Power of the King, Slaying Mercenary Tao

Screech!

The sky seemed to press down in its entirety. The terrifying pressure was like a massive boulder, crushing the breath from everyone’s lungs.

Mo Shi Mo Wang and the others all felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end, each strand of hair rising upright. It was the sign of an immensely terrifying lightning ability poised to strike.

Ions flickered endlessly through the air.

Only the Mad King stood calmly upon the steps beyond the Sword of Damocles, holding an excessively long silver longsword in one hand.

The sword was composed entirely of Royal Authority Power. It was not physical, nor did it have any weight.

The Mad King’s body was no longer made of flesh and blood. He had already transcended the life form of flesh.

Yet in terms of progress up the ladder, he had gone farther than everyone else.

Previously, all the Information Brokers had believed that the Mad King’s defeats of experts such as Red Dust, Show, and Mo Shi Mo Wang had been acts of Overthrowing the Superior. In truth, however, the Mad King had won openly and fairly.

Whether in attributes, control over authority, or progress on the ladder, he far surpassed the others.

The Mad King looked up at the sky and let the thunderclouds churn as heaven and earth fell into darkness.

The next instant, the sky abruptly went black. Then incomparably brilliant white light illuminated the world as brightly as day.

A bolt of lightning descended straight from the heavens, like a silver serpent swallowing the Mad King whole.

Boom!

Terrifying pressure and heat scorched the air until it stank. The Mad King’s vision darkened, and a figure had already appeared before him.

Mercenary Tao’s long pale-white hair danced in the wind, while the intense aura and blood mist around his body radiated horrifying heat.

Mercenary Tao, who had suddenly appeared before him, raised one hand and lowered the other. The next instant, boundless killing intent swept forth.

The Mad King’s figure retreated sharply. His Agility was equally terrifying, already exceeding 300 points, yet he still failed to escape the engulfing killing intent.

Then he crossed his hands before himself. Green Royal Authority Power began to shine, and as Bai Cangshu’s black Shun Goku Satsu unfolded, azure light completely enveloped Tokyo.

The cracking of sinking tectonic plates, the mournful howl of seawater rushing back in, and the faint wails of agony—all sound abruptly vanished.

Shun Goku Satsu: One Instant Thousand Strikes!

Bai Cangshu threw a punch, and a skyful of fist force erupted alongside Satsui no Hado, interwoven in scarlet and black.

Puff puff puff puff…

Within the Mad King’s silver figure, streams of information seemed to flicker through his pupils. He saw the terrifying strike clearly, even distinctly sensing the Myriad Death Intent circulating amid the Satsui no Hado filling the sky.

Law Decree: Order!

The next moment, the unceasing sound of Yellow Springs beside Bai Cangshu’s ears seemed to fall silent. He began to feel every punch becoming increasingly muted.

The darkness dispersed. At some point, Bai Cangshu had stopped before the Mad King, still maintaining the posture of throwing a punch toward him, yet no force or Satsui no Hado emerged.

All manner of black marks flowed over Bai Cangshu’s right fist. They were not traces of the sealed Eternal Regression Ladder, but the result of the surging Myriad Death Intent within him being unable to disperse and forcibly remaining in his body.

The Mad King’s expression remained calm. His hands were still crossed, maintaining the stance of an authority-based defense.

"Mercenary Tao, your power is enough to usher in a new era… Serve beneath me, and I can…"

Crack, crack…

Sounds like shattering glass interrupted the Mad King’s attempt to recruit Mercenary Tao. He looked around and saw cracks spreading across the azure space.

It was as though the invisible restraints filling the air had exceeded their limits and been fractured by pure violence.

His gaze returned to Mercenary Tao, who happened to be looking at him as well. Their eyes met. Mercenary Tao’s grin split impossibly wide, making his handsome face appear arrogant and twisted.

Whoosh!

Black flames rose behind Mercenary Tao like a solar disk. Rather than scorching heat, those flames felt closer to bone-chilling cold.

Merely being illuminated from such close range made the Mad King feel himself beginning to suffer the effects of countless curses. The domain of Law Decree: Order began collapsing as well.

Flame of Finality!

The ability Bai Cangshu had forcibly seized was not particularly easy for him to use, and his grasp of Finality was extremely shallow.

Yet at this moment, this Title Ability proved exceptionally effective.

Whoosh!

The black solar disk grew increasingly distinct, and the Royal Authority Power began to recoil as though it were being burned.

Bai Cangshu emitted an intense aura and force. The Black Great Sun had already moved directly above him, only a few meters away from the Mad King.

The Mad King truly had not expected Mercenary Tao, who had activated his hidden means and seemed intent on blasting him to death on the spot, to use such a method.

Moreover, one glance was enough to tell that this ability belonged to the title of Great Sun of Finality.

He had no way of knowing how Mercenary Tao had gained control of this ability. According to the intelligence, the Finality Empire and Mercenary Tao were practically irreconcilable enemies. It was only because of Mercenary Tao’s overwhelming personal strength that they had abandoned all attempts to hunt him down.

"Ah…"

Another sigh escaped him. Azure King’s Authority began to burn, and black smoke rose from the azure radiance enveloping all the surrounding space.

This intangible Royal Authority Power was being ignited by the Black Great Sun.

The Mad King looked at the ferocious beast whose eyes were wild and unyielding, whose body radiated a terrifying presence as if it would set even the sky ablaze, and felt increasingly regretful.

The more he fought Mercenary Tao, the more he appreciated him. A human truly possessed of a reincarnator’s talent was likely an exceedingly rare type, even among a population exceeding eight billion.

And yet, he could not bring him beneath his command.

I am so weak.

The Mad King keenly felt his own limitations. He could not suppress Mercenary Tao without killing him.

This was the limitation of one who saw himself as king. It was his weakness that prevented this outstanding individual from contributing to the birth of the New World.

The Mad King’s logic had always been thus. It was another form of extreme arrogance.

He would never consider differences in people’s ways of thinking, personalities, or ideals. To him, such matters were trivial nonsense.

Just like what others thought of him, and just like the rebellious hearts everywhere among those reincarnators he had forcibly brought beneath his command.

As long as he was strong enough, he could tolerate everything.

It was precisely because he overwhelmingly surpassed Red Dust, Show, Mo Shi Mo Wang, and everyone else that he did not care whether they secretly contacted others or sent out distress signals.

It was precisely because he overwhelmingly surpassed the Heart Demon that he could refrain from pursuing her death and instead seek to bring her beneath his command as well.

He wanted this world to truly become stronger through inclusiveness. He wanted the world to enter the extraordinary, so that this ordinary, weak world would possess limitless possibilities before the true war of the multiverse began.

That was why he wanted to unite every talented person.

Bai Cangshu slowly raised his brows. His heart was beating at a strange rhythm.

Not quickly, but every beat was incomparably heavy, as though it bore countless thoughts, emotions, and judgments. It was because it carried so much that each beat came with such difficulty.

But also because it carried so much, every beat was so… soul-stirring!

Thump!

Silver ripples spread outward in rings through the void before Bai Cangshu. The Black Great Sun seemed to be shaken by those ripples, drifting farther and farther away through space.

"You…"

Bai Cangshu felt himself become incomparably small at that moment, while the silver Mad King became vast enough to blot out the sky.

Soon, he realized it was not an illusion. Within the Heart Light Pulse, the Mad King’s silver figure transformed into a terrifying form thousands of meters tall. He reached out and directly pulled free the Sword of Damocles that symbolized the restriction upon Royal Authority Power.

"I am too weak, Mercenary Tao. Therefore… I can only choose…"

"For the sake of the world, to kill you."

"King, draw your sword!"

Boom!

The earth trembled. The dark clouds in the sky scattered in an instant. Rings of silver-white ripples accompanied the drawn Sword of Damocles; merely the spreading Royal Authority Power sent the sea of clouds rolling across the heavens before vanishing completely.

The Mad King raised the longsword that restricted Royal Authority Power high overhead and slashed it toward the ground.