People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Jian's hobby is engaging in extreme sports alone, such as trying to shield himself from avalanches, though he has never succeeded. Saria is no less adept; she is currently blocking an attack from the Royal Fire Demon, a being hailed as a "calamity."

The thought of how much time and effort it would take to reach that level made Ernst decisively abandon the path of "physical cultivation".

Forget about proving your path through force. Find some time to hire a teacher specializing in Originium Arts and try to develop your magical talent.

Being a mage is pretty good.

Unaware of the shock her routine action had caused those she was protecting, and sensing the flames on her shield gradually fading, Saria rose from her kneeling position, removed the shield, and looked at Ernst and Vina, asking with concern:

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, no," Ernst quickly shook his head, then nudged Vina with his elbow. Vina snapped back to reality and echoed, "No, no, I'm fine."

It seems that Ernst wasn't the only one who was shocked.

Saria breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the moment she turned around, a deep anger flashed between her brows. She looked at the Flame Demon and said coldly:

"To act so arrogantly in front of me is far too overconfident, Balrog. As long as I am here, you cannot harm my guest."

"I knew I wasn't wrong, you're very strong, Vayvan." The Balrog's voice also carried a hint of solemnity.

He had used at least seven-tenths of his strength in that attack, if not his full power. That should have contributed at least half of the force to shattering the troublesome glass. And yet, this Waifan woman had blocked it so effortlessly.

Was she putting on an act? The Flame Demon didn't think so. He was very sensitive to the aura of his enemies, and if Saria was just putting on a brave face, her aura wouldn't be so stable right now.

This woman looks like the most troublesome opponent in this room.

"Hmph, it's a pity that my strength is far from its peak right now, and I'm still not familiar with this armor. Otherwise, how could a mere Vaiva, who isn't even a citizen of the gods, possibly withstand my attack?"

He stubbornly insisted to himself, but the Balrog Safar dared not let his guard down any longer.

Since he has said he will kill Ernst and Vina here to make a name for his resurrection, he will not change his mind no matter who stands in his way.

It has nothing to do with any vows or oaths; the main problem is that it's too embarrassing to change people at the last minute!

"Since that's the case, since you insist on standing in my way, then fine, Vayvan, your shield can block a ball of flame, but can it stop my overwhelming heavenly fire?!"

With a sharp shout, the Flame Demon raised his hand, and with his two swords crossed, endless flames shot into the sky like an erupting volcano, then scattered in all directions, sprinkling across the entire laboratory.

Area of ​​effect attack!

Since a single flame can't harm you, he'll change tactics. But he's just a mere Vaiva who can't even use a decent spell. How could he possibly withstand my meteor shower?!

The Balrog was right. Saria did indeed lack the ability to extinguish fire over a large area. If it were an ordinary fire, it could be extinguished with a little treatment using calcification magic. However, the Balrog's fire was directly controlled by the Balrog. Within the same range, Saria could not both defend against the dense fireballs flying in and extinguish the raging fire.

But that doesn't mean she's out of options.

"Müllseth!"

"I know, I know!"

Muels, who had been prepared the moment the Balrog began to set fire, smiled slightly, walked to Ernst, the target of the attack, reached out and handed him a small straw in Ernst's astonished gaze, then gave him a mischievous wink and suddenly hugged him.

"Varied......?"

Before he could even be surprised, the next second, Muirsey's body suddenly exploded, turning into a small water sphere that enveloped Ernst.

Water clone?

Ernst quickly grasped the situation, nodded to Vina who had experienced the same thing, and extended the straw out of the water balloon.

Muirsey was thoughtful enough to consider the details, fearing that Ernst might not be able to breathe, so she specially gave him a "ninja tool" in advance.

"There's nothing we can do about it. There's just not enough water in this room. If I were to blow myself up to put out the flames, there simply wouldn't be enough. So, it's better to just protect you. That way, Saria can act more freely!"

A muffled voice came from Muerseth (water version). Just as she said, after confirming that Ernst and Vina were not in danger, Saria immediately let go of her inhibitions, throwing her reinforced heavy shield to the ground without hesitation. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she angrily opened the door to the isolation room, walking towards the Balrog.

"Oh, Saria used her fist!"

Muirsey gave an excited commentary.

Ernst was slightly taken aback.

He suddenly remembered that the earliest famous meme about Seria wasn't actually about Columbia Superman, nor was it about a love triangle or the Rhine breakup.

Instead, it's the iconic scene of him knocking out Jeston with three punches – Rhine King of Fighters.

The Balrog was amused by this sight.

"Oh? Abandoning defense, intending to fight me to the death?"

"It's just a test subject that's going to cause trouble."

"Experimental subject? Then you can try it!" The surface of the Flame Demon Armor spewed out even more terrifying flames. He raised his twin swords and faced Saria, like a knight ready to challenge her.

Saria walked straight up without saying a word, her fists already prepared with a layer of calcified gauntlets.

He neither dodged nor evaded the first punch, meeting the Flame Demon's defensive twin swords head-on.

"Oh!"

The Flame Demon's twin flaming swords were shattered instantly, and the invisible flames turned into scattered flying flames, burning in the air for a moment before disappearing.

Before the will within the Flame Demon Armor could express any surprise, the second punch—

"The core of the mech, just like a human's, is in the left chest!"

"Milo said loudly."

The Flame Demon and Saria's eyes narrowed simultaneously. The Flame Demon immediately gathered all its flames, and like Saria's calcification, it forged layers of fire walls on the steel of its chest as a defense. Saria also threw another punch.

"boom!"

The wall of fire shattered the calcification on her gloves. Without the aid of her special combat armor, [Fortress], even at her full power, Originium Arts were simply too difficult to sustain in such a direct confrontation. The waving flames scorched Saria's skin, and the intense pain instantly entered her mind, urging her to pull her hand out of the flames.

But Saria still managed to throw the punch.

The wall of fire collapsed the instant the calcified boxing gloves shattered.

That punch hit the bullseye!

A noticeable dent appeared on the left chest of the Flame Demon Armor. If it weren't for the fact that the armor was made with high-quality materials from Dulin Technology and Miloki's hard-earned savings, Saria's punch would probably have pierced through it.

Even though it didn't achieve the best effect, the Flame Demon was still severely injured and had to take several steps back before it could barely regain its balance.

With the Originium core attacked, the entire armor came to a standstill. If it weren't for the fact that after the Balrog fragments were installed, the armor was no longer entirely powered by the core, but rather a product of a blend of magic and technology, it would likely have already shut down due to a power outage!

"Since you've managed to make me look so pathetic, Vayvan, you deserve to introduce yourself!"

The Balrog raised its head and looked at Saria, whose right hand was already burned and torn open.

In his view, that was the end for Saria. While she was undeniably impressive, those two punches had likely exhausted her. He, on the other hand, still had energy to spare!

For a warrior worthy of respect, the Balrog would be willing to remember her name before killing her.

But what responded to him was not Saria's hoarse voice, nor any desperate shout, but a pair of fists already close to his face.

Even if you lose your right fist, you still have your left.

Rhine King of Fighters, the third punch!

With a deliberate punch, Tianba unleashed a fierce, all-out attack, a serious punch.

Ernst found it difficult to describe that punch in words.

But he knew that the way the Balrog flew up, crashed into the wall, and lay down was very elegant, and how peacefully it looked when it was asleep.

Three punches, and the fight was over.

The Flame Demon achieved first place in the Jeston Imitation Contest. We hope all contestants will continue their efforts, especially Mr. Jeston.

"He has lost his fighting ability."

Muirsey's commentary arrived late, her confident demeanor making one wonder if she had just secretly slipped a drop of water over to give the Balrog a countdown of ten.

The water splashed away, and Muirsey's figure reformed, rubbing her stomach:

"It's really weird to put a person inside your stomach. But thankfully, the problem is solved!"

She couldn't wait to walk towards Saria. At this moment, Saria seemed to have finally broken free of her invincibility, her teeth clenched, and she was slowly walking towards the medical kit.

Her hands were severely burned, and her body was covered with burns of varying degrees. Although the miraculous Originium magic would ensure that she wouldn't be scarred after healing, there was no doubt that her right hand would be useless for a short period of time and would certainly be unable to exert any combat power.

But before she could take two steps, a sudden sense of crisis enveloped her.

Saria abruptly turned her head to look at the exit of the laboratory room. Ernst and Vina, who had noticed this, also turned around and looked at the door that Colonel Bart had run out through not long ago.

"Authentication failed, unknown intruder - buzzing"

The clear report and the piercing static signal highlighted the intruders' violent methods.

"Boom!"

The loud thud of the door being kicked indicated that the uninvited guest had ill intentions.

The overburdened door slowly collapsed, revealing the true form of the uninvited guest.

Clad in heavy armor, with pink hair, unequal horns, cold scarlet eyes, slender pointed ears, and a disdainful demeanor.

Investigator Therese kicks down the door to start the fight!

Chapter 197 The Wrath of Jeragand

Therese had to admit that Rhine Lab's defenses were quite formidable. The surveillance cameras throughout the corridors, the multi-layered identity verification doors, and the troublesome security patrols all significantly increased the difficulty of his infiltration.

Modern technology certainly has its merits. In Sarkaz, spells like this, which allow one to sit in a room and easily monitor the entire building, are something only powerful liches or banshees can do. But at Rhine Labs, even an ordinary person can easily achieve this.

Add to that the steam-powered armor that makes selected warriors stronger just by wearing it, and the high-speed warships that can be driven by a bunch of ordinary people with a little training, and Theresis can imagine that in the foreseeable future, the individual advantages of the Sarkaz will be gradually eliminated... no, or rather, the advantages of all the strong individuals will be gradually eliminated.

However, that is all a story for later.

For Theresis now, breaking into Rhine Lab is not particularly difficult.

As one of the six heroes of Sarkaz, and the current chairman and general of the Kazdel Military Council, every title and honor he has earned is one he has personally fought for. What are these mere Rhine Lab protective measures compared to this? Even against a coalition of Gaul, Victoria, and Letania, he can move freely within their ranks, even beheading their commanders.

Seriously refusing to pass? Then just kick the door down! Surveillance cameras caught your eye? Then use superhuman speed to instantly traverse all surveillance ranges, leaving those watching only a fleeting glimpse of a black figure! Running into Rhine Lab's protective team? Then simply and efficiently subdue them all!

As long as no one discovers it, it's still considered infiltration.

Theresis might not know the exact location of the resurrected Balrog at first, but that doesn't matter. Balrogs are mostly short-tempered, and after their resurrection, they will surely be eager to unleash their power. Theresis will naturally be able to sense it then.

As he expected, following the aura emanating from the Flame Demon and the unusually high temperature compared to other places, Theresis kicked open the last troublesome identification door and stepped into the messy laboratory in front of him.

A cold, eagle-like gaze swept quickly across everyone in the room. Theresis's gaze finally settled on the Flame Demon Armor lying peacefully against the wall behind the melted glass not far away.

The aura was emanating from this robot. But judging from its condition, the newly resurrected Flame Demon had been defeated?

Therese was somewhat surprised.

The Royal Flame Demon was practically synonymous with war god in ancient times. They were active on the battlefield before Theresis was even born, but the surviving texts alone allowed him to glimpse the Flame Demon's former might.

They transformed an entire battlefield into a sea of ​​fire, binding enemies with chains of flame and lava before unleashing colossal fireballs ten meters in diameter. Ordinary soldiers fell like wheat before them; only the mighty citizens of the gods could stand against them.

In this day and age when the people of the gods are weak, how could such a master be found in such a small laboratory, capable of defeating a Royal Flame Demon?

Even though this Royal Flame Demon has been weakened countless times over a long period of time, and can only exert extremely limited power due to the splitting of its body, it is still not something that an ordinary scientist can contend with.

Theresis then turned her gaze to the depths of the room, to the person closest to the Balrog.

"Vaivan?"

He noticed the severe burns on Saria's right hand and shook his head with some regret.

She was a strong woman to have defeated the Balrog, but unfortunately, she was too badly injured. With one hand unable to move, Theresis could kill her with just one strike.

One strike is both the upper and lower limit; after all, although Theresis is a Sarkaz hero, he can't kill with his eyes.

The other people in the room—Felin, Dulin, Caprini, people with indistinct racial features, and an elf disguised as a Liberi?

Together, they might be able to withstand one of my blows?

Therese shook his head slightly and drew the sword from his waist.

These people are destined to die. They have seen their own appearance and know of their arrival, so naturally they cannot be allowed to leave alive.

The Shard in Londinium is not yet officially completed, and the time to confront the nations of Terra has not yet come. He has already had to offend Victoria first. If the Colombians also become aware of his arrival and hostility at this moment, it will inevitably cause complications and bring a lot of uncertainty to his plans.

So, Theresis had already made up a story.

[The Balrog Project went awry; the resurrected Balrog broke free of Rhine Lab's control, killing everyone in the laboratory. The Balrog then escaped and its whereabouts remain unknown.]

Whether the story is credible or not is not important, as long as it doesn't lead people to point the finger at Lentinium.

As for whether this will lead to Sarkaz being targeted?

Who cares? Aren't there enough threats directed at the Sarkaz already? When his plan comes to fruition, the entire Terra will be in chaos, and who will care about the little things happening in this laboratory then?