The Marine captain roared furiously, and at once the gunfire stopped.
"Captain… forgive us… it was too terrifying… we couldn't control ourselves!"
"It was an accident!"
Several Marines were drenched in cold sweat. Their fear of Liuyun had already gnawed into their bones. Coupled with the explosions thundering around them, panic overcame their discipline. Some of the weaker-willed had accidentally pulled their triggers.
The captain's face was dark as he strode to the front of the trembling soldiers. His bloodshot eyes glared, and his voice cracked like a whip. "Bastards! This is your last warning! If it happens again, you'll be expelled from Marine Headquarters!"
The words hit like cannon fire, shaking every Marine to their core. Those who had fired looked pale and guilty.
Blood streamed from the captain's right arm, the wound still gushing.
"Captain… you've been hit…" a soldier stammered.
Hearing that, the ones who had misfired nearly fainted from fear. This was no longer just a slip of the finger—they had injured their commanding officer. If blame came down on them, they were finished.
"I know!" the captain snarled, gritting his teeth. His eyes burned like a tiger's as he barked, "All hands, prepare for battle! Protect the Gorosei!"
"Yes, sir!"
Deep in the crater, the four Elders stood grim-faced.
Their combined assault had once again been evaded by Rakuya—once more, those cursed black crows!
"Coward! If you have any guts, fight us head-on! Stop skulking in the shadows!" the swordsman Elder bellowed, his blade sweeping out in a 360-degree arc. The slash dispersed the dust and smoke in a single stroke.
But before he could finish his roar, his eyes widened in shock, his voice catching in his throat.
"Moo!!!"
A deafening bellow split the air. From within the dissipating haze, a colossal beast emerged—over thirty meters tall, a horned rhinoceros with massive black wings on its back. Every stomp of its hooves sent tremors ripping through the Holy Land. Most terrifying of all were its eyes—circles of pale violet rippling outward, unmistakably the Rinnegan.
"Hisssss!"
On the other side, a serpent hundreds of meters long, its width like a fortress wall, slithered forth. Its scales gleamed like cold steel, its tongue lashing like an iron whip. Its own eyes too bore the rippling purple of the Rinnegan. With every twist of its enormous body, the freshly built palaces of the Holy Land collapsed into rubble.
Above, a shriek split the heavens. A crimson-winged bird, massive beyond compare, wheeled through the skies. Its wings stretched wide enough to blanket the land below, and with every beat, hurricanes roared. The gales swept across the Holy Land, flinging weaker Marines screaming into the air like leaves in a storm.
And before the Gorosei, a monstrous lizard lumbered forward, its tongue as thick and long as an iron chain. Every flick shattered buildings into dust. Its eyes too glowed with the Rinnegan's cold light.
"Moo!!!"
The rhinoceros thundered again, the ground convulsing underfoot. Opening its maw, it spewed searing white breath, hotter than molten magma, reducing its surroundings into a sea of burning heat.
"Tremble in fear… ignorant humans!"
Rakuya stood atop the ruins, hands clasped behind his back, gaze frigid, a sovereign surveying his realm.
"Damn it! What in the world is this?"
The scarred Elder's pupils contracted, shock carved into his face.
"Look at their eyes… all of them! The rippling violet rings!"
"Damn brat! Are you saying all of these creatures were summoned by him?"
The four Elders tensed, fully bracing themselves as though facing death incarnate.
"What are those eyes? In eight hundred years, I've never seen anything like them!"
"Could it be… we've overlooked something? Some kind of mutation?"
"Hmph! We must uncover this brat's lineage. Otherwise, he'll always remain a threat to us!"
"First, kill him. Then rescue the old bald one!"
The Gorosei traded sharp words, then launched themselves toward the ruins where Rakuya stood.
At this, Rakuya's lips curved in a cold smile.
"Let them taste… the power of another world."
He raised a hand, and at once the four summoned beasts surged forward like lightning.
The rhinoceros thundered across the earth, splitting the ground as it charged.
The serpent coiled and swept aside palaces like toys.
The crimson bird shrieked, flames spitting from its beak as hurricanes howled with its wings.
And the lizard advanced with earth-shaking steps, its tongue flailing like a warhammer.
In an instant, the four titanic monsters surrounded Rakuya, their Rinnegan eyes gleaming with eerie brilliance, fixing on the Elders with unblinking stares.
"Moo!!!"
"Hissss!"
"Damn it! These creatures are under his complete control! If we want to defeat Rakuya, we have to cut down these beasts first!"
"I've had enough! I'll take them on!"
The swordsman Elder flung aside his cloak, his blade flashing in his grip. Sword aura erupted like a storm, cutting indiscriminately toward the summoned beasts.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Dozens of slashes rang out but all were stopped by the colossal monsters. Even strikes strong enough to topple a Marine admiral only left shallow marks on their flesh.
"What? Their bodies are this tough?" The swordsman Elder's pupils shrank. Then, his face twisted in fury. "Impossible! I'll carve you all apart!"
Blue veins bulged on his forehead as he gripped his sword tight. With a roar, he unleashed a blinding arc of golden sword energy, dozens of strikes merging into one, forming a massive crescent slash, sharp and unstoppable.
Rakuya only smiled faintly, raising his hand.
"Counterattack."
The beasts responded instantly. The rhinoceros roared, belching a tide of molten heat as it charged.
The serpent whipped its massive body like a steel fortress in motion.
And above, the crimson bird unleashed torrents of flame, wings conjuring firestorms that rained down like divine dragons.
The Gorosei braced themselves as the full might of another world crashed down upon them.
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