MTLNOVEL Chapter 453: A Rapidly Weakening Opponent
As The White Tower's projection descended upon City Hall, an overwhelming terror gripped the souls of everyone present.
Even during his time in the Tower of Exile, Jeremy had never experienced fear as intense as this.
At that moment, he finally understood why the Class Change Goddess, Janna, had always believed that he had played only a minor role in the Tower of Exile.
It was The World who had been the decisive force.
Had The World not been there, Jeremy would have long since been crushed beneath the sheer presence of an Apocalypse Game Architect.
Compared to Jeremy, Major Joseph and Ritchie were in an even worse state.
Both of them were utterly paralyzed with fear, unable to move.
"Don't let it intimidate you!
It looks overwhelmingly powerful, but it's just a projection.
What we're facing isn't a true Apocalypse Game Architect!"
Jeremy was the first to regain his composure.
His sharp command snapped his two teammates back to reality.
Joseph and Ritchie immediately launched a preemptive assault.
Joseph conjured a barrage of blazing fireballs, each one bursting forth with searing intensity.
The fiery projectiles streaked through the air, hurtling toward The White Tower's projection.
Meanwhile, Ritchie activated his awakened ability—Soul Division.
He knew that the soul of an Apocalypse Game Architect was impossible to sever.
But Soul Division remained his most powerful skill.
If he didn't use it, his only other option was his shadow manipulation ability—something that would be even less effective.
After all, The White Tower's projection had no shadow in the real world.
Joseph and Ritchie's attacks were purely instinctive.
They had acted without thinking.
As a result, their offensive had no effect whatsoever.
Jeremy, however, was different.
He had thought before acting.
Jeremy knew that blindly attacking wouldn't yield any meaningful results.
Moreover, as the High-Dimensional Data continued to expand, The White Tower's projection would gain even greater power.
Instead of attacking outright, Jeremy decided to leverage his The King of Time and Space ability.
His first priority was to divide the battlefield.
He needed to isolate City Hall from the rest of Valley City.
By isolating City Hall, The White Tower's projection could no longer absorb High-Dimensional Data from the rest of Valley City.
This effectively weakened the power it could manifest.
Jeremy's tactic had worked—at least temporarily.
However, his opponent had immediately seen through his intentions.
"You are far too naive.
Did you really think your strategy would succeed?
Your tactics are meaningless against me."
A grand, ethereal voice echoed through the battlefield.
Almost instantly, the battlefield Jeremy had just divided using The King of Time and Space was forcibly reconnected.
A surge of High-Dimensional Data flooded toward The White Tower's projection, restoring its strength.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on Jeremy's face.
"I can't stall for time…
I can't stop The White Tower's actions…
I can't slow down its computational speed…
This is… an unwinnable battle."
A flicker of despair began creeping into his thoughts.
For the first time, Jeremy felt that none of his actions could change the inevitable.
A faint, amused smile appeared on The White Tower's projection.
"Finally, I see despair on your face.
Savor it.
This will be the last emotion you ever experience.
Soon, you will be converted into High-Dimensional Data.
All of your power will become mine.
Yes, you once defeated me.
But that was only because you had the support of your mighty allies.
This time, you have no one.
Your attacks are worthless against me.
I will slowly crush you.
I will make you understand the true consequences of opposing an Apocalypse Game Architect."
The White Tower believed its victory was already assured.
It saw no reason to rush.
Instead, it intended to prolong Jeremy's suffering—dragging him into a slow, torturous demise.
But Jeremy did not sink deeper into despair.
He had always known that losing this battle would lead to a fate worse than death.
Instead of panicking, he forced himself to think.
Was there any strategy left?
Was there anything he could still do?
At that moment, Jeremy suddenly sensed an enormous surge of High-Dimensional Data flooding the area.
The White Tower had finally launched its attack.
But almost immediately, Jeremy noticed something strange about it.
The power behind The White Tower's assault wasn't as overwhelming as he had expected.
In fact, the pressure from its attacks seemed to be rapidly diminishing.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes in confusion and turned toward The White Tower's projection.
He immediately noticed the drastic shift in its expression.
"What is happening?!
Why is my power rapidly weakening?!
What have you done?!"
The White Tower's voice was noticeably weaker than before.
Its power was clearly diminishing at an alarming rate.
Jeremy had no idea what was causing this sudden shift, but he knew it was the perfect opportunity to strike back.
Without hesitation, Jeremy activated his The King of Time and Space ability, constructing a specialized space around himself.
He then poured all of his remaining energy into this isolated space.
"This is our chance!
Our enemy is weakening—we must take advantage of this moment and attack!"
With that, Jeremy merged the specialized space with his Dark Core.
The Dark Core he carried this time contained the power of the Fool Angel.
The power of the Fool Angel was uniquely effective—it could significantly lower an opponent's intelligence.
Against mindless creatures that acted purely on instinct, this ability would be largely ineffective.
But against The White Tower—an entity that wielded the very authority of wisdom—this power was devastatingly effective.
Under the combined effects of this dual weakening, The White Tower found itself completely unable to manipulate the surrounding High-Dimensional Data.
At the same time, Major Joseph and Ritchie launched their attacks.
With all three of them attacking at once, The White Tower's projection began to fade, its form growing increasingly illusory.
Its power was being stripped away at an astonishing rate.
"This is impossible!
What have you done to me?!
Who is helping you?!"
The White Tower roared in rage, its voice filled with fury and bewilderment.
Jeremy responded with only a faint, knowing smile.
"Aren't you supposed to be an Apocalypse Game Architect who represents wisdom?
Do you really not know the answer to your own question?
If you truly don't know, then I certainly won't be the one to tell you.
After all, we are enemies.
Do you honestly expect to gain critical information from your opponent?
You are far more foolish than I thought."
Jeremy's words struck a nerve.
They utterly infuriated The White Tower.
As an Apocalypse Game Architect who wielded the very authority of wisdom, no one had ever dared to call The White Tower foolish.
Not even the most powerful Apocalypse Game Architect, Fool, had ever insulted The White Tower in such a manner.
It desperately wanted to make Jeremy pay for his insolence.
But its power was crumbling.
It could no longer even maintain its projection in the real world.
"I will remember you!
You will suffer for your arrogance!
Even if I cannot destroy you today, I will find a way to eliminate you!"
With that final declaration, The White Tower vanished.
Jeremy, however, remained completely unfazed by its threats.
"I have always been an enemy of you Apocalypse Game Architects.
Our conflict will only end when one of us is completely destroyed.
No matter how you threaten me, I will never stop fighting you."
Jeremy knew that The White Tower could still hear him.
And he wanted it to.
He wanted to make sure The White Tower understood—no matter how powerful an Apocalypse Game Architect was, it should never underestimate humanity.
Any entity that dared to look down on humanity would eventually pay a heavy price.
As The White Tower's presence completely faded from reality, the High-Dimensional Data that had consumed Valley City also began to rapidly dissipate.
It seemed that the immediate crisis had been averted.
However, Valley City was left in a devastated state.
Half of the city had been completely destroyed.
More than two-thirds of its civilians had been killed.
Those who had survived were in a state of sheer terror, traumatized by the horrors they had witnessed.
Even with Jeremy, Ritchie, and Major Joseph working together, it would take a long time to restore Valley City to anything resembling its former state.
At the very least, for now, they no longer had to endure the overwhelming pressure they had faced just moments ago.
With victory secured, the three of them finally allowed themselves to relax.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, relief appeared on their faces.
"I have no idea how we managed to defeat that thing, but hey—we won.
That's all that matters.
Now, I think we deserve a break," Ritchie said with a bright, carefree grin.
Major Joseph, though visibly relieved, had a shadow of deep concern hidden beneath his expression.
He knew that Valley City's crisis was far from over.
Jeremy's thoughts fell somewhere between Joseph's cautious worry and Ritchie's optimism.
He was neither as hopeful as Ritchie nor as pessimistic as Joseph.