284: Flesh and Blood Covenant

He scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the few trusted subordinates who remained by his side.

They had once been his most elite generals, but now each was wounded, their spirits low, their eyes filled with confusion and fear for the future.

"You are my last, and my strongest, trump card."

"Go, use all your power to find the crown's whereabouts."

"With your lives, with your loyalty, pave the Dao for me to the Supreme Throne!"

His words were resonant, yet, the response was a deathly silence.

A one-armed fleet commander, his face pale, stepped forward with difficulty and spoke, "Lord, our fleet's energy reserves are less than ten percent, the star map database was completely wiped out in the Law storm, and our warriors, our warriors have suffered over ninety percent casualties."

"With just this much strength, let alone contending with those two factions, we probably can't even protect ourselves in this perilous new world..."

"Silence!"

Star Lord roared, and a Divine Power impact sent the commander flying, crashing heavily into the alloy wall.

"If conventional methods can no longer salvage defeat, then we can only resort to unconventional means, taking that darkest, most insane shortcut!"

He absolutely refused to accept that his eons of planning would end here!

His crazed gaze seemed to pierce through layers of spatial barriers, landing on a certain corner of this new world.

There, a vast and boundless Scarlet Swamp, like a living entity, was rooted and writhing on a giant floating continent.

That was the Second Prison District, the Myriad Devouring Mother Empress's lair.

Although the Mother Empress's intelligence and the Zerg army she controlled were almost completely destroyed by Su Lei's stratagem in the previous Chaos, her massive biomass body, large enough to cover the entire continent, and her gene pool, representing the pinnacle of biological technology evolution, were preserved intact as part of Kindling.

Now, she was merely a giant beast driven by the instincts of devouring and evolution.

Star Lord gathered all his remaining combat-capable subordinates.

"My warriors."

"We have reached the edge of the cliff. The path ahead leads not to glory, but to destruction."

"But, within destruction, there is also a glimmer of hope. However, this glimmer of hope requires us to give everything to obtain it."

He said no more, but instead extended his hand, slowly carving in the Void Realm.

Profound and ancient runes flowed from his fingertips.

They intertwined and combined in the air, finally forming a blood-colored altar array.

That was not a power belonging to the Star Civilization, but a forbidden secret technique he had sealed in the deepest part of his memory, the "Soul Blood Symbiosis Pact."

This method could forcibly awaken the intelligence of a powerful creature that only had instincts left, and establish a master-subordinate symbiotic alliance with it, turning its power for his own use.

But the price was the sacrifice of a large number of high-grade Souls imbued with intelligence and loyalty, as fuel for the awakening ritual.

All the warriors on the bridge, looking at the array radiating endless evil Qi, instantly understood the fate that awaited them.

Those who could follow Star Lord to this day had long since weeded out all cowards and opportunists.

What remained were his most fanatical believers.

In their eyes, Star Lord was their faith, their everything.

The one-armed commander who had been knocked away earlier struggled to get up from the ground, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He was the first to step forward, adjusted his damaged golden armor, and gave an incredibly solemn military salute towards Star Lord.

"For the glory of the stars!"

After speaking, he resolutely turned around and, with heavy steps, walked into the blood-colored array.

The moment his Soul touched the array, it was ignited by an invisible force, transforming into a wisp of the purest Soul energy, merging into the evil altar.

"For the glory of the stars!"

The second, the third... more and more warriors silently walked towards the life-devouring altar.

They lined up, like pilgrims walking to a Holy Land, turning their lives and loyalty into the final chips of this insane gamble.

Star Lord watched all this silently.

For him, these loyal subordinates, like the warships and artillery in his fleet, were no different in essence; they were merely tools he used to achieve his goals.

Their sacrifice was valuable, and that was all.

When nearly one-third of his remaining forces, the Souls of nearly a thousand elite warriors, had become nourishment for the altar, the blood-colored array finally accumulated enough power, shining brightly, almost dyeing the entire bridge into a sea of blood.

"Go."

The blood-colored array let out a sharp howl, transforming into a crimson stream of light, instantly tearing through space, crossing a vast distance, and accurately descending into the center of the Scarlet Swamp, branding itself onto the giant heart Main unit.

Buzz... An invisible Soul impact, centered on the array, erupted with a roar, like a bursting flood, forcefully pouring into the Mother Empress's chaotic sea of consciousness.

Countless sacrificed warrior Souls, guided by the forbidden secret technique, transformed into the sharpest carving knives, forcibly opening up a space capable of holding thought within that Chaos, and then, converging them into a spark.

The Scarlet Swamp, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly boiled violently!

The giant heart's pulsations suddenly became powerful and regular, like the roar of war drums.

"Who am I?"

"I, I'm alive?"

Immediately after, Star Lord's will transcended space, descending like a monarch.

"It is I who awakened you, sleeping Empress."

"Welcome back to this interesting world."

"I, I remember..."

In the Mother Empress's will, a torrent of resentment surged instantly: "You, all of you, deserve to die!"

"Anger is the helpless wail of the weak."

Star Lord's will responded coldly: "You have nothing left, and I can give you a chance to take revenge on all your enemies."

He transformed the symbiotic part of that ancient forbidden technique into a cold stream of information, directly injecting it into the Mother Empress's newly formed will core.

"Form an alliance with me."

"I grant you wisdom and power, allowing you to rebuild your legion."

"And you, dedicate your flesh and genes to me, becoming my new weapon and armor."

"We shall become one, devouring everything in this world, and launch our revenge against the man who pushed us to the brink, and that high and mighty Observer!"

The newly awakened Mother Empress, after a brief period of thought, accepted the proposal.

She was well aware that given her current situation, she had no other choice.

Either become his ally, or continue to be a meaningless pile of rotten flesh.

"I agree."

At the call of the Mother Empress's will, Star Lord's remaining dozen or so damaged warships slowly sailed away from Crystal Island, like skeletons cast into a blood pool, descending onto the sweet-smelling, bloody flesh-land.