Nobody told me this wasn't a game.

He covered his nose and backed away without crying out in pain. He simply straightened his crooked nose in silence and looked at Zuo Chang, who was slowly rolling up his sleeves and walking over with a vicious gaze.

Blood streamed down his nose, making him look like a demon.

Zuo Chang looked at him fearlessly and asked, "Does it hurt?"

"..."

silence.

At this moment, His Highness could only offer silence.

Having lost his longsword, he silently assumed a fighting stance, ready to engage in combat.

Zuo Chang stepped forward and continued, "I don't know if it hurts, but I feel pretty good. It's certainly satisfying to bully the weak. When you use your status and power to abuse others, you must feel just as good as I do now! I don't want to waste my breath; a thousand explanations are less effective than one beating. You can take the beating while thinking about what to do—what do you need to do now to make me stop abusing you!"

His Highness is a student of Basil.

Basil taught him swordsmanship.

Without his longsword, it's questionable whether he can utilize even 80% of his skills.

Even more serious is that he is facing Zuo Chang.

Zuo Chang was also unarmed, but he possessed a fully-level innate sword bone, allowing him to perform "sword skills" without holding a sword.

A punch was thrown, its sword intent soaring!

His Highness tried to take the punch, and his arm immediately bled profusely.

He looked down and saw a smooth, flat wound on his wrist, as if cut by a knife.

Despite being a realm higher in cultivation, it failed to achieve the desired effect;

Even if the nation's fortunes were bestowed upon him, it would seem to bring no benefit.

In two encounters, His Highness suffered losses both times. He was forced into a corner by Zuo Chang's relentless attacks and had nowhere left to turn!

Zuo Chang pressed closer, his face as calm as a still lake, but his eyes blazed with fire and starlight, revealing his ruthlessness.

His Highness raised his hand and said, "Wait! Wait... I understand, Mr. Zuo Chang. I will consider your and Professor Luo's ideas. Please stop for now!"

Zuo Chang frowned slightly: "The Golden Empire is gone, what are you still talking to me about?"

What's missing?

Why is it gone?

You're hard to understand!

His Highness, left with no other choice, shouted, "I am the prince of the Golden Empire! The first in line to the throne! Mr. Zuo, think carefully before you act!"

"What's the use of shouting? I am now a cruel and ruthless lackey of the gods. The gods have ordered me to come here and kill you. If you have someone to blame, blame yourself for messing with the wrong person. Do you think you can offend the gods? You're blind!"

"What...what are you talking about?!" The prince, unable to contain himself any longer, shouted angrily, "Who is that 'goddess'? How did I offend her?!"

"You don't even know who the gods are? Don't you deserve to die?!"

"Weapons of the Final Battle"!

Zuo Chang exhaled sharply through his nostrils, his eyes wide with rage, and threw a punch!

With a 40x boost to all attributes, his punch was powerful enough to split the heavens.

The poor prince died, his body reduced to a pile of minced meat.

Zuo Chang let out a soft breath and scoffed, "If this still can't make you understand what oppression is, then I have no other way."

Chapter 239 Oh my god! The Blood Demon has unleashed his ultimate attack!

"They... won?"

Zuo Chang defeated his enemy with a single punch, giving Luo Le a significant shock.

He stared blankly at the pieces of flesh scattered on the ground, momentarily at a loss for how to react.

Is it okay to smile?

He looked at Zuo Chang again and asked, "Mr. Zuo, who exactly are you? Why do you possess such formidable strength?"

It's nothing.

It is mainly because Zuo has been diligently practicing day and night, and with a little bit of divine favor, that he has achieved his current prestige!

He smiled slightly, trying to appear modest: "It's alright, not particularly strong."

Basil choked and could not respond.

He sighed softly and said, "What a pity! It seems the trap I prepared will be useless now!"

trap?

Zuo Chang roughly knew what kind of trap it was.

He asked, "Senior Basil, were you absorbed by the sword willingly?"

The rebellious basil smiled slightly.

Dark demonic energy surged forth, and he once again transformed into a sword, displaying it before Zuo Chang.

The heart on the hilt beats, and Basil's voice echoes from within the sword: "Do you see it? This beating heart is the heart of an ancient demon."

"..."

Zuo Chang looked down at the gray tit on his shoulder.

The Grey Sparrow snorted, a sound that seemed to be a mixture of dissatisfaction and pride: "Calling me an ancient demon isn't entirely wrong. But I still prefer people to call me a Grand Demon, or simply by my name—War."

Basil could not hear the voice of the demons of war.

He continued, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, "During an expedition to an ancient ruin, I endured great hardship and found a clay jar deep within the shrine. This heart was preserved inside. I believe it is the heart of an extremely powerful demon, for it is fiery and vibrant, constantly provoking my fighting spirit. Since obtaining it, the number of times I've clashed with others has increased dramatically! I can't control myself and always feel the urge to instigate a massive uproar!"

"And so, a plan was formed in my mind."

“I transplanted this demonic heart into the Hero's Sword and actively merged it with the ‘Demonized Hero's Sword.’ I am both basil and the demonic sword, and naturally, I have also acquired the demonic heart’s ability to bewitch people and incite conflict.”

Upon hearing this, Zuo Chang vaguely guessed the trajectory of the true history.

In the past, His Highness the Prince's Gold Rush Knights must have razed Bloodmist Town to the ground and obtained the "Demon Sword Basil".

But under the constant erosion of the demonic sword, His Highness's heart changed.

Finally, he sat on the throne, ruling the entire country—

He's less a prince and more a demon sword, Basil.

More specifically, it might be the demonic heart that craves war!

This is why the Emblem Revolution broke out after the "Blood Mist Anomaly." All citizens obtained the Emblem Techniques, and a "technological explosion" occurred at that time. Within a few short years, humanity also mastered the method to break through to the Ten Realms.

The whole world thus entered the "modern and contemporary" era.

The cost, then:

The fall of the Golden Empire.

Basil continued, "I originally intended to achieve my goal through extreme methods, but now it seems... that's no longer necessary. Mr. Zuo, you can fulfill our wishes, can't you?"

Zuo Chang, reflecting on the past, said: "It was bound to be achieved."

"Good, excellent. Use the Warrior's Sword well; it is superb."

Basil inexplicably gave a brief explanation.

After that—

"Come!"

With a shout, a sword suddenly flew out from the void behind Zuo Chang.

That is... the High Branch Sword.

Without a word, Gao Zhijian thrust straight at the hilt of the Warrior's Sword, the heart of the War Demon, easily piercing it.

After that, the black and red heart fell to the ground for no reason, the sword of the hero regained its brilliance, and the aura of basil disappeared without a trace.

"what."

Zuo Chang looked at the heart pinned to the ground by the high-branched sword, then turned to the war demon: "Do you still want your heart?"

“We are now in a ‘copy’, a spacetime created by the gods. My heart is immortal and beats somewhere in the world; this one in front of me is just a fake.”

The war demons remained emotionally stable.

It looked at the Warrior's Sword floating in the air and said, "This sword seems like it can be taken away."

Zuo Chang raised his hand and tried to grasp the sword hilt: "Isn't this sword a fake?"

“It’s different. My heart is unique. Although the Sword of the Warrior is a ‘holy sword’ and extremely rare, it is not the only item. The gods can create it as they please.”

"..."

Zuo Chang fell silent, and his outstretched hand finally grasped the hilt of the sword.

The next instant, boundless darkness suddenly appeared!

Zuo Chang was taken aback at first, but quickly calmed down.

This is a black screen.

What appears after an event is completed.

Congratulations! You and your team have won the Grand Tournament! Now, let's begin calculating the rewards for this Grand Tournament.

Golden lettering appeared before my eyes.

The gods began calculating the rewards for each person.

[First, there's a team-wide reward. Every member of the team can receive it.]

[You have been granted the Grand Rank title: Hero. Adventurers who hold the title of Grand Hero will receive a massive boost to all their attributes. Upon reaching the pinnacle of mastery, your attributes will rival those of any living being, and you may even gain the qualification to contend with the gods.]

Grand Warriors are the elite group among all Grand Warriors.

Melville's title of "Grand Witch" merely enhanced her magical attack power and her mastery of dark magic.

"Grand Hero" offers an all-around upgrade, and in the game, Grand Heroes also boost two hidden attributes: Charm and Luck.