Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 230 The Death of the Witch
The sky remained shrouded in thick, inky black fog, as if a hand were covering the world, rejecting all light.

The residual flames of the magic bomb at the epicenter illuminated the entire valley as if it were the beginning of purgatory.

"Xiao——!"

In its final moments, the Mother Nest uttered a mournful cry that tore the heavens and earth apart.

The blazing flames pierced the earth's surface, burning a path straight to the abyss, with scorched earth and corpses paving the way, and the embers of the fire still burning.

The gates of hell have been opened wide.

The thick fog lingered, the spores were like glue, and the air was filled with the stench of blood, decay, and mysterious whispers.

"No need for further explanation." Duke Edmund rode forward at the forefront, his blue and silver cloak billowing wildly, his long shield engraved with the family crest.

He turned to look at the knights behind him: "May the blood of each of you bring light to humanity's tomorrow."

Hundreds of knights responded in hushed tones behind him, their voices converging into a chant:
"For Your Majesty!"

"For the Empire!"

"For all those who sacrificed their lives! And for those who did not die!"

The sounds of metal clashing were like a rain shower, the screech of armor rubbing together, and battle aura surged through the air like a wildfire.

Arthur quietly drew the light blade, its edge gleaming pale gold in the black mist.

On the other side, Gaius squinted, watching the massive, twisted, still-breathing mother nest.

He slowly grinned, and crimson battle aura rose from his body like flames from a furnace.

In that instant, his entire body was covered in crimson heavy armor that looked like wrought iron, making him look like a steel war god emerging from a volcano!

[Bloodline Talent: Undying Charge] Activated!
Gaius gained near-invincible resilience for a short period of time, but this also consumed a huge amount of his battle aura.

The ground shook beneath his feet, and the earth cracked.

Without hesitation, it crashed into the closed spore membrane passage. With a deafening shockwave, insect corpses flew everywhere, the flesh wall collapsed, and the final nest was violently shaken open.

As he advanced, deep red streaks were left on the ground, like the tracks of death!

"Hurry up!!" The knight behind roared as he charged forward, with scalding splattered spores and burning limbs flying behind him.

On the other side—

"Bloodline Talent: War Gravity".

Edmund spoke quietly, and an icy blue battle aura emanated from his body, as if freezing time itself.

The air hummed, and the swarm of insect corpses suddenly turned towards him as if drawn by some magnetic pole!
Boom!Boom!Boom!
The immense force struck the giant shield he had raised, shattering the blue light, which then quickly reformed.

He remained motionless, letting dozens of corpse monsters surge towards him, managing to hold back the entire flank with his own strength.

"Get through here quickly!" he roared, his voice like steel, shattering the shrieks of the insect corpses.

The knights brushed past each other, their eyes filled with unspeakable respect.

Arthur, clad in silver armor, charged relentlessly, like a slumbering sword.

But in his eyes, the flashing blue light had already marked and calculated all possible routes ahead, enemy movements, terrain traps, and the location of the mother nest regeneration.

As the knights ventured deeper into the passage, they were met with a true nightmare.

They were a group of fused insect corpses.

The first monster stepped out from the wall of flesh. It had four legs, six arms, and half of its face was that of the fallen female mage, while the other half was that of the insect monster that was devouring it. It made "clucking" noises and chanted spells.

He raised his hand, and several ice spears suddenly appeared, while his other arm swung a greatsword and smashed down!

"Sever his body!" a knight roared as he leaped up, his warhammer aimed at the man's spine, but was instead pierced through the heart by a sudden burst of insect stings!

"Haier!!" His companion roared, wielding a burning greatsword, and cleaved Haier and the monster into the spore pool, detonating the explosive runestone!
boom! ! !
A burst of flames exploded on the broken platform, shaking the entire passageway.

The next wave of corpse monsters was already leaping over on spores.

"Don't stop!" The third group of knights charged in from the other side of the fleshy staircase. A female knight used her broken spear to block the spliced ​​monster, but her arm was torn in two, and blood splattered like rain.

The heavy shield knight beside him roared, but a tentacle pierced his chest, and his fighting spirit was forcibly extracted!

"Aaaaaah!!!" He let out a heart-wrenching scream, his whole body began to shrivel up, and his fighting spirit was sucked into the fused body as blood streaks flowed into the body.

"Go to hell!!" Another knight charged forward, suddenly detonating his magic core, blasting the monster into pieces.

Amidst the splattering spores, only a charred helmet rolled away.

The passage grew increasingly narrow, the spores boiled beneath our feet, and the walls began to wriggle and close, as if digesting the invading foreign object.

The hive is learning their movements, sealing off every path of survival with mutated fleshy tentacles and endless insect-like monsters.

"I'll cover you! You guys get out!"

"Fourth group, clear out that blood sac above!"

"Never mind me, throw the fireballs over here! Blow it up!!"

The knights had stormed into the second chamber, where corpses piled up like hills and spores rained down like rain.

In just nine minutes, twenty-one men had been killed, but the charge continued.

"How is this possible?!" Deep within the Throne of Flesh, the Witch of Despair suddenly opened her eyes.

His face was expressionless, but his bright red irises trembled slightly, revealing his unease and urgency.

The mother hive is collapsing, and the enemy is closing in.

There isn't enough time for repairs.

"Hold them back, and pile everything up there." His voice was low and soft, yet it carried a chilling edge.

Strands of silk extended from between his fingers, dancing wildly like a marionette!

In an instant, hundreds of spliced ​​insect corpse monsters swarmed into the front-line chamber like a mudslide.

They were forcibly awakened, and even if they were injured or not fully conscious, they were piled up into a wall of flesh and blood!
"Block it! Even if it kills us, block it!"

The ground suddenly trembled!

"War Gravity - Unleashed!"

Edmund roared, and his azure battle aura transformed into a giant wave that spread from his body.

Dozens of insect corpses around him turned towards him, were forcibly pulled, and pounced on him like a meteorite impact!
Boom! Boom boom boom!!

He held his giant shield high, standing firm like a rock in the black mist, unyielding as the enemy surged forward.

"Hurry! He can't hold them off for long!" a knight roared.

But the next second, the earth's veins exploded again!

"Hahahaha!! See that? I'm back again!"

That maniacal laughter was like the roar of a hellish chariot!
Gaius reignites the "Undying Charge"!
His crimson armor erupted like a volcano, surging forth from his body and forging a stream of battle intent that burned through his soul!

His eyes were bloodshot, his face ashen, yet he still grinned wildly, his voice hoarse: "Brothers! Get out of the way! I'll run him over!!!"

Boom boom boom boom——! ! !
He charged forward like a hammer, plowing through everything in his path—the insect corpses, the flesh wall, the spore pool, and even the space itself—that blocked the chamber, creating a cracked path!
With each step, the ground collapsed.

Every meter was covered in bursting flesh and blood.

The bloodline beneath the earth, like the brushstrokes of a god, draws a path to death in the darkness!

And at that moment—

Arthur finally opened his eyes.

He didn't say a word, but simply raised the light blade in his hand.

It was a long sword composed of high-frequency vibrating golden light, its blade trembling slightly, as if sensing a destiny's call.

[Bloodline Talent - The Style of Chasing Light] Unlocked.

"Target locked."

He spoke softly, and his entire figure transformed into a white line in the air!
boom! ! !
A beam of white light shot into the assault channel, following the "crack path" that Gaius had carved out with his life, traveling at the speed of light like a god!
The insect carcass didn't have time to turn around, the spores didn't have time to fluctuate, and the air didn't have time to vibrate.

Their world was divided in two.

The arc of light had not yet stopped, nor had Arthur's steps.

The light blades, carrying the blood of the enemy and the will of their comrades, flashed, leaped, swooped, and thrust in the sealed chamber, slicing through the last line of defense of the mother hive!
"It's over," he whispered, pointing his sword straight at the depths of the throne, at the final throne that pulsated with a blood-red heartbeat.

On the throne, flesh trembled. In the deepest part of the End's core, the Witch of Despair finally rose.

With each step he took, long streaks of blood trailed behind his skirt, a floor-length gown sewn together with living tissue. The dripping blood was not water, but warm, wriggling spores.

His appearance was androgynous, like a sculpture of a goddess, yet extremely bizarre.

A mocking smile appeared on his face, but deep within his irises lay anxiety, anger, and a hint of... fear.

"...You shouldn't have come here."

His voice was as gentle as a mother's, yet as hollow as a dead person's.

With a flick of the finger, the silk threads ripped through the air like thousands of harp strings, causing the entire nest's fleshy walls to pulsate rhythmically, like the pulse of a giant organism!

Insect Curse [Swarm Wave - Dark Curtain] activated!
The pitch-black swarm of insects, like an exploding tide, with an indescribable biting intent, rushed towards all intruders, specifically targeting and tearing at the knight's battle aura!

Following closely behind is the mental intervention technique, [Whispers of the Heart]!
A whisper came from the bones and the ground, and the knights' pupils contracted, as if they were seeing their future deaths.

Some saw themselves with their hearts pierced by insects, others saw the corpses of their loved ones lying among the swarms of insects...

"stop."

A voice, clear as a spring, yet carrying an unyielding solemnity.

A spark fell from the sky, tearing the black mist into a path of light!

The Supreme Sage has descended upon the Mother Nest of the End!
"Star Wheels!" Aurelion raised his hand, and six star-shaped magic wheels descended from the sky, circling above the Mother Nest.

Each round is engraved with anti-gravity runes and spacetime distortion lines.

They slowly rotated, pulling on the spatial structure of the entire Mother Nest area, causing all of the Despair Witch's teleportation spells to freeze and stop!
The witch herself was forcibly locked up!
As the magic wheel trembled, sparks flew.

Aurelion then thrust out with his left palm, and flames erupted from the depths of the magic circle: "Fire Technique - Fire Vortex!"

As if a whole expanse of magma had been poured into the mother nest, a blazing red vortex storm poured into the chamber from high above, incinerating the flesh, bones, souls, and fighting spirit cores of the spliced ​​monsters in a spiral shape!
Several multi-shaped fused corpses that were trying to protect the witch were reduced to ashes in the fire before they could even struggle!
Sensing the threat, the Desperate Witch immediately unleashed a powerful dark spell—Black Mist Spell: Cursed Tide!

But to his utter surprise, Aurelion was already prepared.

"Void Reversal!" He drew a straight line of void law with his right hand, tearing space apart like a mirror and then bouncing it back.
The entire black mist was forcibly twisted back to its source, instantly enveloping him!

The witch's neck and shoulder area were instantly devoured by her own spell, tearing open a ring of bright red insect flesh, from which spores gushed out.

Aurelion remained silent, merely looking at the Mother Nest with disdain, as if it were an insect.

The desperate witch roared, "You think... this is all I have?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the area behind the throne suddenly collapsed and cracked, the walls of the cavity vibrated violently, swirling up blood and bone fragments, and the entire throne area turned into a writhing vortex of flesh and blood, from which came a shrill whistle like the whispers of the stars.

He suddenly raised his arm, a mad yet sacred smile appearing on his lips.

next moment--

His body exploded and reformed, as if bursting out of a human skin, and a bizarre and enormous insect-like monster slowly crawled out.

It was a maggot the size of a palace.
Its entire body is composed of translucent insect flesh in shades of gray, pink, and deep red. Its shell expands and contracts constantly as if breathing, and its blood vessels are exposed on its surface. As it wriggles, it releases insect chirps with lingering echoes of memory.

Dozens of insect-wing-like spiritual tentacles tore from its back, dancing like viscous threads, leaving invisible curses as they swept through the air.

With each wave of its tentacles, space trembled like the surface of water, and reality began to shake and distort, as if the entire battlefield was being dragged into a nightmare.

He roared, and incantations poured from his mouth, twisting and dancing in the air like living words: "I am the end! I am destiny! The origin lingers within me!"

Black mist filled the air, tentacles danced in the air, and the entire chamber seemed to be swallowed up by the insect god's domain.

Aurelion stood amidst the flames and spores, his cloak billowing, starlight gathering at his fingertips.

He looked up at the giant maggot, his brows furrowed, but he didn't back down.

They had already exchanged blows several times in the blink of an eye.

[Void Reversal] and [Tentacle Soul Devourer] collided head-on, and space shattered and collapsed like a mirror.

Aurelion was repeatedly knocked back, his robes were charred black, and blood spilled from the corner of his lips.

The witch seemed to grow stronger with each soul she absorbed from a death knight, adding a layer of divine resonance to the entire lair, which emitted a tremor as if her eardrums were being torn apart.

His tentacles even pierced through the spatial structure itself, at one point cornering Aurelion.

But Aurelion did not panic.

When he was forced to the deepest folded barrier, he slowly reached out his hand, and a silver-white magic ring spun at his fingertips.

"The Broken Corridor - Now Present"

The moment Aurelion whispered, the entire space of the Brood trembled violently.

Starlight spread beneath his feet, like the veins of a six-pointed star extending into the distance.

The air suddenly shattered, and a straight, silvery-white channel tore out, piercing through the chaos and pointing straight to the core.

This spell is extremely mentally taxing; after casting it, Aurelion will be unable to use other spells for a short period of time.

But that was enough. He turned to look at the silent Dragonblood Knight.

Arthur slowly raised his head, the light blade humming softly, as if responding to its master's heartbeat.

The power of bloodline erupted!
[Bloodline Talent: The Style of Chasing Light]

Maximum multiplier unlocked!
He didn't roar, he didn't make any unnecessary movements.

Just one step, and it's out.

The space was completely flattened into a single line.

"--cut."

It was as soft as a whisper, yet it felt like thunder splitting the sky.

Before everyone's eyes, a pure white ray of light suddenly pierced through the darkness, tearing through all the defenses, domains, and insect curses the witch had constructed.

Arthur transformed into the "Apostle of Light," slashing into the heart of the end with a sword at near-the end of time!
The light blade pierced deep into the writhing worm core, and the next moment—

The blade vibrated violently, resonating at a high frequency!
The shock spread, and all biological structures began to collapse!
"No, no...no!!!"

The Witch of Despair screamed!

That sounded less like a human voice and more like the wailing of a soul being torn apart.

It was as if the spirit of some being was being extracted and shattered!

The shriek instantly transformed into a sonic boom, and dozens of extraordinary knights immediately bled from all seven orifices, collapsed heavily to the ground, and fell unconscious!
The once androgynous, godlike face collapsed, liquefied, and shattered like a melting wax figure in despair.

The giant worm's entire body began to tremble, like a shattered puppet...

"...Why...how could it...have failed..."

In the moment before the body collapsed, the distorted consciousness was still frantically asking questions.

I have been planning this calamity for four whole years!
I infiltrated, infected, and orchestrated, turning the entire North into a breeding ground...

I had already planned everything out!
but why……

How did Edmund manage to organize such a complete defense in just two days?
Why did the Dragon Blood Legion from the capital arrive so quickly?!

Why are the great mages of the Mage Forest here?!

And that damn thing...

Magic Bomb...

That extraordinary magic explosion bomb blasted straight through the outer shell of the mother hive!

Countless "whys" coiled around the depths of his mind like venomous snakes, gnawing at his reason.

"No...it shouldn't be like this..."

But the enormous insect god's body was rapidly manifesting, its internal organs collapsing, its limbs breaking, and its spiritual tentacles twitching as if paralyzed.

There's no time left.

The Heart of the End beat violently one last time!
Then—BOOM!
It shattered completely under the resonance of Arthur's light blade!

Countless spores, insect blood, limb remains, and white mist gushed out.

Time stood still for a brief moment.

Then a distant, faint, yet soul-piercing cry of an infant echoed in everyone's ears.

(End of this chapter)