Chapter 299: Appearance
It was precisely due to this disregard for human lives that they became apprehensive. This time it was a million people; next time it might be a hundred million; and the time after that, it might well involve all of humanity.
Yet, despite all the wrangling, no one of sufficient standing was willing to take the lead, to risk their lives to form an alliance against Bai Mo. No living soul harbored such deep-seated hatred for him.
There were only two to three hundred Five Tiers in the entire world. They could easily be identified through elimination. Once targeted, one might well suffer the same fate as Maysuo. Thus, major organizations continued to pursue a policy of appeasement towards him, tolerating but not cooperating.
While carefully observing the White-Haired Witch and Chris Ding, Gondor also kept a significant portion of his attention on the ruby in his pocket. Although he was certain the gem itself couldn't pose any threat to him, as if he could casually give himself a cut without consequence, he nonetheless kept it under his strictest scrutiny.
Looking at the two women before him, Gondor reconsidered and ultimately abandoned the idea of activating the defensive grand array.
The Witch herself was not a believer of the Luminous Holy Church, and while the grand array could indeed crush her, according to the intelligence he possessed, she always used an avatar formed from a single strand of hair when carrying out missions. Killing it would be meaningless, and would only waste the accumulated power of the grand array.
"What a small world. To think I'd run into an acquaintance again." Just as the few individuals were locked in tense confrontation, a voice broke the silence.
A crimson light emerged from Gondor's chest, moving to stand between them. Then, a miniature rune array appeared within the red light, growing steadily larger. In less than five seconds, it expanded from its initial coin-sized form to become a colossal magic array with a radius exceeding five meters.
Once the complex array stabilized in size, it began to spin rapidly. As the rotation continued, the three individuals present could all sense that something was about to emerge from the array.
As for the other two women, prompted by the phrase "acquaintance," they chose not to launch an attack at that moment, instead standing in their respective corners, quietly observing the developing situation.
However, Gondor had clearly overthought things. How could Bai Mo possibly use such a slow and unstable method to transmit his own body? This was merely an experiment, testing whether he could remotely project a portion of his power through the array as a medium.
Even if the experiment failed, his only loss would be a bit of Spirit Energy.
The three watched as a white sphere of light gradually materialized from within the array, accompanied by the flickering of white flames. The power contained within it slowly escalated from negligible to a level that subtly startled even them, prompting them to instinctively prepare their defenses.
In Chris Ding's hand, a terrifying energy sphere, wrapped in runes and ready to be detonated at any moment, appeared. Meanwhile, the tip of the White-Haired Witch's rapier crackled with arcs of electricity.
The sphere of light slowly sculpted itself into a human form under the carving of the white flames. Once the radiant figure fully materialized, the array beneath it vanished without a trace.
"Hello," the Bai Mo projected by the array greeted them, simultaneously assessing the power within his current form.
"Who are you?" the two women asked in unison. Their memories held no record of such an "acquaintance." Faced with this unknown entity, they did not relax their guard in the slightest.
"Ten years ago, I very nearly killed you," Bai Mo said, looking at Chris Ding's bracelet. "Wouldn't you agree, guest from another world?"
"You're Bai Mo!" Upon hearing those words, Chris Ding immediately reacted. "You dare show yourself here? Aren't you afraid of being suppressed forever?!"
Facing this enemy, whose growth in power was even more terrifying than her own, she barely managed to restrain her desire for revenge. Ten years ago, if Wu Zhi in her bracelet hadn't used her remaining power to move her away a second sooner, that single palm strike would have directly killed her.
As a price, the soul within the bracelet had slumbered for a considerable period, causing her progress during that time to fall significantly behind, so much so that her power had always been slightly inferior to Pope Gondor's.
"If my true body were to appear here, the one behind me might indeed suppress me even at the cost of his life, but this is merely a projection. He wouldn't be so foolish as to go to such lengths."
"As for you, you must be Mu Si?" Thanks to the network, Bai Mo could see his connections to every person he had ever interacted with within a certain range, ensuring he wouldn't mistake anyone.
"I never expected the person I casually saved back then would achieve such prominence today."
If it wasn't connected to his current objectives, he rarely concerned himself with international affairs, and naturally had no interest in understanding an assassin organization like Witch's Sin. If he needed someone killed, he would simply do it himself. With a multitude of avatars at his disposal, such minor matters didn't require him to rely on others.
"Someone has put a bounty on your head," Mu Si said in a cool voice. "Three billion Euros."
"Too cheap," he said, not caring in the slightest.
"Unfortunately, we can't take that job," she said, tucking a strand of her white hair behind her ear.
Bai Mo's sudden appearance completely disrupted the tense atmosphere. Chris Ding also realized that the rebellion launched today had essentially failed. She hadn't managed to defeat Gondor, and had nearly been sealed by him. Now, her only concern was how to withdraw unscathed from the pincer attack of the two individuals before her.
As for Mu Si, her hired mission was to create an opportunity to severely injure or kill Gondor; she would absolutely not fight alongside Chris Ding against an enemy. Moreover, from their earlier exchange, Chris Ding had deduced that the two were old acquaintances, and might even team up against her.
Ordinarily, apart from a very few ascetic cultivators, every strong individual of considerable standing would learn the Ten Thousand Phantoms Sutra or a modified version of it, creating anywhere from a few to hundreds of avatars to roam various places.
The avatar skill was indeed highly practical. Whether it was to avoid assassins from enemies or handle simple matters, it proved very effective, allowing more time to be saved for cultivation.
The higher one's power level, the more powerful the functions of the avatars they could create. From mere spectral scouts initially, to the avatars under Bai Mo that were already quite similar to living beings and capable of simple research, and even now, projections appearing thousands of kilometers away.
But today, Chris Ding was different. Her objective was rebellion; she had to deploy her true body, possessing her strongest power, to have any hope of defeating Gondor, who was inside the Papal Palace. Thus, she was now deeply mired and found it difficult to extricate herself.
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