"Since there's no way to escape, then let's put up a fight!"

A sliver of madness crept onto Merlin's expression as he leaped right onto the Slothful Beast's back, enveloped by the Flame and Darkness Maxim.

"Slothful Beast, go, unleash your greatest power!"

Merlin was prepared to put his life on the line to put up a fight. The Golden Ray Armor was terrifying, and if he were not to do so, then both Merlin and the Slothful Beast would find their end in the Atlan Dimension.

The actions of the Golden Ray Armor earlier had been incredibly atrocious and merciless as it brutishly annihilated, and he would have died had he not been able to resist. Therefore, Merlin did not hold any hopes of luck.

"Roar…"

The Slothful Beast seemed to have sensed the danger as well. Even though it was slow and was trapped in Merlin's illusion, it was still able to sense danger.

The Slothful Beast had felt threatened by the Golden Ray Armor's gravitational field earlier. Now, it exerted everything it had as it lifted its giant, thick legs for the first time and stomped toward the Golden Ray Armor.

Originally, the Slothful Beast's strongest move was to devour as it could devour an entire dimension. However, the Golden Ray Armor was so powerful that it was as powerful as the Thirty-six Emperors. Even if it was swallowed into the Slothful Beast's body, it could still easily escape. As such, the Slothful Beast might as well stomp on it.

With the Slothful Beast's power of a single stamp, an entire powerful dimension be immediately destroyed. After all, in the vast Void Zone, there were very few entities that could intimidate the Slothful Beast into unleashing its strongest force.

The Golden Ray Armor ignored Merlin and the Slothful Beast. It appeared that it was still grasping onto that humongous Dimension Core as it continued to absorb the enormous energy contained inside.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo."

The Atlan Dimension's Dimension Core was incomparably ginormous, and its energy seemingly endless. However, under the constant drain of the Golden Ray Armor, it was shrinking at a devastatingly rapid pace. God knew how many dimension-level warships could sustain on such a tremendous amount of energy.

Even if the Atlan civilization was destroyed and countless civilizations were born, it would not consume much energy. The energy contained within this Dimension Core was enough to sustain the rise and fall of countless civilizations.

However, at this moment, even the gigantic Dimension Core was also being turned into vast energy absorbed by the Golden Ray Armor. Once the Golden Ray Armor had consumed the energy of the Dimension Core, then the Atlan Dimension would have truly been exhausted and perished. If they were not able to leave the Atlan Dimension to enter the Void Zone on time, then only death awaited them.

However, it was no longer a battle between Merlin and the Atlan civilization but a battle between Merlin and the Vestigial Tribe. The Golden Ray Armor left by the Vestigial Tribe, along with the other arrangements, had all been in preparation for this day.

Although the Vestigial Tribe had been wiped out, now, it was just as if Merlin was fighting against the powerful tribe that had once swept through the entire Void Zone.

"Boom."

Merlin had no intention of using the power of the Maxim against the Golden Ray Armor. His eyes glanced over to the Slothful Beast. Now was the moment when the Golden Ray Armor was at its weakest, and it was the Slothful Beast's best chance.

"Bam."

The Slothful Beast gave a crushing stomp, and the entire Dimension Core shook. How powerful was the Slothful Beast's strength? With its stomp, the Slothful Beast had sent the Golden Ray Armor into the Dimension Core, and even the sturdiest Dimension Core had lost an edge as it collapsed.

"Did we do it?"

Merlin quickly flew over and looked over the edge of the Dimension Core that had collapsed. However, it was awfully deep, and not even the Mind Power was able to sense anything.

Merlin could no longer sense the specific life force of the Golden Ray Armor either but he felt something was off. The Slothful Beast may be strong but could such a blow be the end of the Golden Ray Armor? Even though the Golden Ray Armor was out of energy, it was still the pinnacle legacy of the Vestigial Tribe, the ultimate weapon that was in a class with the Thirty-six Emperors. Could it be destroyed so easily?

However, Merlin soon had his answer. He glanced at the huge Dimension Core as it was still continuously vibrating, its size shrinking dramatically. The hole caused by the Slothful Beast was rapidly falling apart, and re-exposed the Golden Ray Armor.

The Golden Ray Armor appeared completely unharmed as it continued to absorb the Dimension Core. Merlin's heart sank. If it could withstand even the Slothful Beast's strongest blow, then what could destroy this Golden Ray Armor?

"Slothful Beast, attack again!"

Merlin made a determined effort, seeing as he had no other effective ways right now either. He could only rely on the Slothful Beast to attack incessantly. Thus, the attack of fury raged on again and again. The Dimension Core constantly shook, and time and time again the Golden Ray Armor was stepped onto the Dimension Core. No matter what it did, the Slothful Beast could not inflict any damage onto the Golden Ray Armor.

Even without energy, the Golden Ray Armor could not be easily destroyed by just any ultimate existence. Only an ultimate existence such as the Thirty-six Emperors could destroy the Golden Ray Armor, and even they would have a hard time doing so as the former battle with the Golden Ray Warriors of the Vestigial Tribe and the Thirty-six Emperors had been extremely challenging for them as well.

"Pom-pom-pom."

Time and time again, the Slothful Beast stomped and trampled. Had they been in the Void Zone, such reckless attacks from the Slothful Beast would have already destroyed countless dimensions/ However, they were all useless against the Golden Ray Armor, and with the Golden Ray Armor absorbing more and more energy, the golden light surrounding its body appeared ever more dazzling and bright.

Merlin knew that the power of the Golden Ray Armor was gradually being restored. Once recovered, he would no longer have any means to deal with it.

"Stay calm. I must remain calm."

Merlin's mind was blank at this time. He knew that this was the greatest crisis he had ever encountered since he had consolidated the Maxim and acquired the Slothful Beast. Therefore, the more critical the situation was, the more necessary it was for him to keep his calm and clear his line of thought.

"The Golden Ray Armor was left behind by the Vestigial Tribe but the Vestigial Tribe is long gone. There cannot have been any survivors left, and there are no signs of life force inside the Golden Ray Armor. Moreover, the Golden Ray Armor must be equipped by only those of the Vestigial Tribe who possessed the Brain of Life to become a Golden Ray Warrior. Now, there were no signs of life force inside the Golden Ray Armor, meaning there was no one inside it. Then, for the Golden Ray Armor to be able to act freely and move about, this armor was most probably controlled by the programming left behind by the Vestigial Tribe. It was no different from a puppet."

Merlin's thoughts were getting clearer and clearer, and his analysis was right. The Golden Ray Armor was controlled by a program. This may be the only flaw the Golden Ray Armor had but how could Merlin use this to his advantage?

"Programming...The Maxim?"

An idea struck his mind as Merlin thought of the Matrix. Back then, the Matrix had been capable of devouring the intelligent system of the Atlan civilization's warships. Moreover, the Matrix had become even more otherworldly after devouring the intelligent system, and its change had lent to Merlin being uncertain of exactly what capabilities it held now.

"Matrix, if I were to have you devour a programming sequence, what do I need to do?"

Merlin's Mind Power probed into the empire-level warship and asked the Matrix.

"You need only approach the program's carrier, Master, and issue an order, and any program can be devoured!"

The Matrix's voice was as cold as ever.

"Devour any program? All programs can be devoured?"

Merlin noticed the technicality of the Matrix's response.

"Master, even the most rigid programs can be devoured."

After receiving a second confirmation from the Matrix, Merlin took a deep breath, and a glimmer of hope gleamed in his eyes. This may be the last chance.

"Boom."

The entire Dimension Core was still collapsing and shrinking rapidly. Of course, half of the energy contained inside of it had been drained by the Golden Ray Armor, and many of the starships that had relied on the energy from the Dimension Core had descended into chaos.

The Altans on the starships suddenly realized that they were no longer able to obtain energy, and without the energy, they were unable to transmute food, drinking water, and could no longer operate the warships, spaceships, and others. In short, the energy was key. Without it, these Atlans had no other ways.

The Atlan civilization was built upon inexhaustible energy. Without it, there would be no need for a siege from powerful enemies. Te Atlan civilization would slowly fall apart on its own.

As such, now that the Golden Ray Armor had devoured the infinite energy within Dimension Core, the Atlan civilization faced an impasse, and many Atlans had fallen into chaos.

Merlin, on the other hand, had been observing the Golden Ray Armor and discovered that it was concentrating on absorbing the energy from the Dimension Core, and paid no attention at all to the Slothful Beast's attacks.

Merlin gritted his teeth. If he wanted to get close to the Golden Ray Armor, now was the best time to do so.

"Slothful Beast, go."

Merlin once again controlled the Slothful Beast and stomped onto the Golden Ray Armor. This time, however, Merlin stood on the back of the Slothful Beast.

"Bam."

The Golden Ray Armor remained motionless, and Merlin inhaled deeply. The Flame Maxim and Darkness Maxim surrounded him as he flew directly toward the Golden Ray Armor.

Seeing that he was closing in on the Golden Ray Armor, Merlin grew more and more hopeful. This was his only opportunity.

Merlin's Flame Maxim turned into a huge fire god-demon as its hands reached out to grab the Golden Ray Armor. However, the Golden Ray Armor acted. While it was indifferent toward the Slothful Beast's attack, in the face of Merlin's attack, it suddenly moved. With an effortless point, a powerful gravity suddenly inflicted upon Merlin. In an instant, Merlin felt as if his body was about to be torn apart.

"Matrix, devour all the programs inside the Golden Ray Armor!"

Merlin yelled, and at the moment the Maxim was broken, he hastily retreated. The Slothful Beast stomped at the Golden Ray Armor just in time, which allowed Merlin to escape from the gravitational field.

"Phew..."

Merlin heaved a long sigh of relief. Had it been any longer and he would have probably been crushed to pieces by the gravitational field. Not even the Maxim would be able to withstand it.

"I wonder if the Matrix will be able to succeed?"

Although Merlin was far away from the Golden Ray Armor, his Mind Power was still keeping a close watch on the Golden Ray Armor that was enveloped by golden light.