Reincarnation Of The Strongest Spirit Master-Chapter 1474: What If We Failed?!

"What is wrong with that thing?!" After ten exhausting minutes of sustained output, Fang’s voice cracked. He was panting, his forehead slick with sweat. "It should have been obliterated already! Why is it reforming the moment I peel a layer back?"

"I told you already," William replied calmly. He was unleashing his own bursts of light-aligned powered techniques to complement Fang’s lightning, the two elements weaving together to create a purifying combined attack. "Stop hitting the thick walls. Aim for the eye of the storm!"

Fang had been trying to cut the tornado down by attacking its bulk and the source of its power, but he was fundamentally misunderstanding the geometry of a Medium World’s defence.

He was attacking the armour. He needed to pour his energy into the harmless-looking hollow at the centre—the fake calmness that represented the only structural weakness in the vortex.

As before, despite not grasping the logic behind William’s command, Fang followed the instructions to the letter. He narrowed the focus of his lightning, condensing the pillar of violet light into a needle-thin spear and driving it straight into the void at the tornado’s core.

The results were instantaneous. The vortex didn’t just fade; it didn’t last five more minutes before it fiercely exploded. The tension snapped, and the funnel dissipated into a chaotic shower of brown mist, leaving behind nothing but the swirling, heavy brown fog of the sky.

"Phew, that was close," William said. He actually let himself collapse onto the blood-stained earth, lying flat on his back as if he had just emerged from a duel with a god.

"You’re speaking as if that was nearly the end for both of us!" Fang said, though he couldn’t tell if William was joking or expressing genuine dread.

"Honestly... It would have been hellish if that tornado had touched the ground and vaporised the gate," William said, closing his eyes for a few seconds. It was a rare display of fatigue and vulnerability that Fang had never seen before. It spoke volumes about how close they had actually come to being stranded in this industrial nightmare forever.

William wasn’t feeling tired or weak; he was trying to get a moment of clarity and peace before heading to the next step in the plan.

"Listen, old man... This world..." William began to explain the true nature of a Medium World to Fang. He detailed the artificial construction, the darkness-based foundation, and the automated defensive system that protected the world’s function. Fang listened with growing worry, slowly understanding the gravity of their situation.

"So... Let me get this straight," Fang said, rubbing his chin. "We need to use the forces keeping this world stable to actually destabilise it? But how? You said it yourself—every time we cause enough damage to trigger a shift, the world will drop a tornado on our heads to destroy our retreat path. It’s a closed loop. How can we possibly win it?"

"Easy," William shrugged, as if the solution were as simple as breathing. "We find another way in, and we secure it for our retreat when the time comes."

William slowly stood back up, and before Fang could fire off another sceptical question, the guild master continued. "We have two other spots with tides coming from this very world. They are currently being contested by Berry and Sara’s forces on the other side. So..."

"We retreat through our current gate and then force our way back into this world through the other two gates?" Fang asked, partially catching on to the strategy.

"Not we," William corrected, finally dropping the bomb. "It’s you... You and Becky. You will go back through our gate, find Becky, bring her and together find the other portals, and force your way back into this realm from the other side."

"We? What about you?" Fang looked at William with deep suspicion. "Why do I get the feeling you need some time alone here to do something special? Something you’d rather do away from my eyes and my spirit sense?"

"Come on, old man," William said, a small smirk playing on his lips. He knew he had been caught, but he had no intention of keeping Fang by his side for the next phase. "In my entire force, only you and Becky have the strength required to punch back into this world."

"And what if we fail?" Fang looked around at the monsters keeping the endless Scarlet Bears at bay. "I know you’re going to send these babies with us, but hypothetically... What if we can’t break back in? You’ll be trapped here alone against an entire world."

"You won’t fail," William said, his gaze sweeping across the desolate, valley-scarred horizon.

"Even if the resistance at those two specific spots is too great, remember what the scouts said—there is a growing number of tide spots appearing across the entire world. One way or another, find a path back here. Secure an entry, hold it with everything you have, and then we can finally crush this nightmare world and save ours."

"I still don’t understand why you’re taking such a ridiculous risk," Fang said, his voice tight with frustration. He looked around at the swarming masses of Scarlet Bears and could already imagine William leaping into the fray alone, surrounded by a sea of teeth and claws.

The very idea of William intentionally allowing his only current path of retreat to be crushed by this world’s defences, just so Fang and Becky could find another way back in to rescue him, felt absurdly dangerous. "What is the benefit? Why stay here in the dark?"

"You still don’t get it," William said, rolling his eyes with a touch of exasperated wit. "Let me rephrase it this way... Had you ever even heard of a Medium World before I mentioned it? Did you have the knowledge or the means to discover how such a place can be dismantled?"

Fang was startled into silence for a moment. He realised that despite his age and experience, he was a student in this particular classroom. Without taking offence, he waited patiently for the youngster to explain the madness behind the method.