Chapter 246: Why Does This Sacred Item’s Name Have Nothing to Do with Its Ability?

"Their reaction time is impressive. Just as you’d expect from a nation accustomed to war."

Qi Suian realized that in the midst of his third massacre, he had unknowingly walked right into an encirclement by the Eternal United States.

The Sacred Artifact World hadn’t developed technology in the traditional sense, but through its system of Sacred Artifacts, it had built a society no less complex than a modern one.

This was particularly true in areas like surveillance, detection, and perception, which were all extremely sophisticated.

This was likely a measure to guard against spies and covert units from the Xuan Empire.

’It pays to know your enemy.’

Qi Suian, on the other hand, was an unforeseen complication.

"You’re not one of the Xuan Empire’s people," a brutish-looking, middle-aged man from the Eternal United States’ encirclement team said.

He appeared to be a mid-level officer and was leading the force sent to encircle Qi Suian.

"Wrong. I am from the Xuan Empire." Qi Suian, of course, wasn’t about to admit the truth. ’When you’re away from home, you decide who you are.’

"No, you’re not. They have far more backbone than you," the man replied, his tone laced with scorn.

Qi Suian was left speechless. ’We haven’t even properly met, so how can he tell whether I have any backbone?’

Still, he didn’t deny it. As a renegade who constantly traversed Doomsday Worlds, what good was backbone to him?

"You’re one of those people who call themselves ’Survivors,’" the officer continued. "Surrender. Tell us everything you know, and I’ll grant you an intact corpse."

"Huh?" Qi Suian was taken aback by the offer.

’Surrender and spill my guts, and all I get is an intact corpse?’

"Aren’t you supposed to promise me wealth and glory?" Qi Suian shot back.

Qi Suian’s line of thinking wasn’t wrong. The problem was the Sacred Artifact World itself.

In the Sacred Artifact World, death was the greatest mercy for captured spies and covert operatives.

To live would be a fate worse than death.

"Before the war, we might have made you that promise."

"But now, only death offers true peace." The officer knew Qi Suian was a Survivor who had only recently arrived in their world and thus didn’t fit in, so he kindly explained the reasoning.

"I get it. That line sounds familiar."

"You were an Ockse before. Once an Ockse, always an Ockse!"

"In that case, negotiations are over. Let’s do this." Qi Suian had one bottom line: his own life.

He fought tooth and nail just to survive, and this guy had the nerve to offer to kill him.

How could he possibly stand for that?

The Tai Sui God struck instantly. It combined the cursed verses of plague and disease with a Natural Radiation Crystal and began to spread the Abyssal Virus from within Qi Suian’s body.

"Is that... the ’Chapter of Disease’? No, you’ve combined it with another Sacred Artifact!" the lead officer exclaimed in shock.

"All units, fall back!"

He roared the command, then clasped his hands together. The ground began to tremble and ripple.

The ripples expanded rapidly, instantly forming an earthen wall that sealed Qi Suian inside.

As it turned out, he had made the right call.

But... Qi Suian was far more vicious.

A rhythmic, metered chant pierced through the earthen wall.

It was a poem, its verses filled with praise for disease.

"Dammit, it’s the plague from the ’Apocalypse’ as recorded by the Mad Poet..." The officer’s face fell.

He knew, in that moment, that he probably couldn’t save his men.

’There’s still a chance.’ He had two Sacred Artifacts on him, both originals, not the replicated, standard-issue kind.

One was a pair of Earth Element Sprite Gloves, which granted a degree of control over earth and rock. The other was more unusual: a Beloved Wedding Ring that could fuse living beings with non-Sacred Artifacts.

The two Sacred Artifacts had only average synergy, but they could be combined.

When successfully combined, they allowed him to instantly fuse with a massive amount of earth and rock to become an Earth Element Monarch.

This would transform him from a human into an elemental being, granting him its power.

Furthermore, once he transformed, he would no longer have to fear the threat of disease.

This would render his opponent’s strongest Sacred Artifact completely useless.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he acted without hesitation.

The two Sacred Artifacts combined to form a new one, a type they called a "Composite Sacred Artifact."

This Composite Sacred Artifact was called the Power of the Earth Element Monarch. He activated it immediately, fusing with the earthen wall he had summoned earlier.

He transformed into a massive Earth Element Monarch.

The strength of the Earth Element Monarch depended on the amount of earth and rock he fused with.

As for the price, he couldn’t use it too often. Each use would permanently turn a small part of his body into earth and rock.

Luckily, because this was a combined artifact, the cost was greatly reduced. Every time he deactivated the transformation, he just had to cut off the affected area.

The transformation always began with the skin. At first, the affected area was only as thin as a strand of hair, but with repeated use, it had grown to be the size of his palm.

Although he could remove it each time, with increasing use, he would one day turn completely into earth and rock.

The cost was reduced, not eliminated. It still accumulated.

Qi Suian saw the massive earthen giant raise its great foot to stomp down on him.

"So this is... a combined Sacred Artifact?" Instead of fear, Qi Suian felt a growing excitement.

Two Sacred Artifacts creating an effect greater than the sum of their parts. Truly fascinating.

"A shame it’s still too weak."

"Devour the Soul! Gnaw the Spirit!"

An Evil Dragon and Evil Tiger materialized from the Tai Sui God, smashing into the earthen giant.

The entire earthen giant instantly crumbled.

Bigger isn’t always better. Not without the strength to back it up.

Otherwise, being big just makes you a bigger target. Most things are a double-edged sword.

"No... How is this possible...?"

The officer wasn’t dead, though. Only his head remained.

He couldn’t understand it, but no matter. It wasn’t over yet.

He was the Earth Element Monarch now; he could just absorb more earth and rock to regenerate.

Qi Suian didn’t bother stopping him. He could tell that in his current state, the man basically had an Undying Body.

As long as he was touching the earth, he couldn’t be killed.

’So I have to get my hands on his Sacred Artifact.’

"Come with me, and I’ll let them live," Qi Suian said, walking over and planting his foot on the man’s head.

"I will never surrender," the officer spat out without a moment’s hesitation.

"I’m not asking you to surrender. I’m just interested in you," Qi Suian said.

"Hah. You want my Sacred Artifacts, don’t you?" The officer instantly saw through Qi Suian’s intentions.

"Yes. But you have your own value, too." Qi Suian didn’t deny it. There was no point.

The officer already knew what he was thinking.

"My Sacred Artifacts... I can’t give them to you. Not even if we all die." His resolve was unshakable.

Sacred Artifacts were the foundation of the Eternal United States. Losing one or two might not change the grand scheme of things, but it would still be a blow against their victory.

And so, he would rather die than give them to Qi Suian.

"Fine, have it your way." Qi Suian’s face darkened. He dealt with everyone else present, then smashed the officer’s head to pieces.

From within the shattered skull, he forcibly pulled out a Sacred Artifact that looked like a Crystal Core.

This was the Sacred Artifact known as the Power of the Earth Element Monarch.

Without the Sacred Artifact, the man immediately lost his Undying Body and crumbled into dust on the spot.

However, upon the officer’s death, the Sacred Artifact in Qi Suian’s hand began to emit a strange repulsive force, as if some unseen presence were trying to pull it away.

"Floating Cannons, engage," Qi Suian commanded coldly.

All the Floating Cannons fired their Dark Energy Beams, creating an isolation field.

’Protagonist’s Halo, help me hold on to this thing.’ Qi Suian saw that the field was working, but not well enough. He needed a boost from his Protagonist’s Halo.

And as always, the Protagonist’s Halo was incredibly effective.

After a nearly half-hour tug-of-war against the unknown force, the Composite Sacred Artifact finally split apart, separating into a pair of gloves and a ring.

With a suddenness that left no time to react, the pulling force intensified dramatically.

In that same instant, Qi Suian instinctively tightened his grip on the ring, while the gloves were teleported away.

Clearly, the gloves had been their primary target.

"I only got half, but that’s fine. It’s still a win," Qi Suian muttered to himself, then opened the ring’s information panel.

[Eternal Love Ring of Unwavering Devotion]

[Quality: A]

[Trait 1: Bound in Life and Death]

[Trait 2: A Deep Love’s Short Life]

"Huh? What the hell is this? Did I stumble into the wrong story?" Qi Suian stared at the Sacred Artifact, utterly bewildered.

’Weren’t you supposed to be a transformation item? What’s with this... thing?’

Qi Suian had no idea what the traits meant, but he was certain of one thing: the gloves were the Sacred Artifact that controlled earth and rock.

And this ring was the other component of the Composite Sacred Artifact the officer had used to become an earthen giant.

"No user manual, the description is totally misleading... the Doomsday System is crap, and this Sacred Artifact is crap, too," Qi Suian grumbled.

Why would he ever blame himself? When there was blame to be passed around, he was always happy to share.

He was certain that the artifact’s actual abilities had absolutely nothing to do with its listed traits.

Believing a name like that was just asking for trouble.

"But... it seems to be part of a set."

"’Chapter of Disease’ was originally prefixed with ’Apocalyptic Poem,’" Qi Suian suddenly recalled.

He then tried to use the ring, but found he couldn’t activate it no matter what he did.

’Let’s see, what’s the difference between how I’m using it and how he used it?’ Qi Suian wondered.

[The difference lies in the method of use. You are not using it directly, but are attempting to channel it through the Tai Sui God.]

[You are in indirect contact. The previous owner used it directly.]

The AI didn’t even wait for Qi Suian to finish his thought before providing the answer.

As for the "Chapter of Disease," he had never actually *used* it himself. Qi Suian had simply installed it as a module onto the Tai Sui God.

His other Sacred Artifacts had all been consumed as fuel.

The most Qi Suian had ever done was weaponize the plagues from the "Chapter of Disease," broadcasting them like bombs. He had never truly *used* the artifact itself.