282: Chapter 282 Trial Ends

"The current world can't withstand any more chaos, so let's settle this in one go."

Zhang Huaiyuan spoke in a resonant voice.

"Agreed."

Saintess Jiang Nian nodded slightly, her fair fingers spreading as a miniature rune formation intersected and took shape, floating above her palm.

Although she dabbled in various academic fields, her greatest expertise lay in Rune Magic.

"Many rules in this world are fragmented and incomplete, making it impossible to perfectly replicate high-level magic... I need to find substitute rune rules to perfect the spell."

As Saintess Jiang Nian pondered, she carefully added new runes into the formation in her palm.

The originally simple miniature rune formation gradually became increasingly complex and mysterious.

On the other side.

Having recalled his entire mechanical legion, Zhang Huaiyuan now had ample energy and began to consider how to respond.

Although he had given up on using special abilities to win, the effects of the "Gods Game" still persisted.

[Unfinished Malleable Magic Formation]

Current Energy Level: lv37.

Currently Implanted Runes: Explosion, Thunder...

He could clearly see the level and completion of the rune formation in her hand steadily rising, quickly surpassing the level of this world's Forbidden Spells.

Furthermore, through the effect of True Sight, he could see that the accumulation of elemental particles was extremely dense, clearly indicating a powerful single-target spell.

"She's definitely hard to deal with."

Zhang Huaiyuan felt a slight chill in his heart.

He didn't know she had used a technique favored by fate; he only knew that in the first round of the assessment, she had been only one level behind him.

And he himself had relied heavily on the effects of True Sight.

"Conventional means will have a hard time dealing with such a powerful composite spell. That previous set of Anti-Rune Armor could only handle low-level magic."

Zhang Huaiyuan frowned slightly.

Various plans flashed rapidly through his mind.

Technology-based weapons had always been far ahead in terms of area destruction and safety stability, but their unit destructive power was inferior to Rune Magic that could be controlled autonomously.

If it were anyone else, even a Junior Scholar close to Level 50, they would likely be at a loss.

However, he had undergone the tempering of the Truth Chess Game and mastered many powerful fusion techniques.

For example, the sniper rifle that had successfully taken one of his opponent's pieces back then was also the most powerful design he had mastered in his countless matches to date.

Thinking of this, with a slight thought from Zhang Huaiyuan, the phantom of a heavy sniper rifle slowly emerged before him.

However, due to material limitations, many parts used lower-tier materials and alternative solutions, causing its power to be significantly reduced.

"No, based on the data, this weapon's power is still a notch below her magic."

Zhang Huaiyuan's expression darkened as he dispersed the weapon's phantom.

He didn't try to continue re-fusing; previously, under time acceleration, he hadn't mastered any higher-intensity fusion schemes even after several thousand years.

While science required miracles, the prerequisite for a miracle was the accumulation of sufficient knowledge.

"It seems I'll have to take a gamble..."

He remembered that earlier, when he had his teammates stall for time, to increase the possibility of victory, he had used the minimum standard reward for clearing the Truth Chess Game in Ruin No. 1—the "Observation Shadow" opportunity available once every 100 true years.

It allowed one to personally experience the entire process in any of the 10,010 experimental recordings, ranging from basic to advanced.

Those represented the peaks of 112 academic disciplines.

He had observed one of the simplest experimental recordings, yet even that involved the field of causality, which was far beyond what he could currently understand.

He only remembered bits and pieces of the design, but as for how it was implemented, he was completely bewildered even with the reference answers.

"Let's give it a try."

Zhang Huaiyuan tried hard to recall everything from the experimental recording. With a thought, phantoms of countless parts emerged.

The ability to turn the virtual into reality granted by his "Mechanical Armament Master" class greatly reduced the cost of trial and error.

"Causality... first, I need to set up a miniature singularity launcher to form a closed-loop time curvature similar to a Mobius strip at the moment of explosion... but with current limited conditions, I can only use fusion as the primary power source, supplemented by antimatter..."

"I can't replicate the anchoring methods from the experimental recording for now. I'll try using quantum entanglement to mark particles and establish a temporary traceable timeline..."

"..."

Zhang Huaiyuan constantly tried to revise the plan. Gradually, a grenade-shaped object the size of a watermelon appeared before his eyes, exquisite yet radiating an unstable, dangerous aura.

Zhang Huaiyuan looked at this phantom creation with an uncertain expression.

Limited by materials and his knowledge base, he had replaced the vast majority of the structure with lower-tier substitutes. Consequently, he had no idea how effective it would be, or if it would even explode immediately upon manifestation.

"There's no more time..."

Zhang Huaiyuan calmly glanced at Saintess Jiang Nian in the distance. The energy of the rune formation she was condensing had already stabilized.

At this moment, she was quietly looking toward him, clearly waiting for him to finish.

"Fine, let's risk it."

Seeing this, Zhang Huaiyuan no longer hesitated and gave a low shout:

"Manifest."

Instantly, the grenade before him turned from phantom to reality, a terrifying energy swirling within it, appearing as if it could burst at any moment.

"Your Highness Saintess, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Oh... this thing is interesting... then let's begin."

Saintess Jiang Nian looked at the watermelon-sized object in surprise. Even with her strength, she could vaguely sense a trace of a threat.

She then lightly waved her hand, and the already completed formation flew toward the sky.

"Divine Punishment!"

A terrifying beam of light instantly erupted, piercing through heaven and earth.

"Pardon me!"

Seeing this, Zhang Huaiyuan no longer hesitated. He condensed a launcher, placed the grenade inside, and simultaneously activated his armor to retreat rapidly.

"Fire!"

The next second, with a roar, the grenade of unknown effect shot through the air, flying straight toward the trajectory of the "Divine Punishment" beam.

A thousand meters... a hundred meters...

Zhang Huaiyuan's gaze was fixed on the point of impact, and he made no other defensive moves.

Given the power of this spell, any means available under current conditions would be useless.

"Hmm!"

But to his surprise.

The white "Divine Punishment" beam directly swallowed the grenade. The weapon he had placed high hopes on didn't seem to produce any obstructive effect.

The magical power surged forward with undiminished momentum.

"It failed? What a pity, I've let down the sacrifices of my seniors."

Zhang Huaiyuan smiled bitterly in his heart, though he didn't feel too much resentment.

He had done his best; it was just that his opponent was too strong.

Boom!

The white beam of light descended from the sky, completely submerging Zhang Huaiyuan.

But at the same time.

The entire trial world seemed to undergo some subtle change, and in the next instant, it suddenly collapsed entirely.

Everything vanished.

...