...…


    "The Crimson Usurper… He somehow found us for half an instant…"


    The Ind King''s expression turned ashen. Even though they had once again sped ahead of their pursuer, ''he'' seemed to have a way to predict their path and set up a clone attack in front of them.


    "If he''s able to damage the hardware of Starfarer Ind, then his strength… How strong has he be…?"


    Not only the Ind King, but Jing Fu also had a very bad feeling about what was toe.


    If they didn''tmence their n soon, then there truly would be no other options left for the people of the ind.


    The Gctic Lord abandoned them; the Gctic Senators were not willing to interfere. And now, there was a limited time span for which they needed to make a great many decisions.


    "Fate is truly a b*tch…"


    The Ind King''s hardened gaze watched as the sky fell onto them. In the end, he flipped his hand and caused the sky chunk to get sucked into a miniature ck hole. Then, with a simple flick of his sleeve, the ck hole shrunk in on itself before vanishing into the void.


    There was no more sky chunk or fire rain, but for some reason, the Ind King''s dire expression did not be any lighter.


    "The end of the world is near, and there really is only one thing that I can do." He looked at the wrinkled hands attached to his wrists.


    They were hands that hadn''t shown their utmost might for a countless number of years.


    However, now was finally the time to show the gxy that he was still the man who once gave the Gctic Lord a run for his money back in their younger days!


    "The time is now!!!!"


    For the first time in hundreds of billions of years, the Ind King lost control of his emotions. Then, with a domineering demeanor, he blitzed his way outside of the ind''s barrier. Making use of the hole in the world, he vanished past the outermost astral barrier.


    Entering the void of space, he looked around him, attempting to find the existence that he knew lurked around a corner of space.


    -


    "He''s gone…"


    Jing Fu finished the packing up of everything with value, taking one final, long, and hard look at the hole in the sky. Feeling a familiar aura that he had known for many years, his own aura turned mncholic.


    He wanted to be out there—fighting alongside the figure that raised him like a father.


    He should be out there!


    But...


    "I promised him… I said I would take care of his people…" Jing Fu bit his lips so hard that blood drizzled down them. His profoundly empathetic green eyes took onest nce at the sky hole before refocusing on the speedup of the ind.


    If the ind was somehow destroyed, Jing Fu and the others could still escape through the utilization of the Escape Talismans picked up from the treasury. But unless it was absolutely necessary, none of them wished to leave Starfarer Ind behind.


    After all, it was their home. It was the only ce offort that they''d ever known!


    However, it seemed like fate felt like being a bitch to these Starfarers…


    …


    After a total of 4 seconds passed in the outside world, the Ind King finally saw a fluctuation in the space around him. Then, without warning, a crimson-haired man with an evil grin on his face materialized from theyers between space.


    "Ho? I wonder why it is that my little loot bag has decided to stop running~?" Azmodeus''s demonic gaze lingered on the Ind King''srge frame. After analyzing his existence, his eyes curved upward in amusement. "It seems like you are trying to y the part of the silver knight. You wish to sacrifice yourself for the ''greater good''? Heh~"


    "???"


    For some reason unbeknownst to the Ind King, the Crimson Usurper''s expression morphed into one of even greater amusement.


    ''He seems to find this entire situation quite the big joke. But little does he know that I''m in possession of the Low-Gctic Rank Treasure Weapon—Cosmic Sealer.''


    Following his thoughts, he reached for his storage ring and said, "I don''t know why you decided toe after the people of Starfarer Ind, but this will not be a win for you. Monsters only deserve to be felled under the de of a cultivator, but just this once, I will discard my honor and seal yo-"


    SHING!


    The moment the Ind King took the cosmically dazzling treasure weapon out of his storage ring, he quickly realized that he could no longer feel his fingers.


    "!?!?" He looked down and saw that the entire upper half of his hand had been cleanly cut off. With no unevenness to the perfect cut, blood started to gush out of the wound.


    Spurt!


    It sprayed the surrounding void a deep, dark red. Leaving just the right amount of scattered blood, the demonic, bloody expression of the Crimson Usurper became all the crisper.


    "Did you really think I would do whatever you wanted!? Haha!" Azmodeus burst out in a peel ofughter as he couldn''t believe that such an old monster could be so stupid!


    Why would he not already have the treasure ready before deciding to leave his turtle shell!?


    Was he just trying to make a cool-ass movie scene!?


    Azmodeus found it all too funny, and upon seeing the distraught look on the old man''s face, hisughter only increased in intensity.


    "Y-You…" The Ind King''splexion became as red and green as a fugly-looking tomato as he tightly clenched his bloody fists.


    Even though his fingers were rapidly regenerating, the Cosmic Sealer had already been lost to the currents of the void.


    Or, at least, that was what he originally thought…


    FWIP!


    A mirror copy of Azmodeus appeared right beside the first one, and in his hands, there was the Cosmic Sealer!


    "!!!"


    "So, old man. What exactly were you nning to do with this thing?" asked Azmodeus, an acute gleam shining through his evil gaze.


    ...…