Through the tiny information worm in mid-air, Zhou Huai looked down at the chaotic street below.

Those three ancient awakened beings who were wreaking havoc on the battlefield had become, in his eyes, pawns radiating an alluring glow.

Based on Mr. Duan's action of taking Ye Xi away before leaving, Zhou Huai made a deduction.

These ancient awakened beings who suddenly appeared around the world are of extremely important value to the Dawn Guild.

Or rather, it was an important part of Mr. Duan's plan!

Since Ye Xi is so important to him, the Dawn Guild will definitely not sit idly by and ignore these three ancient awakened beings who have suddenly appeared.

Zhou Huai tapped his fingers lightly on his knee, making a rhythmic, crisp sound.

"As long as the alien parasites I planted in these three people are not removed, I can follow this invisible thread like fishing and dig out the Dawn Guild's hideout in the shadows..."

Before that, we need to get these guys under control.

We must not let them die at the hands of the city guards, nor can we let them escape.

"Caesar, let's begin."

Zhou Huai, far away at the headquarters of the Divine Dynasty, issued the order deep within his consciousness.

The alien parasites lurking in the hearts of the three awakened individuals in the middle of the street awakened without warning!

These creatures opened their barbed suckers and plunged into their energy cores, devouring the immense divine power that had accumulated over countless years.

Just like when it absorbed the energy from Natsume Rin's body, this energy that was forcibly extracted was transformed into experience points by the system and fed back across space to the panel of the clone Caesar.

【Gained 10,000 experience points】

【Gained 10,000 experience points】

【Gained 10,000 experience points】

...

A dense barrage of golden notification boxes flashed across Zhou Huai's screen.

The thrill of those rapid level changes made Zhou Huai smile.

"Not bad..."

Zhou Huai stared at the constantly refreshing experience bar, secretly marveling.

"If we could capture all these old monsters who have awakened in Tokyo, and even the whole world, and use them as Caesar's experience supply packages..."

The moment the idea came to mind, even Zhou Huai himself found it both crazy and tempting.

at this time.

On the battlefield in the center of the street.

"Damn it! These lowly reptiles, kill them! Kill them all!"

The gaunt man at the head roared, his one hand clenched into a fist, and the air around him trembled with his roar.

He was an ancient wind-elemental archmage, and even now, parasitizing a fragile human body, he should still be an unbridled being.

But just as he was about to unleash a wide-range skill to completely annihilate the hundreds of city guards surrounding him—

He stopped what he was doing.

"Ugh... what's going on?!"

His once surging magical power vanished like the receding tide after a tsunami!

It's not just magic.

His heart was gripped by an invisible hand, and with each beat, the very essence of his life was being pulled away.

"My power...why is it disappearing?!"

He looked down at his chest in horror, his hands trembling.

That feeling of emptiness made him desperately try to grasp something, but he could only let his life flow into the abyss.

"Chief! I...I can't muster any strength!"

The burly man next to him, whose entire body was covered in rock armor, also let out a desperate wail.

His seemingly indestructible armor was cracking and peeling off in large chunks.

"What kind of curse is this?! Did these ants do it?!"

Another woman who was manipulating the whirlwind collapsed to the ground. The tornado that had been roaring in front of her turned into a weak breeze that blew on the faces of the city guards without any harm.

The city guards looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Commander, they... they're not going to make it?"

A school officer lowered his voice, his face full of doubt.

How did the monster that was invincible just a moment ago, capable of flipping tanks with ease, suddenly become seriously ill?

The city guard leader was also stunned, but he reacted quickly, raising his magic-powered longsword: "Strike while the iron is hot! Full firepower! Don't give them a chance to breathe!"

"Damn it... damn it!"

The gaunt man gritted his teeth, his bloodshot eyes turning ferocious.

The situation is unclear, but staying any longer will surely mean certain death!

"Retreat first! Find a way to fight our way out. This body has a problem; we need to find a place to recuperate!"

He let out a sharp screech, exhausting the last of his wind-elemental energy, and forcibly created a violent current of air around his body.

"Wind Domain - Berserker Slaughter!"

Countless wind blades, like steel knives slicing through the air, sent the dozen or so city guards charging straight ahead flying, even carving deep trenches into the ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) ground.

Taking advantage of a lull in the fire, he grabbed two companions and, in a blurry blur, attempted to leap onto the nearby ruined building to escape.

"Escape? The Lord says you must stay, so you must stay."

A clear, girlish voice rang out in mid-air.

The sound drowned out the clamor of the battlefield.

The gaunt man raised his head.

In the sky, dyed blood red by the setting sun, a petite figure floated silently. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

She was a girl who looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

She was dressed in an exquisite black ceremonial robe with piping, her long hair dancing wildly in the wind.

Her gaze was cold and inhuman; in her left pupil, a slowly rotating black spider lily could be faintly seen.

Where is there even a trace of that pitiful girl who used to cower in her room, trembling with fear?

"Get out of my way, you ants!"

The gaunt man sensed the threat, but his proud pride prevented him from backing down. He raised his hand and unleashed a wind spear, piercing into the air.

Rinko Natsume remained expressionless.

She raised her right hand and gently pressed her slender fingers downwards.

"Word of Power - Binding".

Thick, inky black energy burst forth from her fingertips.

That was a destructive curse power that had been fused with the essence of the alien parasite.

"Bang--!"

The originally raging wind spear vanished without a trace upon contact with this black energy, just as ice and snow meet the blazing sun.

Immediately afterwards, an immense pressure, like Mount Tai crashing down, slammed down on the three ancient awakened beings.

"Thump!"

The three of them crashed back onto the rubble-strewn ground.

The ground was smashed into a crater ten meters in diameter.

"This is???!"

The gaunt man coughed up a mouthful of blood, staring in utter horror at the girl who had fallen to the ground.

He sensed that within the girl before him lurked a terrifying life force that even made this god of the old era tremble.

Rin Natsume landed on the edge of the pit, black cursed power spreading beneath her feet, turning the once hard rocks into dust wherever it passed.

Her demeanor changed drastically, and her oppressive aura, like an abyss, forced the surrounding city guards to retreat repeatedly.

"SS-rank..."