36: Bloodbath Royal Court

Shen Xiaochuan reined in his horse, the tip of his blade lightly touching the ground.

He stared at the Goblin King on the high platform in the distance, who was standing there laughing heartily.

"Are you afraid?"

The Goblin King shouted loudly, "Once that thing comes out, you will all die!"

Shen Xiaochuan remained silent.

His gaze fell upon the three rows of women kneeling in front; their hands were bound, and some were tightly clutching children in their arms.

"If you want to kill, then kill."

He stared at his opponent, his voice low and firm, "But I want to see their faces. That is my right."

A commotion stirred within the enemy ranks.

Several elderly Goblins whispered among themselves; they had never seen a god fight for such conditions for captives.

The Goblin King narrowed his eyes: "You may only come within twenty steps. One step further, and I will kill three."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded.

He dismounted and walked forward, step by step.

The sky-rending blade was hidden in his sleeve, vibrating slightly.

Ten steps. Five steps. Twenty steps reached.

He stopped and scanned every face one by one—there were white-haired old women, a Little Girl, and pregnant women with swollen bellies.

They looked up at him, their eyes filled with hope.

"Get down!" he suddenly roared.

Before his voice had faded, he had already charged out like lightning.

A figure flashed, and the blade light from his sleeve suddenly appeared.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The heads of the three Cyclopes guarding the hostages flew off, and their bodies collapsed with a crash.

The ropes snapped, and the women immediately lay flat on the ground.

Rockets rose into the sky, like fireballs crashing into the enemy's front lines.

A rain of fire poured down, and the Goblins were burned, retreating step by step.

Chen Yan let out a roar, leading his team to charge from the left flank, tearing open a gap.

Archers fired continuously, and flaming arrows ignited the remaining thorn walls.

"Retreat!"

Shen Xiaochuan shouted, "Take them and go!"

The warriors quickly stepped forward, hoisting the wounded onto their backs and supporting the weak to retreat.

Tang Keke sat in the rear, slowly raising her hands as dark clouds gathered once again.

The Goblin King roared: "Kill him! Kill him for me!"

He leaped off the high platform, swinging his dual axes in a wide arc, charging straight at Shen Xiaochuan.

Two deep trenches were carved into the ground.

Shen Xiaochuan did not retreat but advanced, slashing his blade upward.

Lightning burst forth, weapons collided, and sparks flew everywhere.

"You cannot win!"

The Goblin King roared, "I have the Heart of the King! The morale of the entire army is doubled!"

He waved his hand, and the war drums sounded.

All the Goblins' eyes turned red, and they fell into a fanatical charge.

Chen Yan led his team to meet the enemy, stabilizing the position on the left flank.

Archers fired non-stop, and the flames completely swallowed the thorn walls.

The fire burned brighter and brighter, with thick smoke rolling in.

The enemy army began to fall into chaos.

Tang Keke gritted her teeth and cast her spell; the thunderclouds above her contracted, turning into a mass of pitch-black cumulonimbus clouds.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, hitting the sacrificial altar directly.

The Goblin priest who was chanting fainted on the spot.

"Good!" Shen Xiaochuan shouted.

He turned and charged into the enemy crowd, the sky-rending blade tracing a Z-shaped trajectory.

Lightning flashed, and three elites were instantly sliced in half.

A Goblin captain charged with a shield, but Shen Xiaochuan dodged to the side, his blade slicing upward to sever the captain's neck.

Blood sprayed out, staining his sleeves red.

"Hold the passage!"

He turned back and ordered sternly, "Not one of them is allowed to pass!"

Chen Yan led twenty men to defend the intersection to the death, thrusting their spears repeatedly and blocking several waves of attacks.

Shen Xiaochuan charged toward the high platform again.

The Goblin King was already waiting there, his right arm bleeding, his left axe supporting him on the ground.

"You have angered me!"

His eyes were bloodshot, "Now let me show you true power!"

He violently tore open the bone armor on his chest, revealing a black rune on his chest.

The rune lit up with a ghostly light, his body rapidly expanding, and his skin turned dark red.

"The more severely I am wounded, the stronger I become," he said in a low voice.

Shen Xiaochuan gripped the hilt of his blade tightly.

He knew he could not delay; he had to finish this quickly.

He made the first move, thrusting his blade forward.

The Goblin King blocked with his axe and slashed backhand.

Shen Xiaochuan ducked and dodged; the blade grazed his helmet, sending sparks flying.

The two engaged in close-quarters combat, with blades and axes clashing incessantly.

Every collision shook the earth.

The Goblin King suddenly smashed an axe at Shen Xiaochuan's shoulder.

He dodged to the side, but his left arm was still grazed, and a sharp pain struck him.

But he did not pause.

Using the momentum to leap back, he created distance.

"Trying to run?" the Goblin King roared as he chased after him.

Shen Xiaochuan stood still and closed his eyes for a moment.

The Power Of Faith within his body surged entirely into the sky-rending blade.

The blade hummed, wreathed in purple light.

"Lightning Chain Burst."

He opened his eyes and whispered, "Activate."

The next moment, he charged out, his speed doubled, his figure becoming blurry.

The Goblin King swept his giant axe, but only hit empty air.

Shen Xiaochuan circled behind him and slashed down with great force.

With a clack, the tendon in his right arm snapped, and the giant axe fell to the ground.

"Ah—!"

The Goblin King screamed and turned to throw a punch.

Shen Xiaochuan raised his blade to block, was knocked back three steps, and his arm went numb.

He immediately advanced again, slashing three times in a row.

The first blade broke through the shoulder armor, the second sliced open the chest, and the third cut into the abdomen.

Blood sprayed out.

The Goblin King staggered backward and fell to one knee.

"Impossible..."

He gasped for breath, "How could I lose..."

Shen Xiaochuan stood before him, the tip of his blade pointing to the ground.

"You are guarding this place, not for the Seal."

He said, "You are afraid of the truth being discovered. You are not a guardian; you are a prisoner."

The Goblin King looked up, his eyes still filled with hatred: "Even if I die... that thing will come out... you cannot save anyone..."

Shen Xiaochuan did not answer.

He raised the sky-rending blade, preparing to deliver the final blow.

Just at this moment, the ground shook violently.

That blood-red vertical pupil slowly rose, and black mist permeated the surroundings.

"Thump—"

A muffled sound, like a heartbeat.

Shen Xiaochuan's eyes narrowed.

He remembered this sound.

Three years ago, he had heard it once at the iron ore camp.

After that time, everyone disappeared.

"It's not over yet," he said in a low voice.

The Goblin King suddenly laughed: "Do you hear that? It is calling for you... It seems to recognize you, too..."

Shen Xiaochuan frowned.

The sound became clearer and clearer.

It wasn't just a heartbeat; there was also the sound of metal rubbing against metal, like gears turning.

He looked down at his palm.

The copper gear pendant was actually slightly hot.

"Something is wrong," he muttered to himself.

Tang Keke was helped over, her face pale: "We cannot fight anymore... The thing down there... is not a beast... It is a mechanical lifeform..."

Shen Xiaochuan looked up suddenly.

Mechanical lifeform?

He remembered the X-07 core he had found in the ruins.

That intelligent entity from the future had once said— "Some wars began long before you were born."

"Chen Yan!"

He shouted, "Take everyone and withdraw from the orchard! Seal the entrance!"

"Then what about you?" Chen Yan asked.

"I have to know what it is."

He said, "And... why my Gear Pendant is making noise."

He walked toward the edge of the abyss.

The blood-red pupil stared at him, without blinking.

The Goblin King struggled to crawl up, leaning against the statue: "Do you think you can control it? It chose me... not you..."

Shen Xiaochuan sneered: "You are wrong. The person it has been waiting for has always been me."

He raised the sky-rending blade high, the tip pointing straight at the abyss.

"The one it is waiting for is me."