Chapter 853, The Ancient God’s Weakness

Translator: Silavin

 

“The Engineered Machinery not working is within my expectations.” Elder Lu rubbed his temples, his voice heavy with contemplation.

 

“According to the latest intelligence we’ve obtained, among the Ancient Gods, there exists a rule called the Ancient Gods Struggle For Supremacy. The Ancient God who wins this competition and obtains the God King title will initiate the next era and establish the rules for that era. In other words, the System in this world, the Secret Realms, Dungeon Instances, Equipment, Pets; all of these are actually rules established by an Ancient God. Naturally, this includes Engineered Machinery as well.”

 

“Compared to Players, Engineered Machinery requires massive resources for each activation, yet the Damage it deals is extraordinarily high. They far exceed that of Players at the same Level. This kind of devastating item is perfectly suited for raiding Bosses. Therefore, some say the Profession with the strongest Damage Output isn’t actually Mage Type Professions, but Engineers.”

 

“Engineers capable of dealing such Damage would naturally be guarded against by the Ancient Gods. If they lacked the ability to resist Engineered Machinery, they wouldn’t have created the Engineer Profession within the current world’s rules. After all, the Ancient Gods would never create something capable of killing themselves. But if we follow this logic, doesn’t that mean nothing in this world can kill the Ancient Gods? And because of this, the Ancient Gods’ destruction of the entire world is already predetermined, impossible to change?”

 

The more Elder Lu thought along these lines, the colder his heart became.

 

It was like playing a game against an opponent where he racked his brain trying to win, only to discover the opponent had set all the rules from the very beginning, ensuring their own invincibility. How could such a game even be played!?

 

Everything he could mobilize could not pose a threat to the opponent. Were Humans simply supposed to wait for death, to be slaughtered by the Ancient Gods during their Ancient Gods Struggle For Supremacy!?

 

A sense of powerlessness welled up in Elder Lu’s heart.

 

But this thought vanished in an instant.

 

[So what if we Humans are destined to lose this game!? As long as Humanity has not been exterminated, this battle will continue! If there is no path forward, we simply have to forge one ourselves! Only after truly exhausting every possibility, even if we lost, could I die satisfied!] With this thought, Elder Lu gritted his teeth. “Since Engineered Machinery doesn’t work, we’ll continue researching. Find a way to acquire more Hidden Professions. Using their unique characteristics, let’s see if we can discover a method to deal with the Ancient Gods. Even if they truly have no weaknesses, we must find the weakest link in their defenses!”

 

“Yes!” The assembled experts nodded in unison, infected by Elder Lu’s determination. The dejection from their previous lack of results was swept away completely.

 

Just then, an Array was slowly transported beside the ice-encased Ancient God part.

 

Subsequently, the Array activated, immediately generating a dazzling, scorching light that attacked the ice block.

 

This Array incorporated Elder Jin’s Profession Characteristics, containing a portion of his Skill Power.

 

The Skill Power was not particularly strong, but this was merely an experiment. They only needed to observe whether the Skill could have any effect on the Ancient God’s flesh.

 

Such experiments continued daily, so even though they were using Elder Jin’s Skill, the researchers didn’t pay much attention.

 

However, when this Skill struck the ice block, the part sealed within suddenly reacted, writhing more violently, as if trying to escape from the ice rather than completely disregarding any attack as before.

 

Due to its unusual movement, the instruments monitoring its reactions also began responding, causing Elder Lu and the others who were about to leave to freeze.

 

One researcher was overjoyed, immediately rising from his seat and shouting loudly, “There’s a reaction!”

 

“We’re currently using Elder Jin’s Skill. Test Subject Number One seems to fear Elder Jin’s Skill. The Damage dealt is significantly higher than other attack methods!”

 

“Although we still can’t call it a true counter, we can confirm that Elder Jin’s Skill does have some effect on the Ancient God. At the very least, it can break through its defenses!”

 

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was instantly filled with joy.

 

Finally, after such a long period of experimentation, they had results!

 

Moving forward, they only needed to continue researching in this direction. Perhaps they could discover the Ancient Gods’ weakness!

 

A smile appeared on Elder Lu’s face as he nodded, murmuring softly, “Finally, some progress…”

 

“I didn’t expect it would ultimately be Old Jin’s Skill that produced results… Thinking about it, it makes sense. The Golden Crow’s power originates from the Sun and is also a remnant from several epochs ago. Compared to other Professions, his Profession Characteristics should have the weakest connection to the Ancient God who became God King in the previous era. Perhaps when the previous God King established the World Mechanics, they overlooked the Golden Crow’s power.”

 

“Old Jin might not be a perfect counter against other Ancient Gods, but against this unknown Ancient God that’s been frozen, he should be able to inflict some Damage. From now on, Old Jin’s going to have to carry a heavy burden…”

 

Just as the entire laboratory was filled with excitement, suddenly a clear, crisp cracking sound rang out, causing everyone to fall silent instantly.

 

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the source of the sound, only to witness the ice block attacked by Elder Jin’s Skill actually showing damage!

 

Simultaneously, wisps of black gas frantically leaked from the damaged area, then coalesced into substance, transforming into a puddle of black sludge that began surging outward!

 

The original stone platform was also assimilated by this sludge, becoming corrupt and viscous.

 

As a result, the black sludge increased in volume, beginning to spread outward as if to devour everything around it!

 

Such a sudden change caught everyone off guard.

 

They were all research personnel. Although some among them had Combat Specialised Professions, their battle senses were not particularly developed.

 

Facing this situation, no one had time to react.

 

The sealed Ancient God had actually escaped!

 

Although it was merely a small section of the Ancient God, Ancient Gods were mysterious and powerful entities. Even with just a fragment, it was absolutely not something these ‘weak’ scholars present could handle.

 

Elder Lu was actually the first to react. He shouted loudly, “Everyone, fall back!”

 

Immediately after, he retrieved a heavy artillery cannon from his Inventory and mounted it directly on the ground.

 

Elder Lu’s brow furrowed slightly, knowing that while his Engineered weapon would have no problem dealing with Players, its effectiveness against an Ancient God would likely be minimal.