---o---
After a few minutes of observation, Fu Zhu finally intervened, rescuing Silver Wolf who was being chased all over the Ancient City by a Warden. He casually grabbed her and tossed her to Screwllum to look after.
"Alright, let's hurry to The End. I can't wait any longer."
Fu Zhu was the first to equip his Elytra, using the thrust from a firework rocket to fly up toward the massive cavern he had dug out earlier.
---o---
Herta and the others followed closely behind, landing in a ruin entrance paved with stone bricks.
Standing at a cross-shaped intersection also paved with stone bricks, Herta looked at the passages extending in all four directions and turned to ask Fu Zhu.
"This must be the Stronghold, right?"
"That's right. Follow me."
Drawing on his years of experience playing Minecraft, Fu Zhu quickly navigated the Stronghold's layout and led the group to the End Portal room.
"Squeak!"
The moment Fu Zhu's group neared the portal room, a few Silverfish spawned inside and began crawling toward them.
"Eek!"
Herta expressed her disgust, casually swatting the approaching Silverfish with her staff. She then glanced into the room and immediately spotted the Silverfish spawner in the center.
"Can't you just destroy that spawner? It keeps spawning these bugs, it's a bit disgusting."
Herta and Silver Wolf both instinctively backed away behind Fu Zhu, clearly wanting nothing to do with the creatures.
"Don't worry, let me just do a quick enchantment."
Fu Zhu immediately took out an advanced enchanting table and placed it down. With lightning-fast hands, he crafted a diamond pickaxe on the spot and enchanted it with Silk Touch at the table.
If he didn't have the Apotheosis Mod installed, he would have destroyed the spawner without a second thought. But with the mod, things were different.
Spawners were valuable to him now; they would be essential for farming large quantities of Apotheosis materials later on.
---o---
Using the Silk Touch pickaxe, Fu Zhu mined the Silverfish spawner and stored it in his inventory. He then placed a bed to the side and lay down on it for a moment.
[Respawn point set]
After setting his respawn point, Fu Zhu began crafting the twelve Eyes of Ender needed to open the portal. At the same time, he didn't forget to turn and remind the others.
"You should all lie down on this bed. Otherwise, if you die later, you'll have to run all the way back from the village."
Herta and the others obediently took turns lying down on the single red bed, then stood aside to watch Fu Zhu work.
"Do you need this much preparation to go to The End?"
Herta watched the busy Fu Zhu for a while. He seemed incredibly occupied, yet to an outsider, it was hard to tell what he was so busy with.
"Of course. The End is very dangerous. If you don't prepare well, you'll just have to throw lives at the problem. Okay, everything's ready."
Fu Zhu cleared out his inventory, stuffing everything he wouldn't need for the fight into his refined backpack, and filled the empty space with over a dozen beds he had taken from the village.
Then, with Eyes of Ender in hand, Fu Zhu walked to the End Portal frame and began placing them one by one. Throughout the process, Herta and the others watched from the side with rapt attention.
As Fu Zhu placed the Eyes of Ender into the frame, a series of booming sounds echoed in their ears. After the final Eye of Ender was set, a clap of thunder resounded.
The empty space in the center of the End Portal frame instantly filled with a deep, starry portal.
"Let's go."
Fu Zhu took a deep breath, his heart pounding with excitement, and stepped through the portal. Herta and the others followed close behind.
[Achievement Unlocked: The End?]
[Received 20 Achievement Points]
---o---
After a moment of disorientation, they opened their eyes to find themselves in a void-like space. Floating before them was a silent island composed entirely of a yellowish-brown stone.
Herta frowned and rubbed her arms, which were breaking out in goosebumps. "This world makes me uncomfortable..." she muttered. "The aura of the void is too strong."
Ruan Mei, standing beside her, nodded in agreement. "Yes, I feel it too. A sense of being swallowed... my body is instinctively urging me to leave this world, lest I be doomed beyond recovery. The End... a fitting name."
Screwllum was currently analyzing the concentration of the [Void] Aeonic path. He inadvertently glanced up and saw a massive figure circling above the main island of The End.
"Look. Is that the Ender Dragon?"
---o---
Fu Zhu also saw the Ender Dragon circling above the main island. He immediately launched a firework rocket and flew straight toward it.
Herta and the others tried to follow, but as they drew closer, they were surprised to find that the nearer they got to the Ender Dragon, the more intense the oppressive aura it emitted became. It felt as if the very space around them was solidifying, making it difficult to approach.
Herta tried several times but couldn't break through. She had no choice but to stop and watch Fu Zhu fly toward the Ender Dragon.
---o---
Once he was close enough, Fu Zhu swung his Demon Blade [Nihility], sending a slash of sword energy at the dragon. Although the attack hit, the dragon's health bar barely moved, which made him curse.
"Sure enough, I added the Apotheosis Mod too early. The Ender Dragon's health has multiplied."
Seeing that his current damage was insufficient to defeat the Ender Dragon quickly, Fu Zhu changed course and flew toward the massive obsidian pillars at the edge of the main island. He didn't forget to shout back to Herta's group, who were unable to get closer.
"Help me destroy the End Crystals on those pillars!"
---o---
Herta and the others understood immediately. They split up to help Fu Zhu destroy the nearby End Crystals. While they couldn't offer much help in the fight itself, they could certainly handle a small task like this.
With their help, the End Crystals were destroyed at a rapid pace. In less than half a minute, only one last crystal remained.
---o---
Just as Fu Zhu was about to fly over and destroy the final End Crystal, a breath of deep purple energy shot straight toward him.
Fu Zhu's heart tightened. He immediately threw an Ender Pearl at a nearby obsidian pillar, narrowly dodging the breath attack.
Taking advantage of the Ender Dragon's attack cooldown, Fu Zhu flew into the air once more. With a slash of his Demon Blade [Nihility], he destroyed the final End Crystal. He then remained airborne, circling as he observed this completely different version of the Ender Dragon.
At the same time, this completely different Ender Dragon fixed its four eyes on Fu Zhu, the breath in its mouth already gathering for another attack.