NOVEL NEXT Chapter 458: Endless Obstacles
Kean and Jeremy each made their final preparations for the ultimate showdown.
Both of them eagerly anticipated the final battle, each hoping to end the other once and for all. With this decisive confrontation, their long-standing feud would finally be resolved.
However, before the final showdown arrived, both sides would undoubtedly continue to create trouble for each other.
Jeremy had no way of directly influencing Kean, who was in the capital. As a result, he could only rely on the Goddess of Life and the God of War to interfere with Kean's judgment to some extent.
After all, besides gathering intelligence, Kean also had to depend on divination or the prophecy abilities provided by the planners of the Apocalypse Game to predict Jeremy's moves.
Although the Goddess of Life and the God of War were not as powerful as the planners of the Apocalypse Game, they were still deities in their own right. They possessed the ability to disrupt divination and prophecy to a certain extent.
On the other hand, Kean had far more ways to deal with Jeremy.
Kean urged the military headquarters to prepare for battle against Jeremy.
After all, the relationship between the military headquarters and Jeremy was far from harmonious.
If Jeremy recklessly arrived in the capital, there was a high chance that he would come into direct conflict with the military headquarters.
Should such a situation arise, Kean would ultimately be the one to reap the greatest benefit.
Additionally, Kean continued to send his subordinates to set up various obstacles along the route from Valley City to the capital.
These obstacles included roadblocks as well as powerful monsters.
While Kean's subordinates lacked the ability to control overly powerful monsters, they were capable of releasing them from instances.
These creatures would undoubtedly slow Jeremy's progress.
Kean's tactics proved to be highly effective.
Originally, Jeremy and Ritchie could have reached the outskirts of the capital within a day, but due to the obstacles they encountered, their journey was delayed by a full three days.
As soon as they left the small town where they had been resting, they were ambushed by a level 60 monster.
Although this creature wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, it possessed the ability to become invisible. Even with Ritchie's shadow manipulation abilities, it still took Jeremy an entire hour to eliminate the beast.
By the time they finally took down the monster, night had already fallen.
Jeremy decided that there was no need to rush forward any further.
Since traveling through the darkness would inevitably lead to encountering even more dangers, and the monster they had just faced had already proven that the night would bring countless more creatures their way, it was clear that continuing forward was unwise.
"We have to find a place to stay for the night! The monster we just fought wasn't particularly strong, but don't forget—the night hasn't even reached its darkest hours yet.
The creatures we encounter now are nothing compared to the horrors that will emerge at midnight. The monsters we'll face in the dead of night will be far stronger and far more terrifying."
Jeremy voiced his concerns.
Ritchie, of course, had no objections. After everything they had been through, he had developed complete trust in Jeremy. Whatever Jeremy decided, Ritchie would follow without hesitation.
"So, are we just going to hide somewhere around here? There doesn't seem to be any safe place nearby. Forget about a town—I can't even spot a single village."
Ritchie scanned the surroundings.
The area was indeed desolate. There were no towns, no villages—nothing but barren land stretching endlessly into the distance.
Aside from a few abandoned structures that had long since fallen into decay, there were no signs of human habitation.
In truth, even without the unexpected arrival of the Apocalypse Game, this region had always been an inhospitable wasteland.
The terrain was predominantly desert-like, and humans could not survive in the desert for long.
Jeremy took a moment to assess their situation before coming to a decision—he would use a magic formation to create a safe zone.
"We might not be able to find shelter here, but we can use our own abilities to construct a secure area."
Without hesitation, Jeremy activated his innate ability—The King of Time and Space.
One by one, spatial rifts began to form in the area surrounding him and Ritchie.
These rifts severed the space around them from the outside world.
Effectively, they had created an isolated dimension—a pocket of space that functioned as an impenetrable fortress.
Upon witnessing Jeremy's handiwork, Ritchie wasted no time in taking his own measures.
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Ritchie utilized his shadow manipulation ability, conjuring layers of shadows around the special space. These shadows seamlessly concealed their refuge within the darkness, making it almost impossible to detect.
"See? The two of us can create a completely secure area out of thin air. Let's stay here until sunrise."
With that, Jeremy and Ritchie retreated into their protected zone.
Just as before, they took turns keeping watch throughout the night.
Jeremy took the first watch, remaining vigilant as he monitored the surroundings. As the hours passed, he became increasingly aware of the sheer number of monsters lurking nearby.
These creatures seemed to be wandering aimlessly, as if searching for something.
Perhaps they were trying to track Jeremy and Ritchie, but it was clear that they had no way of finding them.
Their intelligence was simply too low, and they lacked the ability to perceive spatial anomalies.
When the second half of the night arrived, Ritchie took over.
However, things quickly took a turn for the worse.
Not only had the number of monsters surrounding their safe zone increased significantly, but their levels were also much higher than before.
As time went on, Ritchie's nerves grew taut.
He noticed that some of the monsters appeared to be staring in their direction.
It was as if they had become aware of his presence.
Ritchie refrained from taking any reckless action. Instead, he chose to wake Jeremy.
"Something feels off. The monsters out there… they seem to be able to see us. Should we act now? We need to strike first!"
Ritchie's concern was evident.
He feared that if the monsters launched an attack first, their chances of survival would plummet. However, if they acted preemptively, they could seize the advantage and eliminate the threat before it overwhelmed them.
Jeremy didn't rush to a decision.
Instead, he carefully observed their surroundings.
Just as Ritchie had said, the monsters did indeed seem to be aware of them.
Yet, despite this, they had not immediately attacked. That hesitation alone suggested that they had some sort of concern.
After a moment of contemplation, Jeremy finally realized what it was that kept the monsters at bay.
"These monsters won't attack us. They're intimidated by the spatial rifts surrounding our special space.
Even though their levels aren't low, they all originate from ordinary instances.
Monsters from common instances rarely encounter spatial anomalies like these rifts. They have no understanding of what these distortions mean, so naturally, they won't recklessly make a move."
As Jeremy spoke, his tone grew increasingly relaxed.
In his mind, monsters that feared spatial rifts posed no real threat to him.
However, Ritchie wasn't as optimistic.
"Even if they won't attack us now, once the sun rises, we'll have to leave this special space.
By then, we won't have the rifts to shield us anymore."
Ritchie's concern was valid.
But Jeremy remained just as carefree as before.
"Don't worry. I have The King of Time and Space ability.
Maintaining this special space does consume a lot of energy, but we don't need to keep it up for too long.
We only need to shift the special space forward a short distance, and these monsters will be left behind.
Once we've shaken them off, we can move at full speed.
Besides, monsters react more slowly during the daytime.
At this rate, we should be able to reach the outskirts of the capital within a day or two."
Jeremy's words finally eased Ritchie's concerns.
With that settled, they decided against taking any action against the surrounding monsters.
However, the number of monsters continued to increase.
More and more of them gathered around the edges of the special space.
At the same time, their eyes were all fixed on Jeremy and Ritchie.
Jeremy no longer felt as relaxed.
Something was off.
The situation was starting to exceed his expectations.
It was becoming clear that his previous judgment might have been flawed.
"I think your initial assessment was right after all!
Even if these monsters aren't attacking us outright, the sheer number of them gathering here could lead to unexpected consequences.
We need to get out of here—fast.
The sun will rise in less than an hour.
At this point, we're unlikely to run into any additional monsters."
After saying that, Jeremy wasted no time and immediately opened a Portal.
Given the overwhelming number of monsters outside, he had no choice but to abandon his plan of moving the special space forward.
Instead, he decided to use the Portal to transport himself and Ritchie to a distant location.
The moment the Portal opened, the monsters surrounding the special space flew into a frenzy.
Sensing the shift in space, they suddenly abandoned their usual hesitancy and launched a frenzied assault on the spatial rifts encircling the special zone.
Ritchie's face twisted into an expression of terror as he watched the scene unfold.
Jeremy, however, remained composed.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Ritchie and pulled him into the Portal.