Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
A glimpse of the scene within the city walls was merely a microcosm of the battlefield. As dusk gradually retracted its blood-red cloud streaks, it opened its pitch-black, hazy pupils to gaze upon the battlefield where flesh and blood flew. There, all the soldiers were charging forward, but only one figure, clad in a black cloak, moved against the current, already reaching the vicinity of the Hellfire Lord.
Ye Hao’s eyes seemed to burn with starlight as he took out the Sea God’s Trident from a package behind him. As the Blue Star Will had said, piercing the asura named Xing Hai through her heart with this artifact would cause the Sea God’s will, dormant within the trident, to awaken prematurely, using her as a vessel. And he, as the one who helped the Sea God awaken, would receive the aid of this deity. His current level was 57, perfectly capable of holding his own against the level 55 Hellfire Lord. Moreover, the Hellfire Lord was currently busy hurling lava strikes at the city walls, and the asura girl Xing Hai’s attention was focused on guiding the storm and tsunami. This was his chance!
A resolute, cold glint flickered in Ye Hao’s eyes. He never considered himself to be doing evil; it was all for the countless humans on Blue Star. He had already guessed that Blue Star was facing some kind of crisis. Perhaps his actions had always been evil, but when he conquered this world, he would be the unique hero. What was evil or not evil from one’s standpoint? History was ultimately written by the victors.
A myriad of thoughts flashed through Ye Hao’s mind. He seized an opening when the Hellfire Lord was casting a skill. In the next instant, he leaped forward, using a remnant piece of the city wall as a springboard. The trident in his hand gleamed with a chilling light, thrusting from the rear towards the asura girl in the Hellfire Lord’s hands, aiming for her back. The last ray of blood-red light from the setting sun illuminated Ye Hao. He seemed to have merged with that half of the sunset, leaving only endless darkness in his wake.
The sunset slept, the final ray of light disappearing, and the sky donned a hazy, gray cloak. The trident in Ye Hao’s hand had already reached Xing Hai’s chest. The mermaid girl belatedly turned her head and stared blankly at Ye Hao’s resolute face. The chilling killing intent emanating from the trident was about to freeze her soul.
“No! Bug!” Sark roared in alarm. The emerald flames in its hollow eyes flared up. At this moment, its left hand was still launching lava strikes outwards. It strained its right hand, trying to help Xing Hai evade Ye Hao’s assassination. But Ye Hao skillfully maneuvered with its right hand, always keeping the trident locked on Xing Hai’s chest. Xing Hai had no life-saving skills; the Elemental Obsidian water vat beneath her and Sark’s body were her only barriers. But now, it seemed these barriers were rendered useless against the long-planned Ye Hao.
“Hide in the water vat, bug!” Sark’s deafening voice became somewhat anxious for the first time, jolting Xing Hai out of her terror. She quickly hid inside the Elemental Obsidian water vat. Facing an enemy whose strength now surpassed its own, Sark had no other recourse. At the critical moment, its lava-like chest cavity suddenly opened, revealing its emerald lava core. It shoved the Elemental Obsidian water vat inside, with its lava core positioned at the forefront. All the power within the core erupted throughout its body, igniting volatile emerald flames all over Sark, while the core area gradually cooled down. Ye Hao was momentarily stunned by Sark’s maneuver. The emerald flames, like an unshakeable curse, seared his body, causing him unimaginable pain.
“Just a rock!” Ye Hao roared, pushing against the Hellfire Lord’s flame-spewing giant head. He kicked it fiercely in the chin. The heavy force caused the Hellfire Lord’s head to tilt back slightly, exposing its bare lava core in its chest. It was clear to anyone that this was the Hellfire Lord’s weakness. The pain of being burned by flames did not make Ye Hao retreat; instead, it further ignited his ferocity. His eyes were cold as he plunged the Sea God’s Trident fiercely into the lava core. The Hellfire Lord’s only weakness, its exposed lava core, already caused a blockage in the flow of its entire strength. Coupled with Ye Hao’s current strength, which was now on par with its own, the once incredibly powerful Hellfire Lord could only passively endure.
If this continued, it would die! The Hellfire Lord struggled in anger. As a member of the Burning Legion, a powerful construct, how could it tolerate a mere bug flitting around before it? Seizing the moment Ye Hao was balancing himself, Sark raised its fiery fist and smashed Ye Hao away. With a loud bang, Ye Hao’s body crashed into a section of the city wall. The air froze for a moment before Ye Hao expressionlessly rose from the dust. At this moment, his entire body was emitting a powerful 600-watt glow – his strongest form, with all buffs at maximum. With a resounding explosion, bricks and stones shattered and flew behind Ye Hao. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Sark, his Demon Sword raised high, ferociously chopping the Hellfire Lord to the ground. With the sharpness of the Demon Sword, Ye Hao severed the Hellfire Lord’s rocky legs. The legs, no longer supplied by the lava core, had long lost their former resilience.
Seemingly aware that this would inflict only minimal damage on Sark, Ye Hao’s next strike landed on Sark’s lava core. Emerald lava, mixed with rock debris, splattered outwards. A clear crack appeared on the lava core. “Your heart is just like you, stinky and hard!” he declared coldly, and with another strike, Ye Hao hit the Hellfire Lord’s lava core again. *Clang!* A second crack appeared. Scorching molten rock, like Sark’s blood, poured out from the lava core, burning a large swathe of surrounding vegetation to ashes.
“No!” From the somewhat shattered rock chest cavity, Xing Hai’s voice, tinged with a hint of crying, emerged. “Heh,” Ye Hao chuckled coldly, enduring the burning pain from all over his body. He didn’t stop, swinging his trident down on the lava core once more. “Hand over this asura, or you’ll be dead in two more strikes.”
Hearing this, the weak emerald flames flickered in Sark’s hollow eyes. Its jaw opened and closed, emitting a dull sound: “Death? Vile bug! I have died countless times. The Burning Legion never fears death.” Ye Hao snorted coldly, his face expressionless, and simply raised his hand, striking the lava core again. “You fiery big rock! Let me out, *sob, sob*…” “You’ll die!” Xing Hai’s fair, pretty face had some scratches on it, and her azure eyes were filled with tears. She pounded vigorously on Sark’s deliberately cooled lava core, but it was all in vain. Her strength was too meager, and the lava core remained motionless.
Sark ignored Xing Hai’s cries. Its eyes, burning with green flames, coldly regarded Ye Hao, who held his long sword aloft. The last trace of energy in its lava core was silently activated. A memory, seemingly long yet brief, surged in its mind. Long had been the years in its homeland, a grayscale memory. It had lived in a dazed state, created by demons, fought to its death, then created again to continue fighting to its death. Until one day, it suddenly felt the call of a grand will. At that moment, it gained a sliver of sentience. That will told it that if it was willing to accept the summons and go to another world to obey someone named Xi Wei, it would gain a true soul in exchange. A true soul! Sark didn’t understand the meaning of this phrase, but it instinctively yearned for it, so it accepted the summons and came to this world.
The memories that followed, though not very long, were colorful. Peace, tranquility, beauty, far from the foul sulfurous smell of its homeland. Sark liked it here, liked staying in that hot spring, quietly observing everything around it. Clouds rolled and unrolled in the sky, a gentle breeze carried willow catkins dancing, birds hopped among the trees, young creatures with animal ears frolicked by the hot spring, and beautiful shooting stars streaked across the firmament at night. Later, a bug with a fish tail joined the hot spring where it stayed. She was really, really noisy, had a terrible memory, and splashed water on its knees…
“Fiery big rock, can you tell me more stories about Azeroth?” “Damn it, remember! This is the 1784th time. I hope you won’t ask me this question next time! Ask something else!” … “Fiery big rock, only you are willing to answer my questions all the time.” … “We are friends, right!” … Friends? It had scoffed at the idea then. How could the great Hellfire Lord become friends with a bug? But only now did it realize that it had long since become accustomed to answering the fish-tailed bug’s incessant questions, even when many of them were repetitive. Perhaps this was what friends were.
Sark suddenly raised an arm, dug out its core and placed it into Ye Hao’s embrace. At the same time, it curled its massive body with its last bit of strength, becoming a solid rock bastion. To Ye Hao’s astonished gaze, the Hellfire Lord’s lava core pulsed rapidly, emerald light churning within. Surging power expanded at an extreme rate, reaching its limit in the blink of an eye. *Boom!* Brilliant light illuminated the entire dim battlefield as if it were broad daylight. A terrifying shockwave shattered a large section of the city walls. Ye Hao, spitting blood, was blown away, his entire body blown to tatters. In the ruins, only Sark’s husk stood tall, serving as an impregnable haven.
