"In this gathering place, there are numerous formation patterns within the buildings, which clearly indicates that the inhabitants here must be legendary or even demigod-level powerhouses."
"Only they could enjoy such treatment."
"However... they didn't have the chance to transform from phantoms into physical forms before being killed by the Frost Giant."
"They died in such a hasty manner..."
A hint of sympathy crept into Sterl's tone.
Those powerful beings didn't even realize their own deaths before being sent to the afterlife.
Sterl also understood that if Alpha 8 were forcibly merged into another world, he too could suffer such a fate!
"Then I shall avenge you," Sterl said calmly, muttering under his breath.
Ahead, the giant summoned icy blasts, continuing to crush the distant phantoms.
These shadows, produced during the merging of worlds, were impervious to normal attacks. But just as divine-level entities could forcibly harm souls using Divine Power, the Frost Giant's output capability exceeded the divine level, allowing it to obliterate the shadows with sheer energy.
After making his bold statement, Sterl remained motionless for a few seconds, observing before flying forward.
"Roar!"
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the Frost Giant suddenly leaped up, landing on top of the Frost tower it had built.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
It swung its arms like a gorilla, beating its chest, and its aura grew increasingly fierce!
Countless cold currents transformed into grayish-white ice powder, swirling and rubbing against everything.
It seemed to envelop the entire world in a "mist."
Then, the Frost Giant leaped high, preparing to slam down onto the ground!
At this moment, it was the complete opposite of the cute and docile demeanor Sterl had observed earlier when no enemies were around.
It was utterly frenzy!
The reason for the Frost Giant's madness was that it was currently in a dire state!
Its once icy-white skin, akin to frost, was now drenched in blood, and a massive gash had been smashed into its chest and abdomen.
From the wound, a semi-transparent sphere was exposed, gleaming brightly.
A streak of golden light dashed around inside the sphere, desperately trying to break free!
But the golden light was trapped, continuously swirling within the sphere, turning the entire transparent orb a vivid gold due to its high-speed movement.
Yet every attempt the code made to break free caused the Frost Giant immense pain, prompting the creature to lash out at everything in its line of sight.
"This must be the thing that created the Frost Giant earlier."
Sterl was taken aback. When the golden light had descended before, he hadn't clearly seen what it was, as the golden light was incredibly peculiar, making it impossible to sense through his abilities; he could only observe it with the naked eye.
At that moment, Sterl was too far away.
Now, he was much closer, and although the Frost Giant was moving at incredible speed, it couldn't run too far.
Finally, Sterl managed to see the golden light clearly, and to his surprise, it was...
Countless densely packed characters resembling code, swirling rapidly.
There were so many characters that they formed waves, rolling like water.
However, the sheer liveliness of this mass of code felt extremely bizarre to Sterl.
"What the hell is this?"
Sterl's expression shifted—not with surprise, but with delight.
While others might think that [Transcendence] was merely a game cloaked in the guise of reality, Sterl understood that the world was real, but it was indeed a game.
Many things were composed of code, which he had proven when he added points to the game podcore.
No wonder the Frost Giant couldn't be broken through no matter how hard it was attacked.
In a game, if a piece of code is designed to be invincible, then no matter how much damage you deal, the outcome will be the same.
At the same time, Sterl guessed that once this city transitioned from illusion to reality, the power of suppression would likely multiply several times!
By then, the Frost Giant would undoubtedly be doomed!
"That won't do!"
"My head is on the line, and the code is mine too!"
With this thought, Sterl did not hesitate to strike again!
He charged up slightly, still using Shattered Void!
The effect of spatial freezing took hold this time; the golden sphere was now exposed to the outside world. The code itself was invincible, but the Frost Giant's invincibility had vanished.
And so...
The giant was immediately frozen.
It wasn't until the power of space touched the exposed golden sphere that it shattered once more.
Sterl coughed up a mouthful of blood, but a smile lingered on his face.
His test had succeeded!
Indeed, the Frost Giant was now left with only brute strength, no longer immune to spatial freezing.
Sterl swallowed a pill to counter the backlash and invoked Shattered Void again!
With this move, he harnessed the power of ascension.
A terrifying aura surged, dominating the surroundings!
The power of space first froze much of the Frost Giant's chest, abdomen, legs, head, and right arm, leaving only the side containing the golden code unfrozen!
Thus, the Frost Giant could only twist its remaining muscles, making its body exhibit a bizarre shudder; apart from that, it could do nothing!
Then, a raging storm of blades swept in!
This time, countless sword images successfully struck!
The invincibility prompt was gone from the Frost Giant...
Sterl watched as, amidst the hurricane, the Frost Giant's skin, flesh, and bones were being torn apart and shattered at an exceedingly slow rate!
"This thing is indeed monstrous; even when its invincible body was shattered, its defenses remained incredibly high."
He sighed.
The Iridescent-Level Shattered Void was already stronger than many divine abilities.
Yet still, it was not enough to slay the Frost Giant.
In fact...
Merely in terms of output, Sterl found that the power of Shattered Void was about to wane, barely managing to inflict wounds deep enough to expose bone...
But for a life force that had reached the divine level, this level of injury was insignificant!
Sterl noticed that as soon as the storm of blades began to subside, the Frost Giant's injuries were rapidly healing.
Flesh began to grow back inch by inch on its body.
The cracks in its bones were mended, and its veins resembled threads being woven, with new skin covering it. The Frost Giant merely let out a slight howl of pain before it was almost back to its peak condition.
"What terrifying regenerative power."
Sterl's expression remained stoic as he snapped his fingers.
"Bang!"
He uttered a syllable.
It seemed the Frost Giant's wounds were about to heal.
Sterl, however, maintained a calm demeanor; this was the real meal!
The Frost Giant's resilient skin inadvertently aided Sterl in his efforts.