Mo shouted a warning, and the Sith Lord immediately attacked him. Mo raised his lightsaber to block, but the force of the blow sent him flying backward.
Seeing this, Taidor hurled his war pike at the Sith Lord, forcing him to retreat and evade.
Mo seized the opportunity to close the distance, slashing his lightsaber at the Sith Lord's chest. This time, he finally managed to slice through the Sith Lord's cloak, sending a metal clasp clattering to the ground. The tip of his lightsaber grazed the Sith Lord's skin, but failed to inflict a fatal wound.
Dogen, witnessing this, retreated with a growl.
"Ah! You bastard!" Taidor roared, channeling the Force through his remaining right arm. Blue lightning crackled from his palm, striking the Royal Library's dome.
Rocks crumbled, and massive boulders crashed to the ground.
The jade scroll's massive handle flew from Solo's back and landed in Taidor's hand.
Seeing this, the Sith Lord immediately used telekinesis to hurl the boulders at the group like cannonballs.
Solo had no time to dodge. One massive boulder blocked his vision, while another, even larger one hurtled toward him. With a wall behind him and rocks falling on both sides, he was completely trapped in the narrow space, about to be crushed!
"No!"
Ahsoka's desperate cry was drowned out by the thunderous roar of the collapsing rocks.
Using his armor's deflector shield to deflect one boulder, Solo impulsively rushed to Ahsoka's side, shielding her with his body. Instead of trying to destroy the boulders, he plunged his lightsaber deep into the ground, crouched low, and channeled the Force with all his might, attempting to slow the boulders' descent using telekinesis.
He had to take a gamble. If he could temporarily hold back the boulder and then use his lightsaber to melt through the rock layers, his armor might give him a chance to survive.
"Little Yellow!" Solo rasped into his commlink. "Activate the Star Falcon and get off this planet immediately!"
The robot's response crackled intermittently through the comm channel. "Find a place to hide... I'll come back... probably."
"No more Jedi to bother us," the Sith Lord declared coldly, his gaze sweeping over Taidor and Sheldon. "Who's next?"
Taidor and Sheldon faced a true monster.
He had effortlessly subdued six of them earlier, and now the Jedi were either crushed or still struggling in their desperate situation.
They had no chance of winning.
Taidor gripped the scroll containing the legacy of the Matukai Order's Founder, his knuckles white from the strain.
"I could let you live," the Sith Lord sneered, "provided you help me master the techniques on this scroll."
"Do you think we fear death?" Taidor retorted fiercely, the elder Matukai's anger burning like a wildfire within him. "Sith, you're too narrow-minded to understand our purpose!"
"Understand?" The Sith Lord raised an eyebrow. "Survival is every living being's instinct, no matter how grand their ideals.
Even those Jedi trapped under the boulder are desperately struggling, clinging to life."
"I've lived far longer than you, old man. It's a fundamental law of life."
"The value of the technique in your hands has never stemmed from its mythical origins with Zailin, but from its ability to keep people alive."
"History, legacy, dreams, love, and desire—all are fleeting illusions."
"Survival is the only fundamental meaning."
He stepped closer, his voice laced with seduction. "Matukai, having witnessed all this firsthand, will you betray your ideals and choose a path to survival?"
"You project your own nature onto me," Taidor replied, his voice as firm as iron, each word deliberate. "I would rather die than surrender."
Sith's indiscernible lips twisted into a cold smile.
"Sheldon!" Taidor turned to his young apprentice, his voice carrying an undeniable resolve. "This is my final order as your master: take the scroll and run! Report everything that has happened here to the Master Council of the Path of Exploration!"
"Hmm?" Sith's gaze instantly locked onto the young Matukai.
"Master, but—"
Sheldon hesitated, reluctant to abandon his mentor.
"There's no time to worry about me!" Taidor hurled the scroll at Sheldon, simultaneously summoning his war pike with his remaining hand. Without hesitation, he charged toward the Sith.
His attack was direct and resolute, yet carried the foolishness of a desperate gamble.
The Sith easily deflected the assault, then used telekinesis to hurl Taidor violently backward. In the next instant, he materialized before Sheldon, who was sprinting toward the exit.
"Hand it over. This isn't something you should be meddling with." The Sith flicked the scroll from Sheldon's grasp, drew his lightsaber, and prepared to strike. But Taidor's war pike, hurled back in the nick of time, blocked the blow.
"You still haven't given up," the Sith remarked calmly, as if discussing a trivial matter.
"Sheldon," Taidor gasped, his chest heaving, "run to the ship—I'll hold him off."
"But—"
"Go!" The elder Matukai's veins bulged, his eyes bloodshot, and his skin flushed crimson. "I never wanted to use this technique, but... it seems I have no choice but to risk everything!"
"Oh?" Sith leaped back, sensing the Force within Taidor erupting with savage intensity. "The Tyrant's Technique? I've read about it in ancient texts—a momentary release of all the body's reserves: reflexes, muscle strength, even the entirety of past, present, and future potential."
He chuckled coldly, his voice tinged with cruel anticipation. "The price, however, is death. What a foolish and pathetic technique. Very well, this will be amusing. Attack, old man. Let's see just how vast the gulf between us truly is."
Taidor launched a frenzied assault, while Sheldon, sobbing, turned and desperately sprinted toward the exit.
"Intriguing," Sith remarked casually, effortlessly parrying the war pike's relentless strikes. "How many seconds can you last? The last Matukai who used this technique against me—one of your Pathfinder Masters—managed twenty seconds and nearly killed me. And you... are clearly far weaker."
Taidor paid him no heed.
He knew he had only fifteen seconds of explosive power remaining. Every moment was precious.
He attacked from every angle, pouring every ounce of his strength into each strike, yet he couldn't breach Sith's defenses.
The Sith blocked, dodged, and countered with fluid grace.
Taidor's reflexes, enhanced by the Tyrant's Technique, were fast enough, but his previous injuries were too severe. By the thirteenth second, the Sith's lightsaber pierced his chest without resistance.
"Rest now, old man," the Sith said, withdrawing his lightsaber. Blood gushed from the wound. "Your Apprentice will either serve me or be eliminated by others."
Taidor collapsed face-down, his consciousness fading.
Is this how it ends?
Even after wagering everything and resorting to forbidden techniques, he couldn't defeat this monster. How unfair.
Fragments of his life flashed before his eyes: victories and defeats, pain and joy, finally settling on the image of the golden-haired boy.
Just as he remembered him from their first meeting—cheerful, restless, always defying his Master's instructions, yet fiercely determined, exceptionally talented, and brilliant beyond measure.
This monster would now hunt him down.
It would torture Sheldon, forcing him to reveal the Order's secrets—secrets that granted near-immortal power!
Is this the ending I wanted?
To let my Apprentice fall into the clutches of evil, even after sacrificing my own life?
No! The image of his teacher flashed before his eyes, its contours sharp and clear.
He had taught him that no matter how great the pain, one must never give up.
With his last ounce of strength, Taidor reached out and gripped Sith's ankle tightly.
"Still alive?" Sith glanced down lazily. "I thought I wouldn't need to finish you off. Just let you catch your breath—what?!"
"In the name of the Galactic Order! In the name of the Matukai Order, our legacy, and my Apprentice—I will never let you live!" Taidor roared, his remaining Force energy and soul igniting. Black symbols spread across his skin like writhing serpents.
"This is—no! You'll destroy your own soul and mind!" Sith's eyes widened in shock for the first time.
"This is the Tyrant's Sacrifice."
A violent explosion erupted within the Royal Library, shaking the entire chamber violently.
Tens of thousands of scrolls collapsed in a thunderous cascade, many instantly incinerated by the blast's shockwave.
As the dust settled, Sith stood disheveled, his robes torn, his body riddled with internal injuries, and his beard singed.
He had failed to fully neutralize the explosion's power with Tutaminis.
"Bastard!" Sith roared, glaring at the small pile of ashes on the ground. "You used your own soul as fuel for that explosion! You destroyed yourself and all the scrolls on the Order's fifth level! How dare you, you worthless scum!"
Sith deactivated his lightsaber and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Stones began to fall from the ceiling as the explosion further destabilized the already damaged Royal Library, now teetering on the brink of collapse.
This really hurts...
He had never been directly hit by this technique before.
Did I push things too far?
Undoubtedly. But that was his nature.
Having lived for centuries, simple victories had long grown tedious. He craved excitement, even if it meant playing with fire and getting burned.
"My body—!" he cursed, staggering toward the exit. "I'll find your Apprentice, Sheldon! I'll execute him myself!"
The moment he burst out of the library, the upper levels collapsed completely, forming a deep chasm that buried centuries of Matukai heritage beneath the rubble.
Sith sprinted through the ruins, escaping the collapsing structure.
"Master," the robot's voice crackled through the communicator, "two ships have launched from the planet. The first, cloaked with stealth plating, departed approximately three minutes ago. The second just broke through the atmosphere."
"A second ship? Where did they get a second ship?!" Sith demanded fiercely.
"According to database classification, it belongs to the Matukada Corps of this planet. It's a Shortsword-class starfighter equipped with a hyperspace drive."
Sith cursed violently, his plans completely disrupted.
Yet he wasn't worried. Taidor's self-destruction and the Jedi's burial alive were his favorite sights. It was a pity he couldn't personally witness their torment.
"Connect me—cough, cough—to my contact within the Jedi Order," he rasped, clutching his chest, his voice venomous. "Tell him his plans need adjusting."
"As you command, Master."
"Also, issue a bounty for information on the Shortsword-class fighter's location!" Sith's voice carried an icy chill. "I want to personally slaughter that old fool's apprentice!"
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