239: From the Dragon

The shadow of death, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed Zanbuluo's senses.

Saras's Molten Core Roar, imbued with the wrath to incinerate all things, descended upon him with a high temperature capable of turning him into charcoal!

Hivedi's Thousand Blades Edge, transformed into a drill of azure, rotated with a space-rending shriek, precisely targeting the location of his energy core, intending to utterly annihilate him from his very foundation!

Two distinct yet equally fatal forces attacked simultaneously from two directions, sealing off all possibilities for him to evade.

Excruciating pain, fear, despair... and a hint of deep-seated unwillingness and madness intertwined and erupted in Zanbuluo's murky little eyes!

"No—!!"

He let out an extremely shrill roar, unlike anything a living creature could produce, his voice filled with the terror of death and the frenzy of a final struggle!

"My Lord!!!"

Zanbuluo abruptly raised his scorched head, ignoring the impending attacks, and let out the most hysterical cry of his life towards the endless sky!

"My Lord, I don't want to leave the stage yet! I still want to serve you! Grant me... grant me the use of... my true power!!!"

His voice echoed above the chaotic battlefield, which was enveloped by the barrier.

My Lord? Saras's descending warhammer and Hivedi's thrusting drill paused for a moment due to a flicker of doubt brought by this sudden, inexplicable roar, but their actions did not stop.

My Lord? Saras's descending warhammer and Hivedi's thrusting drill paused for a moment due to a flicker of doubt brought by this sudden, inexplicable roar, but their actions did not stop.

Was it delirious rambling before death? Or... just as this thought flashed by—

Boom!!!!!

It wasn't a sound, but an... indescribable, extremely heavy pressure! As if the entire sky had collapsed, as if billions of stars had fallen, a vast will, far beyond imagination and the limits of this realm, mixed with cold, indifferent, and lofty aura, suddenly descended from outside the heavens!

As if the entire sky had collapsed, as if billions of stars had fallen, a vast will, far beyond imagination and the limits of this realm, mixed with cold, indifferent, and lofty aura, suddenly descended from outside the heavens!

Hum—!

The entire earthy-yellow barrier violently trembled before this pressure, like a fragile eggshell. The murky light on its surface instantly dimmed, as if it could collapse at any moment!

Inside the barrier, the energy orbs that were frantically shooting out abruptly froze in mid-air, as if a pause button had been pressed.

The rolling earthy-yellow energy currents below stopped surging.

The sharp earth spikes protruding from the ground also stiffened in place.

All living beings that were fighting, roaring, defending, or fleeing, whether they were the exalted High-ranking Officials, the warriors fighting in blood, or even the Wanderers who had been watching from the sidelines, felt a shiver deep in their Souls at this instant!

It was as if an invisible giant hand had gripped everyone's throats!

The air became thick like mercury; every breath was like swallowing blades.

Invisible pressure squeezed from all directions. Weaker warriors couldn't even maintain their stance and were directly crushed to the ground, their bones groaning under the unbearable burden.

Even Strong Ones of Saras, Kuta, and Hivedi's Ranks felt their bodies sink abruptly, their surging energy seemingly frozen, and their movements became incredibly sluggish!

Immediately after, a gaze.

Cold, indifferent, devoid of any emotion, like a deity suspended above the Nine Heavens, looking down upon the struggles of ants.

This gaze slowly swept across the entire Kalazange Great Plain, over everyone and every corner within the barrier.

The moment they were gazed upon, everyone had an illusion—that everything about them, whether power, thoughts, or their deepest secrets, was exposed under this gaze, completely seen through!

Fear! The most primitive fear, originating from the instinct of life!

"This... this pressure..." Saras's massive body uncontrollably trembled slightly, the flames of his burning Molten Core Roar dimmed a few points, and for the first time, unconcealed horror appeared in his magma-like pupils, "It's... him!!"

Kuta hovered in mid-air, his cold compound eyes fixed on the void sky, the cold Qi dissipating from his limb ends becoming chaotic: "No mistake... this feeling... it's exactly the same as in the library! Fannojia!"

The Thousand Blades Edge surrounding Hivedi stopped rotating, its azure light flickering rapidly. A rare expression of extreme solemnity appeared on his usually unperturbed face.

It was that being!

That temperamental, terrifying being who regarded them as ants, and a casual strike from whom could leave them severely injured and on the verge of death!

How could he... suddenly interfere?!

And how did he know what was happening here?!

In a flash of lightning, the three almost simultaneously thought of Zanbuluo's hysterical cry just now—"My Lord"!

A terrifying thought, one that filled them with rage, instantly surged into their minds!

Saras abruptly turned his head, his fiery eyes fixed on Zanbuluo below, who was also suppressed by the pressure but showed a hint of relief and fanaticism on his face, letting out a thunderous roar: "Zanbuluo!! You damned thing!!"

"Traitor!! So you had already pledged allegiance to him?!"

"This barrier! This ambush! All of this... he made you do it?! You sold out all of us?!"

Saras's voice was filled with furious betrayal and disbelief. He wished he could rush over immediately and tear Zanbuluo to shreds!

Kuta's cold gaze also turned to Zanbuluo, his voice like a Soul-freezing cold wind: "I wondered why those Wanderers were so fearless... so it was him all along! Zanbuluo, how dare you! To invite a wolf into the house and betray the entire Suradi Continent!"

Although Hivedi didn't speak, the Thousand Blades Edge, which had regained its murderous intent, silently indicated his stance.

Locked in a murderous gaze by his former "colleagues" and listening to their angry accusations, Zanbuluo first froze, then revealed a mocking smile.

"Traitor?" His murky little eyes swept over Saras, Kuta, Hivedi, and all the trapped fools, his voice carrying a morbid excitement and disdain, "How ridiculous! Calling me a traitor? Aren't you all just a bunch of pitiful worms who don't know the ways of heaven and are out of touch with the times?"

"Fighting tooth and nail, scheming back and forth, isn't it all for that broken light?" Zanbuluo gestured with his chin towards the token of pioneering, which was temporarily Sealed, his tone full of mockery, "Thinking that by seizing it, you can become the master of this continent? And with that authority, you can sit back and relax, a Dominator of everything?"

He let out a few strange, piercing laughs: "Hehehe... your calculations are ringing loud and clear! What a pity, what a pity, you are either too foolish to understand what a magnificent existence My Lord is, or... you know perfectly well, yet you'd rather cling to that illusory fantasy, deceive yourselves, and vainly try to seize an opportunity that doesn't exist at all!"

"Look at yourselves now! Don't you look like a pack of Wild Dogs fallen into a trap?" Zanbuluo's gaze swept over the faces twisted with anger and humiliation, "In the end, all your struggles, all your schemes, are merely paving the way for others! How can you possibly be worthy of coveting the token of pioneering? Don't you even consider if you can guard it?!"

He straightened his scorched and dilapidated body, as if his wounds were medals, a look of almost fanatical triumph on his face: "Unlike me! I saw the future direction with my Wisdom Eye long ago! Abandoning darkness for light, following the true Dominator, and earning the merit of Following the Dragon, isn't that a hundred times better than you failures who are destined to turn to dust?!"

"Just you wait! Once My Lord obtains this token of pioneering as well, and the two tokens merge, the new continent that will be opened in the future will far exceed the imagination of you frogs at the bottom of a well, soaring to become a powerhouse among the many continents of the Myriad Artifact Realm! At that time, I, Zanbuluo, as an elder-level meritorious official who Followed the Dragon, my status will surely rise! Even if I am not the master of the continent, my power and Divine Might will far surpass many so-called continental masters! Hahahahaha!"

Zanbuluo's wild laughter echoed within the oppressive barrier, sounding particularly jarring.

Saras was so enraged that the magma within him churned, his chest heaved violently, and he let out guttural growls, wishing he could instantly burn this traitor to ashes, yet he was firmly suppressed by the invisible pressure, barely able to move.

Kuta's compound eyes flickered with cold light, and the ends of his limbs trembled slightly due to extreme anger.

Hivedi's face was as gloomy as ten-thousand-year-old ice, and the light of the Thousand Blades Edge flickered erratically.

The other trapped High-ranking Officials all had flushed faces and fiery eyes, yet they were unable to refute Zanbuluo's Soul-piercing words.

Indeed, how could they not understand the terror of that existence?

They were just unwilling, just clinging to a slim chance... now that the truth was laid bare by Zanbuluo, only embarrassment and powerless rage remained.

In stark contrast, at the edge of the barrier were the High-ranking Officials of the Wanderers.

"Well said! Lord Zanbuluo is wise!"

"Exactly! A good bird chooses its tree!"

"My Lord's Divine Might is unparalleled; how can these mere mortals fathom it!"

The tree-root shaped High-ranking Official even took the lead in stirring up trouble, looking at Kuta and the others with schadenfreude and disdain.

In this tense, strange atmosphere, a mix of humiliation and fanaticism—

A voice slowly descended from the endless sky.

"Zanbuluo, your request, I grant it."