Ark Chess Player.

"Flesh chopped into bones! Hehehe... Haha... Hahahaha..."

Specter suppressed Mephisto's mutated claws, and Joyful Sawman appeared, slicing through the enemy amidst laughter and cheers.

Lin Lu entrusted his back to her with peace of mind, and charged forward with his greatsword, leaving cracks in the desert ground beneath his feet. Lin Lu's speed suddenly exploded, and he aimed at Mephisto's head, the gold-edged, black-faced blade slashing out with the force of a tsunami.

"Ow-!!"

Mephistopheles roared, his last vestige of humanity consumed. Even if it meant being devoured by Amidala, he refused to die at Lin Lu's hands. To Mephistopheles, Lin Lu was an inescapable shadow, his nightmare. Even if it meant sacrificing his life for a hypocritical god, Mephistopheles was willing to exchange it for the right to perish together with him.

Even if he dies, he will take Lin Lu with him!

Mephistopheles' left half of his body was instantly stained crimson with blood, his flesh swelled, and his disproportionate limbs became symmetrical. Countless eyeballs popped out from the ruptured wounds, staring at Lin Lu, who was swinging his sword at him.

Mephisto abruptly tilted his head, and Lin Lu swung his greatsword, slashing from Mephisto's left shoulder all the way to his chest. The metallic buzzing sound reverberated; Mephisto, now fully transformed into an ancient god, possessed a physical strength no less than that of Amidala's original form.

A sinister grin appeared on his distorted face as Mephistopheles and Amida's consciousnesses reached a common goal.

—Kill Lin Lu.

Mephisto completely ignored the greatsword at his chest. He roared and swung his almost severed left arm, its sharp claws gleaming a ghastly white like bone spurs. The mutated arm extended; he wanted to make Lin Lu bleed, he wanted to devour Lin Lu's body, he wanted to evolve into a superior being!

But his left claw was severed.

Lin Lu had taken out an ancient hunter's weapon, the Luoyang Twin Blades, at some point.

“Mephisto, I told you…”

Lin Lu kicked the hilt of the greatsword, piercing Mephisto's spine and pinning him to the ground.

Mephistopheles tried to stand up, but Lin Lu's weight pressed down on him like a mountain, holding him firmly in place.

"I see you."

The short sword of Luoyang Shuangdao was thrown down and buried deep into Mephistopheles' left arm, preventing his body from regenerating.

Mephisto roared and swung his right claw, but the Specter clung to him relentlessly, its eyes bloodshot with rage. She severed Mephisto's right claw, but she too was dizzy from the excessive force of the attack and knelt on the ground, panting softly.

"I'm here to find you."

The Luoyang longsword was pressed against Mephisto's eye, which had rolled back between his eyebrows. Mephisto attempted to unleash arcane magic, but an invisible force descended from the sky and suppressed him. His eyeballs, scattered throughout his body, burst open one after another, producing a chilling cracking sound, and Mephisto's bones groaned in agony.

"hiss--"

Mephistopheles convulsed, his limbs twitching. He stared intently at Lin Lu, still not giving up, trying to stand up and continue fighting.

Lin Lu calmly stepped on Mephisto's bloodied chest, his eyes devoid of joy or sorrow, his brows filled with pity.

This was the look Mephistopheles hated most.

Lin Lu shook his head and sighed softly.

sad.

Mephisto, your mother would have been better off giving birth to a piece of char siu than to you.

"I'm here to kill you."

Lin Lu said softly, as the Luoyang longsword pierced through Mephistopheles' skull, deeply shattering his brain.

Mephistopheles' body trembled violently before finally ceasing its struggle. Crimson blood flowed from its ruptured eyeballs, staining the desolate land red.

"it's over?"

Chen Huijie asked.

No one answered her question. The entire Rhodes Island team remained on high alert, with Platinum standing up and carrying her longbow.

Lin Lu did not say that the mission was completed.

We cannot relax until the very last moment, until the commander tells us we can call it a day and go home.

Lin Lu smiled with satisfaction; his own operatives were the most reliable.

"Stop pretending."

Lin Lu stepped on Mephisto's face.

"Your health bar is still glowing, trying to unleash your ultimate attack when I'm off guard, huh? You're kidding me."

As soon as Lin Lu finished speaking, Mephisto suddenly opened his huge mouth, which stretched all the way to his ears, and his mouth was full of eyes, densely packed together.

He blew himself up.

Arcane light shot straight into the sky, a burst of magic comparable to the destruction of the Sentinel Bureau building, causing the air to vibrate violently.

The highly toxic dust that Blue Poison had managed to control was directly stirred up by the aftershocks, and the Originium Index in the Lungmen region is not expected to drop within three months.

Lin Lu arrived in front of Specter almost instantly, easily picked her up, and sprinted towards the Rhodes Island team.

"The Shining!"

Lin Lu shouted.

She is the ace in this operation.

Shining sighed softly, looking at the black sword in her hand, she couldn't help but show a look of disgust.

...Do you really want to take action?

Shining looked up at the rising pillar of light and her friend Nearl, who had no intention of retreating.

Without the slightest fear, Lin Guang stepped forward, attempting to become a shield to buy time for everyone.

"She's as dazzling as ever, Nearl," Shining murmured, her gaze shifting to Skadi... no, she should say the Doctor, who was carrying the dizzy Specter and running away.

"Was all of this part of your plan, Doctor?"

Shining let out a helpless sigh.

She hung the lantern on her waist, held the black sword horizontally, gripped the hilt, and slowly pulled the blade out inch by inch.

Between heaven and earth, the arcane light that Mephisto had transformed into shot straight into the sky.

In a fleeting moment, the dark night sky was briefly illuminated by a flash of daylight.

As dusk falls, the world changes color.

Shining sheathed his sword, as if nothing had happened, and calmly gazed ahead.

Arcane magic collapsed, and the pillar of light dissipated.

Mephistopheles's unwilling roar echoed in the endless desert, and everything vanished.

When the storm subsided, only a giant sword and charred remains of flesh and blood were left in the collapsed, enormous crater.

The twin swords of Luoyang shattered in the arcane explosion, but Skadi's sword, even if it was just a projection, remained steadfast.

Chen Huijie stared at Shining in astonishment.

Is this Rhodes Island's medic?

Is this a medical operator?

Is this a wet nurse?

Are all the medical staff at Rhodes Island monsters?!

Chen witnessed the moment Shining drew his sword; it was a miracle beyond her comprehension.

Lin Lu put down the Specter Shark and returned Shining's gentle smile.

"Thank you for your assistance."

"...No, I didn't do anything."

Shining shook her head gently, her expression somewhat sad; she had no intention of continuing the conversation.

"Understand, understand."

Lin Lu nodded like a chick pecking at rice, knowing that he had skirted the line this time and almost went against the agent's wishes.

As the commander of Rhodes Island, Lin Lu always had his own bottom line. He did not want to issue orders that would make his operators feel uncomfortable, either physically or mentally. If victory required any means necessary, even at the cost of operators' lives and souls, he would rather lead from the front.

"This is finally over..."

Chen Gang was about to speak when she seemed to sense something and quickly shut up.

She had a feeling that if she asked again, she would get a disdainful look from Lin Lu.

"Is it over?" Nearl stared at the large crater, which was more than ten meters in diameter. She could not detect Mephisto's presence.

Lin Lu chuckled lightly, "You could say that, or you could say that... Why are you staring at me?"

Chen Huijie pouted and retorted unhappily, "Nothing!"

eccentric!

Although he wanted to say it, Chen knew he wasn't from Rhodes Island.

As a doctor from Rhodes Island, isn't it normal for Lin Lu to pamper his own people?

Thinking about this made Chen Huijie even angrier.

Lin Lu glanced at Chen out of the corner of his eye, his eyes full of amusement. He didn't say anything more, but instead covered the location of Mephisto's self-destruction with his data-driven spiritual domain. The information flowed through his mind, and if one didn't look closely, one might really think that Mephisto was dead.

"You're the first person to slip away right under my nose."

Lin Lu chuckled lightly, laughing heartily and with utmost ease.

As a stealth expert, few in the world can escape him.

"Doctor, Mephisto has escaped?!" Nearl exclaimed. "Shouldn't we hurry and chase after him?"

"Don't worry."

Lin Lu sensed the fluctuations of Originium Arts and searched for clues.

His gaze slowly turned to the distance, looking towards the direction of Longmen.

"Is Mephistopheles really worth it?"

Lin Lu deactivated the Ark Driver transformation, held the ejected Guardian-class card between his fingers, and looked at the scenery reflected in the card.

"Faust".

Chapter 417 Lullaby

"Ha ha……"

Faust is running.

My heart felt like it was about to explode, and my breath smelled strongly of blood.

Faust held Mephistopheles' head in his arms, his vision clouded by blood, his steps heavy.

He unleashed his first and last Originium Arts in the shortest amount of time.

Faust's lungs ruptured and bled, putting him in critical condition. He accomplished something that countless others had never done before: he deceived everyone present, including Lin Lu, and took Mephistopheles' head right under Lin Lu's nose.

Unfortunately, this was already his limit.

Time was limited, and the opportunity was only once; Faust gave it his all.

"Mephisto, there are some things I've always wanted to tell you."

Faust was too weak to walk any further, so he took Mephistopheles back to Lungmen, simply wanting to see the city from a different perspective.

This is a filthy alleyway filled with mud and signs of decay, the unreconstructed ruins of Lungmen's slums, a scene left behind by the Reunion Movement's invasion yesterday. If Mephisto hadn't sacrificed his infected brethren to summon the Bone Raiders and Bone Hijackers, they could now find a place to shelter from the wind and rain and sit down for a proper chat.

Faust suddenly vomited a large amount of blood and curled up in pain.

Mephistopheles' head fell out of his arms, rolled several times, and the piercing mark was clearly visible. He reopened his eyes and looked at Faust; the remaining life force of the Great Old Ones had somehow kept Mephistopheles alive.

Mephistopheles opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out. His now unrecognizable appearance made it impossible to discern what he wanted to express, but he still moved closer to Faust and looked up at him.

Faust wiped his mouth, looking at his friend in the form of a head, neither human nor ghost, and suddenly felt a sense of desolation.

“Mephistopheles…you said that whatever I really have my own ideas, whatever I want to pursue, then I should do it.” Faust placed the black crossbow on his back on his knees and chuckled. “If I had told you sooner, if we hadn’t gone back, would the ending have been different? As for me, I don’t want to hurt others, and I don’t want to be hurt by others. I don’t want either of those things.”

Mephistopheles did not answer Faust because he was speechless, but Faust could sense his emotions.

"Isn't it too late to say this now? Ha, I know what you want to say... I know, I know it's all too late. I shouldn't have let you treat your fellow Reunion Movement members like this. I know you would catalyze their infection and turn them into herds. But I didn't stop you. If I had stopped you earlier, maybe you wouldn't have been used, deceived, and made one foolish mistake after another."

Faust's voice choked with emotion; he felt deeply guilty towards Mephistopheles, towards the living infected of the Reunion Movement, and towards the victims of Lungmen.

How many people have died in front of you?