179: The Tragedy of the Stars (Part 3)

Pfft...!

The sound of bones piercing through skin and flesh sounded quietly, as dark red spikes protruded from the body one after another.

"W-what is this!"

The master of the beast tide suddenly stopped, looking in horror at this former defeated opponent.

Cold, bloodthirsty, ancient, greedy...

An aura that made every cell in his body tremble was slowly awakening.

"This is impossible! How could a native master such power!"

The master of the beast tide retreated in shock.

This was already a suppression at the level of life itself, even more terrifying than the big shots he had seen within the sect.

"Roar...!"

And it wasn't just him; the beast herds spread across this starry sky suddenly seemed to see some natural predator, and they retreated with low whines.

The instinctive fear completely overwhelmed the mental control from the drugs.

Many soldiers who were about to die under the claws of the monsters escaped a disaster.

They looked in astonishment at the beasts that were fearless one second and running away with their tails between their legs the next, unable to help but be stunned for two seconds.

Immediately overjoyed, they activated their kinetic light blades and prepared to pursue.

"Pass on His Majesty's order, all personnel are to retreat immediately."

"Repeat, all personnel are to retreat immediately..."

But at this moment, the voice of the smart brain sounded in everyone's communicators.

The many soldiers looked at each other; although they were somewhat unwilling, they still obediently retreated.

Only some high-level officials and powerful Transcendents seemed to sense something, and they all looked towards the center of the battlefield.

"Is this... His Majesty?!"

The next moment, everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they exclaimed in shock.

"How could this happen! Your Majesty!"

The President of the Transcendent Association ignored the order to retreat and hurriedly returned to the warp point to teleport over.

But before he could get close, he was sent flying by a violent force.

"Go away..."

A low, indistinguishable roar sounded.

At this moment, Emperor Luo, in the center of the battlefield, had completely mutated, except for his head, which still retained some of its previous appearance.

His arms and legs had turned into sharp, dark red fore-claws resembling sickle blades.

His entire torso seemed to have devoured ten thousand feet of flesh and blood, revealing dark red bones covered in spikes.

"Is this the power of a higher life form..."

Emperor Luo finally understood why these relics completely looked down on this place, using it only as an experiment and trial ground.

The Insect Beast inside his body was nothing more than the most common kind from Relic No. 3, the kind that was always licking slime off the ground whenever he went there.

Yet he could clearly feel that with a casual strike now, he could break open the entire universe, and with a single thought, he could escape this cage that he had failed to escape from countless times.

Even with his knowledge, he could not comprehend how powerful this Insect Beast he was currently possessing was.

It is just a pity...

He suddenly remembered the scene when he knelt at Relic No. 3 to beg his ancestors.

"My descendant... The power of the Zerg Swarm should not appear in this world. If you forcibly use it... at most ten seconds, your body and soul will be devoured by it... and you will be damned forever..."

"That is enough, ancestor, I beg you to fulfill my wish. I am the King of the Empire, the strongest in this world! I do not want to watch helplessly as they slaughter when foreign enemies invade! Nor do I want to be trampled under their feet and humiliated by their ugly faces!"

"I beg you to grant me the power to preserve my dignity and resist, even if it means eternal damnation! I beg you!"

"..."

A myriad of thoughts flashed by.

"Ten seconds, is it..."

Emperor Luo forcibly endured the impact of a pure desire for slaughter and evolution in his mind, his gaze locking onto the master of the beast tide, who was originally arrogant but was now retreating in panic.

"No... no, don't come over!"

Just by meeting those emotionless pupils, the master of the beast tide felt a will to slaughter that almost crushed him.

He hurriedly took out all his hidden trump cards and treasures, and forcibly summoned the remaining Class 3S Galaxy Beasts to protect him.

After one of the talismans was thrown out, a vast light and shadow slowly emerged.

It almost covered millions of miles of starry sky, its pressure overwhelming the world. Even space seemed unable to withstand it and began to crack.

"Venerable One, save me!"

The master of the beast tide roared, feeling slightly more at ease.

This was his greatest trump card, a talisman exchanged with almost all the points he had accumulated from the previous seven or eight trials, containing a single strike from the Venerable One.

But this sense of relief only lasted for an instant; the next moment, a streak of blood-red light shot into the sky.

Before that vast light and shadow could fully unfold, it was torn to shreds.

The precious treasures he had taken out, along with the other Class 3S Galaxy Beasts, didn't even last 0.1 seconds before being smashed into powder.

"No!"

The master of the beast tide's eyes widened in terror, but he hadn't even had time to make any resistance.

That blood-red light had already reached his body.

Rip!

Almost in an instant, the ten-thousand-foot giant that the master of the beast tide had transformed into was shattered into millions of pieces by the invincible blade.

The head, still wearing an expression of terror, fell and was pierced by the spikes on the torso.

"Seven seconds left."

Emperor Luo's eyes were gradually covered in blood-red, and he fiercely moved his fore-claws to pierce his own body, using the pain to forcibly maintain his sanity.

With his current power, he could clearly feel the location of every trial taker.

If he were willing, he could completely kill them all within seven seconds, avenging his princes and avenging the fallen soldiers.

But...

His cold gaze pierced through infinite layers of space, looking towards the end of the world.

The place where he had sent countless people to investigate, yet no one had ever returned.

Now, he could clearly see that it was a massive palace. It extended a layer of terrifying power that imprisoned the entire universe.

And at this only exit, inside this palace, there were two immensely powerful beings, far exceeding these trial takers.

They were like gods high above, overlooking the world. Every existence attempting to escape would be suppressed by them.

There was less than seven seconds left.

He only had time to choose one: kill all the trial takers, or deal with that palace.

"My sons, I apologize, I cannot avenge you with my own hands."

A flash of sadness crossed Emperor Luo's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by a hint of determination.

"Smart brain, tell Zhang Huaiyuan that this is the last thing I can do for this world. Tell him... do not let me down."

As the words fell, his dark red body tore through space and headed towards the end of the world.

That blood-red streak was blazing and brilliant, carrying the full fury and power of a king.

"Your Majesty!"

On the starry isolation belt, the remaining few Class 3S Experts and the Empire's high-ranking generals knelt down from afar with sorrowful expressions.

Although they did not know what that Insect Beast was, they could tell that this was an irreversible, desperate move.

"We... respectfully send off Your Majesty."

"Respectfully send off Your Majesty."

Countless soldiers saw their officers' actions and could not help but stop their retreat, lowering their heads in silent mourning with sorrowful expressions.

The lights and images of all the equipment across the entire defensive belt quietly extinguished at some unknown moment, leaving everything in darkness and silence.

After a long while, they slowly stood up.

"President, what should we do now?"

The high-ranking officials looked towards an elderly man with gray hair in the center, the President of the Transcendent Association.

Among those remaining, his status was the highest, and he was also Emperor Luo's former teacher.

"His Majesty risked his life to win this battle."

"The SSS-Class Star River Beasts are all dead, they are nothing to worry about."

The old man spoke slowly, with a murderous aura between his brows:

"But there are still some rats who, while we were away, wreaked havoc on the Empire, attacking, killing, and kidnapping the princes... We must pay them back tooth for tooth, blood for blood!"

"Withdraw troops, return to the capital, and purge the demons from outside the realm!"

...