163: Chapter 164 The Cunning William

William Preston, the founder and mastermind behind the "Oracle" organization, a powerhouse at level 193 with a rare Sub-God Rank Talent, had actually knelt down so decisively.

This sudden action stunned not only Shen Muyao, who was being held in Lin Muyang's arms and was nervously preparing to watch the battle, but even the well-informed young ladies like Elabess and Feng Ling flashed a look of surprise in their eyes. Chiba Ruri widened her beautiful sapphire eyes, almost unable to believe what she was seeing. This was the "Gods Chosen One" who was mysterious, awe-inspiring, and like a spokesperson for the gods in front of her! How could he have so little backbone?

Lin Muyang also raised his eyebrows slightly. He knew the opponent might surrender in a desperate situation, but he didn't expect it to be so fast and thorough, without even a symbolic struggle or bargaining. This formed a stark contrast to the cautious, calculating style he had shown before.

"This is too cowardly, isn't it?" This thought flashed through Lin Muyang's mind. However, upon reflection, he felt it was understandable. From William's perspective, what he was facing now was comprehensive, all-encompassing, and absolute suppression.

Skills were sealed, space was locked, attributes were weakened to a desperate degree, escape routes were blocked by the eerie soul bone prison, and he was surrounded by powerful enemies, each with unfathomable Auras. Most importantly, his famous Sub-God Rank Talent, "High-Spirited Battle Intent," which allowed him to grow stronger as he fought, had long since fallen from its peak five-fold bonus to a pathetic 1.2-fold under the dual blow of this desperate situation and inner fear, almost as if it didn't exist. This was equivalent to completely severing his last illusion of a comeback.

An ambitious person who valued his own safety above all else, was extremely afraid of death, and believed in the supremacy of power, choosing the most direct surrender when faced with absolute power that he could not understand or contend with seemed to be the only reasonable option.

What surprised everyone even more was that after William knelt, far from being depressed or decadent, a nearly morbid, excited flush appeared on his cold face. He raised his head, looked at Lin Muyang with fanatical eyes, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement:

"I have always believed that gods exist in this world!! I didn't expect to meet a True God today! I am willing to become your most loyal believer, at your beck and call!!"

These words, coupled with his devout and fanatical appearance, made the expressions of the young ladies present even more subtle. This guy, not only can he kneel, but he can also act? This speed of changing faces and the skill of bootlicking were quite matching with his deeply hidden "Gods Chosen One" identity.

Lin Muyang felt no waves in his heart. He had heard enough flattering words, especially from a fence-sitter who planned to kill his whole family a second ago and knelt to beg for mercy the next. He was more concerned with the information revealed in the other party's words, or rather, the parts that were deliberately concealed and distorted.

"State your name." Lin Muyang's voice was calm and waveless, with no joy or anger to be heard.

When a Class Transferee's attributes improve, especially after the Spirit attribute is enhanced, learning ability and memory will be greatly improved, so mastering multiple languages is not difficult. Whether it was Chiba Ruri or William in front of him, they could both speak fluent Xia Kingdom language.

Hearing the question, William immediately showed an even more "sincere" expression and answered quickly: "My name is William Preston, from the American Empire! I possess a Sub-God Rank Talent and am one of the official members of the 'Oracle' organization, always following the orders of the great 'Gods Chosen One'... Of course, from now on, I am willing to be your most loyal believer, you are the True God who has descended to the mortal world!"

He avoided the important and dwelt on the trivial, emphasizing again that he was only a "member of the organization," attributing all responsibility and the majesty of the "Gods Chosen One" to that fictional, non-existent boss, while desperately expressing his "worship" and "submission" to Lin Muyang.

Unfortunately, his performance was full of holes in Lin Muyang's eyes.

"William Preston?" Lin Muyang sneered in his heart. He had heard this name from the mouth of the late Beatrice and had judged at the time that it was highly likely a fake name. Now that the other party reported it again, combined with the information web seen under the "Spider God Fate" Aura, and the unique mythic grade skill "We Are The Same Kind" used to find Sub-God Rank geniuses, Lin Muyang was 100% sure that the person in front of him was the only core of the "Oracle" organization — the "Gods Chosen One" himself!

He was still disguising, still trying to hide the most critical identity information. What did this mean? It meant his so-called "submission" and "faith" were nothing but a delaying tactic, a performance intended to paralyze Lin Muyang and buy time and opportunity! At his core, he had not truly surrendered; he was still fantasizing about escaping, or even biting back.

"It seems that without some means, you won't tell the truth." Lin Muyang was too lazy to continue playing along with him, and his eyes turned cold instantly.

"Your deception has disappointed me."

The plain words contained unquestionable majesty. Lin Muyang didn't even explain how he saw through it; he just raised his hand as if driving away an annoying fly.

The moment he raised his hand, a sudden change occurred!

The Night Elf Assassin who had been hiding on the side of Divine Concealment, as if merging with the surrounding shadows — Seraphina, like a deadly shadow given life, instantly broke out of her stealth state! Her slender figure left a blurry afterimage in the air, moving so fast that almost no one present, except for Lin Muyang and a few young ladies, could capture her trajectory.

She did not approach William, but hovered in mid-air, her eyes, like the deepest night sky, coldly locking onto the figure kneeling below. Her hands crossed in front of her, making a mysterious gesture, and she spat out a cold, short syllable.

"Blood Shadow Flying Dagger!"

In an instant, with her as the center, hundreds of eerie and brilliant blood-colored lights bloomed in the void! These were not physical daggers, but sharp qi blades formed by the fusion of highly condensed blood energy and shadow power, each no more than a palm in length, thin as cicada wings, with fine black lines cutting through space swirling around the edges, emitting a dangerous Aura that made the soul feel stinging pain.

As soon as the hundreds of Blood Shadow Flying Daggers were formed, under Seraphina's mental control, they were like a swarm of angry bees, emitting sharp, piercing whistles as they broke through the air, shooting violently from all directions at tricky, irregular angles towards William Preston, who was trapped in the center by the "Nether Prison"! The sky was filled with blood light, and the killing intent was awe-inspiring!

William's expression changed drastically! He never expected that his performance, which he thought was seamless, would be seen through by the other party at a glance! Even more incomprehensible was how the other party identified his "Gods Chosen One" identity; this was a secret he was confident no second person knew!

"How does he know I'm lying? Can he see through the human heart? Or is that bitch Chiba Ruri..." In shock and anger, William had no time to think; the instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. Lin Muyang's unprovoked, ruthless attack clearly meant he wasn't giving him any chances and intended to kill him directly!

He wanted to dodge, but after his speed was reduced by 97% by the "Slow Domain," his Agility attribute, which he was proud of—nearly 100,000—could only exert effective movement speed that was probably not even as good as an ordinary level 100 assassin with 5,000 or 6,000 Agility. Wanting to avoid these blood-colored flying daggers that were as dense as a rainstorm and had tricky angles? It was simply wishful thinking!

He wanted to rush out, but when his eyes touched the pale bone thorn cage "Nether Prison" that emitted chilling soul fluctuations, he immediately remembered the miserable end of the Three-Eyed Martial Monk in the Summoner Competition recording, and he stopped his steps abruptly. He didn't dare to gamble; if crossing this cage really caused soul damage or even turned him into an idiot, that would be worse than death!

In a flash, William made the choice he deemed most correct and most consistent with his personality — defense! Hard carry!

He saw his body on the ground suddenly straighten, and his left hand, with speed that created afterimages, took out a full seven or eight scrolls shining with different magical lusters from hidden pockets in his chest, cuffs, belt, and other places! These scrolls were clearly not stored in a storage space, but were life-saving items he carried with him at all times out of extreme caution!

"Hum!" "Hum!" "Hum!"...

A series of humming sounds of magical shields unfolding rang out! The pale golden "Sacred Barrier," the azure "Water Curtain Heavenly Flower," the earthy yellow "Earth Protection," the milky white "Light Hymn"... All kinds of magical shields with different attributes, one layer covering another, were like huge magical flowers blooming instantly, wrapping William tightly inside!

The innermost layer was a body-clinging light film, the middle was an elemental shield, and the outermost was a thick energy barrier. These scrolls were at least epic-grade, and two of them even emitted a faint dark golden light, suspected to have reached the threshold of legendary-grade! Their defensive power was strong enough to withstand the bombardment of top powerhouses dozens of times!

This scene left even Lin Muyang speechless. This guy... just how afraid of death is he? Carrying so many high-level defense scrolls on his person, and all in places he could reach easily? This foresight was simply outrageous. His Sub-God Rank Talent "High-Spirited Battle Intent," which required confidence to exert its power, was simply casting pearls before swine on a person with this kind of personality.

However, just as William looked at the layers of shields around him, flowing with brilliance and seemingly indestructible, and a sense of security just rose in his heart, and he even began to calculate how to use these shields to buy time and take out more powerful trump cards to counterattack or negotiate —

The change happened again!

The hundreds of Blood Shadow Flying Daggers that arrived in a burst, the moment they were about to hit the outermost shield, more than 90% of them actually "passed through" the layers of glowing magical shields like phantoms! Those shields seemed not to exist at all and had no blocking effect on these Blood Shadow Flying Daggers!

"What?!" The blood on William's face drained instantly, and his pupils shrank to needle points due to extreme horror! Penetrating shields? How is this possible?! In Blue Star's existing skill, talent, and equipment systems, there had never been an attack method that could directly penetrate energy shields! Even for so-called true damage, it still needs to hit the target, and the energy shield itself is part of the target, which would be consumed and broken, but it is absolutely impossible to be "penetrated" on such a large scale as if ignored!

This is unreasonable! This violates common sense!

In the moment his thinking almost stopped, the ninety-plus Blood Shadow Flying Daggers that had penetrated the shields had already shot precisely at his body like piranhas that smelled blood! The target was clear — the heart!

William was, after all, a level 193 powerhouse, and his physical body had been tempered and attribute-strengthened countless times, making it incredibly strong. At the last moment, he roared and desperately mobilized the remaining power in his body (although it was weakened by 97%, the base was huge), and a metallic bronze luster appeared on his skin surface, muscles bulging, as he tried to take it head-on.

"Puff!" "Puff!" "Puff!"...

A series of dull thuds of sharp weapons entering flesh rang out! Although William's physical defense was extremely high, Seraphina's "Blood Shadow Flying Dagger" had a "cutting" special effect, which had an additional damage bonus against high-defense units, and this attack was a full-power burst that had been accumulated for a long time. The first dozen or so flying daggers were forcibly deflected by his strong body or stuck in his muscles and bones, but the subsequent continuous stream of daggers, like hot knives cutting through butter, easily broke through his last defense and deeply penetrated his chest!

Excruciating pain! Heart-tearing, lung-splitting pain instantly swept through William's whole body! He could clearly feel that his heart, which had been strengthened countless times and was tougher than fine gold, was like a punctured water bag under the continuous penetration and cutting of several Blood Shadow Flying Daggers, instantly becoming riddled with holes, and then shattering.

Blood mixed with shattered heart tissue overflowed from the corners of his mouth. He looked down, looking in disbelief at the blood bubbling out of his chest, carrying an eerie dark red color, and feeling his vitality flowing away rapidly like a floodgate opening.

Even with his level 193 physique, a shattered heart was definitely a fatal wound! If there was no top-tier priest to immediately cast resurrection or rebirth-type forbidden spells, he would surely die! And even if there was one, immediate treatment was needed; if delayed for a moment, the soul might start to dissipate.

"No... I don't want to die... I can't die..." Boundless fear like a cold tide instantly submerged all his calculations, Disguises, and ambitions. What "Oracle" organization, what Sub-God Rank Talent, what grand plans and hegemony, all became so ridiculous and unworthy of mention in the face of death.

"God... My God! I was wrong! I was really wrong!!" William could no longer care about his image or dignity. He knelt down heavily again with a "thump," this time with both knees on the ground, tears and snot flowing, and screamed at Lin Muyang with all his strength: "Save me!! Please! Spare my life! I am willing to tell you everything! Tell you everything! I am the Gods Chosen One! I am the real Gods Chosen One! William Preston is a fake name! My real name is..."

He was incoherent, just wanting to exchange the most important secret for a glimmer of life.

However, Lin Muyang just watched him quietly, his eyes indifferent, as if looking at prey struggling to die in a trap, without the slightest movement.

"Give him a few more daggers." Lin Muyang said lightly, his voice not loud, but like the judgment of the Grim Reaper.

The glimmer of hope that had just risen on William's face because of his "confession" instantly froze, and then turned into complete despair and pallor.