The End (Thanks to Blue Aurora Slash for the recommendation votes!)

Farther away, an aged Qiu Shi Race member with a hunched body and dark red scales nearly black floated motionlessly, watching coldly. Its aura was far deeper than that of the other six—Universe level Fifth order.

It did not make a move. Its sole objective was to protect His Highness.

As Golden Horn battled the Universe level enemy before him, he swept his peripheral vision across the entire battlefield. Frost Blade could barely hold on, Shadow Stinger fought while retreating, and Scorpio had already sustained several wounds. The Stellar level soldiers surrounding the last Qiu Shi Race warrior had suffered grievous casualties, with three already losing their ability to fight.

They could not drag this out any longer.

Golden Horn drew a deep breath, and silver light blazed in his vertical pupils.

A hundred clones, emerge!

More than a hundred silver-white figures appeared in the void at once, surrounding the seven Universe level Qiu Shi Race members from all directions. Every clone looked terrifyingly real, even possessing the exact same aura.

The Qiu Shi Race members' expressions changed drastically.

"What kind of technique is this?!"

The clones' attacks were not lethal, but their numbers made up for it. Daggers and longswords stabbed from every impossible angle, disrupting the Qiu Shi Race formation and giving the besieging Stellar level soldiers a chance to catch their breath.

"Good!" Xiong Kui roared, driving back the enemy before him with a single slash.

With Golden Horn's outburst, the situation gradually stabilized and even began to turn around. The six Qiu Shi Race powerhouses began to struggle.

But at that moment, the Qiu Shi Race prince who had been watching from the side turned cold and gave the order directly. "Walu, you go too."

The old man looked worriedly at the prince. Meeting those icy eyes, it gritted its teeth. "Your Highness, protect yourself."

With that, it charged into the battle.

Its body appeared behind Golden Horn like a ghost, and it struck down with a claw!

Golden Horn had no time to react. Though he barely dodged, he was still hit.

Boom!

His entire body flew backward, and large patches of his scales shattered.

"Ant." The aged Qiu Shi Race member's hoarse voice rang out as it raised its claw to deliver a fatal blow.

"Stop it!" Xiong Kui charged over like a madman, slashing at the aged Qiu Shi Race member's back. But the old Qiu Shi Race member did not even turn around, swatting Xiong Kui away with a backhanded claw.

At that moment, Golden Horn's gaze passed through the chaotic battlefield and landed on the dark golden figure in the distance.

It had been protected by the strongest elder all this time, but now it was finally alone.

A prince, huh? Golden Horn's heart stirred.

Rather than charging at the aged Qiu Shi Race member again, he closed his eyes and locked onto the young man's spatial coordinates with his senses.

Whoosh!

His true body vanished instantly and appeared behind the young man, his dagger stabbing straight for the back of his neck!

"Protect His Highness!"

Two Qiu Shi Race guards desperately rushed back, using their bodies to block Golden Horn's fatal strike. The dagger pierced one of their shoulder blades, spraying blood everywhere, but Golden Horn failed to hit the prince.

The young man's face turned deathly pale as he retreated several yards.

"Protect His Highness!" the aged Qiu Shi Race member roared, lunging toward the young man.

All the Qiu Shi Race members began converging on the young man.

A cold gleam flashed through Golden Horn's eyes. His hundred-plus clones simultaneously pounced on the Qiu Shi Race members rushing back to help, holding them in place.

"They're all protecting that prince!" Golden Horn transmitted to everyone. "I'll attack the prince. Take the chance to attack them!"

Xiong Kui understood immediately. He spun his great blade and charged toward the nearest Qiu Shi Race member. Frost Blade, Shadow Stinger, and Scorpio exerted themselves at the same time, keeping their opponents occupied.

The Qiu Shi Race members had no desire to continue fighting. They only wanted to return and protect the prince.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Chased everywhere by Golden Horn, the young man roared, "Kill them for me!"

Golden Horn deliberately did not kill him. By controlling his route of escape, he was using him to disrupt the enemy's state of mind.

The Universe level Fifth order elder was also enraged. Just as it had feared, His Highness had become their greatest weakness!

As it pursued Golden Horn, it did not dare attack with full force for fear of accidentally harming the prince. It was completely constrained.

The other Qiu Shi Race members wanted to rush over and protect the prince, but they also had to deal with the encirclement. Their combat strength was greatly reduced. Seizing the opportunity, Frost Blade ripped open one Qiu Shi Race member's throat with a claw, while Shadow Stinger pierced another's energy core from behind.

The tide of battle began to turn.

When the second Universe level Qiu Shi Race member fell, the elder realized something was wrong. It wanted to turn back and kill the other Demon Race members first, or the situation would only become more unfavorable for them.

Seeing that it had stopped pursuing him, Golden Horn viciously slashed the prince.

The young man screamed, "Save me! Save me! If I die, you won't survive either!"

The elder looked helpless. It could only make one final attempt. It used some unknown secret technique, and its aura instantly became even more violent while its speed increased dramatically. It appeared between Golden Horn and the prince in an instant, thrusting out a claw to tear Golden Horn apart.

Golden Horn gritted his teeth and met the attack head-on. Though he could not defeat it, with his 300-fold genetic level and third-layer domain, he was not without the ability to fight back.

Using the force to retreat, he instantly teleported to the prince's other side again and placed his dagger against his neck.

The elder was helpless once more, so frustrated it nearly vomited blood.

Golden Horn's dagger pressed tightly against the back of the young man's neck. Its edge pierced his scales, drawing a trace of dark golden blood.

"Back off." Golden Horn's voice was icy. "If anyone dares move again, your prince dies."

The Qiu Shi Race guards' faces turned livid. They all stopped attacking and gathered around the elder, still glaring fixedly at Golden Horn with taut claws, ready to pounce at any moment.

Xiong Kui stood at Golden Horn's side with his blade raised, covered in blood and saying nothing. Frost Blade, Shadow Stinger, and Scorpio slowly drew closer, shielding the wounded behind them.

The aged Qiu Shi Race member gritted its teeth and stared at Golden Horn, its eyes filled with fury, yet it did not dare act rashly.

Its voice was hoarse, suppressing its anger. "Kill His Highness, and all of you will be buried with him."

"How about this? We call it even and withdraw separately." Golden Horn tightened his grip on the dagger, and the young man let out a muffled groan.

The aged Qiu Shi Race member fell silent for a moment. Its gaze swept over Xiong Kui, Frost Blade, and Shadow Stinger before turning toward the Stellar level soldiers in the distance, all drenched in blood. Both sides had suffered severe losses. If they continued fighting, neither side was confident of leaving unharmed.

"Fine. You release him first." The aged Qiu Shi Race member finally spoke.

"You withdraw first, then we release him," Golden Horn said.

"Impossible." The young man had barely opened his mouth when Golden Horn's dagger sank in another fraction, and he immediately fell silent.

"What guarantee do you have?" The aged Qiu Shi Race member narrowed its eyes.

"I have no way to guarantee it." Golden Horn replied calmly, "You can only gamble. Gamble that we'll keep our word."

The void fell deathly silent.

The aged Qiu Shi Race member stared at Golden Horn for a long time before finally gritting its teeth. "Fine. We withdraw."

It raised a claw, signaling the Qiu Shi Race members to retreat.

"But listen well. The humiliation of today will be repaid a hundredfold by the Qiu Shi Race."

Golden Horn did not answer.

The Qiu Shi Race guards slowly retreated into the void, vanishing into a dark red glow.

Only after the last trace of aura dissipated did Golden Horn look at the prince and say, "Hand over your spatial ring."

The young man's expression changed drastically. "You never said anything about that before!"

"Hm?" Golden Horn pushed the dagger another inch inward.

The young man's face went pale, but he still refused to yield. "Just kill me! My imperial father will avenge me!"

Golden Horn froze. Why had this guy suddenly grown such a backbone? Too lazy to waste words, he gestured for Xiong Kui to search him. Xiong Kui scanned him without restraint using his spiritual power and quickly found the spatial ring, tearing it off in one motion.

Only then did Golden Horn release the young man and kick him toward the direction in which the Qiu Shi Race had retreated.

"Go."

The young man scrambled and rolled away, disappearing into the void.

Golden Horn put away his dagger and let out a long breath. Blood surged from every wound across his body at once. He staggered, and Xiong Kui caught him.

"Withdraw." Xiong Kui gave the order. "Everyone, return."

Everyone silently cleaned up the battlefield, carrying their comrades' bodies and the wounded onto the spacecraft.

In the distance, within the void, the dark golden figure looked back one last time and clenched his fist.