596 Pledge Allegiance? (1/2)

Following Ye Qingxuan's orders, stars of flame and iron fell from the sky.

Under the sixth drive, the main armament of the Petitioner erupted in overload. Waterfall-like torrents of aether gushed out, containing horrifying heat and purifying music theory within. They tore through layers of barriers and descended upon the top of the king of hell's head in a flash.

Then only did an inkling of the gleam of iron hidden in the fire appear faintly.

It was steel that was burnt until a scorching red in the terrifying high temperature up to thousands of degrees — horrifying flares spewed from the stakes, bringing the path of redemption which would turn all sinners to ashes.

'Mary' lifted her red eyes. Under the guidance of the crown of hell, the red Firebird materialized as an actual hand and grabbed at the strong light.

The first to be heard was the bang of steel colliding. Ghastly white waves of air were stirred up from within and propelled the sharp noise of gold and iron scrapping against each other to sweep across the entire Avalon.

The big bell resembling the wrath of god was struck.

— Doomsday would come.

In the dissipating flares, the stake had fallen apart.

Walking out of the flares was the king of hell, a crystal crown on its head, donning blood-colored garments. The terrifying aura radiating from it and the gigantic sun that the palace had turned into echoed each other.

After consuming a small half of Avalon, the scepter that was once heavily damaged had been repaired completely. The element of hell operated within the horrifying and majestic melody, and the actual scene of hell unfolded.

The Dark Sovereign had returned once more!

Behind the domain of Holy, Ye Qingxuan sighed softly.

From then on, what he had to face was no longer only Mary who was controlled by the cursed blood... but also the king of hell in his prime!

No one was beside him to help keep the Dark Sovereign in check, and Ye Qingxuan had no chance to wander about the battlefield at an unhurried pace and seek opportunities to strike through the catastrophe's defenses.

It was a face-to-face confrontation, an undodgeable battle.

”It's getting somewhat troublesome...” He murmured softly.

At the moment, the hem of Mary's scarlet skirt fluttered in the wind.

The gigantic sun of darkness advanced forward, and the ghastly red Firebird gushed towards him like a river. In a flash, Mary had lifted a pale, slender arm, the index finger tapping gently on the wall of Holy.

The next moment, a horrifying bang erupted.

Struck by innumerable invisible knives and axes, the wall of Holy fell apart.

After penetrating the layers of defense, the finger pierced through Ye Qingxuan's chest mercilessly, emerging from behind, as if it was crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

Then, countless strands of Firebird erupted from it. Like wandering blades, they attempted to scrape all his flesh and blood off, strip away all his skin and internal organs, and pluck off all his muscles and tendons in a flash, leaving only a clean, white skeleton behind.

However, nothing happened.

Ye Qingxuan was still intact.

Only then did the low noise coming from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rang out belatedly. The strange melody resembling the sound of metal scraping against each other lingered in the Dark Sovereign's ear and refused to dissipate, like ridicule.

In the vague, strange noise, a hoarse voice rang out faintly, as it sang fanatically, ”— Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!”

The movement of hell, which was operating magnificently, paused momentarily, and the Dark Sovereign immediately understood what was going on.

Passion cantata!

Like what Abraham did back then when fighting against the saint, Ye Qingxuan had used nature interference to advance himself to the extremity of the state of vacuum, performing the movement Abraham had passed down to him to the very best of his ability.

It was like how a knife couldn't cut the light apart, and how iron couldn't kill water.

In accordance with the nature of the enemy, one's own form was changed, turning oneself into relative nothingness.

Even though one was clearly in sight, one was beyond reach.

”Another of your little tricks!” The phantom of the Dark Sovereign emerged and sneered as it looked at him. ”Do you think such trivial cleverness will be of use?”

As he finished his words, Ye Qingxuan's face turned pale, a trace of purple-black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Firebird was an extension of the dragon blood — It controls aether directly with the tenacity of the host, bestowing physical forms to the tenacity and turning it into knives, swords, or metal.

In essence, it was still an existence similar to music theory.

Meanwhile, after consuming Leviathan's blood, Mary had already tapped on her own potential, which could be considered bottomless. It could be deemed as terrifying in terms of its nature and intensity.

Although the power of the Firebird did not tear Ye Qingxuan's physical form apart, the music theory contained within still shook his form, almost knocking him down from his state of vacuum — If the aether circulation stopped, the only end awaiting him upon returning to his mortal body would be disintegration.

Facing the Dark Sovereign's ridicule, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. ”It's just that I'm not capable enough.”

He reached out and made a cut-throat gesture towards the projection that was close at hand. ”If my teacher was here, at that moment just now, he would definitely have already cut off your good-for-nothing head in one blow!”

What could be said for certain was that for centuries, no one had ever dared to be so impudent and offensive in front of the Dark Sovereign. Although cutting off his head had zero effect on him, it was undoubtedly an insult that could be considered wildly arrogant.

The Dark Sovereign merely sneered and said no more.

On the top of Mary's head, the crystal crown suddenly released a horrifying light. The movement of hell roared, and the scepter slowly rose into the sky. The terrifying gravitational pull contained within the music theory erupted from it, tugging at the fragments of the shadow of Avalon.

The old king had died.

The touring new king would regain control of its territory.

The Dark Sovereign was madly consuming the city in the shadows to mend the cracks on the scepter of hell — When the shadow of Avalon was thoroughly disintegrated, the King of Hell would be completely reborn!

Ye Qingxuan had no time to stop him.

It was because Mary's red eyes had neared him.

At the moment, in the sky, the Mountain of Nomadism sprinkled down metallic gleams that resembled stars.

In a flash, hundreds of dots of light flew out from the projectile tracks and shot in Ye Qingxuan's direction. They stirred up a whistling hurricane, which sounded like an iron whale singing freely before its death.

They crossed the long distance, then smashed onto the ground.

Loud bangs rumbled.

Amid countless specks of flying dust, heavily armored knights walked out, assembled into arrays, blocking Mary's path, and pulled out their chainswords.

— Whale fall!

”Ahaha, haven't we arrived somewhat timely, Grand Inquisitor?” Shi Dong's voice sounded in his ear. ”Your faithful subordinates are here to help.”

”Isn't it considered to be within your responsibilities?” Ye Qingxuan responded coldly. ”If subordinates couldn't relieve their superior of his burdens, what would be the difference between them and idiots?”