Time to go, Han Wu thought, bolting out of the hall in the opposite direction.
He already had his reward. Picking a fight with the War Tyrannosprite King at this point was suicidal.
Still, he didn’t leave entirely, opting to hide at the edge of the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King’s territory. Several contestant squads lay in ambush beyond the border. Even knowing Han Wu was close, none of them dared to trespass. The Heavyarmor Raptor and its dragon-type escort had already scared them once.
As Han Wu hid, he observed the live stream via his avatars. The two Tyrannosprite Kings had already met face to face.
The War Tyrannosprite King was in a state of blind rage. Countless vines had spread across its body, forming a ring covered in blood-red flowers and golden fruit. The sight was unsettling. Han Wu couldn’t tell whether the War Tyrannosprite King was still an animal or a plant.
He checked its stats again via his avatars.
[War Tyrannosprite King, Fusion Form: World Tree Form (Subcosm rank). Skills: Gaia Force, Dragon Bane, Battle Tornado, Courage Shield, King of Tyrannosprite Kings, World Tree Will. Description: The absolute ruler among Digital Sprites after fusing with the World Tree. Possesses limitless combat power and infinite life force.]
Han Wu’s jaw dropped. The War Tyrannosprite King had fused with the World Tree to become all but invincible! Limitless combat power plus infinite life force was the definition of unbeatable.
Seeing this, Han Wu couldn’t help but worry about the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King. If it were defeated, the War Tyrannosprite King’s next target would surely be the person who had stolen the World Tree’s fruit: Han Wu.
A chill ran down his spine. He needed to raise a Digital Sprite capable of standing up to the War Tyrannosprite King, and fast.
He handed the Dark Courage Shield to the Dark Dragoness. The dual compatibility of Dark Energy and Dragon Energy triggered a massive power boost, pushing the Dark Dragoness from the Microcosm rank straight into the Subcosm rank.
Although this placed the Dark Dragoness as the War Tyrannosprite King’s equal in rank, she was still considerably weaker in actual combat strength. Han Wu stuck with his policy of avoiding a fight unless absolutely necessary and kept an eye on the situation from his hiding spot.
“Hand over the World Tree’s fruit, and I might spare you,” the War Tyrannosprite King snarled at the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King.
The Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King only laughed. “I’ve already absorbed it. I’m free. Can’t you feel it? The Guardian Seal on my body has been removed. I can leave this ruined, commodified civilization whenever I want!”
“What?!” the War Tyrannosprite King exclaimed in disbelief.
It carefully scanned the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King’s body, only to realize the other spoke the truth. The Guardian Seal was truly gone.
This realization only deepened its fury. “Why? Have you forgotten? You’re a child of the World Tree too! Why would you betray it? Why would you abandon your duty as its guardian?”
The War Tyrannosprite King couldn’t understand it. The two of them had been born as twin Digital Sprites. Blessed by the World Tree, they had both become its guardians and mastered the powerful Fusion Evolution together.
It had always treated the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King as a brother, believing they would fulfill their duty to protect the World Tree until the day they died.
Then, the Dark Tyrannosprite King had betrayed everything, fled to the Kingdom of Sin, and underwent Sin Evolution. Now it had even consumed the World Tree’s fruit to shed its identity as a guardian entirely.
“You ask why I’ve betrayed it?” the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King asked coldly. “Have you forgotten how the World Tree treated us? What did the World Tree do when the Gods from the Divine Civilization attacked with overwhelming force, and our Fusion Evolution couldn’t hold them off? I made up my mind to leave the moment the World Tree abandoned us and chose to surrender. I’ve decided to leave this civilization and live for myself!”
“The World Tree is our mother!” the War Tyrannosprite King roared.
“No. It’s not my mother. I was just its tool. Not anymore,” the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King said, as if a weight had finally been lifted from its shoulders.
These words only drove the War Tyrannosprite King into a deeper fury. The endless thorns growing from its body thrashed violently, a sign of the World Tree’s rage.
“Just give me a little more time. I can still talk to him,” the War Tyrannosprite King pleaded with the World Tree fused inside its body.
The World Tree refused. It had chosen to grovel and surrender when faced with the powerful Gods of the Divine Civilization, but against its former guardian, it chose to strike with full force.
It ignored the War Tyrannosprite King’s feelings entirely and seized control of its body. Endless positive energy gathered between the War Tyrannosprite King’s claws.
“Gaia Force!” the War Tyrannosprite King roared unwillingly.
The Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King answered in kind with negative energy gathered between its claws. “Dark Gaia Force!”
Two massive energy spheres collided in midair with a resounding explosion. The shockwave sent smaller ultimate Digital Sprites flying several kilometers. The War Tyrannosprite King used its Courage Shield to block the blast and came through unharmed.
The Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King, however, no longer had its Dark Courage Shield. The shockwave drove it backward, leaving countless small cuts across every gap in its armor.
The fight continued. The War Tyrannosprite King attacked again, twisting its body into a spinning tornado. The thorns attached to its frame made Battle Tornado even more ferocious.
The Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King countered with Dark Battle Tornado, but the collision sent it hurtling over a dozen kilometers, leaving it severely wounded.
The War Tyrannosprite King’s Gaia Force gathered once more. This time, it intended to bomb the Pride Dark Tyrannosprite King into oblivion.