Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 229: The Decapitation Finisher

Deep in the mountains, the shockwave from the explosion still rolled on and on, echoing off the peaks in a long, rumbling reverberation.

Massive clouds of smoke and dust obscured everything. For the moment, nothing could be seen.

Li Wei sprinted toward the Universal Gold Card dropped by the cat-type Ability User. Zhao Xuanxuan and Li Yue were still performing emergency first aid — they'd had only a few minutes from start to finish.

Thomas and Leon held their positions. Li Wei knew, and everyone knew: this wasn't over.

Except for the natural humans. They thought they'd found a way to solve everything in one stroke — even if it meant burning through every last round of ammunition.

They'd come so close to succeeding.

A moment later, as the smoke cleared, only one Ability User remained standing. One — who had absorbed the stone giants, the fire-types, and the ice archer. A terrifying five-star Ability User.

He barely looked human anymore.

Over three meters tall, his body an explosion of muscle mass. Blue-black skin that gleamed in the sunlight like impenetrable steel plate.

His chest and the center of his back were covered in golden scales the size of a palm — thick and dense, likely impervious even to cannon fire.His head had become almost square, because golden bone plates had grown out to form something like a helmet, protecting his brow, the back of his skull, and his temples, leaving only his eyes exposed.

And from his back grew nine massive, hardened bone spines — like a Stegosaurus, but looking more like a bone-spike launcher.

A five-star Ability User capable of both ranged and melee combat, with high defense, massive health, and at least three life cores. Essentially unkillable.

Perhaps this had been the Flame Duke's true intention all along.

Thomas was stunned. Li Wei was mildly surprised. The natural humans inside the bunker were stunned too — they'd seen something like this before, but back then they'd had full ammunition, anti-aircraft machine guns, flamethrowers, every tool available. That was how they'd killed wave after wave of Ability Users. But now?

"Thomas! Run!"

Li Wei roared it and immediately started running back. But there was no escaping this — and no point in trying. Against a five-star Ability User, flight was a joke.

He still had a few cards to play. The first was Thomas. He'd enhanced Thomas's City Builder title earlier — Thomas hadn't elaborated on the details, but it had to be powerful. And this was also the kind of thing that would make Thomas deeply loyal to him.

The second card was Leon. Leon looked weak, but he was loyal — not to Li Wei specifically, but to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to Night Owl. That was enough. And Li Wei had promised him a Universal Gold Card. Don't underestimate that kind of incentive. It could make a person fearless even in the face of death.

And Li Wei's credibility had been proven since the Rookie Mission.

So even though Leon looked like the weakest link on this battlefield, at the critical moment, he would deliver exactly what was needed.

The third card was the Universal Gold Card in his hand. Under other circumstances, he might have used it to enhance Leon — genuinely a smart choice. But there was no time for that now.

Inside the bunker, silence had fallen. The surviving natural humans had seen a five-star Ability User before. Every time, it had cost them enormously to bring one down. And now — they'd lost the will to resist. A gray despair settled over them. They could only wait for death.

A five-star Ability User meant greater power, greater speed, greater defense, greater life force. Three life cores. Something that simply couldn't be killed.

In fact, the five-star Ability User didn't even look at the despairing natural humans in the bunker. He simply turned — slowly — and on a face like Thanos, a chilling, enormous smile spread open.

"So, friends from the Frost Territory — give me a reasonable explanation. Why did you kill our mutual friend? Why did you run?"

The words had barely left his mouth when his entire body launched like a cannonball. Blindingly fast. At least 40 Agility.

Fast enough that ordinary human eyes could barely track him.

Even Thomas and Leon struggled to follow. The gap was too wide.

Leon went completely blank. He'd never faced an enemy like this in his life. How was he supposed to fight this?

But Thomas was different. He couldn't track the enemy's movements either, and he knew the odds were hopeless — but twenty years of failures, twenty years of battles that had forged an iron will, still led him to make the right choice in that moment.

He listened to Li Wei. He turned and ran.

But after only two steps, he immediately spun back and activated his title ability — City Builder, full release.

The logic in that sequence of actions was still clear and precise.

Hesitating and refusing to fight was the third most unforgivable offense — that was Leon's position.

Turning tail and fleeing in the chaos was the second most unforgivable — that was Li Wei's position.

But running away while the enemy was radiating absolute dominance and authority — that was committing a crime in the face of the wind. The most unforgivable of all.

Of course, Thomas was also gambling.

What if the five-star Ability User had a sharper mind? Then this move was suicide.

But he had no choice. He had to bet.

Against an enemy of this caliber, having even one chance to act as the gambler was a stroke of luck. The worst fate was having no chance at all — like the natural humans across from them.

He gambled right. And it was logical that he would.

If a five-star Ability User became smarter as it grew stronger — if it could control its emotions, maintain a coherent worldview, even a twisted but stable one — it wouldn't have come here to hunt and "split" natural humans in the first place.

It wouldn't be called a Magic Zombie.

Everything had its nature. There are no wrong names, only wrong assumptions.

"CRASH!"

Like a mountain collapsing, like the earth splitting — a thunderous impact, and a flash of earthy yellow light that vanished in an instant.

Thomas's three-star blank heavy shield shattered into fragments. His body was hurled like a kite with a snapped string — launched dozens of meters, blood spraying, fate unknown.

But his City Builder title had successfully stopped the five-star Ability User for one full second, causing a momentary stall in his movement. Some special property of the City Builder title had activated.

One second. That was all Leon needed to execute his Decapitation Finisher.

Yes — Leon was confused, Leon was scared, Leon was... but he wasn't stupid. He'd understood Li Wei's intent in an instant.

Thomas ran. He couldn't run.

Thomas had bought this opening with half his life. It was Leon's one and only chance to attack.

Even if death came for him immediately after — as long as he landed an effective hit, it was enough. Nothing else needed to be considered. Because he trusted that Li Wei would compensate for whatever he lost.

"HAAAH!"

In that moment, Leon roared — eyes resolute, steps steady. He gripped his two-handed greatsword in both hands, leapt from behind a nearby tree, and launched himself forward.

Even the distance he'd been standing at was perfectly suited for the Decapitation Finisher.

Thomas had been an excellent teammate in that regard.

One second.

Just one second.

Leon's two-handed greatsword came down with terrifying force on the back of the five-star Ability User's neck. The moment the blade connected, sparks flew from the creature's skin — like striking a slab of solid steel.

The defense was extraordinary. After all, this was a being that had absorbed the Universal Gold Cards of two stone giants.

But what Leon had unleashed was also his Executioner title — enhanced once already.

And Leon had abandoned all thought of life or death, going all in, channeling every ounce of his strength and spirit into the most powerful finishing move he had ever performed.

It wasn't Leon who was strong — it was this kind of finishing move, carrying the weight of fate.

The Executioner.

For a single moment, a faint, translucent silhouette appeared behind Leon — a stonemason chiseling a sacred statue, the essence of a divine gift bestowed upon the mason's profession.

All of it poured into Leon's two-handed greatsword. In this moment, regardless of outcome, regardless of life or death, victory or defeat — to have pushed this finishing move to this level was enough. His Mason Destiny Grid would advance because of it.

"CRACK!"

The five-star Ability User's massive, Thanos-like head was severed and fell. That head had grown hardened bone plates over every vital area — a bone helmet of extraordinary defense — but the back of the neck had been left unprotected.

If there had been no life core placed in the skull, it wouldn't have mattered. But there was one — out of three. And it was there.

If his mind had been sharper, it wouldn't have mattered. But he was a Magic Zombie — and it wasn't.

Two three-star players, working together, had managed to decapitate a five-star Ability User.

After the strike landed, Leon's two-handed greatsword had several chips knocked out of the blade.

Didn't matter. That blow had used every last point of his strength. His original 300 Stamina was completely depleted. Stars burst across his vision. He could only drop to one knee and calmly await whatever came next.

The five-star Ability User could slap his head into pulp with one hand.

That was certain.

But Leon didn't meet his true death — because Li Wei was already there. The moment he'd shouted "Thomas, run!" he had already started sprinting at full speed.

In that moment, he had foreseen everything that might happen in the next few seconds.

Whether Thomas could trigger his City Builder title's special property, whether Leon could sever the five-star Ability User's head — neither outcome changed his decision.

His decision was this: use the Universal Gold Card to enhance his Bloodthirsty Spear — upgrading it directly from two-star to four-star.

[Name: Bloodthirsty War Spear]

[Quality: Four-Star]

[Description: A powerful weapon forged and upgraded by a skilled blacksmith using refined techniques. The quench-hardened steel spearhead possesses exceptional sharpness. Whether used in close combat or thrown, it will be a nightmare for any enemy. Now, it has been further enchanted by powerful magical force, altering its very material at the atomic level. It has become sharper, harder, and more durable — no longer a weapon that requires repair after a single use.]

[Melee Damage +100. In most cases, a single powerful thrust is sufficient to incapacitate an opponent and witness the spectacle of blood spraying freely. Requirement: minimum 15 Strength. For each additional point of Strength above this, Armor Penetration Rate +10%, Damage +10.]

[Ranged Damage +100. Ranged throwing requires greater skill — a precise hit far outweighs a furious but inaccurate throw. Requirement: minimum 20 Strength, and must possess excellent throwing technique. For each additional point of Strength above this, Armor Penetration Rate +20%, Damage +20. This weapon can 100% penetrate any shield or heavy armor of four-star quality or below. If the target wears enchanted heavy armor or carries an enchanted heavy shield, this attack will cause magical energy dispersal — requiring a mana recharge after every three uses. Note: against non-enchanted equipment, armor and shield penetration can be performed five consecutive times.]

[This equipment can be carried out of this world.]