Super Righteous Player
Chapter 920 - 455: The Silent Attacker

Chapter 920: Chapter 455: The Silent Attacker

The illusive light from all directions that blinded Annan’s eyes made it nearly impossible for him to see anything clearly.

This was indeed one of the "Fourth Brilliance."

At the cross-boundary moment, the illusive light in the crevice between worlds distorted the usual colors; therefore, human brains were unable to analyze this light with the previously established "color system."

In this crevice filled with illusive light, there was only the "intensity" of the light and no colors at all. One could barely even make out the general outline of a face... Being able to discern that this was a person holding a staff-like object was the limit.

Relying on the slightly distorted voice, Annan couldn’t determine the identity of the person opposite him.

However, Annan was sure of one thing.

The person who had intercepted him from the transmission ritual at this moment... was undoubtedly malicious.

Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

" ... You should respect me.

"For I have torn the Light within the mirror and I walk above fate!"

With Annan’s unheralded chanting, a brilliant light burst forth from him:

"I am the Charioteer, leading six hundred stars falling from below upwards to the Merkabah Hall! I am the Charioteer; I shall open all gates of the Light Realm!

"I shall open the triple gates: I shall open the Gate of Gaze and Shaping, I shall open the Gate of Goodness and Permanence, I shall open the Gate of The Worm and the Cicada—"

Even in Annan’s pupils, a pure brilliance suddenly overflowed. His white hair from the roots started to spread into a floating, tentacle-like stream of light, and four wings of light extended behind him.

This newly optimized white robe, with elven style, was much more refined compared to the previous shoulder- and waist-revealing robe.

Annan’s clothes prior had been fairly convenient—his previous garment had the shoulders and sides of the waist removed by Maria to accommodate the wings of light.

The only issue was, when not in combat, he needed to wear a cloak or shawl to cover his body...

At first, Annan felt somewhat exposed, but it was better than feeling like the neighboring green giant, where every battle led to torn clothes. So he thought it over and accepted it.

The Silver Baron, considering Annan’s special needs but feeling the previous attire was too revealing, decided to modify the outfit without consulting Annan—in overall, the coverage had increased significantly.

The new white robe left only the light-needing left arm exposed.

While the apparently ample fabric at the back and the lower back had two skirt-like pleated structures that would automatically lift to accommodate the spread of the light wings when they emerged.

This way, even if the light wings were extended, no skin would be exposed.

Seeing Annan chant the "Ritual Spell: Traces of the Chariot," the ethereal figure opposite did not attack, nor did it flee.

He merely leaned on his staff, quietly watching everything unfold, emitting a deep voice.

"The Charioteer... huh..."

The man sneered, "Is this the power you wished to obtain?"

It was a chilling, curse-filled low voice.

Simply hearing it was enough to freeze one’s thoughts stiff. Fear and despair were imbued in his speech, altering the world without needing to utter mystical languages like "Frost Speech" or "Dragon Speech."

Just as after chewing mint, there is a freshness in the mouth; after smoking, a lingering taste of smoke remains on the lips.

Only those who have slowly, painfully chewed on pain and despair over the years can imbue such despair into their speech.

Annan took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the Trident of the Third.

After he had completed his transfiguration, his resistance to the Radiant Element had deepened. Having acquired resistance to the Fourth Brilliance, the distortive effect of the illusive light had completely vanished.

His eyes, overflowing with brilliance, were obviously no longer capable of clear vision—Annan now received visual information not through his eyes but through the light wings behind him.

The light wings acted like a beacon, continually collecting various kinds of light from the surroundings.

During this process, they also signalized the visual field of the surroundings.

Not confined to just the eyes, which could only see a narrow slice in front, he could clearly view the entire spherical area around him.

And thus, the identity of the person in front of him was immediately revealed.

It was indeed the one who had previously escaped from the Grand Duke’s mansion—

" ... Vladimir."

Annan whispered softly.

The Winter Reverser, whom Annan had addressed by name, showed neither panic nor surprise.

Instead, he merely chuckled, both hands casually resting on his cane, quietly looking towards Annan without uttering a word.

Vladimir, who worshiped The Worm and transformed himself into a creature of the Dream Realm, indeed possessed the ability to interfere with teleportation.

Vladimir could effortlessly navigate the rifts of the world; if he had prior knowledge of the exact timing and location of Annan’s teleportation, he indeed could intercept him directly.

Precision teleportation was not like the safe transportation of planes or cars.

It indeed required a technical knack, but it relied more on instinct rather than knowledge. To draw a comparison, the experiences of teleportation users were more akin to riding a self-balancing scooter, where a moment of distraction could lead to misplacement.

And the pressure of teleporting people multiplied.

It was like transporting multiple people on a self-balancing scooter. Only a true veteran driver could teleport people over long distances... unless there was someone to guide at the end of the teleportation.

In that case, teleportation would become very simple—like using a retractable grappling hook hooked onto an iron ring protruding from a wall. With precise positioning, one could teleport without any skill.

The teleportation used by the players was of the latter kind.

"Opener" Jacob was selected by Annan and kept by his side for his excellent skills, as he was a "master of the self-balancing scooter".

He could teleport directly to places he had never visited nor set an anchor point using just his sense of space and a map.

It was somewhat like a veteran who, without using satellite navigation, glances at a map, knows the destination, and drives directly to an unfamiliar city without getting lost.

And Winter Reverser Vladimir was the one who had directly pulled Annan off the aimless "human-carrying self-balancer."

Annan suddenly realized something.

—It was the finger bone.

The finger bone that Vladimir left behind during his last escape was now kept as a cursed material in Jacob’s ritual pouch!

On that finger bone, there might be some sort of tracking marker that even Victor and Jacob hadn’t discovered... and it could penetrate the preservation spell and be detected by Vladimir.

It was probably that thing that had drawn Vladimir out!

Jacob must have realized something was wrong immediately... but he didn’t stop.

His experience told him it was better to return and report first—anyone who could forcibly intercept Annan from teleportation was likely just adding trouble for Annan by staying there.

Moreover, he didn’t have much Radiant Oil left; if delayed, he might not be able to return...

Rather than linger, it was better to quickly go back, find Salvatore for support, and then return with reinforcement.

...However, Annan hoped that when he came back, he would bring more people. For instance, bringing Maria and Victor—if he only brought Salvatore or Kafney, that might just turn into delivering them over.

The surrounding stream of light gradually dissipated.

The world around them became clear.

The aborted teleportation had thrown Annan and Vladimir into some desolate wilderness.

"...Let me guess."

Annan’s calm voice, echoing thrice, spoke out, "You must have found me from the beginning. But you only acted now...

"Do you hope to use me to eliminate Nicholas II?"

Vladimir squinted slightly.

He remained silent, completely ignoring Annan’s inquiry.

Behind him, a tall, dark gray shadow gradually materialized.

It was a humanoid figure covered in scars and fresh wounds, with bloody bandages over its eyes, its ears and tongue cut off, possessing eight deformed, misshapen arms, hair disheveled and wild—it resembled a "tree" made up of a madman’s limbs... Its four sets of arms were raised high towards the sky, as if welcoming something.

Its heart was a horrific sunken wound, a large circular cavity inside which was a dark red sphere pulsating slowly—Vladimir’s elevated false body.

A strong sense of crisis spread through Annan’s heart.

The next moment, Annan felt the world around him, in the blink of an eye, become saturated with a despairing dark gray color. And he himself could not move—an even the pure light was frozen in the air!

Without uttering a single word, Vladimir, without warning, launched an attack on Annan!