Angle's Arrogance? My Pact with the Succubus Queen!-Chapter 374: I’d Rather Betray the Court Than My Comrades!
Even though he could only hold this state for two hours, it was the closest he had been to his prime in three thousand years.
Kane gripped the Blade of Destruction and gave it a light swing.
The blade’s edge sliced through the void, instantly flattening a distant mountain peak.
Kane looked at Logan, his voice filled with unprecedented seriousness. "Logan, I now owe you five lives."
"From this day forward, we share life and death."
"If you want to fight, I will fight with you until the ends of the world."
"If you want to defend, I will stand with you until time itself ends."
Logan looked at Kane and smiled, extending his fist.
Kane extended his fist as well, tapping it hard against Logan’s.
The thousand-year barrier between them dissolved completely at that moment.
Outside the temple, the Ancient Beast Clan warriors watched the surge of golden destruction light shoot into the sky. They erupted into a deafening roar of cheers, a sound so loud it nearly burst their eardrums.
They watched Violet’s figure, their eyes filled with fanatic adoration.
It was this royal princess who had personally slain the traitors of the rebellion and protected the Sky-Splitting Tribe.
She was the one who had brought Logan and brought hope.
Ten thousand warriors fell to one knee, offering Violet the most solemn royal salute.
Their voices rang out, chanting "Long live the Princess!" over and over.
In the second hour after the battle, deep in a secret chamber beneath the Temple of Destruction, thick jade walls cut off all the noise of the outside world.
Logan sat cross-legged on the cold jade stone platform, his eyes closed tight.
Five streams of rule-light slowly flowed around his body as he worked to repair the microscopic cracks in his five-spiral DNA.
He had continuously activated Rule Manifestation to forge the Demigod-stage weapon for Kane, then used up a huge amount of his core energy to heal Kane’s old wounds.
Logan’s Mental Power was now completely exhausted.
His presence trembled slightly, showing that he was not yet stable.
Sitting opposite him on a stone chair, Kane held the Blade of Destruction across his lap.
He maintained a base power level at sixty percent, ready to surge to ninety percent at any moment.
Golden Destruction Rule swirled along the blade, creating a perfect Resonance with his Demigod core.
Suddenly, Logan’s Soul Sea shook violently.
Three sealed Demigod consciousnesses were simultaneously triggered by the气息 (presence) of the Seal of Arbitration and woke up.
The first to speak was Nyarlathotep.
His soul wave carried a serious tone, projecting clearly into Logan’s mind. "Logan, the Seal of Arbitration in your hand has already alerted the Ancient Tribunal. I must tell you something important."
"Origin Devourer was once the direct apprentice of Observer No. 9, and they have held a bitter grudge against the Observer organization in No. 46 Restricted Zone for over a thousand years."
Logan sank his consciousness into his Soul Sea and asked, "Just what exactly is the Observer organization in No. 46 Restricted Zone?"
Nyarlathotep replied, "They are a faction formed by retired Observers from the Ancient Tribunal."
"They possess the core technology for rule stripping and hold an unending blood feud against Origin Devourer."
"You can absolutely use this conflict to draw them out, using them as reinforcements to fight against the Devourers."
Just then, the roar of the Black Dragon exploded through the Soul Sea. "Who cares about Observers or Devourers!"
"Kane’s Destruction Rule is of the same origin as mine. As soon as I devour him, I will instantly recover my full prime combat power!"
"Once that happens, those three Demigod vanguard forces? I could swallow them all in one bite!"
Yepera’s voice followed closely after, laced with a warning. "Black Dragon, behave yourself."
"The group from the Ancient Tribunal despises rule-breakers above all else."
"Your five-spiral DNA looks like a unprecedented anomaly to them."
"Abusing the Seal of Arbitration will only push us deeper into the abyss."
Logan ignored the argument between the three Demigods. He slowly opened his eyes and gazed at Kane.
Kane met his gaze, reaching into his storage space to pull out another tattered, gray-white invitation.
This invitation was of the same origin as the one in Logan’s hand.
Its surface was carved with the pattern of nine stone thrones, and its edges were blurred by the erosion of time.
Even the rule energy radiating from it was strong enough to interfere with the normal operation of the five-spiral DNA.
Kane placed the invitation on the stone table and slid it toward Logan.
"This is an invitation sent by the Ancient Tribunal to Restricted Zone No. 53 three hundred years ago," Kane said.
"It came from the same batch as the one you are holding."
Logan reached out and picked up the invitation. The moment he touched it, his five-spiral DNA resonated strongly.
"Indeed, the Observer organization in No. 46 Restricted Zone controls rule-stripping technology," Kane continued.
"This technology can either completely strip the Devouring Rule from my body, curing my old wounds for good."
"Or it can help us find a way to permanently counter Origin Devourer."
Logan gently traced the runes on the surface of the invitation with his fingertip.
Looking at Kane, he asked, "Why didn’t you go three hundred years ago?"
A complex emotion flashed across Kane’s gray eyes. "Three hundred years ago, my old wounds were even worse than they are now."
"No. 46 Restricted Zone lies in the deepest part of the Lost World, and the entire route is within the territory of the Devourers."
"If I left Restricted Zone No. 53, the Devourers would have leveled this place immediately."
"Furthermore, the neutrality of the Ancient Tribunal has never been absolute."
"I dared not take that gamble."
Logan nodded without asking any further questions.
He reached into his chest and pulled out the gray-white Seal of Arbitration.
The pattern of the nine stone thrones on the seal’s surface was beginning to glow with a faint heat.
Looking at Kane, Logan spoke up. "I intend to activate the Seal of Arbitration and send a formal arbitration request to the Ancient Tribunal."
"Even if they cannot intervene immediately, at the very least, it will apply enough pressure on Origin Devourer."
Kane fell silent for three seconds. A flicker of worry crossed his gray eyes. "While Observer intervention can restrain the Devourers, it will also expose your five-spiral DNA completely to their eyes."
"Are you not afraid they will turn around and mark you as the next target for elimination?"
Logan’s lips curled into a smile, his eyes burning with unshakeable determination. "I’d rather betray the Court than my comrades."
"We are currently outnumbered two to three, with our win rate at less than thirty percent."
"But as long as this increases our chances even by a fraction, this risk is one I can bear."
Kane looked into Logan’s resolute eyes and felt a warm surge in his heart.
He nodded heavily. "Fine. I’ll stand by your side."
"If the Ancient Tribunal decides to move against you, my blade will be there to shatter their rules before they can even act."
With Kane’s endorsement, Logan hesitated no longer.
He stood up, his five-spiral DNA operating at maximum capacity. Five streams of rule-light surged simultaneously into the Seal of Arbitration in his hand.
The gray-white seal instantly exploded with a towering light that pierced through the temple’s ceiling and tore through the spatial barrier of the Lost World.
Above the Shattered Canyon, this light formed a circular formation with a diameter of a hundred meters.
The pattern of nine stone thrones on the surface of the formation slowly rotated, emitting a terrifying Demigod-stage pressure that struck fear into the heart.
Every corner of Restricted Zone No. 53 could clearly sense this overwhelming presence from the Ancient Tribunal.
A moment later, a semi-transparent, silver-gray humanoid projection slowly descended from the center of the formation.
Chains of Space Rule encircled his body. His aura was ethereal yet incredibly powerful; he was a genuine Demigod-stage existence.
He was the Arbitrator of the Ancient Tribunal, Observer No. 3.
Observer No. 3’s gaze landed on Logan. His voice was ethereal, as if it had traveled across endless time and space. "Balancer of the Five Rules, I have received your arbitration request."
Logan met his gaze, his expression calm and dignified, neither humble nor arrogant. "I request that the Ancient Tribunal arbitrate Origin Devourer for violating the rules by devouring Demigods and destroying the world’s order."
"Additionally, I request that the Observer organization from No. 46 Restricted Zone intervene in this matter."
Observer No. 3 fell silent for three seconds before speaking slowly. "The arbitration request has been accepted."
"I will act as the Arbitrator and travel to Restricted Zone No. 47 to conduct an investigation."
"I estimate arrival at Restricted Zone No. 53 within seventy-two hours."
Logan asked, "Before the investigation results are released, can the Tribunal restrain Origin Devourer’s actions?"
Observer No. 3 replied, "Before formal arbitration begins, the Tribunal will not directly intervene in the fighting between both sides."
"However, if your side is defeated during this period, the Tribunal will step in directly to clean up the aftermath."
"This includes eliminating rule anomalies and out-of-control Devourers."
He immediately added, "My physical body will arrive in seventy-two hours. If the battle turns critical, you can reactivate the Seal of Arbitration before the enemy engages. I will descend as a projection ahead of schedule to issue a temporary battlefield ban."
Before he finished speaking, his projection slowly dissipated into the void.
The light formation in the sky faded away along with him.
Back in the secret chamber, the atmosphere grew heavy once more.
Seventy-two hours. This was their final window of time.
Either they would crush the three Demigod vanguards and defend Restricted Zone No. 53 within those seventy-two hours.
Or they would wait for the Ancient Tribunal to arrive and be completely eliminated by them as rule anomalies.
Logan clenched the Seal of Arbitration in his hand, his eyes showing no sign of wavering.
He never placed his hope in others.
The arbitration from the Ancient Tribunal was merely his backup plan.
True victory would ultimately have to be won with their own fists, one sword and one spear strike at a time.
Preparations on both fronts were launched simultaneously.
On the front lines of Restricted Zone No. 53, Kane took personal command over the Shattered Canyon.
He commanded the ten thousand elite warriors of the Sky-Splitting Tribe and six thousand Saint-stage masters.
Along the only path through the canyon, he deployed the Soul-Destruction United Formation.
This formation was led by Kane’s Destruction Rule as the main force, supported by the Soul Rule lent by Nyarlathotep.
Within a ten-mile radius, all physical laws were rewritten.
The moment the Devouring Rule entered the formation’s range, it would be instantly weakened by thirty percent.
With the deaths of Blood River and Shadow Phantom, the troops under their command were reorganized.
The hundred and ten thousand flesh puppets were split into ten smaller units and deployed across the three lines of defense.
The sixty thousand Abyssal Walkers assassins were all hidden in the shadows on both sides of the canyon, setting up an impenetrable net of vigilance.
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