Chapter Thirty-One: Six Eyes That Bewitch the Heart-Abnormal Paradise(More than half a year)

Three seconds ago, the members of the Giant Tree Institute had still been savoring the thrill of explosions; now, they had been cast into hell. Strictly speaking, losing two key damage dealers at once was a blow they might have gritted their teeth and borne, continuing the fight. But when the very backbone of the team suddenly collapsed, even with Bramble still holding the line, the remaining members immediately lost their composure. The sole surviving ranged attacker, upon realizing the enemy’s firepower far exceeded his own, simply hid behind his comrades, not daring to show himself.

I have a gun.

But I can’t win!

What now?

Although this Giant Tree gunman was at a loss, not everyone had been cowed. Bramble, too, was shocked by the enemy’s firepower but immediately recognized that the storm of attacks had passed. Despite losing three combatants, they still held more than half their original chance of victory.

This hope lay in the three remaining high-explosive grenades, the two reasonably brave Giant Tree swordsmen, and, most of all, in herself—skilled in close-quarters combat.

“Charge with me!”

Though the situation was dire, Bramble’s fiery temperament would not allow her to cower at the rear as some timid commander. Inspired by her, the two Giant Tree swordsmen quickly regained their composure. Without even needing Bramble’s orders, they acted in perfect unison, hurling the three high-explosive grenades with all their strength.

Boom!

The explosions followed one after another, sending dust billowing in every direction.

Seeing that the enemy damage dealers, whom they had so greatly feared, were all caught in the blasts, Bramble was instantly exhilarated. She had already noticed that, though Bob’s group was joined by an unexpected and mysterious ally, only the Foundation’s reserve member possessed defensive capabilities. Bramble knew this person’s background well; even if he’d been lucky enough to acquire the fully evolved Bloodvine Bracelet, it was impossible for him to shield himself and his allies from the grenade detonations without casualties.

“If you choose to block with your arm shield, you die. If you choose to protect yourself, then the university student dies instead.”

Darting headlong into the swirling dust, Bramble locked onto a blurred silhouette—if memory served, that was where Ember had been standing.

“So, in the face of death, you chose to betray your teammate after all!”

Bramble sneered, her eyes growing colder. “But even if you survive the blast, you’ll die by my hand!”

With seventy points of area damage, the high-explosive grenades were far deadlier than explosive cones. Especially since the blasts also produced a powerful shockwave; any target with less than six points in strength would suffer a second round of damage from the impact.

Thus, Bramble believed that even if Ember had withstood the explosions, his remaining health would be within her execution threshold. Unless he possessed six points in strength, he could not block the damage with his shield—otherwise, the university student would surely be dead by now.

Six points in strength!

Ha, is that possible?

Even I, a core member of the Giant Tree Institute, only recently reached six points in strength after drinking an evolution potion.

How could a rookie Foundation member, who joined not long ago and isn’t even a reality bender, possibly have six points in strength?

No, wait…

The Bloodvine Bracelet, developed by the Foundation, has no sensory restrictions; if he made it this far, perhaps it could indeed grant the strength needed to withstand an explosion.

But even so, what did it matter?

The swirling smoke and dust already provided ample cover for her and the two Giant Tree swordsmen to launch a forced melee assault. The lopsided configuration of the two sides meant that the three of them would be like tigers among sheep, ready to unleash their own storm of attacks.

Bramble had great confidence in her own abilities. As a reality bender with the power to control brambles, her abilities might not offer absolute combat strength, but they were nearly impossible to defend against. As a core member of the Giant Tree Institute and a secret apostle of the Chaos Lighthouse, she enjoyed resources far beyond those available to common geniuses like Bob. In close combat, she could handle two, even three opponents at once with ease.

With the two Giant Tree swordsmen at her side, Bramble was nearly certain of victory.

Unless, of course, something unexpected happened.

Bramble refused to believe that she would be beset by accident after accident. So, she charged forward without hesitation—only to discover, in the next moment, that the figure in the dust was not retreating in panic, but instead surging straight for her.

Madman!

Bramble rarely used that word for others, thinking only she was truly mad.

Yet as that figure suddenly burst through the swirling smoke with irresistible force, Bramble realized that fate had played her false yet again.

What was that?

A Six-Eyed Fanatic?

Could it be that the mysterious presence glimpsed earlier was actually a Six-Eyed Preacher?

The records stated that only the Six-Eyed Prophet remained of the Six-Eyed Church. Why, then, would a Six-Eyed Preacher exist in this forbidden zone?

At last, Bramble realized that, in her initial anger, she had stepped wrong, falling repeatedly into the enemy’s traps, a single mistake leading to a cascade of failures.

Now, with the force of the Six-Eyed Fanatic locked onto her, she had no room to dodge. There was no Ember here to create an escape for her—only the Baptism Sword Technique, crashing down upon her and driving her into the ground.

Boom!!!

Compared to the triple detonation of the grenades, the force of this sudden, heavy slash was even more overwhelming. With a single blow, Bramble was rendered completely helpless, forced to use her lifesaving skill as she was thrown into a grievously wounded state by the strike.

This scene, witnessed by the two Giant Tree swordsmen, was nothing short of earth-shattering. It was as if an invisible hand pressed them down, forcing them to halt, unable to summon the will to fight on.

The enemy’s advantage was limitless—how could they possibly continue?

In truth, even if the two had retained their will to fight, it would have made no difference. By now, Ember’s second round of skills had come off cooldown. Excluding Bramble, who lay helpless on the ground, the remaining three members of the Giant Tree Institute were all sent to the afterlife.

Cough… cough, cough…

Unfinished off, Bramble lay on her back in the pit her body had made, watching as the Six-Eyed Fanatic dragged his massive sword and halted, as Bob’s figure slowly approached, as the university member stood safe and sound, as the Six-Eyed Preacher revealed his true form, and finally as the Foundation’s reserve member, rubbing his wrist, smiled and asked, “Cooperation, or death?”

Bramble did not answer; her pride would never allow her to bow her head to the enemy.

“I knew you wouldn’t answer!” Ember snorted, then ordered the Six-Eyed Preacher to activate the special skill: Six-Eyed Bewitchment!

[Prompt: The target’s Willpower is insufficient to resist ‘Six-Eyed Bewitchment.’ For the next three minutes, you may ask any reasonable question.]

“Tell me, why did you have Bob bring us here? What is your true purpose?”

The six eyes on the preacher’s mask blinked madly, and Bramble, caught in his gaze, immediately fell into a dazed, vacant state. Hearing Ember’s question, she replied blankly, “To stop you from uncovering the secret of the Forbidden Life Zone, and to seize the matchsticks in your possession.”

“As I suspected!”

Ember shrugged, and continued questioning her, making use of the three-minute window to ask every question he could think of.

When time was up, Bramble came to her senses, realizing the grave mistake she had made. Her face twisted in shame and fury as she cursed Ember, “May you die a miserable death!”

“Why curse me? I’m no charlatan, nor do I bewitch people’s minds. If you want to blame someone, blame the true culprit. You’d best consider your situation carefully.” Ember was more convinced than ever that his matchsticks had paid off handsomely. Were it not for the Six-Eyed Preacher, restored to his former powers by the matchsticks, Ember would never have been able to extract so much critical information from Bramble.

He learned that the temple under bombardment was the resting place of the Sun High Priest and the Six-Eyed Prophet. At the very moment the players entered the game, the Giant Tree Institute had just broken through the outer protective barrier of the temple.

Qiaomu, rather than leading the assault personally, had slipped alone into the Sun Staircase to search for the Gardener after laying out the attack plan.

The Chaos Lighthouse possessed the blueprints of the Sun Temple, and Bramble, through her own investigation, had found a way to bypass the patrols and slip inside—a route Qiaomu himself didn’t know about.

Lastly, regarding the cultivation of Bloodvine artifacts: the Giant Tree Institute could no longer use the old methods to let Bloodvine creations break through the limits of life and reach their ultimate form. Thus, Qiaomu, clad in a fully evolved Bloodvine suit, had gone to face the Gardener in single combat to prevent the latter from wantonly absorbing energy from the Sun Staircase and becoming unbeatable.

These key pieces of information allowed Ember to map out his next steps: first, enter the Sun Temple ahead of the others, find a way to awaken the Sun High Priest and the Six-Eyed Prophet, blend ancient divine power with modern technology to break the shackles of life, then proceed to the Sun Staircase to confront the Gardener and Qiaomu’s avatar, and finally complete the unfinished business of the Solar Empire, achieving a perfect evaluation.

“Time’s a bit tight!” Ember couldn’t help but sigh. He had thought that with twenty minutes and the Six-Eyed Preacher’s formidable strength, he would have time to secure a perfect rating with ease. Now, it seemed his plans had been overly optimistic—he’d be lucky to reach the Sun High Priest and Six-Eyed Prophet in time.

Still, thanks to the power of Six-Eyed Bewitchment, Ember also learned Bramble’s weakness. He said coolly to the wounded apostle of Chaos, “If you don’t want to die, hand over your Bramble Crown and Bloodvine artifacts, and lead us into the Sun Temple. Of course, you can refuse—but we’ll still take your Bramble Crown and Bloodvine artifacts to get inside. It’ll just be a bit more troublesome for us.”

[Prompt: Bramble’s attitude towards you has changed from ‘Hostile’ to ‘Mortal Enemy’!]

The sudden prompt made Ember instinctively think this apostle of Chaos was rather principled. Yet, the next moment, she reached out with effort, removed the Bramble Crown from her brow and the Bloodvine ring from her finger, causing Ember’s lips to curl into a triumphant grin.

“Luckily, this blockhead has a decent instinct for survival. Otherwise, where would I find such an excellent guide?”