God of the Star Palace!

"--Why should I!"

Griffin Williams let out the same roar.

Completely lacking in manners, hysterical.

He laughed wildly, cried out, roared, and howled; intense emotions surged forth.

A stray dog is barking and howling.

He was like Joker; his rage was so powerless, his weeping so pathetic, his humiliation and despair so insignificant. Whether he pleaded, cursed, went mad, or vented, he could not change his fate or the outcome of the situation.

--Just like countless ordinary people throughout history who have endured injustice.

The Grand Chancellor of the Arcane Council, the powerful Sorcerer Supreme, the legendary Arcane King, suddenly realized something during his life's countdown...

He was the same.

Manipulated, fooled, controlled, and exploited.

They can only desperately cry out against the overwhelming power and cruel fate that they cannot resist.

But the people outside are no longer like him.

--Because someone is willing to lead them.

Because someone is willing to give them weapons and armor, to guide and vent their anger, to lead them fully armed to fight the exploiters, and with blades and roars, to ask: Why?!

And him, and him...

--And he could have had that opportunity too.

Griffin laughed wildly, roared, and pounded his chest.

He thought he was different from pathetic mortals and could choose his own destiny, but now, awakened from the nightmare, he suddenly realized that he was no different from those most humble and pitiful people.

They are all pitiful creatures whose fates are beyond their control and who can protect nothing.

The questions that echoed across the battlefield and the furious roars of the soldiers had already foreshadowed his fate. Faced with this rage that could shake the heavens and the earth, everything he had would be shattered, annihilated, and utterly destroyed.

Betrayed by former followers.

He was scorned by his former loyalists.

They were opposed by their former supporters.

The tombstone will be despised by millions, the name will become an absolute taboo, past achievements and accomplishments will be erased, and the life will be searched for by all nations. The fact of betrayal will become an eternal stain on the nation of the Arcane Council, and will be mentioned by the world for countless years to come. Family, bloodline, allies, students, former subordinates... all those related to him will be implicated and will never be able to turn his life around.

He laughed maniacally.

Such an ending... such an ending...

They're just like dogs—worse than dogs!

But...

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the battlefield. The maniacal laughter gradually stopped. He saw people who, like him, were desperate and had lost everything—soldiers whose minds had been controlled and who were fighting like wild beasts.

They were once glorious and noble soldiers, but they are also the most ordinary and unremarkable people, with joys, sorrows, fears, achievements, goals, families, and careers...

Now they're being controlled, forced to fight a war without honor.

They could be killed without mercy at any moment.

Their fate is controlled by a cold, ruthless, cruel, and tyrannical evil force, leaving them with no control over their own destiny.

Just like...

Just like me.

--But.

They. They.

They're not like me either.

Things seen out of the corner of one's eye seem to be magnified infinitely in one's field of vision. Perhaps it is the brain's automatic defense mechanism under immense pressure, or perhaps it is due to another motivation of a person about to die. Soon, a thought takes root, sprouts, and grows strong, supporting a pillar in the boundless madness and darkness.

Griffin ripped open his collar, his hair disheveled, his beard stained with tears, and his face streaked with snot and phlegm. He stared intently at Phaethon like a ferocious dog.

He spat out the words between his teeth.

"Turn that off."

Phaethon looked at him, his expression somewhat surprised, but then a strange smile appeared on his face, "What?"

"I'll let you—" The Grand Speaker raised his staff and slammed it on the ground, "—turn that thing off!"

The expensive carpet underfoot, the wooden panels adorning the walls, the exquisite ceiling above—all the disguises vanished in the flames of magic, revealing the brilliance of Arcane Flame. Elemental forces resonated actively, and a storm raged through the room. In the center of the storm, Griffin's magic surged like Raging Tide!

He shouted sternly, "Shut down the mind control mechanisms and liberate them—now!"

Although it was a stray dog at the end of its rope, its claws and teeth were intact, and its strength was still full.

Moreover, there is also hysteria that disregards fate and life and death, and acts without regard for anything else.

He was a top-tier spellcaster in the Mortal World, and no one dared to underestimate his life-risking bites.

But Phaethon remained standing, ignoring the shimmering magic runes around him. He looked at Griffin, who exuded a heavy aura of death and madness, and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Ha."

Faced with the dog's near-confrontational defiance, the God of the Star Palace behaved very differently than usual. He showed no anger, no intimidation, and not even contempt; instead, he remained calm and composed.

The look in his eyes as he looked at Griffin was one of indescribable pity and mockery.

He said, "In each of the eras' harvests, there was never a shortage of dogs kneeling and surrendering, nor was there a shortage of the scum of the earth who rebelled again after surrendering. Their behavior became topics of conversation and amusement for the long years after the harvest, so I remember some of them very clearly."

"I've seen and heard many things like this."

"One of them, after surrendering, encountered the Fire Thief' unstoppable advance in a battle. In order to survive, he secretly made a pact with the Fire Thief to surrender and beg for forgiveness. The Fire Thief agreed, so he surrendered again, bringing the Fire Thief a victory in a battle and the lives of three God of the Star Palace."

"This scum who repeatedly surrendered died a horrible death after we finished harvesting him."

"We let him wail for hundreds of years, repeatedly tormenting and healing him, until the last bit of life force in his soul was extinguished, and his body and soul completely collapsed, no longer able to respond or feel anything to the outside world. Only then did we casually end his pitiful life."

"Compared to him, what impressed me more was another ant."

"He surrendered early on, without rebelling midway, but wholeheartedly cooperated with us until the harvest was over. He witnessed the moment of extinction, the fall of the Fire Thief and the last rebels, saw the final brilliance of Civilization fade from dazzling glory to silent annihilation, and heard the last toll of the Doomsday Clock."

"Then he suddenly started attacking us frantically."

"He was executed immediately, of course. No one cared why he went mad, but the traitor's bones were not crushed into dust and thrown into space; instead, they were scattered at the graves of that generation of Fire Thief."

When talking about these things, Phaethon spoke in a relaxed tone, without any intention of intimidation or threat.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Griffin, his tone unusually gentle.

"The first fool betrayed us because he had obtained the Fire Thief's forgiveness beforehand."

"It's hard to say why the second fool betrayed us; it might have been out of guilt or some other pointless thought that only short-lived creatures have... Everyone was busy planning and attending the Fire Thief's funeral; nobody cared about the thoughts of an ant. After the harvest, we still had a lot to do."

"Of course, that's not the point. The point is, right now, the Fire Thief have essentially denied you all your chances of survival and hope in front of the whole world. But you're not without options. You've already committed a grave crime, you've done everything you could, so why choose to betray us at this time?"

He did seem somewhat puzzled. "Do you really expect the Fire Thief to let you go?"

Phaethon's unusually calm and indifferent attitude made Griffin feel both unfamiliar and vaguely uneasy.

The legendary mage's powerful mental strength was almost akin to spiritual perception and divine sense, allowing him to grasp the path ahead and seize signs in the darkness. However, at this moment, his mind was in turmoil, and he knew his death was imminent without even needing to sense it. With a formidable enemy at hand and his blood boiling, he only wanted to do that thing well and didn't consider any intuitive unease.

He merely revealed a wanton and gleeful expression, which was both a venting and a rebellion, both a roar and a revenge. He just wanted to unleash all the anger he had accumulated over the past few days!

"--You self-proclaimed god, you bastard, you cold-blooded and brutal demon, even if I explained the reason, how could you possibly understand!?"

Griffin's forehead veins bulged, and he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"You're nothing but a dog to your so-called master! You're nothing but a fool who relies on power and accumulation to despise the Mortal World! If the roles were reversed, even a dog with your current status and power would see you as an ant. Without power, what are you anyway!?"

"You're nothing but a numb and stupid idiot who's lived too long!"

"Without Kang De interfering, I could have tormented you all!"

"Arrogant, slow-witted, inexplicable, and conceited!"

"I rose from a weak child to become the Sorcerer Supreme and the Lord of the Arcane Council in just a few decades! You bastard who was scared out of his wits by the Fire Thief, do you think you're worthy to control me!"

The Grand Speaker roared madly, his magical power growing ever stronger.

He was venting all his anger and stalling for time, because layers of spells and super magic techniques were constantly being laid out, and the longer the time dragged on, the stronger his accumulated power would become!

"You know absolutely nothing! You know nothing of human courage, nothing of what I have endured and what I have erupted, you know nothing of why those people outside are roaring, you know nothing of what Kang De wanted to give them, and of course you know even less why I am doing this now..."

"--I know."

Facing Griffin, who was both shouting and taunting while simultaneously charging up for his super magic technique, Phaethon remained calm, as calm as a deep, still lake, sending chills down one's spine.

I know why you did that.

"You've realized you're mired in a quagmire with no way out, that you're headed for death, and that your life is no different from those of the ants outside—in our eyes, that's certainly how it is."

"You empathize with them—what the lower realms call morality and kindness—and you realize you have no chance of survival, but the controlled soldiers still have a chance to live, so you want to rescue them."

"It must be the effect of what I said to you before—you finally acknowledged the sacred glory of the Fire Thief and felt that these controlled soldiers deserved a more glorious future, because dying in battle at the end of the world following such a radiant and holy leader who Civilization the brilliance of civilization is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than dying in the present."

"So, knowing you are doomed, feeling regret, and having empathy, regret, resentment, and humiliation give you a new motivation—you want to set these ants who once followed you and were betrayed free, to grant them a better and more glorious future... to complete what you can no longer do."

Phaethon paused, then said calmly, "This is a common psychological phenomenon in the lower realms; we scholars call it the empathy effect."

Upon hearing this, Griffin's angry and gleeful expression froze, and he stared at Phaethon.

The God of the Star Palace also looked back at him.

"I know, I know everything."

"I know you've never been content to be a dog. I know that during the Battle of Tula Xiaye, you left with me out of necessity, forced by circumstances. After the successful retreat, you began looking for a way out."

"I know you've been trying to extract the Star Palace's technological secrets from me and Apophis. If things change in the future, the technology and intelligence you've obtained from us will become irrefutable proof of your forbearance, allowing you to gain the understanding and recognition of the Fire Thief and the Kings."

"I know you had ulterior motives when you discovered that Apophis and I were both stupid."

"I know that after you learned about the Fire Thief and Kang De's identity, your hostility and jealousy towards Kang De have mixed into a new emotion—you are unwilling to be led and commanded by the Fire Thief, and you want to break away from him, start your own business, and prove that you are more suitable Kang De to be the leader of the Mortal World and to fight against the Star Palace."

"How cute, how funny."

Phaethon finally laughed, but the smile was neither harsh nor smug.

Instead, it was a very calm and peaceful smile.

It was as if he were telling a very ordinary joke.

"You see, I actually knew everything."

"So, how much do you know?"

The God of the Star Palace smiled faintly.

"After breaking through Tula Xiaye, you were able to endure humiliation and extract intelligence, giving you a chance to clear your name."

"When war breaks out and the two sides are locked in a standoff, you can also unite other countries, provide technology, and gain understanding."

"Even not long ago, when you wrote to Kang De suggesting he leave this Mortal World, you still had the opportunity to accomplish what Fire Thief before you had ever achieved—"

"--Use the departing Fire Thief to intimidate the Star Palace, and use the Star Palace, which controls great power, to restrain the Fire Thief."

"The Star Palace resides in the heavens, the Fire Thief resides in his homeland, and in the Mortal World, only you, Griffin Williams, possess the Star Palace's technology and support. You can balance both sides, profit from both, and then seize the opportunity to grow powerful, becoming the third force."

Griffin turned completely pale; he gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound.

"And now, the Fire Thief has sworn an oath of certain death, all your subjects have betrayed and scorned you, the kings of all nations will sever all ties with you, the Mortal World will erase your name, you will die, and everything you cherish will vanish into thin air. I think back to the day of the Tula Xiaye coup, I think back to the day you captured me..."

How did things gradually turn out this way?

"You had so many chances to salvage the relationship, so why did you get so deeply involved that you can't turn back now?"

You don't know the reason behind this, do you?

At this point, Phaethon raised his hand and pointed to himself.

"But..."

The smile turned into a loud laugh, a wide grin unleashing a torrent of suppressed smugness, unbridled arrogance, contempt, disdain, mockery, and malice.

"--I know."

The next moment, Griffin suddenly let out a roar, and elemental explosions—frost, Flame, lightning, stone spikes, sound waves, gales... the purest and fiercest elemental attacks came from all directions and suddenly converged!

The legendary mage, having pent up his power for a long time, unleashed a furious attack that even the strongest Mortal World would have to retreat and defend against!

But the power of the elemental turmoil, the skillful and deadly variations of arcane magic, and Griffin's strongest attack to date came to a halt just a foot away from Phaethon. The violent elemental reaction distorted the air, causing the appearance of the God of the Star Palace to become distorted and his voice to become indistinct.

"How ridiculous, Griffin, how ridiculous."

You call me arrogant, but it is you Mortal World beings who are arrogant.

"You think you're wise, so you think we're fools. You think you're principled, so you think we're sycophants. You think you're courageous, so you think we're powerless ants..."

"The truly foolish and pathetic ones are ants like you, who have no idea of our sacred mission and glorious sacrifice!"

His tone became more intense, and his words finally revealed emotion.

"Everything you do is seen and known to me, so Griffin Williams— "

"I've played this ridiculous game with you until now, even entrusting you with the secrets, wisdom, and strategies of the Star Palace. What is my purpose—do you know?!"

Pure power, unleashed!

Phaethon unleashed a punch, annihilating the elements, dispelling the frost and fire, and causing the lightning to wail!

The next moment, the magic array covering the walls and floor shattered with a deafening roar. Griffin coughed up blood and flew backward, his robes torn and his magic shield collapsing. He was arguably the strongest spellcaster in the world. Although he was caught off guard by a sudden physical attack at close range, he was defeated with just one punch!

Griffin crashed into the wall, his limbs giving way, and collapsed to the ground.

He stared in disbelief at the God of the Star Palace before him.

It wasn't because the opponent unleashed such terrifying power, but because...

He's burning!

It wasn't a physical combustion, but rather a boundless, unrestrained burst of light from body to soul... like a star shining brightly!

And the fuel is all the life, souls, years, memories, will, beliefs... everything that this God of the Star Palace has accumulated over such a long period of time!

"You..." Griffin exclaimed in shock, "What are you going to do!"

Phaethon's smile was more joyful than ever before.

"I've told you this story before! In every harvest, when faced with the Fire Thief who embody the full brilliance of a Civilization, the God of the Star Palace will not hesitate to die..."

"Do you think we're just going to walk up there and get hacked to death one by one?"

"--Since we are destined to fall alongside a dying star, how can we not let our own glory shine!"

The God of the Star Palace stared directly at Griffin.

The Grand Speaker was already filled with despair.

In the recent clash, Phaethon relied on the restrained energy released by burning everything to absorb all the elemental attacks, and then took advantage of his all-out attack to strike a fatal blow, achieving victory in one fell swoop. Now, he himself has no chance of survival and nothing can be changed.

Phaethon could have killed him with just a flick of his finger.

He assumed a posture of resignation and awaiting death, then suddenly gathered his magical power and released it with a burst of energy. Elemental brilliance shone brightly, piercing through the ceiling and layers of soil, soaring into the sky!

Phaethon observed this and shook his head slightly.

He didn't kill Griffin.

Instead, it paused, and the violent recoil propelled it straight upwards, smashing through reinforced protective panels and thick layers of soil, soaring into the sky amidst a deafening explosion and reaching the sunlight!

On the battlefield, just as they caught sight of that elemental radiance, the God of the Star Palace burst forth from the earth. At the same time, Phoenix Flame blazed in Kang De and Dairila's eyes— the Star Palace had arrived!

Sunlight pierced through the red clouds, the Rust- colored sun obscured by shadows, and the God of the Star Palace, high in the sky, arrogantly looked down upon the Mortal World, radiating boundless light and heat, his gaze meeting that of the Fire Thief.

" --Fire Thief! Born of the gods, enemy of the Veil, spirit of rebellion!"

Phaethon's voice swept across the battlefield and resounded throughout the land.

"The Star Palace has descended... Rule Mortal World living beings and begin the final war!"

His cloak billowed like wings as he stood in the sky, casting endless Shadow, just as countless ages have done, ravaging the Mortal World with fear and annihilation.

The Fire Thief gazed at the sky, raising his sword and pointing it directly at the sky.

Behind them, a vast army unfolded, their Man of Steel, their weapons of iron and fire, proudly facing the heavens.

"Shoot it down!"