yasinovel Chapter 491, Page 500: The Reignition of the World
Chapter 491, Page 500: The Reignition of the World
Chapter 491, Page 500: The Reignition of the World
Say something.
Even if one is unwilling to believe the facts.
But Kag had to admit that Ian had not only pointed out the problem, but also provided a solution, and the solution sounded—damnly reasonable!
It was even more ingenious than the insights that Kag himself had pondered for many years!
"How could this happen?" Kag stood there dumbfounded, his mind blank, as if his soul had been struck by a thunderbolt from the heavens.
Even my thoughts stopped working.
His opponent—not only learned his decades-long swordsmanship in that brief, appalling exchange—he completely understood, mastered, and—surpassed his swordsmanship at a level he could never have imagined! Yes, he not only learned all the moves!
He gained a deeper understanding of the principles behind each move, its hidden weaknesses, and the potential for optimization! He could even stand at a perspective that he himself had never reached!
Then, he "annotated" and "upgraded" all that he had learned in his life!
This can no longer be described as "extraordinary talent" or "combat genius".
This is simply an inhuman, almost rule-based ability to learn and analyze! It is a despairing chasm between ordinary wisdom and extraordinary wisdom!
A chilling and despair far deeper and more penetrating than facing death or being annihilated by legendary magic, like icy venom, instantly filled Kag's heart and flowed to his limbs and bones.
"I—I—I..." His hand, gripping the almost numb greatsword, trembled slightly uncontrollably, not from the physical reaction of exhaustion, but from the deepest part of his soul, a feeling that came from the utter shattering of his worldview and the uprooting of his beliefs.
An uncontrollable tremor and helplessness.
The combat skills he had honed over decades, the skills he had acquired with his life amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, the swordsmanship soaked in blood, sweat, and an indomitable will—in the eyes of this mysterious young man, were probably just a rudimentary introductory textbook, something he could casually flip through, understand in an instant, and even revise and optimize with great interest.
This gap—this fundamental difference—makes even the thought of “catching up” or “challenging” seem so ridiculous and absurd.
Kag lost his voice; his throat felt as if it had been sanded, so dry and hoarse that he could barely utter a complete syllable. He could only squeeze out two words filled with extreme shock and bewilderment from between his teeth.
"You—you—"
Kag really didn't know what to say.
Just as Kag was stunned into silence by the upheaval of his understanding, his hand gripping the greatsword trembling slightly, almost unable to hold the weapon that had accompanied him for half his life, Saruman, who had been frozen in place due to shock, fear and mental turmoil, finally seized this brief respite in the battle.
"Stop! Kag! Stop!" He jolted awake, realizing this might be his last chance! He couldn't let Kag provoke this terrifying being who might be "Merlin" any longer!
Who knows if the other party will lose interest in "learning" in the next second, or feel that the "sample" has been squeezed dry and will be disposed of casually!
"Kag! Stop!!" Saruman screamed with all his might, rushing forward to stand between the nearly exhausted Kag and Ian. He spread his arms to shield Kag behind him, his face pale and his legs weak, but his eyes held a resolute determination to go all out.
of course.
This resolute determination is not a battle.
All I saw was...
Saruman swiftly tossed the high-quality staff he was holding to the ground, then ripped off several bulging bags of magical materials from his waist, along with a few valuable-looking storage rings, and placed them at his feet. He even took out the precious notebook containing a partial interpretation of "Raven's Relics" from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then placed it on the ground as well.
Having done all this, he took a deep breath, forced himself to look into Ian's cold, all-seeing eyes, and said in as clear a voice as possible, respectfully, even with a hint of humble pleading, "Your Excellency Prince! Please—please calm your anger!"
"My companion acted impulsively and had no intention of offending us! We—we surrender! We offer all our possessions, our knowledge, and this meager loyalty! We only beg you—we only beg you to forgive our ignorant offense and give us—give us a way out!"
Saruman's voice was distorted with tension, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He no longer cared whether the other party needed these "offerings," nor did he care about the pride of a wizard. Faced with absolute power and incomprehensible wisdom, survival was the primary concern. He even planned that if the other party was not satisfied, he could offer a part of his own soul as collateral for the contract.
As long as—as long as we can survive, as long as we can protect Kag and Lina.
"Saruman! What have you done?!"
Awakened by Saruman's actions, Kag looked at his companion's slender yet resolute back as he stood in front of him, and at the items on the ground that represented Saruman's life's work and the fruits of his adventures. A complex mix of emotions welled up inside him: shame, gratitude, but mostly the lingering sense of powerlessness and bewilderment he felt when facing Ian.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found that he couldn't say anything at all.
"??????"
Ian watched Saruman's series of fluid "surrender maneuvers" and the pile of junk on the ground that he found unremarkable.
Of course, Ian was still very interested in things related to ravens, but this did not prevent a very subtle hint of confusion from appearing on his usually cold face.
He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to understand the other person's logic. A few seconds later, he calmly asked in a tone that clearly showed his confusion.
"What are you doing?"
Ian is not the kind of person who would take advantage of others.
This is true, at least when reason is involved.
Upon hearing this, Saruman was taken aback, thinking his sincerity was insufficient or that the other party was mocking him. He quickly became even more earnest, saying, "Your Excellency! We have no intention of being your enemy, much less pry into your secrets! We are merely adventurers who have strayed into this place, only seeking a way out and to heal our companions! Kag—he's just a reckless warrior; if he has offended us, it's all my fault! Kill or torture him, come at me! I only beg you to spare him and Lina!"
His words were rapid and urgent, filled with a desperate will to survive.
Ian listened, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He glanced at the pile of "offerings" on the ground, then at Saruman's resolute yet desperate attempt to protect his companions, and then at Kag behind him, looking utterly dejected and barely able to hold his weapon—he could only sigh.
"Of course I know what you're trying to do," Ian said slowly, in a tone that was almost a statement of fact, but also carried a hint of "Are you guys out of your minds?"
"So, I just want to tell you—"
He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts for more direct language.
"Here," he gestured to the twisted, writhing patches of color and chaotic energy flows around him, "it's dangerous. Very dangerous. Not a place for people of your level—well, not a place for you."
He looked at the lingering fear and confusion on Saruman and Kag's faces and added to the discussion.
"As for what you're imagining—" "silencing," "cleaning up," "humiliating" — Ian's tone carried an almost imperceptible hint of speechlessness.
"You guys overreacted and just imagined a lot of things." Clearly, Ian had used Legilimency again, and he shrugged, making a somewhat helpless gesture.
Then, seemingly to strengthen his persuasiveness, he actually—spun around in a circle?
Yes, right there in this strange, dangerous spacetime rift filled with the dreams of the Great Old Ones, the unfathomable young legend, like a harmless child showing off, simply turned around and "revealed" the front, side, and back of his black robe.
It's as if it's saying: Look, I'm not hiding anything, I'm just pulling out a weapon to kill you all.
After spinning around, he stopped, his eyes, now cold again, looking at the completely bewildered Saruman and Kag, and asked in an almost self-righteous tone, "Look—"
"Do I look like a bad person?"
Saruman:
Kag:
'
The expressions on their faces quickly shifted from extreme fear, despair, and pleading to blankness, bewilderment, and a strong sense of absurdity, as if their worldviews had been subjected to a second shock.
The air seemed to freeze.
Only the indescribable patches of color in the distance continued to writhe silently, emitting low, unreadable murmurs.
Saruman's brain was practically fried. He struggled to process Ian's words.
Danger — Warning — We fill in the blanks — Stress response — Doesn't seem like a bad guy —
So—from the very beginning, was the other party simply warning them of danger? Did Kag misunderstand their "warning" look and words, thinking they were going to kill them, and then attack first? And the other party just—casually took a move and incidentally—learned a sword?
What made them feel suffocated by the "learning crush" process might just be seen by the other party as a spur-of-the-moment, somewhat interesting "extracurricular activity"?
This realization was even more difficult for them to accept than the idea that the other party was a cruel legend. A complex mix of emotions—absurdity, lingering fear, and a faint sense of relief—surged in their hearts.
"Uh—" Saruman's throat went dry, and he cautiously began to speak, "Your Excellency—you mean—you don't intend—to deal with us?"
"deal with?"
Ian raised an eyebrow. "Why should I deal with you? You weren't blocking my way, nor did you do anything that really threatened me. I was just passing by and saw a few people who had obviously wandered into the wrong film set, so I kindly reminded them." He said it so casually, as if he were saying "the weather is nice."
Kag's attacks were clearly not a threat to him.
and.
He also benefited greatly.
""
Saruman and Kag exchanged a glance, both seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes: What were we afraid of before? And what were we fighting so desperately for?
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment, tinged with a sense of exhaustion from surviving a close call.
"So it turns out we misunderstood." Having confirmed that this mysterious legend truly meant no harm, or rather, didn't even consider them "something to be malicious about," Saruman's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. But his doubts only deepened.
What exactly is this place? Why would this ancient being, who resembles Merlin, describe it as "extremely dangerous"? Why must even he treat it with caution?
Thinking this, he mustered his courage and asked in a more respectful but less fearful tone, "Lord Prince, please forgive my intrusion—you said this place is very dangerous—what exactly is this place? We seem to have entered a—completely different space—through that magic circle?"
Saruman did not ask if the other party meant Merlin.
Since the other party is using a different name.
He certainly couldn't make a fool of himself.
"Huh? You actually dared to come in without even knowing where this place is?" Ian glanced at Saruman, thought for a moment, and seemed to think that it wouldn't hurt to explain. Anyway, these guys didn't look like they could escape, and knowing the truth might make them behave and not run around causing trouble.
So he raised his finger and pointed to the direction where the space was deeper and darker, as if there was an invisible suction force coming from it, and began to explain in a calm tone.
"This is the innermost layer of R'lyeh," or rather, the gap where the dream of that sleeping being intersects with reality. "We're still within the boundaries of R'lyeh, just deeper, closer to that thing," Ian explained in the simplest terms.
"That thing?"
Saruman's heart skipped a beat.
He recalled the inscription on the stone tablet and the name Ian had mentioned when he spoke to himself earlier.
"Cthulhu".
Ian stated the name directly, his voice flat and monotone, as if he were talking about a neighbor: "An ultimate life form that existed from the very beginning of the universe, or even earlier. In terms you can understand—well, it's probably the kind of thing that can sleep for hundreds of millions of years."
"It's bigger than a mountain, and as for its appearance—just think of the most disgusting deep-sea creatures you can imagine, like a giant octopus mixed with a rotting starfish, plus some indescribable geometric structures and some indescribable parts that could drive you crazy at any moment. That's about it."
Ian's words were concise and to the point.
Saruman listened, completely stunned. The ultimate life form? The very beginning of the universe? Larger than a mountain? A hybrid of deep-sea creatures? This description—it sounds...so terrifying!
Of course, this statement also inexplicably fits his incomprehensible and blasphemous imagination of the "Great Old Ones" already recorded on the stone tablet.
"So—" Saruman's voice was hoarse, "You—you came here for—"
"Of course, it's for world peace, love, and justice!! Let's take care of it while it's still asleep and in bad shape." Ian said with righteous indignation!
He made no mention of his own predicament, but instead crafted his persona: "It's too dangerous, so I came. I had to come for the sake of this world. Either I succeed or I fail, once and for all, to save it from the trouble of it waking up one day or its minions causing trouble."
Ian Williamson straightened up a bit.
Saruman and Kag were once again speechless with shock. Eliminate—a potentially cosmic-level, ultimate life form capable of distorting spacetime even in its slumber? Coming from Ian's mouth, it sounded as effortless as going out to hunt a goblin. What kind of strength and—mindset—could that be?
Just as Saruman was reeling from the shock of this extraordinary goal, and Kag was still processing the fact that his swordsmanship had been "learned"—
"Ugh—Ugh—" A faint groan, filled with indescribable pain, broke the subtle and eerie atmosphere.
The voice came from behind Kag.
It's Lina!