The mutated Desert Worm’s journey through the border of the Star Luo Kingdom caused great disturbance. Several cities faced catastrophe, as by the time people saw it, it was too late to escape.

Ironically, villagers outside the cities fared better, scattering and fleeing as soon as they spotted it, resulting in fewer casualties.

News of these events, including details of what transpired in Anho, reached Henir in the God-Servant City. The Star Queen’s divine technique made the transmission of information exceptionally convenient and swift.

In the palace, only Henir, the Prime Minister, and a few attendants were present. Henir dismissed the messenger and walked to the window with the Prime Minister.

Henir had no taste for pomp and circumstance. Even for matters of state, he preferred to confer with just a few ministers in private.

“The Samo king and his first heir, Princess Saliman, are dead,” he said. “The entire priest group of the Samo Kingdom has vanished, and nearly half of Anho’s population has been killed by the Desert Worm’s strange power.”

“And now,” he continued, “this allegedly talking mad worm has crossed the border, heading straight for the Sacred Mountain and the Sky Temple.”

Countless people in Anho had seen the faces emerging on the Desert Worm’s body, and many had heard the voices of the king and Princess Saliman.

There was no shortage of clever people, especially among the nobility, who had guessed what had happened. Some even knew part of the secret of the Samo family’s immortality technique.

Many of these astute individuals had already established contact with Henir’s dynasty when the Samo Kingdom began showing signs of imminent downfall.

Henir gripped the Yinsai scepter and exhaled deeply, then shook his head. It was unclear whether the gesture conveyed contempt or resignation.

“It seems my chosen plan, aimed at minimizing casualties and ensuring stability, instead drove the Samo king to madness,” he mused. “Causing him to commit some insane act.”

“Apparently, he didn’t succeed, and something went terribly wrong.”

Henir immediately recognized that the Desert Worm was heading for the Sky Temple and God-Servant City, or rather, it was coming for him.

After a moment’s consideration, he issued his orders.

“Have the people of God-Servant City and the three garrison towns, villages, and fishing villages at the foot of the mountain evacuate immediately. The Desert Worm is coming to face me in battle.”

“The Sele Sea Spirit is strongest in the Sacred Lake. I must stay here to maintain the advantage.”

The Prime Minister asked, “My King! You’re not leaving?”

Henir smiled. “It’s coming for me. I can’t avoid it, nor do I want to. I’ll wait for it here and engage in an honorable battle.”

“If we don’t resolve this disaster, we’ll never know peace.”

The king, known as the Black Mud, looked out the window. The sun cast its rays obliquely upon him, half brilliant light, half shadowy darkness.

“If I win, I’ll be the king of Yinsai,” he said. “If I lose…” He laughed. “You can say it was God’s will!”

“The black mud that destroyed the authority of the royal family after hundreds of years has also invited punishment.”

“A new king of light will become the new ruler of Yinsai, stepping over my corpse.”

He turned to the Prime Minister, laughing heartily. “See? Isn’t this how you always like to use God’s name?”

The Prime Minister, hearing this, felt fear grip him, his body trembling involuntarily.

He immediately knelt, pledging his loyalty. “My King! We are willing to stay and defend God-Servant City. We’ll fight by your side until the very end. Not even death can make us retreat.”

Henir looked at the minister with an amused smile, shaking his head.

“This isn’t a war for mortals, my Prime Minister,” he said. “Nor is it a war between me and the Samo family.”

“This is a war of myths, the final battle between beasts.”

“It’s the reclaiming of King Redlichia’s gift from the God-Given era, the end of the divine grace for the children of the first king.”

He had a vague premonition that the era of beasts would end with this battle, regardless of whether he won or lost.

The age when the Trilobite Men controlled beasts roaming the land and sea would be gone forever—

The people of God-Servant City filed down from the Sacred Mountain in queues. Every household looked back longingly towards the mountaintop, uncertain if their homes would still be there when they returned.

They didn’t even know if Henir’s dynasty would still exist when they came back.

The vast, desolate land was filled with migrating, retreating crowds.

The bustling God-Servant City and the entire foot of the Sacred Mountain gradually fell silent.

Only Henir remained, sitting alone on the throne.

He gripped the Yinsai scepter with both hands, resting it before him, his gaze fixed on the palace gates.

His eyes were completely unfocused, seeing nothing, immersed in his own thoughts.

Throughout his life, he had used every means at his disposal to ascend, stopping at nothing to reach the pinnacle of power.

And now, with the passing of the Samo king, he was indeed the one at the very top.

“Ah!” he exclaimed. “I’ve finally reached the mountaintop, and then what?”

“Will I fall from the peak, or create new glories?”

He straightened up, finally relaxing his perpetually tense, upright posture.

He leaned back on the throne, even setting the scepter aside.

As night fell, the moon rose in the sky.

A low roar echoed from the distance, the mad howl audible even from tens of miles away.

“It’s here!”

Henir stood beneath the Sky Temple, with the Burrowing Demon Worm coiled around him and the Sele Sea Spirit poking its head out of the Sacred Lake.

“Roar!”

The Desert Worm sensed the presence of the Burrowing Demon Worm, knowing that where it was, Henir must be.

“Henir!”

“Kill you… kill you… kill…”

As the Desert Worm roared, hundreds of terrifying eyes unleashed beams of mutation.

In the darkness, they were like pillars of light tearing through the night sky.

It attacked the Sacred Mountain, crushing the steps as it forced its way up.

“Get back down!” Henir commanded, waving his hand.

The Burrowing Demon Worm sprang from above, crashing into the Desert Worm on the mountain steps, knocking it back to the foot of the mountain.

The two worm-like beasts became entangled, falling into the Sacred Lake.

The Sele Sea Spirit immediately burst out from the lake’s surface, its hard, heavy “steel helm” slamming into the Desert Worm.

The Desert Worm was visibly injured, with blood spattering and half its body caving in.

The terrifying eyeballs on its surface burst, spewing green fluid.

“Woooo!”

The Desert Worm let out a pained roar, but as it cried out, its wounds began to heal rapidly.

Henir furrowed his brow.

This was the nature of beasts – they were impossible to kill, even in battles between themselves.

And now, he faced a beast that could act on its own without a Ruhe brand.

“Hiss!”

At the edge of the Sacred Lake, another figure appeared. The friction sound of its movement grew clearer as it approached.

Henir’s expression changed slightly as he saw the Moon Magic Fern appear.

But suddenly, in the moonlight, he spotted a familiar figure standing atop the sphere, and his eyes lit up with amusement.

Henir couldn’t help but call out loudly, “Look who I see! Isn’t this the bumbling craftsman from God-Descended City?”

Stan Tito calmly responded, “Henir.”

Henir slowly climbed to the edge of the cliff, his voice carrying to the distance through the power of wisdom.

“I told you,” he said. “A man like you wouldn’t be a craftsman all your life.”

“I also said I would wait for you at the Sky Temple.”

“See?”

“You’ve come back after all.”

This time, Stan Tito showed no rejection or disgust. He simply said calmly,

“Henir!” Stan exclaimed. “I never expected you to send everyone away and face this battle alone.”

“In this aspect, you’ve shown the bearing of a true king.”

“If you hadn’t committed those acts of betrayal and conspiracy, if you had been loyal to Her Majesty the Queen, I would have been willing to be your friend.”

Henir replied, “But now, haven’t you come to fight alongside me?”

“What is this if not fate?”

“Stan Tito, you truly are someone who descended upon this world with a mission.”

Stan Tito said no more, immediately joining the battle. He had come this time to deal with the completely mad, murderous Desert Worm.

Together, they launched an encirclement attack in the Sacred Lake, with three differently shaped beasts against the deformed, mutated Desert Worm.

They aimed to beat the Desert Worm back to its original form, returning it to a mindless state while stripping away its mutated, aberrant power.