CHAPTER 857: TWO DOWN, THREE TO GO

The energy towers pulsed violently, their surfaces fracturing under the unbearable strain of channeling more power than they were ever meant to hold. Crack after crack spiderwebbed across their gleaming shells, arcs of unstable light whipping through the air like serpents. This would be their last shot—there would be nothing left of them afterward—but none of that mattered now. What they were about to unleash would be nothing short of apocalyptic.

"RUMBLE!"

A deep, earth-shaking growl rolled through the mountain range as the towers reached critical output. Then, with a sound like the heavens tearing apart, beams of energy erupted skyward—colossal, radiant pillars so immense that the very air quivered around them. The sky blazed white, shadows fleeing before the all-consuming brilliance.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Tepest’s scream was lost in the roar. His prison of molten metal endured, his struggles futile. There was no escape, no time to counter. The first beam struck, then the next, and then all of them converged, forming a singular sphere of annihilation that swallowed him whole.

The impact blotted out sight and sound. Light too intense to look upon seared across the battlefield, drowning even the clash of the Legendary combatants. It was a radiance so pure and destructive it seemed to erase reality itself for a heartbeat. When the glare finally faded and the warped echoes of the blast fell silent, there was nothing left where Tepest had stood—not even ash.

The second Corruption General had perished.

The ground battlefield already belonged to the Xaos Kingdom, and with two of the five Generals gone, the balance of the Legendary battlefield shifted violently. For the first time since the battle began, William the First, Mary, and Gengish exchanged quick, grim looks. Fighting the True Depravitas of Greed, Envy, and Lust had already pushed them to their limits. Now, with the Divine Avatar, Fang, and the Royal Guard free to enter the fray, the odds turned against them completely.

Even battered, wounded, and drained from earlier fights, the new arrivals had more than enough strength left to tip the scales.

Overlord, Fang, and the Royal Guard did not hesitate for even a heartbeat—they surged forward, diving back into battle with lethal precision.

The True Depravita of Greed felt a predatory grin tug at his lips as he saw Fang and the Royal Guard heading his way. Vitality ignited within him, burning hot and fast, muscles swelling with explosive strength. It was a dangerous state he could not maintain for long, but it didn’t matter. This fight wouldn’t last much longer.

Gengish roared and attacked with renewed fury, his massive blade lashing through the air with overwhelming force. He sought to crush Ouroboros before reinforcements could close in—but he was not strong enough. The black daggers of Greed intercepted his sword, locking it in place. For just a fraction of a second, his movements were halted.

It was enough.

With a shriek of beating wings, Fang lunged. The massive, winged tyrant slammed his head into Gengish with unstoppable momentum, the blow like being struck by the hardest diamond in existence. The Corruption General was hurled across the air, forced to release his grip on his weapon—still trapped in Ouroboros’s daggers—as he tumbled through the sky.

And the assault did not end there. The Royal Guard was already in position.

Mirnea unleashed a storm of metal shards crackling with lightning. Frank followed with a roaring cannon of fire. Roman loosed a hundred arrows in a single heartbeat, each one honed to pierce legendary-tier defenses. Amara’s shadows swelled into a writhing ocean of black blades. And at the center of it all, Clasius hefted his massive sword, spinning it like a colossal spear.

The rotation birthed a violent vortex, the centrifugal force pulling in the attacks of his comrades until they fused into a single spiraling tornado of destruction. It struck Gengish square in the chest with cataclysmic force.

"AHHHHHHH!"

His roar of pain shook the mountains as his body was blasted down into the scorched ground at the base of the range. The earth split and heaved under the impact, smoke and flame bursting skyward. But neither Ouroboros nor the Royal Guard gave him time to recover—they dived after him, ready to use everything they had left to finish the fight.

Yet ending Gengish would not be so simple.

Before they even touched down, he was already rising, eyes blazing with feral rage. The spectral wolf that had circled him throughout the battle now fused into his flesh, transforming him into something even more savage. His frame bulged with brutal power, his aura radiating raw, primal killing intent.

He wasn’t going to stand there and wait for death. He crouched low, preparing to launch himself skyward and intercept them. His gaze locked on the Royal Guard—individually, they were far weaker than Ouroboros, and he believed he could cut them down in seconds.

But his plan was interrupted.

The ground beneath him split apart with an earsplitting crack, and thousands upon thousands of Reapers erupted from below. Their maws gaped wide, bodies wreathed in unnatural flame as they lunged from every direction.

Gengish snarled, his claws slashing, his legs kicking with bone-shattering force. Each blow destroyed a Reaper, but there were too many. They swarmed without fear or hesitation, each one diving into certain death to close every possible escape route. Their goal was simple: hold him in place until Ouroboros and the others arrived.

And they succeeded.

"ARGHHHHH!"

Gengish’s cry of rage shook the air as Ouroboros descended, sword in hand. Every drop of the True Depravita of Greed’s power was poured into it, the blade glowing with lethal intent.

"You bastard!" the Corruption General roared, hatred twisting his features as he saw his own weapon turned against him. He slashed forward with a claw as the two forces met.

The collision birthed a shockwave so massive it sent the surrounding Reapers flying like rag dolls. But they surged back immediately, joined now by Fang and the Royal Guard, who had landed in a tight circle around Gengish.

They attacked from every direction—metal and magma, flame and lightning, shadow and arrow—each strike timed so perfectly it left no space to counter.

They weren’t just here to wound him.

They were here to end him.