Ark Chess Player.

Lin Lu said, "I will come to pick you up."

"No matter where you are, no matter how far you have to go, I will come to pick you up."

"Not now, I can't leave Amiya and the others behind. Wait for me, wait for me..."

Perhaps Lin Lu let go first, or perhaps Theresa, with a smile in her eyes, chose to let go, or perhaps they both withdrew their hands at the same time.

Theresa cupped a warm ball of light in her hands and gently placed it into Lin Lu's chest. She left with a faint smile and turned to walk towards the black snake.

The black serpent, on the verge of death under the siege of the kings, lay prostrate on the ground. Its entire body seemed to coil from within, its dim eyes fixed on Theresa's approaching figure. It seemed to recognize who she was, and just as it was about to speak, a dazzling beam of light fell from Theresa's hand.

"—"

Under the radiant will that illuminates the entire world, the Black Serpent was unable to utter even its dying words, and vanished in the light.

The phantoms of the Sarkaz kings stood in the void, turned to look at Lin Lu, nodded silently, and then scattered into starlight.

Lin Lu gazed calmly at the sky, placing his hands on his chest, feeling the warmth left behind by Theresa.

The sky of the spiritual world shattered, and with the passing of the black serpent, Talulah's mental prison also crumbled.

“Tallulah…”

Talulah, who was drifting aimlessly on the frozen tundra, felt a gentle tug on her shoulder and stopped.

“Ah…” Talulah opened her mouth, took a breath, and choked out, “I’m listening, I’m listening.”

"You should leave here..."

Alina's weak voice reached Talulah's ears.

“I can’t leave you behind, Alina, we’re almost there…really, we’re almost there.” Talulah felt the weight of the Elafia girl and started running. As if hypnotizing herself, she murmured, “I’ll call the medics to give you a blood transfusion. You’ll be alright, you will be alright!”

“Talulah… that’s enough.”

Alina sighed helplessly; her body was dissipating.

Talulah stopped in a panic, but because she had been running too fast, she lost her balance and fell heavily to the ground.

Ignoring her own injuries, she hurriedly turned around and hugged Alina, holding her only remaining hand.

"Alina, don't close your eyes, don't close your eyes. I beg you, I beg you."

Faced with Talulah's request, the Elafia girl shook her head with a wry smile.

“Talulah…you know, I know very well what that curse is.” Alina’s dim eyes stared at Talulah, she breathed heavily, and struggled to finish her sentence, “The old man who cursed you used me…to trap you here. Now it’s time for you to leave…besides me, there are many others waiting for you.”

"Alina..."

Talulah held Alina's hands tightly, and Alina's body was turning into points of light along with the surrounding environment.

Alina slowly closed her eyes, and suddenly smiled, a smile as radiant as when they first met.

“Talulah, I once said that if we were still by your side back then… we would have been able to pull you back. No matter how deep the darkness you went, we would never have given up on you. Now, we can’t do that, but I hope you can survive.”

"Alina...don't go..."

Talulah kept reaching out to try and hold back the fading light, but she couldn't hold onto anything.

The deer-like girl blinked, and with her last strength, she raised her hand and cupped Talulah's tear-streaked face.

"The hand you should be holding is no longer mine."

Chapter 452 Crimson Sky, A Sword Severing a City (4K)

The rooftop of the command tower in the heart of Chernobog.

A light shone in Drak's white-haired eyes. She glanced dazedly at the man holding her tightly, then slowly closed her eyes and collapsed into his arms. Her body, subjected to Originium Arts by Black Serpent in a way that rendered her unusable, was already pushed to its limit. Her mental energy, exhausted from trudging through the long prison, was utterly depleted. Looking at Lin Lu, the former leader of the Reunion Movement, the huge weight that had been hanging over her heart finally lifted, and she instinctively lost consciousness.

Lin Lu's consciousness returned to his body. He blinked, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

He hurriedly wiped away his tears; he couldn't let anyone see him in such a shameful state, as it concerned his lifelong reputation.

"She cried."

A voice full of laughter came over, and the mischievousness in the laughter was self-evident.

"She really did cry... Wait, don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! Just stand there!!"

Compared to her usual calm and composed tone, Chen Huijie's reprimand sounded somewhat flustered.

Lin Lu was stunned for a moment, then turned to look over.

Chen Huijie stood guard beside him and Talulah, sword in hand. The person standing before her was…

The ultimate, invincible, youthful, and beautiful Sarkaz girl—W.

"The evil spirit of the Tower of Babel is crying like this, it's hilarious."

W clutched her stomach, laughing until her stomach hurt.

Lin Lu said calmly, "I saw her."

W's laughter sounded like a cassette tape jammed, almost making me gasp for breath.

This is an unspoken understanding between the two; they both know who they are talking about.

"Where is she?!" W roared, instantly revealing his true nature.

"She's in my heart. Alright, let's bring the whole city to a standstill first, and we'll talk about everything later."

Lin Lu stood up, holding the unconscious Talulah, who was like a giant doll to be manipulated.

Perhaps because the scene before her was so overwhelming, W felt her mind become even more confused. In her eyes, Lin Lu was affectionately embracing the black snake; the feeling was simply indescribable.

"Anyway, anyway..." W held his head in his hands, finally managing to sort out his thoughts. He turned to Chen Huijie, extending his right hand, "Take out the key to the core city! The one Misha handed over to the Guard Bureau, I know it's on you! If we don't do it now, it'll be too late! If we don't stop this city, we'll soon reach the border, and then we'll all be doomed!"

"...I can't trust a serial killer."

Chen Huijie had not forgotten what W had done in the Longmen slums.

"Laughable, then you probably don't trust yourself."

"really."

Chen Huijie agreed with W's sarcasm.

“Enough. Give me the key. I may not be a good person, but... I can't let the Speaker's hard work go to waste. That's my reason, and it's far more practical than the idea of ​​saving the world,” W said resolutely. She was even prepared to snatch it from Chen Huijie.

"Give it to her."

Lin Lu shoved the limp Talulah into Chen Huijie's arms. Chen Huijie was holding a longsword in both hands, so she couldn't hug or push her away.

"you you you--"

"Isn't she your sister? Don't worry, I've already killed that black snake. False gods and demons are no different; just kill it."

Lin Lu reached into Chen Huijie's pocket, disregarding her opinion, and threw the core city key to W.

W was stunned. She was a little confused by Lin Lu's unwavering trust and accepted it blankly.

"Wow... I'm starting to like you a little."

"No thanks, it would be too much trouble for you to like me."

Lin Lu refused immediately, but W was not annoyed. Instead, he revealed a mischievous smile.

"Just let me stop this thing! Uh, I mean, I'm using the control panel to input commands... How do you pronounce this thing again?"

"Can you do it or not?"

Chen Huijie, holding Talulah, questioned W.

"Shut up, I know, I know... it must be... to feed all the people (Ursus language)?"

W breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the blue light successfully illuminate on the control panel. He said confidently, "Everyone, hold on tight. I don't know if this will be a one-way trip! Don't get thrown out if you do."

However, the core city did not stop there.

I don’t even know if it’s just my imagination, but the movement speed in the core city seems to have increased a lot.

Chen Huijie's expression changed. She looked into the distance and could even see the faint outline of the Dragon Gate!

"What are you doing!"

Chen Huijie burst out with curses: "Is this your conspiracy?!"

"Don't make any noise."

W's face turned deathly pale. She bit her lip and kept searching on the control panel for a way to stop the core city.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as she hoped. She scratched her head, looking at the data on the control panel with worry.

"Why...why won't it stop?!" W raised the control panel as if to smash it on the ground, but she held back her anxiety and didn't do so; her raised hand trembled.

"Alright, let me take a look."

Lin Lu tiptoed and took the tablet from W's hand.

His finger traced across the control panel, and he immediately saw the reason.

"This key can only be used for startup, not emergency braking. Can't you even understand the official Ursus language?" Lin Lu held up the tablet and smacked W's head between his horns without any politeness. "You've gone stupid from not studying properly!"

"What do we do now?! You better think of something, you—"

W instinctively grabbed Lin Lu's collar, only realizing at this moment that when faced with problems, she, like those Rhodes Island operators from Babel, unconsciously relied on the man before her. It seemed that those who followed him had developed this habit over the past few years.

Did I say I couldn't do it?

Lin Lu smiled calmly, like a gentle spring breeze, which put people at ease.

Sure enough, no matter what difficulties this man encountered, he was always able to issue orders in the calmest and gentlest tone.

This time is the same, and the next time will be the same; it seems like it will always be like this.

That's why W hates Lawyer Lin.

She hated that someone as powerful as him couldn't even protect a Sarkaz!

Or perhaps... what exactly happened to Theresa back then that left the Doctor powerless?

"Take this as a souvenir, and remember to study hard in the future."

Lin Lu shoved the control panel back into W's hand and turned to extend his hand to Chen Huijie.

"Chixiao, lend it to me."

"what?"

Chen Huijie slowly typed a question mark. She wanted to remind Lin Lü that not just anyone could wield the Crimson Sky Sword. Initially, she was wounded all over by the chaotic sword energy simply from touching the Crimson Sky. Now, she could wield the Crimson Sky at will, but she didn't know how much blood she had shed to gain the Crimson Sky's recognition as its master.

"Good sword."

Lin Lu easily grasped the Crimson Sky Sword, casually creating a series of sword flowers. The sword's charm was as mellow as wine, intoxicating to all.

The Crimson Sky Sword rang out clearly and brightly, appearing extremely joyful; even a famous sword deserves a wise master.

"???"

Chen Huijie felt cheated on, as if she had been cuckolded. Her once beloved Chixiao had run off with a bad man.

"...What are you going to do?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Chestra, ah."

Lin Lu slowly raised his head, gazing at the endless dark clouds, as if sensing something.

As the digitized spiritual domain expanded outwards, he saw the Patriots fighting against the Ursus regular army, and Amiya and her allies battling in the heart of the core city. He saw the Army Without Borders suppressing the Sarkaz mercenaries, and the Black Cloaks sent by Lungmen approaching the command tower. He saw spies from other nations. As the spiritual domain extended beyond the core city, he saw a surging torrent of steel—the combined First and Second Armies of Ursus, preparing to invade Lungmen.

"Okay."

Lin Lu held his sword in his hand, and an invisible pressure enveloped the city.

The entire city sensed a premonition and involuntarily stopped fighting, turning their heads to look at the command tower.

They saw a beam of light.

The Crimson Sky Sword Qi shone brightly like a torch, its blade reaching to the heavens and piercing the earth, its incomparably brilliant sword intent solidifying into reality.

"—This is the sword of the Emperor's Way."

The sword light reversed, and Lin Lu cleaved through the dark clouds with a single sword strike, slashing down on the core city of Chernobog!

The incandescent sword light blotted out the sky, and the core city crumbled in the radiance, with dust rising into the air, like the afterglow of the apocalypse.

In the core city, whether it was the Reunion Movement, the Sarkaz, or Ursus disguised as the regular army of the Reunion Movement, even the Black Cloaks were plunged into deep despair. No one could maintain their composure in the face of such a miracle. Their sight was robbed by the white light, their hearing by the deafening roar, and their senses remained unresponsive, as if their very humanity had been temporarily taken away. Under this terrifying power, no one could raise a weapon to attack the Scourge; they could only collapse to the ground, praying for an end to all of this.