I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

At this critical and desperate moment.

A cold, yet resolute and obsessive voice suddenly rang out.

"My turn isn't over yet."

It is Ye Cang.

He had appeared at the very front of the group without anyone noticing.

The Asura in his hand, with its jet-black blade, had strange, blood-red patterns flowing wildly across its surface.

An unparalleled killing intent, colder and purer than the "Sandstorm of the Dead," surged from his body into the sky!

He slowly raised his head.

Those deep, black-hole-like eyes calmly gazed at the black sandstorm that was about to devour everything.

Then, he slowly raised the demonic blade in his hand.

Lu Yuan said that this knife can cut through the "rules".

"So today, "

"Let me see."

"Your so-called 'Abyssal Secret Technique'..."

"Is it enough for me to cut down with this one strike?"

"【Godslayer Domain】——"

"open!"

The moment Ye Cang uttered that cold "open" word.

"Buzz—!"

An invisible yet terrifying wave, seemingly capable of making the entire world tremble, suddenly spread out from him!

A massive, semi-transparent, blood-red domain with a radius of one kilometer instantly enveloped the entire battlefield!

[God-Slaying Domain]!

This is one of the three core rules that Lu Yuan bestowed upon [Asura]!

An absolute domain born purely for slaughter!

The moment the overwhelming "sandstorm of the dead" came into contact with this crimson domain, its speed of advance slowed down to the naked eye!

In the midst of the sandstorm, the millions of roaring and wailing souls seemed to be gripped by an invisible force, their voices becoming sharp and weak!

That terrifying power, capable of devouring and corroding everything, was forcibly weakened by at least half under the suppression of the Crimson Domain!

"efficient!"

Seeing this, Ice Blade's eyes lit up with surprise!

He never expected that this reclusive swordsman, who had always kept a low profile, would actually be hiding such a terrifying trump card!

And within the domain.

Ye Cang slowly closed his eyes.

He could clearly feel his power increasing exponentially!

Within the [God-Slaying Domain], all enemy attributes are reduced by 50%!

And he, as the master of the domain, has all his attributes increased by 100%!

With this shift in power, the previously insurmountable gap in strength between him and the S-rank desert king is being narrowed infinitely!

"Not enough."

Ye Cang murmured softly.

The [Asura] in his hand seemed to sense its master's will, and the jet-black color on the blade became even deeper.

An even colder and purer supreme killing intent began to gather wildly on his blade!

Lu Yuan said that this knife also possesses "endless killing intent".

"It can continuously absorb negative emotions and killing intent from the world to evolve itself."

"So..."

Ye Cang suddenly opened his eyes!

His deep, black-hole-like eyes swept over the struggling black sandstorm, over the tens of thousands of frozen sand spirits, over the black pyramid exuding endless evil, and finally landed on the high and mighty desert king!

"This sea of ​​death, filled with resentment and endless hatred, is the perfect whetstone for me!"

A cold, cruel smile curled at the corners of Ye Cang's lips.

He raised the [Asura] weapon high in his hand!

"All the murderous intent, all the resentment!"

"Come here, all of you!"

"To become the fuel for my next strike!"

With a roar filled with supreme demonic power!

"boom--!!"

The entire [God-Slaying Domain] trembled violently at that moment!

In that raging "sandstorm of the dead," the wails and resentments of billions of souls; in that massive glacier, the unyielding will of tens of thousands of sand soldiers; even in that black pyramid, the bloodshed and hatred of the entire desert empire that have been accumulating for thousands of years!

All the negative energy existing on this sea of ​​death seemed to be drawn by some irresistible force at this moment, transforming into visible torrents of black and red energy that surged wildly toward the [Asura] in Ye Cang's hand like rivers flowing into the sea!

"Clang—!!"

After absorbing such a massive and terrifying amount of negative energy, [Asura] let out a sharp, demonic sound that seemed to tear the entire world apart!

Its jet-black blade began to slowly burn at this moment!

What was burning was not flame, but a pure flame of destruction that was hotter than flame and darker than the abyss!

"This...this is..."

The desert king in the distance looked at the scene before him that was completely beyond his comprehension. For the first time, his empty eye sockets, which were like whirlpools in the abyss, revealed a human emotion called "fear"!

It wanted to reclaim its "Dead Sandstorm," but it discovered that it had lost control of the sandstorm!

The natural disaster it created has now become nourishment for the enemy's weapons!

"No...impossible!"

"What kind of weapon is this?!"

"Why is it able to devour my power?!"

The desert king let out a terrified roar.

However, Ye Cang was no longer willing to give it any more time to think.

He gripped the sword with both hands, his demonic eyes, now completely covered in flames of destruction, coldly locking onto the "Sandstorm of the Dead" that was still struggling.

"it's over."

He slowly uttered three words.

Then, with the [Asura] weapon in his hand carrying a destructive power powerful enough to make even gods and demons tremble, he gently swung it forward.

There was no sound, no light, not even a trace of energy fluctuation.

Only a tiny, almost invisible black spatial rift flashed by in the center of that overwhelming "sandstorm of the dead".

then……

The whole world fell silent.

The black sandstorm that was still raging wildly, the wails of billions of dead souls, and the corrosive power that could devour everything all seemed to have been deleted at this moment, disappearing silently from this world.

It was as if they had never existed.

A knife.

With just one strike, the S-class BOSS's cataclysmic ultimate move was completely erased from the level of "rules"!

"puff--"

The desert king's golden skeleton, towering over a hundred meters tall, trembled violently!

Within its empty eye sockets, the two energy cores, like vortexes in an abyss, flickered violently, almost extinguishing completely!

It suffered an unprecedented blow!

That was a backlash from the very foundation of the soul's rules!

"You...you lowly ant..."

The desert king lowered his enormous skull in disbelief, staring intently at the boy who stood silently holding the demonic sword, his voice filled with endless horror and resentment.

"Who...who are you?!"

However, the answer it received was Ye Cang's even colder and more ruthless second strike!

"【Spellbreaker Blade】!"

"cut!"

As Ye Cang's cold "Slay" fell.

The Asura sword in his hand once again pierced the sky.

This time, it was no longer a silent, rule-based erasure, but a pure, pitch-black blade of light that seemed capable of severing the past, present, and future!

The blade of light wasn't large, only three feet long, but the moment it appeared, the entire space of the Death Sand Sea seemed to freeze.

Both the flowing yellow sand and the howling wind stood still at this moment.

It was as if the entire world had been reduced to just that one strike!

"No--!!"

The desert king roared in utter terror as he watched the dark blade of light hurtling towards him!

It tried to hide, to use its golden skeleton body, comparable to divine gold, to withstand the attack, but it found that it could do nothing.

Before that pure "law-breaking" blade of light, all its defenses, all its rules, and all its existence seemed so pale and powerless.

It felt like a condemned prisoner stripped naked and standing on the execution platform, forced to watch helplessly as the blade of death, representing "the end," slowly fell.

"Pfft—"

A faint sound, almost like a hallucination.

The jet-black blade of light passed through the Desert King's massive body, which was a hundred meters tall, without any hindrance, and then disappeared into the horizon.

The world fell into a deathly silence once again.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The hundred-meter-tall golden skull still stood silently in front of the cracked black pyramid, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Failed...?"

Gu Tianye, watching this scene from a distance, said with some uncertainty.

However, he hadn't finished speaking.

"Click..."

A very faint cracking sound suddenly rang out.

On the Desert King's enormous golden skull, a fine black line silently appeared, starting from between his eyebrows.

The black lines spread rapidly downwards, like living vines, and instantly covered its entire body!

"Bang--!!"

A tremendous, earth-shattering explosion!

That once invincible king's body, that S-class abyss-transformed BOSS that had been asleep for thousands of years and had just awakened and had not yet had a chance to show its full power, shattered at this moment like a piece of broken porcelain!

It transformed into a sky full of golden bone dust and pure abyssal energy, which drifted away with the wind!

【Ding! 】

[Congratulations! The China region has achieved its first successful kill of an S-rank Abyss-level boss – "Ramesses II"!]

[Announcement to all war zones!]

[Announcement to all war zones!]

[Announcement to all war zones!]

……

Three cold, mechanical system notifications rang out simultaneously in every corner of the entire China war zone and in the ears of every Star Envoy!

At that moment, everyone, whether they were soldiers fighting on the front lines or ordinary people living comfortably in the rear, stopped what they were doing, looked up, and their faces were filled with disbelief and shock!

The S-rank boss has been defeated?!

How...how is this possible?!

It should be noted that in the eighteen years since the arrival of Star Ocean, although humanity has gained some advantages in the war against Star Beasts and the Void, it has always been at an absolute disadvantage when facing those terrifying S-class and above beings that truly come from the Abyss!

Every appearance of an S-class BOSS signifies a massive disaster, requiring humanity to pay an extremely heavy price in order to barely repel or seal it away.

To "kill" him? That was simply a fantasy before today!

And now, the system is announcing that someone has succeeded?

Who is it? Who exactly is it?

Has Lord Azure Dragon broken through again? Or have those reclusive old monsters made their move?

In an instant, the entire nation of China was in an uproar over this sudden and momentous news!

……

The Desert of Death.

Ye Cang slowly withdrew the [Asura] from his hand.

His perpetually icy face was now somewhat pale from overexertion, but his eyes shone with an alarming brightness!

He looked at the desert king who had turned to ashes, then looked down at the black demonic sword in his hand that was still humming slightly, and his heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of exhilaration!

Is this the feeling of power? Is this the power of [Asura]? Is this the path that boy pointed out to him?

He turned his head, his gaze traversing the vast distance to the boy who was quietly hovering outside the cockpit of [Pangu], his eyes filled with boundless gratitude and fervor.

Meanwhile, Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian stared at the empty sky, then at Ye Cang, who had killed everything with just two strikes. Both of them were stunned, as if struck by lightning.

All they could think of was: Holy crap...this is fucking awesome!

So, the ultimate level of showing off is to kill someone with a straight face?

No way! When I get back this time, I'm going to make sure Master Lu adds this effect to my weapon too!

In an instant, the desire for the "divine artifact" intensified for these two brutes who had just been gloating over their performance.

While everyone was still reeling from the shock of the S-class BOSS being instantly killed, Lu Yuan's face, instead of showing any joy, became more solemn than ever before in the cockpit of [Pangu]!

Because, on his holographic screen, at the very center of the shattered body of the desert king, a blood-red heart, even larger and more malevolent than the previous "Void Aberration Energy Core," was slowly emerging!

The heart was still beating faintly!

"Bang...bang...bang..."

Each jump caused the entire space of the Death Sand Sea to tremble!

An aura more terrifying and evil than that of the desert king emanated from that heart!

【warn!warn! 】

[Ultra-high energy level, Abyss King level, detected!]

[Target locked: The heart (fragment) of the sealed ancient abyss god "Anubis"!]

"Holy shit!"

When Lu Yuan saw the bright red warning line on the screen, he couldn't help but swear!

He knew he had really messed up this time!

It seems they accidentally stirred up a huge hornet's nest!

"Fragments of Anubis' heart?"

As Lu Yuan stared at the blood-red heart on the screen, its constant beating causing ripples in the space with each beat, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Anubis! That's the jackal-headed god in Egyptian mythology who reigns over death and judgment!

Although it's unclear why it's associated with the abyss, the mere mention of "Ancient God of the Abyss" is enough to illustrate its terrifying level.

And what's in front of us is actually a fragment of His heart?

"Damn it, this is a huge problem."

Lu Yuan knew very well that this level of thing was far beyond their current capabilities.

This thing is like a super nuclear bomb that could detonate the entire instance at any moment, or even affect the real world!

"Ramses II sacrificed the entire empire, not to pursue immortality, but to suppress and seal the heart of this ancient god?"

Countless thoughts flashed through Lu Yuan's mind in an instant.

He finally understood why this instance was classified as "extremely dangerous," and he also finally understood why the desert king, despite possessing S-rank strength, remained in a weak, half-asleep state.

It turns out that he had been using his power to suppress the even more terrifying heart of the ancient god!

Just now, Ye Cang's two earth-shattering strikes not only killed the Desert King, but also severed the seal that had been maintained for thousands of years!

"It must be taken away immediately, or resealed!"

Lu Yuan made a decisive decision and immediately issued an order through the communication channel.

"Ye Cang! Use your [God-Slaying Domain] to temporarily suppress the energy dissipation from that heart!"

"Xiang Batian! Gu Tianye! You two go inside the pyramid and see if you can find any clues about the seal!"

"Lin Ziling! Mu Bingli! Analyze the surrounding energy field immediately and find the weakest spatial node!"

"Commander Iceblade! Please organize an immediate evacuation of everyone! This place is about to become a highly dangerous restricted area!"

Lu Yuan's series of orders were clear and decisive, instantly bringing those still in a state of great shock back to their senses.

"yes!"

Although they didn't understand what had happened, out of their almost blind trust in Lu Yuan, they didn't hesitate and immediately began to act according to Lu Yuan's instructions.

Ye Cang activated the [Godslayer Domain] once again. The blood-red domain instantly enveloped the still-beating crimson heart, and the terrifying abyssal aura that was about to erupt was forcibly suppressed by the domain.

Xiang Batian and Gu Tianye immediately grabbed their battle axes and rushed into the dilapidated black pyramid.

Lin Ziling and Mu Bingli, meanwhile, began to use their talents to quickly analyze the surrounding space and energy.

"Mr. Lu, what exactly happened?"

Iceblade's voice rang out in the communication channel, filled with solemnity.

"Sir, we may have stirred up a huge hornet's nest."

Lu Yuan smiled wryly and briefly explained his discovery to Bing Ren.

When Iceblade heard the words "Ancient God of the Abyss" and "Heart of Anubis," even this battle-hardened commander was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

"I...I understand."

Finally, he took a deep breath and said in an extremely solemn tone, "Mr. Lu, you must be careful! I will immediately request S+ level emergency support from the Supreme Council!"

After saying that, he did not hesitate any longer and immediately began to organize the troops for a strategic retreat.