"I have no objections."
Tartaglia (Childe) toyed with the water blade in his hand, his blue eyes gleaming with excitement, a defiant smile on his lips. "As long as there's a fight, helping anyone is the same to me."
His participation in this Holy Grail War was never driven by complex motives—either get stronger through combat and win the Grail in the end, or die contentedly under the blade of a powerful foe.
Either outcome was a thrilling destination for him. As for the morality of the stand he took, it had never been a consideration.
After all, he held no allegiance in this world.
Hoshimi Miyabi, however, frowned slightly. Though she was a martial arts fanatic whose desire for power was second to none, unlike Tartaglia's free spirit, her mother's words echoed constantly in her mind.
"A true hero never wields a blade to destroy someone, but draws a sword for the sake of protection."
As she watched the crying civilians in the distance, and the figures struggling under the claws of the Antimatter Legion, the emotion surging within her was not battle lust, but an indescribable heaviness.
More than fighting other Servants, what she wanted to do was raise her blade to shield those innocent lives.
"Miss Ya, don't force yourself."
Meng Hongchen spoke softly, her tone compassionate.
Having spent so much time with Hoshimi Miyabi, she had long figured out that this martial arts enthusiast, who seemed outwardly cold and occasionally spacey, actually possessed her own principles.
"Go do what you feel you must. It's fine."
Meng Hongchen never believed a Master should boss a Servant around, especially a top-tier Servant like Hoshimi Miyabi. Forcing a command against her will would only be counterproductive.
After all, the Master's control over a Servant was far less absolute than imagined. Servants like Karna and Siegfried, who were agreeable and obeyed their Masters, were ultimately the minority.
Hoshimi Miyabi paused, her gaze toward Meng Hongchen softening slightly. She then nodded gently, the cold light on her demonic blade receding somewhat. She transformed into an afterimage and darted toward the area where the civilians were clustered.
Where her blade flashed, it was no longer a challenge to powerhouses but a precise strike against the Void Soldiers threatening the civilians. Each cut was executed with appropriate restraint, killing the enemy without harming the innocent.
Jing Hongchen sighed softly, watching Hoshimi Miyabi leave, but held no dissatisfaction.
Both Kong Deming and Jing Hongchen respected Hoshimi Miyabi's choice, even if she didn't choose to help them. After all, Hoshimi Miyabi was saving the civilians of the Sun Moon Empire, the very people they were supposed to be guarding.
Moreover, Kong Deming had not expected any extra help. The presence of the powerful Childe was already a pleasant surprise.
"Jing Yuan, Hoolay!"
A brilliant meteor streaked across Mingdou's night sky and abruptly halted mid-air.
Feixiao was engulfed in a ferocious current of wind. Her silver-white hair was whipped up by the airflow, and the long-handled battle-ax in her hand gleamed with cold light.
Her gaze precisely locked onto the area shrouded in golden lightning and blood-red aura. The familiar power fluctuations instantly allowed her to recognize two figures—her colleague, the Cloud Knight General Jing Yuan, and the generational nemesis of the Foxian race, the Borisin Chieftain Hoolay.
Driven almost purely by instinct, Feixiao gripped her battle-ax, ready to swoop down.
She clearly saw that although Jing Yuan had the upper hand, the scarlet aura around Hoolay stubbornly surged, showing no sign of utter defeat.
The vitality of the Abominations of Abundance had always been terrifying. Though Hoolay was not an Aeon of Abundance Emissary, she inherited that difficult-to-kill tenacity.
Jing Yuan was not Jing Liu; he lacked the sword skills and icy power to restrain Hoolay. To completely finish her off would take considerable time—it was a battle of attrition, depending on how long Hoolay could last.
However, the moment she stirred, in the star-filled expanse of the heterospace, Celenova's fingertip gently brushed the virtual projection.
The Lord of Extinction's eyes were frosty cold. He clearly did not intend to let Feixiao easily intervene in the battle.
"Crack—!"
The space above Mingdou suddenly shattered like glass, countless cracks spreading out. An intensely savage aura surged from the ruptures, causing the air over the entire city to seemingly solidify.
Feixiao's movement halted abruptly, her sharp eyes instantly locking onto the broken void high above.
She could sense a terrifying power descending, carrying the will to destroy all things.
Accompanying the spatial groan, a single claw, wrapped in countless vengeful spirits, was the first to emerge—the claw was covered in scorched, lava-like dark-gold armor, with purple-black cracks swirling around its fingertips. Wherever it passed, even light was swallowed.
A single hand alone radiated a pressure that made even Title Douluo tremble.
The next moment, another massive claw, shaped like a pale bone claw, emerged simultaneously. Its surface was covered in icy crystal patterns, and blue-white energy flowed between the talons, as if it could freeze time.
The two terrifying giant claws tore left and right. With a gentle rip, the already shattered space was completely rent open like paper.
From the depths of the void, a terrifying dragon body, hundreds of meters long, slowly materialized. Its main body was covered in dark-gold carapace, every scale flashing with a metallic coldness. A long tail formed from disaster shadows extended from its back, with a ghostly purple energy coiling around the tip, resembling a fragmented star-ring.
Most horrifying was the dark-red orb suspended in its chest cavity. It surged with the streaming light of antimatter, and the cracked energy network covering its surface radiated a terrifying fluctuation capable of shaking the very earth.
"Roar—!"
A deafening roar, mingled with the wails of countless vengeful spirits, resounded through the sky, a proclamation from the abyss.
This colossal dragon, the embodiment of destruction, fully descended from the heterospace to the Douluo Continent, hovering above Mingdou. Its shadow nearly obscured half the city.
"The Doomsday Beast..." Lu Jingming, watching the colossal beast from afar, couldn't help but twitch his mouth.
He had guessed that Celenova was secretly forging this thing as early as when the Soul Beasts of the Jingyang Mountain Range were wiped out—a war machine forged from the agony of the myriad dead and the unreleased will of the populace, using 100,000-year Soul Beasts as its base and feeding them into a War Crucible.
The antimatter engine in its chest was the Doomsday Beast's core, providing a never-ending stream of energy to the body.
This was a thorough anti-planetary weapon. Even this "discounted version" Celenova had crafted using Douluo Continent materials was enough to possess Demi-God level combat power.
Even Celenova himself likely had only a few of these monsters and would never use them unless absolutely necessary.
The Doomsday Beast's scarlet eyes instantly locked onto Feixiao, as if identifying its most troublesome enemy.
It spread its massive wings, and the antimatter core in its chest cavity suddenly brightened. Countless antimatter currents spread through its body like blood vessels, causing the colossal beast's aura to surge once more.
The sky was dyed dark red at this moment, and countless spatial fissures tore open due to this immense power.
The next moment, dense, golden beams of destruction shot out from around the Doomsday Beast, pouring down like a torrential rain—most of the beams precisely locked onto Feixiao, while a small portion became indiscriminate attacks, raining down on the Mingdou urban area. Where they passed, buildings instantly vanished, and the ground was plowed with bottomless ravines.
"Heh, you've come at just the right time!" Feixiao didn't retreat; instead, fierce battle intent ignited in her eyes.
The azure airflow around her became even more ferocious. A massive, winged fox phantom, her Divine Spirit "Feihuang," emerged behind her.
The long-handled battle-ax, coiled in gales, hummed loudly.
Feixiao's figure transformed into an azure meteor, breaking the air barrier at supersonic speed. She left a series of sonic booms in her wake, forming massive circular air waves in the sky.
She charged straight toward the Doomsday Beast high above, facing the rain of destruction beams head-on. As her battle-ax swung, the swirling winds condensed into giant wind blades, shattering the incoming beams one by one.
A clash between transcendent powerhouses abruptly erupted over Mingdou.
Azure gales intertwined with the dark-gold dragon body. Beams of destruction collided with ripping wind blades, plunging the already dilapidated city into a far more terrifying catastrophe.
"What the hell is that thing? Is that a Dragon Clan member?"
Du Busi (Poison Douluo) churned the dark-green Soul Power around him. He and several Body Sect Title Douluo elders were protecting young disciples like Wei Na as they tried to break out toward Mingdou's East Gate.
The sudden appearance of the Doomsday Beast, like a thundercloud pressing down, instantly seized everyone's attention.
When the golden destruction beams poured down like rain, even the Limit Douluo Du Busi's pupils contracted. He swiftly activated his True Body Martial Soul to shield Wei Na and the others behind him.
He could distinctly feel that the destructive energy contained within the beams was enough to instantly kill an ordinary Title Douluo. Even he, a Limit Douluo, dared not take a direct hit lightly.
"Senior Feixiao... she is actually navigating this barrage with such ease?"
Du Busi's heart churned with shock as he watched the azure figure high in the sky.
Feixiao's figure wove through the beams. The gales generated by her long-handled battle-ax repeatedly sliced through the deadly attacks. That composed demeanor made him feel utterly inferior.
If the Doomsday Beast had targeted him instead, even running away would have been a luxury.
Clearly, Feixiao had been holding back significantly during their previous battle. Yet, even with her holding back, he had been instantly defeated.
"Grandpa, we must leave quickly."
Wei Na's voice was calm, unlike that of a young girl. Her spiritual power had already spread out, taking in the entire battle situation.
"Mingdou has become a dead zone. Lingering here will only increase the danger."
Her personality was inherently steady. Even facing the Antimatter Legion's rampage and the Doomsday Beast's immense pressure, there was no trace of panic in her eyes.
Du Busi inhaled deeply and nodded.
The danger level in Mingdou had far exceeded expectations. Even he had felt several life-threatening threats from the Servants; those summoned beings each possessed the power to shake a Limit Douluo.
Just as he pulled out a Drilling Soul Tool to lead everyone in an underground retreat, the distant Mingdou Imperial Palace suddenly erupted in blinding light—a colossal mushroom cloud soared into the sky. The sun-like flames illuminated half the night sky, and a terrifying shockwave swept out, flattening the entire Imperial Palace area!
"Hm? Someone attacked the Imperial Palace?" A sharp light flashed in Du Busi's eyes. His spiritual power instantly locked onto the palace's direction.
He was very familiar with the Sun Moon Empire's political situation. The current Emperor was ill, and all real power rested in the hands of Regent Xu Tianran.
That man was immensely ambitious and had always been a major threat to the Heavenly Soul Empire. He had initially planned to find an opportunity to eliminate the warlord to secure a respite for his empire.
But Celenova's sudden attack had disrupted all plans. Even he had to retreat in haste, having no time for anything else.
Now, however, the disturbance at the Imperial Palace was undoubtedly a godsend—anyone who dared to attack the palace at this moment was surely targeting Xu Tianran!
"If I can seize this chance to kill Xu Tianran..."
Du Busi's breathing quickened. "Mingdou is already in ruins. If the Sun Moon Empire suffers this heavy blow, my Heavenly Soul Empire might be able to seize the momentum, and completely destroy this internal threat!"
"You all take Aotian and Wei Na and go! You must break out of Mingdou!"
Du Busi made an instant decision. He suddenly turned to the elders: "I will return shortly! I'll see if I can take that dog Xu Tianran's head!"
Before his voice faded, his figure had already transformed into a dark-green beam of light, breaking through the smoke and dust, and speeding toward the Imperial Palace.
"Be careful, Grandpa!" Wei Na did not try to stop him. She knew better than anyone that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If Xu Tianran died, the Heavenly Soul Empire's situation would be completely reversed. This risk was worth taking.
On the ruins of the Imperial Palace, He Caitou was covered head-to-toe in thick Soul Tool armor, his eyes burning with the flames of vengeance.
He looked at the palace wreckage swallowed by fire, a long-suppressed sense of relief on his face—this was once his home, and the grave of all his family. Now, it had finally turned to ash.
Beside him, Karna stood quietly, his golden armor glowing with a sacred luster in the firelight.
The anti-army Noble Phantasm that had just destroyed the palace, "Brahmastra Kundala, O' Brahma! Cover the Earth!" was unleashed by him.
He Caitou, blinded by vengeance, didn't care whether innocent people were affected. The moment he arrived at the Imperial Palace, he immediately commanded Karna to activate the Noble Phantasm.
In his eyes, no one from the Sun Moon Imperial Family was innocent. Everyone in the palace was an accomplice who helped the tyrant, and they all deserved to die.
"How dare you attack the Imperial Palace! You court death!"
A furious roar erupted from the ruins. Members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Legion rushed out from behind the remaining Soul Tool shields, instantly encircling He Caitou and Karna.
Commander Xu Tianyuan's face was dark enough to drip water, his eyes blazing with a near-mad desire for destruction. The Soul Cannons around his body were all deployed.
Karna frowned slightly, a flicker of something unusual in his eyes.
His "Insight of the Poor" could penetrate a person's essence, but in Xu Tianyuan, he saw a distortion—the original humanity was being eroded by some bizarre power, and his essence was quietly being rewritten.
"This kind of erosion..."
Karna's heart clenched. His gaze swept over the surrounding members of the Soul Tool Legion, noticing that most of them showed the same signs.
If their essence was changed, could they still be considered "themselves"? Before he could ponder further, the ground beneath his feet violently shook. Countless cracks spread out.
Hidden underground Soul Cannon platforms and various Soul Tools instantly rose and deployed. A dense array of dark, cold muzzles aimed at the center, radiating icy killing intent.
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