Mark stood in the center of the ruins of the Council of Elders' hall, like a God of War stepping out of the infernal forge.
Beneath his feet were shattered alloy, twisted armored wreckage, and dark red pools of blood.
Each heavy breath carried a scorching heat, evaporating the surrounding air. Beneath his tattered clothes, his coiled bronze muscles flexed and rippled, stained with the blood of his enemies, adding to his wild, oppressive aura.
His molten gold eyes, like two burning stars, pierced through the swirling dust, fixed on the only enemy worthy of his full attention.
Trigg.
Inside the Council of Elders' force field shield, Warren and the others were already scared out of their wits, slumped in their seats like lambs to the slaughter, without even the strength to scream.
Their proud authority and schemes were as fragile as a joke in the face of absolute power; Mark didn't even bother to glance at them.
Trigg stood at the edge of the force field, the cold mask of control on his face finally shattering completely.
He looked at Mark, standing like a demon god amidst the devastation, and watched his carefully crafted, highly anticipated new army being torn apart like paper. A long-suppressed venomous fire, mixed with jealousy, resentment, and unwillingness, erupted like a volcano!
"Mark Grayson!!!"
Trigg let out a roar that was inhuman, filled with malevolence and madness.
He violently tore off the ornate robe symbolizing his authority as Regent, revealing his lean, powerful body covered in dark purple bio-enhanced armor beneath.
The armor subtly writhed like a living thing, perfectly integrated with his mechanical prosthetics, emitting an ominous aura. His deep purple eyes now burned with almost tangible, mad purple flames!
"Why?! Why do you get to have all of this?!"
Trigg's voice was distorted by extreme emotion.
"Admiration from all! Innate power! Gaining trust and followers effortlessly! While I! I, Trigg! Had to put in a hundred times the effort, use every means, and step over countless corpses to get to where I am today!"
Jealousy gnawed at his sanity like a venomous snake, and the power of the Old Ones, catalyzed by this extreme emotion, surged through his body like boiling magma.
"Today! Right here! I will tear you apart with my own hands, and with your blood, I will prove that I, Trigg, am the true King!"
Trigg's last vestige of sanity was drowned by madness. He was no longer a calm schemer, but a beast completely ignited by jealousy and the whispers of the Old Ones!
Boom!
The alloy floor beneath Trigg's feet exploded, and his figure vanished instantly, so fast that it left a clear sonic boom cloud in its wake!
The physical strength, beyond the limits of a Vitruvium, unleashed terrifying power under the Old Ones' blessing!
Bang!
An iron fist, encased in dark purple bio-armor with sharp bone blades extended from its knuckles, tore through the air with a piercing shriek, like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair, striking directly at Mark's throat!
This punch condensed Trigg's lifelong hatred and the ferocious power bestowed by the Old Ones!
Fast! Ruthless! Vicious!
Mark's molten gold pupils slightly contracted!
So fast!
Several times faster than the Trigg he remembered!
The power of the Old Ones was indeed strange, but he did not retreat, nor did he fear. His body, like a taut bowstring, suddenly twisted sideways at the last moment!
Rip!
The sharp bone blade grazed Mark's neck, leaving a faint line of blood!
At the same time, Mark's left fist, like a cannonball, shot out with a dull whoosh, slamming hard into Trigg's exposed ribs due to his full-force punch!
Thud!
With a muffled thud like a heavy hammer striking a drum, Trigg's body violently shook, and the dark purple armor visibly dented!
He grunted, purple flames flickering wildly in his eyes. Using the impact, he spun around, and his mechanical left arm, fused with biotechnology, shot out eerily like a scorpion's tail, an energy spike at its tip glowing with a cold blue light, thrusting at Mark's back at a tricky angle!
Mark seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, his waist twisting sharply as if broken, narrowly avoiding the fatal stab. Simultaneously, his right leg swept upward like a battle-axe, with a tearing shriek, aiming a fierce kick at Trigg's jaw!
Crack!
Trigg reacted incredibly quickly, his mechanical arm instantly moving to block. The heavy leg kick collided with the hard mechanical arm, producing a teeth-grinding metallic screech!
The immense force sent Trigg flying upward!
"Die!"
A fierce light flashed in Mark's eyes. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, his body, like a spring compressed to its limit, suddenly exploded.
He shot into the sky, both fists clenched like two meteors falling from above, carrying the will to crush everything, slamming fiercely into Trigg's chest and head in mid-air!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The terrifying thuds of fist meeting flesh exploded like a rapid-fire cannonade. Mark's fists became blurred afterimages; each punch contained enough power to shatter mountains!
He hammered madly like a pile driver onto Trigg's chest plate and his attempting-to-block mechanical arm!
The dark purple bio-armor on Trigg's body let out a groan of protest, spiderweb cracks rapidly spreading. The hard alloy mechanical arm, under such ferocious continuous heavy blows, emitted a piercing metallic whine, sparks flying from its joints, and hydraulic fluid gushing out like blood!
He was like a small boat in a storm, completely suppressed by Mark's absolute power, unable to retaliate, only able to passively endure this destructive barrage!
Bang!
The final, powerful uppercut landed squarely on Trigg's chin!
Crack!
A chilling sound of bone cracking was clearly audible!
Trigg's head snapped backward, blood mixed with shattered teeth spewing from his mouth. Like a kite with a broken string, he was sent flying backward by that terrifying punch, crashing through three thick alloy walls like a cannonball.
Finally, he slammed hard into the top floor of a distant auxiliary building, smashing a large hole through the sturdy dome, and disappearing into the dust-filled ruins!
The entire core area of the Crown of Stars was utterly silent!
Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether the terrified citizens, the stunned soldiers, or the elders who had wet themselves behind the force field, all felt as if their throats were choked, unable to breathe!
Their once invincible Regent, Trigg, was actually... completely dominated by Mark like a punching bag?!
Mark slowly landed, standing on the edge of the huge hole Trigg had crashed through. His molten gold eyes gazed indifferently at the dust-filled ruins.
He did not pursue. With that round of brutal attacks, he had already gauged the limits of Trigg's power after being enhanced by the Old Ones.
He was strong, far exceeding ordinary Vitruvium warriors, enough to sweep aside a fleet, but in front of Mark... he was no match, far from it!
"Cough cough... ugh..."
From deep within the dust-filled ruins came violent coughing and pained groans.
Trigg struggled to climb out of the twisted metal and broken concrete.
He was in a sorry state, his ornate dark purple armor covered in cracks, many pieces shattered and fallen off, revealing bruised and purplish skin beneath. His proud mechanical left arm was twisted and deformed, wires exposed, sparks crackling, hanging limply at his side.
His face was covered in blood, his jaw visibly deformed, and one eye was swollen to just a slit.
Excruciating pain surged through his nerves like a tide, but what made his soul tremble even more was the deep-seated sense of defeat and... a strange feeling of losing control.
Just now, under Mark's storm-like onslaught, he felt that powerful and cold power of the Old Ones within him... seemed to... become agitated?
It was no longer completely under his control. Even when he tried to forcefully mobilize the power to counterattack, that power seemed to have a will of its own, carrying a hint of cold mockery and... greed.
As if coveting his very being?
"No... impossible..."
Trigg's remaining eye was bloodshot and filled with incredulous terror.
"This is... my power... you..."
He tried to call out in his mind, but received only a cold, dead silence, an abyss-like echo.
An unprecedented fear seized him.
Perhaps... he was never the master of the power, but merely... a carefully fed vessel?
A... pawn that could be replaced at any time?
This brief moment of clarity was like a splash of ice water, jolting him out of the frenzy of jealousy and madness, but it was followed by an even deeper despair and chill.
He looked at the figure standing like a god-demon at the edge of the distant hole, exuding an oppressive aura that suffocated him: Mark Grayson.
The power he had sacrificed everything for, even embracing the abyss, was still so vulnerable in front of him!
His Dao Heart shattered.
The ambition, jealousy, and false sense of power that had sustained him for so long, under the dual blow of Mark's absolute strength and the loss of control over the power within him, utterly collapsed!
He slumped in the ruins, his eyes filled only with desolation and blankness.
Mark did not spare Trigg another glance.
He turned around, his molten gold eyes sweeping over the chaotic city below, over the terrified, bewildered, and a few uncorrupted faces that still held a glimmer of hope and trust.
He took a deep breath, his voice like a grand bell, echoing across the silent Crown of Stars, overriding all alarms and commotion.
"Citizens of the Alliance! Look around you, look at this hall eroded by lies, fear, and twisted power, look at that loser hiding in the ruins. Is this the new order you follow?!"
"I, Mark Grayson, have returned! Not for power! Not for revenge! But to dispel the dark clouds that hang over us!"
"Trigg and his minions, and those corrupt entities hiding behind the scenes... the lies they've woven must end!"
"Those who believe me, who are willing to seek the truth, who refuse to sink into fear, follow me!"
"We go to find Allen! To find Eve! To find Rudy! To find the hope we have lost!"
"And then... we will return, cleanse this filthy nest, and reclaim our Starry Sky!"
Mark's voice was like thunder, exploding in countless bewildered hearts!
After a brief silence, a light ignited in the eyes of some who had been oppressed for too long, whose hearts still held a spark of fire!
"It's Commander Mark!"
"He's right! The Alliance shouldn't be like this!"
"I'm sick of those purple drugs and mad orders!"
"I'm going with General Mark!"
Some low-ranking soldiers threw down their weapons and tore off their PRCC armbands, some technical personnel rushed out of their monitored posts, and some uncorrupted civilians broke through the cordon.
They flowed out like trickles from every corner of the city, converging towards Mark's position. Though not many in number, their eyes were firm, carrying the desperate resolve of burning their bridges!
Mark looked at these converging people, a subtle warmth flashing in his molten gold eyes.
He did not linger, giving one last cold glance at the ruins where Trigg lay, and at the trembling elders behind the force field shield.
"Let's go!"
Mark growled, no longer paying attention to the chaos behind him. The remaining PRCC forces tried to block them but were swatted away by Mark like flies. Like a drawn sword, he led this group of followers, whose hope had been rekindled in the darkness, breaking through the numerous obstacles of the Crown of Stars and rushing towards the docking area!
They needed a ship, they needed to leave this corrupted center of power, to search the vast star sea for their lost comrades and the answers to fight the Old Ones!
And in those ruins, Trigg listened to the shouts of those following Mark in the distance, feeling the increasingly agitated and seemingly ready-to-backfire cold power within him. In his remaining eye, there was only endless fear and an abyss-like despair.
The Pandora's Box he had personally opened... seemed to have begun to devour him.
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