"And our first target for revenge shall be..."
Theresis's combat boots ground across the staff headquarters map. The rust-colored border lines suddenly seeped blood, staining Kazimierz red.
Dusk congealed into amber-colored blood scabs along Kazimierz's border. The moment Ursus's aid arrived, the army formed from Sarkaz Mercenaries and members of several Royal Courts became a torrent, tearing through Kazimierz's frontier, rapidly splitting apart and encircling the Silver Spear Pegasus.
Ten thousand cannons roared along the border, shells raining down upon Kazimierz's positions. About an hour later, Sarkaz ground forces launched a full-scale assault from the north, west, and southwest. Caught off guard, Kazimierz's transportation hubs and command centers were destroyed, throwing its troops into chaos. Seizing the opportunity, Theresis led a force spearheaded by the Blood Demon Great Lord and the King of Scavengers through the Kazimierz defenses at several key points.
According to surviving Silver Spear Pegasus knights, what they saw was not merely the Sarkaz army, but tangible phantoms of war—those reflected in the Originium were clearly skull totems of Sarkaz Royal Courts throughout the ages, gnawing away at Kazimierz's border.
"Within the golden cage woven by merchants using futures contracts, the knights still hold their posture of diving toward the age of myth. Yet with every military budget they sign, the edge of their holy lances moves an inch closer to their own hearts. And now, are your blades still pointed at the enemy?"
In the Grand Knight Territory, Theresis looked upon Iolanta Russell—the battered former Campaign Knight, now chairman of the Kazimierz Supervisory Council and Grand Knight Commander of the Campaign Knights—with utter contempt.
He swung his sword, intending to sever the Grand Knight Commander's head and use it to announce Kazimierz's fall. But the instant he struck, a golden flash swept past, and she vanished.
"Even the Golden Pegasus of the Lumia family has been bound this thoroughly by shackles made of gold?"
Theresis did not care. He merely flicked away the blood left on his blade from striking his enemy.
Just as he was about to announce Kazimierz's fall and lay out the next step of his plan, the Blood Demon Great Lord appeared beside him and solemnly delivered bad news. "Theresis, we've been played."
"What?" Theresis froze. What did he mean, they had been played?
"Ursus's army has surrounded Kazimierz." The Blood Demon Great Lord revealed a terrifying number. "They've sent five army groups."
Theresis's head spun. Before he could faint, Manfred rushed over and solemnly reported a second message, handing him a note. "Our food and supplies have all vanished. Only this was left behind."
Theresis unfolded the note. There were only a few words on it.
—In ten seconds, we will blitz you.
In ten seconds, blitz you.
That simple sentence made Theresis's hair stand on end. He had considered Yan and Victoria as Ursus's enemies, but he had never expected that he himself was also his enemy!
Ursus's true ruler had never intended to compromise from the very beginning. His rules allowed only submission or death, never mercy or retreat. Every enemy who dared stand before him, whether an iron-blooded soldier or a seemingly fragile weakling, was destined for a dead end. Every conflict, every inch contested, was a move on a chessboard he had meticulously arranged. Everyone was nothing more than a piece on his board!
Where was he?!
Where was he watching me from?
He said he would blitz me in ten seconds. That meant I was within his attack range right now. Once the time came, he would appear and attack me. But where would he attack from?
The left, the right, below, or... above!
He abruptly looked up. Above him was empty space—the dome he had shattered long ago. At this hour, he could even see the sun rising.
Every hair on his body stood erect as he guarded against the enemy's attack at any moment. One second, two seconds, three seconds... Every time the second hand on the Supervisory Council clock trembled, another gram of fear seeped into his ears. The cold sweat gathering on his eyelashes was not water, but compressed death notices. His heartbeat accelerated wildly. When the forty-ninth beat smashed against his ribs, he heard a crisp cracking sound from deep within his bones.
Ten seconds were up!
He's here!
Theresis instantly drew his sword, covering every direction—up, down, left, right, front, and back—in a full three hundred and sixty degrees. The Blood Demon Great Lord attacked alongside him. A raging current surged from within his body, formed by the combined airflow of countless Bloodfiends beating their bony wings. Every drop was a blood louse, bearing razor-sharp claws that scraped at everything around them like ants devouring an elephant.
A thunderous roar tore through the heavens. The towering Supervisory Council collapsed amid a crimson tide. The scarlet essence surging from the Blood Demon Great Lord's body became billions of blood lice as thin as hairs. These twisted monsters linked head to tail, weaving a scarlet barrier that blanketed the sky. The barrier expanded outward with unstoppable force. Living beings wailed, metal and stone shattered, and even the air was torn into crimson vortices. Yet he froze.
"No one?"
Wasn't he supposed to blitz them in ten seconds?
There was no anticipated killing blow, no Emperor's Blade lying in ambush. Forget an attack—there was not even a shadow of a person.
"Your serpent tongues drip honeyed lies, yet you would even swallow the ashes of your oaths! And now you would break even a warning letter you just sent! You lowly, despicable, shameless Ursus wretches!" Veins bulged across the Blood Demon Great Lord's perfect face in his fury, and his scarlet eyes overflowed with killing intent.
"No, he isn't blitzing us!" Theresis realized it immediately. "My home!!!"
The most important thing in a blitzkrieg was swift victory.
Once most of the enemy's forces had been broken, leaving only a small remainder, the war was effectively over. Naturally, Qianyi and the others would not waste time fighting three hero units—Theresis, the Blood Demon Great Lord, and Manfred. They chose to raid the base directly.
"Soldiers of Ursus, heed my command!"
"Charge the Sarkaz camp! Head straight for the King of Scavengers' four-wheeler!"
At Qianyi's command, the army group assigned to blitz the Sarkaz base moved out. Led by hero units such as Patriot, Talulah, and Seele, they began a new round of blitzkrieg.
Qianyi himself did not charge. Instead, he gripped the Gilded Lance in his palm. The instant its tip touched the ground, Holy Bud bloomed one after another along the marching route. Vines clung to the earth and spread, while falling petals soaked in moonlight transformed into endlessly regenerating flowers of healing the moment they touched the wounded.
Void Archive, Pseudo Black Abyss White Flower!
As long as I am alive, I will not allow any companion to suffer or die.
Seeing that their wounds healed rapidly no matter how badly they were injured, the soldiers' morale soared, and they advanced with unstoppable momentum.
But suddenly, a well-equipped Sarkaz force charged out from the flank. The lead armored vehicle's machine guns unleashed fierce fire, tearing the formation apart in an instant, briefly halting the offensive before rushing toward the reinforcements in the rear. As the unit considered where to charge next, it spotted a blue-haired schoolgirl whose vibe was completely different from everyone around her and rammed into her at full speed.
"Shoko?! Get out of the way!!"
Alina, stationed in the rear, tried to call out to the girl who looked even younger than herself. But the armored vehicle slammed into her head-on. Amid the violent crash, the heavy armored vehicle was forcibly stopped, even its thick armor shell dented into a shallow crater, while Toyokawa Shoko merely rolled across the ground a few times.
Huh?
Alina was so frightened that she nearly dropped her medicine box. No, this girl who looked even frailer than her could stop an armored vehicle with her bare body like Patriot?!
Before she could calm down, she suddenly saw Shoko take out a small short bow. Then blood began to pour from her entire body. Bright red blood streamed from her eyes, mouth, nose, skin, and everywhere else, rapidly staining her clothes and soaking her whole body.
This was not an injury caused by the enemy. It was her own doing, because—she was about to self-destruct!
"Meteor Shower (Stella)!!!"
Countless people could shoot down stars, but only one could shatter one. It was an immensely long-range attack that could instantly end any conflict and, just as its name suggested, tear apart the earth.
With a single strike, every enemy before her was swept away.
The interference was dealt with, and the troops continued onward.
The Sarkaz side was plainly losing. Theresis, the Blood Demon Great Lord, and Manfred were trapped in the Grand Knight Territory. Their logistics forces had been completely cut off, and the ace squad led by the three of them was now a turtle in a jar. Their final hope was the King of Scavengers.
At this moment, Nietzre, the King of Scavengers—one of the Six Heroes of Sarkaz, also known as the "God of War"—sat alone upon the Scavenger Throne in the sky. No subordinates or clansmen remained at his side. There were only enemies.
"Teacher Nietzre, it has been a long time." Patriot expressed his respect to him.
"Bodokast, is this the New Ursus you serve? Such glory, such greatness, such brilliance. If Kazdel could possess such brilliance, how wonderful that would be." Nietzre sighed, though his tone was heavy with sorrow.
As an ancient relic who had lived for over a thousand years, in the original story he alone could easily suppress Kal'tsit, Warfarin, Silence, and others. This King of Scavengers could even casually kill all three before destroying Rhodes Island.
It was no exaggeration to say that this old man was so powerful that he was utterly beyond the level modern civilization on Terra Continent should possess. Yet at this moment, he carried the melancholy of someone nearing the end of his life, because...
He looked around himself.
Kiana, Talulah, Artoria, Seele, Hiiragi Tina, Bodokast, and a huge crowd of enemies had completely surrounded him.
The King of Scavengers felt that one against one, one against two, or even one against three might still leave hope. But with so many people swarming him, there was likely only one outcome: being beaten to death. Even trying to take one enemy down with him before dying was probably impossible. The other side had a powerful healing caster who could rapidly restore any wound.
"Teacher, you can surrender. The King we serve is a merciful, great ruler with the world in his heart. He will allow the Ghoul clan to join Ursus, and he will allow you to become Ursus's new duke." Patriot could not bear to watch his teacher die here.
"Brat, are you insulting me?" Fierceness flashed in Nietzre's eyes as he glared at his most admired disciple. Rather than call him by name, he chose a contemptuous insult.
"Old man, most rulers of the Royal Courts have their own dignity and glory, but they're also a bunch of stubborn fools living in the era of the old Tigaz. If they had even the slightest willingness to lower their heads and cooperate with the other Royal Courts, would Kazdel have become this mess?" Qianyi approached slowly with the Gilded Lance in hand. With every step he took, holy white flowers grew from the scorched ground.
"That appearance... what is your relationship with Her Highness Theresia?" The King of Scavengers was reminded of the late former Demon King by Qianyi's power to make flowers bloom from barren earth.
Qianyi ignored his question and pointed his lance at him. "Choose. Die here, or follow me."
"I will not betray Kazdel, and I will never betray the Sarkaz!!" Nietzre, King of Scavengers, righteously refused. Then he made a request. "After I die, I hope you can use my body to help Bodokast complete the cannibalism ritual and allow him to ascend as a ruler of the Royal Courts."
Even among pureblood Wendigos, Patriot Bodokast was among the finest. If they had not left the Sarkaz and Kazdel back then, and if he had completed the cannibalism ritual, Patriot would certainly have held a place among the rulers of the Ten Royal Courts.
Since he was going to die either way, he might as well die with greater value.
He believed Qianyi would never refuse the allegiance of a ruler of the Royal Courts.
But in the next instant, Qianyi drove his lance into Nietzre's knee. "Old man, now you're making choices? Did you even say thank you before making demands of me?"
I was just being polite, and you really started making wishes.
Anyone who didn't know better would think I was the prisoner here.
Qianyi shook his head with an expression of disappointment. "If you ask me, the reason you Sarkaz have fallen this far is entirely because of your barbaric customs. Look at you, Nietzre, eating corpses every day. Typical brain damage from eating too much rotten meat. And you encouraged the old man to eat corpses with you. When there are lobsters and king crabs to eat, who would eat your rotten corpses?"
"What does a junior like you know? This is the law of our ancestors." The moment Qianyi disparaged Ghouls, Nietzre flew into a rage. Then the other knee was pierced by another lance strike.
After driving both lances into Nietzre's knees and forcing him to kneel, Qianyi began lecturing the King of Scavengers. "Old man, you eat trash and somehow feel superior about it? You're the typical self-abusing parent. You got used to suffering yourself, then insisted it was good and made your children and juniors suffer alongside you. Patriot's health was so poor before because you, his teacher, fed him all kinds of rotten meat while he was still growing. Even when I was starving to death in Minecraft, I wouldn't eat that stuff."
"How could lowly creatures like you understand the Sarkaz Royal Courts?"
"You're talking big? Have you ever eaten Australian lobster or king crab? In that bird-forsaken place called Kazdel, you can't afford it!"
Qianyi had not expected this old man to be so stubborn. As expected of an enemy who had reached the great perfection realm of being a thousand-year-old man, he was not someone a young man like Qianyi could handle. Fortunately, as a young man, Qianyi was physically stronger than the old man.
A couple of kicks to the old man's waist, and the old man would know he was wrong.
Still, Qianyi respected the elderly and cared for the young. Since Nietzre, the King of Scavengers, was Patriot's teacher, he ordered someone to drag Nietzre away and feed him rich food for two days—lobster, king crab, and the like—to see whether he could still stomach rotten meat afterward.
The King of Scavengers had been defeated.
The entire Sarkaz army was taken over by Ursus. As for what would become of these people...
"Those willing to join Ursus may stay. Give those unwilling to join severance pay and let them leave. Send the wounded to field hospitals for treatment for now, and charge the medical fees to them. Keep to that general direction. As for the details, Frost, I leave this matter entirely to you."
"Your Majesty, isn't it inappropriate to have a Sarkaz manage Sarkaz?" Frost was a little stunned. Was Qianyi not afraid that he would one day lead his fellow clansmen in a great rebellion?
"True." Qianyi nodded and joked, "There are too many of them to deal with. Then let's bury them all alive."
Frost's eyes widened. He abruptly dropped to his knees, grabbed Qianyi's hand, and said, "Your Majesty, please leave it to me! I will definitely shoulder this responsibility!!"
"I believe you have the ability. Do a good job." Qianyi patted Frost's shoulder and passed this heavy burden to him.
Thus, the Blitz of Kazimierz was officially declared over. However, fully occupying Kazimierz and turning it into their territory would still take time. If handled poorly, spontaneously formed Kazimierz resistance forces would emerge everywhere.
Fortunately, Qianyi had long since prepared a strategy for settling into Kazimierz.
"Any who wear the Ursus military insignia must stand seven paces from civilian homes with their spears raised and swear an oath before entering. Violators shall be treated as having trampled Ursus law. The supply corps must build double-layered porridge sheds from birch wood and ring bells to distribute porridge punctually at the third quarter of the hour of the dragon every day. When encountering ruined walls and rubble, the engineering corps must tie white silk before demolition. Every rescued family's bricks must be wrapped in cloth before being handed over..."
"This land has suffered too much already. I cannot avoid necessary suffering, but we must avoid unnecessary suffering as much as possible. Respect the human rights of the Kazimierz people as much as we can, and protect their lives and property."
"The brothers are all exhausted after this battle. Once we confiscate the Merchants' Guild's assets, distribute forty percent as allowances to the brothers. Use all the rest for Kazimierz's reconstruction and recovery. From today onward, everything in Kazimierz belongs to our Ursus Community of Shared Destiny."
Kazimierz's ownership was settled just like that.
But one enormous hidden danger remained unresolved. Having faced the King of Scavengers directly, Talulah understood clearly just how powerful the Regent King and the Blood Demon Great Lord were.
So she asked, "How will we deal with Theresis and the Blood Demon Great Lord?"
"Do they need dealing with?" Qianyi asked in return.
"What do you mean?" Talulah did not quite understand.
"They are merely frightened birds barely clinging to life." Qianyi extended his right hand and spread his fingers, as though he held the entire world in his palm. Like one standing atop the highest peak, overlooking all mountains and breathing in heaven and earth, all who defied him would perish. Theresis and the Blood Demon Great Lord were like Sun Wukong, fleeing within his hand yet never able to escape his Five Finger Mountain.
He decided to become the Thief King and give Theresis the cruelest, most despairing death possible.
"If Theresis gets even a scrap of supplies or food over the next month, I lose. As for the Blood Demon Great Lord, this one is no longer needed."
Big Teacher could become an ally after being beaten into submission, but Qianyi had no need for a teammate like the Blood Demon Great Lord, someone who would strike his own allies and undermine unity.
Thus, an area thirty li in every direction centered on the Supervisory Council was cleared into an uninhabited zone. According to Ursus officials, this place would eventually be built into a "Bird's Nest," where people from all across Terra would come to compete in various events, selecting one Emperor's Champion after another to receive the Ursus Emperor's commendation.
Of course, the matter had not even reached the stage of creating a folder yet. They announced it publicly purely to prevent civilians from approaching.
Within that area, Theresis and the Blood Demon Great Lord stood back to back, gasping heavily as they guarded against an attack that could come at any moment.
In the past, whenever they appeared on a battlefield, there was only one possible outcome: the entire battlefield would be dominated by the two of them, and all enemies would become souls beneath their swords or blood food. Yet now, both were in unprecedentedly sorry states.
Theresis had only a few wounds on his body, and his clothes were stained red with blood, but his breathing remained calm and steady. Ducare, the Blood Demon Great Lord beside him, was covered in wounds. A dreadful gash pierced his chest, blood gushing from it, and his body could barely remain standing.
"Ther... Theresis, give me... a quick death..." The Blood Demon Great Lord was nearly out of breath.
"Hold on! We still have..." Theresis had just begun to comfort Ducare and tell him not to speak so discouragingly when a Space Gate abruptly opened, and a silver fork viciously stabbed the Blood Demon Great Lord in the butt.
There was no bleeding and no real injury, only faint pain. Yet it was like the final straw that broke the camel's back. The Blood Demon Great Lord shut his eyes in despair, tilted his head, and fainted on the spot.
Before he could mourn his ally, Theresis immediately grabbed the Blood Demon Great Lord, drew his sword, and warily scanned his surroundings.
The next instant, he clearly felt a force coming from the other side, trying to yank the Blood Demon Great Lord from his grasp. As one of the Six Heroes of Sarkaz, he aimed at the source of that unfamiliar force and slashed with his sword.
The fierce sword aura ripped through the air and cleaved an entire building in half with one strike.
Yet he felt no feedback from hitting an enemy. Instead, someone inexplicably kicked him in the butt. In the instant he staggered, the Blood Demon Great Lord in his hand vanished.
"How can there be such a devious ability in this world?!"
Before you continue