201: Am I a fool? No, I’m the best actor!

When Stone Rock heard that voice, his excited face instantly reverted to its honest and simple appearance.

He looked up, revealing two rows of white teeth, like a child who had received praise.

“Lord, you’re finally here!”

He carried the massive Molten Heart shield, responding in a booming voice, full of sincerity.

“This old guy isn’t good at hiding; he’s too stupid. I didn’t even have to try hard.”

As he spoke, he unceremoniously pointed his large, fan-like hand in Valerius's direction.

“I figured, even if he’s a Legendary, and even if he’s almost dead, it’s impossible for him to make no sound at all, right?”

“The quieter he was, the more it proved he had a guilty conscience; he must have been hiding in some corner, watching me.”

“I was afraid I couldn’t keep him by myself, and if I startled him and he ran away, that would be a huge loss.”

“So I just walked around the edge of this pit a few extra times, dragging my feet, waiting for you to come and deal with him.”

Valerius listened to these words.

His already pale face, due to his severe injuries, turned green and white with anger.

This damned savage.

Every word he spoke, both explicitly and implicitly, was calling him stupid!

He stared intently at Stone Rock.

The shock, anger, and killing intent in his eyes almost solidified, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

He couldn’t understand how his stealth and concealment technique,

even among Legendary figures, was considered top-tier, and even with severe injuries and a weakened soul,

it should never have been seen through by a mere twelfth-tier savage!

As if sensing his confusion,

Stone Rock’s honest face revealed a hint of cunning.

“As for how I knew where he was hiding…”

He extended a thick finger, casually pointing to an inconspicuous clump of weeds in the ruins.

“Lord, look at that thing.”

“And that little flower blooming in the corner of the wall over there.”

“Aren’t… aren’t they all from our home?”

He chuckled, lowering his voice slightly, with the proud air of someone presenting a treasure.

“These are all transformed Sky-Peering Vines; they are inherently plants.”

“Mixed in with a bunch of real flowers and grasses, and not actively emitting any spiritual energy fluctuations, who would be so bored as to carefully examine a roadside weed?”

Valerius followed the direction he pointed, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

There, indeed, were a few inconspicuous dark green vines stubbornly poking out from the charred ruins.

If not for a close look, they were indistinguishable from ordinary plants.

But who would pay attention to a few weeds in a battlefield ruin?

As Valerius listened to these words, he felt a surge of qi and blood in his chest, and his corroded wound seemed to ache even more.

Weeds?

He, the esteemed commander of the Dark Star Empire’s Southern Territory, a seventeenth-tier Legendary expert,

his flaw in concealing his figure, was actually a few damned “weeds”?

It wasn’t that he hadn’t perceived his surroundings.

But Sky-Peering Vines, as long as they didn’t actively detect, their own aura was no different from ordinary plants, perfectly blending into nature.

All his attention had been focused on that seemingly foolish savage.

How could he pay attention to whether the plants at his feet were alive or dead?

This savage knew where he was from the very beginning.

His previous foolish act of circling the pit and looking around was all a pretense.

The purpose was to lull him into a false sense of security, to make him relax his guard, and to wait for a foolproof opportunity to strike.

What a great humiliation!

Valerius’s body trembled.

Not from pain, but from an extreme anger and humiliation of being played and seen through.

He felt like a foolish prey being manipulated by a hunter.

He raised his head and looked at the sky.

A figure, at some unknown point, had appeared in mid-air.

He didn't emit an earth-shattering pressure, yet he seemed to be the center of the entire world, making everything else lose its luster.

He wore a simple black robe, his face serene.

He simply floated there quietly, and the surrounding light seemed to actively make way for him.

The appearance of this figure caused Valerius’s heart, which had been burning with anger,

to sink little by little.

He couldn’t see through the other party.

Beneath that calm exterior, he felt a profound, vast power.

This guy gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.

There was no escape.

This thought uncontrollably emerged from the depths of his heart.

But the will of a Legendary forced him to suppress this despair.

The instinct for survival made him frantically ponder countermeasures.

“Your Excellency…”

Valerius’s voice was somewhat hoarse.

He tried to make his posture less disheveled, even though his half-missing body made him look both comical and terrifying.

“Today, I admit defeat.”

“Your Excellency is also a Legendary; you should understand that the value of a Legendary, especially a high-tier Legendary like me, is far more than just a head.”

He stared at Su Jin in the sky, his eyes flashing with a final glimmer.

“Let me go. I can tell you the Dark Star Empire’s biggest secret mine in the Molten Heart realm.”

“There, ‘Void Dark Crystals’ are produced, enough to sustain a legion’s consumption for a hundred years.”

“Or, a Legendary artifact I’ve treasured for many years—[Realm Raven]—which can directly perform short-range jumps in the Realm Sea.”

“And also…”

“No need.” Su Jin interrupted him indifferently.

“Your intelligence, I will obtain it myself.”

“Your so-called treasures, killing you, they will naturally be mine as well.”

He looked down at Valerius from above, his gaze like someone looking at a lifeless object.

“Valerius, have you still not understood your situation?”

“When you abandoned your army, betrayed your empire, and fled here like a stray dog, you trampled your dignity into the mud.”

“A commander who can betray even his own people, what value do his promises hold?”

“On the contrary, your head is an irreplaceable gift for the Blue Star Alliance on the entire Southern Territory battlefield.”

Su Jin’s words, like invisible sharp blades, pierced Valerius in his most painful spots.

Tearing his last pretense and dignity to shreds.

Valerius’s expression completely twisted.

The last shred of hope vanished, replaced by a hysterical madness.

“Don’t force me! Even if I’m severely injured, I can still take a Legendary down with me!”

“Kill me, and you won’t have an easy time either!”

He began to squeeze out his last bit of life essence.

The aura of the Law of Decay once again permeated the air.

The surrounding ruined rubble silently turned to dust under this aura.

He was making his final threat, and his final struggle.

“Oh? Is that so?”

Su Jin’s tone remained calm, even carrying a hint of anticipation.

“Then I’ll wait.”

“Speaking of which, I’m actually a little curious what methods you still have now.”

He looked down at the figure below, who was like a madman, as if watching a clown.

“Valerius, this war, from the very beginning, has been a life-and-death game.”

“And… we live, and you… die.”

“Now, the game is over.”

The moment his words fell, Su Jin raised his right hand.

Starlight and shadows intertwined on him, transforming into a majestic imperial robe.

Then, towards Valerius’s direction,

he gently snapped his fingers.

Snap.

A crisp sound, in the silent ruins, was exceptionally clear.

At the same time.

An indifferent yet majestic will descended upon this space.

“Mandate of Heaven: Deprivation.”