Chapter 431: Reunion with the White Dragon Emperor
Having lived for many years, the old immortals had extensively researched ways to preserve their lives. Even with their heads severed, they could still be revived if reattached in time.
But having waited so long for this opportunity, Sapphire and Liala naturally gave them no chance to cling to life.
Sapphire raised her leg clad in steel boots high and mercilessly crushed one of the heads at her feet.
Foul green blood splattered once more, followed by a twitch from a headless corpse before it fell completely still.
Such a violent scene caused Liala, draped in two white cloths that exposed her lovely figure and vast stretches of pale, delicate skin, to frown again in displeasure.
"Really, must you be so uncivilized? It's disgusting..."
Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall you being any more civilized than me when you take action."
Though a generation apart, years of companionship had given them a deep understanding of each other's personalities.
Despite Liala's seductive attire and an aura of an elegant mage, she was utterly cruel and ruthless in action.
Compared to Sapphire, a purebred demon, Liala—who had regained divine traits through atavism—actually had a more twisted personality.
Coupled with her parents being driven to death by the Conclave in her childhood, Liala wouldn't have survived if not for Sapphire's intervention.
If these old immortals were left to Liala, the scene would likely be several times more bloody and brutal.
"Even if it's uncivilized, aren't you afraid this thing might accidentally trigger and explode?"
No matter how stubborn Liala was, she was fundamentally kind-hearted. Facing Sapphire who had taken care of her since childhood, even though her current strength slightly surpassed Sapphire's, she still obediently played the role of a younger sister.
Sapphire curled her lips, "If it were that easy to trigger accidentally, the Demon King's Castle would have been blown sky-high countless times by now."
She roughly knew the Cardinal Council had such methods, but she wasn't clear on the specifics of implementation or whether there were contingency plans.
On the other hand, she wasn't sure if these old fossils carried the remote devices with them, which was why she had waited until this opportunity.
Now that the upper echelons of the Cardinal Council had been instantly wiped out, she didn't have to worry about the Demon King's Castle being blown up for the time being.
Even if these old guys had a mutually destructive contingency plan, it would take considerable time for news of their deaths to spread.
With the Cardinal Council's desperate gamble having failed, the war situation gradually stabilized over time. Eventually, the Old Satan Faction contacted by the Cardinal Council could no longer restrain themselves.
"Sir, if we don't act now, we'll miss our chance."
"Indeed, since those old fools aren't taking initiative, we can settle accounts with them later."
The middle-aged male demon in charge of this operation, who possessed the bloodline of one of the four ancient Demon Kings, hesitated for a moment before nodding, "Alright, regardless of who that black cat really is, with the White Dragon Emperor from the Khaos Brigade here, our plan is certain to succeed."
He originally didn't want to trouble Vali, hoping to impress his superiors with his own performance.
But with unexpected situations continuously arising, such thoughts quickly dissipated.
Successful execution of the plan was the prerequisite for any impressive performance.
If the plan failed, even being the MVP of the losing side would be meaningless.
"Lord Lucifer."
He deliberately used Vali's surname to create familiarity, hoping that their shared heritage as descendants of Demon Kings would earn him some consideration.
Unfortunately, while Vali didn't exactly hate his demon bloodline, he certainly held no fondness for it.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have joined the Khaos Brigade directly instead of returning to the Old Satan Faction in the abyss.
"Hmm, I know. If any powerful opponents appear, I'll intervene."
Vali, who had been concealing his presence in the shadows, revealed himself and replied lazily.
He only wanted to fight strong opponents and had initially been completely uninterested in this mission. However, with the mysterious black cat's intervention and the appearance of the Child of Chaos, he finally became somewhat interested.
But since he had joined the organization, mission priority naturally came first.
Moreover, after the initial excitement faded, Vali didn't think much of the Child of Chaos - those Outer Gods without intelligence.
Having already touched the threshold of god-class, the title of strongest White Dragon Emperor in history wasn't just empty boasting.
After his battle with Haruto, Vali - who had long since fully mastered Balance Breaker - focused on researching Juggernaut Drive.
This was where the Sacred Gear's bug-like quality manifested: he didn't need the usual opportunities others required to break through to god-class.
Unlike Haruto who was lost and confused, Vali had long since determined his goal of fighting strong opponents. As he continuously delved deeper into the power of the White Dragon Emperor's Wings, he naturally embarked on the path to godhood.
"Thank you, Lord Lucifer."
The middle-aged demon excitedly clenched his fist and personally led his Old Satan Faction subordinates to join the assault on the Demon King's Castle.
With the addition of this new force, the Heroic Spirit army, which had been gradually retreating, began to counterattack.
At the same time, with the Satan-Class powerhouses of the Old Satan Faction tying them down, the pressure on Sheila and the others from the Child of Chaos increased dramatically.
The Child of Chaos possessed no intelligence and would not coordinate with the Old Satan Faction, but its combat instincts drove it to prioritize attacking enemies like Sheila, who had already drawn its full animosity.
The Old Satan Faction didn't engage in a life-or-death struggle with the Satan-Class fighters on Sheila's side either, merely harassing them from the periphery with sneak attacks.
Already struggling to fight an Outer God, and now having to face shameless sneak attacks, Sheila and her group were suddenly caught in a dilemma.
"This is no good, Mother. We should retreat for now."
Lucia's tall, slender body twisted sharply, narrowly dodging a bolt of purple lightning.
She landed beside Sheila and said gravely, "The Old Satan Faction has appeared. We can notify Rias to bring her people now."
"Hah..."
Sheila let out a long breath, her mood less than stellar.
She wasn't in great shape either. Her tight black leather suit was mostly undamaged, but her grimy appearance was a far cry from her usual elegance and charm.
She hadn't been this disheveled even when she was imprisoned by Zolgear.
"You make the call. I'll hold them off a little longer."
Sheila looked displeased. This war had broken out too suddenly.
If she had been able to dual cultivate with Haruto a few more times, especially after signing the Soul Contract on the night of a full moon, she could have single-handedly held off this weakened Outer God, even if she couldn't become the God of Succubi.
Lucia didn't waste words. Sheila didn't need her to teach her how to fight.
Although Sheila appeared gentle and weak, seemingly just a Succubus, she was a powerhouse who had survived the Three Factions War.
As for why she continued to resist instead of running...
If her life were truly in danger, Sheila would of course flee.
The current situation wasn't great, but as long as Vali didn't make a move, Sheila wasn't actually in much danger.
If she retreated, no one would be able to stop the Child of Chaos, and the hundred thousand-plus civilians in the Satan's capital would likely all perish.
On the other hand, the Gremory family... what Rias needed wasn't a city of ruins, but a prosperous and flourishing capital.
No matter how much they prepared in advance, it would still take some time for them to arrive.
Sheila was, in a way, buying time for her own people.
Though it takes a while to describe, everything had transpired in just over ten minutes.
Haruto glanced at Leohart, who was now being overwhelmed by Mio Naruse, then at the familiar figure floating in the sky outside the city. A pale blue magical aura flowed over his entire body.
"No wonder I sensed a familiar presence earlier. So an old friend has come..."
As his voice fell, the mysterious black cat vanished, and the pale blue magic formed a tall, burly human figure.
A ferocious, crimson dragon-shaped armor reflected a dazzling light under the sun, its hard, steel texture exuding a chilling killing intent.
"Red Dragon Emperor, long time no see." Seeing Haruto directly enter Balance Breaker, Vali showed no surprise.
Although he had no proof, he had always felt that the black cat was the Red Dragon Emperor.
Just as Haruto had vaguely sensed it was him, this was probably the bond between the Red Dragon Emperor and the White Dragon Emperor.
The difference was that Haruto disliked having a telepathic connection with men and had never fully communicated spiritually with Ddraig, so his intuition was a bit lacking.
"Has the Old Satan Faction collectively defected to the Khaos Brigade?" Haruto didn't rush to reveal his true strength, taking the opportunity to probe for some intelligence.
"Why do you two factions always show up together?"
Whether out of indifference or some other reason, Vali was happy to say a few more words.
"The Khaos Brigade's goal is to return the world to chaos. Of course we'd get involved in such a spectacular war. As for the Old Satan Faction, joining us is better than being assimilated by the Abyss."
He didn't directly answer whether they had all defected, but from the sound of it, even if it wasn't a collective defection, it was close.
In that case, Katerea's role as an undercover agent seemed even more important.
He just didn't know if she could be a good double agent right under the nose of the Infinite Dragon God, Ophis.
Haruto reckoned she couldn't, but as long as Katerea worked hard on her usual missions, Ophis probably wouldn't mind a few intelligence leaks.
A living asset approaching God-level was a significant force even within the Khaos Brigade.
Ophis wouldn't necessarily be at a loss trading a bit of intelligence for Katerea's labor.
While Haruto was pondering, Vali had unknowingly flown to the edge of the colosseum.
He reached out to touch the invisible barrier and was, as expected, repelled.
"If you hadn't gone in, we could have had a satisfying battle today."
Vali said with a look of regret, "But if you hadn't gone in, this war probably wouldn't have been triggered."
Vali, or rather, the Khaos Brigade, didn't care who the ultimate winner of this war was. Their goal had always been to incite chaos.
The more chaotic this world became, the closer it was to primordial disorder.
Vali had come here secretly to ensure the war would happen.
Although he hadn't acted before, his goal had been achieved.
If he hadn't sensed his presence, Haruto might not have let Mio Naruse enter the barrier.
His primary targets were Sapphire and Liala, but the world's timeline had long since deviated to who-knows-where, so it was impossible to be certain that this action would draw Liala out.
Not to mention Sapphire, who existed only in legends with a single line of background information stating she was not in the Underworld.
"You want a fight?" Haruto's voice, somewhat deep and chilling, came from within the dragon helmet. "Fine, I'll satisfy you right now."