An hour later, the red light appeared in Earth's atmosphere.
Its original destination was clearly Huaxia, but because Huaxia had already been transformed into a grotto-heaven, all that remained on Earth was a massive crater covered in barriers.
The red light paused for a moment, then veered off toward the Meilong Empire.
Seeing this, Yu Xian let out a humorless laugh. Edward's primary target truly had been Huaxia. If Huaxia hadn't become a grotto-heaven, what followed would have been catastrophic.
At the same time, a fierce resolve hardened in Yu Xian's heart: if he ever grew strong enough to match Edward, Edward had to die!
The Meilong Empire.
The capital, Gehuakesishengdun.
Suddenly, a five-meter-tall black crucifix, composed entirely of three grotesque skeletons, plummeted from the sky.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, the crucifix slammed into the most bustling thoroughfare.
Dark clouds swiftly gathered overhead, turning day into night in the blink of an eye, and a suffocating aura permeated the air.
Pandemonium erupted instantly. Cars swerved to avoid the crucifix and crashed straight into roadside storefronts. Several Transcendents dashed toward the crucifix to clear the obstruction, but the instant they touched it, dense webs of cracks spread across their bodies. With shrill screams, they detonated into pieces.
Numerous bystanders were hit by the spraying blood and collapsed, their gruesome deaths resembling direct hits from shotguns; many even had their skulls blown clear off.
Watching this through the eyeball bubbles scattered across the area, Yu Xian couldn't help drawing a sharp breath. Earlier, he had contemplated teleporting the Star Divine Artifact somewhere else, but now it was clear that forget teleporting—merely touching it would result in a horrific death.
At that moment, a crimson glow descended slowly from the storm clouds and came to rest atop the crucifix.
The red light gradually formed a massive cape, and Edward finally revealed his true appearance. He looked completely different from the footage in older videos.
In those past recordings, he had appeared short, scrawny, effeminate, and squinty-eyed.
Now, Edward stood over 1.9 meters tall, imposing and straight-backed, his crimson pupils radiating an intensely oppressive light that struck terror into all who saw him.
"Supreme Man, come out!" Edward shouted, gazing into the distance.
The Meilong Empire's policy was that mortals governed mortals, while Transcendents enjoyed total autonomy so long as they did not disrupt mortal affairs—which effectively meant survival of the fittest.
Under these circumstances, many Transcendents banded together into factions.
Among them, the Supreme League led by Supreme Man was the most powerful. In truth, the real ruler of the Meilong Empire was not the president, but Supreme Man.
Following Edward's shout, figures appeared atop surrounding rooftops, and several alighted on streetlights.
Clad in a blue-and-red suit, Supreme Man descended slowly from the sky, hovering before Edward.
He possessed superpowers such as Super Brain, super physique, super strength, super speed, super self-healing, super internal organs, super lifespan, super stamina, super force field, and a super steel body. What was more, he could grow stronger by absorbing sunlight and moonlight. It was fair to say he was the being closest to the God rank in the Meilong Empire.
"Edward, you have chosen the wrong path. Now, you must face the consequences!"
Supreme Man looked at Edward with a stern expression, the sun emblem on his chest radiating dazzling light.
To his surprise, however, Edward showed no signs of discomfort when bathed in the brilliance. The light emitted by the sun emblem shared the same origin as real sunlight.
By all logic, Edward should have been screaming and begging for mercy.
Looking at Supreme Man, Edward sneered, "How foolish. A fake sun dares to dream of harming a true god?"
Yet since Supreme Man had made a move, Edward certainly would not hold back.
He appeared before Supreme Man in an instant, swinging a sword formed of blood at him. Supreme Man frowned slightly, raising both hands to block, only for both hands to be severed immediately by the blood blade.
"My hands!" Supreme Man cried in shock.
He possessed a super steel body; the last time he had suffered an injury was centuries ago.
Just as Edward moved to cleave Supreme Man in two, a silver figure rushed over at blistering speed, bounding off the surrounding buildings.
Bullet Train Man!
When he first acquired his transcendent power, his speed had roughly matched a high-speed train, earning him the moniker Bullet Train Man. In reality, his current speed had long since surpassed that, reaching Mach 250.
Whoosh!
Bullet Train Man flashed to Edward's flank, splashing holy water toward him, and in the next instant materialized on Edward's other side, flinging garlic at him.
It was common knowledge that Edward feared neither silver nor crosses, but was vulnerable to the sun, holy water, and garlic.
With dark clouds veiling the sky, the only things Bullet Train Man could think to use were holy water and garlic. He assumed Edward would let go of Supreme Man and dodge to avoid them, only to find Edward making no move to evade at all—instead merely staring back at him with cold disdain.
Not good!
Panic seized Bullet Train Man. He tried to dart out of Edward's attack range, but before he could even move, his body was cleaved in two by the blood sword.
"Aaaargh!"
Bullet Train Man's upper torso crashed to the ground, letting out a bloodcurdling scream.
Still, Supreme Man had indeed bought enough reaction time for the others. A barrage of miniature missiles slammed into Edward's back, only to be stopped cold by his crimson cape.
Hovering in the air in powered armor, Ironclad Man spoke with a cynical drawl, "Tough luck. You're dealing with Ironclad Man now. I suggest you throw down your arms and surrender. Sunlight Woman, go get the wounded!"
Dense swarms of armored suits flew in from all directions, locking their missiles onto Edward.
Yu Xian could kill Transcendents with bombs, but the missiles mounted on these suits were more than ten times as destructive as Yu Xian's bombs. If this many missiles struck simultaneously, even a Dragon-rank powerhouse would be gravely wounded.
"..."
Edward had been splashed with holy water, pelted with garlic, and now bombarded with missiles.
Though he no longer feared holy water or garlic, and the missiles had all been blocked by his blood-red cape, the disrespect annoyed him to no end.
Blue veins bulged slightly on his forehead. With a single thought, the Demon Cross resting down on the street teleported behind him. Its trajectory happened to pass right through the space where Ironclad Man hovered; by the time anyone realized what happened, Ironclad Man had already been obliterated into a cloud of blood mist.
All the superheroes present froze. Then, they noticed the crucifix behind Edward. The eyes of the demon and mummies slowly opened, releasing an indescribably immense pressure.
The air seemed to congeal. The surrounding buildings could not withstand the oppressive force, their window panes and walls cracking one after another.
"Run!"
Green Titan was the first to react, roaring in terror.
The moment he finished yelling, he turned and fled. Before the other superheroes could even process the situation, the crucifix behind Edward erupted with scarlet energy.
This blood-red energy surged straight into the heavens, coalescing along the pillar of energy into a colossal specter of the Grim Reaper.
Edward's eyes flashed with red light. Overflowing with murderous intent, he sneered, "Ants, this is the price for offending a new god—Soul-Reaping Blood Scythe!"
With a wave of his hand, the colossal Reaper wielding an immeasurably massive scythe swung its blade outward in a wide circle.
Rumble!
The scythe unleashed an expanding ring of crimson light.
The surrounding buildings were the first to crumble, and everyone sheltering inside was instantly eradicated.
A black stone giant stepped in front of many superheroes, gritting his teeth. "Get out of here! I'll hold it off!"
In the next second, the red light swept past. The stone giant shattered into pieces. Before he could utter any final words, a second wave of red light washed over him, annihilating his body into nothingness, leaving not a trace behind.
"Bedrock Man!"
Many superheroes could hardly believe that Bedrock Man, renowned for his defense, had died just like that.
Also choosing to stand his ground in the red light was Adamantine Badger, a superhero possessing extreme regenerative abilities. Roaring, he launched a charge, only for the red light to sweep over him. His flesh and blood dissolved instantly, leaving behind not even his superalloy bones.
"Oh, God, run!"
Superheroes fled wildly across the rooftops. Though Supreme Man had lost both hands, he flew with extraordinary speed and led the flight, leaving a long trail of blood in his wake.
Yet most superheroes could not outpace the expanding crimson light, and were swept up by the red waves, dying with agonized screams.
The red light expanded at terrifying speed. Lovers mid-kiss, mothers who had just given birth, families celebrating a child's birthday, couples at their weddings—countless people caught a glimpse of incoming crimson light in their final moments, and everything froze in that last fraction of a second.
In just one minute, the entire capital of the Meilong Empire—everything within its more than 5,300 square kilometers—was flattened to the ground.
High in the sky, numerous tiny eyeball bubbles witnessed the catastrophe, their pupils trembling slightly in response to Yu Xian's emotions. With a single strike, a metropolis of tens of millions had been wiped off the face of the earth.
Rivers of blood. The slaughter of countless living beings.
At this moment, Yu Xian finally gained a visceral understanding of what those words truly meant—and how horrific they were when brought into reality.
Chapter 177