Chapter 2249: 2249. Lie
Great Builder's expression didn't change. He continued to wear a confident face that hid the raging thoughts flying inside his mind.
It didn't often happen that the experts on Noah's side met opponents capable of making them experience genuine fear. Of course, the event wasn't too surprising when the battles involved vast differences in power. Yet, it was shocking when it happened between beings at the same level.
Great Builder wasn't a core member of Noah's team, but he remained a monster. He had survived death itself and had come back to life stronger than ever. He had even reached the peak of the cultivation journey. In theory, very few experts could match his power.
Great Builder wasn't arrogant. He knew that Heaven and Earth's army had to feature some truly troublesome experts. Caesar and Divine Architect were good examples, but the Rulers' Resolve seemed to stand at the same level.
Still, the issue went beyond simple power. Great Builder had felt genuine fear when his opponent had focused his attention on him. That shocked him to his core and forced him to prepare to unleash everything he had.
'Is he stronger than me?' Great Builder found himself wondering while inspecting the grey-eyed expert.
The Rulers' Resolver seemed to carry no emotions. Some would mistake his aloof expression for annoyance, but Great Builder could see the truth. The privileged cultivator simply didn't care about the final battle or his opponents.
"What a pitiful title," Great Builder mocked as some bricks left the pyramid to expand into the void.
The bricks transformed into large rectangular structures as big as the giant pyramid before generating power. Their surfaces turned transparent and revealed multiple currents of energy converging at their center to give birth to humanoid shapes.
The Rulers' Resolve didn't bother addressing the insult. He pointed his fingers at the two massive structures and unleashed his array of grey spheres to launch countless fast rays.
The giant bricks summoned barriers and released their yellowish aura to weaken the incoming attacks, but they couldn't stop the rays. Countless attacks landed on their ethereal surfaces and pierced them before continuing to fly forward.
Great Builder voiced a snort when he saw the grey rain flying toward him. The maimed bricks exploded to release the accumulated energy and affect the incoming offensive, but he found himself forced to use the pyramid even after that sacrifice.
The violent waves of yellowish energy crashed on the rays and destabilized their fabric. Part of their power dispersed, and some ended outside their established path. Yet, many attacks continued to fly toward the pyramid.
The holes in the pyramid released a series of shockwaves that fused mid-air to create a series of peculiar shields. The tremors running through those ethereal barriers altered the incoming rays' fabric and made them lose even more energy, but a few still crashed on the structure.
Explosions resounded on the pyramid, but its yellowish surface remained mostly intact. A few small cracks had opened after the attack, but Great Builder disregarded that damage as he forced his building to open in half.
The many bricks separated to create a vertical opening that revealed the very center of the pyramid. A flaring yellow core became visible, and its blinding light removed any trace of darkness or greyness from the void.
Multiple figures came out of the yellow core. Proper giants shot out from the pyramid's center and flew forward to converge toward the Rulers' Resolve. However, the expert managed to recreate his array of spheres before those creatures could reach him.
Another grey rain shot forward and pierced the many humanoid giants. Those creatures couldn't do anything against those powerful rays, but they self-destructed before losing control of their energy.
The chaos generated by the many detonations seemed to slow down the grey rays, but they eventually managed to fly past the messy area and converge toward the pyramid.
Countless attacks crashed at the pyramid's center and filled the yellow core's surface with explosions. Flares escaped that blinding sphere as the rays dug holes in its fabric, but that shielded the item from the offensive before it could cause too much damage.
The Rulers' Resolve showed no emotions at that sight. He recreated the vast array of grey spheres to launch another attack, but he abruptly interrupted the offensive to move his attention above him.
A massive figure became visible in a mere second. A giant version of Great Builder teleported above the Rulers' Resolve and threw a punch that aimed to kill the expert in a single blow.
Great Builder had used the previous exchanges to develop fake cores that could counter his opponent. His giant puppets had been a diversion that had allowed him to fuse with those artificial centers of power and disappear inside the void.
According to Great Builder's calculations, the Rulers' Resolve should have noticed his presence only when the giant punch was about to reach him. However, the privileged cultivator had surpassed Great Builder's expectations.
A dark-yellow defensive layer grew over Great Builder's giant figure to prepare for the rays. He expected the privileged cultivator to use the spheres to attack him, but the expert surprised him once again.
The Rulers' Resolve didn't move as the giant punch fell on him. He let the attack land on his head as he added more power to his array of spheres. That made Great Builder pour more energy into his attack, but the outcome of that offensive left him speechless.
The void seemed to shake when the giant punch landed. Great Builder was unleashing the entirety of his power during his offensive. He was one of the few monsters in Noah's organization who had reached the solid stage, so his attack went far beyond what cultivators at that level could achieve.
Yet, the Rulers' Resolve didn't budge at all when the punch landed on his head. His neck also remained still. One of Great Builder's serious attacks had failed to inflict any damage.
The array of grey spheres unleashed their power at that point. The Rulers' Resolve had let Great Builder complete his attack to catch him unprepared for his offensive.
The rain of grey rays shot toward the giant and filled its entire body with countless explosions. Great Builder's dark-yellow barrier protected him from the offensive's piercing power, but it couldn't stop the violent energy released during the detonations.
The grey offensive shattered the dark-yellow shield and affected the giant's core. Great Builder had to separate himself from chunks of his figure due to the damage he had sustained. Entire pieces of his body had become useless, so it was better to destroy them.
More explosions happened, but the Rulers' Resolve remained still. He let those violent waves crash on him while Great Builder retreated to return to his pyramid.
When the explosions stopped filling the void, Great Builder could see that the Rulers' Resolve didn't suffer any injury. Even his expression had remained the same. The expert wasn't even fighting seriously, but Great Builder couldn't hurt him.
"What a troublesome opponent," Great Builder sighed.
The Rulers' Resolve didn't bother conversing. He summoned his array of spheres again, making Great Builder snort loudly.
The grey rain shot toward Great Builder, but he flew toward the pyramid's yellow core to draw part of its energy and launch it forward. A wave of power engulfed the rays, and they dissolved into the void.
"Did you really think you could use the same attack through the entirety of our battle?" Great Builder cursed. "I'm one of the greatest inscription masters in the entire world. You are troublesome, but that won't stop me from figuring out your weaknesses."
The Rulers' Resolve didn't care about Great Builder's words. He launched his grey ray again, and Great Builder summoned the yellow core's power to disperse it. Another exchange ended up in a draw, but the privileged cultivator showed no emotions at that sight.
"Did living in the sky make you forget how to have a conversation?" Great Builder asked. "We should insult each other a bit to keep this battle lively."
"Lively," The Rulers' Resolve repeated. "You have the wrong idea. This isn't a battle. This is an execution."
"Can't you look at the battlefield?" Great Builder laughed. "My side isn't winning, but it's getting there. Our quality isn't something that a mere numerical advantage can overcome."
"Quality," The Rulers' Resolve repeated. "That's a lie."
The Rulers' Resolve teleported above Great Builder before pointing his fingers at him. The array of spheres unfolded again, but Great Builder laughed as he reached for the yellow core.
"That attack won't work against me anymore," Great Builder declared, but his expression soon froze.
The many spheres didn't immediately release rays. They quickly converged in front of the expert's fingers to create a single unstable orb that radiated sizzling noises due to the immense amount of power condensed in its small shape.
The attack that followed forced Great Builder to use the core's energy to perform an evasive maneuver. A grey pillar shot downward and flew across the entire higher plane before crashing on one of Divine Architect's towers.