Epoch of Twilight

With just an Earth Stomp, the clones that were within a hundred meters of Luo Yuan were wiped out instantly. Countless silvery-balls the size of green beans scattered all over the ground - making it a silver field. However, that was just the beginning for both Luo Yuan and the mutated monster.

The attack was nothing to the mutated monster which was almost a kilometer tall but it was enough to infuriate it. The mercury lake operated on its own and random vigorous whirlpools were appearing out of nowhere. Its density was as strong as steel. However, loud thuds were suddenly heard which sounded like rumbling thunder.

The creature’s massive, liquid-form body had no way to fight back. The tens of millions or even billion tons of body weight made it hard to even move. Apart from accelerating the speed of cloning, there was nothing else that it could do.

To Luo Yuan who had basically won the battle, the lake was like a fish on the chopping board. The only thing left for it was to await certain death. Meanwhile, Wu Quanru who was watching from aside had lost her mood to be impressed by what had happened. The lake’s waves were hitting her again and again. It felt like endless punches that were punching hard on her chest. In less than a second, she turned pale and there was blood coming out from her mouth.

She clenched her teeth and tried hard to hold on. The desperation had faded and there was finally a glimmer of hope that rose inside of her. She tried her very best to lift her head in an attempt to prevent it from being buried in the wave of mercury-like liquid.

With every step Luo Yuan took, he would unleash an Earth Stomp. The continuous shock was causing an earthquake with a magnitude of 4 on the Richter Scale in the district. Countless gravel fell from the top which could make the sinkhole collapse. However, Luo Yuan could not care less.

Fortunately, the fluid was very dense and had a strong adhesive property which made its fluidity very poor. With every attack by Luo Yuan, the lake shrank, fast. Eventually, it turned into piles of inactive bio-metal. Imagine if it were like water... it would be impossible to destroy this monster even if Luo Yuan died of exhaustion from his attempts to kill it.

The force that was coming from the ground gradually decreased and the coverage of Luo Yuan’s Earth Stomp became smaller. A sense of helplessness was rising in his heart.

There was a limit to the usage of Earth Stomp as it consumed both his Sense and Strength. By then, he had unleashed his power at least 50 times. He was nearing his limit, but there was still half of the mercury lake remaining. He attacked a few more times but then his heart jolted and he was detached from the Earth Pulse mode.

Luo Yuan’s body was boiling hot and his skin was red while exuding a terrifyingly high temperature. He was breathing so hard that it was as loud as a bellow. He looked in exhaustion at the lake that was still massive and then glanced at Wu Qianru who was a hundred meters away. He shook his head and was apologetic.

Perhaps the mission could not be completed after all. It would take seven hours for his Sense and Strength to recover, and by then, Wu Qianru would be dead. Noticing Luo Yuan’s expression, she was stunned. Tears were rolling down her face and she had lost her will to live. Luo Yuan noticed that and immediately said, "Wu Qianru, never give up. Please hold on, I will be back to rescue you once I recover."

Wu Qianru was hopeful again and asked, "Will you be back?"

"I will be back, there’s hope as long as you keep holding on. I forgot to tell you, I’m your new colleague. I would love to work with you!" Her hopes lit up upon hearing those words.

Although the fluidity of the lake was poor, it was in fluid form after all. It was possible that seven hours later, the lake would be restored to its original size. By then, there was nothing that he could do.

"Maybe you should do it quickly... I don’t think I can take it any longer." Wu Qianru said while trying her best to smile.

"I will be fast, much more than you can imagine." Luo Yuan said. He continued, "Let me recover first... I will be somewhere nearby where you can see me."

Wu Qianru nodded though she could not stop crying. Luo Yuan flew up into the air slowly until he was 400 meters above the ground. He picked a pothole that he could fit in on the wall and sat down. Looking at the lake beneath, he sighed. He emptied his mind, closed his eyes and started to meditate.

...

Time passed quickly and Luo Yuan woke up not knowing how long he had been meditating for. Looking at the time, he was shocked! Five hours had passed and there was only half an hour left to complete the mission. He stood up immediately and flew down at the speed of light.

The lake was in a calm state by then. Although the radius of the lake did not restore to its original size, it was at least three-quarters from it. Wu Qianru who was previously already at the edge of the lake was brought back to the middle. Her eyes were half closed and it seemed like she had fallen asleep. Her face was as pale as a piece of white paper, and the level of liquid in the lake was almost at her chest. Countless silver granules were seen on her wounds.

At that moment, Luo Yuan had accepted the mission. If it were not for the mission status that did not say anything about failure, he would think that Wu Qianru had died. Sadly, she was nowhere better and could hardly hold on any longer. He was stressed because although his Strength had been fully restored, his Sense had only recovered by two-thirds. Under such conditions, it was impossible that he could rescue Wu Qianru.

"There must be other ways!" Luo Yuan thought to himself while looking at the lake across him. Suddenly, he realized something. Although this creature was different from common creatures, they had one thing in common where they possessed a ‘soul’ of sorts. Although its level was high, Luo Yuan’s observations of its pattern and intelligence suggested that it was still primitive like a mutated bug. After all, it was evaluated as a dark-green life form by the system. There must be a fatal weakness and Luo Yuan guessed that it was its low sub-attributes. If that was the case, things would be simple. A primitive life would not be able to withstand mind control.

He subconsciously eliminated this technique as he had a love-hate relationship with it. What he loved about it was its power which was unimaginably strong where creatures without sufficient Will would not be able to handle it. What he hated about it was that the consequences were severe. The migraine that comes after it was nothing, what worried him the most was that something would happen to his four-dimensional vision. The endless, overwhelming messages in the fourth-dimensional world was nothing fun. If it was serious, it would destroy your soul or at the very least, clog your brain.

Then again, he could not care anymore. Perhaps there would not be any serious consequences if he only did it once. He rubbed his cheeks hard and took a deep breath. The sense around him was pressing against his mind at full force. Soon, there was a bulging feeling in his mind. He clenched his teeth and walked quickly to the lake while the pressing continued.

Suddenly, something happened... As the sense around him was flooding his mind like flowing water, his eyes were filled with colorful illusions. The plasma headband that was tied onto his forehead lost its effect. Out of nowhere, his mind went blank and he even lost his senses for a moment.

When he snapped out of it, he stumbled and almost fell on the ground. He was exhausted and felt like he could not fight anymore. Something mysterious seemed to happen when he lost his senses but he did not have the mood to consider that now and quickly looked back at the silver lake.

He was stunned to see that the lake was solidifying at an alarming rate. Within a few seconds, the lake had completed stopped its activity and turned into a massive piece of silver metal. There were solidified folds of waves on top of it. At last, joy was present on Luo Yuan’s face. Carrying his Zhanmadao, he staggered to Wu Qianru.