49 Apocalypse Rules

[Attention all participants: A team has obtained the hidden treasure, the Holy Grail. Their location has been revealed. You may now compete for it.]

[The team that holds the Holy Grail for 30 consecutive minutes will be declared its owner, win a hidden reward, and this challenge will immediately conclude.]

The Fire Thief’s announcement echoed in the minds of every participant on the island. For a moment, everyone froze, their faces masks of disbelief.

A long arrow materialized on the ground before them, pointing in the precise direction of the Holy Grail’s holder.

"The hidden treasure, the Holy Grail?!"

"The challenge has hidden content, too???"

"And there’s a hidden reward!"

While most were still reeling in shock, some teams had already sprung into action.

"The Holy Grail, you say? It seems there’s a reason this island is called ’Holy Grail Island.’ Holding it for thirty minutes ends the competition... Not bad. I was starting to get bored of this game anyway. This Holy Grail... it belongs to me, Lucifer."

In the center of the island, a tall man operating alone glanced at the arrow at his feet and followed its direction without hesitation.

In a town on the northern side of the island, a small squad that had just finished looting it for supplies saw the Fire Thief’s announcement and immediately grew restless.

"Boss, the Holy Grail! It sounds incredible! Let’s go grab it!"

"I’m in!"

"Agreed!"

The squad members were eager, but their leader rejected the idea in a relaxed tone. "Grab what? You think you can take it from those monsters? Besides, we have more than enough points. Why take the risk? Who knows how many teams are flocking over there now. If we run into one of the national teams and get wiped out, it’ll be too late for regrets. So, all of you, just stay put!"

On the western side of the island, a well-trained five-person squad became ecstatic upon seeing the indicator on the ground.

"Captain, it looks like the Holy Grail holder isn’t far from us! This is a godsend!"

"The team that secures the Holy Grail will probably win the challenge’s hidden grand prize. We can’t miss this!"

The captain nodded. "As a government-sponsored team, we have a duty to secure the greatest prize. Move out!"

On the southern side of the island, a massive force of over a hundred people had assembled, all following a powerfully built, muscular man.

Anyone else who saw this would have been stunned, assuming it was an illegal alliance. The team size limit was five people, yet here were over a hundred—at least twenty squads—moving as one. It was a flagrant violation of the rules.

However, the man in the lead didn’t care. As the Alpha Wolf selected for the Tulip Federation’s "Wolf Pack Project," he held absolute authority over all other teams from the Federation.

Thus, even before the challenge began, he had ordered all Federation teams to immediately head to the southernmost point of their starting zones after teleporting, where they were to rendezvous with him and follow his unified command.

As the Alpha Wolf, his strategy was simple: first, consolidate the Federation teams and use the overwhelming numerical advantage of their "illegal alliance" to systematically crush every other nation’s teams on the island.

Once only Federation teams remained, they would split up and fight amongst themselves to determine the final top ten.

This plan had been progressing smoothly. The Federation had already eliminated most of the other nations’ teams in the south and was planning to push toward the island’s center. Unexpectedly, the Fire Thief’s sudden announcement threw a wrench in their plans.

Now, this assembled wolf pack of over a hundred people had halted, awaiting the Alpha Wolf’s decision.

"Head to the western side of the island," the Alpha Wolf decided quickly. "Seize the Holy Grail and eliminate all other contenders."

Countless teams across the island were now heading west.

Some of the more powerful teams had a clear objective: they were going straight for the Holy Grail.

The less competitive teams, on the other hand, were mostly hoping to pick up the scraps, dreaming of a scenario where the powerhouses would beat each other senseless, allowing them to luckily swoop in and grab the Holy Grail.

Then there were the teams who were self-aware enough to know they were no match for the elite squads. They weren’t interested in the Holy Grail itself, but they were very interested in the teams fighting for it.

They were like the merchants who sold shovels during a gold rush; it was uncertain if the prospectors would strike gold, but the merchants selling them the tools were guaranteed to get rich.

These teams planned to set up ambushes along the inevitable routes to pick off the weaker squads who dared to join the fray for the Holy Grail, farming them for points.

Finally, there were the teams with a clear understanding of their own capabilities. They knew the Holy Grail was destined for the hands of the elite private squads or the national teams, and it wasn’t something they could ever hope to claim.

Rather than heading over just to become cannon fodder, they figured it was better to take advantage of the situation. While everyone else rushed west, they could scavenge for more supplies elsewhere on the island. They might even find something valuable and could still pick up some scraps for points after the elites were finished with their brawl.

And at this very moment, Guan Tong, the actual holder of the Holy Grail, knew from the instant he heard the Fire Thief’s message that today was his lucky day!

...

The very next second after hearing the Fire Thief say, "While holding the Holy Grail, you will possess Infinite Psychic Power," Guan Tong opened his personal terminal.

He quickly glanced at his Psychic Power status while simultaneously converting a No. 3 round.

[Psychic Power: 132 (132) (330)]

’So that’s how it works,’ Guan Tong thought. ’The so-called Infinite Psychic Power doesn’t raise my cap to its absolute maximum; it just allows for unlimited use within my current limit.’

It felt like using a cheat engine in a video game to activate a "no HP loss" function. The buff simply locked his Psychic Power at its current cap; it didn’t raise it to the absolute maximum.

Guan Tong felt a pang of disappointment at this discovery. If there had been no cap, he would have immediately unlocked and filled every single remaining page of his greatest asset, the Wordless Book! 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’But with a locked cap, the Wordless Book can probably only...’

Guan Tong took out the Wordless Book while clamping the Corpse Whistle between his teeth and blowing it ceaselessly.

In groups of three, Living Dead continuously clawed their way out of the ground, quickly filling the entire church.

Guan Tong ordered them all to stand guard outside the church. Simultaneously, he flipped the Wordless Book open to the fourth page with his left hand while holding the Silver Hunter in his right, continuously generating ammunition...

He wasn’t just doing two things at once anymore; he was doing three, even four!

The Fire Thief had made it clear that his location was now public knowledge across the island. This meant countless teams would be coming to attack him, attempting to seize the Holy Grail.

Guan Tong was alone. To hold onto the Holy Grail, he had to give it his all. He couldn’t let his guard down for a second, nor could he waste a single moment.

Fortunately, many of his items benefited from the "Infinite Psychic Power" buff, allowing him to boost his combat strength through continuous conversion.

Any other Ascender without similar items probably couldn’t have held on, even with the powerful "Infinite Psychic Power" buff. The Holy Grail would have been snatched away by other teams in no time.

Therefore, Guan Tong had to use this buff to strengthen himself while also setting up a formidable defense. If a strong team took him out and snatched the Holy Grail, all his efforts would be for nothing.

With the Corpse Whistle clamped in his mouth, he continuously summoned Living Dead. He switched the Silver Hunter to his left hand, ceaselessly generating No. 3 High-Explosive Bombs and No. 4 Smoke Bombs. At the same time, a portion of his Shadow formed a full-body Shadow Armor that enveloped him, while the rest stretched to the church entrance, ready to deal with any incoming enemies.

But it was his right hand, holding the Wordless Book, that was performing the most crucial task. He flipped to the fourth page and began to write down something he had previously conceived of—an item he desperately wanted.

"All-In-One Sanctuary."

That’s right. When he had previously seen the massive demolition work on the streets, Guan Tong had thought about using the Wordless Book to create a sanctuary for himself.

He was tired of being constantly on the move, finding it a huge hassle to always be packing up and relocating. If he had a portable sanctuary he could carry with him, it would be incredibly convenient to just set it down and live wherever he went.

But he had high standards for this sanctuary. It had to be sturdy, secure, and equipped with a filtration system, running water, electricity, and so on. He had originally thought it would take a very long time to make this a reality.

But now, empowered by the "Infinite Psychic Power" buff, he could create it instantly!

And just as he’d expected, the Psychic Power cost for the fourth page was astronomical. As Guan Tong wrote the first stroke, a tremor ran through his entire body. He recognized the feeling of being completely drained of Psychic Power—in other words, a single stroke had consumed an amount of Psychic Power equal to his entire cap.

But thanks to the buff, the feeling vanished in an instant. He continued to write rapidly—the second stroke, the third, the fourth... In just a few seconds, the three words "All-In-One Sanctuary" were completely written on the fourth page.

Guan Tong spent a second to manifest it. An inconspicuous little house instantly appeared, and he once again felt the full-body tremor of his Psychic Power being drained dry.

In other words, manifesting the sanctuary consumed his entire Psychic Power cap in one go. But as long as it worked, that was all that mattered!

Guan Tong flipped to the fifth page of the Wordless Book and, trying his luck, attempted to write. The next moment, his hand was violently repelled by the page!

’...I knew it.’

Writing a single stroke on the fourth page had already cost him an amount equal to his entire Psychic Power cap. Trying to write on the fifth page, which had an even higher cost, was simply impossible.

The cost of a single stroke exceeded his maximum cap, so the buff was useless. It was like using a cheat engine to lock your gold so it never decreases, but you only have 100 gold coins in your inventory while the item you want costs 200. Even though your gold won’t go down, you still can’t afford the purchase!

"ROOOOAR!!!!!"

Suddenly, a chorus of roars from the Living Dead erupted outside the church. Guan Tong’s heart clenched. ’They’re here already?’

Not even a minute had passed since he’d acquired the Holy Grail, yet a team had already found him. They were impressively efficient.

’But if you want to get inside this church,’ he thought, ’you’ll have to get through the few hundred Living Dead outside first...’

As he thought this, Guan Tong casually raised his left hand and launched a volley of No. 4 Smoke Bombs toward the church entrance to confuse the enemy and delay their advance.

He then quickly flipped the Wordless Book back to the first page.

In truth, after writing the words "All-In-One Sanctuary" on the fourth page, Guan Tong already felt that this trip had been worth it.

Before, it had been incredibly difficult for him to write even a single stroke on the fourth page, so one could only imagine how long it would have taken to write all three words. But now, he had done it in seconds. It was no exaggeration to say this had saved him months of effort!

It made him feel that even if he were to die in the next moment, participating in this challenge wouldn’t have been a waste. So, now that he had already broken even, the next step was to maximize his profits.

Strengthening his Shadow, enhancing his Silver Hunter, storing up Psychic Power... All of these would continue to aid him long after the competition was over.

His Shadow, in particular. Guan Tong planned to use this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enhance it further by adding more text to its description!