People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 541 Shadow: There's nothing I can do...

"Son of God."

"besides."

Deathly silence.

By sacrificing part of the general's body to unleash an excess of power, they successfully returned to Inazuma Castle.

But what Ying saw before her made her freeze in place for a moment.

Wreckage, ruins, and flames.
The once prosperous Inazuma Castle has now vanished into thin air.

The city's defenses, hampered by the Abyss General's delaying tactics, were inevitably and completely submerged by the ocean of dark monsters.

Inazuma Castle was breached, lives were lost, and the vast majority of the inhabitants were not even left behind.

The dark sky held no light, only a chilling wind carrying the stench of blood and death.
Amidst the ruins, colder than the depths of winter, Shadow stood silently, completely unaware of the presence of his only remaining companion.

"."

The military flag was broken and leaning to one side; the cherry tree was burned to ashes.

Desperately trying to avoid the fact that kept popping into my mind,

But when the firelight, which offered no warmth, entered his pupils, Ying suddenly realized that he seemed to have lost all meaning in his existence.

"The remnants of the barrier are the divine child's attempt to protect the people."

"But because I was tied down by the enemy, in the end no one survived."

His tone was calm, not as hysterical as I had imagined.

Amidst the continuous crackling sounds, the burning Inazuma Castle was the last glimmer of light in the darkness.

It was as if a spark had suddenly appeared in the midst of utter silence, and that spark had sprung up as a stubborn rock called "Eternity" shattered.

The tranquil state of mind that had been painstakingly cultivated for eternity was completely ignited by this insignificant spark.

I thought I would no longer have any extra emotions, and that all I needed to do was protect Inazuma forever.

But after everything she had desperately tried to protect was gone, she suddenly realized that over the centuries, what had accumulated in her heart was not stagnant water, but rather emotions that had been forcibly suppressed.

This emotion was suppressed by the desires called "eternity" and "protection," but now that it has lost the cage that bound it, it is launching a rapid counterattack.
"Internal warning"

"Wearing the same old skin is taking its toll on you. If you let these emotions run wild, your mind will break down before my body does."

They are still diligently doing what they are supposed to do.
Contrary to the common perception that Inazuma was governed by someone else, from the moment he was born, the Shogun's underlying logic was simply to maintain the "inner" eternity.

"I know, but there's no need to worry about wear and tear anymore."

"Eternity has lost its meaning; there is nothing behind this body."

Choosing to temporarily silence the general's abilities, I've already sensed the abyss's presence approaching from afar.

The purple lightning in his eyes was more intense than ever before, and his broken and mutilated right hand grasped the dream that Shin had left behind.

Let the anger that represents wear and tear consume me, as if in doing so I can temporarily forget the sorrow.
There is no longer any need to protect anyone, nor is anyone expecting to be protected.
In a manner indifferent to personal injury, Shadow mobilized authority and power in an unprecedented manner.

Looking at the enemies in the sky, she chose to set aside her identities as "guardian" and "god" and do what a warrior should do.

"."

"Okay, I admit I underestimated your Ah Ying's fighting ability."

"This kind of all-or-nothing attitude is quite impressive; she actually managed to take everyone down with her."

The picture freezes.

The general, his body shattered, fell from the sky, before him lay a replica of the abyss, its body pierced by the single-minded pursuit of dreams.

In a self-destructive manner, all remaining authority and power were injected into the opponent's body in this one strike. With the resolve to perish together, Shadow annihilated himself and the Abyss Power that carried the enemy's consciousness.

At the end of the battle,
Both sides perished, leaving only two pure elemental wisps in the center of the battlefield, which slowly sank into the earth's veins.

"."

"Unexpectedly, judging from this alone, it's not unreasonable for her to blindly choose to draw her sword and slash at the enemy."

"If it weren't for the need to protect Inazuma, she would hardly have to worry about any enemies she might encounter."

"On Teyvat, the mind itself has power, while the people and trivial matters behind her actually diminish her purity as a warrior."

The situation in Inazuma Castle wouldn't have been this bad, after all, there was that little blond guy who could bring endless miracles.

Just by making a few assumptions, one can easily come up with a whole host of ways to salvage the situation, such as "the blond-haired guy gathers the power of his will to become the savior," "the blond-haired guy uses the divine power crystals on his body to call for help on the spot," and "the blond-haired guy breaks free from his restrictions and devours the power of the abyss."

To prevent the blond-haired boy from gathering his willpower and causing trouble, the blond-haired boy in Lin Feng's simulation could only unleash abilities known to the shadow.
For reasons that are common knowledge, it's best not to mention what Ying knows.
Completely unexpectedly, besides accepting the power of will, the empty shadow behind him could also unlock the option of a one-for-one trade.

After witnessing this outcome, Lin Feng felt that sometimes, being reckless to the extreme can indeed carve out a new world.
"But this approach is not a good one; mutual destruction is by no means a good ending."

"Let's start over and see how many times we can find the real solution."

Indeed, I was deeply impressed by the shadow in this path of national subjugation. After all, unlike the indecisiveness in the state of governing, she no longer needed to remember anything except for battle.

But until the very end, he recklessly charged in and exploded against his opponent, which undoubtedly demonstrates that Shadow's stubbornness was beyond imagination.

Just by making a few assumptions about the choices this guy might make, Lin Feng felt that the rest of the process wouldn't go too smoothly.
"."

"Where is this? The castle tower?"

"I shouldn't have any lingering consciousness, could this all be a dream?"

"—In the name of 'The Abyss,' this place is..."

？ ！！

He instantly stood up and instinctively grabbed the Dream Heart beside him.

I was deeply impressed by this prayer that symbolized the beginning of the event.

Kage will never forget the despair he felt upon returning to Inazuma Castle, and the tragic outcome of his final battle with the imposter.

"."

"General, assess my current wear and tear and report the abyssal aura in the vicinity."

"Physical condition is perfect, mental condition is slightly fatigued, which is a great improvement compared to before. There has been no Abyss invasion in Inazuma Castle yet, so the cause of the current situation cannot be determined."

The general's reply was as direct as ever, and the information contained therein completely confirmed a certain guess in Ying's mind. "."

"You remember it too, which means that everything before was not my illusion, including the fate of Inazuma Castle and the enemy that is about to attack."

"But why? I shouldn't have such an opportunity. Could it be true?"

I couldn't figure out why this was happening, and after carefully examining the surroundings, I didn't think anyone could create such a realistic illusion.

He glanced at the Dream Isshin in his hand, which he had always used to house his own consciousness.
There isn't much time left for him to explore slowly, so Ying can only suspect that these are some methods that were truly left behind.

"."

"Although she's not particularly strong in direct combat, she always knows a lot of strange things. Maybe these are protective measures she prepared in advance for Inazuma."

"Phew, although the enemy won't just disappear into thin air, at least..."

"—Wait, Aying!"

"—I know what you want to do, but..."

???

Following the same pattern as the previous round, the divine child once again pushed open the door and entered.

She perfectly conveyed the doubt that should have been expressed, and several small question marks appeared above her head.

"."

"Divine Child, at least Inazuma and you are still here."

He was certain that the person standing before him was his old friend.
From losing everything to having another chance to make amends, Ying had never felt so moved. She breathed a sigh of relief at the other person's somewhat puzzled expression.

"Aying, what are you saying? You're saying the enemy is far stronger than we imagine, so you want to divert your forces to set up a protective barrier around Inazuma Castle?"

"—You should know that this will affect your own strength. Since the enemy is so powerful, what if..."

"No, the remaining power is enough, as long as I intended to do it from the beginning."

He shook his head, not intending to reveal that he had figured out the other party's modus operandi, or his plan to perish together in the worst-case scenario.

My obsession with eternity has unknowingly softened a little.
There was no time to think about the future. Ying was certain that the enemy was someone who couldn't be dealt with without being prepared to die.

"The enemy will grow stronger and stronger, but if I go to fight them, the defenses of Inazuma Castle will be severely inadequate, and your safety cannot be guaranteed."

"I will leave enough power to isolate the surrounding monsters; the task of coordinating the people and the shogunate is now in your hands."
In this respect, you are far more intelligent than I am.

He absolutely could not allow himself to witness Inazuma turn into a sea of ​​fire again; from the very beginning, Kage had prepared for the worst.

—While the Abyss General hasn't become too strong yet, prepare defensive measures and then unleash all your power to fight him.

As long as we fight to the death with the determination to survive, and considering the results of the last battle, even if we can't come back in the end, we can at least eliminate this threat that is the source of monsters when it is at its weakest.

"but"

I'm already desperate about Ah Ying's bizarre thought process.
If this weren't a dream, the Divine Child felt she might have paid the price to borrow power from a dessert shop owner and beat Aying to a pulp.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Aying?"

"The people are still in a state of panic. If you, as a deity, step forward to appease them, you will surely gain everyone's support."

"Just charge in like that, what if the enemy is stronger than you think?"

A certain pink-furred fox is still trying its best.

"There's no time left. Every second the enemy exists poses a greater threat. At least for now, I can still eliminate them."

Just as people with social anxiety always try to avoid interacting with others, they subconsciously avoided the suggestions made by the goddess.

Having made his decision once again, he could not allow the history of the complete annihilation of Inazuma to repeat itself after the previous failure.

I understand that every minute and second is precious, and continuing to delay will only lead to a worse outcome.

Ying glanced deeply at the divine child before her and chose not to waste any more time.

"Are you prepared to sacrifice yourself in the worst-case scenario and then hand Inazuma over to me?"

"But the other party is not a mindless being like a slime."

"Phew, Aying, hopefully that guy will wake you up."

Feeling somewhat weary, she sighed, knowing that Ah Ying's plan was doomed to fail this time.

That Abyss General has a series of pre-set action patterns, which are not something that can be cracked with fixed ideas.

The reason why the opponent's power last time wasn't overwhelming, and even seemed somewhat weak, is that...

That's because much of the power that originally belonged to the enemy was diverted to the monsters to break through Inazuma's defenses, while the Abyss General himself only retained enough to delay Ayane.
If Aying distributes her power around Inazuma Castle this time, and the enemy confirms that monsters cannot invade, they might even draw power from the monsters instead.

In the end, the only change was that the priority was to eliminate the Inazuma people first, and then to eliminate the gods first. Aying's defeat this time was inevitable.
"Let's keep watching and see when she realizes that she can't defeat the enemy alone."

"It is indeed difficult to change when you are trapped in a habit of thinking, especially when it is a habit of action formed over hundreds or thousands of years."

"Fortunately, we have enough time, and watching a lot of fancy failures isn't so boring."

The dream projection, resembling a curtain, displays various scenes changing at the speed of light.

Having won one battle and feeling invincible, a certain otaku girl charged forward alone, attempting a full-scale battle against the Abyss General, who hadn't yet grown much stronger.

From the very beginning, they unleashed their full power, and unlike last time, they were no longer concerned with battle losses and injuries.
Prepared to sacrifice himself, Shadow unleashed his previous deadly strike with unwavering resolve, intending to take his opponent down with him.

Then, unsurprisingly, an accident occurred.
"Sigh, the second dream cycle is over. This time it ended even faster than the last one."

Shaking his head, he looked at the frozen image of a certain country girl who was unilaterally beaten into incapacitated by the Abyss General, and then watched helplessly as Inazuma Castle turned to ashes.
Even through the screen, you can almost hear the other person thinking, "I can't do anything."

Lin Feng, who was playing a game similar to an abyss simulator, was so speechless that he even felt he needed to intensify his efforts.
"."

"I have to say, your Ah Ying is really talented at enjoying the game."

"With clear instructions, a second playthrough can be even more disastrous than a first playthrough."

"Consider it gathering material for Nasita's story. I want to see how many more ways Inazuma can be destroyed."

I never imagined that a situation that could have been resolved by replacing the old man, Wendy, Mavica, or even my own little grass spirit would be turned into this.
In any case, the power consumed by manipulating the dream is negligible, and the rate of time passing in the outside world is also negligible.
He planned to record the number of times Aying restarted, and afterwards create a memory video like "One Hundred Ways Inazuma Can Die" to serve as a negative example for his cabbages to learn from.

(End of this chapter)