Maybe too many bizarre things had happened recently, truly overwhelming to the senses, because faced with Crow-Eye's strange regenerative ability, Porty didn't say anything further, simply accepting the fact with surprise.
Freed up, Crow-Eye quickly helped the others kill Sword Saint Yingfeng and the old Night Devil, then rushed to the final battlefield.
There, they saw the terrifying, colossal metal structure resembling a pearl crown, covered in dense, needle-like tubes that seemed to move with a life of their own.
"Crow-Eye! Hurry!"
Numerous tubes moved nimbly, firmly blocking Xavier from crossing the boundary.
His body was already covered in numerous horrific wounds, yet the young man still desperately charged forward, sprinting toward a certain pearl tower.
"The Tree of Life!"
Above the pearl crown, the enormous Tree of Life's roots had already spread across the entire plaza. Its massive branches blocked out the sky, visible from almost anywhere in the imperial capital.
On the main trunk, there was shockingly a dark red orb of light, from which numerous blood vessels spread out like a growth on a tree.
At the center of the dark red orb, a twisted and crazed face could be vaguely seen.
"Rin... utterly useless!"
Upon seeing Crow-Eye and the others approach, a flicker of anger crossed the face.
Immediately after, a terrifying soul storm erupted violently. Even more tendrils descended from the giant Tree of Life, lunging toward Crow-Eye and the others.
Many resistance members who couldn't dodge in time had their bodies invaded by the tendrils, then lost their souls, collapsing like lifeless husks.
"At a time like this... even if death comes the very next second, there is nothing to fear..."
Crow-Eye forcefully pushed Porty aside, revealing the black serpent seal on his back.
"Final Seal... Release!"
"Hiss..."
Surging black energy currents materialized, and the enormous Hundred-Serpent Monster reappeared, though it looked considerably more ethereal than the last time.
"Sacrifice all my life force… Eradicate it!"
Drop by drop, beads of black blood seeped from Wu Yan's pores, continuously merging into the horrifying monster's body below.
"Hsss…"
After receiving the nourishment, the Hundred-Serpent Monster's body rapidly solidified. Powerful energy spheres gathered within its serpentine maw.
"Bury you!!!!"
Hundreds of energy spheres fused together, and the terrifying annihilation black hole from before reappeared!
Even ordinary soul tendrils began to disintegrate before the black hole, inadvertently saving the lives of the survivors.
Facing such an attack, even the Aragon King, who had merged into the Luminous Tree of Life, had to treat it with caution. The colossal Tree of Life seemed to contract slightly.
Vast soul energy surged outward, forming a thick wall of defense.
The edge of the black hole collided with the dense wall. In an instant, terrifying energies clashed violently, and fierce explosions erupted.
When the dust settled, the thick Soul Wall had shattered — but the Luminous Tree of Life still stood proudly there, completely unscathed. It was utterly despairing!
"I have already fused with the Tree of Life! And now I have completed the first stage of soul collection! In this entire world, no one can destroy me anymore…"
The dark red tree boughs heaved with labored breaths, and before Wu Yan and the others, the furious, roaring visage of the Aragon King materialized.
"What I collected before was only the soul energy within the imperial capital's range, yet it was enough to reach this level… Next… I will truly root the Tree of Life into the earth, replacing the original planetary axis. I will extend my branches across the entire world!"
The Aragon King's soul projection was brimming with excitement, tinged with an undercurrent of madness.
"Fear me! Tremble! Flee for your lives! If you're lucky… perhaps you'll survive until the final moment, and witness the arrival of the end together with me… No! The arrival of a new world!"
The Aragon King declared.
And as his voice echoed, the Luminous Tree of Life in the void instantly expanded. Terrifying roots plunged into the earth, covering the entire palace grounds in an instant.
The converters housing the twelve luminous pearls struggled to operate at full capacity. Several of the young women already showed expressions of exhaustion, blood seeping from their seven orifices.
"Jia'er! Jia'er!"
Shavier roared in frenzy; never had a day come when he felt himself so cowardly. So powerless.
Crack! Crack!
Faint tears began to appear on the ground, as if the roots of the Luminous Tree of Life were ceaselessly spreading outward, seizing control of the entire capital in mere seconds.
At the same time, its canopy expanded endlessly, blotting out the sky and connecting with the world's magic web. A terrifying pulling force radiated ceaselessly into the outside world.
Not just the city, and not just humans. Any sentient being, at this very moment, was having the Shadow Magic Web implanted within them, controlling them and draining away their very souls!
"The Luminous Tree of Life's growth has three stages. The first is regional, the second is spreading across the entire world, and the third is the true fusion into a god!"
Clifford stepped forward. "This is the final secret my brother, Jannar, told me before he died! In the second and third stages, the enemy is invincible. To defeat it, we can only act now..."
"Even as it expands, the enemy has protected the Twelve-Type Converters very well. That must be its weak point!"
Portie nodded.
"Young man, the world needs you! And now, let us old folks create a chance for the future!"
Clifford stood at the forefront, with other survivors behind him.
"Indeed..."
Wuyan, already on the verge of collapse, also struggled to his feet. "Even with the protection of our bloodline power, it is difficult for us to escape the cleansing of the final magic web... Therefore, we can only make one last gamble!"
"Listen, Shavier! We will combine our strength to create an opening for you! Your task is to charge in and destroy the Twelve-Type Converters! Remember, do not attempt to attack the Life Tree—it is an existence on an entirely different level from you!"
Wuyan smiled at Shavier. "Didn't you want to save your sister? Then you might as well save the world at the same time!"
"Here we go!"
Clifford lunged forward, facing the mass of soul tendrils and needle-like siphons, and activated a silvery-white metal plate on his body.
"The Empire's latest technology, an anti-spatial pulse bomb! Let's hope it's of some use!"
In his final smile, Clifford's body dissolved into a cloud of powder, clearing a swath of area at the same time.
"Old man, wait for me!"
Another soldier with a grim expression charged forward and detonated himself with equal abandon. This spirit of self-sacrifice made Xavier clench his fists tightly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid the chain of explosions, a makeshift path carved out of human lives was forced open.
"Excellent… Their soul barrier from before is obviously struggling to recover after being broken. Our chances have grown a little…"
Crow Eye yanked Xavier to his feet, and the hundred-headed serpent charged into the metal tower's perimeter.
Clatter!
Countless terrifying needle-like siphons lunged toward them like enraged beasts, carrying the roar of the Tree of Life.
At that moment, one after another of the elite blood descendants rushed forward in silence, paving the way to victory with their lives.
Ssss!
A barrage of thin needles sank into the hundred-headed serpent. The horrifying sharpness caused the creature's body to wither rapidly, quickly reducing it to skin and bones. Even Crow Eye, who shared its vital bond, lost all color from his face.
"No! Why does it have to be this way?"
Xavier felt tears blur his vision as hot streams surged ceaselessly within him.
"You think we're doing this for you? No! We're doing this for this world!"
Through the endless sacrifices, the distance to the pearlescent dais kept shrinking… twenty meters! Ten meters! Five meters!
When they drew this close, Emperor Aragorn was clearly enraged. A terrifying soul shockwave surged toward them, accompanied by a mass of soul tendrils.
"Crow Eye! I accept your proposal…"
At that moment, Portie stepped forward, her back turned to Crow Eye as she spoke.
Then she leapt off the serpent's back. In midair, a pair of brilliant jade-green butterfly wings unfurled from behind her, radiant and beautiful.
A layer of emerald light shimmered into existence — faint and fragile, yet holding firm with unyielding resolve.
The Tree of Life's attack was like the palm of a demon lord, yet here a delicate butterfly danced beneath its malevolent power, burning with the final brilliance of life.
Thanks to Bodi's sacrifice, Shawell and Blackeye finally reached the Type-12 Converter. Every pore on Jielle's face inside the colossal pearl was clearly visible.
"Shawell! You can only rely on yourself in life! The Mother Sovereign is far too lofty and removed — hoping for her to descend with mercy is something only pitiful, self-loathing people do…"
Blackeye turned his back to Shawell and spoke rapidly. "This is my final realization! That's why… the only ones who can save us, the human race, are ourselves! Go! Give it everything you've got!"
"Aragorn!!! Go to hell!!!!"
Amid that roar, Blackeye's body dissolved into light and merged into the Hundred-Serpent Behemoth, becoming Shawell's last line of defense.
"Everyone… everyone…"
Tears streamed down his eyes beyond any hope of stopping, yet Shawell did not hesitate for even a moment.
He knew — he could not afford to waste the chance that everyone had bought with their own sacrifices!
The Serpent Fang Fist erupted with terrifying force. Behind him, a Black Mandala flower bloomed in full, and he swiftly dispatched every remaining obstacle to stand at last before Jielle himself.
"Stop right there…………"
A horrifying soul wave surged from behind, but Shawell did not look back — because someone he could trust was still standing in the way.
"Hell with your Empire!"
A terrifying surge of dark energy suddenly blazed into existence in Shawell's hand.
"Hell with your plan!"
The radiance of the Black Mandala flower washed over him in an instant, pushing the energy within his body to its absolute peak.
"Hell with your Aragorn!!! All of you — go to!!!!"
Amid that roar, Shawell threw the most powerful punch of his life!