My wife is the stand-in.

Amanosaki suppressed his excitement, letting out a silent roar in his heart to prevent the scene from ending.

He leaned on his gun, his crystal armor expanding once more, and pointed a single finger at Liu Nu:

"[Ghost King] Liu Nu, you were once a hero revered by thousands, but now you've fallen so low. In front of the entire nation, don't you wake up yet?!"

Liu Nu was scolded, and immediately became agitated, his tentacles flailing wildly:

"Pah! There are only a few of us here, what are you pretending for?! After I kill you and deal with the Four-Clawed Scaled Fish in the Underworld, I'll still be on duty in Fengdu! Nobody will know I've killed tens of thousands of clones!!"

This statement confirmed his identity, and his inflated superpowers made it clear to countless viewers that the murders he spoke of were proof of his crimes.

Amidst the audience's anticipation and the sorrowful, somber gazes of the heroes, Amanosaki raised the Spear of Longchinus, its tip gleaming.

"I learned one thing during my brief life as a chivalrous knight."

He brandished the Spear of Longchinus, striding forward, the blade severing the tentacles, causing Liu to roar in pain.

He wanted to grow tentacles to strangle Amanosaki, but found that his severed wrist was enveloped by a strange power, and the tentacles were regenerating unusually slowly.

Enraged, Liu sprouted new tentacles from his head, hundreds of them rushing towards Tennozaki.

At the same time, the broken bones on the ground, under the control of the supernatural power, spun and twisted into two tall, white skeletal monsters, each carrying dozens of clamoring demons on its back, and hammered at Amanosaki.

Amanosaki's magic circuits lit up, and he leaped onto the skeletal monster's falling arm, accelerating along the arm amidst the earth-shaking tremors.

"The more one pursues power, the easier it is for power to cloud one's reason and ambition."

"Pah! He just asked for a card!" Icarus scolded Amanosaki, who was giving it his all, with a mixture of love and resentment. "A man's mouth!"

Amanosaki struck the monster's shoulder with his spear, and the Spear of Longchinus trembled grotesquely, causing the bone fragments that made up the monster to shake uncontrollably, scattering and sliding across the sand dunes.

He braced himself with both hands on the Spear of Longchinus, flipped over and pressed down on the spear. This great spear, forged from metal, possessed incredible flexibility, and actually bounced Amanosaki away.

He landed on the monster's back, his spear spinning, and with a flick and a sweep, swarms of demons were struck by the spear and instantly vanished into thin air.

The monster, now freed from the demon's control, collapsed with a deafening roar.

Amanosaki followed suit and leaped onto the body of another monster.

Seeing this, Li Junzi wanted to help, but when he touched the swollen flesh that his elder brother had just pinched, and looked at Amanosaki who seemed to be handling the situation with ease, he hesitated.

He was afraid he would be reprimanded again.

This appearance was captured on camera, causing Amber's face to darken.

"Hahaha! It seems your apprentice is completely under this brat's thumb, destined to be his shadow for life!" The old man surnamed Lin laughed heartily.

"If you can't speak properly, shut your stinking mouth! Nobody thinks you're mute!"

Amanosaki smashed the second monster without saying a word, and there were no more obstacles in his way.

Looking at Liu Nu, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose head was no longer clearly visible, entangled by countless tentacles and resembling some kind of hairy monster, a look of pity appeared on his face.

This former guard's abilities have undoubtedly become stronger, but having lost his reason, he has also forgotten the combat experience he gained over decades of training, turning into a monster that only knows how to go berserk and vent his anger.

Perhaps his initial plan to enter the Abyss was a misstep.

At this moment, Amanosaki truly understood the meaning behind Icarus's words.

Blindness and arrogance can really ruin a person.

Fortunately, I have someone who understands and loves me.

It's a pity you don't have that.

"Human strength is limited. When blinded by lies and deception, people lose their judgment." Amanosaki, clad in shimmering jewel-colored crystal armor and wielding the Spear of Longchinus, loudly recited a line from a fabricated celebrity, truly like a messenger of God on earth.

"What are you talking about?! Who understands any of this?!"

Liu shook his head angrily, roaring, blood flowing from his mouth, nose, and eyes, his boundless resentment surging forth, "You ruined my plans! I'll kill your whole family, I'll kill your entire family and your ancestors for eighteen generations!!"

His body began to swell uncontrollably.

Amanosaki picked up a gun and read the final eulogy:

"Therefore, mortals must always adhere to their original intentions, remaining unperturbed by external influences and undeceived internally. Hence!"

The Spear of Longchinus burst forth with a dazzling light, responding to its master's mood.

A shooting star streaked across the narrow shaft.

Do no evil, do all good.

Liu Nu's body exploded, countless resentments and hatreds, along with his insane superpowers, exploded indiscriminately!

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Fall of a Great Hero

The explosion tore through the air, scattering millions of bone fragments.

Black and white smoke exploded in shock, the resentment of tens of thousands of people devoured by the branch-level heroes, the grudges of creatures that had died over the years in the city's sewer system, and finally the out-of-control explosion was completely released in this vertical shaft!

The thick fog that shot into the sky crashed into the tunnel at the wellhead, emitting a low, howling roar that swept everything away.

The four-clawed scale fish, who were busy mating and breeding nearby, were suddenly swallowed up by the fog. Their sexual desires were twisted into aggressive urges by endless negative emotions. They opened their mouths, bit their mates, and began to tear them apart.

In an instant, this shaft transformed from a sanctuary of lust into a brutal slaughterhouse.

The same scene was playing out throughout the entire underground sewer system.

Rats that congregate, cockroaches that scurry about, tadpoles, frogs and other insects swept in by the rain, begin to attack each other without distinguishing between them or their natural enemies!

Watching the screen filled with swirling smoke, the mist transformed into countless distorted human faces in front of the camera, representing pain, wailing, despair, and depravity.

The extreme emotions conveyed through the lens chilled all viewers.

Yang Wanli's lips trembled, and his face turned pale as he watched the scene unfold. The images on the screen had exceeded his expectations.

In the medical room of the Yushan branch, the rich second-generation members of the comrades-in-arms, big and small, were lounging around, seemingly indifferent, but their ears were perked up and their eyes were squinting as they stared intently at the huge floor-to-ceiling television.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chili, the leader of the Brotherhood, with bandages wrapped around his waist and dialysis equipment hanging outside, stared intently at the screen: "This guy is full of bad intentions, he won't die so easily."

Amidst the raging winds, there were sounds of concrete exploding and collapsing, and the wailing of air currents swirling along the shaft.

Under the expectant gaze of countless eyes.

A bright light, which had been dim, suddenly burst through the fog amidst a barrage of enthusiastic support from tens of thousands of viewers!

Amanosaki carries the Spear of Longchinus, his entire body covered in flowing, pale blue fluorescent lines that flicker rhythmically with his breathing.

The light was so bright that a thousand rays of light cascaded down the youth's armor, shimmering and radiant as he moved.

Amanosaki's condition at this time was definitely not good.

The Lance of Longinus in his hand was no ordinary weapon, but it only resembled the Holy Lance in "Neon Genesis Evangelion" in appearance.

This large spear only gave Amanosaki the power to kill Liu Nu. He didn't know or care how he did it. He wasn't a supernatural scholar or a blacksmith, and he didn't understand or care about tools.

This is the standard of living for modern people. After all, not many people know every scientific principle behind the manufacture of mobile phones and computers, yet they still use them.

The problem is that Amanosaki, as the human closest to Liu Nu in the entire arena, almost single-handedly took the brunt of Liu Nu's head-on attack.

In the instant the explosion occurred, Amanosaki slammed the spearhead (similar to the end of a spear) into the ground, using the power of the Spear of Longchinus to deflect some of the force.

Then, as if it were free, he pulled out gems, crushing them one by one. The thick crystals enveloped him like a carapace. Then, he tensed all his muscles, like Sisyphus pushing a boulder that could never be reached, arching his back, with the Spear of Longinus pressed against his right shoulder, and clenching his teeth.

He successfully withstood the explosion, but at the cost of having very little of the tortoise-shell-like crystals left on his body. He suffered both physical and mental torment and was at his last gasp.

But judging from Amanosaki's straight back and the Spear of Longchinus slung over his shoulder, no one would guess that he was in so much pain that even taking a step was painful.

Just as Amanosaki slowly approached, at the center of the explosion, in the large crater at the bottom of the well, a deep gray color was slowly wriggling.

It's like a mutated, ugly heart.

Amanosaki swung his gun, smashing aside the obstructive mist at the edge of the pit. The mist, capable of corroding the mind, was twisted by the trembling gun barrel, creating a hole.

Amanosaki, holding on to his last breath, slid down, leaning on the Spear of Longchinus, and watched as a strange, ambiguous face grew from the core.

"I am the guard of Fengdu, a branch-level master swordsman. You cannot kill me."

"If you want me dead, the headquarters must hold a trial, with government officials present to supervise, and the capital must finally approve."

"Your actions now constitute an unprovoked attack on a key national talent, which carries a maximum penalty of death for treason!"

thump——

Amanosaki pounded the hilt of his spear in frustration, the all-metal Lance of Longinus making a crisp sound that silenced the bizarre mutterings around him. Then, a low humming sound filtered out other faint noises like white noise.

Amanosaki held the large spear under his armpit, with the U-shaped tip pointing at the core.

The core screamed, and ripples rolled across its smooth surface, resolutely refusing to come into contact with the weapon.

Several mouths sprouted from that face, on its forehead, on its cheeks, shouting something in place, but Amanosaki only heard a buzzing white noise in his ears, and his eyes remained clear.

"There are no great heroes here, nor are there any branch sects or headquarters."

With the Spear of Longchinus raised, Amanosaki easily pierced its core with a standard spear-pushing motion, pinning the thing firmly to the ground.

"There is only a pathetic wretch here who has forgotten himself, a heinous murderer."

laugh--

The writhing face suddenly froze, and specks of light fell off its surface, fluttering away like fireflies.

In those dark eyes, madness and retreat vanished, replaced by an unusual calm.

That calmness was like the deathly stillness after despair.

"I did it?"

At its core, three mouths on Liu Nu's distorted face each opened, uttering slightly incoherent words.

Amanosaki gripped the gun and nodded slightly.

"Phew!" Liu Nu sighed deeply. "The cloning production workshop is at the very bottom. The Queen Fish probably wants to use that thing to replicate eggs with its own genes and release them into the river. That way, next spring, there will be countless new Queen Fish in the river."

"You hurry up and stop it, then burn that workshop down as cleanly as possible. The Fengdu branch won't bother you."

At this moment, the last remaining brain finally regained its senses.

Amanosaki wasn't sure what ideas or concerns this head had, but he had originally planned to destroy the clone production facility.

'Could this be a last-ditch effort, an attempt to deceive me?'

At this moment, he saw Liu Nu's mouth slightly murmur, and the barely audible sound entered his ears, which made Amanosaki, who was almost collapsing, rouse himself and believe his words to some extent.

"Is that really true?"