High in the sky, Dong Tian's body was split in two, and foul-smelling blood splattered across the sky.
Amo flew to Xiahou Chan's side and supported the swaying man. That attack had exhausted Xiahou Chan's power. Having only been Emanator of Existence for a few hundred years, the power he could store was far from enough to support him in unleashing another attack like that.
This attack was his limit, but fortunately, it successfully killed Dong Tian.
On the main battlefield below, upon seeing Dong Tian's head, the crowd hastily discarded their weapons and knelt down. Apart from the cyborg warriors who were still fighting, the rest of the Garden soldiers had already abandoned their armor and awaited judgment.
"It's over, we won."
As Xiahou Chan smiled and turned around with Amo to share their joy with their companions, Xiahou Chan and Amo stared in horror, Wanmeng below let out a sorrowful cry.
" Tianque!"
Everywhere Qi Tianque's heart stretched out a hand, a hand dripping with blood, clutching a pulsating mass of flesh.
That is the core of the Halovian, a core nurtured by the combination of a potion bestowed by Ayinai and the heart. It is also the core organ that enables the Halovian to adjust their talents and survive.
At that moment, a hand was ripping Qi Tianque out of his heart.
The owner of that hand was clad in full-body armor, and his eyes gleamed a terrifying blood red through his mask.
Of all the people, only one person could wear that armor: Elder Ge.
Elder Ge...
Qi Tianque also realized who the hand belonged to, his face filled with disbelief. Having just exhausted himself, he hadn't noticed the killing intent behind him. Before recognizing the hand's owner, he had wondered what if it was an assassin he had missed?
Although he was unwilling to die like this, it was worth it to have blocked this attack for Brother Xiahou. However, he never expected that the one who attacked him was Elder Ge, the loyal commander of the Guard Corps.
"You bastard, what are you doing!"
Xiahou Chan angrily raised his halberd to attack, but having just exhausted all his strength, he had no power left to muster. He was only able to fly in the sky because Amo was supporting him.
Elder Ge looked at Xiahou Chan's angry eyes, then at Amo's sad and confused eyes, and squeezed hard in his hand. The core was crushed in his hand, and Qi Tianque's body immediately went limp and fell from the sky.
" Tianque!"
Wanmeng cried out in sorrow, using all her strength to run towards Qi Tianque's crash site. The divine artifact, the Phantom Sound Zither, in the sky emitted a bright light, and the next moment it transformed into a stream of light, enveloping Qi Tianque and carrying him to the ground quickly.
Elder Ge flicked the blood off his hands and gave Xiahou Chan a mocking look. "What are you doing? Can't you see? I'm eliminating obstacles."
"Obstacles?"
"That's right, it's an obstacle. Qi Tianque's abilities are too strong. With him around, my plan is difficult to execute. Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn't pushed this imposter to the brink, Qi Tianque wouldn't have had to exhaust all his strength to support you, resulting in his power being almost depleted. Otherwise, I wouldn't have succeeded so easily."
This kid's senses were probably the strongest among you all. Before, because of his existence, I dared not reveal any emotion other than loyalty. Now that he's dead, I finally don't have to wear this disgusting mask of loyalty anymore, hahahahaha!"
Elder Ge burst into laughter, recounting how the story unfolded from the argument in Dong Tian's office to the brawl in the Garden, the formation of the Alliance Army, and finally, the revelation of the truth.
During this time, he was constantly disguising himself, trying to make himself appear more convincing and loyal. Even his subordinates didn't notice anything unusual and all thought he was loyal to the goddess.
But in reality, the Elder Ge they spoke of as loyal was long gone.
When was it? Oh, right, it was a century after the end of the War of Unification in the glorious era. He had made great achievements for the Garden, but he was repeatedly rejected for the position of court president. At first, he thought it was because he had not done well enough. It wasn't until he discovered the talent of Dong Tian, but Dong Tian was still rejected, that he realized the truth.
It wasn't that he wasn't qualified to be elected president, but rather that he was too qualified, even to the point that the Council of Elders was afraid of him. Therefore, he was never nominated as a candidate for president; the only candidates were Elder Ge, who rose from the lowest seat to the Grand Elder.
Therefore, he began to feel dissatisfied—dissatisfied with the greed of the Council of Elders, dissatisfied with the unfairness of the selection system, and even more dissatisfied with Ayinai's ever-present gaze.
So, during one of his private moments with Dong Tian, he drugged and kidnapped him, and then used cloning technology to create a clone of " Dong Tian " who looked exactly like him.
And he, all along, acted as the "regent" who controlled everything from behind the scenes.
As time went on, he discovered that " Dong Tian " had begun to conduct certain unknown experiments against his will. These experiments were strictly prohibited by the Garden. If they were discovered, " Dong Tian " would be removed from his position as court president, and a new election would be held.
Driven by power and a desire to control his entire life, he wanted to investigate the disobedient imposter in the judge's office, hoping to use Dong Tian to create a new, obedient " Dong Tian."
However, he failed. He hadn't expected " Dong Tian's" power to grow to such an unbelievable level, completely beyond his control. So he led his men to escape the Garden's homeland and came to the edge of the star system to form Alliance Army to resist " Dong Tian."
And now.
Dong Tian died at Xiahou Chan's hands, and Xiahou Chan was exhausted. Qi Tianque was also depleted of his strength. Now, the only top combatant who could threaten him was Amo, who was not worth worrying about at all.
"Fake? What does that mean?"
Amo frowned and asked, sensing that this matter was not so simple.
"What do you mean? It means exactly what it says: the Dong Tian you defeated is not the real Dong Tian. The real Dong Tian is here."
Elder Ge snapped his fingers, and a crack opened beside him, revealing a cage large enough to hold three people. Imprisoned in the cage was none other than the true head of the Garden, Dong Tian.
At this moment, Dong Tian's judge's uniform was tattered, and his exposed skin was covered with traces of experiments, including needle marks, cuts, and burns.
He leaned against the iron fence, his head down, his long brown hair falling down to cover his face and expression.
" Dong Tian!"
Amo exclaimed in surprise. Dong Tian, who was in the cage, heard someone calling his name and subconsciously raised his head. Gradually, his gray, lifeless eyes regained their sparkle.
Dong Tian smiled easily and said, "I... I'm fine, don't... worry about me. I... know you, Amo. Although... Ge is... a traitor, his... judgment of people is still... not bad... I... trust you. Kill him... kill... this traitor."
Before Dong Tian could finish speaking, Elder Ge's longsword slashed down on him. Dong Tian pursed his lips and didn't cry out.
"Your Honor!"
The soldiers of the Guard Corps below, who had been furious, cried out in grief. They had never imagined that Elder Ge, who had led them in their rebellion against the Garden and shouted for the creation of a new Garden, was actually the Garden's biggest traitor! And this traitor was actually their leader!