, but with every step, the incredibly solid gray rock ground groaned under the burden, leaving a clear footprint half a meter deep, with cracks spreading out like spiderwebs for several meters. Twenty-five Titans advanced in unison, like twenty-five moving mountains radiating an aura of destruction; the entire plain pulsed rhythmically and heavily under their footsteps!

Even more terrifying was the energy field naturally radiating around them. On their dark-cyan stone shells, fine golden lightning arcs scurried and jumped like little snakes, and the air was filled with a strong smell of ozone and the heavy pressure of earth and stone. Their emerald-green, lava-gem-like massive eyes stared coldly toward the direction of Lin Zhou's god domain core, devoid of any emotion, containing only the purest indifference toward destroying their target.

【Enemy Main Unit: Storm Titan (Adolescent)】

Quantity: 25.

Average Rank: LV 38-40.

Estimated Core Attributes:

Strength: 82-88 (Core advantage! Enough to tear apart heavy city walls by hand and shake small hills)

Agility: 24-28 (Relatively slow, but their massive size and stride make their actual movement speed not too slow, and their attack range is enormous)

Physique: 78-85 (Bodies forged of rock and lightning; both physical defense and energy resistance reach terrifying levels)

Intelligence: 20-25 (Possess a certain degree of intelligence, but their thinking is direct and they worship power)

Spirit: 35-40 (Firm will, extremely high resistance to mental effects like fear and confusion, buffed by Bloodline and lightning will)

Charisma: N/A (Usually only deterrent to non-Titan or non-giant creatures)

Racial Talents/Characteristics:

Titan Physique: Physical damage reduction +40%, resistance to most control effects (except knockback and knockup) +50%, extremely high resistance to lightning and earth damage.

Storm Affinity: Attacks carry powerful lightning damage (approximately 30% of physical damage), can trigger weather phenomena on a small scale (such as summoning lightning strikes).

Son of the Earth: When standing on the ground, stamina recovery speed +100%, part of the damage received can be transferred to the earth (about 10-15%).

War Rhythm: When moving in groups, their footsteps form resonance, causing continuous tremors and slight damage to the surrounding environment, and slightly increasing the shock effect of their own attacks.

Common Skills:

Thunderous Heavy Strike: Normal attacks carry area-of-effect shock and lightning splash.

Throw Boulder/Thunder Spear: Ranged attack methods with amazing damage and long range.

Thunderous Trample: Area-of-effect crowd control skill; stomping the ground triggers seismic waves, causing damage and slow effects.

Threat Assessment: Moving natural disasters. Each one is a war fortress that requires concentrated fire to handle. Their mere existence is the ultimate test for conventional defensive lines and tactical Systems.

Surrounded by these twenty-five Storm Titans, the one in the center was particularly striking.

He was half a head taller than the other Titans, nearly fifteen meters tall! His body's dark-cyan was even deeper, almost like obsidian in texture, and the lightning runes flowing on his surface were more complex and bright, even forming a faint, illusory cloak made of electricity on his shoulders and back. He held a giant thunder battle-hammer longer than he was tall, with a head made of an irregular, black mountain-like substance entwined with violent golden lightning. In his emerald eyes, the light of wisdom shone brighter, but that destructive majesty had also reached its Peak.

【Enemy Hero Unit: Hammer of Thor · Star Shatterer (Titan Prince/Hero)】

Rank: LV 45 (Suspected to be buffed by a godhead or special means, exceeding the limits of a conventional adolescent Titan)

Identity: The core hero of Thor · Wrath of Thunder, suspected to possess a purer ancient Titan royal Bloodline.

Estimated Core Attributes:

Strength: 95+ (Possibly breaking through 100 points!)

Agility: 30 (Vigorous for a Titan)

Physique: 90+

Intelligence: 30

Spirit: 45+

Charisma: Possesses extremely high prestige among Titans and giants.

Talents/Characteristics (Enhanced version of ordinary Titans):

Star-Shattering Power: Damage from the Strength attribute has extremely strong "armor-piercing" and "shattering" special effects, dealing an additional 50% damage to buildings, barriers, and heavy armor units.

Will of the Thunder God: Extremely stable mental defense, largely immune to mental control and interference; his lightning Domain provides additional bonuses to surrounding friendly Titans.

Earth Resonance: Deeper connection with the earth; the proportion of damage transferred may be higher, and he can manipulate the rock and soil beneath his feet to a limited extent (such as raising stone walls or creating fissures).

Hero Skills (Observed/Inferred):

Wrath of Thunder (Passive/Aura): Significantly increases the lightning damage and attack speed of surrounding Titan units.

Summon Thunderstorm: Changes the weather over a large area, summoning continuous lightning strikes to bombard the target area.

(Key Skill) Earth Shatter: Swings the thunder battle-hammer to strike the ground, triggering a devastating impact. Estimated effects:

Direct Damage: Ultra-high physical + lightning mixed area damage (damage in the center area is enough to instant-kill most non-heavy armor units below LV 35).

Range: A circular/fan-shaped area with a radius of 30-50 meters centered on the point of impact.

Control Effect: Powerful Stun! Enemy units within range must undergo a high-difficulty Physique/Spirit check; failure results in a 2-4 second stun state (unable to act, defense significantly reduced). Even if the check succeeds, they will suffer severe slow and imbalance effects.

Terrain Alteration: Permanently changes the terrain at the point of impact, forming a deep pit or radial rifts, obstructing passage.

Cooldown: Unknown, but certainly not short; it should be one of his trump card skills.

Threat Assessment: Strategic-level threat. His individual combat power may exceed the sum of ten ordinary Storm Titans, and the "Earth Shatter" skill has the terrifying ability to decide a battle with a single blow.

Just by sensing the aura radiating from this group of slowly approaching war giants, Lin Zhou felt his god domain core projection trembling slightly (pressure at the rule level), and his divine fire involuntarily accelerated its burning speed to counter this suffocating majesty.

A head-on collision? Use Law Fishmen to judge Titans? Use Literary Heart Elves' arrows to shoot at mountains? Use the Tiangong Dwarves' ballistae to shake moving castles? Use Behemoths or Dragons to fight even larger giants?

There was absolutely no chance of victory!

The Titans had not yet entered attack range, but that overwhelming pressure was already like a tangible tide, flooding the entire Immortal Stone Plains. In the spectator channel (the Quarterfinals had opened limited live broadcasting), the sound of countless people gasping for breath seemed able to penetrate the virtual network.

"It's over... how do you even fight this?"

"Lin Zhou's Hundred Schools Divine Domain has met its natural counter! No matter how many tricks you have, they're just paper tigers before absolute power!"

"These Titan attributes... are they something a human can have? If Thor's hero skill lands squarely, Lin Zhou's god domain core will probably just vanish, right?"

"The map is even the Immortal Stone Plains, there's not even a place to hide! Lin Zhou is probably going to stop at the Round of 16 this time."

"What a pity, the dark horse has finally crashed into a real iron wall."

Even the members of the Hundred Schools Society and the few supporters who had always had confidence in Lin Zhou felt their hearts sink to the bottom as they looked at the Titan legion on the light screen, which looked like the arrival of doomsday. Zhao Hao and Wang Meng's faces were even paler; they could best appreciate that desperate gap in power levels.

Thor's Divine Thought, like rolling thunder, carrying unquestionable arrogance and a will for destruction, boomed across: "Lin Zhou! Your tricks end here! On these Immortal Stone Plains, before my Titans, all stratagems will be ground into powder! Submit, or turn to dust along with your fragile followers!"

Facing this world-destroying majesty and provocation, Lin Zhou's consciousness projection slowly raised its head.

On his face, there was no fear, no despair, and very little tension. There was only an extreme calm and focus, like a most precise instrument calculating countless possible variables.

"As expected... even stronger than estimated." Lin Zhou calculated rapidly in his mind, "The 'Ley Line Disorder Trap' is targeted at the Titans' earth connection characteristic, but the opponent has large numbers, the hero unit likely has stronger resistance, and the trap needs to be pre-buried to trigger. In this open plain, how can I ensure they step into the trap's range? The 'Super Gravity Rune Array' has limited range, is costly, and can only provide temporary restriction..."

Conventional traps and control methods had too low a margin for error against enemies of this scale and quality.

His gaze swept across the seemingly empty gray rock ground in front of his god domain core. There, according to the worst-case scenario simulated before the match (open ground, pure power-type opponent), a series of extremely secretive and highly resource-consuming arrangements had been made. These arrangements had almost emptied the Tian Gong Institute's recent reserves and the entire efforts of Li Mo and Copper Hammer.

But, was it enough?

The Titan legion entered the ten-kilometer range, their pace still steady, the pressure increasing exponentially. Rubble crumbled under their feet, and lightning jumped ever more violently on their bodies.

Lin Zhou took a deep breath (at the consciousness level), and his eyes became incomparably sharp.

"Since 'finesse' is hard to apply, I shall meet them with an 'array.' Since 'force' is hard to rival, I shall break them by borrowing 'momentum.'"

"Does the The Way of the Hundred Schools stop at mere change? The arrays of the School of Military, the defenses of the Mohist School, the regulations of the Legalist School, the momentum of the Taoist School... even the great power of heaven, earth, and nature can all be used by me!"

"Activate... 'Nine-Bend Yellow River Immortal-Trapping Array (Imitation · Miniature Experimental Type)' Phase One!"

As Lin Zhou's Divine Thought triggered it, a massive amount of Divine Power, like a bursting flood, poured frantically into the earth in front of the god domain core! Simultaneously, thousands of pre-buried special rune nodes and mechanical components were activated at once!

Wommm——————

A vibration, so low it was almost inaudible yet causing ripples in the rules of the entire Immortal Stone Plains, came from deep underground!

Immediately after, about three kilometers in front of the Titan legion, the gray rock earth... came alive!