His eyes narrowed in confusion.

This didn't make sense.

The most lethal aspect of his kusanagi-no-tsurugi was not its elemental heat, but its defense-bypassing soul strangle.

Logically speaking, even if these people's physical body could withstand physical damage, their soul should have been completely obliterated under that strike just now.

An SSS-Level soul attack against SS-Levels was a dimensional strike.

Even if it just brushed them, their soul should have been extinguished like candle flames.

But now...

He could clearly feel that although the physical body of these Great Xia Nation Classer was shattered, their spirits seemed entirely unaffected.

"How is this possible..."

Kujo Naruya had lived for so long, yet he had never encountered such a bizarre thing.

Unless...

A shocking realization dawned in his mind.

Unless none of these people had a soul...

"Puppet?!"

The moment those two words left his mouth, even Kujo Naruya himself felt a sense of absurdity.

How could such realistic Puppet exist in this world?

Not only did they have bodies of flesh and blood, but they could also use various class skills, and even their personalities were distinct.

What was even more terrifying...

All of these Puppet were SS-Level without exception!

Among them, that Insect Master had even reached SSS-Level!

Refining an SSS-Rank Expert into a Puppet?

That was simply absurd!

Who on earth was it?

Who on earth pulled off such a grand undertaking?

Could there be an existence hidden behind Great Xia Nation even older and more terrifying than him?

For the first time, a sliver of emotion called apprehension arose in Kujo Naruya's heart.

He had originally thought he was merely facing a group of exceptionally talented Great Xia juniors.

But now, it seemed the situation was even more interesting than he had anticipated.

He wasn't in a rush to deliver a finishing blow, nor did he look at them like ants anymore.

Instead, with an inquiring gaze, he stared intently at Insect Emperor Caesar, who was protected behind Xiang Yu.

"To be honest..."

"I'm less and less inclined to kill you now."

Staring at Insect Emperor Caesar's emotionless compound eyes, he gave a meaningful smile.

"I'm really quite curious."

"Just what kind of Classer are you?"

"To actually be able to control so many powerful Classer as Puppet."

"Even... creating SSS-Level."

Hearing him say this...

Zhou Huai's heart tightened.

It seemed the other party had sensed a portion of his secrets.

This old monster's instincts were terrifically sharp.

Feedback from just a single attack allowed him to deduce part of the truth.

However, Zhou Huai no longer cared even if his secrets were exposed now.

Anyway, there were only two outcomes to this battle: either he died, or the other party died.

Seeing that the other party didn't answer, Kujo Naruya lost interest in inquiring further.

"If you refuse to speak, so be it."

He shook his head, the inquisitive expression on his face turning into pure indifference.

"I'll find you sooner or later anyway."

As his voice fell, the amaterasu dharma idol behind Kujo Naruya raised its arms once again.

That kusanagi-no-tsurugi composed of pure True Solar Fire burned even brighter than before, the golden flames flowing along the blade almost solidifying.

Terrifyingly high temperatures swept through the field once more.

The snowy peak that had barely struggled out of the magma Hell was once again engulfed in a golden sea of fire.

"It's over."

Kujo Naruya's voice sounded like a god's final judgment, devoid of any emotion.

He was already tired of this game.

With this strike, he intended to thoroughly erase all those eyesore bugs below, along with the land beneath their feet, from this world!

Looking at that slowly raised world-destroying sword, almost all Avatar except Insect Emperor Caesar were unable to move.

Half of Gandalf's body was charred to coal, unable to even maintain the most basic Arcane Shield.

Yasuo lay in a pool of blood with a massive puncture wound on his chest, his life force extremely faint.

Da Yi and Gabriel were slightly better off, but they were barely retaining consciousness.

If they took another sword strike, they would likely suffer total annihilation.

However, right at that moment...

A sudden change occurred!

Boom! Boom!

The ground beneath the feet of the amaterasu dharma idol, which had long turned into magma, suddenly churned violently.

Immediately following, two incomparably massive, ferocious dark shadows violently burst out from the boiling magma!

They were two giant beetles with bodies comparable to heavy tanks!

They were covered in pitch-black shells with eerie purple magic lines, six pairs of blood-red compound eyes flashing with light of madness and destruction.

Hell-Grade Armored Beetle!

Unbeknownst to anyone, Zhou Huai had long released two Hell-Grade hidden deep underground, waiting for the right moment to strike!

"Roar—!"

As soon as the two Hell-Grade Armored Beetle appeared, they let out a deafening roar. Ignoring the surrounding heat capable of melting gold and iron, they stepped out on their thick limbs, turning into two dark afterimages and recklessly charging toward the amaterasu dharma idol in the sky!

"Inferior bugs like these again?"

Kujo Naruya frowned slightly, a flash of impatience passing through his eyes.

He didn't even bother to change his attack target; in his eyes, a suicidal attack of this level wasn't even fit to tickle him.

However, the instant the two Hell-Grade Armored Beetle approached within a hundred meters of the Dharma Idol...

Their massive bodies suddenly expanded, and the purple demonic runes on their surface glowed to the extreme!

Boom—!!!

Two giant purple suns exploded violently in midair!

The terrifying explosion shockwave, carrying intense heat and radiation capable of tearing space, violently swept in all directions!

The power of this explosion was far more terrifying than any before!

The energy storm generated by the explosion even caused Kujo Naruya's descending kusanagi-no-tsurugi to pause.

Kujo Naruya's expression finally changed.

For the first time, he cast away his contempt.

He was forced to temporarily alter his attack trajectory, holding the world-destroying kusanagi-no-tsurugi across his chest while waving his left hand.

Buzz!

The phantom of the yata no kagami surfaced once again, blocking before him.

His offensive turned to defense at this moment.

Seeing this scene, the corner of Zhou Huai's mouth curved into a grin.

Everything was within his calculations!

Even though you, Amaterasu, are powerful, you can't withstand my endless Avatar and skills.

Trick after trick, scheme after scheme!

Right at the moment Kujo Naruya was fully defending against the Soldier Beetle self-detonation...

A holy figure covered in wounds, dragging broken six wings, struggled up into the air from the ground.

It was Gabriel!

The Holy Light on his body was dim, his wings incomplete; with every flap of his wings, golden blood spilled.

Yet those eyes of his were strikingly bright.

"Now!"

Zhou Huai issued the final command in his heart.

Flying into midair, Gabriel opened his arms and used the last remnant of his strength to let out a cry that resounded between heaven and earth.

"Anti-Magic Aura!"