The Sanguinarch was bewildered.
He looked up at the cyan meteor in the distant sky, then lowered his head to look at himself.
He had barely been able to react to that strike just now; only a tiny fraction of the vast, sky-blotting blood cloud had managed to escape.
Right now, he was undoubtedly at his weakest point in his life since infancy. He might not even be able to defeat a low-level vampire. Truly, if it weren't for the unique nature of vampires and the fact that he was in an Arts-induced state, he might not have survived at all, let alone retained a human form.
Goddamn Quisatustar! What kind of ghost intelligence did he bring back!
He looked at Theresia, who was looking down at him with a brilliant smile, and felt like he was a dead man.
Over the years, the Sanguinarch had caused her no shortage of trouble, and in his current state, she could kill him with a single slap.
"Don't be nervous," Theresia said, able to see what he was thinking even without the Black Crown. "I won't kill you. As long as you don't try any little tricks, I won't even lift a finger against you."
The implication was that if he did try something, he might not die, but he would certainly suffer.
"Hmph, typical of you," the Sanguinarch snorted coldly. Although he disliked Theresia's temperament, he still had a lot of faith in her credibility.
Theresia looked at the tiny, arrogant Sanguinarch, a glint flashing in her eyes as she reached out and ruffled his messy hair.
What? You're asking why the Sanguinarch, who usually demanded perfection in his appearance, had messy hair?
It was obviously because he had been kicked over here by Xia Yu. Forget the hair; even his clothes had rolled across the ground countless times.
At Theresia's action, the Sanguinarch froze instantly.
Without thinking, he waved his hand to swat away Theresia's right hand, but that strength... for a Demon King, it was practically feeble. It was suppressed immediately by Theresia's hand.
"You!" The Sanguinarch's face turned black. "Is there really a need to humiliate me like this!"
"There is!" Theresia looked at him sideways. "Why don't you think about how many obstacles you've put in my way over the years? The only reason I haven't killed you outright is because you're still useful."
Although the power of those extraterrestrial visitors was immense, Theresia was not a White Flower who would only rely on others. She knew clearly that even with such strong partners, the more power she held in her own hands, the better.
Hearing this, the Sanguinarch fell silent.
He would endure for now!
After all, his little life was in her hands.
Thinking of this, he looked toward that armored person again.
"Where did you find this person?" There was a trace of undetectable fear in his voice. Heh, even the Sanguinarch, a name that could stop a child's nighttime crying, was actually afraid.
Just now, he had truly been a hair's breadth away from dying within that boundless sea of fire.
Just one move!
Even facing that behemoth in the past hadn't made him feel so powerless.
"Guess?" Theresia wouldn't go around publicizing those secrets.
At the front of the battlefield, the Shapeshifter Collective sighed as it looked at the restless soldiers around.
This couldn't continue. If the momentum was lost, the army's morale would vanish entirely.
Especially those of the Vampire Royal Court. They had watched their Royal Court Lord launch a charge only to be floored in one move... Now, those old vampires who usually acted like they owned the sky were all trembling.
Mainly, the Sanguinarch's reputation was too notorious. Now that he had fallen in one move, forget the vampires—the morale of the entire army had taken a severe blow.
As a veteran war-torn nation, these forty thousand people weren't just randomly assembled conscripts. The vast majority were veterans who had lived as mercenaries for years; what kind of harsh battlefield hadn't they seen?
Therefore, these elites were even more afraid when facing that sky-consuming sea of fire because they knew they couldn't dodge it.
Even the shelling of a high-speed warship followed a pattern; after a salvo, there were always some lucky ones who could survive on a crater-pocked battlefield.
But the scale of this Art was simply too large. One spell would write off at least ten thousand people... If they wanted to counter it, they could only disperse their formation. However, the opponent wasn't some scholar specializing in Arts; she could pin Theresis down and beat him in melee.
You can't even group people up, and you want to rely on human waves to crush her?
A loose formation against such a powerhouse was nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter!
Even Nachzehrer, hailed as the Sarkaz god of war, had no good solution.
That was why the army was stuck here, unable to advance or retreat.
"Isn't that Theresis?" The Shapeshifter Collective looked at the group of Sarkaz rushing this way. "He's not dead?"
"Just as well, we can get more intelligence from him," the Forager King's tone was very grave.
Before long, a dirt-covered Theresis returned to the main formation.
"Long story short," he took command as soon as he returned. "That's a thug Theresia found. None of us are a match for her."
"A thug? A thug of this level?" The Shapeshifter Collective felt unwell upon hearing this.
"Theresia said she wants to become a tyrant," Theresis said slowly.
"...A tyrant," the faces of the two Royal Court Lords grew heavy. They all understood what this meant. The Forager King spoke, "A tyrant... in the end, it still comes down to resolving problems through war."
He was actually quite dissatisfied. Back then, these siblings had convinced him by speaking of a massive future war, but now it turned out this war referred to a Sarkaz civil war?
What was the problem with the Sarkaz right now? It was that resources were insufficient to support such a large population; they needed war to consume it.
"No... Theresia said she found an opening in Yan," Theresis said, sounding a bit frustrated. "Opening a direct trade route between nations. Perhaps... we can find a way to let the Sarkaz eat their fill in the future."
"Unrealistic," the Forager King shook his head. It wasn't that he looked down on Theresia's idea of feeding the Sarkaz through trade—after all, even the Foragers usually had to maintain their lives through small-scale trade.
What he truly didn't agree with was the term 'international trade'.
In the end, in the eyes of the nations on the continent, Kazdel had always been a regional designation, not a national name.
Had no Demon King ever thought of taking this path in all these years? Impossible!
It was just that they had all failed.
Including the current leader of the Confessors, Quisatustar, the former White-Horned Demon King.
People look down on you; why would they engage in so-called international trade with you?
It wasn't his fault for thinking this way. Kazdel was so poor they were practically pissing blood; what did they have to trade with?
If they had any other bulk commodities that could serve international trade, then the only way for every Sarkaz to get ahead wouldn't be becoming a mercenary.
This was how the older generation of Sarkaz thought.
"Whether it works or not, we have to try," Theresis looked at the terrifying armored person in the sky. "Let's talk about the upcoming battle first."
"Although Theresia says she wants to become the Demon King, the instructions she gave to that person were to defeat, not kill. Even if we can't win, it's fine."
The Forager King breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, the forty thousand people under his command were the elites of the Sarkaz—people from every Royal Court, elite mercenaries of the Military Commission, and the veterans of his own army...
If an entire battle was spent filling graves with them, it would break his heart!
"Let the Vampire Royal Court lead the vanguard," the Shapeshifter Collective suggested slyly. "After all, they know best how to save their own lives. If that person breaks her word, the losses can be minimized."
Facing this suggestion, everyone agreed in unison.
The old vampires had no choice but to obediently begin their advance.
There was nothing they could do; since their boss was gone, they had no voice in the army!
On Xia Yu's side, watching the army on the left flank mobilizing toward her, she was bored to death from waiting.
The reason she waited so long was entirely to break the morale of the Sarkaz army. There is a fundamental difference in combat power between an army charging to its death with a roar and an army with low morale.
Even if they are the same group of people.
Of course, it wasn't that she couldn't win, but mainly because she had promised Theresia to minimize killing, so she had to take it slow.
With every minute that passed, the morale of the Sarkaz army dropped a little more.
An army facing a single enemy and not daring to advance for so long was truly demoralizing.
It was just that they were far too cautious, dawdling for so long. Tsk, if I'd known, I wouldn't have hit the Sanguinarch so hard; look how scared they are.
But thinking about those vampire bugs... ugh~~~
She couldn't stand it.
But now, the ones charging at her were still vampires... Seeing the squirming bugs on those low-level vampires, Xia Yu zipped back to Theresia's side in an instant.
She was just helping out; she didn't want to wrong herself like this. I am an investor in the Sarkaz!
"Make those vampires get lost!" Xia Yu pointed at the vampire units and said righteously, "I hate bugs!"
"If I fight them, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold back! I'll hack them all to pieces!"
Theresia turned her head toward the Sanguinarch. "Did you hear that? If you don't want the Vampire Royal Court to become history today, make your vampires leave the battlefield."
The Sanguinarch glanced at her, then silently flew toward the front.
A wise man doesn't fight against the odds. Being able to take the core strength of the Royal Court away from the battlefield was also a good choice; who knew what would happen next.
The Vampire Royal Court troops had initially charged with tragic resolve, but then they saw the opponent zip back in a flash. The entire unit was baffled.
What kind of play was this now?
It wasn't until they saw the tiny Sanguinarch flying over that they seemed to find their pillar of support.
"Demon King's Command!" The Sanguinarch said with a face like a sour cat. "The Vampire Royal Court withdraws from the battlefield!"
Under normal circumstances, he would never say something like 'Demon King's Command'. As the most rebellious Sarkaz Royal Court Lord, he didn't submit to Theresia at all.
But even a tiger in the plains is bullied by dogs; since he was heavily injured now, there was no telling if some vampire might see his state and want to take a gamble. After all, everyone knew the Sarkaz way. Everyone was clear on how his brother, the previous Demon King, had died, so he could only use the Demon King's prestige to act tough.
Fortunately, the Demon King's deterrence combined with the deterrence of that mysterious powerhouse was very effective. The Vampire Royal Court began to silently relocate.
We're not playing anymore! You guys go ahead!
"What is the meaning of this?" At that moment, Theresis and the others quickly closed in.
"Theresia said to keep the Vampire Royal Court away from the battlefield," the Sanguinarch had absolutely no pleasant expression. Although he knew the Sarkaz way, these people had directly pushed the Vampire Royal Court out to be the vanguard...
Furthermore, the look he gave Quisatustar was chilling. If he weren't heavily injured right now, he likely would have struck already.
Look at the kind of intelligence you reported!
"Why?" The Shapeshifter Collective was very confused.
"Because that person hates bugs," the Sanguinarch's mouth twitched. Even he found the reason absurd as he said in a muffled voice, "She's afraid that if she gets triggered during the fight, she'll lose herself in a killing frenzy and wipe the Vampire Royal Court from existence."
He didn't know whether to feel lucky or humiliated.
"..." The others looked at each other.
That arbitrary?
Just then, with the exit of the Vampire Royal Court, that meteor in front had once again risen into the sky.
Xia Yu extended her hands, and golden ripples began to emerge. Two long swords, still in their scabbards, were drawn out by her.
They weren't any famous Noble Phantasms to begin with, let alone being kept in their scabbards.
It was mainly because she was afraid that if she used Firefly's energy swords, she might accidentally hack someone to death.
She would just use them as blunt weapons with the scabbards on.
Then, looking at those thirty thousand plus Sarkaz elites, she shot straight into the sky!
"Protocol approved, executing scorched-earth operations!"
Sam's electronic voice resonated across the battlefield. "I will... set the seas ablaze!"
She plummeted toward the earth with flames trailing behind her like a falling star.
"Disperse formation!" Seeing this, the Forager King immediately commanded!
Fortunately, the armored person didn't smash directly into the Sarkaz ranks but crashed straight down in front of the formation instead.
But this was by no means a good thing. In that earth-shattering strike, the entire ground seemed to be overturned. The originally firm wasteland shattered into several plates of varying sizes, torn apart like a spiderweb.
Many unlucky mercenaries couldn't even stand steadily, and some were even unluckily buried within the shattered plates.
With one strike, two-thirds of the massive army collapsed instantly.
Xia Yu called this move the 'Expert Validator', or the 'Weakling De-materializer'. Either way, everyone still standing now was an elite!
Luka was a Sarkaz elite standing in the front row.
Right now, he was terrified.
Mainly because he stood too far forward, and that terrifying armored person was now right opposite him.
Luka felt his breathing was about to stop.
Back then, he had personally stalled a Steam Knight and dragged that knight out under the cover of steam, decapitating him in public—a true Sarkaz elite.
But now, watching that person slowly rise amidst the ruins, he didn't even dare to take a step.
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!
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