Liberation

Jiang Xun was not entirely ignorant of the Forbidden-class relic, the [Claw of Anles]. As a captain of an Administration combat squad, his clearance was high enough to warrant knowledge of several dangerous relics; such information was memorized by heart, as it could truly save lives at a critical moment.

The reason the [Claw of Anles] was ranked as Forbidden had little to do with the raw power it granted the user. The primary reason was that this object was not a dead thing—it was alive!

It possessed its own will, one that was chaotic and evil. It would constantly tempt its user to liberate more of its power, using that as a foothold to seize control and mutate the host into a terrifying monster.

Because of this, the power it could manifest varied depending on the wielder.

A person of steadfast character could resist the relic’s temptations, borrowing only appropriate amounts of power, whereas the weak-willed would be swallowed by it, turning into mindless slaughtering machines.

However, there were a rare few who were naturally born to ignore most of the relic’s influence, allowing them to perfectly exhibit its power while ensuring they did not fully mutate. Gray Eagle was one such individual.

This was his talent—his body possessed an incredibly high resistance to various forms of contamination and curses due to certain past events. Consequently, even now, having fully liberated the power of the [Claw of Anles], his will remained clear.

Of course, there was an impact.

As he transformed into a pitch-black dragon-man, his consciousness was ignited by a cluster of irritability and madness that sought to destroy everything. While it didn’t cause him to lose his sense of self, it heavily influenced his temperament.

Destroy… ruin… Tear apart…

Chaotic whispers continuously surfaced in the man’s mind, stimulating his will and turning his slitted pupils an ever-deepening shade of crimson. He naturally felt no urge to suppress these inner impulses.

“Roar——!”

Having just completed his transformation, Gray Eagle let out a low growl and lunged at the group.

The Administration members were just as quick to react.

Before he had even covered half the distance, Gray Eagle felt a burst of blinding light. The brilliance instantly robbed him of his vision, turning the world into a void of pure white.

Simultaneously, a follow-up mental stimulus struck like a sharp blade stabbing into his brain, causing a splitting headache.

Yet, relying on the relic’s power, he actually ignored the mental pressure. Driven by beast-like instinct while blinded, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Bang——!

The bullet shattered the pitch-black dragon scales, and a holy white light erupted. But this time, it only scorched a black char mark on the surface, which rapidly healed within seconds due to his exaggerated regenerative abilities.

Gray Eagle’s eyes gradually adjusted to the light. Catching a hazy silhouette ahead, he thrust out a palm without hesitation.

Clang!

His dragon claws caught a fist, but the sound produced was like clashing metal. A horrifying surge of strength followed—one so immense that even Gray Eagle, in his mutated state, found it difficult to withstand.

He gritted his teeth, a dragon’s roar erupting from his throat as the scales across his entire body flashed with a murky black light!

“Not good!”

In front of him, Xiao Yongan—whose body had swelled to twice the size of a normal man—saw his expression change. But by then, it was too late.

With a sickening crack, Gray Eagle used the relic’s power to snap Captain Xiao’s arm. Using raw brute force, he flung the man into the air before slamming him heavily into the ground.

In the next second, the murky light from the scales converged toward the dragon-man’s upper body, surging toward his throat. Finally—

“Roar!”

A jet of pitch-black dragon breath spewed from Gray Eagle’s maw. Xiao Yongan had nowhere to hide and was about to be engulfed when snowy-white flames suddenly wrapped around him.

The black dragon breath slammed into the man, sent him flying far into the distance, but the majority of the force was neutralized by the white flames. Ultimately, he only suffered some scorched skin.

However, Captain Xiao was already heavily injured; this impact caused him to revert to his original form. As he struggled to get up, his face grew even paler.

“Are you alright?”

Zhen Zhu rushed over and immediately channeled the white flames to treat him again. Xiao Yongan shook his head awkwardly. “I’m fine. Thank you for the help.”

“It’s nothing…” The girl focused on the treatment.

On the other side, Gray Eagle finally faced off against Jiang Xun again.

Jiang Xun hadn’t moved immediately because he was well aware that in their current state, they were no match for a fully liberated Gray Eagle. Forbidden-class power was no joke, and when paired with freakish self-healing, victory was exceptionally difficult.

The only method Jiang Xun could think of to ensure a win was to ask Su Mian for help. If he asked, she would surely assist.

But the young man had considered it and decided against it. It would be strange to rely on her for everything, especially since the opponent was an Administration traitor—it was only right that they handle their own cleanup.

So, Jiang Xun did not trouble Su Mian right away. Part of it was hesitation, and part of it was that… for the moment, it wasn’t necessary.

As Gray Eagle liberated his power, a vial of crimson potion shattered in Jiang Xun’s hand. The red substance, which resembled a ball of fire more than a liquid, vanished into his palm the moment it lost its constraint.

The potion’s power fused into his body. Starting from his arms, brilliant red patterns rapidly climbed across his skin. His presence surged, and his orange-gold eyes shifted into a blazing, fiery red!

Terrifying heat radiated from him, sweeping away the surrounding chill and making the dark world appear bright once more. Sensing the power flowing through him, Jiang Xun closed his eyes just as the others began their clash with Gray Eagle.

Simply relying on the potion’s power was far from enough. This was only the first step. Next…

“One vial can support me for about ten seconds.”

After a quick judgment of the potion’s power and his own condition, the young man no longer hesitated. Against an enemy like Gray Eagle, who possessed regenerative expansion, a prolonged struggle was meaningless. The longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for the Administration.

Victory could only be achieved through absolute, overwhelming strength. When the destruction far exceeded the limits of recovery, death would follow!

This was no easy feat, but Jiang Xun wasn’t entirely without a way. He took a deep breath and guided the potion’s energy toward an unknown place within his body.

In the next second, the young man snapped his eyes open.

Simultaneously, Su Mian—who had been somewhat distracted—suddenly froze and instinctively tilted her head to look over.

In her perception, this Mr. Jiang had suddenly become a hundred times more… “delicious.” No—a thousand times!

“What is happening?”

While Su Mian was still dazed, the crimson aura within her surged out uncontrollably. A desire so strong it was almost physical screamed in her ears, nearly making her pounce on him!

Fortunately, in that second of hesitation, the man opposite her had already moved.

BOOM——!

Jiang Xun’s body vanished from his spot. It was only after he disappeared that the surrounding environment began to collapse.

The earth shattered, trees incinerated, air distorted, and steel liquefied… Then, the already unstable space collapsed into black voids, and a murky, chaotic aura erupted!

In the distance, Gray Eagle had just sent Xiao Yongan flying and retracted his breath, preparing to press the attack. At the last moment, a tremor from the relic allowed him to sense something.

He halted his steps without hesitation, his eyes flashing as the scales across his body emitted an unprecedented black halo!

The dragon-man then saw the space in front of him distort. Before he could see clearly, a wave of searing heat hit him, turning the scales across his entire body a glowing red.

Gray Eagle sensed danger—unprecedented danger. He realized he had met a formidable foe and unleashed his full power without reservation.

“Hah!!”

Eerie black light projected in all directions from him. Wherever the light touched, pitch-black patterns appeared, briefly insulating him from the terrifying heat.

But before Gray Eagle could breathe a sigh of relief, a figure with golden sparks burning in his pupils appeared within the distorted space. Expressionless, the figure threw a simple punch.

The punch looked like it lacked power, but when Gray Eagle instinctively tried to resist, he realized he was dead wrong.

Thump——!

The punch landed like a thousand waves of fire. Gray Eagle’s non-human body looked insignificant within the layers of golden flames. The hard scales on his surface turned to ash in an instant, followed by flesh, then bone…

In that moment, Gray Eagle felt he was on the brink of death. Fortunately, his own abilities activated and the relic’s power was sufficiently stimulated; only through their double stack did he manage to slow the rate of his body turning to ash!

But the cessation of his body’s disintegration didn’t mean the crisis was over. In fact, the attack had only just begun.

Gray Eagle managed to intercept the first punch, but the second followed immediately. He tried to reshape his hands to block, but they were ignited once more the moment he raised them. Then, he was sent flying by an indescribable force.

Rumble!

His burning body leveled countless buildings along its path. Anything he touched was instantly set ablaze by golden flames. These flames burned out of thin air, rapidly turning all matter into ash.

Gray Eagle fared even worse. His body was pushed back continuously by that figure. In the process, his body constantly repaired itself and constantly turned to ash. The intense pain was more than even he could bear.

Finally…

“You forced my hand.”

Realizing he was no match, a shade of darkness flashed in the dragon-man’s eyes, which then transformed into pure darkness.