Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 422, Page Seven of the Wordless Book

time does not wait.

After deciding to stay and guide the "annihilators" to complete the mopping-up operation, the North Star team began intensive preparations.

Lieutenant General Soro was overjoyed when he learned of this from Li Meng, because apart from Uehara Yuki, who represented Sakura Inori, all the other teams had chosen to leave.

He had originally planned to abandon the city and leave, but now that the North Star team and the Sakura team were willing to stay and help, things took a turn for the better.

After the lieutenant general reported the news, even the senior senators of Solmar were quite surprised, and King Solmar himself sent a video message to express his gratitude.

"On behalf of the million people of the city, I thank your North Star Team for your help," King Soroma said on the screen. "I have mobilized the most trustworthy Ascendants and all the 'Annihilators' from the eastern region to the battlefield, and the authority to guide them will be handed over to your team. Regardless of the success or failure of the operation, you will be adequately rewarded for your assistance later."

Li Meng said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "We are fighting to protect the lives of millions of people in the city, not for personal gain. We only hope that reinforcements can arrive as soon as possible."

After the communication ended, the lieutenant general took out several specially made remote control devices and handed them to Li Meng.

They can be used to mark attack targets and ranges on-site to guide the "destroyer" in combat.

After picking up the remote control, Li Meng immediately went to meet up with the team.

He went to the temporary training ground and saw Bai Xuewu practicing guided collaboration of the [Perception Domain] with Chen Na, with Silver Fox and Yang Ran assisting them.

Due to the nature of their abilities, although the entire team stayed behind this time, only two people were truly responsible for close-range guidance: Bai Xuewu and Guan Tong.

Silver Fox and Yang Ran's abilities were not effective in this operation, so their task was simply to protect Chen Na, who was using perception instead of sight at mid-range.

Upon arriving, Li Meng noticed Guan Tong was absent and immediately asked, "Where is your captain?"

Silver Fox replied, "He said he has some things to do and will come back later."

Li Meng frowned upon hearing this. With the cult army at the city gates, what could be more important in such a critical situation?
However, he knew that Guan Tong was not an unreliable person, and that his absence at this time must mean he was making some important preparations, so he waited with the others.

Meanwhile, Guan Tong, who was left alone in the room, was indeed doing something important.

The wordless book was laid out before him, revealing the seventh page, which had yet to be written.

Although he had been working on the first few pages of content from Pinglu these past few days, he still hadn't come up with a good idea of ​​what to write on the next page.

The dilemma is that unlimited choices mean unlimited energy being scattered.

The result of wanting this and wanting that is that I can't put pen to paper for a long time.

But now the situation has changed.

He is now facing a real crisis.

This reminded him of his original intention when he wrote the previous pages—to solve the practical problems he was facing at the time.

Aside from the first page, which I didn't think much about, from the second page onwards, each page specifically addressed a particular predicament.

So why dwell on it now? The simplest, most direct, and reasonable choice is to use the power of this new chapter to deal with the current predicament.

"The biggest threat we face now comes from the brain, or the mental level."

Guan Tong pondered.

“At the level of rules, the irrational fear triggered by Scarlet Fear can cause people to die from stress, which is a psychological threat; at the level of enemies, the suspected mind controllers and parasitic transformations within the Fire Stealers Cult are also ways to control and alienate people at the psychological level... So, what I need now is all too obvious.”

He knew that what he needed now was the ability to resist psychological attacks.

Moreover, this ability should ideally be used to help others resist.

"My own mental strength has a high limit, so other people's mental attacks should not have much effect on me. But it may not be the case for my teammates or other people."

Guan Tong's heart stirred, and she suddenly took out two items.

It was given to me by Wenren Yizhi; one black and one white Go stones.

"Why can't I emulate her way of applying this ability?"

If one could share their mental creations with others to help them cope with mental threats, it would be a major breakthrough.

He had this thought because he was no longer the Guan Tong who used to travel the world alone, without any ties.

He now often collaborates with others, receiving help from them and helping others in return. It's not surprising that his new abilities, besides protecting himself, also include considering others more deeply.

Guan Tong looked at the two chess pieces in his hand, and his thoughts became clearer.

His eyes lit up quickly, and he made a decision, writing a word on the seventh page of the wordless book.

"anchor".

It's not the anchor of a ship, but the anchor of an "anchor point".

That's right, he wants to use the power of the [Wordless Book] to create a completely new mental construct.

This creation is a kind of "spiritual anchor," and as long as you hold it, you can resist or weaken attacks from the spiritual level to a certain extent.

This creation was inspired by Wenren Yizhi's "black chess piece".

Learning from the strengths of others or the effectiveness of their tools to improve one's own abilities is a strategy he has adopted for a long time.

With each stroke of the pen, a vast amount of spiritual energy is gathered and poured into the pages of the book.

The word "anchor" twisted and detached from the page. The wordless book understood Guan Tong's needs and turned his imagination into reality.

As the words left the page, Guan Tong suddenly felt a warmth in her right palm.

He opened his hand and saw a pattern of "two black triangles intersecting vertically" in his palm.

"Is this a 'spiritual anchor' that exists in the form of a totem?"

Guan Tong looked at the pattern formed by the two black triangles and thought that the "Wordless Book" was probably based on his idea of ​​"anchor points for stabilizing the mind".

It may have felt that triangles were the most stable shape, so it designed the totem pattern as two triangular patterns.

The form doesn't matter, as long as it works.

The generation of this mental anchor point consumes varying amounts of mental energy, with a minimum of one hundred points required, but no upper limit.

"It seems that the amount of generation costs determines the level of resistance of the anchor point itself."

To maximize resistance, he would naturally max out the limit, generating a little over a thousand units of mental energy.

Not just him, but several teammates will definitely need one each.

"In order to break through the magic array set up by the cultists, we have used up almost three-quarters of our reserves in the past month. We need to use the rest sparingly."

After Guan Tong finished developing the book, he put it into his pocket and prepared to head to the training ground.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Shangyuan Zi walking towards me.

"We're about to leave, I'll come and get you," she said.

"Okay." Guan Tong extended her right hand to her. "Shake hands, I have something for you."

"?" Shang Yuanzi was puzzled, but she still stretched out her left hand, took off her glove, and held Guan Tong's right hand together.

The next moment, she felt a warm sensation in the palm of her left hand. After releasing her hand, she looked down and saw a pattern of two nested black triangles on the scales of her palm.

Guan Tong breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the anchor point pattern appear: "I was worried that since your body is covered in scales, it might not work on you. Luckily, I was overthinking it."

"What is this?" Shangyuan Zi looked at the pattern curiously.

"A mental anchor used to resist or weaken mental attacks to a certain extent."

Shang Yuanzi was somewhat surprised. She and Guan Tong had been working together for quite some time and knew that this must be a new product he had come up with specifically to counter the rules and the enemy.

However, she was used to Guan Tong often taking out new things, and out of a sense of boundaries, she didn't ask any questions and put her gloves back on.

“It will form a double insurance with Wenren Yizhi’s black chess piece,” Guan Tong said. “But just to be safe, you should stay with Chen Na and the others later.”

Although Uehara Yukari is powerful, she faces many limitations in this battle.

In particular, her power to transform snake servants requires the gaze of snake eyes to activate, which is precisely what Scarlet Fear counters.

“This mental anchor pattern is black, just like your shadow,” said Uehara Yuki. “How about we call it ‘Shadow Anchor’?”

"Shadow Anchor?"

Guan Tong thought about it and thought it was pretty good. Especially since this anchor point, besides stabilizing his mind, also had a teleportation function—that is, Guan Tong could use it as a target to activate his "Shadow Shift" ability. In this way, whoever held his anchor point, he could instantly arrive next to them, which was much more convenient than before.

The two then went to the training ground, where the rest of the team were already there. Upon their arrival, Li Meng immediately informed them of the situation.

"The lieutenant general just informed us that, according to satellite reconnaissance, the main enemy force will be outside the city in less than ten minutes. Our operational plan is to ambush them in the suburbs and prevent them from entering the city. You need to set off now; the first wave of the 'Annihilator' legion will arrive on site in fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Guan Tong said. "Let's go then, I'm all ready."

Li Meng didn't ask Guan Tong what she had prepared, but repeatedly emphasized, "Remember what I said before, your lives are more important than this city. If things don't look good, abandon the mission and evacuate immediately!"

"clear."

The six people immediately set off with remote control guidance equipment.

……

"Buzzing buzzing—"

The helicopter rotors made a piercing noise, which was annoying even for passengers wearing noise-canceling headphones.

The Soroman driver glanced behind him through the rearview mirror.

He received orders to send several men to the outskirts as quickly as possible to deal with the impending attack of the cult army.

He knew very well how dangerous this was; even for a powerful Ascended Being, it meant facing imminent death.

In this situation, the fact that these foreign ascendants were still willing to fight filled him with a deep sense of respect.

In the back seat, Silver Fox seemed relatively relaxed, while Yang Ran kept muttering to himself to ease his inner fear.

Chen Na rubbed her hands together, occasionally tugging at the hem of her clothes. Her performance would be crucial in this operation, so she had to stay focused.

Bai Xuewu gently patted Chen Na's shoulder, signaling her to relax. Then she turned her head, her gaze passing over the narrow aisle to Guan Tong, who was sitting by the port window. He rested his chin on one hand, half of his face hidden in his long, flowing hair, his calm gaze fixed on the outside world, as if he were staring at a world that only he could see.

She wondered what he was thinking, as the most famous Ascendant in the world. What had been his goal all this time?
"We're almost at the landing point!" the pilot shouted. "Keep it up, guys! Make sure we beat these bastards to a pulp!"

After the helicopter landed, some Solmar soldiers were still at the scene. They blocked the road into the city with wire mesh and obstacles, and also built some bunkers.

Looking into the distance at the other end of the road, one can vaguely see the convoy of cultists advancing towards this place.

"The enemy is almost here, you guys retreat. Don't accidentally see any pictures of Scarlet Terra." Silver Fox took a walkie-talkie from a soldier. "Leave this to us."

"Alright, then it's up to you guys!"

The on-site commander led the soldiers to retreat, and soon only six people remained on the vast, wide road.

Looking at the convoy that was constantly approaching in the distance, Yang Ran said with a mournful face, "I feel so insignificant!"

"The 'Annihilator' legion is expected to be deployed to the scene within five minutes." Li Meng's voice came through everyone's earpieces. "You only need to hold out for five minutes, and then you can guide the 'Annihilators' to eliminate the enemy!"

Guan Tong said, "Everyone, come over here for a moment."

Amidst their puzzled expressions, he shook hands with each of them, providing them with a sense of emotional stability.

The group looked at the black triangle pattern that appeared in their palms and were surprised when they learned its effect. Yang Ran asked in surprise, "Captain, what kind of prop did you find in the terminal market?"

Silver Fox narrowed his eyes: "You didn't find it in the market, did you? The moment the new rules were announced, all the items in the market that could resist mental attacks were sold out. Judging from the pattern and color, it's related to Shadow. I guess it's a newly developed ability?"

Silver Fox's judgment was accurate, and Guan Tong nodded: "I guess so, so you can also call it 'Shadow Anchor'."

After speaking, he glanced at the convoy in the distance and, as the captain, began to direct the operation: "Silver Fox, Yang Ran, Shang Yuan, you and Xiao Na, get into cover. Xiao Na, you can activate your ability now. Bai Xuewu and I will use your power to stop the enemy from advancing."

"Ok!"

Under the protection of Silver Fox and the other two, Chen Na entered the bunker prepared in advance by the Solmar soldiers, closed her eyes, and activated her [Perception Domain].

With her as the center, everyone within a kilometer radius appears in her "perception map".

As she herself has stated before, this perception is not "seeing," and therefore is not affected by scarlet phobia.

"Sister Bai, Brother Guan, I'm ready. Please follow my instructions."

Bai Xuewu summoned her [Bai Xue Wu Hen] mecha, turned off the vision module, and suddenly everything went dark.

For humans, visual creatures, the feeling of complete darkness is unpleasant. But she wasn't overly nervous because she knew she had reliable teammates.

“A part of my shadow will attach to your mecha,” Guan Tong’s voice came through the headset. “Just think of it as an ‘additional weapon’.”

Shadows don't need sight; as long as they split into enough strands, thousands upon thousands of shadow lines can be spread out, allowing enemies to be detected and eliminated through touch. Guan Tong chose a portion of it to attach to Bai Xuewu's mecha, providing both a layer of protection and helping her kill surrounding enemies.

Bai Xuewu felt a sense of relief upon hearing his voice, but said aloud, "Hmph... last time when these shadows of yours attached themselves to my mecha, I had a terrible feeling about it."

"Let's not bring up old grievances from the Holy Grail Island now."

"The enemy convoy is within 500 meters." Chen Na's tone was highly focused. "They've spotted your mech, Sister Bai, and the convoys on both flanks are accelerating to surround it!"

"Leave the flanks to my shadow to block them," Guan Tong said. "You focus on dealing with the enemy in front."

"Okay, Xiaona, let's begin!"

"Ok!"

　Attention all readers! We're planning to give away some perks next month, March!

　　The current plan is to increase the number of recommendation ticket red envelopes and monthly ticket red envelopes. These red envelopes will contain site-wide points instead of dedicated chapter cards. This way, users can use them to subscribe to any book, as a way of thanking everyone for their continued support.

　　I'm also exploring other forms of benefits, so please keep an eye out and leave comments. I plan to change the way I give back to everyone each month to keep things fresh, haha.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)