The King of Black Fog

Phew!

When the fierce fire swept through, it whipped up a gale.

The flames that had already been ravaging the Imperial Capital now seemed to have gained the power of the Cangqiong Fragment, multiplying in intensity by tenfold.

The Imperial Capital turned the color of a heating furnace; all its inhabitants had no escape, no shelter, and could only endure the scorching torment within the furnace.

"Kill her!" Margaret III could no longer control the situation and ordered the execution of Beia Triss.

"Yah! Yah! It's no good!" The crisp voice of the young girl cried out.

The butterfly instantly grew larger, its elegant and beautiful wings flapping to create a miniature tornado that swept up Beia Triss, Alicia, and Margaret III, tossing them onto its back.

The butterfly carried the three through the rain of fire, flying towards the shadow of the Knight in the sky.

"You—" Margaret III was astonished and furious.

She could never have imagined that the butterfly and fairy, which she could have easily squashed with a slap, possessed such miraculous strength.

Beia Triss and Alicia were also engulfed in confusion.

"Don't move, okay." The young girl rubbed her little hands together, and wisps of purple pollen, like sprinkling salt, fell onto the shackles between Beia Triss's hands, dissolving them into wafts of white vapor.

"Ah!!" Alicia was startled.

After going through so much, Beia Triss, who thought herself to be quite strong, couldn't help but have her heart race.

Especially at her wrists, as the young girl rubbed her thumb and forefinger together, sprinkling down bits of powder. As the butterfly continued flying, the swirling winds from the heatwaves threatened; a single misstep and her flawless hands would surely be marred with a hole.

Thankfully, the young girl's thumb and forefinger were so small, and the amount of powder sprinkled was minimal. Since she was also quite close, no accident occurred.

"All done!" The young girl was totally unaware of their worries.

She knew better than anyone if there was any danger.

"Thank you." Beia Triss held her wrist, hesitant to speak, "May I ask, who are you?"

"I... Ah! Long time no see, Daddy!"

Beia Triss, Alicia, and Margaret III turned their heads and saw the young girl enthusiastically waving from the cockpit of the Knight.

The cockpit opened slowly, and the butterfly flew the three inside.

"You are—" Beia Triss looked at the palm-sized young girl, then at Li Changzhou, "Her daddy?"

"No—"

"Daddy, Mommy has left this world. She asked me to tell you to be a bit more careful."

"Be a bit more careful about what?" Li Changzhou was puzzled.

Margaret III, being carried on the butterfly's back, was too afraid of falling to move. As soon as she was stuffed into the cockpit, she immediately struggled.

"What the hell are you people?" she demanded.

With her moving, Li Changzhou understood what he needed to be careful about—the cockpit wasn't large, and Her Majesty was certainly not petite.

"Let's just end this quickly," Li Changzhou came back to his senses.

Black particles floated in the air, condensing into a black light sword in the Knight's hand.

"Vivian!" The Judgement mechanic yelled.

"I know." Vivian's face was grave.

Judgement and Moonlight, the two Imperial Mecha, clasped their hands together, with Judgement now holding a cyan light sword and a moonlight-colored light shield appearing before Moonlight.

This was the second form of Gift: Weapon.

The first form of Gift, Energy Attack, had been utterly useless against the Knight. They could only hope to match it in close combat now!

The Knight's mechanic was strong, but however powerful, he could only utilize the Knight's full potential. With weapon synchronization, the pair could defend flawlessly!

The flames of the Imperial Capital roared as the two Imperial Mecha and one National Guardian Divine Machine faced off above the inferno, their armor tinted in the red glow of the flames.

Li Changzhou envisioned the "Divine Fire Map."

In his mind, a speck of red light descended from the sky, quickly becoming a visible Flame Meteorite that slammed fiercely into the Earth.

The Earth shattered, and every cell, fascia, and muscle in his body felt as if they were scorched, suddenly contracting.

His entire strength erupted like a volcanic eruption!

His consciousness drove his body, his body in return drove his consciousness, and the consciousness again drove the mech.

In just an instant, the Knight accelerated from a standstill to maximum speed, appearing before the two Imperial Mecha in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

Vivian hadn't even reacted when the white Light Shield in front of her collided with the black Light Sword.

The explosion of light expanded into a shockwave in all directions.

Looking up from below, the sky seemed to bubble like a boiling lake.

"We blocked it!" Vivian exclaimed.

The battle had shifted from a contest between mechanics to a contest between Power Furnaces.

It was like two players not comparing gameplay skills but comparing the performance of their graphics cards, with both sides having the same manufacturer, same model, and even identical usage, intensity, and environment.

There was no superiority!

"Good job!" Judgement took a step forward, the cyan light sword tearing through everything in its path, cleaving towards the Knight.

The Knight's arm bent backward, the black Light Sword in his hand becoming like a whip, catching the force of the white Light Shield at an unbelievable angle and thrusting towards Judgement.

This time, it was almost the strength of two Imperial Mecha combined!

Sizzle—

The Light Sword, created from the Cangqiong Fragment and moving at a speed Judgement's mechanic could never have reacted to, pierced through Judgement's cockpit.

The mechanic vaporized instantly, getting swept away by the cockpit's ventilation system.

And at that moment, the Knight's left hand launched forth fiercely, like a long-awaited shell!

With a bang, Moonlight shot up into the sky, turning into a white shaft of moonlight, as if the fallen moon had returned to the heavens.