104: General? Oh, my trump card is "dishonesty"!

[Heavenly Realm · Hall of Ten Thousand Demons' Council]

The lingering power of the soul-freezing Gaze of the End had not yet dissipated.

Gu Yanci sat unmoving like a mountain on the supreme throne, impervious to all disturbances.

He rested his chin on one hand, his eyes half-closed, as if he had fallen into a deep slumber.

Inside the council hall.

The hundreds of once arrogant evil gods were now like startled quails, each one bowing their heads submissively, not daring to breathe.

With the most humble posture, they bowed and exited the hall that made their souls tremble.

The vast council hall soon only had the five members of the Joint Squad and the Kuji Demon General, who had stood like a statue below the throne from beginning to end.

"Lord of the End, this old servant takes his leave."

A complex light, which no one could comprehend, flashed in the Kuji Demon General's cloudy old eyes.

Then, he silently melted into the shadows.

The entire world fell silent.

Ye Liuli and the others looked at the figure on the throne who seemed to have fallen asleep.

Their eyes were filled with an unspeakable shock and a hint of worry.

The thrilling "Ten Thousand Demons' Grand Assembly" they had just experienced was no less than dancing an entire routine on the tip of a knife.

Gu Yanci's divine "montage-style lie" and his overbearing "Gaze of the End" completely subverted their understanding of "acting."

But at the same time, they acutely noticed that the indifferent and deathly aura belonging to the Lord of the End on Gu Yanci was becoming increasingly Rich.

He was being rapidly eroded by that terrifying divinity... [Gu Jianghan · Consciousness Divine Kingdom]

This was a dimension constructed from pure "thought" and "concept."

There was no sky, no ground, only endless chaos and churning nebulae.

And at the center of this chaos, a gigantic chessboard, woven from "causality" and "destiny," floated.

On the chessboard, the Heavenly and Human Realms, mountains and rivers, cities and nations.

This chessboard was, astonishingly, a perfect miniature of the World of Evil!

At both ends of the chessboard sat two vastly different "Gu Jianghan."

On one side was Gu Jianghan of Humanity.

He wore casual modern clothes and had a lollipop in his mouth.

He was sitting with his legs crossed, looking at the chessboard with a cynical expression, like a college student pulling an all-nighter at an internet cafe, casually commenting on the world.

By his hand, several glowing chess pieces were placed.

One was the Human Emperor, Chen Yuan, clad in tattered armor, with an unyielding flame burning in his eyes.

One was the Holy Sword, Zhang Wei, transformed into a magnificent holy sword, its blade surrounded by three-colored halos of "joy, anger, and sorrow."

There were also four pieces, representing Ye Liuli, Ling Xi, Cang Xuan, and Ye Qiong, shrouded in the aura of "evil gods."

And at the other end of the chessboard.

The "person" sitting there was Gu Jianghan of Divinity.

He wore a pure white robe symbolizing absolute rationality, his face expressionless, and his eyes as hollow as two stars on the verge of heat death.

His posture was always a perfect ninety degrees.

Every breath he took was as precise as the most accurate atomic clock in the universe.

By his hand, countless chess pieces were also placed.

There were various "evil god" pieces representing the gods of the Heavenly Realm.

There were densely packed "mortal" pieces, like dust, representing the myriad beings of the Human Realm.

And there was one piece, placed separately by him, emanating a strong scent of blood and greed: the "City Lord" piece.

"I say, old fossil."

Gu Jianghan of Humanity tapped the chessboard with the lollipop stick, breaking the silence first.

"At the start of this game, my 'Yanci' player performed quite well, didn't he?"

"With one move of 'Impure World Reincarnation' and 'Eloquent Speech,' he directly stunned your motley crew."

"How about it, do you admit that your so-called 'optimal solution' is sometimes not as good as a little 'on-the-spot improvisation'?"

What he was referring to was the "Ten Thousand Demons' Grand Assembly" that had just concluded.

Gu Jianghan of Divinity didn't even lift an eyelid.

He merely extended a long, pale, artistic finger and gently plucked a "rule" string on the chessboard.

A line of cold data instantly appeared above the chessboard.

[Target: Gu Yanci. Divinity Erosion: 12.7%. Mental Stability Threshold: -8.3%. Conclusion: Significant short-term gain, greatly increased long-term risk. An irrational gamble.]

"Tch."

Gu Jianghan of Humanity pouted.

"I knew you'd bring up data. If life were all about data, what would be the point? Besides, the higher the risk, the greater the reward!"

Saying that, he proudly pushed the chess piece representing the Human Emperor, Chen Yuan, forward one space.

"Look at this piece of mine, how about it? After being rubbed on the ground by your 'evil gods' for a hundred thousand years, the fire in his heart was almost extinguished."

"But what happened? At an old friend's grave, he heard a broken children's song, and boom, 'my youth is back!'"

"A hundred-thousand-year-old iceberg, melting just like that. This kind of illogical 'variable' must be 'error'ing in your supercomputer-like brain, isn't it?"

Gu Jianghan of Divinity finally raised his eyes.

His unblinking eyes glanced at the Human Emperor piece, which had reignited its flame.

Then, in a tone of stating facts, he calmly said:

"Emotion is the least efficient and most unstable form of energy. Its momentary explosive power cannot compensate for its structural flaws in the logical chain."

"This variable has been recorded. Correction plan initiated."

As his voice fell.

He extended his finger and lightly tapped the chess piece representing the City Lord of Blackrock City.

Buzz—!

Above the chessboard.

In the miniature "Blackrock City," the location of the City Lord's mansion was instantly enveloped by a dense bloody light!

Countless black chess pieces representing "City Guards" surged from all directions like a tide, surrounding the entire City Lord's mansion, making it impenetrable!

"Activate the blood sacrifice array. Seal the entire city. Eliminate all unstable factors."

Gu Jianghan of Divinity said coldly.

"According to the deduction, the probability of the Human Emperor, Chen Yuan, choosing to stop the blood sacrifice is 99.8%. The probability of him successfully breaking into the City Lord's mansion is 73.4%. The probability of him successfully stopping the blood sacrifice is... 0.01%."

"Damn it!"

Gu Jianghan of Humanity couldn't help but curse.

"You, aren't you playing fair? Just flipping the table?"

"This isn't flipping the table."

Gu Jianghan of Divinity corrected.

"This is 'formatting' your 'variable' before it causes irreversible damage to the entire game. This is the most efficient and reasonable way to handle it."

"Reasonable, my foot!"

Gu Jianghan of Humanity bit his lollipop, making a "crunching" sound.

He looked at the Human Emperor piece, which was heavily surrounded on the chessboard, his brows tightly furrowed.

He knew that what Divinity said was true.

With Chen Yuan's current meager strength, let alone stopping the blood sacrifice, he probably wouldn't even be able to touch the gate of the City Lord's mansion.

"Tsk, what a pain..."

He scratched his head, looking troubled.

But soon, a cunning light flashed in his eyes.

"Who said my 'Emperor' is fighting alone?"

Saying that, he extended his finger and gently tapped the edge of the chessboard.

With his action.

The four "evil god" chess pieces, which he had always placed in the Heavenly Realm area, simultaneously emitted a faint light!

The light, like four invisible threads, crossed the boundary between heaven and earth, precisely landing on the Human Emperor, Chen Yuan's chess piece!

On the chessboard, the situation changed dramatically!

Around the Human Emperor piece, which had originally fallen into a desperate situation, four phantoms composed of different "laws" suddenly appeared!

One was a shadow filled with "lies" and "betrayal."

One was starlight foreshadowing "despair" and "destiny."

One was a chain symbolizing "contract" and "fragmentation."

One was a dagger representing "assassination" and "backstabbing."

"'Evil' is not pure destruction."

Gu Jianghan of Humanity grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Lies can be used to expose uglier truths."

"Despair can be used to warn of impending danger."

"Betrayal can be used to break free from evil shackles."

"Assassination can be used to end tyrannical rule."

"Old man, you only see the superficial appearance of 'evil,' but you have never understood the essence of 'evil.' It, like 'good,' is only a part of 'Humanity,' only a 'tool.'"

"And a tool depends on whose hands it is in."

Saying that, he proudly pushed forward the chess piece representing the God of Mysterious Lies and Betrayal, Ye Liuli!

On the chessboard, the shadow of "lies" instantly whispered something into the Human Emperor piece's ear.

[Divine Oracle: Be careful of that City Lord. His sacrifice is not offered to the God of Gluttony. Instead, it is a key to open the gate of ending using the resentment of millions of living beings.]

In Gu Jianghan of Divinity's eyes, which had been unchanging for ten thousand years, a barely perceptible ripple appeared for the first time.

..."Beyond calculation."

He looked at the "divine oracle" sent down by Ye Liuli, falling into three seconds of silence.

"Acting as an 'evil god' to perform 'support.' Logical paradox. Motive for action, unresolvable."

"Haha! Unresolvable is right!"

Gu Jianghan of Humanity laughed even more heartily.

"Because this is 'Humanity'! The most illogical and unpredictable thing!"

"Now, it's your turn. My 'Human Emperor' has already obtained the 'walkthrough.' Is your impregnable City Lord's mansion still so secure now?"

Gu Jianghan of Divinity did not answer.

He merely slowly raised his head, his hollow eyes meeting Gu Jianghan of Humanity's gaze for the first time.

"You seem to have forgotten something."

His voice was still so cold, devoid of any emotion.

"On the chessboard, the strongest piece is not the Human Emperor."

"But..."

He extended his finger and gently tapped the chess piece representing the Lord of the End, Gu Yanci.

—"Him."

"Every time you use the power of the Joint Squad to interfere with the game, you accelerate his erosion by the 'Lord of the End' divinity."

"You think you are helping the Human Emperor."

"In reality, you are just constantly feeding the 'beast' sleeping within him."

"When he is completely eroded and becomes the true Lord of the End."

Gu Jianghan of Divinity slowly moved the "Lord of the End" piece to the center of the chessboard.

A "check" position.

"You, along with all the pieces in your hand, will..."

—"Cease to exist."

The smile on Gu Jianghan of Humanity's face instantly froze.

He looked at the "Lord of the End" piece, which was emitting an increasingly terrifying aura, and for the first time, felt a chill from the bottom of his heart.

He knew that Divinity's statement was correct.

This was the true "dead end" of this chess game.

Every move he made, seemingly breaking the situation, was actually pushing himself into a deeper abyss.

"So what?"

After a brief silence, Gu Jianghan of Humanity grinned again.

Only this time, his smile contained a hint of madness and determination.

"Until the last moment, who wins and who loses is still uncertain!"

"What I like to do most is..."

—"Comeback from behind!"