Under the effect of the Extraordinary power that had been pre-arranged, the massive mountain standing tall on the in this context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers. officially began to collapse and disintegrate at this moment. Amidst the continuous shaking and roaring, cracks burst open on the mountain body. Inside the mountain, the huge cave was now filled with rolling rocks, and under countless blooming fissures, the dome of the entire cave was on the verge of collapsing.
Finally, with a loud bang, the entire massive cave collapsed. Enormous rocks replaced the falling stones, crashing down. Amidst the continuous loud noises and vibrations, the cave in the mountain was completely buried. The originally vast space within the mountain was entirely filled with heavy rocks, and everything that had existed within it was completely interred.
After Frederico triggered the magic circle mechanism causing the entire cave to collapse, he immediately activated his ability, traveling through the collapsing and filling soil and rocks by phasing through walls. Under the operation of the Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument), he continued to coldly execute his mission without any emotional color, eliminating interference, searching for the thief, and recovering the crystal.
Facing the mountain cavity that was almost completely filled, Frederico activated his ability, linking himself with the entire mountain. By utilizing the amplification secretly set up within the mountain beforehand, he could perceive the condition of the entire mountain body and the vast underground area surrounding it.
Under this perception, the mountain body and the earth were like a part of Frederico himself. He could clearly know the situation within the mountain and underground in this area. This kind of perception was like a person sensing an abnormality within their own body; it was impossible to defend against using conventional "Shadow" methods.
After activating his perception, Frederico immediately gained insight into everything within the entire mountain body. In his perception, a large number of bodies of his former servants from his castle were buried in the mountain, but among these bodies, Frederico's target was not present. The thief seemed not to have died in this major collapse.
After not finding the thief's body, Frederico immediately deepened his perception to search for the thief's traces. Afterward, he indeed discovered three illusory targets within the entire mountain body moving through matter within the mountain. They were passing through the thick mountain body in different directions, attempting to reach the outside world.
After perceiving these three illusory targets, Frederico immediately judged them to be the thief and her accomplices. They must have used some method to become ethereal at the moment the mountain collapsed, thereby achieving material traversal within the mountain, hoping to escape this way. After realizing this, Frederico immediately locked onto the illusory target that most resembled the thief and pursued it, vowing to complete the order and retrieve the crystal.
As the entire mountain collapsed, Dorothy immediately used the phantom scale incense cage she had just borrowed back from Little Fox and the others not long ago. Through the connection of spirit threads, she, Adele, and Neff were all turned into dream bodies, avoiding the fate of being buried alive during the mountain collapse. Afterward, the three of them directly began to move out of the mountain in different directions, using the material traversal ability brought by their ethereal bodies. Under the influence of the instructions he had given himself, Frederico did not bother with Dorothy and Adele, but went straight to pursue Neff.
Although illusory bodies like dream bodies and spirits, like Stone Gargoyles, also possess the characteristic of traversing matter, illusory bodies cannot perceive the outside world over a large range underground and within the mountain like Stone Gargoyles can. Moreover, the speed difference between the two when moving through matter is also very large. Soon, Frederico caught up to the thief moving ahead within the mountain body!
As a Haolin Shigui, Frederico has an absolute home-field advantage within rocks. Although he cannot freely release elemental power during the process of traversing matter, other Extraordinary professions find it even more inconvenient to use their abilities. A Haolin Shigui possesses the speed and agility of a "Shadow" Extraordinary and the powerful perception of a "Lamp" Extraordinary within rocks, while other etherealized Extraordinary moving within rock layers are not only slow but also in a state of being completely blind and fumbling.
A Stone Gargoyle's ability to traverse matter is not by etherealizing itself but through a special materialization, so he can easily shatter any ethereal body through Spirituality attachment, while an ethereal body cannot do anything against him.
After continuously moving at high speed, Frederico directly caught up to the escaping thief. Then, while still within the soil and rocks, he raised his warhammer high and smashed it fiercely towards the ethereal thief ahead. In the eyes of the mechanized Frederico, the ethereal thief should have been directly smashed into pieces without any warning. However, the actual situation greatly exceeded his calculations.
Facing Frederico's direct attack, the thief within the soil and rocks actually began to dodge! With an extreme dodge, the ethereal thief avoided the surprise attack originating from within the rocks, escaping the fate of being shattered.
If such a situation occurred and Frederico had not mechanized his consciousness, he would probably have been greatly surprised, wondering what method the thief in front of him used to sense his presence within the soil and rocks. As an ethereal body, she could not conventionally use Extraordinary items or abilities. How was she able to sense him, who was launching a surprise attack?!
If it were Frederico in his normal state, he would definitely have to think carefully about this question. However, the mechanized Frederico paid no mind to this. After one attack missed, he continued to coldly execute his attacks, swinging his warhammer within the soil and rocks, constantly smashing towards the ethereal thief. But all his movements seemed to be seen through by the thief, and every strike was dodged.
Just like this, Frederico and Thief K, one the owner and one the thief, continued their cat-and-mouse game within the soil and rocks beneath the thick rock layer. The two sides thus began another standoff, one chasing and one fleeing, one attacking and one dodging. During this phase of the standoff, their positions also got closer and closer to the surface of the mountain body, gradually preparing to break free from the mountain.
Facing the thief who seemed to see through all his positions and movements, the mechanized Frederico also began to continuously adjust his attack methods and means, dynamically formulating offensive strategies according to the current battlefield situation.
For example, the mechanized Frederico interspersed various feints within his programmed attacks to catch the thief off guard. For instance, constantly changing attack angles and positions, trying to find blind spots in the thief's powerful perception ability. For instance, trying to calculate her behavioral patterns from the thief's movements, finding an opportunity to strike and put her to death.
For example, after multiple unsuccessful attempts to attack, and his own position and attacks were always completely exposed, the mechanized Frederico judged that the opponent possessed some kind of super-perception ability that could ignore his own "Shadow" concealment ability, determining that his permanent concealment mechanism was ineffective in front of the opponent. After removing it, he freed up the Spirituality and energy used to maintain the mechanism, using it to strengthen his offense.
In short, as Frederico continuously learned and adjusted with his own mechanization, his attacks on the thief became increasingly accurate and fierce, making it gradually difficult for the thief to parry even when she could see through the opponent's movements. The moments of dodging attacks became more and more thrilling, and even eventually part of her dream body was grazed. If this situation continued, the thief would soon be dealt a fatal blow by Frederico.
However, by this time, the positions of both sides were close to the edge of the mountain body, about to break free from the mountain. Although Frederico's advantage in the struggle within the mountain was growing, it was clear that neither side could determine the winner inside the mountain. But the mechanized Frederico was not flustered at all. Outside the mountain, he could also fire elemental power with full force. As long as he firmly locked onto the thief and did not lose the target, the opponent would sooner or later be killed under endless elemental bombardment.
Finally, after continued entanglement, the two sides simultaneously rushed out of the thick mountain body and into the outside world. Upon arriving outside once again, what appeared before their eyes was still not the dark in this context, the term refers to something related to wild/untamed spirits/powers. under the night sky, but the world at dawn, illuminated by the light of the eastern morning.
After returning to this world under the morning light, the thief fleeing ahead transformed from an illusory dream body back into a physical entity, while Frederico also directly spread his wings. In his eyes, mouth, and on his wings, powerful elemental power began to condense and manifest.
Just as Frederico was preparing to unleash his full firepower, his elemental perception suddenly detected a similarly powerful elemental force highly concentrated in front of him. Moreover, the type of this elemental force was surprisingly unfamiliar to him.
Raising his head, Frederico looked towards the direction where the strange elemental force was concentrated. What he saw then was a mysterious figure in the distance, illuminated by the eastern morning light, suspended in mid-air and wearing a long cloak.
That figure's hand was currently stretched forward, pointing directly at him. At the tip of its finger, a golden metallic geometric object was currently suspended. Around the front of that figure, incredibly powerful and strange elemental force was gathering in the air in a layered, ring-like manner.
With the morning light shining from behind her and the early morning breeze blowing, Dorothy raised one hand, suspending the fake Golden base in front of her eyes. A powerful magnetic field had already been constructed before her. As her eyes beneath her hood looked at the massive Haolin Shigui in the distance, she was also recalling something in her heart.
...
Not long ago, in Flotz of Faloro, inside the hotel suite where Dorothy usually stayed.
After Dorothy confirmed that her target was a Scarlet of the Dark Gold Society, she began spending time gathering information and looking for countermeasures. Her main source of information was a certain acquaintance in the Craftsmen's Guild.
"Haolin Shigui, this is the form Stone Gargoyles take after reaching Scarlet. It sounds quite difficult to deal with... Perverted-level defense... Super strong multi-element application... Can also hide substances... And can directly convert mundane wealth into combat power...
"Defense and endurance are both first-class at the Scarlet level. Offense isn't far behind, and mobility is also good... The abilities are quite practical, with strong battlefield adaptability. Overall, they are very outstanding..."
Sitting on the sofa in her suite, Dorothy looked at the text on the "wen hai hang zhi" on the coffee table in front of her, touched her chin, and spoke seriously. After thinking for a moment, she wrote her exclamation on the book page. Soon after, a printed response from Beverly appeared before her eyes.
"Yes, Haolin Shigui's frontal combat ability is very strong, especially countering various Elementalists. They don't fall behind when facing some other non-Elementalist Scarlet professions that are good at frontal combat. Their weakness is being somewhat weak when dealing with a series of interferences related to spirits, souls, and concepts, especially mental aspects. However, as I said before, they have external items to compensate for this deficiency. Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument) is very effective in dealing with mental interference. Almost every high-level'Shi' (Stone) has this thing now."
"So that means, if he has that Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument), it's almost impossible to defeat him on the mental level. The final victory... will still have to be on the physical level..." Looking at Beverly's words, Dorothy immediately wrote back in response, and Beverly also responded immediately.
"Yes, I remember when you were at Chalk, you had a way to forcibly break through Stone Gargoyles' defense on the physical level. Now that you've reached Scarlet, that ability should also be able to reach a level that threatens Haolin Shigui. So you have the ability to directly knock down Haolin Shigui on the physical level, but..."
"But what?"
"But defeating doesn't equal killing, and it doesn't equal instantly incapacitating him. Once you use that attack method, if it doesn't kill Frederico in one hit, then, injured, he will immediately sense your threat to him. His proud defense cannot perfectly protect himself.
"Based on my understanding of people from the Dark Gold Society, once they realize they are not invincible, they will immediately flee. They can instantly burrow underground to a depth of thousands of meters, making it impossible to chase them. At that time, whatever you wanted to get from them will also be taken away with them. It will probably be very difficult to get your hands on it again in the future." Beverly's response appeared on the book page before Dorothy. After reading it, Dorothy couldn't help but frown slightly, and then wrote.
"Flee immediately after realizing their defense is broken? Are they that cowardly?"
"Of course they are. These guys are in the black-hearted business, not fighting a holy war with hot blood. They all value their lives greatly. So as long as you don't kill Frederico in one hit, he will run immediately after sensing danger. You can't stop him. They've even engraved this escape mechanism into their Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument)." Beverly's words continued to appear before Dorothy. After Dorothy pondered for a moment, she wrote back in response again.
"Then I'll aim to hit his vital point directly with one shot, so he dies instantly..."
"Hit a vital point instantly? I'm afraid it's not that simple." Beverly responded like this, and Dorothy then wrote back in confusion.
"Why? Could it be that Haolin Shigui, like those 'Cup's, has also become invulnerable to vital points?"
"That's not the case. Haolin Shigui has a vital point, but it's not the usual vital points like the head... or heart. Haolin Shigui's vital point is only one, which is his'stomach'... or rather... his internal 'Baoku (Treasure House)'." Beverly responded like this. After seeing it, Dorothy frowned in confusion and continued to write.
"'Stomach'? 'Baoku (Treasure House)'? Can you explain in detail?"
"The so-called Baoku (Treasure House), is Haolin Shigui's power source. It is the organ in his body that stores all the treasures he has swallowed. The treasures swallowed by Haolin Shigui are digested here into the power that drives him, providing powerful elemental force for Haolin Shigui to fight. It is the source of Haolin Shigui's power." Beverly's words appeared one after another before Dorothy. After reading them, Dorothy immediately wrote back in response.
"Then where in his body is this 'Baoku (Treasure House)' located? If I just destroy it, I can kill the Haolin Shigui, right?"
"If you really destroy the Baoku (Treasure House), you can indeed kill a Haolin Shigui. But unfortunately, you probably won't be able to destroy the Baoku (Treasure House) in one go."
"Why?"
"Because the location of the Baoku (Treasure House) is uncertain. Haolin Shigui can reconstruct its internal structure to a certain extent, allowing its Baoku (Treasure House) to change position randomly within its body. Therefore, besides the Haolin Shigui itself, no one else can know the location of his Baoku (Treasure House)."
Beverly's neat printed handwriting appeared before Dorothy like this. After seeing it, Dorothy couldn't help but frown even deeper. After pondering for a while, she picked up her pen and began writing on the book page.
"The Baoku (Treasure House) as a vital point... its location inside the body is actually unfixed? This is a bit troublesome. If that's the case... if I want to kill Frederico in one hit, I must find where his Baoku (Treasure House) is located in his body? This is quite troublesome... By the way, can I illuminate it directly using 'Light'?"
"It's probably very difficult to forcefully illuminate it using 'Light'. Haolin Shigui is a Scarlet that complements'Shadow'. They have a lot of'Shadow' reserves. How much 'Light' do you have to consume against him? Even if your 'Light' is completely sufficient, and you exhaust his'Shadow', the information illuminated by 'Light' tools like Hui Jian Lamp normally only shows the opponent's Spirituality information at most. 'Light' tools with the ability to see through bodies and provide x-ray vision are mostly high-level items in the Church. Do you have them?"
Using a rhetorical tone, Beverly wrote back to Dorothy in response. Dorothy looked at Beverly's response, and couldn't help but fall into contemplation. After thinking for a long time, she slowly wrote back in response on the book page before her.
"Right, you mentioned before, that thing that can help Frederico resist mental interference, is called Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument), right? And the prototype was made by you?"
"Yes. This was originally our high-end product, and we sold quite a few. Frederico definitely has one. I don't know if it was one we sold that was resold to him, or if they copied it themselves. If you're thinking of focusing on this Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument), and having us help you here, I advise you to give up. Due to commercial reputation issues, we will not leave backdoors in products we sell."
Beverly wrote with some self-assurance, and Dorothy also immediately wrote back in response.
"I'm not talking about backdoors. You said before that this thing can replace the user's main consciousness to fight autonomously, and during combat, it will continuously adjust the user's combat state based on changes in the battlefield, right? It can even continuously learn during combat, adjusting the user's ability usage and reallocating Spirituality?"
"Yes, this is a very powerful function. Adaptive battlefield adjustment, this is the signature feature of our product~"
On the page of the "wen hai hang zhi", Beverly wrote with a bit of pride, while Dorothy, after thinking for a moment, continued to write back with this response.
"Then, is there such a possibility, that after the Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument) analyzes the current battlefield, it considers some Extraordinary mechanisms on the user to be redundant for the current battlefield situation, and thus chooses to cut them and transfer the resources elsewhere...
"Hmm... specifically, will the Xie Zhi Yi (Machinery Intelligence Instrument), after determining that the user's situation has been completely'seen through and grasped' by the enemy, and that continuing to maintain the concealment mechanism is useless and wasteful, choose to actively optimize away the 'useless' Extraordinary concealment mechanism, and use the freed-up resources elsewhere?"