A gray-white mist of soul energy enveloped the entire line of bone dragons.

Through the soul link, Moragas's voice echoed across the front line: "All units, listen up! Hold the western flank. Do not take a single step back. Anyone who retreats will have their soul fire crushed by my own hand!"

In unison, thirty bone dragons raised their bone wings and charged toward the front line, their roars shaking the sky.

Beyond the front line, ten Demigod-stage arbiters had already launched their second assault.

Ten distinct Divine Rules merged into a single, devastating strike that hammered against the barrier dome of the defense ring. The impact shook both restricted zones.

Seeing the shield on the verge of collapse, Violet grit her teeth and tapped into the ley lines below, igniting the golden earth fire deep underground.

Feeding the barrier with this raw power, it thickened threefold, finally holding firm against the ten Demigod-stage foes.

But burning through her power to fuel the earth fire came at a steep cost. Violet took heavy backlash from the strain.

She staggered backward three steps, golden blood trickling from the corner of her lips until it soaked through the front of her armor.

Violet crushed the ley line core rune in her left hand and ordered coldly: "Keep going! Burn the ley lines!"

Golden earth fire erupted from the cracks in the temple floor.

The barrier dome thickened once more, absorbing the full shockwave of the Demigod assault without flinching.

Beyond the front line, Moragas led his bone dragons and undead legions straight into the lingering shockwaves, charging forward.

Seeing only Moragas—a single Demigod—break through the ranks, the ten Demigod-stage warriors on the opposite side couldn't hide their mockery.

One of them sneered. "Heh. A lich Demigod? To us, he's no better than an ant."

Another Demigod chimed in. "Is this their last stand? I heard a lich can just keep coming back as long as its soul core stays intact."

The third Demigod sneered. "What's there to fear? An ant, no matter how many times it respawns, is still just an ant."

The fourth Demigod licked his lips. "Exactly! I've always wanted to test if a lich's resurrection actually has a hard limit!"

The Demigod warriors chatted casually, showing absolutely no respect for Moragas.

They toyed with the undead army in front of them, casually letting loose their Divine Rulepower.

When the Divine Rule of ten Demigods stacked together, even a tiny fraction of it dealt devastating damage to Moragas.

Waves of Divine Rule hammered down again and again.

Moragas's undead shield shattered and reformed, shattered and reformed over and over.

On the tenth breach, the old wound on Moragas's chest finally tore open completely.

His gray-white soul blood spilled into the air, and he died on the spot.

But almost immediately, the lich-fire ignited again.

Relying on the fact that a lich's soul never dies and its body cannot be broken, Moragas stood up again and brushed away the incoming strike with a single swing.

Moragas gritted his teeth, his undead eye fire flickering wildly. "Damn it! Are you toying with me like I'm a circus monkey?"

Glancing back toward the temple, he saw Violet slam the Staff of Creation hard into the crystal pillar at the array nexus. Golden blood dripped down its shaft.

Thinking about what would happen if Violet fell, a roar built in Moragas's throat. He charged back into the Demigod attacks. "Come on! You'll have to step over my dead body to break this line!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Meanwhile, just outside the perimeter of Restricted Zone No. 9.

Logan stepped out of a spatial rift and landed on the barren ground.

He scanned the area, muttering to himself: "We're only over five thousand kilometers from Restricted Zone No. 1. Based on the intel we got earlier, this place is just an outer observation post for the Ancient Tribunal."

Suddenly, a silver-gray tear split open in the void. Green light spilled out of it and coalesced into a figure.

Logan recognized the newcomer and raised an eyebrow. "The 7th Observer, you're right on time!"

The 7th Observer landed slowly, a rune of creation circling his body. He smiled. "I got your message and came as fast as I could."

Logan got straight to the point. "I have one question: Can Observer No. 9 leave the Creation Temple?"

The 7th Observer thought for a moment, then sighed. "His true body can't leave Restricted Zone No. 1, but we can talk here. He'll answer whatever you need to know."

Before he finished speaking, the void around them tore open again. A strand of pale golden soul fragments slowly gathered together to form a projection of Observer No. 9.

When he saw Logan, his eyes lit up. He scanned Logan's soul and then smiled. "I know what you want to ask. The key to your genetic puzzle is hidden right in your DNA."

The projection of Observer No. 9 waved his hand casually, sat down cross-legged, and spoke. "Right at the intersection of Creation and the Gene Devour chain, that golden speck is something I planted there in secret."

Taking Observer No. 9's advice, Logan immediately used his soul power to sense his nine-spiral DNA.

Just as he said, the golden speck was flickering on and off right at the spiral intersection of the gene chain.

Logan looked up. "How do I activate it?"

The projection of Observer No. 9 raised a hand. A beam of emerald light turned into a pinpoint and shot straight into Logan's forehead. "Infuse it with faith energy, combine it with the essence of your twelve realms, and use the world projection inside you. That's how you'll unlock it."

"Remember, this is the only way you have to take down The Observer No. 1. He has devoured 128 planes, and his world essence is too tangled to merge quickly. That's why his power system can't run steadily or evenly."

"If you can throw a heavy enough dose of power into his collapsing and chaotic essence, it will completely throw off his system's balance. That's how you'll break his rules."

"So you need to nurture that light until it can completely merge the twelve realms inside you."

Logan did a quick mental calculation.

Even with the temporal boost, unlocking and fully maturing that light would still take him seven days.

That timeframe perfectly aligns with the arrival window for The Observer No. 1.

Logan frowned. "Too tight."

Observer No. 9's projection flickered slightly. "You're right. But I do have another option: lure him out of Restricted Zone No. 1."

"The Plane Graveyard is his source of power. Once he leaves the core area, his strength drops by two or three tenths."

Seeing the other side already had a plan, Logan smiled. "How do we lure him? Lay it out for me."

Observer No. 9 nodded. "The bait will be Kane."

"Kane is his backup vessel. He'll come himself to harvest it."

"But there's a catch: Kane has to be fully converted into a vessel, and you need to be there in person."

Logan's expression turned cold. "You want me to sacrifice Kane, and walk right into his trap?"

"No." Observer No. 9's projection grew dimmer, looking like it might fade away at any moment.

His voice turned hoarse as he explained. "You just need to make The Observer No. 1 believe everything is real."

"Remember: set the trap in any Restricted Zone numbered 33 or higher, somewhere in the middle of Lost World."

"It's not his turf. His surveillance can't reach there. It's the perfect spot to bait him out and finish him off!"

With that, Observer No. 9's projection faded completely, leaving only a faint green glow of rule energy lingering around Logan.

Logan turned to the 7th Observer, his gaze sharp. "Thanks. Pass my regards to Observer No. 9. I'm going to kill The Observer No. 1, and free you all."

"May your path ahead be clear." The 7th Observer gave a slight nod, then turned and vanished.

Logan sighed, looking at the empty void. He tore open space cracks and stepped through, vanishing from Restricted Zone No. 9.

When Logan broke through the space barrier and landed in the temple plaza of No. 53 Restricted Zone, the sky was just beginning to lighten with gray morning mist.

He had no idea how Moragas and Violet had held out this long.

The barrier dome was currently covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

In No. 53 Restricted Zone, the acrid scent of burning ley lines mixed with the metallic tang of soul blood, filling the entire Temple plaza.

Violet was slumped against the array pillar, her battle armor soaked halfway through with golden blood.

She was keeping herself upright by leaning on the Staff of Creation.

Moragas was slumped on the steps below her, frantically trying to reassemble the ribs of the bone dragons. "Damn it, I've already Self-Destructed twenty-seven bone dragons. Logan, if you don't get back here soon, I'm quitting and bailing!"

Logan, who had just been about to praise him, immediately stiffened. "You dare bail?"

At the sound of Logan's voice, Moragas jumped. "Logan! Thank god you're back!"

Seeing Logan, Moragas tried to struggle to his feet.

Logan watched him struggle and just rolled his eyes. "Save it. A lich's body doesn't shiver like that."

Ignoring the awkward Moragas, Logan walked straight over to Violet. "You've pushed yourself hard. How much longer can you hold out?"

Violet looked up, her golden slit pupils still sharp. "The ley line energy can sustain us for about four more hours."

Logan stepped forward, placed his right hand on her back, and slowly fed the creation rule into her body to help her recover.

Using the chance, Logan laid out the rest of his plan for both of them.

Violet wiped a streak of golden blood from her lip, surprised. "You're using Kane as bait?"

"No. I'm the bait." Logan's voice was cold and firm.

Logan knew better than anyone that compared to Kane, he was exactly what The Observer No. 1 had been dreaming of.

Logan turned to Moragas. "Forget about holding this line for now."

"Take the remaining seven bone dragons. Escort Violet and Kane to Restricted Zone No. 33, and get the trap ready."

As he spoke, Logan's gaze shifted past the barrier to the ten Demigod waiting outside. His voice turned ice-cold. "As for those ten bastards outside? I'll handle them myself."

...