Lude knew perfectly well what he needed most.
What he needed most now was to save Siana and get this girl out safely.
He would pay any price for that, even betray Lord Hypnos.
Yes, if Malinkov truly spared Lude today, Lude really would honor his promise and betray Lord Hypnos, even if it brought the lord's wrath down upon him.
Lude had always kept his word. He would never fudge or renege on a [promise].
Unfortunately, Malinkov rejected the offer.
Then fighting was the only option.
At that thought, Lude tightened the straps securing Siana to him.
Malinkov would surely recognize that Siana was Lude's weak spot.
That meant Lude would have to kill Malinkov while protecting Siana from any further harm.
Could he do it?
It would be difficult, Lude thought. At the very least, it would be impossible without paying a price.
Siana was gravely wounded, and Lude was hardly in good shape himself.
He was missing an arm. His mechanical arm couldn't exert as much force as his own arm, let alone conduct psionic energy as well.
His internal organs had ruptured. Of his three hearts, only one still functioned normally, and both lobes of his left lung had been pulverized into bloody foam.
More importantly, forcibly activating the power of the red dragon remains had inflicted severe backlash on Lude's soul.
It felt as though ants were gnawing endlessly at the bones beneath his flesh-an agonizing itch he couldn't scratch.
And that backlash was growing worse as the power of the wyvern blood essence faded.
In other words-it was time to stake his life.
Lude slowly drew the White Flame Holy Sword. Using it recklessly might draw Thunder Emperor Thorn here, but in his current condition, he had no chance whatsoever of defeating Malinkov without