“How can you say that? My heart has always belonged to His Majesty the King!”
Bulock spread his arms, his voice rising a few notes with a kind of instinctive rebuttal after being questioned.
But if one looked closely, everyone could still see the madness in his eyes.
“Everything I’ve done is to protect the Empire!”
“Protect the Empire?”
Mephia couldn’t help but snort coldly.
“And what about the Serpent Eye organization?”
As everyone knew, Serpent Eye was one of the main culprits behind the Empire’s chaos.
They had captured countless innocent civilians for human experimentation.
This had nothing to do with protecting the Empire.
But Bulock didn’t see it that way.
“Serpent Eye? Hah! To protect the Empire, one naturally needs greater power. Unfortunately, the human body is too fragile to withstand that power.”
Like some heretics, when he said these words, a fanatical light appeared on Bulock’s face.
“That’s why I founded the Serpent Eye organization.”
Mephia said nothing, but Duke Vennar coldly spoke up:
“Hmph, what you’ve spouted so far is nothing but twisted logic. What does modifying humans have to do with protecting the Empire? What’s the difference between you and His Majesty the King, who wants to destroy humanity?!”
Bulock turned to look at him, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
“Of course there’s a difference. The humans I modified at least have a chance to survive, don’t they?”
“Absurd!”
Duke Vennar drew the longsword from his waist and pointed it at Bulock.
“There’s nothing more to say. Everyone, please make your move.”
Mephia gripped the golden spear in her hand, while Celeste raised the Empress’s Wand.
Seeing this, Bulock sneered, the madness in his eyes growing even more intense.
“Indeed, it seems there’s nothing left to discuss between us.”
He slowly drew his own longsword; the blade gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the candlelight.
“Then let’s settle everything with force.”
A gale rushed in from outside the door, extinguishing the candles in the hall.
The next second, Bulock’s figure had vanished from where he stood.
His speed was incredible, like a specter!
Duke Vennar didn’t even have time to blink before the sharp sword wind was already rushing toward his throat!
Clang—!
A golden light cut in from the side, precisely blocking the fatal strike.
The blades clashed, sparks flying, illuminating Bulock’s twisted face.
Mephia stood in front of Duke Vennar, silver flames burning in her golden eyes.
Her remnant wings spread slightly, the tip of her spear pressing tightly against Bulock’s sword.
The stone slabs beneath their feet shattered inch by inch.
“Princess, do you insist on being my enemy?!”
Bulock’s voice squeezed out from deep in his throat, sounding eerily hoarse.
In response, Mephia merely snorted.
Then, with a twist of her wrist, she angled the spear tip upward, forcing Bulock back.
The next second, several figures charged simultaneously!
Behind Celeste were councilors from the Witch Council, each at Gold Rank.
Commander Pake was also among them.
Under their onslaught, Bulock’s escape routes were sealed off in an instant.
Bulock sneered, turning his sword light into an impenetrable barrier.
After a clattering series of clashes, all their attacks were blocked!
But he also took one step back.
That single step made Duke Vennar’s eyes light up.
“That’s his limit! Attack together, we can kill him!”
He roared.
Bulock’s expression changed slightly.
He knew his situation well: without Mephia, he might have been able to hold out against these opponents, but with her, he was almost certain to die.
After a few seconds of silence, he gritted his teeth.
“You… seek death!”
He suddenly let out a long howl toward the sky!
The sound was not human; it was more like the roar of a wild beast, shaking the entire hall!
Cracks spread like a spiderweb across the walls and floor.
His robes tore apart inch by inch, and something writhed and swelled beneath his skin.
The crisp sound of bones breaking came in a dense rain, and his body twisted and tore, growing taller and broader!
It was just like the experimental subjects in Serpent Eye transforming into monsters.
This once-arrogant Imperial Grand General had finally become such a creature.
His skin split open, revealing dark red scales beneath.
His spine pierced through flesh, rising segment by segment into jagged bone armor.
The bones of his hands swelled, turning into gleaming claws.
His face twisted completely, revealing insectoid mandibles, and his eyes turned pure black without any white, eerily unnatural.
At the same time, his aura surged.
Though he still hadn’t stepped into the Saint Rank, he now surpassed Mephia, enough to look down on everyone.
“Th…this is…”
Bulock looked down at his own body and claws.
“This is the power I sought…”
His voice had completely changed—hoarse, deep, with a metallic grating sound, very harsh.
Feeling the power he now possessed, he roared at the crowd: “You ants, how dare you think you can fight me?!”
The moment the words fell, he moved!
Faster than before!
His massive body displayed terrifying speed completely at odds with its size.
His claws swept across; one Witch Councilor couldn’t dodge in time and was sent flying, crashing through the wall and into the rubble, life unknown!
Mephia swung her spear to meet him.
The spear tip collided with the claws, erupting in blinding sparks!
The shock numbed her grip; she was sent flying backward, her remnant wings flapping in the air as she barely managed to steady herself.
“Princess!”
Duke Vennar cried out in alarm.
The monster turned its head to look at him, a cruel light flickering in its crimson eyes.
“Old fool, you deserve to die the most!”
It lunged at Duke Vennar!
The duke gritted his teeth and raised his sword to defend, but a golden light descended from above!
Mephia blocked in front of him again, spreading her remnant wings to take the blow!
But this time, the claws pierced her shoulder, blood spurting out and splattering against her silver-white armor, a shocking sight.
“Mephia!”
Celeste cried out.
Bulock paused for a moment, as if just now realizing her presence.
He didn’t know who the young girl was, but based on earlier deductions, that Witch Councilor was beneath her in status, so she must be the Empress of the Witch Council.
She was so young; her strength couldn’t be that great.
And she was the mastermind behind all of this…
Killing her would severely dampen their morale!
Thinking this, he suddenly lunged at Celeste, his claws turning into a streak of light, shattering countless spells, aiming straight for her heart.
But what he didn’t expect was…
“Divine Thunder!”
At that very moment—
A silver-white bolt of lightning came crashing down from the ceiling, striking him squarely on the head!
Boom—!
The overwhelming magic power at that moment couldn’t even protect him; the lightning exploded, slamming his body into the ground, leaving him momentarily unable to move.
Everyone turned to look.
Celeste stood there expressionlessly, holding the legendary wand that radiated light, mana surging around her, her blood-red eyes burning with a fierce flame of revenge.
Bulock struggled to get up from the ground, staring at her in disbelief.
He knew that his magic power was now infinitely close to the edge of Saint Rank.
And yet this young girl had managed to injure him…
“Y…you are…”
Celeste didn’t answer his question.
She simply raised her wand, aiming it at the monster.
“This strike is for all the Resistance Army commanders you framed.”
A silver-white light exploded, turning into a pillar that pierced heaven and earth, slamming into him!
Bulock let out a piercing howl.
His massive body was pushed back by the pillar, smashing through the wall and collapsing into the rubble!
He had barely climbed out of the rubble when another pillar of light hit him.
Boom—!
“This strike is for all the souls who died in your human experiments.”
Boom—!
Boom—!
With successive pillars of light, Bulock was already blasted out of the hall and onto the streets of the Third Fortress.
The Imperial Army stationed in the fortress heard the commotion and rushed over.
But when they saw Bulock, they all hesitated.
What was this terrifying monster?
Where was the Imperial Grand General?
Compared to Bulock, Celeste’s side seemed more like the righteous one at this moment, so the Imperial Army just stood frozen, unwilling to get involved.
As for why Celeste could injure Bulock…
Ever since the Witch Council acknowledged her as the Empress, she had taken more than a dozen Condensed Magic Crystals from within the council.
Absorbing their magic power, she had completely crossed the Silver Grade and entered the Gold Rank.
And the Empress’s Wand, which could unleash Gold Rank power when she was at Silver Rank, could naturally unleash even greater power now that she was at Gold Rank.
Though this power still fell short of the Saint threshold, it was enough to injure Bulock.
2
On the other side, Bulock, bombarded multiple times, did not die.
He struggled to get up, covered in blood, scales shattered, bone spikes broken, surrounded by a maddening, desperate aura…
“You… you all must die… must die…”
100
He suddenly opened his mouth wide, a pitch-black light gathering inside—
That was his final killing move.
100
Once unleashed, the entire Third Fortress would be leveled.
“Stop him—!”
But before Duke Vennar’s roar could finish, a golden spear pierced through Bulock’s heart, freezing his entire body in place.
Mephia had long been waiting for this moment.
Combat required not only strength but also wisdom.
No amount of caution was too much against an enemy like Bulock.
So when Celeste attacked, she had hidden herself away.
Perhaps the former Imperial Grand General wouldn’t have fallen for such a tactic, but even when he was human, he had already hollowed out his body with wine and women, losing his former valor.
Furthermore, after becoming a monster, his rationality had been constantly disturbed by the monster instincts, stripping him of the judgment a true expert should have.
“You… even if you kill me… what use is it…”
The gathered power quietly dissipated.
Bulock stumbled forward two steps, and in everyone’s gaze, he fell to his knees and collapsed.