The core area of the Crown of Stars, in the Council of Elders' dome hall.
This was once the Alliance's highest decision-making body, symbolizing reason and order. However, at this moment, what flowed beneath the dome was cold killing intent and hypocritical hymns.
Mark entered the hall, accompanied by the attendant.
On the enormous circular seating, members of the Council of Elders sat, most of their faces familiar. Chairman Warren sat in the main seat, a perfunctory, enthusiastic smile on his face.
But Mark's perception, like a precise radar, instantly detected an anomaly.
The aura emanating from these people was mixed and distorted; part of it was real, a decay tainted by the lust for power, while another part was deeper, colder, like a viscous layer of ice covering their souls, radiating a repulsive sense of defilement, originating from Taviel.
In the depths of their eyes, there was either fanaticism, dullness, or inhuman indifference, but what was singularly missing was the warmth that a human should possess.
Trigg stood beside Chairman Warren.
He wore the Regent's luxurious ceremonial robes, his deep purple eyes glinting eerily under the brilliant crystal chandelier.
A cold, all-controlling smile played on his face as he nodded slightly to Mark, as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Commander Mark."
Chairman Warren's voice echoed through the empty hall via the loudspeaker, filled with exaggerated excitement.
"The Son of the Sun of the Alliance! Your return is a blessing to the Alliance, a blessing to all people!"
"Your legendary journey will surely be recorded in history! Please allow us, on behalf of the entire Alliance, to extend our highest respect to you!"
Faint, insincere applause broke out, the Elders clapping their hands, stiff smiles on their faces.
Around the hall, two rows of elite soldiers stood at attention.
They were equipped with black power armor Mark had never seen before, with sharp lines and a dangerous, cold gleam. Their faces were obscured by full-coverage helmets, revealing only visors that glowed with a faint purple light.
They stood like cold statues, unmoving, but Mark could clearly feel the lifeless killing intent emanating from them, and that familiar, diluted aura of ancient corruption.
He already knew what was going on.
The entire hall, seemingly a magnificent welcoming banquet, was in fact a huge, murderous gladiatorial arena!
Mark did not respond to Warren's flattery. His gaze, like a tangible probe, directly pierced Trigg.
"Trigg, where are Allen and the others?"
His voice was not loud, but it cut through all the hypocritical noise.
The smile on Trigg's face remained unchanged, only the purple light in the depths of his eyes swirled, like a vortex in a deep pool.
"Mark, the attendant should have already explained to you that they bear the sacred mission entrusted by the Alliance, exploring for hope for our future in the distant Vega β relic zone. Their work is crucial, and they are temporarily unable to leave."
"Is that so?"
Mark took a step forward, and the sturdy alloy floor beneath his feet groaned under the weight, leaving a clear footprint indentation.
He held up the flattened metal cup with a wrench pattern on it.
"Then what about this? Rudy's inseparable cup, why was it discarded like trash in the dust?"
"Why has our command center become a ruin?"
His sharp gaze swept over the Elders, finally settling on Warren.
"And my statue in the square, who tore it down, and whose statue is being erected in its place?!"
His voice suddenly rose, like a muffled thunderclap, making the crystal chandelier hum.
"Tell me, what exactly happened to the Alliance, and what have you all become?!"
Silence!
Absolute silence!
The hypocritical smile completely vanished from Warren's face, replaced by a mixture of fury and exposed panic. The purple light in his eyes flared, and he shrieked.
"Presumptuous! Mark Grayson!"
"How dare you question the authority of the Council of Elders, question the decisions of His Excellency the Regent! You... you are a trai—"
"Enough!"
Trigg's cold voice interrupted Warren's roar.
The smile finally disappeared from his face, leaving only naked indifference, as if looking at a failed experiment about to be destroyed.
"Mark, you are very perceptive, but sometimes, perception is foolish."
He slowly raised his hand, his mechanical prosthetic limb gleaming with a cold metallic luster.
"Allen, Eve, Rudy, and all the stubborn elements who followed you..."
Trigg's voice was like grinding ice.
"They resisted the Alliance's new order, spread panic, and incited rebellion!"
"Attempting to overthrow the rule of the Regent and the Council of Elders! They are the Alliance's cancer, traitors who must be purged!"
Every word was like a heavy hammer striking Mark's heart!
Exiled? Traitors? Purged? !
A bone-chilling cold instantly swept through his body, then ignited into a towering rage!
He instantly understood the dilapidated office, the disappearance of the statue in the square, and the nauseating stench of defilement in the air!
Allen and the others... were being persecuted!
Perhaps... already...
"Where are they?!"
Mark's voice was deep and low, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. His molten gold pupils burned with all-consuming flames, locking onto Trigg.
"They?"
Trigg's lips curled into a cruel arc, and his mechanical hand clenched suddenly.
"They fled like rats, swept into the dust of history like garbage!"
"As for you, Mark... either submit! Serve the new Alliance! Or... turn to dust with them!"
The moment the last word fell!
"Attack!"
Trigg's cold voice was like a war horn!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The black-armored soldiers, who had been like statues around the hall, instantly erupted with astonishing speed. Their heavy power armor did not hinder their agility in the slightest; like a black torrent of steel, they fiercely lunged at Mark in the center from all directions!
Their movements were perfectly synchronized, with inhuman precision and ruthlessness. Their heavy alloy boots shattered the polished floor, and their fists tore through the air with a dull whoosh, aiming directly for Mark's vital points!
There was no warning, no hesitation, only the purest killing command, driven by ancient power!
At the same time, in front of the Elders' seats, several deeply controlled Elders suddenly pressed buttons hidden beneath their armrests.
Several thick energy force fields, glowing with a purple aura, instantly rose, firmly protecting them.
Twisted smiles, a mixture of fear and cruel excitement, appeared on their faces, as if watching a bloody gladiatorial match.
"Roar—!!!"
The dormant volcano within Mark completely erupted, a roar from the depths of his soul, filled with endless fury and grief, exploded!
The sound wave was like a tangible shockwave, instantly sending the first few black-armored soldiers flying backward, slamming into the wall, their hard armor emitting a grating, twisting sound!
Bang!
Mark's figure vanished from his spot, appearing as if teleported in front of a black-armored soldier on the left, ignoring the heavy alloy punch that could smash tank armor, which the opponent was aiming at his head!
He moved later but arrived first, his right fist like a launched battering ram, whistling through the air, striking squarely on the opponent's chest plate!
Crack—boom!
The indestructible black chest plate, as if struck by a meteorite, instantly caved inward, forming a huge, terrifying fist-shaped dent with spiderweb-like cracks around its edges!
The soldier was sent flying as if hit by a high-speed train, turning into a black blur, violently smashing through the hall's thick alloy wall, leaving a human-shaped hole, and disappearing outside the wall. Rubble and twisted metal fragments splattered like a downpour!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several barbed alloy chains shot from behind, attempting to entangle Mark's limbs. Mark didn't even turn around, his body spinning in place like a phantom, stirring up a violent airflow!
His left arm became a blurry afterimage, precisely grabbing the tips of two chains!
"Come here!"
With a furious roar, Mark's arm muscles bulged, veins coiling like dragons, and terrifying brute force surged through the chains!
Puff! Puff!
Two black-armored soldiers attempting to pull him with chains were yanked from their spots with astonishing speed, screaming as if kites whose strings had been snapped by immense force, crashing towards Mark!
Thump! Thump!
Mark's fists were like two heavy hammers, striking their helmets with left and right hooks the moment they crashed close!
Crack! Crack!
The sturdy helmets, along with the heads inside, burst instantly like watermelons hit by an iron hammer. Red, white, mixed with metal fragments, splattered like a bloody fountain, and two headless bodies slumped softly to the ground!
Hum—!
A heavy alloy greatblade, with the momentum of splitting mountains and seas, chopped down from above Mark's head!
This was an unusually burly and clearly enhanced black-armored officer!
Mark advanced instead of retreating. Just as the greatblade was about to strike, his body slid sideways at an incredible angle, narrowly avoiding the blade's edge. At the same time, his right leg swept out like a steel whip!
Bang!
The heavy leg sweep slammed into the officer's waist armor joint, and the immense force caused the officer's massive body to lurch!
Mark seized this momentary gap, closing in. His left hand clamped down on the opponent's sword-wielding wrist like an iron vise, and his right fist, like a pile driver, furiously hammered the officer's chest and abdomen vital points with unidentifiable speed!
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Dull, heart-stopping impacts sounded like a torrential downpour. Each punch contained the power to shatter stars. Under such ferocious continuous heavy blows, the officer's thick armor emitted a groaning wail of unbearable stress, rapidly deforming, denting, and cracking!
Blood mixed with shattered internal organs gushed from the armor's seams. In just a few seconds, this burly officer collapsed like a boneless mass of mud, leaving a bloody, mangled deep pit in his chest and abdomen, with armor fragments deeply embedded!
The battle instantly escalated to a fever pitch!
The entire Council of Elders hall transformed into the bloodiest gladiatorial arena!
Mark, like a human tyrannosaurus, charged ferociously through the torrent of black steel. Every movement he made created a sonic boom cloud, leaving deep footprints in his wake!
His fists, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and whip kicks—every attack was simple, direct, and brutal, without any flashy techniques, only the purest, ultimate power and speed!
The power armor, which the black-armored soldiers prided themselves on, was like paper in front of him. Where his fists struck, armor dented, shattered, and flew apart!
Heavy bodies were sent flying like rag dolls, smashing through walls, shattering pillars. The crisp sound of breaking bones, the groaning of twisting metal, the death wails, mixed with Mark's storm-like heavy breathing and furious roars, formed a symphony of destruction!
The entire hall trembled!
The sturdy alloy walls were constantly punched through with human-shaped holes, revealing the cold starry sky outside. The massive load-bearing pillars were covered in cracks from the impact of the violent force, crumbling and dropping debris.
The ornate floor was long since shattered, covered in deep pits and spiderweb-like cracks! The crystal chandelier had long been shaken down, turning into a glittering pile of fragments on the floor.
"Stop him! Kill him!"
Behind the energy force field, Chairman Warren, seeing Mark rampaging through the soldiers like a demon god, turned pale with fright and shrieked hysterically.
The other Elders were also terrified, some even slumping in their seats.
Trigg stood at the edge of the force field, his deep purple eyes fixed on Mark, his face devoid of expression, only cold calculation.
His mechanical prosthetic limb slightly raised, as if preparing something.
Mark punched the last black-armored soldier blocking his way, sending both the man and his armor deep into the wall, where he was buried by collapsing rubble.
He suddenly turned, his molten gold eyes burning with all-consuming rage, piercing through the swirling smoke and bloody stench like two burning swords, pinning Trigg and the Elders hiding in their turtle shells!
He was covered in the blood and shredded flesh of his enemies. Beneath his torn clothes was a powerful physique, gleaming with a bronze luster and covered in old and new scars.
He was breathing slightly, each breath like a bellows, his hot breath condensing into white mist in the cold air.
He walked forward step by step, each step making the shattered ground groan again.
"Trigg..."
Mark's voice was low and hoarse, like a whisper from hell.
"It's your turn."
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