Sensing that the second nuclear blast had been intercepted, Locke Slint fell into thought.
According to his strategy, the first Inferno Tempest should have been the easiest to stop, as the family Duelists—serving as the primary force—were still in their prime condition.
But after the first nuclear strike, most of the Duelists would have been drained. The second Inferno Tempest should have had a far greater chance of success than the first surprise attack.
Yet against all expectations, the second strike had been stopped.
And most shocking of all…
The second Inferno Tempest, based on the feedback received, seemed to have been stopped by a single individual.
One must remember: aboard the Empire's supermassive warship Concord of Bells were dozens of Duelists secretly raised by the Slint family.
In situations outside formal Duel rules, the greatest factor determining the power of a card was a Duelist's mental strength. A Duelist could never unleash a card's effect beyond the limits of their willpower. You couldn't expect a single Dark Hole to destroy an entire planet.
The two blasts just now had only been possible because the combined willpower of multiple Duelists aboard the warship had been concentrated together, producing enough force to pierce through the capital's fog barrier.
Yet that immense destructive force, pooled from many minds, had been stopped by just one person.
Locke Slint murmured, "So this country too possesses a once-in-a-century prodigy… But you must understand—one person's strength has limits."
"This old man's been muttering to himself this whole time. What's he plotting?"
The muffled explosions outside the palace filled Miles and the others with unease. Coupled with Locke Slint's strange behavior, it only grew more unsettling.
"Young ones, rather than hesitating here, why not go see for yourselves? Witness firsthand the future that awaits you."
"He's not trying to trick us outside just to sneak Luca away, is he?"
For once showing foresight, Aisha had begun to anticipate the enemy's moves.
Miles said, "Good thinking. So let's just take Luca with us."
The Millennium hostage, Luca Slint—this time, they didn't even need Mokey Mokey to haul her. Deion simply dragged her along by one arm.
"Let go of me! Let me go! Ow, ow, my butt's on fire from being dragged!"
Of course, being scraped along the floor was far less comfortable than being carried aloft by Mokey Mokey.
The group moved through the tower corridors and emerged atop the palace citadel.
Though the royal capital remained shrouded in fog, several colored beams pierced through, enough for Miles and the others to sense disaster looming.
First, the crimson glow of burning mansions in the direction of the noble estates.
Then, a mysterious white light cutting a path across the sky.
And countless sparks of summoning light descending from beyond the mist into the capital.
—The stars above were all enemies.
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Aeroboros]
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Magnaliger]
[Super Quantal Mech Beast Lusterrex]
The Empire's beast-type mecha, the Super Quantal Mech Beasts, were deployed from the warship as the primary strike force, descending into the Livorden royal capital.
From the airborne palace warship—
Supreme General Cameron Slint, Luca's father, stood upon the bridge. With the second Inferno Tempest stopped, he judged that there remained Duelists in the capital strong enough to resist the sheer destructive card effects.
So rather than wasting more willpower clashing with this unknown, unfathomably strong Duelist, he chose to unleash a full-scale assault.
Even the mightiest Duelist could not resist many foes alone; true Duels always adhered to basic rules.
In a full war, sheer numbers of Duelists would decide the outcome.
And with the noble manors—the core force—already destroyed by the first bombardment, the surviving Duelists of the capital would surely be too few to withstand the warship's army.
Cameron drew the sword at his waist, standing firm upon the bridge. He pointed it toward the fog-shrouded capital below.
"For the Empire, for the pride and glory of the Slint family! My warriors, harness the light of Xyz, and charge forth across foreign lands!"
The warship's Duelists were all death-bound soldiers, each wielding a unified Super Quantal Mech Beast card. Dozens of them—nurtured over twenty years by the Slint family and Locke Slint in secret, hidden even from the Varian king himself.
All in preparation for this day: to reap the lives of Livorden's capital and, through the Sacred Beasts, obtain eternal life.
"The manors destroyed? The capital under attack? Alice, what's going on!?"
Ilon Austin, only moments ago basking in the sweetness of a date with his childhood crush, still kept his thoughts clear.
Alice Carlos, whose uncharacteristic coyness had delayed his return to the manor, clearly knew what was to come.
"Alice… you knew the manor would be destroyed, didn't you? That's why you kept me from going back?"
A date? Thinking back now, Ilon found it laughable.
He had admired Alice for so many years, even confessed with Ren's support. Even so, her heart, like ice, never once melted—Alice had no interest in romance.
Yet today she had unprecedentedly asked him on a 'date'… in thick fog filled with Shadow Duelists.
Ilon felt...
Like a fool.
"Don't ask anything, Ilon. If you stay with me, at least I can guarantee you won't be hurt."
The girlish shyness she had faked earlier was gone; Alice had returned to her usual calm.
"Now we go to the palace to retrieve Aisha and Ren. Then we leave the capital as if nothing happened."
By her reasoning, once they heard that Princess Nova in the palace had been attacked, Aisha and Ren would never obediently retreat to the manor, but would rush toward the capital instead.
The radiance of the Goddess of Sweet Revenge just now proved her right.
"So you really knew the manor would be destroyed. And still you let the other families die without helping, Alice?"
"Why save them? Those families mocked, scorned, spat upon, and even trampled the Carlos name. What reason is there to rescue them?"
"…"
Ilon looked at the girl he had silently admired since childhood.
Admired her, yes… but he knew better than anyone that he had never reached her true heart.
"I'm sorry, Alice. I truly don't understand you. I can't be as cold and ruthless as you. I can't abandon people in need. After this… let's not meet again."
Turning, Ilon ran toward the ruins of the manor.
Even if he licked wounds until nothing was left… What he believed was right could not be changed.
A simp with dignity isn't a simp…
But a war wolf.
...
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