What was happening? Why would Empress Shui Lan appear among the enemy? The forces of the Pale Moon Kingdom were utterly stunned by this turn of events.
Empress Shui Lan stood calmly amidst the waves, her gaze sweeping over the densely packed warships and sea tribe troops. She spoke with a tranquility that belied the significance of her words, "The Pale Moon Kingdom, and the entire alliance of sea tribes, has fallen into corruption and rigidity over these thousands of years. It is time for a revolution!"
"I hereby declare my formal alliance with the Chaos Federation, becoming a member of Darkness City. The old, corrupt era must end. Now, only the Chaos Federation and the Demon King of Darkness City can bring true peace to the sea tribes!"
"Your weapons should not be used against the reformers!"
Before Empress Shui Lan could finish, Takumi Akiwawa, overcome with rage, interrupted her. He bellowed, "Don't listen to her nonsense! Empress Shui Lan has been dead for 6,000 years. How could she possibly appear in this era? This is a conspiracy! A trap set by the Demon King of Darkness City!"
His words garnered widespread support, with many echoing, "Exactly!"
"This must be the enemy's scheme!"
"How could Empress Shui Lan appear here after so many years?"
"Damn these foreigners! Not only do they invade and occupy our sea tribe cities, but they also dare to desecrate the great Empress Shui Lan!"
"Kill them all!"
The people of the Pale Moon Kingdom were incensed, not all out of righteous indignation but many out of fear. The reason was simple: the legal status and territory of the Pale Moon Kingdom were all delineated by Empress Shui Lan herself. If Empress Shui Lan opposed their rule, not to mention the covenant was destroyed, could they still hold their ground in this region?
Among the Pale Moon Kingdom's forces, aside from ordinary sea tribe warriors and soldiers, there were no shortages of members from the Pale Moon royal family and other vested interest families. Their rights and status were all tied to the Pale Moon Kingdom. How could they accept an act that aimed to eradicate their legitimacy from its very roots? Regardless of whether Empress Shui Lan was genuine or not, they could not possibly accept it.
Empress Shui Lan let out a scoff at their reaction. A surging force was released from her body, instantly creating a powerful Deep Sea Sanctum that enveloped most of the ships present. When deployed in a marine environment, the scale and size of Empress Shui Lan's sanctum could increase tenfold, with its power also significantly enhanced.
This completely dumbfounded the Pale Moon sea tribe. While Empress Shui Lan's appearance could be imitated and her identity impersonated, and even a mythic-class emperor-rank powerhouse could be found to mirror her strength, there was one thing that couldn't be faked: her domain skill. Each king and emperor's domain possessed distinct personal characteristics, and according to historical records, the powerful sanctum now before them was none other than that of Empress Shui Lan herself.
"She is Empress Shui Lan!"
"She truly is Empress Shui Lan!"
"This isn't a fake; Empress Shui Lan has returned!"
The Pale Moon sea tribe was utterly shaken, especially the ordinary soldiers and officers in the middle and lower ranks. They realized that standing within the enemy ranks was the legendary empress who founded the sea tribe alliance and once ended the conflicts in the Chaos Sea.
How could they continue to fight?
Takumi Akiwawa was furious. "Enough of your tricks! I'll slay you first, you impostor!"
Regardless of the merfolk's true identity, Takumi Akiwawa knew he had to eliminate her to proceed with the battle. He charged at Empress Shui Lan, braving the pressure of her sanctum, and swung his great sword. Condensing his Qi into waves, he aimed a powerful strike at Empress Shui Lan.
However, just as Takumi Akiwawa's blade was about to strike Shui Lan, he suddenly felt a loss of control over his body. Han Kexin, standing not far from Shui Lan, had her left finger wrapped around a blue thread, almost invisible to the naked eye, that extended to Takumi Akiwawa.
[You are under the influence of psychic domination! You are in a state of loss of control!]
Takumi Akiwawa was shocked. How could he, with his strength, be so easily controlled? In fact, to Han Kexin, the Hero's power was negligible. Even before reaching Level 6, Han Kexin could manipulate Heroes of Level 6 overlord strength, not to mention now that she herself had reached Level 6, becoming a terrifying Demon Emperor. Takumi Akiwawa, despite being a powerful Level 6 overlord, was like an ant to Han Kexin. If it weren't for the vast numbers of the Pale Moon Kingdom's forces, she wouldn't have needed to request for a reinforcement of over a hundred dragons to assert dominance.
Takumi Akiwawa tried to use his battle spirit to break free but found his efforts futile against the control.
At that moment, Shui Lan raised her hand towards him and said, "You, who are so stubborn and backward, only serve as an obstacle to peace. You must be eliminated!"
The next second, a powerful burst of energy shot from Shui Lan's fingertip, striking Takumi Akiwawa's head and obliterating it.
"The Grand Marshal is dead!"
"The Grand Marshal is dead!"
"The Empress has killed the marshal!"
Han Kexin chose not to eliminate Takumi Akiwawa personally to achieve a more profound psychological impact. After all, dying by Empress Shui Lan's hand, compared to hers, brought about an entirely different level of shock.
However, at that moment, Han Kexin noticed something. Frowning, she said, "Huh, that's strange, this guy isn't dead yet."
Shui Lan, hearing Han Kexin's comment, was also slightly taken aback and immediately focused her attention on the scene. The shattered pieces of the head, under some force, began to reassemble themselves and reattach to the neck, piecing the head back together.
"Kuso! Kusotare..." Takumi Akiwawa, clutching his head, had a twisted look of pain on his face. His face and head were covered in cracks, and although the wounds were healing rapidly, being decapitated was obviously not a pleasant experience.
"You can't kill me!"
"No one can kill me!"
Shui Lan's gaze turned cold, and with a swift motion of her slender fingers, dozens of unbreakable water blades sliced through the Hero from every direction. Against this, the Hero had no chance to resist. Since Han Kexin was still controlling his body, he couldn't dodge or use his Qi to counter. He took the hit squarely and was instantly cut into dozens of pieces. However, at that moment, the pieces began to reassemble once again. Takumi Akiwawa's armor had fallen off, revealing his completely deformed body and a strange, green, eye-like organ on his chest.
Han Kexin and Shui Lan could see clearly now. The reason this man was unkillable was due to this bizarre organ, which released a special energy, continuously restoring his body.
Han Kexin commented with interest, "Huh, this eye resembles the one in the Mountains of Madness, although the power it wields is entirely different."
Shui Lan, having seen much of the world, changed her expression and said, "The power of an Evil God? No wonder he's so hard to kill!"
Takumi Akiwawa's body recovered once again, but with each regeneration, his deformity worsened, and his mental state seemed to become more frenzied.
"I am immortal!"
"You can't kill me!"
Shui Lan scoffed, "Immortal? You wish!"
As she spoke, she waved her hands, and hundreds, if not thousands, of water blades instantly minced Takumi's body.
Shui Lan didn't believe that under such circumstances, he could still heal himself with the Evil God's power. As expected, the power of the Evil God had its limits. Under such intense assault, Takumi Akiwawa could no longer regenerate. His body, now cut into thousands of pieces, still clung together around the eye, forming a writhing mass of flesh.
Seeing this, Shui Lan immediately said, "This fragment of the Evil God is awakening. We must destroy it!"
"Let's do it!"
Knowing how troublesome and terrifying a fully awakened Evil God monstrosity could be, Han Kexin didn't hesitate to act, releasing a purple demonic fire. Simultaneously, Qiuyue, Dongxue, other demonic powerhouses, as well as Shui Lan also made their move. With so many powerful individuals attacking together, it was quite a significant display of force against the awakening Evil God.
The next second, the flesh lump, which had swollen to the size of a house, exploded.
Han Kexin obtained the inactive fragment of the dark god and saw the related information about it.
[Eye of Regeneration] A fragment of the ancient "Eight-Eyed Evil God", with each eye containing a different dark power. This one, representing the power of life, is known as the Eye of Regeneration.
"Eye of Regeneration?" Han Kexin marveled, "No wonder it had such a strong resurrection ability. It's surprising that such a thing was found on an unremarkable Hero."
At this moment, the dragon troops launched their attack. The stubborn resistors within the Pale Moon Kingdom's forces were cleansed by the destructive dragon flames and lightning. As for the remaining kingdom's army, they had already lost their courage and, under the imposing pressure of Shui Lan, had no will to fight left.
Soon, eighty percent of the 500,000-strong army surrendered.
Han Kexin was overjoyed, "Hahaha, this is great! We've assimilated so many elite kingdom troops and got an Evil God's eye. We've really accomplished a great feat this time!"
She knew the value of an Evil God fragment, especially those originating from the same deity. The more fragments from the same Evil God, the stronger the resonance and synergy between them, resulting in more potent effects and powers. This Eye of Regeneration would be incredibly valuable to the Potato Demon King.
Moreover, the battle went unexpectedly smoothly. A 500,000-strong elite kingdom army was not a small force, and even with many monarchs overseeing, a full-scale assault could have caused significant damage to Holy Tides City, considering the disparity in military strength. But now, with Shui Lan's deterrence and the dragons' assistance, the enemy barely fought or formed a significant battle force before choosing to surrender. Not only did Holy Tides City suffer no losses, but its strength also greatly increased with this newly assimilated kingdom army. With this new force at hand, Han Kexin was utterly confident in taking over the entire Pale Moon Kingdom!
With such a contribution to the organization, surely the boss would consider a bonus?"