“Do you truly think of me, Arad, as such an evil person?”
Seeing Bai Xiaodu holding the blood orb in his left hand and the sword in his right, Arad let out a faint smile.
With a wave of his arm, several tiny mechanical components bounced onto the ground, a faint thread of crimson light flickering across them.
The components immediately began to whir, rapidly expanding and twisting.
In an instant, they grew into towering beasts resembling wolves, leopards, lions, and tigers.
They took up positions in all directions, surrounding Bai Xiaodu, snarling and raring to strike.
“A Druid of the machine civilization?” Bai Xiaodu frowned.
“Excellent eyesight, young friend. I see that your talent is top-tier, yet you grew up in this orphanage. The Human Federation has treated you with such cold indifference; it is truly unjust.” Arad smiled, extending a hand.
“Even after you ascend, you will only be in the early stage. How do you expect to contend with me?”
“Why not join me in the Divine Arsenal, become my disciple, discard your useless carbon-based body, embrace mechanical ascension, and achieve eternal immortality. What do you say?”
As he spoke, he suppressed the burning desire in his eyes.
Awuna was nothing more than a piece of trash, a mere consumable. The human genius before him, however, was a top-tier ritual vessel.
Not to mention, he was a silver fox-kin!
If he crushed this boy's soul and flesh to use as bait to lure out the Secret Realm of the 【Mage Emperor】, he might even be able to glimpse the mysteries of the Domain and soar to greatness in a single bound!
Bai Xiaodu's expression remained cold and unmoved.
The man's words were pretty, but his hostile preparations were very real.
The flesh is weak, and mechanical ascension?
Was a consciousness uploaded into a mechanical lifeform truly one's own?
Even if it was, would this man really be so willing to help him transfer it?
He was clearly targeting this body, which was on the verge of successfully ascending to become a Mage Emperor transcendent!
Combined with his minor mastery of the Dragon-Burning Refining Art, his flesh and blood were likely prime materials for refinement!
Bai Xiaodu shook his head.
“I'm used to staying here. I don't want to leave, and I can't leave.”
The smile on Arad's face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold tone.
“Do you really think you can defeat me?”
“It's only because interfering in an ascension ceremony would tie me to the karma of the Mage Emperor that I'm unwilling to touch you right now.”
“You are less than ten minutes away from officially ascending. That means your life's countdown is also exactly ten minutes.”
“Do you think I have no options just because you refuse to come? I can easily beat you to near-death, tear your flesh apart, and take you away!”
Bai Xiaodu ignored him and sat down cross-legged.
Right in front of Arad, he brazenly accelerated his absorption.
“Good, good, good!”
Arad laughed in anger.
“If you want to rush to your death, I won't stop you. But you should know that even if you die, I can still tear your soul out and turn it into a magical artifact.”
“When that time comes, I will make you beg for life and pray for death!”
The silver ripples grew sparser as they were absorbed, and Bai Xiaodu's aura became increasingly stable.
Arad did not idle during this time either. With a wave of his hand, a vast number of parts were reassembled. A new mechanical beast species was born almost every few seconds.
Their dark gray metal bodies gleamed coldly under the moonlight. A dense, sprawling mass of crimson electronic pupils surrounded Bai Xiaodu.
Having finished this, Arad slowly retreated.
Clearly, he intended to use a remote-controlled beast-wave tactic to beat the newly ascended Bai Xiaodu to death.
After all, he had clearly seen how his disciple was instantly killed earlier.
What if those bizarre abilities also scaled up in tier once the boy became a transcendent?
It's better to be safe than sorry, Arad thought to himself, deciding to proceed with extreme caution.
“What are you muttering about?”
Taking advantage of the final minute or two before the ceremony's completion, Bai Xiaodu gave a bright smile.
He bit his fingertip and held Kalugar's Remnant Sword high.
Blood flowed, guided continuously by his will. The streams of blood split and converged, ultimately forming a crimson triangular pattern.
Bai Xiaodu wasn't sure if a newcomer to this Pathway would attract the attention of the so-called sovereign deity.
But using a prayer technique at the exact moment he was about to complete his ascension would undoubtedly yield results several times better than usual.
As for the sacrifice, he had decided on it long ago.
What could be more suitable than 【Kalugar's Remnant Sword】?
It truly contained the soul of a Commander-level figure from the former Empire era.
Perhaps he had even met the Mage Emperor and could put in a good word for him.
Though he might lose such a powerful item, Bai Xiaodu didn't care.
Faced with death, what did such a minor loss matter?
“What are you doing? Stop!”
Having retreated early to control the beasts, Arad's expression suddenly warped.
As an official transcendent, he could clearly sense the extraordinary nature of that remnant sword.
Hastily chanting an incantation, he severed one of the arms of Awuna's body.
The moment the arm hit the ground, it transformed into a swiftly slithering venomous serpent.
Opening its fanged maw wide, it hissed and lunged straight at Bai Xiaodu!
Doing this risked exposing himself to the ceremony's backlash, but Arad could no longer care about that.
His battle instincts, honed over many years, told him one thing.
Even if he had to suffer the backlash, he absolutely could not let Bai Xiaodu complete the ritual!
Right then, a mocking voice echoed.
“You rotten bones of the machine civilization, still clinging to your pathetic 【blood-refining】 Pathway and abducting people everywhere.”
Billowing red mist rose as a robust figure with a human body and a dragon's head abruptly manifested.
Kiru threw a punch, instantly halting the charging serpent before its head exploded!
Arad gritted his teeth and made another cut, severing both legs of Awuna's body.
They transformed into a wolf and a tiger, charging forward with unabated ferocity.
Kiru merely laughed.
“If you could actually simulate those high-tier races, I might fear you a little.”
“But you're just a pathetic wretch. An official transcendent who can't even summon a single dragon beast!”
He struck again. With two punches, red shockwaves exploded in the air, and the heads of the wolf and tiger burst in the exact same fashion.
With Kiru guarding him, the remnant sword was planted firmly right in the center of the triangular formation. Bai Xiaodu pressed his palms together and began to recite the prayer.
“Praise the Empire. Praise the Mage Emperor.”
Uh...
Grandma didn't seem to have taught him the complete prayer, only telling him to say nice things.
Bai Xiaodu thought for a moment.
His voice suddenly amplified several times over, carrying a hoarse, gut-wrenching tone filled with uncontrollable grief and indignation.
“Lord Mage Emperor! The Empire's front lines have collapsed!”
“The warband has suffered devastating casualties! Please, let us offer our lives and launch one final charge!”
“For all of humanity! For an eternal tomorrow!”
“Let the galaxy burn!”
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The remnant sword vibrated, emitting a piercing shriek as a pillar of silver light suddenly erupted.
It soared into the sky, pointing straight toward the heavens!
In an instant, the silver brilliance illuminated the cosmos.
The night sky over half the city was instantly lit up as bright as day!
Kiru turned his head, the light illuminating his dumbfounded expression.
Arad's expression was identical, his blue electronic eyes flashing rapid warning signals.
Though they were still trading blows, they actually shouted the exact same thing at the same time!
“Who the fuck taught you to recite a prayer like that?!”
“What the hell did you just summon?!”
Rate on N.U.
