380: Chapter 368 A God Descends from Heaven

Russia.

An anonymous mountain peak.

In a clearing at the summit, Zhang Mu sat cross-legged on the ground, scrutinizing the statue he held in his hand.

The stone carving's features were indistinguishable because it simply had no face. The craftsmanship was extremely crude; one could only infer it was a person from its human-like silhouette.

It had hands and legs, but no hair, a flat chest, and no Adam's apple on the neck, though one couldn't judge it to be female based on that alone.

Zhang Mu looked the stone carving up and down. He somewhat understood why the statue of god enshrined in the church was faceless—because this was the most effective way to suppress competitors while making it convenient to collect faith for oneself.

Zhang Mu looked up and gazed into the distance.

The pure white, snow-covered mountain range undulated continuously. Half of the setting sun was obscured by the peaks, its afterglow spilling out and shimmering upon the white snow.

“There are two troubles,” Zhang Mu muttered to himself as he contemplated his plan for godhood. “One is how to guide faith to smoothly bless my own body, and two... how do I form a contract with this thing?”

“The Senior did give me the blueprints for a contract Magic Array. If all else fails, I could steal one from Novak, but the question is... can a faith artifact that has already been contracted change owners?”

“Let's give it a try.”

Zhang Mu stood up and bent over to set up a Magic Array in the clearing at the mountain top.

High-quality magic crystals serving as nodes were placed one by one in specific positions. When the last one touched the ground, lines began to extend outward from the crystals.

The lines seemed chaotic, but in reality, they meandered with a distinct rhythmic pattern, perfectly connecting with the lines from the other crystals.

A contract Magic Array slowly took shape.

With preparations ready, Zhang Mu pulled a longsword from his Storage Pouch and used local materials to carve a half-person-high square pillar out of rock. He stood it in the exact center of the Magic Array, then placed the stone carving on top of the pillar.

“Tch, I wonder if it'll thunder.” Zhang Mu pulled out more magic crystals to infuse energy into the Magic Array while recalling the intelligence he had eavesdropped from Novak. “Probably not.”

“He said the lightning struck down to unseal the artifact. This stone carving is already unsealed, so it shouldn't be necessary anymore.”

“But what about changing owners?”

“If changing owners requires doing it all over again...”

Regardless, Zhang Mu could not give up on becoming a god. Therefore, despite his hesitant tone, his hands did not slow down at all; instead, they became even swifter.

Soon, the Magic Array was filled with energy, and all the lines lit up with a dim blue light.

“Success or failure depends on this.” Zhang Mu stood before the square pillar, closed his eyes, connected his Mental Energy to the Core, and controlled the Magic Array to begin operating.

The light on the lines gradually brightened, becoming so piercing that one could hardly keep their eyes open. However, after continuing for a long time, the stone carving showed no movement; it didn't slowly open its eyes like it did with Novak.

Yet he wasn't anxious at all, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up.

He could feel a faint, indistinct connection forming between himself and the statue of god. As time passed, the connection deepened continuously until the stone carving became a part of him.

The stone carving's eyes finally opened, though its gaze was somewhat vacant.

This is... I see.

Zhang Mu looked at the “Zhang Mu” facing him with eyes tightly shut and suddenly understood.

With the task accomplished, Zhang Mu joyfully returned to his own body. He stepped forward to hold the stone carving, sorting through the information he received from it in his mind.

“So... a War of Gods broke out on the Saul Continent long ago, and all the gods died.”

“They were unwilling to accept it, so they left behind their physical shells, hoping for the day a miracle would arrive.”

“Who would have known... Heh, the humans of the Saul Continent lucked out.”

Zhang Mu's expression became incredibly strange. “If those gods had foreseen that many years later, a type of creature capable of utilizing their 'corpses' would appear on the Saul Continent, they probably wouldn't have left their remains behind out of a sense of wishful thinking.”

The humans of the Saul Continent...

According to Novak's account, humans before the ancient melee were merely livestock for other races, to be taken from as they pleased. Their power was such that even basic survival was a luxury, let alone resisting enslavement.

In the end... it really was lucky.

“Speaking of which, why do humans and gods have such similar physical forms?”

Zhang Mu thought for a long time, but there was clearly no answer, so he gave up.

“Maybe I'll know after becoming a god.”

Muttering to himself, he walked to the edge of the clearing and looked down at a chase occurring at the foot of the mountain.

One side was a magic beast, the other was a Russian Man. The former was chasing, the latter was fleeing.

The Russian ran frantically, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow behind him, which were instantly replaced by the footprints of the calamity.

He held a rifle in his arms—this was a human's greatest source of confidence when encountering wild beasts in the wilderness—but right now, he didn't even have the courage to turn back and fire, focused only on running for his life.

The man and the magic beast chased each other until they reached a slope. In the snow behind the slope, a Russian main battle tank stood quietly. Beside the tank was a long table laid out with various weapons.

Everything was there, from small pistols to large individual rocket launchers.

Zhang Mu knew the weapons were support from the Russian authorities. He didn't really mind this “cheating,” as the condition of killing a calamity alone was originally just to stall for time for Seventeen's construction.

Now that Seventeen's completion date was approaching, it didn't matter when the candidates passed their assessment.

The Russian's physical exhaustion was clearly severe, and his speed gradually slowed. Had the magic beast not been wounded twice by Zhang Mu, he likely would have perished under its claws long ago.

Even so, the Russian, who had been fleeing for several days, had already reached his limit. The magic beast was now inches behind him.

Fortunately, he finally crested the slope, and the Russian saw the tank below.

He didn't have time to be surprised why a weapon would appear in the middle of the snowy wilderness or whether it was a gift from nature. He squeezed out every last drop of strength in his body and scrambled down the slope toward the tank.

Judging by the direction he was heading, his goal was clear—the tank.

Zhang Mu, watching from above, grew interested.

He's in luck; it looks like he knows how to drive a tank.

With the magic beast's current injuries... if he successfully gets into the tank, he'll win. Even if he can't fire the cannon, he can save his life; the dying magic beast can no longer break through tank armor.

Who will the Goddess of Luck favor?

Zhang Mu sat down, his legs dangling over the edge. “It's a pity the Senior isn't here, otherwise we could have made a bet for fun.”

The “two” involved in the chase certainly didn't know someone was looking down on them from the mountain top. They were both very busy—one busy getting into the tank, the other busy stopping the opponent from getting into the tank.

Yes, the magic beast knew what the Russian wanted to do.

During the past six months or so it had stayed in Russia, it had seen these “clumsy big guys” called tanks more than once.

Before falling into a coma from being heavily wounded a second time, it would often wander near the tanks it had captured, napping on the turrets and sharpening its claws on the armor.

Therefore, it was very familiar with tanks—at least regarding the armor.

If it were before the second heavy injury, it wouldn't have cared at all if its prey entered the inside of the “clumsy big guy.” Several times while sharpening its claws, it hadn't been careful and had used too much force, sharpening right through the armor.

But that was then, and this was now.

The magic beast's pupils contracted, and its whole body radiated intense killing intent.

It had to catch up before he got close to the “clumsy big guy,” otherwise...

Recalling a certain terrifying man, the magic beast's fur instinctively stood on end, and it strained its four limbs forward.

“Hoo—fast—hoo—” The tank was right in front of him. The Russian panted heavily, relying on some unknown strength to take two massive strides and place his hands on the tank's armor.

The armor was made of alloy, and combined with the extremely low temperature of the boundless snow, he felt only an immense coldness from his palms.

However, at this moment, he didn't feel any pain; instead, a look of hope for survival appeared on his face as he stepped onto the tracks and climbed up.

Stimulated by his survival instinct, he quickly climbed to the hatch, flipped open the circular cover, and jumped in.

Halfway through the jump, with his entire lower body inside the cockpit and only his upper body still outside, he suddenly felt a pain in his chest, and the rapidly rising snow in his vision came to a standstill.

He seemed to realize something and slowly looked down. A sharp claw had burst through his chest, and the warm blood coating the claw was steaming.

His life force ebbed away with the blood flowing from the wound. His consciousness gradually blurred, but a sudden ruthlessness rose in his heart. Ignoring the agonizing pain of his wound tearing as he moved, he desperately turned his head, wanting to give it a punch.

When his head was halfway turned and the calamity entered his peripheral vision, his right fist stopped.

That hideous monster that had been hunting him for days was now slumped on the sloped armor at the front of the tank, its eyes wide and its breathing already stopped.

If I had known... I wouldn't have come to snatch the wolf bone...

No... if given another chance, I... probably... would still try... after all... that is transcendence...

His consciousness drifted away into the darkness. He slowly closed his eyes, and his head slumped down.

“They took each other out?” Zhang Mu, sitting on the cliff edge, looked stunned, and his dangling legs stopped swinging involuntarily. “This...”

“Uh... five minus one, what should I do? Do I have to select another one separately?”

“How troublesome would that be?”

“No way.”

Zhang Mu transformed into the burly man and flew onto the tank turret in the blink of an eye. He deactivated the Shadow Technique and crouched down to check the seemingly dead Russian.

“Not completely dead yet, there's still hope.”

Magic power circulated through the man's body. Zhang Mu was overjoyed. He tossed the calamity aside, picked the man up, and jumped down to lay him flat on the snow. Then he stood up, took a bottle of healing potion from his Storage Pouch, uncorked it, and shoved it into the man's mouth.

The bright red liquid in the bottle slowly decreased. The man's breathing, which had been so weak it was almost undetectable, gradually grew stronger until it returned to normal.

His eyelids slowly lifted, and he looked around blankly, seemingly confused about something.

“Am I not...” He saw the feet standing before him, followed the legs upward with his gaze, and then saw a bald, burly man who was both familiar and strange.

“You, you, you are—” He was so excited he couldn't speak, struggling to scramble to his feet.

Zhang Mu waved his hand. “This is a reward for the brave, little fellow. Very well done.”

Is he praising me?!

The Russian Man was very excited. Regardless of whether being noticed brought benefits, it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing.

“That... I...” He intended to be a bit humble, but worried the burly man would mistake it for arrogance, so he just kept stammering.

A nuisance.

Zhang Mu had no interest in dallying with him. “You've passed, little fellow. Take your trophy back and wait for enrollment.”

“Yes!”

“I will certainly not fail your expectations and those of Seventeen.”

What expectations did I have?

Zhang Mu was somewhat speechless and vanished on the spot.

...

“Look!”

In the Kremlin Palace's meeting room, the President and the others were dejected when suddenly an Aide, who hadn't given up and was still watching the screen on the wall, jumped up. “It's that gentleman!”

The President, who had his fingers interlaced against his forehead, turned around hurriedly. He saw the man, who had almost successfully entered the tank but failed at the last moment, being given a bottle of medicine by the burly man and then coming back to life.

“Great!” The President slapped the table and stood up.

The Russian crowd's emotions went through huge ups and downs, and they hugged each other in celebration. Meanwhile, the visiting delegations from the two countries, seated in a row along the two side walls of the meeting room, began to whisper among themselves.

“But... why?”

“According to the selection rules, this person undoubtedly failed. Why would the Transcendent intervene?”

“Could it be out of sympathy for his death?”

“Based on our experience, the Transcendent will not interfere regardless of what danger the candidates face,” the Ying Country delegation said.

“What about on your side?” he then asked.

The leader of the America delegation choked for a moment. “The school was only recently completed; we haven't started recruitment yet.”

“Oh, sorry.”

An Aide heard their conversation and stood up with a smile. “Didn't you hear the Examiner's words?”

“This is a reward for the brave!”

“The Examiner from Seventeen is full of praise for the courage of the Russian people!”

The two team leaders looked at each other, and the America leader asked, “We very much agree that your people possess great courage, but... could you please tell me what courageous act he performed?”

As he spoke, he pointed toward the screen at the man jumping for joy on the snow with his hands raised high in celebration.

The Aide's whole body stiffened. He quickly reviewed the live stream footage of the man from the past few days, trying to find something that met the criteria.

Unfortunately, after searching every corner of his mind, his only impression of the man's experiences over the last few days seemed to be fleeing, always fleeing, non-stop fleeing.

“Perhaps I missed some important footage,” the Aide said stubbornly.

The America leader unceremoniously exposed him. “I watched the entire thing, and I'm certain he did nothing but run away.”

“Are you sure, sir?” The Russian President, having finished celebrating, looked toward him. “If you truly watched the entire thing, then you should have noticed that in the final moment of death, this Russian warrior did not regret, did not cry, and did not grieve. What he did was turn around despite the pain, intending to give the calamity a punch.”

The two team leaders were stunned. They recalled for a moment and found that things were indeed as the President said.

“It was my oversight,” the America leader apologized submissively.

Having subdued his opponent, the President was very happy and prepared to give a speech to boost morale.

“What is that?” an Aide suddenly interrupted.

Everyone quickly looked at the remaining four people on the screen, but after rotating through them, they saw nothing unusual.

The President asked in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

The Aide realized and added, “Not the other four screens, the one that just passed.”

They looked back and found what the Aide was pointing at.

The filming on-site was handled by drones, and the angle was an aerial shot.

After the man passed the test, Soldiers who were on standby nearby immediately rushed over to protect him and had already met up with him.

The drone, having completed its task, rose in altitude to return to camp, and its field of vision expanded accordingly. Once it reached a certain height and took in all the surrounding peaks, a stone carving could be seen standing on a certain mountain top.

Upon seeing the details of the stone carving, everyone in the meeting room slowly opened their mouths.

How is that possible?!