Ark Chess Player

Even a demon will die if its head is cut off.

"Kingslayer! I know it's you! I just want to know what price Rhodes Island paid to make you betray Talulah. You have several times more soldiers than other groups, and your power within Reunion is second only to Talulah's. What more could you possibly want?"

Garsen shouted, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings as he searched for prey with the unique senses of a Sarkaz.

"What could possibly make someone like you, who prioritizes your own life, risk death in battle to evacuate Rhodes Island from here? Look, they're all gone. They didn't even stay to help you, let alone say thank you. You're all alone here, but do you think you can escape? Dream on! When I catch you, I won't let you die so easily. I'll make you reveal the bargaining chip Rhodes Island gave you, then I'll personally bring it to you and smash it to pieces."

As Garsen took a step, he sensed a fleeting sense of unease, and a smile involuntarily crept up his face beneath the black iron mask.

When you are staring into the abyss, the abyss is also staring into you.

Garsen moved, the heavy greatsword as light as a wooden stick in his hands.

He turned his back, and with fluid movements, swung his body and slashed the greatsword diagonally upwards!

A piercing metallic clang rang out as Garsen's greatsword clashed violently with the short blade hurtling down from above, sending sparks flying. The flying metal shavings emitted a blinding white light, illuminating a pair of bloodthirsty red eyes and a dark mask that couldn't conceal the aura of violence.

The Kingslayer shifted the force of the weapon clash by twisting his wrist, simultaneously spinning twice in mid-air and delivering a powerful kick to Garsen's face. Unfortunately, Garsen blocked the kick with his massive sword, failing to shut that foul-smelling mouth.

With his feet on the ground, the Kingslayer tried to disappear into thin air again, but was repeatedly forced back by Garsen's storm of slashes.

"You're getting impatient, you're getting impatient, you're getting impatient!" Garson's voice came through the black iron mask, his hoarse and deep voice full of malice. "It seems Rhodes Island has given you quite a few bargaining chips. What kind of treasure is it? Something that can make you so angry that you'd even drag your wounds to take my life? I really want it!"

"……Shut up."

The regicide swung her arm and twirled her short blade, barely managing to deflect the incoming blows time and time again. The wound on her side tore open with the violent movements of her body, and blood soaked her trousers and boots. Her breath was filled with the smell of rust, which clung to her mask and wouldn't dissipate.

A Sarkaz curse user was ruthlessly disguised as an ordinary sorcerer and thrown onto the battlefield as bait by Garzan. As a result, the Kingslayer was wounded by the curse user's counter-spell, which was cast at the cost of his own life, the moment he attacked. His movements became sluggish due to blood loss, and his consciousness was blurred by the curse that kept echoing in his ears.

"It doesn't matter what you are, you'll fall into my hands sooner or later. If it's treasure, I'll take it. If it's a person, I'll bring them to you in the dungeon and tear them apart piece by piece in front of you, so you'll understand the fate of a traitor before you die!"

"Shut up!!"

The Kingslayer suddenly raised his head, a black shadow covering his entire body, distorting space the instant Garsen's greatsword fell.

Garsen's powerful strike slammed straight into the ground, creating a large crater in the floor, with cracks spreading in all directions.

The Kingslayer, who had teleported behind Garsen, swiftly turned around, his short blade emanating a black aura, and the ominous blade slashed towards Garsen's vulnerable nape.

"Hey."

Garsen let out a cold laugh, and the instant his slash missed, he lowered the hilt of his sword. Just as expected, just as he had anticipated, everything unfolded as he had predicted. Garsen sidestepped and raised his left arm, forcefully blocking the Kingslayer's short blade. Half of the blade pierced his skin, muscles, and bones, embedding itself deep within like a nail.

The mad demon gained the upper hand at the cost of an arm.

Garsen grabbed the Kingslayer's cheek with his right hand and slammed her to the ground with a deafening roar.

The kingslayer suffered a severe head injury, his vision went black, and the dark shadows that had been clinging to his body instantly collapsed, dissipating into smoke and vanishing with the wind.

“You probably don’t know, but I can tell you… the Sarkaz Blood Demons are very sensitive to blood.” Garsen’s enormous, beast-like claws pressed down on the Kingslayer’s head, slowly pulling her from the shattered ground. Bloodstains mixed with dirt and stone chips dripped slowly onto the ground, and the sound of swallowing saliva came from under the black iron mask.

"More than forty Sarkaz mercenaries died at your hands. Even the Rhodes Island crew, the one who fought me on the battlefield three years ago, didn't lose a fraction of the number of men they killed. How are you going to compensate me for all this?"

Garsen tightened his grip, and the sound of the Kingslayer's skull struggling brought him some solace.

Keep in mind that his men didn't lose this many men when they stormed Ursus's key military strongholds.

"Tell me, what exactly did Rhodes Island promise you?"

The regicide did not answer; her fingers moved upwards with difficulty, grasping the half-charred stick hanging from her coat.

She raised her hand tremblingly and tapped Garsen on the head, the soot from the charcoal leaving a scratch on the ugly mask.

Garsen remained silent.

That's enough. He's given up. Rhodes Island doesn't matter anymore. All Garsen wants now is to crush the head in his hand!

"Awooo—!!"

A sudden roar of wolves filled the air. Garsen frowned and looked around, but no one was there. When he turned back, he found his hand empty. Startled, he scanned his surroundings and discovered a stranger had appeared out of nowhere in front of him and snatched his prey away.

"Who are you?"

Garsen felt a chill run down his spine, raised the heavy sword stuck in the ground, and pointed it at the approaching figure.

A red wolf embraces the blood-soaked kingslayer, its lonely figure appearing and disappearing in the shadows.

The wolf girl slowly turned her head, and her golden eyes, filled with uncontrollable rage, instantly blazed with crimson light.

Chapter Forty Rampage

Lin Lu gently placed the regicide on the ground, removed her mask, and wiped the bloodstains off her face.

The girl's remaining consciousness felt immense pressure. She barely opened her eyes, met Lin Lu's golden pupils for two seconds, then her face turned deathly pale, and she fainted on the spot. The Kingslayer's tense body slowly relaxed, becoming as soft as a ball of cotton. It was less a sense of relief and more a feeling of being terrified into fainting.

Without the aid of the Spirit Realm and the Anemone, Lin Lu was unable to obtain the operator's information, skills, and attributes. In fact, the Special Operator Red has a nickname on Rhodes Island: "The Grim Reaper Wearing Little Red Riding Hood," and in Syracuse, her nickname is even more well-known... the Werewolf Hunter.

Of course, Lin Lu was unaware of this; he simply believed that the King Killer was too badly injured and had been beaten by Garsen.

Lin Lu silently turned his head to look at the Sarkaz warrior who was 2.4 meters tall. With Hong's height of only 1.62 meters, it was as if he was looking up at a giant.

"you……"

As soon as Lin Lu opened his mouth, his body began to move on its own.

Driven by emotions, the power of rage coursed through his limbs, and this battered body surged with boundless power, pushing his limits once again.

The red light emanating from his golden eyes rose in the darkness. Lin Lu gripped a dagger tightly in his palm. There was a blood groove on the inside of the sharp blade, and blood energy was spreading across the blade.

Garsen saw a light, a dazzling light, that tore through space and connected the distance between the two points into a straight line.

He instinctively raised his greatsword in front of him, but the red phantom was too fast, leaping off the greatsword.

Lin Lu stepped onto the sword, and in the instant he passed Garsen, he flipped over and threw the dagger in mid-air. The blood-soaked dagger, like a bolt of lightning, pierced through the air at close range, heading straight for Garsen's back, but unfortunately, it didn't completely penetrate. But that was fine; Lin Lu had no intention of letting him off so easily.

With a nimble landing, Lin Lu pulled out three daggers from each of the left and right pockets of his coat, and threw them again as he dodged Garsen's heavy sword.

With ghostly speed, wolfish ferocity, and phantom-like skill, Lin Lu unleashed Hong's full potential without the aid of his spiritual domain. The wounds he inflicted on the burly Sarkaz warrior multiplied; a pool of blood had formed at Garsen's feet. His back, neck, and groin—almost every vital area—were pierced by daggers. The sharp blades plunged into Garsen's body, his blood rapidly draining away, draining his strength.

"You, I saw it, I saw it... the belt of the Tower of Babel!"

Garsen's left arm was immobile, with the Kingslayer's dagger still on it, so he could only lean his weight on the heavy sword that he could barely hold in his right hand.

“It’s you, Commander of Babel, you damned evil spirit! I will never forget you, I will never forget you even in death—it is because of your incompetence that that once-great leader died without a burial place.”

"That's why we chose Theresis! Only the Regent's iron fist can bring a new future to the Sarkaz, not empty ideals or excessive goodwill! The Sarkaz's long-standing resentment will not end because of one person's gentleness, and only war can right the long-standing imbalance!"

"Naive commander, naive leader, naive ideas—all of that is in the past. You should have disappeared completely three years ago; you shouldn't be here!"

Garsen grinned maliciously, his words sharp and sarcastic. His attention was focused on the wolf girl, and the Originium device strapped to his right arm quietly activated.

Blood, large amounts of blood, blood containing Originium components, are being continuously pumped into the body through the device.

Although Garsen currently appears battered and on the verge of death, these are not fatal injuries given the Sarkaz's regenerative abilities. As one of the most monstrous branches of the Sarkaz, the Blood Demon, he can replenish his lost blood through other means. If it weren't for the somewhat disgusting design of this dagger, he wouldn't even need to pretend.

There's a reason why the Sarkaz are called demons by other races.

"..."

Lin Lu stared at the other person indifferently, expressionless, completely unaffected by Garsen's words.

Because he couldn't understand it.

Lin Lu had no memory of this; he was just an exceptionally good man who had only half a day of memories after waking up.

Garsen frowned; he hadn't expected his provocation to be completely ineffective. But then again, in his memory, this battlefield commander who once stood on the high platform looking down upon everyone was a pure war machine, a thinking monster who, when insane, would even casually use his own life.

That being the case...

Garsen's gaze unconsciously drifted to the fallen, unconscious kingslayer.

Garsen never dreamed that his unintentional action would completely ignite Lin Lu's anger.

"You dare!!"

The enraged Lin Lu charged straight at Garsen, clenched his right fist, and delivered a powerful uppercut that sent Garsen flying.

Lin Lu ran his left hand across the Ark Driver, and the central core emitted the emblem of a special class.

"Final Attack Ride! Pro - JeKT Red!!"

A holographic card-shaped light wall shot into the sky and landed directly on Garsen. Garsen was shocked to find himself unable to move and was met with a punch.

Garsen's blood, which he had painstakingly restored using the Originium device, was instantly shattered by a single punch. It was unimaginable that the slender hand could shatter his internal organs and send a cloud of blood mist flying when it struck his chest. The second punch that followed slammed him back to the ground, and the moment his back hit the ground, he clearly felt his spine break.

The powerful reaction force sent Garsen bouncing into the air from the ground. Lin Lu grabbed him by the collar and tossed him upwards.

Lin Lu stretched his neck, dark red lightning gathered in his feet, and he took a step forward, kicking out with his leg! Blood mist erupted, and the golden light wall superimposed on Garsen amplified Lin Lu's Knight Kick thirty times, directly kicking Garsen so hard that he split in two, scattering blood rain everywhere.

Blood dripped onto the ground like corrosive liquid spilled on a wool blanket, quickly turning the ground a charred black and emitting a foul odor.

Surprisingly, after surviving the kick, Garsen was still breathing and tried to escape with his remaining upper body.

As for his lower body?

It's hanging on the tree.

Lin Lu quietly watched Garsen's crawling trajectory, his palm constantly turning the last dagger.

His gaze swept over Garsen like a predator, finally settling on the gray mark on the black iron mask—a strike the Kingslayer had launched with all his might, even in his most powerless and desperate moments, without yielding to compromise.

Is there no other choice besides this?

Lin Lu tossed it aside, his gaze icy.

Let the dagger fly for a while.

Chapter 41 W

The sharp dagger was embedded in Garsen's black iron mask, the blade penetrating deep into his skull, the remaining half of the blade trembling incessantly.

Garsen's severed body convulsed violently. The Sarkaz's regenerative abilities combined with the Blood Demon's power, which had been his greatest trump card, had now become a nightmare from which he could neither live nor die. He watched helplessly as the red and white semi-congealed liquid seeped out from the dagger's blood groove, spreading across his black iron mask. Fear gradually overwhelmed him, dragging him into an endless abyss.

If Lin Lu's dagger had struck any other part of Garsen's body, even piercing his heart, it wouldn't have caused him such pain. This feeling of helplessness, of having calculated everything only to end up with nothing, filled him with countless regrets before his death, with thoughts of dying sooner or later constantly surfacing.

Garsen had already secretly unleashed his Originium Arts while Lin Lu was suppressing him. The pervasive blood aura even made use of his own body, which had been split in two. He deliberately splattered out as much of the remaining blood from his lower body as possible, staining the earth with his own color.

With just a thought, he could unleash the Blood Slaughter spell; with just a thought, he could— Ouch, ouch, ouch, so ouch! My brain is burning, so hot, so hot! I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to— However, Garsen's mind was filled with fear, and he was unable to complete the final step of the spell.

"boom!"

The sudden gunshot shattered the peace.

A black hole about the width of a finger appeared on Garsen's black iron mask, from which smoke drifted, and after several seconds a mixture of red and white liquid emerged.