CHAPTER 119: SEED OF DOUBT

The Boss Monster, Dimensional Anomaly, Leviathan—its body stretched a few hundred meters long, a true giant. Just imagining its weight made the air feel heavy.

There was no need to wonder what would happen if it fell on the entire city.

"I have to stop it!"

Jehanne gritted her teeth, standing atop the central wall section. The spear in her hand trembled. She was quite sure she couldn’t "block" such a large mass from falling on her own.

No—even if everyone helped, it wouldn’t be possible.

"Even if it means death, if I can protect Sir Tao’s settlement, then...!" Her will was so firm, there was no convincing her out of this suicidal act!

She held her spear tight, staring at the falling body above them, like a mountain falling over them.

She stretched her arm as far back as she could, holding her weapon like a javelin. Taking a step forward—hard enough to crack the wall beneath her—she gathered force until—

"MOVE!!!"

—she let all the built-up power explode, throwing the spear straight at the monster’s side.

It was a powerful throw, taking full advantage of her doubled STR stat—and overexerting her body to the point her muscles snapped from that single motion.

"Ugh...!"

Jehanne groaned as she watched the spear fly at the speed of sound before striking the Leviathan’s body.

However...

"No way..."

Even her all-out attack barely nudged its path—far from enough to stop the fall. Her eyes flickered with fear and worry as she could do nothing else but watch.

"Pathetic." But then, a voice echoed through the air, rumbling like a thunderclap. "You’re this weak, and you dare take my Emperor as your husband? Know your place!"

In the next moment, purple-black rifts opened—hundreds of them in a second—where giant hands emerged.

Hands that burned with black flames, with a rocky surface beneath that clearly wasn’t made of flesh. Definitely not a living object... but that wasn’t what mattered.

The hundreds of rock-like fists punched all at once, striking the Boss Monster’s body in unison!

BAM!

A powerful impact spread out, almost as if a ton of TNT had exploded on the spot!

A second later, from the mass of punches, the momentum, and the force, the entire body flew further away, following an arc, before finally landing.

BOOOOM!

Dust rose as it crashed. The earth trembled for a moment—like a brief earthquake had just passed.

"..."

Jehanne couldn’t believe her eyes.

The massive body that her full-power attack couldn’t budge had been pushed over a hundred meters away from the outer walls! And despite its size, not a single structure had been damaged—at least, not directly.

A second later, a shadow loomed above Jehanne. A figure she had seen only briefly, but who had left a strong impression—the newly summoned UR character, Wu Zetian.

Like a Queen, she looked down on Jehanne, opening her slightly torn folding fan to cover her lips. Her eyes radiated ridicule and hatred, but she didn’t bother saying another word.

She turned with disdain, her figure gliding through the air—gone within moments, like a passing storm.

"I..."

Jehanne’s expression darkened.

Zetian’s words struck a nerve, making Jehanne question herself. Almost reflexively, her eyes fell on the ring over her left hand... Her emotions stirred, her eyes blurred—but she bit her lips, holding the tears back.

’No...’ She shook her head. ’I will never leave my husband just because of what others say!’

She swore to herself: unless Xu Tao told her directly that he didn’t want her by his side anymore, she would remain there—by choice, and by fate.

🔷🔷🔷

Normally, monsters would turn into Loot Boxes within seconds. Even flying monsters would transform before hitting the ground. So it was strange that the Boss Monster remained a "corpse" until after it fell.

The reason?

"UGH!"

A hand poked out of the giant monster’s head, feeling around for anything to grab. But all it touched was a smooth surface, causing it to slowly slide back down.

GRAB!

Before it could fall, a delicate hand reached in, grabbing it and pulling it free.

"...!"

The one who was pulled out was none other than Xu Tao. His body was covered in burns, his Qi almost depleted, and his clothes were nearly all but gone.

The Healing Pill? It barely lasted half the journey during his escape from the alternate space inside the boss monster’s body. It had long lost efficacy before he even reached the "entrance" again.

He would have had to take another—if not for the one who caught him in time.

"My Emperor, you have suffered."

The one who saved him, Wu Zetian, smiled sweetly as she pulled Xu Tao into her embrace, planting his face right between her bosom—just like during their first interaction.

This time, however, there was no bunny to pull them apart. Xu Tao was also too weakened to struggle, so he could only resign himself to his fate.

"...!"

Before he could complain, his body began to glow in a purple light—now basically Zetian’s signature color. The wounds he had sustained during his escape rapidly healed. Even his tattered clothes, which looked like rags, returned to their original condition in the blink of an eye!

"A mysterious recovery technique even I haven’t heard of..." Xu Tao whispered in awe.

As someone who once stood at the peak of the cultivation world, discovering a technique he didn’t recognize was a blow to his pride. But more than that, he was thrilled at the chance to learn something new.

Using his sixth sense, he observed how Zetian’s energy flowed as she cast the technique, committing everything to memory.

POOF!

Before she finished, however, the boss monster’s body vanished, replaced by a gigantic loot box. At the same time, a popup window appeared in his darkened vision, making him sigh in relief.

[Detecting a Boss Monster Kill.]

[Giving Reward: 1 Large Loot Box, 5000 System Points]

[Congratulations! You have successfully repelled the third wave!]

[World Restoration Progress increased by 0.05% (Current: 0.09%)]

[⚠ WARNING! ⚠ WARNING! ⚠ WARNING! ⚠]

[Detected interference in the Third Wave Timer’s logic. Detected interference in the Third Wave’s monsters. Applying patch... Complete. Calculating counterbalance for the next wave’s timer...]

[Next wave is coming in 720:00:00...]

As soon as he read the notifications, Xu Tao gasped.

’720 hours? That’s a full month!’

They got a more lenient timer for the next wave!