"My Lord? Have you reached a decision?"
Before Faisal, the figure cloaked in black energy was filled with indescribable smugness.
Being able to coerce the leader of an organization as powerful as the Ouroboros Circle — the feeling was truly intoxicating. Watching the other party's expression of helpless struggle only deepened his secret delight.
Not to mention, if this operation succeeded, it would mean another merit upon returning — perhaps enough to earn him rewards he had never dared imagine before!
"Reporting, my Lord!"
At that moment, a high-ranking Warlock pushed open the door and strode in, utterly ignoring the black-energy figure's presence, and began his report: "The operation went smoothly! Seven traitors have been captured, twelve killed! The magical array's energy source is intact — only 2.75% was lost..."
"What is the meaning of this?" The envoy's voice immediately turned cold.
"What it means? Exactly what you see!"
A cold smile suddenly appeared on Faisal's face. In the blink of an eye, he materialized directly before the black-energy figure, seized it by the throat, and lifted it off the ground.
"You dare do this! The Lords outside will not let you get away with it!" Yet at this point, the figure actually became eerily calm.
"I look forward to it!" Faisal nodded, saying with perfect seriousness: "Did you think that being in a mental projection state meant I couldn't do anything to you? Then you were gravely mistaken!"
The moment those words left his mouth, he saw the expression on the figure's blurred face change dramatically. He gave a cold laugh: "Pity — it's already too late!"
BOOM! A torrent of blue lightning immediately surged through the black-energy figure before him, causing its head to explode like a watermelon.
"Washed by such chaotic data streams, even the real body's Sea of Consciousness will suffer irreversible damage!"
Faisal sighed, speaking slowly.
"My Lord is wise!" The Warlock who had just entered immediately bowed low.
"It's nothing — just a small trick, of no consequence in the grand scheme of things!" Faisal sighed. "The Ouroboros Circle is my home. It is the foundation upon which all of us — Warlocks of the Komoin Giant Snake bloodline — depend. Though I deeply desire the power to control it, I would never destroy it..."
...
BANG!
Outside the city, upon hearing the devastating news — and watching one of his contacts' heads burst apart before his very eyes — the green-haired
"Release the war colossus Cogas immediately!"
"But, my Lord..." An attendant beside him tried to protest, but the green-haired Wizard cut him off: "I have the authority. I will explain to the other Lords afterward. But right now, I want those obstinate Warlocks to pay in blood!"
"Guu guu..."
As the order to unleash the war colossus was given, the Warlocks fighting on the front lines immediately heard a bizarre roar.
It sounded like the beat of a broken drum — accompanied by heavy, labored breathing. It was utterly muffled and oppressive, carrying a suffocating weight.
BANG!
BANG!
The ground began to tremble. The mere footsteps alone were enough to make the entire city shudder. Just how terrifying must this creature's tonnage be?
Faisal's heart sank. He quickly rose to the highest vantage point.
And there he saw it — a colossal beast standing on four legs, a sharp horn protruding from its head. Its height had already reached the airship fleet. The massive airships were all signaling with flags to climb higher or dodge aside, clearing a path for the creature.
RUMBLE! As the colossus drew closer, its overwhelming aura pressed down so hard that Faisal could barely breathe.
When the war colossus finally halted outside headquarters, Faisal felt as though he were gazing upon an entire mountain range!
"Guu guu..." The war colossus Cogas roared in fury. A terrifying shockwave swept outward first, and the violent wind pressure sent the battlefield into utter chaos, sending soldiers and horses tumbling.
"Morning Star! A Morning Star-level high-energy creature!"
Faisal's face was rigid, his fingers clenched so tight they nearly drew blood. "This purge must have truly enraged them — to think they'd deploy one of their ultimate weapons, something reserved for the final great war!"
On the other side, the attacking force that had unsealed the war colossus was not faring much better.
"My Lord! Is it really appropriate to unseal it like this? We haven't completed the final calibrations... And many of our allies have already been injured by it..."
A Wizard said with a bitter smile, gazing up at the enormous Cogas, feeling a heavy weight settle in his chest.
This beast was no natural creature — it was a laboratory creation engineered by a Morning Star Wizard. Even its daily food consumption alone was enough to make a Morning Star Wizard weep at the cost!
When not in use, the creature was kept in an ice-sealed state. The Morning Star Wizard who had created it had even declared that even a large Wizard organization, if it attempted to maintain Cogas without restraint, would inevitably be eaten into bankruptcy!
Of course, with such enormous consumption came corresponding value.
This war colossus possessed constitution that had already reached the Morning Star tier. Combined with its colossal frame, terrifying defensive capabilities, and regenerative ability, any fortress was a joke before it.
Moreover, because its intelligence had been sealed, even a third-tier Wizard could barely control it — vastly expanding its practical utility.
After feeling his pride wounded, the green-haired Wizard had immediately unsealed the war colossus.
"Rest assured! Since the other Lords have entrusted its control to me, they have already authorized its use!" The green-haired Wizard leader clapped his hands.
"And furthermore — this is our final probe! Only Morning Star-level combat power can match a war colossus. Since we've made our move, let us now see what cards the Ouroboros Circle can play!"
RUMBLE! "Guu guu..."
Amid the roaring, the war colossus advanced on legs like celestial pillars, drawing ever closer to the light barrier defense.
Countless Warlocks, eyes red with desperation, poured every spell they had into the assault.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Frost, lightning, corrosion, flame — a barrage of attacks detonated against the war colossus Cogas, yet none could halt its steady advance.
Even the occasional third-tier spell that penetrated its defenses inflicted damage so negligible against its titanic body that the Warlocks could only despair.
The creature's wounds were even healing rapidly as it walked. By the time it reached the light barrier, its entire body was completely unscathed.
They couldn't win by fighting, and a war of attrition was equally hopeless — they would simply be ground to death. This anguish left the Warlocks hollow-eyed and lost, as though the end of the world had arrived.
In stark contrast, the enemy Wizards, emboldened by the war colossus, burned with fierce fighting spirit. They pushed the front line forward step by step, using the colossus as their anchor to systematically cut down any Warlocks who dared approach.
"If this continues, even the stored energy in all of our Wizard Towers might not be enough to outlast them..."
Faisal's face was so dark it could have dripped ink. He snarled into his Arcane Imprint: "Activate the Komoin Golem — I need your authorization!"
"Approved!" "Approved!" "Approved!"...
The voices of Luci and the others responded immediately, each bearing their unique sigils.
"Two-thirds majority approval obtained. Komoin Golem activated!" A mechanical voice announced.
Then, a powerful wave of energy swept across the entire battlefield.
Countless Wizards and Warlocks watched in astonishment as the enormous Komoin statue that had stood before the headquarters gate like a mere ornament suddenly shattered its stone eyes, revealing massive yellow gemstones within — and searing beams of light shot outward!
CRACK! CRACK!
Sheets of stone shell fell away. The two already massive statues seemed to shed an outer layer, their forms swelling rapidly, reaching half the height of the war colossus in the blink of an eye.
"Hiss hiss..."
The colossal black Komoin Giant Snake roared, unleashing vibrations that had reached the absolute limit of the third tier.
"Two statues at the peak of the third tier — each one comparable to a Morning Star avatar! Is that still not enough?" Faisal's eyes were bloodshot. "Fuse!"
VMM! At the apex of headquarters, the light orb governing the defenses trembled violently, splitting off a beam of energy that plunged into the crowns of both giant serpents.
The two serpents roared and intertwined with each other, black light membranes enveloping their bodies. When they rose again, their energy had broken through the Morning Star threshold, matching the war colossus in power!
"Guu guu..." The eye beneath Cogas's horn lost its lazy demeanor for the first time, fixing on its near-equal opponent with unmistakable wariness.
"Hiss hiss..."
Before it stood a colossal twin-headed serpent. Both heads flicked crimson forked tongues, and savage light gleamed from their yellow eyes.
"A puppet golem crafted in imitation of the legendary 'Twin Serpents of the Apocalypse,' possessing Morning Star-level power! This is the Ouroboros Circle's final trump card!"
Frey gazed at the twin-headed black serpent from afar, her expression complicated.
For a final weapon of such devastation to be deployed on the very first day — could it be that the Ouroboros Circle's dominion over this land was about to come to an end?
An ominous premonition suddenly descended upon Frey and the other high-ranking Warlocks.
"Hiss hiss..."
Facing an enemy far larger than itself, the Twin Serpents of the Apocalypse struck first. It reared its enormous tail and swept it toward Cogas!
CRACK!
The beast, as vast as a mountain range, was sent flying by the tail strike. Its four limbs left the ground as it traced a massive arc through the air before crashing into the distance.
RUMBLE! Like a meteorite impact! The war colossus's colossal frame hit the ground and immediately triggered a magnitude-eight earthquake. The earth's crust buckled deeply inward.
Nearby allied forces that failed to dodge in time were caught in the devastation, crushed to pulp beneath Cogas's body. The entire allied battle line descended into chaos.
"Guu guu..." The war colossus, now lying in the crater, roared as massive sparks of energy converged upon its horn.
"Hiss hiss..."
The Twin Serpents of the Apocalypse engaged the war colossus without the slightest fear, its slender serpentine body coiling around the beast layer upon layer...