At this moment, the truth about the black shadows outside Hadrian's Wall had been completely uncovered.
All of Ian's previous conjectures were further confirmed at this point.
The person creating these black shadows besieging Hadrian's Wall was none other than Agrippina.
Her firm intention to reclaim Rome naturally began with crossing this wall guarding the north of Britannia.
And the reason these black shadows feared sunlight was precisely because Agrippina had completely lost her face after her resurrection, so the things she summoned also shared the same nature.
Scarlet flames were burning on the Aestus Estus (Original Fire of the Meteorite Forge), instantly staining the originally pitch-black environment with the colors of a purgatory.
"Agrippina, no one would choose to follow you."
"From beginning to end, it's just been your own delusion. You are nothing but a vile poisoner, a vicious woman who consecutively murdered three husbands for her own selfish desires and even attempted to harm her own daughter in the end."
"You never truly possessed anything, so how can you talk about reclaiming them?"
Ian's words accurately struck at Agrippina's psychological core.
She shrieked hysterically:
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
The vicious woman denied Ian's words while raising her hand, directing the black shadows to attack the man's location.
"Seneca, the soldiers who follow me will absolutely take care of you!"
It must be admitted—
Although the magical energy state was very similar to the original Agrippina.
The vicious woman, now faceless, was intertwined with a grudge. The effect produced by every bit of magical energy she used was far more powerful than before.
However, Ian was not surprised by this situation—after all, it was unlikely that someone like Lev, who was intent on creating Singularities in history, would allow Agrippina to simply be resurrected without interfering. He must have tampered with something.
But—
It didn't matter.
Ian knew that the reason he previously had difficulty dealing with the black shadows was because of his concern for the unknown. Now that everything was clear, there was nothing to worry about.
"I could kill you once, and I can kill you a second time!"
Ian gripped the Aestus Estus in his hand and charged back toward the black shadows rushing at him.
Unlike the various weapons he had projected previously, Ian had witnessed the design and forging of the Aestus Estus and fully understood its principles.
On the day Nero completed it, the man was the first person, aside from her, to personally touch this uniquely shaped weapon.
Therefore, compared to regularly projected weapons, the connection between the Aestus Estus and Ian was more intimate. Even as a counterfeit, it had a memory-level extremely similar to the genuine article.
Combined with Nero's inherent trust in him, it could be said that Ian was the weapon's second true master.
This was an absolute advantage in combat power, not to mention that this was the very weapon that had once killed Agrippina.
The flame on the blade was heating up; it seemed capable of burning even the air, instantly cutting down the black shadows trying to block his path.
Seeing this scene, Agrippina froze. She hadn't expected her army of black shadows to be so inadequate against this man.
She must not have sent enough black shadows!
Yes, that must be it!
The faceless Agrippina continuously unleashed more black shadows to attack the man.
However, all of it was futile.
Ian, wielding the Aestus Estus, had achieved absolute dominance over her. No matter how many black shadows attacked him, they were all instantly sliced apart.
"How can this be!" Agrippina, realizing she was at a disadvantage, began to break down. "Why, after all I've done, can I still not take what was rightfully mine!"
"I think I've already told you, Agrippina."
Ian raised the Aestus Estus high, like a blade of judgment over a criminal.
"Everything you control now was gained through the sacrifice of others and built upon that pain."
"Something obtained this way cannot be called possession—if you never possessed it, how can you talk about reclaiming it?"
"Agrippina, look at yourself. The present you doesn't even have your original face anymore!"
Boom! The flame on the blade reached its absolute peak, shining like a mirror and illuminating Agrippina.
The vicious woman finally got the chance to see her own appearance at this moment.
"My face... where is my face?!!!"
"No—!"
At the final moment of her resurrected life, Agrippina recognized the truth, but it was already too late.
Like an inevitable fate, or perhaps the just end for an evil person.
Agrippina was killed once again by the Aestus Estus.
Only this time, she would likely never appear in this world again.
As Agrippina was completely consumed by the flames, the black shadows that had plagued Britannia for over a year began to rapidly disappear from the world of the Singularity.
Watching all this, Ian let out a sigh of relief—after all, this had advanced the Singularity's restoration progress.
But at this moment, something unexpected happened.
Boudica drove her Goddess-blessed dual-horse chariot up to him, but her expression at the moment completely lacked the excitement she should have felt after defeating the black shadows.
Instead, her tone sounded incredibly anxious.
"Ian, Jing Ke seems to be fading!"
"What?!"
Hearing Boudica say this, the Aestus Estus in Ian's hand instantly materialized into particles.
He rushed back to the chariot and saw Jing Ke lying there, incredibly weak.
The girl in white no longer had her initial high spirits. Only a faintly trembling voice remained, cruelly narrating her end:
"I think I'm fading away... It makes me sad that I didn't get to see that good Emperor you all spoke of."
"..."
Hearing this, Ian realized he had overlooked something.
Killing Agrippina would indeed eliminate all these black shadows, but simultaneously, Jing Ke, who had been summoned by her in some way, would also disappear due to the cessation of her magical energy supply.
And as a Servant, Jing Ke certainly must have known this.
In other words, she had decided to help the two of them even though she knew this would happen.
She genuinely believed the words he and Boudica had spoken, which was why she chose this path.
"Don't look at me like that..."
Jing Ke forced a strained smile. In her current state, she could barely move.
"A person must die eventually—I'm just a little early. If it's like this... perhaps I'll be even more famous than before."
"What was that poem someone wrote for me again? Ah, right—'The wind is sighing, the Yi river is cold, the brave man leaves, never to return'."
"Haha, I didn't expect to use it one more time here!"
Jing Ke was still joking, but the kind-hearted Boudica was already so anxious she was on the verge of tears.
The Queen of Britannia had never shed a tear even when severely wounded, yet she felt profound pain in this moment of powerlessness.
"Seneca... Is there any method we can use? You're so amazing, you must be able to save Jing Ke, right?!"
"..."
Ian indeed had a way, a method that was one hundred percent guaranteed to succeed.
However, implementing it now might be a bit unseemly.
But seeing Boudica's distressed look, Ian decided to go through with it, even knowing his image might instantly shatter after this.
The reason for this was simple: he never wanted to see the girls he cared about sad, not for a moment.
The man took a deep breath, and after steadying himself, he spoke to his "fiancée," Boudica:
"Boudica, I can save her, but what I'm about to do might be difficult for you to accept—if possible, please don't blame me."
"...Mhm." Boudica nodded without hesitation. "If you can save Jing Ke, why would I blame you?"
"That's good."
Having received Boudica's permission, Ian immediately took action—Jing Ke could disappear at any moment, and he had to race against time.
He reached out and picked up the dagger lying next to the girl in white.
"What... are you going to do?"
The immobile Jing Ke watched this scene, unaware of Ian's intention.
But she instinctively felt that the situation was slightly amiss.
"Excuse me."
Ian apologized, then immediately used the dagger to cut open Jing Ke's clothes.
A pure white lotus thus bloomed in the darkness of the night, as if veiled in a layer of white gauze.
"You..." The immobilized Jing Ke began to tremble all over. "I'm about to leave this place... are you only now thinking of humiliating me?"
"Who said I was going to humiliate you?"
Ian gazed at the pure, flawless body before him.
"I haven't even let you see what a wise Emperor my Nero is. How can I let you leave just like that?!"
"I'm going to use the simplest method to make you stay—you, now just meekly wait to be filled up inside by me!"
"What?"
This was the method Ian guaranteed would succeed.
Why was Jing Ke fading—it was because no one was supplying her with magical energy.
Therefore, as long as this problem was solved, everything else would be simple.
This wasn't difficult—if he could establish a contract with Jing Ke before she disappeared, the problem would be perfectly resolved.
Of course, there was definitely no time for a standard contract ritual now, so only the simplest and most convenient means could be used.
That was to... have intercourse with her directly and powerfully.
To supply Jing Ke with magical energy through the simplest and most crude method, and then to "plunder" her to his side. This way, Jing Ke's death could be averted.
However—
This was not as simple as it sounded.
At this moment, Jing Ke indeed had no means of resistance, and her pale body, exposed under the moonlight, certainly made one's imagination run wild.
But the problem lay with Ian.
He was so desperately focused on making Jing Ke stay that he couldn't perform at his peak, as he usually would.
After all, at this point... there wasn't yet that spark between the man and Jing Ke that would easily excite him.
But at this very moment, Boudica on the side began to take action.
She spoke: "Seneca, let me help you?"
"You'll help me?"
"Mhm." After nodding, Boudica directly began her action.
She first stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed the man's lips.
It was a kiss full of the flavor of Britannia, enough to make one feel the Queen's passion even just for a moment.
But Boudica's actions weren't limited to this. During the kiss, her hand slid down and she began to prepare the vessel for the man to inject magical energy.
From her unpracticed movements, it was clear that Boudica was quite unfamiliar with this method of establishing a contract. She had clearly never done this for another person.
But now, this unfamiliarity surprisingly became Ian's best soothing agent.
Feeling the time was right, Boudica maintained the kiss while meeting Ian's eyes.
Though no words were exchanged, the man fully understood her meaning.
"Go, Seneca, show your magnificent side as a man—just pretend you're doing it to me."
"..."
Without any hesitation, Ian maintained the kiss with Boudica, but simultaneously grabbed Jing Ke's waist with both hands, right and left, and began to save her in the most direct way.
Gurgle, gurgle, the girl's lower abdomen gradually swelled. It was proof of gaining magical energy replenishment and thus establishing a new contract.
Recovering her strength, Jing Ke watched Ian and Boudica passionately kissing in front of her, then looked at the vessel that was still continuously providing her with magical energy.
What should I do... he seems to be continuously cumming inside me, but interrupting their moment of affection right now also seems inappropriate.
Right... I should just let him finish cumming quickly, then he'll stop.
Thinking this, Jing Ke began to actively cooperate with Ian's movements, but Jing Ke never imagined his movements were so proficient that he would directly bring her, a virgin, to climax.
It feels so good... I can't stop it.
And so—
The experience of becoming the cumming target of her fiancé while his other fiancée watched and kissed him was thus deeply etched into Jing Ke's mind.