Right? Right, No...

Looked down upon from high above, the entirety of Xinquan seemed to have turned into an iron mold cast in the dark. A hand that governed all lifted, scooped up a ladle of molten iron, and poured it out over the mortal realm. Instantly, a searing red tide of destruction rippled along the streets in every direction. Wherever it passed, it trampled, impaled, cleaved, and ground everything into mud. Just like hellfire, it burned everything to ash. Taking the brunt of the onslaught were the merfolk frenziedly gorging on flesh in the middle of the main thoroughfare! Those ten-plus-meter behemoths hissed, luxuriating in their plunder of meat and blood, only to be overtaken by the thunderous roar of iron horseshoes. The earth shook and the heavens trembled as the iron cavalry surged forward like a tsunami! "■! . !" From amid the crimson gore, a massive, half-drenched merfolk snapped its head up. Amber slitted pupils fixed upon the riders, and its jaws parted in a roar. Not merely its fins and gills, but every scale across its body flared, swelling and bristling amid its hiss. A warning. Yet the tsunami remained utterly indifferent, emotionless, pressing forward. In an instant, three long-tailed merfolk reared straight up, baring savage claws and fangs. The foremost of them thrust out four empty arms toward the empty air; in the blink of an eye, boundless water vapor coalesced into a hovering array of countless blades, hurtling out like a torrential downpour. Walls and paving stones in their path were sliced to ribbons, pierced, and pulverized. Empowered by the blessing of the Desolate Ruins, even blades of water manifested an edge no duller than tempered steel. To the right, another merfolk lashed its long tail, raising a massive torrent right off the flat ground that flooded the street. The churning waves crashed and clashed with a shrill screech like grinding metal. The flood materialized from nothingness, roaring forward! At the very rear, the largest leader clawed two blood blades and spears matted with mangled flesh and bone out of the bloody puddle. Electric arcs crackled across the blood blades with a piercing blue glare. Its ten-plus-meter frame swelled once more, its scales thickening and hardening until it practically choked the whole street. As it rose, it cast a monstrous shadow like a giant. Still, the tsunami pressed on, paying no heed to the headwind of blades or the pounding deluge. Only at the brink of impact did the iron hooves come down! Amid the thunder of iron, the Knights of Homecoming roared at the top of their lungs: "By the Red Lord's witness!" On the long avenue, the advancing line of knights slammed into the savage, biting flood. Blood-red flames erupted. Their formation shifted into a piercing arrowhead, thrusting straight ahead! *Boom!* Intangible water and tangible iron clashed in an instant. At the first pass, the meat-grinder vortex of the torrent shattered into pieces. Under the concerted might of the Swarm, it was as if they had merely crushed an insignificant speck of dust. When the countless water blades hurtled into their faces from midair, they did not even flinch or waver, glaring coldly with haughty disdain. Blood splattered, wounds tore open, white bone showed through, eyes ruptured, and arms snapped. The storm of blades whipped past like machine-gun fire, effortlessly tearing flesh, piercing organs, and punching clean through the riders. Yet immediately after, the scattered blood was yanked back toward their wounds by an unseen power. Torn flesh knit back together, bloodfire washed over exposed bone, and ruptured organs were restored in a heartbeat. Even the shattered iron breastplates reverted to their original state as if time were rewinding. The radiant emblem of the radiating mycelium continued to swirl with flame, bearing at most an insignificant scratch! Rejecting Death, Returning to Life! Linked by the sacred relic of the Mycelium, all the Knights of Homecoming were now forged into one. Soul, life, blood, spiritus, and strength circulated ceaselessly. Their already sickeningly tough constitution and ridiculously long health bars had undergone a total qualitative change. This was the terrifying amplification the Legacy Burnt Offering bestowed upon the Swarm. Once turned on, it was on; even if turned off, it was still on! Unless reduced entirely to ash and dust, even severed heads and dismembered limbs could knit back together, to say nothing of the limitless boons and buffs provided by the sacrifices. Even if a finger was severed or a man was slain, the fallen's life and spiritus continued to flow through the bodies of the rest. The more they fought, the madder they became; the more they died, the stronger they grew! In a fleeting instant, effortlessly trampling the tide and breaking through the storm, the advancing iron wall of the Knights of Homecoming closed in, hooves thundering, kicking up a gale. Their lingering roar was still echoing. At the very front, a spear swirling with blood light suddenly lengthened and thrust forward! The armor of water vapor proved as fragile as paper. Flesh was pierced with ease. Then, amid wild laughter and battle cries, dozens of spears hoisted up, effortlessly lifting the pincushioned merfolk into midair. Bloodfire erupted like a vortex, breaking it apart and tearing it into a sticky, scarlet downpour that showered down. It painted everyone a vivid crimson. The first was down! Next came the second. Before the dazed merfolk could even react or instinctively whip up another wave, iron hooves rose once more at the tip of the arrowhead formation. Trample! The advancing deluge effortlessly swallowed the thrashing, terrified monster. No wails or hisses were heard, only a bizarre, muffled crunch of flesh mashed into paste echoing from the tremendous crash. Juices splattered. The final, gargantuan merfolk hissed in fury, its lingering cruelty and savagery provoked by the deaths of its kin. Thunder crackled from the blood blades in its four hands as it cleaved down. In that instant, Slan, having discarded his spear, finally drew his blade. Paying no mind to the falling lightning and blood blades, a flash of steel flew from its scabbard, swept across in an arc, and clicked back into place. They crossed paths. Bisected at the waist! The stunned leviathan was severed clean through. A straight fissure appeared across its chest, gushing torrents of blood before being crushed into mincemeat under iron hooves. In a single pass, the three merfolk the Heart Pivot user had counted on as trump cards were all slain. Just as Ji Jue had demanded: exterminate them all! The dispersing knights of the Swarm rippled outward like a wave of destruction. Throwing spears, cavalry sabers, one-handed swords, and throwing axes, all supported by their warhorses, made short work of the marine monsters drifting out of the mist. And even the water ghosts who hadn't had time to flee! In under two minutes, every monster that had broken into Xinquan was slaughtered. Led by Slan, the savage, frenzied knights surged through the breach in the collapsed wall, hurling the trophies in their hands toward the pirates gathered on the distant Long River. Severed heads traced parabolas through the air, dropping onto decks or into the river. Still bearing the marks of hooves and blades, their mangled features were gruesome to behold. Yet after doing all this, the Knights of Homecoming did not press recklessly forward. Forsaking the pursuit, they wheeled about and returned to Xinquan. This left all the pirates, who were braced for a counterattack, freezing in place. Then it hit them, and they were overjoyed! A fierce initial charge was terrifying, but while the ferocity of the Swarm was well known and the extremity of their Legacy Burnt Offerings undeniable, it could never last. Sacrifices were finite! Once the power of their offerings was exhausted, they would have nothing left! "Forward! Get in there! Don't let them get away!" the one-eyed old man roared, barking orders. "Their sacrifices are spent! Don't let them trick you—kill every last one of them!" Instantly, the crazed water ghosts sprinted forward, swarming in. Then they saw Slan, who was riding at the front, let out a sharp whistle. The Knights of Homecoming, who had already reached the front gates, abruptly wheeled around, tracing an arc and countercharging straight into them! And then, amid roars of laughter and battle cries, right before everyone's eyes, they rolled over everything in their path like crushing dry rot! It was as easy as chopping melons and slicing vegetables! The final embers of bloodfire burned violently, flaring with brilliant light. They had actually saved a final burst of vigor just for the enemy. Seeing his Celestial Chosen subordinates cut down left and right before they could even react, the one-eyed pirate felt a twinge of relief that most had been quick enough to scramble back. Yet the sheer cost of their losses made every face twist in agony. "Don't let them go!" The old water ghost nearly ground his teeth to dust. "Kill them! Kill every fucking one of them!" Under the coercion of orders, sorcerous rites, and the bewitching influence of the Heart Pivot, the scattering water ghosts rallied again. Treading on eggshells, they pursued from behind, only to see the ferocious bloodfire gradually dimming like a candle in the wind. Once again, they were overjoyed! Snapping at their heels, they closed in— And then they heard that cheerful whistle ring out from the front once more! The faint spark of bloodfire upon the Knights of Homecoming suddenly roared back to life with savage fury! Amid a thunderous crash that shook the earth, monstrous shadows fell over their stunned, twitching faces. In the final second before being ground into mud under hooves, they only had time to look back and cry out their dying curse: "Captain, I fuck your—" *Crack!* Watching every elite on their vessels crushed to paste amid agonized wails, it wasn't just Old One-Eye—countless others beat their chests, on the verge of weeping tears of blood. Hadn't they said the sacrifices were spent?! How was there still more?! How could there still, still, *still* be more?! Why did the other side's offerings seem completely bottomless?! Why?! Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?! The Knights of Homecoming said nothing. They simply roared as they lopped off head after head and crushed skeleton after skeleton, filled with sheer delight and astonishment. Even they hadn't expected this. It was as if their Sacrificial Lord had taken stimulants—the effect of this mycelium batch was lasting ridiculously long! Not only that, it was so strong, so swollen, so savage. Boundless bloodfire poured ceaselessly into their bodies. They couldn't take it—they were about to burst—no, don't stop! Now, amid the blaze, heavy smoke, light rain, and thunder, the mist seemed to swallow the entire world. So much so that hardly anyone noticed the myriad threads of crimson stretching across the ground. Between the mangled corpses, blood snaked and flowed silently like rivers, cascading over steps and crawling across the mire. Ultimately, countless streams of blood gathered within Xinquan, seeping through cracks in the earth and pouring into the intricate spiritus circuits below. In the end, under the purification of Fluid Alchemy, a continuous stream of blood light was drawn into the ravenous blade. Then, with each vibration of Pan Ying, that blood light radiated outward again, latching onto the bloodfire of the Mycelium before finally pouring into every knight's body. All the blood and life across the battlefield was now being devoured and converted by Pan Ying. Like a universal sacrifice converter, it used the souls and lives of the water ghosts to endlessly replenish the Mycelium's bloodfire! The terrifying compatibility between the sword Pan Ying and the Way of the Swarm far exceeded even Ji Jue's expectations. It was a seamless match made in heaven. Forget about charging protocols, voltages, or frequencies—the differences between sacrifices were ignored entirely. It was completely plug-and-play! Even if the malice and despair within were too thick to use directly without risking backlash, they could just toss it straight to the Sacrificial Lord! Let the Lord digest it, and then hand it down! A stable, complete loop had formed between Pan Ying, the Mycelium, and the Knights of Homecoming. By harvesting countless deaths, it offered a steady stream of sacrifices and blood offerings to the Sacrificial Lord. Moreover, the connection was growing tighter and tighter! From the other side, a sense of exhilaration and delight could be felt, hungrily devouring everything without a shred of discontent. Delicious, loved it, wanted more! The subordinate of Sovereign Virtue—the Sacrificial Lord of the Swarm, devoid of all humanity or mortal perception—actually drew closer to Pan Ying of its own accord, examining it with curiosity. In the dim subterranean space, something seemed to materialize out of thin air. Yet it remained indistinct. Only in the mirror-like reflection of Pan Ying's blade could a hazy, bizarre silhouette wreathed in bloodfire be seen. From afar, it cast a glance toward the mortal realm, then pointed a finger. Straight at Ji Jue. *What kind of weird shit is this?!* Before Ji Jue could react, he heard an illusory *snap*! Immediately after, an emblem of a radiating droplet mycelium abruptly surfaced upon Pan Ying, as if stamped with official approval. Then, a complete set of secret Legacy Burnt Offering rites—detailing how to resonate with the Sacrificial Lord, offer sacrifices, and receive boons—flooded into Ji Jue's mind along the flow of spiritus. The steps were so thorough, the process so lucid, and the essence so profound that it was as if a Celestial-Human of the Swarm had directly imparted complete enlightenment upon him, holding nothing back. Ji Jue's vision went dark; he was utterly baffled. It made no sense! *What the hell? We locked eyes, and you just dragged me onto your boat? Are you kidding me? How did you just bypass the Red States' Red Lord to grant me an official post?* *Wait, bro, I'm an Embers! Don't you check a guy's class before granting skills?!* *You just shoved the top secrets of the Knights of Homecoming right into my lap?* And it was sickeningly detailed, as if terrified he wouldn't understand or might forget, seared directly into his consciousness via spiritus—and wait, did it even come with administrative privileges?! Through Pan Ying, which had suddenly been certified as a holy relic of the Sacrificial Lord, Ji Jue sent a mental impulse and made a slight adjustment. Instantly, the endless streams of blood light shifted as naturally as an extension of his own limbs, speeding up the circulation and cycle even further. Skipping the previous intermediary steps, they achieved complete integration. The friction and interference previously caused by the Law of Heavenly Overseer seemed to vanish in an instant, operating seamlessly. Right after, the bloodfire upon every Knight of Homecoming surged madly, wildly, erupting like a gas burner suddenly dialed to maximum, roaring and belching flame! *Holy shit, so strong! So fierce! So damn good!* Every knight's face flushed a deep crimson, and they instinctively howled at the top of their lungs: *Now this is what I'm talking about!* Yet while everyone was reveling in this sudden, overpowered buff, Slan felt something was amiss. Subconsciously checking his perception, he looked back. "Hm?" "Huh!" "What?!" The moment he looked back, the knight commander's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, leaving him petrified. Far off atop the building in the thin rain, he could only see that figure standing and looking down over the battlefield. And above his head rested a crown outlined by blood light. It was like a creation pieced together from scrap iron, jagged and fiercely majestic. That sight was all too familiar, but the problem was that he only ever saw it during the legion's triennial grand sacrifices, and the person who wore it— "Fuck me, how is there suddenly another Hierophant?!" Feeling that unquestionable authority and control, Slan slipped in his stirrups and nearly tumbled from his horse, his saber almost flying from his grip as his vision swam. In the blink of an eye, how had the client paying the bills suddenly turned into his direct superior?! Then this... wait, is this right? Right? Wrong... right... wait, no, no, right, right, wrong—are you still going to pay the money?! The money still has to be paid! For a moment, tangled thoughts swirled through Slan's head, and he stopped thinking altogether. In any case, it had nothing to do with a grunt like him; let the Hierophant who liked pretending to be an accountant hash it out with Ji Jue. Don't worry about it, and don't ask. If anyone asks, the Sacrificial Lord is awesome, and praise the Swarm! Praise was all that mattered! Instantly, with a twisted grin, Slan drew his blade once more and roared to the heavens: "Praise the Swarm!" At once, a chorus of responses rose like a tide, reverberating endlessly through all of Xinquan. Bloodfire billowed, sending ripples sweeping outward in every direction. *Crack.* A sound of shattering echoed. On the flagship deck of the Blood Cleansing Fleet, empty space ruptured like thunder. Fury raged like wildfire, leaving who knew how many drenched in cold sweat. Pacquiao, gripping the blood banner, had a face dark as iron. To be taunted and provoked repeatedly by a pack of stray dogs like the Knights of Homecoming—even if there were tiers of precedence within the Swarm's legacy, since when had anyone dared clown on him like this after he achieved Exaltation? In the past, he would have cast everything aside and taken the field himself. Yet every time he looked at that figure watching him from atop the building, he felt a prickling chill on his back. Without knowing what was lurking in the shadows, how could he willingly leap into the workshop's domain? And now, those rabble down below were on the verge of collapsing. Wave after wave of weeping, shouting, and pleas for help rolled in. Couldn't they recognize their place, die quietly, and contribute some value?! *Boom!* Another deafening rumble erupted from the hand clutching the spear and blood banner. "Someone beat the drums—" he commanded. "All forces, general assault! Anyone who speaks of retreat dies; anyone who shirks battle dies!" In an instant, hesitant subordinates scrambled to their feet and sprinted off. Soon, four stooped figures draped in black robes were carried up, their limbs maimed, blind and deaf. Yet the moment their hands touched the iron drums, war horns, and bone flutes, they instinctively began beating, blowing, and playing. *Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!* Curling like a serpent, the blood banner stirred the sky. Each time it swayed, it unleashed a roar that shattered the thin rain, sending ripples cascading out again and again. Drums and horns wove through the sound, eerie and shrill, rising to a piercing pitch that scrambled consciousness and perception, while faint, hoarse chanting sounded like agonizing screams. Wailing, trembling, sobbing, begging. Here, a burnt offering was presented to the Lord of Scars! At that moment, under Pacquiao's lethal coercion, every ship captain issued the order for a general assault. Yet before the vanguard could even reach the shallows, the light rain falling from the sky had turned emerald green at some unknown point. Like fire. A rain of fire burned, bearing plumes of emerald toxic flames that blanketed everything, shrouding Xinquan. Nourished by the rain, the corpses seeded with toxic flames suddenly began to twitch and convulse. Pale, milky eyes snapped open, and shattered bodies were seized by an unseen power. Rising again like revived specters! Hundreds, thousands, countless numbers—masses of severed limbs stitched together, birthing even more grotesque forms, alongside bloated giants pieced together from dozens of corpses of beasts and men, and stranger abominations besides. Already lifeless carrion, they now lunged forward with utter fearlessness! Resurrection of the dead, a march of corpses. Even without external aid, Pacquiao alone was enough to conjure a horror of this scale. The only reason he had brought so many people here was to create raw materials! The Knights of Homecoming roared again, charging forward, but this time, the trampled and shattered corpses gathered once more, stitching themselves back together, relentlessly clinging to them without end. Furthermore, that vicious, cold emerald flame worked to expel the Mycelium's blessing, disrupting its flow. The Swarm's burnt offerings and legacies contested against one another. Pacquiao was far more versed in this game than Ji Jue. For a time, Ji Jue could only react passively, watching the situation deteriorate once more. More water ghosts seized the opportunity to push deep inland. Moreover, under this total mobilization, the proportion of Celestial Chosen was startlingly high, posing a far greater threat than before. Unfortunately, even after achieving such massive results, Pacquiao's face bore no trace of triumph; instead, it grew increasingly grim and dark. Bloodshot eyes glared fixedly at Ji Jue and the jagged scrap-iron crown hovering above his head. *It's this little bastard's doing!* The moment he animated the dead, he realized the corpses were completely hollow inside. Life, blood, spiritus—all gone, leaving behind nothing but empty husks. The souls of the offerings he had seeded and converted with toxic flames to present to the Lord of Scars had all been reduced to wretched, incomplete scraps. The tribute laid upon the altar had been picked clean by some unknown dog in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only fruit pits and splintered bones to draw the Sacrificial Lord's wrath. If the Lord of Scars had hands, he wouldn't have hesitated to slap Pacquiao across the face twice: *Is this the shit you bring to honor your master?! Do you still want to get rich? Do you have an ounce of reverence left in your heart?!* A Sacrificial Lord merged with Sovereign Virtue never worked for free. Far from giving handouts, their harsh cruelty exceeded that of mere abominations. If the sacrifices were gone, then new ones had to be found! Beneath Pacquiao's armor, the overlapping scars of all sizes across his back were shrinking and fading at a pace visible to the naked eye. Those were offerings fashioned from countless deaths and wounds he had gathered over years—used properly, they were his blood bags and spiritus reserves, his trump cards for bursts and comebacks. Now he was forced to dump them onto these cannon fodder, and he couldn't even stop! The Lord of Scars was notoriously merciless; how could he be easy to appease? He wasn't your father, to come and go at your beck and call. The moment he arrived, you had to pay up—he'd even bill you for the time spent crying! Even if they slaughtered everything in this hollow shell of Xinquan, how much could he possibly recoup? "Everyone, charge!" Pacquiao roared, bloodfire flaring anew as he stoked the emerald flames. "Take Xinquan within fifteen minutes, or face execution!" The harsh blood pact he had previously withheld out of consideration for the others' wariness was now activated directly. Countless captains grunted, glaring furiously behind them, yet no matter how reluctant, they had to leave their ships and lead their squads in a charge toward Xinquan. Driving straight in! They clashed head-on in bloody slaughter against the Knights of Homecoming and the soldiers in heavy exoskeletons. At the same time, the flutes controlling the sea beasts and monsters grew sharper, their melodies shifting and frequently breaking into screeches, summoning more monstrosities while the grating noise rang in the ears of every conscious being, torturing their minds. The Heart Pivot hiding in the shadows was finally making its move. Additionally, a White Stag covered in tattoos dropped from the sky with a thunderous crash. Up in the heavens, lightning and fire erupted violently, and amid heavy layers of protection, an emaciated, dark-skinned Entropy user began channeling thunder, unleashing relentless strikes. They held nothing back. "Finally getting serious, huh?" Ji Jue sighed softly. On the surface, there was one Exaltation and three Regenerations. In the past, taking a small town like Xinquan would have been as easy as turning over a hand. Too bad they picked the wrong place. "Alright folks, break time's over," Ji Jue murmured. "Time to turn up the pressure on him." The moment his words fell, the thunder abruptly ceased, electrical arcs dissipated, and a delayed scream rippled outward. Surrounded by water ghosts, the emaciated woman controlling the thunder and fire suddenly stumbled. She collapsed to the ground. She looked around in a daze, having no idea what had happened, only feeling an creeping chill in her chest. Only when she looked down did she see cracks spreading across the alchemical gear around her neck. At some point, a gaping hole had pierced clean through her chest, wisps of smoke and sparks rising from scorched flesh. Her heart was already gone! Uncle Lin. Having lurked in the shadows for a long time, the moment he heard Ji Jue's voice, a wisp of smoke trailed along the stench of ionized air. Across several hundred meters, a hand materialized from thin air, effortlessly plucking out the woman's heart and pulling it back. Then, *pop*! Casually closing his fingers, he crushed the charred heart to dust. Dead! The moment the battle began, he had followed convention by instantly taking out the Entropy user who posed the greatest threat and was the easiest to kill, scoring first blood! Immediately after, he dispersed into thick smoke. The smoke gathered and parted unpredictably, flitting in every direction. Each time the specter materialized within the mist, another heart or head appeared in his grip. This Regeneration form was simply too well-suited for chaotic melee and assassination! So long as he wasn't facing a natural counter like an Entropy user or an expert capable of taking him down in a single pass, he could easily keep enemies tangled up endlessly. Even if he couldn't secure kills, stalling for time was effortless. The personnel of the Wild Gathering had finally entered the fray at the crucial moment. Of course, expecting the White Stag to be as disciplined as Tianyuan or to coordinate as tightly as the Swarm was wishful thinking. Besides, why bother with micromanagement? There was no need. Once the KPIs and assignments were set, unleash them like wild dogs and leave them be—they'd bring back heads on their own! In these few short minutes, the entirety of Xinquan was swallowed in smoke and flame, shuddering and crumbling continuously. Amid the rumbling, a trace of dust fell from above. "Master Tom, you're up." Gou Er bowed, flashing a flattering smile. "The boss said if you solve the problem, there'll be plenty more where that came from." "Heh!" Old Tom rolled his eyes. "Now you think of me? Huh? Huh?!" "Too late!" "Way too damn late!" After being strung along like a hook-jawed carp by Ji Jue for half a month, even the most devoted simp would have realized something was off. Why was this punk all talk and no action?! Just like a scumbag who pulled up his pants after getting what he wanted, answering every inquiry with, *Oh, I'll break up with her as soon as possible,* or *You have to give me a little time to prepare,* or *If love endures through eternity, what does a brief separation matter?* Day after day of brushing him off had chilled a burning heart to the bone, shedding who knew how many tears. And now you come running to tell me you really care about me, that you only did it so we could be together in the future—do I believe that?! I'd have to be fucking crazy to believe you! "That's my senior out there, a brother in arms who walks the same Way of the Swarm!" Old Tom shouted in vehement accusation. "Add more money!" "You got it." Gou Er nodded. *Clink!* A gold coin was slammed onto the table. Before Old Tom could speak, Gou Er slammed down another, and then another— After three coins, meeting Old Tom's eager, expectant gaze, Gou Er smiled warmly and stopped. "Master Tom, the boss said an advance is no problem, and the final payment definitely won't be delayed." He paused, then reminded him, "However, our factory really likes tracking performance." Seeing Old Tom about to argue, he lowered his voice to add another reminder: "Look, with the fighting outside so fierce, if you delay too long and all the heads get swiped by others, wouldn't that be a massive loss? Besides, don't you know the boss's character? Would he ever welsh on a debt?" *It's precisely because I fucking know your boss's character that I know he isn't even human!* Stroking the three gold coins, Old Tom hesitated several times. In the end, he could only snort coldly, sweep them off the table, and stand up reluctantly. "For this piddling amount of cash, I'm working one night for you guys at most!" "Much appreciated, Master Tom, thank you for your trouble." Gou Er smiled, bowing and scraping as he saw Old Tom out the door. Just before he took off, Gou Er suddenly raised a finger, pointing toward the flagship of the Blood Cleansing Fleet: "The boss also said, as long as you can stall him, ten coins—" Seeing Old Tom whip his head around, he hurriedly tacked on one more word: "—minimum." *Boom!* Before the words faded, his vision blurred. With a sharp *whoosh*, Old Tom had vanished into thin air. As if evaporated from the mortal realm. The only thing visible was a blood-red vapor trail streaking out from Haian Industries. Like an unannounced volcanic eruption, the billowing tail of flame stretched endlessly across the air, rocketing forward in a straight line between two points, precise to the centimeter. Sweeping Clouds! Smashing through walls, leveling buildings, cleaving down anyone in his path! Those who were torn apart didn't even have time to react. A moment later, amid the erupting tempest, countless bricks, broken tiles, minced flesh, and wreckage blasted skyward with the shockwave. In that very instant, Old Tom had already crashed into the Blood Cleansing Fleet's flagship like a meteorite. He was now inches away from the 'beloved kin' and 'brother in arms' he had just spoken of. Instantly, his lips parted in a broad grin, radiating warmth and earnest enthusiasm. Then, swinging his blades, spears, swords, and halberds, he leapt without hesitation straight at the old bastard's skull! "Old dog, how dare you harm my foster father!"