He was going to do it! He had to do it!
Human desire is the most primal essence of a person. It is desire that makes someone human! If a person loses their desires, then they are no longer truly a person—at best, they are a monster. Even kindness is a type of desire. Arthur knew he could never abandon kindness, just as he could never kill his own existence.
His father, Spartacus, could do it, but Arthur did not know by what means, and deep down he felt he could never become a man like his father.
His father was the King of the World—the one and only ruler!
Since he could not cast aside his kindness, Arthur had only one option: he entrusted all his kindness to the Fiery Karma Laurel Spirit. The Fiery Karma Laurel Spirit was the vessel of his kindness—she was the only one, absolutely essential to him!
In a sense, the Fiery Karma Laurel Spirit was his weakness.
He had to keep the Fiery Karma Laurel Spirit by his side and not let anyone kill her; otherwise, once his weakness was exposed, his own end would not be far off.
He had to reclaim his own kindness; only then could he continue to maintain his cold, ruthless self!
If he showed even a trace of weakness, he was doomed to fail in the struggle for the throne and would end up dead!
Arthur climbed down the wall and mounted the Boulder Lizard, heading straight east. The kingdom’s magicians had cast a sensing spell on him and the slave girl, so he could sense the distance between himself and the Fiery Karma Laurel Spirit.
The Boulder Lizard was a variant of the Bigfoot Lizard, a type of lizard beast. Magical beasts had their own hierarchy: soldier, warrior, general, commander, and king—distinguishing rank and status. The Boulder Lizard belonged to the soldier rank, a swift type, faster than ordinary steeds, its entire body covered in rock armor, born with a defense unmatched by any shield. It was the mount of choice for knights charging into battle.
Arthur had learned the art of riding. He had accompanied his father to witness war more than once. On the campaign, he received no special treatment; he could only ride his mount at the rear of the army, just like his father.
The soldiers guarding the western wall watched as the prince did not take a lifeboat to flee for his life but instead rode off on the Boulder Lizard. They exchanged glances, and, incidentally, soon discovered that their commanding officer, Curran, was nowhere to be found.
These rank-and-file soldiers were all still alive, so Captain Curran, being so strong, should be fine.
At this very moment, Molly and Samsara Tenchi’s battle was still raging.
Before fully unleashing her racial talent, Samsara Tenchi warned Ryu Mion to get away from the arena. If she didn’t restrain her power, she might kill him.
Ryu Mion used transmission magic to call back Yagura and ordered him to guard his retreat, heading toward the harbor.
Molly did nothing to stop this. Samsara Tenchi bowed in gratitude, then waited calmly for Molly to attack.
Samsara Tenchi had no intention of being careless. She did not believe she could kill her enemy as easily as usual. Molly was perhaps the first truly formidable opponent she had ever encountered.
Though she was hard to defeat, it only meant victory would not come easily, not that the outcome was uncertain. Before meeting Molly, she had faced ten rivals whose strength was evenly matched with her own. In those battles, unless she risked her very soul, she had little chance of winning.
By comparison, Molly’s threat seemed rather insignificant. Samsara Tenchi was convinced that victory was inevitable.
As Molly manifested her clan’s phantom, Samsara Tenchi also released the underworld demon coveting her own body.
The foreign blood flowing in Molly was that of the Sea Dragon Clan. The phantom she summoned was a sea dragon. Among magical beasts, the Sea Dragon Clan held king rank—the proud rulers of the deep sea, commanding the lesser ocean beasts.
A massive sea dragon, its ice-blue body sheathed in golden armor, circled Molly protectively, its regal golden vertical pupils glaring coldly at Samsara Tenchi, before throwing back its head and letting out a roar that shook the sky.
The sea trembled at the sound. Sea beasts, answering the call of their king, converged toward the transport ship.
The underworld demon summoned by Samsara Tenchi let out a sinister laugh. Its body, originally not much larger than her own, began to swell madly until it matched the sea dragon in size, becoming a giant of black mist.
The giant then picked up Samsara Tenchi and gently set her on its shoulder.
The instant both clan phantoms appeared, all the pirates on the scene scattered without a trace. No matter how slow-witted they were, they understood they had no place here!
Fortunately, the black mist giant and the ice-blue sea dragon only roared at each other, paying no attention to the tiny, fleeing humans.
Both phantoms tried to overwhelm the other in a contest of aura from the start, vying for the first strike. After patience wore thin, the two titans crashed together and began their fierce battle.
The giant tore at the sea dragon’s body. The sea dragon bit into the giant’s flesh. The giant’s casual swipe knocked down the arena wall, lifting the shattered debris and smashing it at the sea dragon’s head. The sea dragon swung its iron tail, flinging shards like shooting stars that blasted into the giant.
In less than half a quarter-hour, the arena had become a wasteland, but the battle between the two monsters raged on.
This level of battle was beyond mortal interference.
After some time, as if by mutual agreement, both clan phantoms twisted into blurred light, fading away until nothing remained.
Samsara Tenchi and Molly were both unscathed, their gazes on each other just as calm.
“If it’s a contest of clan phantoms, there’s no way to determine a winner,” Molly said.
“No, your clan phantom is weaker than mine—it was only stronger here because we’re at sea,” Samsara Tenchi replied coolly.
“So what?” Molly sneered. “That’s the strength of Molly. As long as I’m at sea, I’m invincible! The ocean is Molly’s servant!”
“Surrender now, Samsara Tenchi, before you end up battered and broken.”
Samsara Tenchi ignored Molly’s ‘kind’ advice. She could understand Molly’s pride—after all, the advantage was hers.
Samsara Tenchi considered her greatest disadvantage against Molly to be her lack of information, while Molly had thoroughly investigated her.
This was not a surprising outcome. When Samsara Tenchi directly confronted Molly, and tried to activate “Scales of Burying and Rebirth,” Molly leapt away and launched a barrage of heavy water shots at her. When she used “Choice of Plunder and Grace,” Molly closed in, compressing seawater onto her fists and launching a furious assault, forcibly interrupting her abilities.
At this rate, she would be at a serious disadvantage—forced on the defensive, wasting stamina, and sooner or later would be captured by Molly.
Molly was thoroughly familiar with her racial talents and had even figured out their weaknesses. Molly had become her natural nemesis.
Samsara Tenchi wanted to praise Molly’s ability—even as an enemy, there were things worth learning, namely—overcoming one’s own weaknesses as quickly as possible.
This targeted attack on her weakness would only make her stronger. Molly was truly an excellent sparring partner; opponents like her were hard to come by.
Still, she was growing bored. She could not forget the look of fear her master, Ryu Mion, had shown her. That look meant distrust—he feared she would lose to Molly, and that everyone aboard the transport ship would become prisoners.
What a laughable thought.
Samsara Tenchi wanted to tell Ryu Mion: do not compare her to Molly, and do not underestimate her or think Molly was superior.
She was a battlefield killer. Molly was not.
Her racial talent was born for death. From the moment she became a slave girl, she was thrown into war. Once the fighting started, everyone except herself was the enemy. She had watched as other slave girls, forced into battle, were killed—by the enemy, by their own side, by their racial talents, trampled to death by warhorses when exhausted. Again and again, she had witnessed death in all its forms. Life was so fragile.
Soon, all the other slave girls were dead. She too was a slave girl—her fate should have been the same.
But she refused to die. She unleashed her racial talent and killed all her enemies.
Hadn’t Molly asked her how many slave girls’ ‘hearts’ she had eaten? That year, forty-five slave girls were sent to war—only she survived.
The king of Amidarl ordered the soldiers to search for the corpses of the slave girls, cut out their ‘hearts,’ and made her eat them.
At the cost of forty-four slave girls, she was reborn as the most terrifying killer—designation 004 [Sovereign of Life and Death].
Ryu Mion did not understand this. Samsara Tenchi held no resentment, for he was her master, and slave girls were the master’s property.
Molly did not understand this either—and that was her greatest sorrow.
Samsara Tenchi once again activated [Scales of Burying and Rebirth]. Molly immediately retreated and raised her fingers, ready to unleash a heavy water barrage.
If this continued, Molly could defeat Samsara Tenchi without even using her racial talent!
“Heh heh heh heh! Victory belongs to Molly!” Molly sneered as she fired the water shots.
But she had not expected Samsara Tenchi to neither dodge nor defend against the barrage of water bullets. The heavy orbs struck her body like cannonballs, blasting holes clean through her flesh until she was no longer even human-shaped.
Seeing this, Molly involuntarily took a step back. What was this person thinking? Why didn’t she dodge? She clearly could have!
But what shocked Molly even more was that, despite such fatal wounds, Samsara Tenchi was still alive! Her flesh and blood began to regenerate, writhing and multiplying rapidly, swiftly repairing herself!
Except for her ruined clothes, Samsara Tenchi was soon as good as new, without a scar left. Molly could scarcely believe such vitality—she had never known Samsara Tenchi possessed this power!
The unexpected turn left Molly flustered.
“Molly Singia, you once said you betrayed Amidarl because you were not chosen as the [Sea God]’s successor. All your efforts came to nothing, so you sought revenge.”
“You—you! Why bring that up now?” Molly narrowed her eyes. For some reason, Samsara Tenchi felt entirely different now—almost…dangerous.
“In my opinion, that was the wise decision. You are fit only to be a sacrifice.” Samsara Tenchi lifted her gaze, her eyes as cold as a corpse. “Because, you are too weak.”