Chapter 1288: Fall of the Creasant Republic

"What?!!"

Urhan and Sea Devourer widened their eyes in surprise.

Spider-like limbs radiating blood-colored lightning blocked their attacks with overwhelming force.

[Third Form: Blood Lightning Barrier]!!

[Fourth Form: Lightning Critical Enhancement]!!

Souta turned his head toward them as armor slid over his face. His third eye flashed with a dangerous light. Then he looked upward before diving downward.

Swooosh!!

"In this moment... NONE OF YOU CAN DEFEAT!!"

Darkness descended from above while light surged from below.

The entire space trembled as blood-colored lightning erupted in every direction.

The Eighth Shackle Realm and Seventh Shackle Realm experts shivered.

Their instincts screamed that death was upon them.

Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, and they couldn’t even move a single step.

It felt as though everything was about to end.

There was no escaping this.

"No...!!!"

Urhan and Sea Devourer’s desperate cries echoed across the battlefield.

Their pupils contracted.

Darkness and light filled their vision.

A sea of blood-red lightning engulfed them.

BOOOOOOMMMM!!!

A cataclysmic explosion erupted.

Darkness, light, and blood-red lightning collided violently, each force struggling to overwhelm the others. The three powers intertwined into a magnificent yet terrifying spectacle, illuminating the battlefield with crimson, black, and white radiance.

The collision expanded for dozens of kilometers.

Everywhere it passed, the space cracked, the water vanished, and the seabed crumbled. The battlefield itself seemed on the verge of collapse.

The nearby Eight Shackle Realm and Seventh Shackle Realm experts never had a chance.

The moment the shockwave reached them, their bodies disintegrated.

Their protective spells, their combat arts, and their equipment. Everything was reduced to nothing. Not even dust remained. Even the monsters were unable to escape. Whether they belonged to the Creasant Republic or had come as reinforcements, every creature caught within the expanding storm was annihilated without exception.

The battlefield became a sea of destruction.

"T-This...!!"

Sea Devourer’s six eyes widened in horror.

For the first time in countless years, genuine fear overwhelmed him.

He lowered his gaze.

Urhan did the same.

Both of them stared at the lone figure standing amidst the storm of blood-red lightning.

Souta.

He stood motionless.

Crimson lightning coiled around him like countless living serpents. His third eye remained open. The halo behind him slowly rotated. An overwhelming aura radiated from his body, causing even space itself to tremble.

Sea Devourer blinked.

His perception shifted.

As an Advanced Fifth Stage monster, his senses pierced beyond the surface of reality.

He no longer saw merely Souta’s body.

He saw the terrifying truth hidden beneath it.

An ocean of energy churned inside Souta.

Its sheer volume was so immense that it resembled a blazing crimson sun compressed into humanoid form.

Even more horrifying was countless crimson threads extended from Souta’s body.

They were anchored directly to the fabric of space.

Like roots spreading through the world itself.

The surrounding laws pulsed in response to those threads.

Sea Devourer’s breathing stopped.

"This power..."

His voice trembled.

"It can’t be..."

Even Urhan was stunned.

He had completely forgotten about the gravely injured Armante beside him. Everything else became insignificant. Because the overwhelming pressure pouring from Souta was impossible to ignore.

It pressed upon everyone within the battlefield like the weight of an entire world.

Urhan tightened his grip on his trident.

Blood continued dripping from the countless wounds covering his body. His breathing grew heavier and for the first time in his life... He felt powerless.

Sea Devourer slowly lowered his head. A bitter smile appeared on his face.

Both of them had reached the same conclusion.

They were going to die.

Not because they had fought carelessly.

Not because they lacked courage.

But because the monster standing before them had surpassed them by an overwhelming margin.

Urhan was already an Intermediate Ninth Shackle Realm expert, a pinnacle existence feared throughout the Depths of Banquet.

Sea Devourer was an Advanced Fifth Stage monster standing only a step away from its peak.

Under normal circumstances, either one of them could dominate an entire nation.

Yet before Souta...

Their strength felt insignificant.

Like candles standing before a blazing sun.

The gap between them was no longer one of skill.

It was a difference in existence itself.

Souta’s energy level had surpassed both of theirs. Although it hadn’t reached the Tenth Shackle Realm, it had already exceeded the Ninth Shackle Realm by a small margin. His power now hovered between the Ninth and Tenth Shackle Realms.

"How can I...?"

Neither Urhan nor Sea Devourer was at their peak anymore.

Urhan had already fought Souta alone and suffered injuries during their earlier clash. Meanwhile, Sea Devourer had also been wounded in his battle against Souta. That single clash had pierced through his defenses and resistance alike.

Souta glanced at Urhan and Sea Devourer.

Several artifacts floated beside him. With a single wave of his hand, he instantly changed the flow of energy across the entire battlefield.

BOOM!!!

Blood-colored lightning, darkness, and light erupted once more like a volcanic eruption.

[Second Form: Blood Lightning Piercing Through the Heavens]!

[Fourth Form: Lightning Critical Enhancement]!

Urhan and Sea Devourer widened their eyes in horror as blood-colored lightning consumed their vision.

They unleashed all of their remaining power, intending to block the incoming attack.

But it would only make their deaths more painful.

BOOM!!!

A blinding light erupted, illuminating everything within an eighty-kilometer radius.

The resulting shockwaves surged outward like a tidal wave, obliterating everything in their path.

The immense energy fluctuations were so overwhelming that they could be felt throughout every corner of the Creasant Republic.

...

Far in the distance, beyond the battlefield, an aquatic humanoid monster silently watched the violent waves of energy rolling across the ocean.

His eyes were filled with awe.

He was an Intermediate Fifth Stage Sea Goblin, the very same warrior who had withdrawn after receiving the Emperor’s command.

Behind him stood hundreds of Sea Goblins of varying strength.

The strongest among them had reached the Initial Fifth Stage. The weakest were only at the Initial Fourth Stage. Yet every one of them stared toward the battlefield with reverence.

"That’s the Emperor..."

The Intermediate Fifth Stage Sea Goblin whispered.

"The Emperor’s power is truly magnificent."

Unlike the other monsters that had fled in terror, there wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes.

Only admiration.

Only devotion.

He belonged to the Sea Goblin race.

And Souta... Is their Emperor.

The instinct to obey an Emperor was engraved into every Sea Goblin from the moment they were born.

It flowed through their blood. It was carved into their bones. It was etched into their very souls.

The feeling was even stronger because Souta wasn’t merely an Emperor.

He’s of a Goblin species.

To the Sea Goblins, his authority was absolute.

From this day onward, the Intermediate Fifth Stage Sea Goblin and his entire tribe would devote themselves to Souta until death.

Even if it meant charging into certain annihilation...

They would obey without hesitation.

Those below the Fifth Stage had even less resistance.

They couldn’t oppose the Emperor’s will.

Even if a Fifth Stage monster ordered them otherwise...

Even if death awaited them...

Their instincts would still compel them to follow Souta.

The Intermediate Fifth Stage Sea Goblin slowly turned his head toward the distant cities of the Creasant Republic.

His gaze was calm.

"From this day forward..."

He spoke in a solemn voice.

"This land belongs to the Emperor."

His eyes returned to the distant battlefield, where crimson lightning still illuminated the horizon.

"The President is dead."

"The Supreme Commander is dead."

He lowered his head in reverence.

"There is nothing left that can stand in the Emperor’s path."

Behind him, thousands of Sea Goblins instinctively lowered their heads as well. Not because they had been ordered to. But because they felt the overwhelming presence of their sovereign.

The reign of the Blood Lightning Emperor had begun.

...

Throughout the Creasant Republic, countless citizens trembled in fear.

Although they were hundreds of kilometers away from the battlefield, the terrifying pressure continued to wash over the nation in relentless waves.

Every surge made the ocean tremble.

Every fluctuation caused the land to shake.

The oppressive aura weighed heavily on their hearts, making it feel as though death itself was hanging above their heads.

Many found it difficult to breathe. Others collapsed to their knees. Even the strongest civilians instinctively lowered their heads before that overwhelming power.

"M-Mom... I’m scared..."

A young child clung tightly to his mother’s arm, his small body trembling uncontrollably.

The woman forced a gentle smile despite the fear in her own eyes.

"Don’t worry."

She stroked her child’s head softly.

"The Supreme Commander will deal with the enemy."

"Our President is there too."

"They’ll protect our country."

"Nothing will happen to us."

Similar conversations echoed throughout different cities.

Despite the fear consuming their hearts, the people still held unwavering faith in their leaders.

For decades, the Creasant Republic had stood as the strongest nation in the Depths of Banquet.

Whenever disaster struck...

Whenever powerful enemies appeared...

The nation’s highest authorities always found a way to overcome the crisis.

Again and again...

They had protected the republic.

That long history of victory had become the people’s greatest source of confidence. No one believed their homeland could truly fall. Not while the President and the Supreme Commander still stood.

Yet...

The truth was far crueler than they could imagine.

None of them knew what was actually happening on the battlefield.

They didn’t know that countless Hero-rank experts had already perished.

They didn’t know that entire armies had been wiped out.

They didn’t know that even the nation’s greatest powerhouses had been driven to the brink of death.

And they certainly didn’t know...

That the enemy they faced was unlike anything the Depths of Banquet had ever encountered.

A being from beyond their world.

A monster whose name had spread fear across the God’s Continent.

A conqueror who had already forced every nation in the Depths of Banquet into a corner.

His crimson lightning had reached every battlefield. His influence had spread across the entire land.

Like an invisible hand, he was slowly tightening his grip around the whole Depths of Banquet...

Until there was nowhere left to run, nowhere left to hide, and before long...

There would be no one left who could escape the grasp of the Blood Lightning Monster.

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