Chapter 284 - 277: Embrace Madness? Ridiculous...

Chapter 284: Chapter 277: Embrace Madness? Ridiculous...

The last memory segment was from right after Lloyd and the others had finished their inquiry. The moment they had stepped into the forest, the supervisor used his finger to trace a bizarre and complex pattern in the air of his office, then frantically scribbled words beside it.

The message said that the investigation team had returned, and they’d brought a young man from the Holy Judgment Court with them. Was there a risk of being exposed? Should they make their move early?

’Looks like they weren’t planning on moving against the three investigators today. Maybe the time wasn’t right, or it wasn’t the date for the ritual yet?’

A few minutes later, the pattern twisted and morphed into a line of text, telling the supervisor to prioritize secrecy and caution. He was not to take risks, but failure was also not an option.

It also specifically emphasized that the Alternate Space in the storage area was an extremely important node for the Sect, as well as a priceless "asset." It absolutely could not be lost, and the supervisor was warned not to complicate matters.

So, after weighing his options, the supervisor made his decision: he would ambush the three investigators first, capture and imprison them, and then, when the day of the ritual arrived, offer them up for sacrifice and appeasement.

As for the Judge, who looked very young and green, he decided to play it safe. Fearing retaliation from the Holy Judgment Court, he chose to let him off the hook for now and just fool him with some excuses and a cover story.

It was clear the guy wasn’t an idiot; he knew the difference in weight between the Holy Judgment Court and the "Prosperous and Contented" Investigation Team.

At that point, the memory fragment I had received came to an end.

What followed was the fight between the supervisor and the scholar Kading, followed by my own timely arrival and decisive action.

When I arrived on the battlefield, I saw Kading engulfed in flames. It was an urgent situation, so I immediately activated [Twisted Realm] to restrain the supervisor’s movements.

But the guy was surprisingly strong. The effect of twisting his perception wasn’t very significant; it didn’t even manage to warp his logical thinking. He actually realized what was happening very quickly.

The supervisor just didn’t connect it to the [Twist] system; he thought it was a power from the [Wisdom] system.

’Clearly, this guy had a few tricks up his sleeve...’

Judging by the Madness Value he yielded upon death, he was already at danger level 5. No wonder he could suppress the Tier Three Kading to the point where he couldn’t even fight back.

He could even perform feats like catching a bullet with his bare hands. His physical strength and reflexes were clearly immense, even beyond what I had imagined.

At the time, my [Probe] results showed that three of his four Attributes were "??," indicating they exceeded the upper limit of what my [inspiration] could detect: 140 points.

Only his [Rationality] Attribute was a mere 80 points.

And his system was one I had never heard of before: [Nirvana].

It sounded like some kind of exceptionally vicious and malevolent power...

The threat level he posed to me was displayed as a giant, bright red skull, indicating extreme danger.

I suspected this might be because his inhuman cultivation method allowed him to absorb a great deal of Forbidden Knowledge without having to worry about [Rationality]. As a result, his combat power was far greater than that of a typical lawbreaker, making him extremely difficult to deal with.

Or perhaps it was because some mysterious entity—the one that "enjoys a feast of madness"—was providing him with some kind of Shelter and support from behind the scenes, granting him physical capabilities far beyond those of an ordinary person.

The crucial thing was, on top of all that, the guy could also control the lumber mill workers and make them help him...

Fortunately, I still had [Twisted Realm]. I used it to envelop the two workers the supervisor had "summoned," then used my twisting ability to sever his control over them.

The two workers instantly collapsed to the ground, motionless, and became brain-dead vegetables.

But if I didn’t have a skill that could affect other people’s abilities, getting targeted and tied down by those two workers wielding logging axes and chainsaws would have been a real problem.

Even though they were just ordinary people with no Extraordinary Power, a Tier Three Extraordinary Being would have a tough time handling them if they swarmed in with weapons. Plus, there would be severe moral pressure to deal with...

All in all, the guy’s actual combat power was probably on par with a Tier Five Powerhouse. The Madness Value he provided at the end proved this point.

In a head-on, one-on-one fight, he would’ve been an extremely dangerous and tricky opponent. I felt like I would have had a hard time dealing with him.

But luckily, I’m no saint myself. While he was still struggling to completely break free from the effects of [Twisted Realm], I immediately activated [Aggressive Speech] and then unleashed [Blessing Distortion].

So, at that same moment, the effects of three different skills—all at level seven—plus the power of two separate systems slammed into the guy. It created a sort of "Critical Strike" effect that made him lose his sense of self on the spot. It shattered his Rationality, and he began to lose control and spiral into depravity.

’Well, what do you know? My offensive abilities are pretty damn strong, huh?’

I was quite satisfied with the effect of my abilities. Right off the bat, the result was outstanding.

Especially [Aggressive Speech]. Now that I didn’t have to actually spew profanities, it was not only much more convenient to use, but it also cleared out a wave of junk from the "Recycle Bin" in my head, tossing out that huge pile of miscellaneous, useless fragments.

The feeling was incredibly satisfying, like the rush you get from dumping all the crystals, Original Stones, and Xingqiong you’ve painstakingly saved up into a new waifu’s gacha banner.

True, I had the advantage of a sneak attack, but when you’re dealing with scum like him, there’s no need to play by any code of honor.