Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 407 - 350 Winner_1

Huai Shi kept his word.

He spoke with conviction and was just as decisive in action.

To put it directly, it was both painful and swift.

After he swung his Great Treasure Sword V4.0 – Wolf Fang Club Version from one end of the city wall to the other, amidst the horrific, gory bloodshed, all the Giant Beasts that dared to invade the city were completely finished.

As the MVP, Huai Shi single-handedly contributed about forty percent of the damage output, which meant that nearly thirty of the Giant Beasts were killed by his Wolf Fang Club or Metallic Breath.

The battle was over.

They had won.

In the aftermath of losing the nation and its citizens he was sworn to protect, the lonely His Majesty the King achieved victory, even though Huai Shi found this victory utterly meaningless.

It was, completely, putting the cart before the horse!

When the Giant Beasts once again converged in front of the Royal Palace, they saw His Majesty the King atop his throne within the open hall.

He seemed to have regained his past honor and dignity, returning to youth.

Countless mutations covered his shell of a body, becoming unbelievably harmonious, as if a double negative had become positive.

Even for someone face-blind like Huai Shi, among the Lizard Men, the King's appearance was that of a handsome and dignified type.

Now, the last King sat on his throne, clutching the Scepter, enlightened and valiant.

He appeared spirited, yet could not conceal the profound gloom and fatigue within his eyes.

Towards the waiting Giant Beasts, he slowly lifted the Scepter in his mutated limbs, pointing towards the collapsed city walls and the defenseless kingdoms beyond.

"Counterattack, and offer the last tribute to this dying nation," he said softly. "Great Spirits, throw yourselves into your war, where you can obtain all that you seek."

As he spoke, the final crimson light rose from his Scepter, enveloping the Giant Beasts, catalyzing their Metamorphosis, and sending countless violent auras soaring into the sky.

The Explorers left silently.

Only the King, swallowed by mutations and sitting on his throne, and Huai Shi, who lingered in the great hall, were left.

Huai Shi stood amidst the countless Flesh Flowers writhing in agony, cocking his head as he observed the King.

Jonathan cautiously peered out from a distance, recording various data with excitement, witnessing the approach of the end.

"Why did you choose to stay, Great Spirit?"

Through layers of mutations, the King struggled to raise his slim neck, his twisted face regarding Huai Shi. "Why obsessively... come to gaze upon this ugly state of mine?"

"Although I've always suspected you harbored ill intentions, you've never harmed me after all. On the contrary, I've gained quite a few benefits from you." Huai Shi lifted his sharp claws, tearing and flicking away the Flesh Flower entwined around his wrist, raising his gaze towards him. "But whether as a human or a dog, one must see things through, right?"

The King remained silent. As mournful wails gradually began to sound, painful faces emerged from the Flesh Flowers.

These were the citizens, immersed in the Abyss's mutation, the Lizard Men infected with disease and erosion. Whether they were Ascetic Monks or High Priests, almost all the Lizard Men had been fused into the King's body at this moment.

The mutated limbs could not conceal the wails of countless Souls. They opened their eyes from everlasting darkness and suffocation, shedding blood and tears, looking up to the gray Sky Dome. They were still praying with frenzy for an end to this unceasing torment, to end this eternal suffering.

Behind the King, the Divine Corpse's Eye silently shattered. The last drop of blood merged into his limbs, driving his mutation to completely cross the forbidden threshold, violently drawing in the endless sediment of the Abyss, and plunging deeper into its depths.

"Is this your plan?"

Huai Shi sighed softly. "To completely fuse yourself with the Divine Body, become a monster, and cloak all citizens' consciousness within your body? Do you think by doing so, you can survive the coming Doomsday?"

"Isn't this... the duty... of a King?"

The hoarse, faint voice rose from the increasingly alien King's shell, so feeble. "This is... what we must... pay... the price..."

To survive, to continue living, to protect the Kingdom.

To fulfill one's mission and duty.

The inevitable price.

If it was merely enduring the anguish, the price would seem trivial and cheap.

Too much of a bargain.

At this moment, amidst hoarse laments, he finally, truly fused with his Kingdom!

"Won't this just drag the entire Kingdom into the Abyss with you?"

Huai Shi looked down upon his grotesque form with pity, slowly shaking his head. "It's not a problem that can be solved with determination alone; the burden is too heavy, you can't hold it."

Over a hundred thousand patients infected by the Abyss, bearing its terrible erosive power, would assimilate the King into a monster of the Abyss in an instant.

Even with the Divine Body, it could not carry this terrifying burden.

It would simply plunge into Hell along with his Kingdom.

"At least... we're still alive, aren't we?"

From the tumorous growths and disordered limbs, the King looked up with blood-streaked tears, managing a painful smile at him. "At least... we can still... exist..."

"God... the great power of God... You are so merciful..."

"For not... granting... total extermination..."

"If this is our fate... our... original sin... then I... am willing... to relish it..."

Amongst the screaming and wailing of his myriad subjects, the King's face gradually melted, his arms outstretched, entwined by numerous Flesh Flowers, completely losing his own outline.

Only countless fanged, grotesque maws remained on the myriad faces, all crying out to the sky in a hunger-driven shriek.

The earth trembled.

The Royal Palace shattered with a BOOM. From amid the tremendous noise, dozens of gigantic tentacles thrust out from the soil, pulling the King's bloated, cumbersome shell and propping up a grotesque body.

It was a horrifying shadow, like a spider blocking out the sun.

Bathing in the flames of agony, a crimson hue covered each twisted face, as if it had been birthed from the womb of the Abyss, brought into this suffering world.

The King's wish came true.

His great deed succeeded.

Or it could also be called a failure... Having lost its essence to the corrosion of the Abyss, it plunged into endless hunger and madness.

This distorted evolution was hardly living; at best, it was merely gasping for life in the midst of Doomsday.

Soon, it would likely self-destruct, falling to pieces, becoming other chaotic things, or simply rot away completely.

Until the truly malevolent consciousness emerged from the suffering of those over a hundred thousand Souls, undergoing Metamorphosis into a new being. Like a parasite breaking out of a cicada, bursting forth...

And when the countless ravenous screams rose to the heavens, Fu Yi could no longer hold back her voice.

"Shouldn't we be going now?"

"We could go, but there's no need."

Huai Shi shook his head and suddenly asked, "Do you want to know what I actually do in my daily job?"

"Hm?" Fu Yi was puzzled.

"I'd love to say I'm defending the peace of the Current Circumstances or battling evil forces, but after a lot of thought recently, I realized that in the end, I'm just following my own whims and doing whatever I want."

Huai Shi sighed. "Even if I occasionally do something good, it's just because I happened on it by chance, not worth any grand recognition or thanks. Sometimes I mess things up so badly I have to rely on others to clean up after me, and it looks pathetic, not cool at all."

He paused for a moment, tilted his head in thought, then seriously said, "But I must say, doing whatever I want feels freaking great."

It was as thrilling as playing a game of word chain.

Although, in some sense, it might be tantamount to seeking one's own doom.

Even Huai Shi sometimes couldn't believe it; after everything, he hadn't changed at all.

As stubborn as ever.

Raven was right. After gaining Power, most people just go wild and follow their own Intentions... Huai Shi wasn't any different from others. If there had to be a distinction, it was only that what he wanted was a bit more extravagant than what others pursued.

"So what exactly are you trying to say?" Fu Yi sighed. "You're not human anymore?"

"Already turned into a dog, how can I still be human?"

Huai Shi shook his head. "I'm just giving you a heads up that there's a good chance I won't be able to carry you anymore. You remember the promise you made to me, right?"

He stepped back and kicked the Crystal Lizard engrossed in research and note-taking, signaling that it was time for it to work.

"You should go," Huai Shi said. "If things go south, I might be out of the game soon too."

"..."

Fu Yi clicked her tongue, reluctantly crawling out of the Bell, pouting.

Finally, after giving Huai Shi a glare, she turned and walked into the portal opened by Jonathan.

In a brief silence, Huai Shi frowned. "Fu Yi, stop messing around!"

No response.

"She really left?" Huai Shi asked.

Jonathan nodded vigorously.

After confirming through the Astronomical Society's records that Fu Yi had exited, Huai Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief and flicked his tail to indicate that the fellow should hide further away.

In the end, he looked towards the monster in front of him, which was shrieking and ready to depart.

"Hey!"

Huai Shi, who only reached up to the creature's first leg joint, looked up and called out, "How about a fight?"

To assert his existence, Huai Shi opened his mouth and spat on the King's shoes.

If it still had shoes.

In any case, the effect was striking. As searing molten iron surged, the spider-like beast of flesh roared in fury and abruptly lifted one of its many-jointed legs, stomping down towards Huai Shi.

Amidst the ROAR, shockwaves erupted, sweeping in all directions.

Through the billowing dust, the contour of a grinning Dragon Wolf slowly became visible.

"I'll take that as a yes..."