Life Game In Other World
Chapter 1257: Life and Death Exchange (Long - , Asking for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 1257: Chapter 1257: Life and Death Exchange (Long Chapter, Asking for Monthly Pass)

He Ao shifted his gaze and looked to the other side. Soon, among the figures, he spotted another familiar silhouette.

Roy.

Roy had intercepted the Witch of Desire during the Dawn City incident, preventing her advent and saving countless innocent civilians. Because of his actions, he was awarded the highest honor from the Dawn City Government—the Dawn Medal—and was later laid to rest in the Dumel National Cemetery.

This was also the role He Ao played during his third official Copy World mission.

He Ao’s gaze swept over the remaining crowd. Among them were faces he recognized, remembered through the minds of Ande, Roy, and Regit.

The heroic tales of these individuals had been celebrated not only across Dawn City but throughout the entire Federation. After their deaths, they were all interred in Dumel National Cemetery.

Of course, not all of them were known to He Ao, but he could infer that their identities were all similar—heroes who had once slept in Dumel National Cemetery.

Still, not everyone He Ao was familiar with, who had been "buried" in Dumel National Cemetery, was present here.

For instance, occupying roughly one-third of the cemetery’s first layer, Dawn City’s first mayor "Ellenska" was notably absent.

As He Ao made his way through, he noticed that most of the early heroes buried in the first three layers, from Dawn City’s formative history, were missing as well.

"I believe you’ve already realized,"

the crystal giant in the sky lowered its head to look at He Ao and chuckled hoarsely. "All those before me—these figures—were once bodies or relics buried in Dumel National Cemetery, heroes who defended order and civilization in their time."

Golden luminescence shimmered around those spectral figures. Simply standing there, they radiated a pressure so profound it seeped into one’s very soul.

The crystal giant in the sky gazed calmly at this display and continued, "These heroes were either the Federation’s most outstanding talents, influential leaders who once dominated the scene, or ordinary civilians endowed with extraordinary willpower, courage, and resolve. And without exception, all of them possessed an indomitable spirit and an unyielding will.

"Though they’ve been dead for years, their will and spirit linger in their tombs. With a mere ’summons’ powered by order, they can be awakened from eternal slumber, forging an invincible army of heroic spirits."

He gently raised his hand, light sweeping over the translucent figures, as he fixed his gaze on He Ao. "All collaborators have their own teams, and these undead spirits are my army."

At that moment, the figures with tightly shut eyes suddenly snapped them open. A suffocating pressure, nearly tangible, cascaded down from the heavens.

They began to move, their luminous bodies trembling, some fluidly, others stiffly like lifeless puppets.

"So this is why you’ve stayed in Dumel National Cemetery all these years?"

Amid the overwhelming pressure weighing on him, He Ao lifted his head to gaze up at the crystal giant in the sky. "Desecrating the dead?"

"This is no desecration,"

the crystal giant raised its hand lightly, a faint smile on its face as it responded. "While alive, they carried an obsession with defending order. Many even died for it. Through the power of order, I’ve reshaped their remnants into bodies, letting them continue to fight for their noble ideals. Isn’t this a good thing?"

As the golden-luminescent army grew more active, the crystal giant elaborated, "I believe even if they were still alive, they’d gladly join the monumental cause of defending order."

He Ao lifted his head and cast a calm glance at the crystal giant. "I don’t think so."

His gaze swept over the glowing figures. "They defended the citizens of Dawn City and the Federation, they defended human civilization—not your ridiculous notion of ’order.’"

He Ao could sense, faintly but unmistakably, two extraordinary connections embedded within the ranks of the ’heroic spirit army.’ These ties were deeply intertwined with him, possibly even extensions of himself.

It was as though parts of his body, once lost to the world, had been infused with new power, amplified in will, and rekindled their connection to him.

"The spirits have passed on,"

the crystal giant’s voice carried no emotion, "There’s no way for either of us to make them rise and speak—their understanding deviating is natural."

He raised his hand, and the luminous figures trembled in unison. Then, as one, they lowered their heads, gazing directly at He Ao below. The oppressive force intensified yet again.

The enormous dodecahedral crystal rotated, resonating with trembling sounds in the air. "I’ve told you before, child, killing you is easy for me. This is the true power of divine beings and angels—reawakening decayed obsessions and turning them into forces I can control. You haven’t crossed that threshold; you’ll never comprehend the majesty of mythic life."

"Oh."

He Ao responded flatly, gripping the bloodied blade in his hand.

These ’spirits’ clearly weren’t creations the crystal giant had conjured on the spot. He’d merely awakened them.

Each of them wielded vast individual strength—collectively, their might was enough to suppress the oppressive force of He Ao’s War God Projection, weakened as it was by his injuries.

This was, truly, an army of spirits capable of combating ’angels.’

And their existence greatly enhanced the power of the crystal giant.

Both aligned with the Order Path, Suote, this ’mentor,’ was most likely a B-level collaborator.

With collaborators’ abilities, team members could redistribute harm among themselves or concentrate their collective power onto a single individual.

No matter how He Ao bypassed this army to attack the crystal giant, the giant could redirect the damage across its forces, drastically reducing the blow’s effect.

The difference in power between them had been widened irrevocably by the emergence of this ’heroic spirit army.’

This was precisely why the crystal giant was confident it could easily kill He Ao.

"A shame. This is the accumulation of the Church’s strength over many years. If it weren’t for dire circumstances, I wouldn’t have wanted to deploy this heroic spirit army,"

the crystal giant remarked while gazing at He Ao. Its tone was calm,

"Child, forcing me to this point is already an extraordinary feat. You’ve learned well—whether from me or from your parents. At your age, I was far less accomplished than you.

"If you weren’t so stubborn, I might actually consider handing over the leadership of the Order Church to you in the future."

As it spoke, radiant crystal longswords materialized in the hands of every figure in the spirit army. The glowing figures stared fixedly at He Ao.

With movements unnervingly synchronized, they scattered to all directions in an instant, converging on He Ao.

"It’s over now, child."

A faint sigh echoed from the sky.

The towering crystal giant suddenly shattered apart, transforming into countless brilliant golden lights that streaked across the sky, veiling the firmament. Forming a vast crystal web, they closed in on He Ao from all directions.

There was no way for He Ao to self-destruct again. His body’s strength was nearly depleted. Another explosion might hurt the crystal giant, but it would certainly result in his own demise.

He gripped the bloodied blade in his hand, his gaze sweeping across the crystal-covered ground.

Traces of hazy purple light were flickering beneath layers of crystal—the energy that composed the city itself.

Now, encased by crystal, those purple traces were dimming, blending into the crystalline form.

The purple light in the sky shimmered feebly, no longer as intense as before.

With its original power waning and its assimilation into the crystal masses, the city’s amplifying effect on He Ao was diminishing rapidly.

The densely packed heroic spirit army encircled him like warriors who had trained together for years, sealing off all avenues for advancing or retreating seemingly in an instant.

The crystal web hid behind the heroic spirit army, enveloping itself securely while remaining poised to attack at any moment—like a tightly coiled spring waiting to burst forward.

Under such circumstances, any attempt by He Ao to attack would result in him being bogged down by the spirits and drawn into a tug-of-war. At that moment, the crystal web would emerge, entirely ’assimilating’ his body.

Should he attempt to retreat, the spirits would change tactics instantly, relentlessly pursuing him.

The forward-moving spirits were unnaturally fast, seemingly absorbing agility from those trailing behind who didn’t need to sprint. If He Ao made a quick sidestep, they would immediately match his movements, even outpacing him.

He Ao couldn’t maintain such high-speed evasion for long. His body, already gravely wounded, could sustain only one final, desperate attack.

This relentless pursuit would ultimately deplete his strength, leaving him defenseless—either encircled and overwhelmed by the spirit army or killed effortlessly after his power drained completely.

His gaze lingered on the crystal web hiding behind the spirits.

After a brief moment of introspection, he came to a decision.

Clenching the bloodied blade in his hand, he advanced without hesitation, slicing at the thick ranks of the spirit army.

He charged directly at their weakest point, seemingly determined to tear apart their formation through sheer force and confront the crystalline giant’s web in a final, life-or-death clash.

Beneath the dim veil of night, a peculiar vibration echoed—sharp, almost mocking.

Whoosh—

The massive blood blade sliced into the spirit army wielding crystal longswords.

But the anticipated clash of blade against sword never occurred.

The neatly aligned spirit army disintegrated the instant the blood blade cut through it, as though it had lost its order.

And flanking the blood blade, two previously dazed, bewildered figures abruptly lifted their gaze, turning their eyes toward their surroundings.

A surge of chaos and disorder exploded within the spirit army, like shattered solid ice. In a fleeting instant, their immaculate formation imploded.

He Ao hadn’t expected the crystal giant to deploy such a strategy—a heroic spirit army—but, evidently, the crystal giant hadn’t anticipated He Ao would actually exist as part of the army it had summoned.

Such a high-caliber heroic spirit army was essential for battles between angels, and the only place in Dawn City capable of summoning spirits of this caliber was Dumel National Cemetery.

And among those interred in this cemetery lay fragments of He Ao’s own body.

The secret medicine that had elevated He Ao to collaborator status had been tainted by the God of Chaos.

Because of this corruption, he gained an ability akin to ’Chaos Art.’ It allowed him to dismantle others’ formations—even influence the dead, causing life and death to ’blur.’

As extensions of He Ao himself, Ande and Roy’s spirits, magnified by the God of Chaos’s corruption within him, were the first affected by this ability. Their disrupted states then spread through the spiritual collective created by the collaborator, infecting the entirety of the ’heroic spirit’ ranks.

Throughout this process, He Ao carefully tempered the speed at which the chaos spread, strategically dodging and retreating to draw the crystal giant’s focus.

Every single maneuver had led to this pivotal moment, allowing He Ao to completely ’collapse’ the crystal giant’s collaborative network.

This prevented the giant from redistributing damage to the spirits, while also breaking apart the structure of their battle formation.

Years of accumulated ’resources’ had finally become He Ao’s leverage for turning the tide.

And as the blood blade surged forward, He Ao sensed something unusual.

Several spirits hadn’t been fully affected by the chaos, nor had they descended entirely into turmoil or broken down. Their eyes gleamed with peculiar light as if observing their surroundings thoughtfully.

He Ao had encountered individuals afflicted by the Chaos Magic Wand’s ’Chaotic Soul’ ability before, seeing them transformed into revived but lifeless entities.

But he had never used this ability on spirits already summoned as ’heroic.’ Nor had any opportunities arisen for him to do so.

Yet it was now clear—pushing the life-death boundary even further into chaos had caused an extraordinary shift in these spirits, seemingly restoring fragments of their cognition.

In that instant, a multitude of thoughts raced through He Ao’s mind. Without hesitation, he extended his mental reach, seeking contact with those flickering-eyed spirits.

A collaborator’s power included his own.

During this brief connection, he attempted to relay a succinct message, conveying what the crystal giant had done while inviting these spirits to join his collaborative network.

Within moments, all ’rational’ spirits responded resolutely, accepting his offer without hesitation.

His mind was instantly inundated with immense pressure as the spirits’ overwhelming energy flooded his network—a level far exceeding what a typical B-level collaborator could endure.

If not for the precise rituals He Ao performed during his ascension, it would’ve been impossible for him to unify these spirits into one collaborative network.

Even so, his consciousness teetered on the brink of collapse in mere seconds.

Using the power of his War God Projection, He Ao forcibly stabilized his resolve and turned his gaze once more toward the crystal web.

And just as chaos disrupted the spirit army, the crystal web collapsed back into the form of the crystal giant.

Though immensely destructive in its web form, its single-point defenses were weak—making it vulnerable to a direct attack from He Ao. Without hesitation, it reverted to its original shape once it lost the spirit army’s protection.

He Ao locked his focus on the crystal giant before him.

The truth was, He Ao’s ’chaotic ability’ wouldn’t last much longer.

Given the crystal giant’s keen senses and expertise in mysticism, it would soon isolate the root cause of the disruption. Using its superior mental strength, it could wrest control of the spirit army, suppress the chaos, and eject the extensions of He Ao within it—Ande and Roy.

In this fleeting window of confusion, He Ao had but one, final opportunity to act.

He faced his ’mentor’ directly, blood blade in hand.

Despite not grasping the entire situation, the crystal giant clearly saw through He Ao’s intentions.

Countless thoughts flashed like lightning through He Ao’s mind.

The signs of Super Memory remained, yet even now, he failed to perceive any thoughts from the crystal giant.

Time and again, the ’old detective’ had instilled wisdom in ’Suote’: amidst the crucible of life-threatening situations, retreat is never an option. Only by staking one’s life and charging forward can survival be clawed back.

Whoever strikes first claims everything.

Now, in this ’narrow road,’ would the crystal giant fight him to the death?

Would the mentor adhere to their teachings to a student?

Ease Thought could shift someone’s intent, but only once.

If he miscued and his opponent chose to flee, He Ao would forever lose this singular chance.

He Ao raised his head, staring at the stoic, crystalline dodecahedron.

Ease Thought!

The crystal long sword sprang into existence, piercing his body.

The blood blade surged forward, stabbing through the crystalline fracture, impaling the crystalline form.