198: The Battle of the Royal Capital 12

The chilling killing intent manifested into reality!

Boom!!

The terrifying aura on the four dark shadows erupted suddenly, like a volcano suppressed to its absolute limit!

The space that had just been forcibly severed and twisted by the Hand of God emitted an unbearable "crack" sound under the impact of this unreasonably violent force!

Cracks like spiderwebs instantly filled the Void Realm around them!

Following that, it completely shattered!

Space fragments, like broken mirror shards, splattered in all directions, only to be silently swallowed and assimilated the instant they touched that powerful force.

The brief isolation created by Blade Claw was thoroughly crushed in the most brutal and direct manner!

The four figures' auras connected once again, becoming even more solid and terrifying than before!

The rotating dark vortex reappeared behind the leading dark shadow, even larger and deeper than before, as if it wanted to swallow the entire world!

Behind the other three figures, the blurred Visualization Diagrams also reappeared. Although one was missing, the pressure they emitted was now tainted with a layer of frantic violence due to the complete disappearance of their companion.

There were no superfluous movements, no flashy Moves.

The four dark shadows simply turned their gazes simultaneously toward the figure below, who was now like a candle in the wind.

The next instant.

Invisible pressure, like four collapsing divine mountains, crashed down toward Blade Claw!

At the same time, Blade Claw's vertical pupils suddenly erupted with light!

The power of the Hand of God turned into invisible ripples, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, silently spreading out to touch the four diagrams representing the Foundation of their power.

"Hmm?!"

The leading dark shadow emitted a sound of surprise once again.

The dark vortex behind it suddenly stalled, and the speed of its rotation showed an extremely subtle disorder!

As for the other three figures, the Visualization Diagrams behind them flickered violently, like images with a poor signal, becoming blurred and twisted, nearly collapsing!

This disturbance originating from their core power caused their gathered suppression force to experience a moment of... loosening!

It was just this moment!

For Blade Claw, it was enough!

The "erasure" power of the Hand of God gathered once again!

This time, the target remained clear—the remaining dark shadow with the weakest aura!

Silent and soundless.

A "line," dimmer than the last but more concentrated and resolute, pierced through one of the broken figures that had frozen for an instant due to its Visualization Diagram being interfered with, all at a speed that defied reaction!

Psh...

A faint sound rang out once again.

A familiar scene played out once again.

The struck dark shadow, along with the black robe fluttering on it, along with the violently flickering and nearly collapsing Visualization Diagram behind it...

Were all completely "erased" from this world.

Existence returned to nothingness.

A spot was left empty once again in that place.

Five minus two!

Three.

Only three remained.

Those two empty spots were like silent mockery, or perhaps like two deep brands, burning in the "hearts" of the remaining three dark shadows.

They remained silent, but the aura spreading out was even more... cold and heavy than their previous rage.

It was the deepest undercurrent beneath the sea before a storm arrives.

Blade Claw knelt on one knee, its chest heaving violently, every breath pulling at unspeakable, excruciating pain.

The power within it was like a riverbed about to dry up; the Hand of God's "erasure" power, pushed to the limit twice in a row, had almost completely emptied it.

But its vertical pupils remained locked onto the remaining three dark shadows, without the slightest retreat, only a nearly burning resolution.

Suddenly.

The dark shadow in the center, the previous leader, slowly... turned toward its companions.

No communication.

No signal.

Not even any superfluous movement.

The two dark shadows beside it, almost at the same time, began to see their forms become illusory and distorted.

It was not because of an attack, but a kind of... active dissipation.

The black robes on them, like fabric losing its support, collapsed downward, revealing not a flesh-and-blood body, but a purer, deeper darkness.

That darkness, like a living creature, squirmed and rolled, actively gathering toward the dark shadow in the middle!

No, not gathering.

It was... consumption!

The dark shadow in the middle was like an insatiable black hole, opening an invisible, giant maw.

The pure darkness transformed from the two dissipating companions, along with the dimming, nearly broken remnants of the Visualization Diagrams behind them, were all mercilessly, violently, and completely... sucked into the leader's body!

As the two sources of power were completely consumed.

The dark shadow in the middle underwent a drastic change!

Its black robe billowed without wind, flapping wildly, as if some terrifying entity inside was rapidly expanding!

The dark vortex behind it, already immensely huge, was now expanding rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye! The rotation speed grew faster and more violent, and the singularity at the center, symbolizing destruction, emitted a terrifying suction force that made the Soul tremble!

The dark shadow slowly raised its head.

The shadows of the cloak seemed to be pushed open slightly by some force.

Although the face could still not be seen, all perceptions were frantically warning Blade Claw!

"Heh..."

Blade Claw looked at the terrifying figure rapidly undergoing transformation, feeling the despair-inducing power crushing down like a physical substance, and suddenly... let out a low laugh.

The laugh was light, carrying a sense of realization.

The previous so-called "Realm," the so-called "crushing," perhaps in the eyes of the opponent, still had room to spare.

Only until it was shaken by this "ant" twice in a row and had its companions erased did it finally... tear off that layer of disguise, revealing the more hideous, more unreasonable... essence hidden beneath the indifference.

Using companions as food to forcibly raise their power, just to... completely crush an annoying pest.

Is it worth it?

No, this question is meaningless.

For such beings, perhaps... there is no concept of "worth it" or "not worth it" at all.

Only... erasing any "accident" that exceeds control.

Blade Claw slowly, with difficulty... straightened its body.

The wounds on its body were still bleeding golden blood, its aura as weak as a candle in the wind.

But its straight spine was like a mountain supporting the heavens, never bending.

It raised its head, vertical pupils calmly watching the... final enemy, who had completed the consumption, whose aura had climbed to the peak, and who was radiating endless intent of destruction and pressure.

It knew.

This was the end.

A voice rang out.

"Well done."

This abrupt praise was more chilling than any mockery.

"A... hmm, in your language, 'ant,' to be able to struggle to this point, to touch our Foundation twice in a row, and even... erase two 'companions.'" The voice carried no emotion, as if stating an objective fact, "Indeed, it exceeded expectations."

"Originally, I thought that with just a little pressure, your fragile world, along with you, this slightly stronger bug, would all collapse together."

"But you brought a little... small surprise."

The dark shadow tilted its head slightly, the dark vortex behind it twisting, as if the Universe itself were listening.

"So, as a mark of respect for this 'surprise'..."

"Next, there will be no more probing, no more... holding back."

"I will personally, from the level of existence, completely and cleanly... erase everything about you."

"There will be no... chance for a comeback."

The voice fell.

The world-destroying pressure, like hundreds of millions of tons of seawater, crashed down! Even space itself seemed to emit an unbearable groan under this pressure, and fine, pitch-black cracks spread silently around the dark shadow.

Blade Claw did not respond.

Not even its gaze fluctuated in the slightest.

It just... calmly looked at the opponent.

Then, within it, the blood that had already nearly dried up, the Origin of life that supported its massive body...

Began... to burn!

Not a metaphor.

It was burning in the true sense!

Golden flames, silently, rose from the surface of its body, from the tips of its fur, from the deepest part of its pupils...!

The flames had no temperature, yet they radiated light and heat more intense than the core of a star! That light did not illuminate the darkness, but rather... was assimilating the darkness, burning existence itself!

The wounds on its body no longer bled, but instead erupted with flames! Its broken body, in this silent burning, not only did not collapse but instead radiated a kind of unprecedented... Perfection and extremity!

It was as if a piece of steel, tempered a thousand times, was, at the final moment of being thrown into the furnace, turning all its Impurities and all its limitations into the purest and most dazzling brilliance!

Its weak aura, in this burning, crazily skyrocketed at an incredible speed!

It slowly raised its hand, which had become completely transparent.

The Hand of God behind it moved with it, slowly lifting, expanding, and then covering the sky and sun.

No earth-shattering declaration, no hysterical roar.

Blade Claw just... swung forward.

The movement was still simple.

Just like every time it had swung its arm before.

But this time, what it swung was its burning life, its condensed true form, all the pride and will it had as a "King," and the limit of existence... that it could touch at this moment!

The Hand of God turned into a torrent, a beam of light composed purely of "destruction" and "end," tearing through space, ignoring distance, and shooting straight toward the dark shadow surrounded by the endless dark vortex!

Everything along the way—light, dust, and even space itself—was assimilated, ignited, and erased before this torrent!

This was the strongest, and also... the final strike of Blade Claw's life!

Facing this attack, launched by wagering everything and burning its very existence, the dark shadow surrounded by darkness was finally no longer in that nearly indifferent posture.

The dark vortex behind it spun and contracted frantically; all the darkness, all the nothingness, and all the destructive power gathered toward its center, toward that slowly raised palm!

No light.

Only... extreme darkness.

It was as if it were the primal darkness before the birth of the Universe, as if it were the ultimate nothingness that swallowed all light and heat.

That raised palm, with five fingers slightly spread, had a small—but emitting a terrifying suction force that made the entire world tremble—black singularity... quietly forming in its palm.

Then, it also... pushed forward.

The next instant.

The burning golden torrent and the darkness-swallowing black singularity finally... collided!

No sound.

The initial collision was absolute silence.

Like two terrifying behemoths from different dimensions, they were silently wrestling, attempting to completely erase the other from the level of existence.

The torrent and the singularity crazily annihilated, intertwined, and twisted at the interface of contact.

Space, like crumpled paper, emitted a silent wail, and pitch-black cracks, like spiderwebs, spread in all directions with the collision point as the center!

Light and darkness lost their meaning here.

Only the purest "existence" and "nothingness" were engaged in the most primitive and cruel battle!

Blade Claw's burning body trembled violently.

The torrent, under the terrifying suction of that dark singularity, began to... dim and contract at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The massive phantom of the Hand of God began to show fine cracks on its surface, as if it were about to shatter completely in the next moment!

The gap...

Still existed!

Even after burning its life and wagering everything, facing this higher-level existence, it was still... insurmountable!

That dark singularity, like an insatiable black hole, was bit by bit consuming its power, its existence, and its final will!

Vertical pupils reflected the darkness that was constantly approaching and expanding; deep in the pupils, the burning flames also began to flicker, as if they would be extinguished at any moment.

Is it... going to end?

Just at the moment when Blade Claw's consciousness began to blur under this endless consumption of nothingness—

"Roar——!!!"

A familiar, rough roar, filled with endless loyalty and resolution, exploded like a thunderclap on the edge of the dead-silent battlefield!

Following that, there were more, denser roars of rage!

"For the King——!!!"

"Kill——!!!"

Rumble!

Heavy footsteps, the sound of armor friction, like a galloping torrent of steel, swept over once again!

It was General Black Ape! It was General Cheetah! It was General Giant Eagle! It was those most loyal warriors under Blade Claw who had just retreated!

They had returned!

In their eyes, there was no fear, no hesitation, only a kind of... resolution like a moth flying into a flame!

They looked at that figure, about to be extinguished under the erosion of darkness, looking at that back, like a mountain, that had supported a sky for them!

"King!!!"

General Black Ape was the first to charge at the very front; his massive body was like a burning meteorite, his entire being suffused with an earth-yellow aura of power, heavy as a mountain!

He did not charge toward that terrifying dark shadow, but instead... without hesitation, charged toward Blade Claw!

"With my flesh and blood, forge the King's sharp blade!"

He let out a heaven-shaking roar; his entire body, during the charge, suddenly erupted with blinding light, and then... collapsed with a boom!

Not death, but... sacrifice!

He turned the power he had condensed his entire life, his own Origin, and all his will as a warrior into a torrent of the purest, most primitive energy, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, and poured it violently into Blade Claw's body!

"For the King!"

General Cheetah followed closely behind, his figure as fast as lightning, leaving behind silver afterimages, and likewise, the moment he approached Blade Claw, he turned into a swift, sharp silver energy, merging into the golden flames!

"For the King!"

General Giant Eagle soared in, his wings whipping up a storm, turning into a cyan streak of light in the high sky, diving down and merging into the source of the burning!

"For the King!!!"

Hundreds and thousands of warriors, as if they had agreed upon it, without the slightest hesitation, followed one after another!

Their power might be far inferior to Blade Claw's, and perhaps not even worth mentioning before that dark shadow.

But at this moment, they sacrificed their lives, their loyalty, and even their Souls, without reservation, to their King!

Streams of light of various colors, representing the different Origin powers of the warriors, converged from all directions like thousands of brooks, and finally... flowed into that ocean about to dry up, named "Blade Claw"!

Hum——!!!