Apocalypse Gachapon Chapter 1899: Final chaos

"Lady, something's happening up ahead."

The young maid darted back and forth across the woods before hurrying over from a distance to reach the Lady's position.

"Is that White Robe?"

The Lady leaped to her feet in excitement, her gaze gleaming brightly.

The maid let out a silent sigh inside but stayed quiet, merely nodding her head no.

"Oh."

Realizing it wasn't White Robe, the Lady's enthusiasm vanished in an instant, and she plopped back beside the small pond, feeling too idle to budge.

Earlier, the trio believed they could track down White Robe without delay, yet upon reaching the spot, he was gone. As they pressed on with the chase, the cluster of green markers blending together made it impossible to pinpoint their target.

In the end, the Lady just dispatched her two followers in different directions. They all hunted on their own, eager to locate him fast. If not, they'd have to hold out until the red label updated in the next hour.

This Lady cared for her underlings generously, though her nature leaned toward chilliness. She transformed entirely around White Robe, but seldom offered warmth to anyone else and preferred issuing orders straight away. The maid paused briefly yet chose to press on with her report of the scene; holding back could mean trouble down the line.

"Lady, those folks in front aren't Order Leader White Robe, but they belong to the Changxu Water Race. They're under siege right now. You recall that top-ranked Star-Eye Clan Novice was Lord White Robe's main goal to begin with. And reports indicate the Changxu Water Race Novice sticks close to him. So I figure..."

"By rescuing these three from the Changxu Water Race, we could get a link to their kin. From there, we'll trace the leads straight to White Robe!"

The Lady sprang up once more in thrill, ruffled the maid's hair fondly, and declared, "Well done."

The maid's pulse raced with anxiety, yet words failed her.

"Should we hold off for..." The maid referred to the male protector, but her sentence trailed off as the restless Lady's form faded into the distance, leaving the maid no choice but to trail after.

………………………………………………

Modest hillock.

The energy formation stood ready. Jie Su gazed steadily toward the path where White Robe ought to emerge, anticipating his close companion's arrival.

Yet White Robe failed to appear.

His sibling had surely run into complications.

"Why don't just the pair of us scout the area? We could lend a hand if things look rough?"

Jie Su held off on replying right away, staying silent for a beat before murmuring, "No point."

Lacking array support, the Su Clan's fighting prowess placed near the bottom among galactic lineages. Aware that White Robe would face fierce assaults, even their full trio joining in wouldn't shift much; they'd probably just perish too.

With matters standing like that, staying put made sense.

Achieving any ambition demanded steep sacrifices. The grander, more opulent, or wondrous the vision, the denser the obstacles lining its road.

The aspirations of him, White Robe, and a handful more weren't especially fresh or unique; countless others might have dreamed them once. But for one cause or another, those souls abandoned or shelved their hopes.

Jie Su couldn't say if their band would fulfill theirs or endure how long. Progress hinged on enduring trial after trial.

Should they falter... those visions wouldn't fade; another might carry the torch, though it would cease to concern them.

Was White Robe's trial upon him now?

Each bore their role. Neglecting one's task simply proved unworthiness of fortune's grace.

The same held for Jie Su himself. He spread his palm, igniting the energy array beneath him.

As White Robe faced his challenge afar, Jie Su's own ordeal had dawned.

………………………………………………

He dashed swiftly to Ye Zhongming's location and steadied the frail Ye Zhongming.

Thankfully, this instance involved mere overexertion; no real harm done, and recovery would come soon. Still, that mighty technique couldn't be unleashed again anytime soon.

He itched to inquire: when turning into that 'colossus,' did it truly nullify strikes? She'd seen the Evil Armor Star folks' dark beam pierce the ebony fog behemoth's form, yet Ye Zhongming's body showed no trace now.

The earlier fallen Novices were regaining some strength. A couple remained bedded down; their wounds, combined with the psychic jolt, had wrecked them worst.

But those able to form thoughts all stared at Ye Zhongming with odd expressions.

This fellow, truly just a Novice? One who'd already burst forth once to slay two Gurui Star Race fighters, then erupted anew to wipe out five peers in a flash, and now deployed yet another tactic to eradicate the leftover Evil Armor Star survivors.

This... how vast could the divide between individuals grow?

Yet for these Novices, it spelled fortune. This figure had yanked them from death's brink repeatedly, staving off total breakdown in peril.

The Novices aligned with White Robe, once dismissed as underdogs, had—after grievous losses—dispatched five seasoned fighters plus every Novice in tow.

Such a feat dazzled, even stirring the Luther folk to glimpse victory and press their foes harder.

Still, White Robe's front neared its close, and not favorably.

Up against two formidable rivals who'd curbed their power but whose actual might dwarfed White Robe's, the youth from a minor lineage shone remarkably, holding out ages in a two-on-one clash. But power disparities loomed large. Wounds mounted, tilting the balance, with downfall imminent.

The edge Ye Zhongming's group forged eroded steadily as White Robe teetered on loss.

This rippled straight to the three hesitant Luther combatants, unraveling their stance.

"Rush to aid White Robe."

Ye Zhongming directed He and the still-capable fighters, like Ji Ruiguang, toward White Robe's aid. The verdict there would seal the endgame.

Ji Ruiguang and crew couldn't dive into the fray outright; their duty lay in shielding He. Only He could truly bolster White Robe.

As the local skirmish hurtled toward resolution, unbeknownst to them, a massive vortex swirled into being around their hub.

This very force explained their prolonged tussle undisturbed by outsiders.

Not for lack of desire from others, but every nearby faction, caught by sundry mishaps, had smeared into ruin nearby.

And this surge didn't ebb over time; it swelled fiercer, dragging most powers—willing or otherwise—into the fray. The whole zone... wait, the full Novice arena, plunged into turmoil.