Chapter 171: Chapter 171: The Lightbringer’s End
Chapter 171: The Lightbringer’s End
The crater floor was a mosaic of cooling glass. Elias, the Lightbringer, gasped for air. His Level 80 aura was flickering, the blinding gold light dimming with every frantic breath.
His pride was shattered, replaced by the naked, shivering terror of a man who realized he was no longer a god.
"You... you are supposed to be low-level beasts," Elias shrieked, his voice cracking. He raised his broadsword, but the divine light struggled to manifest. "I was summoned by the Pope himself! I am the chosen of the Light! You cannot do this to me! Stay away! This is a mistake! This has to be a mistake~!"
The Hero of the Light was shivering in his boots. Just a moment ago, he had underestimated the Goblin for what he was, thinking that it was just another random Goblin who was of a lower level and could be crushed easily, just like the other monsters he had killed before.
But what had happened now? Had he given up his pride? Had he lost his sense of duty to Humanity? Was he not the hero he was meant to be? Was he not the survivor who was promised glory? What had happened to him?
All that happened was that his true self had revealed itself. Behind the mask of the Hero, there was a coward hiding behind that glory. He was no true Hero. All he had was just fake glory he had attained by killing Monsters, who were too weak to face him.
I ignored his pleas. I strode forward, my S-Grade Hive Chitin armor absorbing the ambient holy radiation he desperately pumped into the air.
Ramona moved faster. The Half-Dragon closed the distance in a single, fluid step. Her molten gold eyes burned with the memory of a thousand years of imprisonment.
She reached out, her hand wrapping around the blade of his holy sword. The divine metal hissed, searing her scales, but she did not flinch. She simply applied pressure, shattering the blade into crystalline dust.
"You speak of the Light," Ramona whispered, her voice dangerously calm.
"But you are just a tool for the very people who locked me away. You do not know the consequences of your actions and yet you dare to act so high and mighty! You shall not be saved today!"
Elias stumbled back, falling into the cooling glass. He scrambled away from Ramona, his eyes wide as he looked at me.
"Wait! I have information! I have riches! I am worth more alive! I will do anything! Please, have mercy! Spare me and I shall serve you all my life like a slave! Just keep me alive! Please! Please!"
I stopped directly in front of him. I did not blink.
"Mercy is for the subjects of the Forge," I rumbled, my voice dark and absolute.
"And you are nothing but an intruder. Fuck off and die."
I gripped his head with my brass gauntlet, my fingers sinking into the holy armor. I ignited the Flame of Death.
"ARGHH! NO! PLEASE! I was wrong! I would never dare to kill anyone ever again! I beg of you! Forgive me-"
"Just shut up and die!"
The black and gold fire roared into existence, spiraling around his skull. The Lightbringer screamed as his Level 80 core was violently ripped open.
I channeled the conceptual hunger of my Law, actively devouring his life force, his divine divinity, and his accumulated experience.
DING!
[System Alert: Level 80 Divine Core consumed.]
[Sovereign Core efficiency increased by 400%.]
[Level Up! You are now Level 61.]
[System Evolution Triggered: The Sovereign’s physical body has surpassed mortal limits.]
The surge of power was agonizing and sublime. My green muscles tightened, my S-Grade armor groaned as it automatically recalibrated to my suddenly massive physical stats. I dropped the empty, lifeless husk of the Lightbringer into the dust.
I looked back at the remaining Paladin commanders cowering behind their broken shield.
"Rolf," I commanded.
The Silver Colossus did not hesitate. The Vanguard dropped from the cliffs like a falling landslide. They moved with mechanical, ruthless efficiency, slaughtering the remaining holy officers with their heavy power-mauls.
Rolf paused in front of a lone, terrified female Paladin commander. She was young, elite, and clearly held a high rank in the Crusade fleet. Rolf grabbed her by the neck, lifting her high into the air.
"She is the highest-ranking survivor, Alpha," Rolf reported, holding her steady.
I walked over, looking at the captured officer. She trembled, her armor stained with the blood of her comrades.
"An example," I stated, my red visor glowing intensely.
"Take the survivors, bind their mana, and send them to the Mana Steel factories. They will spend the rest of their lives building the weapons that will conquer their own continent. And her? She is yours, Rolf. A trophy of the Forge. Treat her like the labor-tool she is."
I turned to the last surviving foot soldier. He was shaking so hard he could barely stand.
"Go," I told him, pointing toward the rowing boat he had used to reach the shore.
"Sail back. Tell your Pope that the Monster Continent is closed. Tell him that the next ship he sends will be the last one he ever owns."
The soldier did not argue. He sprinted for the boat, rowing into the horizon with panicked, frantic strokes.
"We have a lot of work to do," I said, looking at my Pack.
"Ramona has brought me to Level 61. And now that we have the Lightbringer’s core, we have the resources to finalize the railgun array."
"And the wives?" Ramona purred, stepping close to me and resting her hand on my chest.
"You said you needed to take more to solidify the Dynasty."
I looked at the battlefield. We were on the cusp of an era. The Holy Empire was reeling, the Vanguard was stronger than ever, and I had a Level 90 Queen who wanted to build a brood of apex predators.
"We are just getting started," I growled.
