The next moment, the sword energy struck.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Within seconds, the blazing rings collapsed one after another. Each impact felt like a judgment from the heavens themselves, descending with merciless precision. The remaining rings groaned violently, their surface twisting as cracks rapidly spread, sword energy gnawing at their very structure as if it were alive.

Albert's arms trembled uncontrollably. Blood seeped from the corners of his mouth as his spiritual energy burned at an unsustainable rate, his elixir field shaking violently under the pressure.

"This isn't just imitation…" Albert realized in horror as the sword energy finally broke through and assaulted his body directly.

Blood spewed out of him like a dam bursting open.

He was a third ranker, that much was true.

But the problem was that he still hadn't integrated his body into his core.

Which meant he lacked true regenerative capabilities.

Every wound was real.

Every slash was permanent.

And under this relentless storm of sword intent, Albert finally understood one thing clearly.

If this continued, he wouldn't just lose.

He would die!

His energy was not limitless either as people say. There was a clear cap to how much he could expend even with the core in possession, and the repeated release of high-level power spells, especially the Heaven Opening Sword Line, had consumed an enormous amount of it. Albert had believed he would never lose to a junior, and because of that confidence, he had poured out most of his energy without restraint, intending to end the battle as quickly as possible.

And in the barren lands, the cosmic energy had thinned extremely because of the battle that took place.

There was no way he could restore his energy levels back up like this, especially in this state.

Luckily, he had prepared for emergencies.

Inside his spatial ring were several energy restoration potions, along with high-grade healing elixirs. As long as he was fast enough, he could recover. He could turn the tide.

However—

His face suddenly froze.

His spatial ring… was gone.

Before panic could take root, a teasing voice rang out beside him. The faint scent of fresh, premium perfume assaulted his senses as he turned his head.

Grey was standing right next to him.

Casual and Relaxed.

Between two fingers, a spatial ring twirled lazily.

"…"

Albert fell silent.

He hadn't even seen Grey move.

"You should surrender, City Lord Albert." Grey's voice was calm, almost indifferent. "At the state you're in right now, you'll bleed out and die."

His gaze swept over Albert's body. It was riddled with wounds, flesh torn open as lingering sword energy continued to wreak havoc inside him. Every attempt Albert made to purge it only drained what little spiritual energy he had left.

His reserves were nearly empty.

Albert had lost.

And it had taken only a single move of Heaven Opening Sword Line.

It wasn't because Albert was weak. On the contrary, he was strong enough to stand at the threshold of the 3rd rank. The problem was that this technique was simply too powerful. It had shattered Grey's own dragon body earlier without any buffs backing it, and that alone spoke volumes about its quality.

At Grey's current level of power, facing two pseudo 3rd rankers at once would not be an issue.

Of course, that statement did not apply to a true 1st-level 3rd ranker.

The gap between pseudo and true 3rd rank was absurdly vast. Two pseudo 3rd rankers would never come close to threatening a 1st-level 3rd ranker. In fact, even ten pseudo 3rd rankers would be helpless against one.

The reason was simple.

Once an evolver placed their own body into the core, the rules changed entirely.

Their body and core became one, making them monstrously resilient and almost impossible to suppress. If such an existence chose to flee, stopping them would be nearly impossible, because in the core state, they could fly faster than anyone else.

The core harmonized the evolver with the world itself, allowing them to draw upon it directly and bring forth power on an entirely different level.

"I lost…?" Albert gritted his teeth. Despite the severe physical injuries, what hurt him the most at this moment was his heart.

Yet now that he had lost, there was nothing he could do.

He had already accepted Grey's challenge, and there was only one possible outcome.

Grey becoming the ruler of the Mandate Province.

It didn't take long.

Across the entire Mandate Province, the drilling voice of Eterna's robotic system boomed, echoing through cities, districts, and administrative hubs alike.

[System Announcement: A Mandate Province authority update has been triggered.]

[Processing verification… complete.]

[City Lord Albert has formally accepted the challenge issued by Second Rank Citizen Grey Lockhart.]

[By the rules of provincial succession, the outcome of the challenge has been confirmed.]

[Effective immediately, authority over the Mandate Province is transferred.]

[Grey Lockhart is now recognized as the City Lord of the Mandate Province.]

[All administrative departments, enforcement units, evolver squads, and city systems are to update operational protocols and acknowledge the new authority holder. Compliance is mandatory.]

Grey Lockhart had officially become the City Lord of the Mandate Province.

Albert's face fell.

Grey noticed it, but he merely shook his head.

What he had done was, in truth, barbaric. A violent shortcut that trampled over the accumulated efforts of millions. But in his pursuit of power, nothing was allowed to stand in his way. Starting tomorrow, he would begin patching his evolutionary path and spreading it across the southern region.

Without another word, Grey tossed the spatial ring back to Albert.

Albert glanced at him bitterly, then swiftly took out several healing potions. As soon as his condition stabilized, Grey turned the stream away from him.

It looked like Albert wanted to say something.

"I've lost, City Lord Grey," Albert said, releasing a long sigh of relief. "There's no one to blame but myself. I underestimated my enemy, and this is the result."

At least, that was what he told himself.

But everyone else knew the truth perfectly well.

He hadn't lost because of arrogance alone.

He had lost because he was no match for Grey Lockhart.

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