The Flame-Reaver was incredibly powerful, yet he had one extremely severe flaw: his mental state was terribly poor, to the point of being critically unstable.
Derick could revive without any cost. Mydei's revival required a long journey back from the River Styx. However, the Flame-Reaver's revival caused immense damage to his mind.
This time, with Derick's genes added to the mix, the chaos in his body and mind completely turned into a muddled mess.
Given enough time, the Flame-Reaver might have had a chance to regain some sanity and start a new life in the universe.
But unfortunately, the Flame-Reaver encountered demon swords that had leaked from the Zhuming Xianzhou. One might have been manageable, but it was over a dozen demon swords gathered together.
The consciousness of over a dozen demon swords completely flooded the Flame-Reaver's brain, utterly affecting his state.
This turned the Flame-Reaver from a purposeful killer and destroyer into a blindly attacking, destructive force. Upon seeing a planet, he would attack and destroy that planet.
He committed genocide on several planets in a row. The civilizations on those planets weren't technologically advanced, making it a one-sided slaughter for the Flame-Reaver.
It wasn't until he reached a particular planet that he encountered a relatively strong group of enemies. Especially the woman leading them; her power was formidable. The Flame-Reaver didn't dare let her unleash her abilities easily, so he charged first to interrupt her actions, ultimately making her flee in disarray.
The Flame-Reaver didn't know that the person he almost sliced was Topaz, a proxy for the Interastral Peace Corporation; he merely continued on his destructive path.
And now, as he was again in the midst of slaughter, he happened upon Boothill. As a Galaxy Ranger, how could Boothill tolerate the Flame-Reaver's ongoing slaughter? He grabbed his revolver and attacked the Flame-Reaver.
Although Boothill was powerful, he was still vastly outmatched by the Flame-Reaver. The two fought for a while across the city until, just as Derick's Fourth Clone arrived on the battlefield, Boothill was thrown from the top of a building by the Flame-Reaver.
Derick's Fourth Clone quickly caught Boothill.
After Derick's Fourth Clone caught Boothill, the Flame-Reaver spotted him. Even though the Flame-Reaver's mind was affected by the demon swords, his basic cognition hadn't vanished. Seeing this enemy – or at least one of its kin – whom he'd often tangled with back on Amphoreus, the Flame-Reaver's desire for annihilation grew even stronger.
The Flame-Reaver, Demon Sword in hand, descended from the sky.
Derick controlled his Fourth Clone to unleash layers of Abundance branches directly at the Flame-Reaver.
The Flame-Reaver's Demon Sword sliced through the layers of branches, but his descent finally slowed. Seizing this opportunity, Derick's Fourth Clone flung Boothill aside.
"Whew, friend, that was a bit…." Boothill was about to complain when he saw the Flame-Reaver descend and cleanly cleave Derick's Fourth Clone in two.
Boothill's eyes narrowed. "You…."
He immediately drew his revolver and fired at the Flame-Reaver.
He thought the Fourth Clone had been cleaved in half and seemingly killed by the Flame-Reaver while saving him, and in his fury, he began to shoot at the Flame-Reaver.
However, the Flame-Reaver's back was to him. With a casual shift of his body, he dodged Boothill's bullets. Seeing this, Boothill immediately charged towards the Flame-Reaver, reloading his weapon as he advanced and unleashing a new volley of shots.
The Flame-Reaver wanted to dodge again, but at that moment, Derick's Fourth Clone, cleaved in two, merged back together and pinned the Flame-Reaver down. Seeing this, the Flame-Reaver could only brandish his Demon Sword to block Boothill's shots.
"Haha, you're fine! Come on, let's team up and take down this truly vexing bastard!" Boothill's grin widened when he saw this.
"This monster truly isn't like a person; its vitality is tenacious, and its recovery power is strong. As long as you don't die, I'm relieved. Let's fight this guy to death!"
Seeing him fire his revolver, the Flame-Reaver's mind stirred, ready to unleash the surrounding demon swords to attack him.
But at that moment, Derick immediately manipulated his Fourth Clone to form Abundance branches, entangling the flying swords.
While Boothill was fighting, Derick and the others were preparing to board the Stelle Lou for their operation.
Derick and his group, along with Topaz, Yunli, Old Yang from the Astral Express team, Stelle, and Little March, were going together. It was a bit of a pity that Dan Heng wasn't joining them, missing out on the power of the Imbibitor Lunae as a helper.
Among the other support personnel, two familiar faces surprisingly showed up.
One was Qingque, sent by the Divination Commission for fortune-telling and planning. Standing before the Stelle Lou, she wore a look of utter reluctance.
"A business trip, this is a business trip. But I have to bitterly leave the Lofu Xianzhou, riding the extremely uncomfortable Stelle Lou to an unknown place just to fight for my life..." Qingque muttered to herself.
However, after a quick glance at Cipher, Stelle, and the others, her expression instantly changed.
Some people, with just one look, you know their personality. Seeing Cipher and the others, a natural air of playful enjoyment, like-minded individuals, emerged.
"This isn't just official business; isn't this clearly an opportunity to cultivate new 'Diyu Qiongyu' card players? Not bad, not bad." Qingque thought excitedly to herself.
If that's the case, then this business trip was a wonderful assignment: far from the Diviner, and easy to slack off.
Little Qingque instantly perked up.
Cipher was also known for her enjoyment of fun; a single look exchanged with Qingque, and she understood.
Happy, very happy.
Qingque was happy, but another person who arrived seemed a bit conflicted.
Sushang was a member of the Cloud Knights, tasked with guarding and maintaining the Stelle Lou.
Derick had told Jing Yuan not to bring soldiers to avoid increasing casualties, but they couldn't bring no soldiers at all. There were many daily tasks aboard the Stelle Lou that needed to be handled, so Cloud Knight soldiers were necessary.
Sushang's strength was quite good, and she could likely protect herself here. Furthermore, Sushang's mother, Suyin, held a respectable position on the Yaoqing Xianzhou, making Sushang somewhat of a 'connected' individual. Observing the battle between Derick and the Flame-Reaver would also provide valuable experience.
So, someone like Sushang, who had self-preservation abilities and some connections, was sent.
But Sushang looked at Derick, then at Castorice, and finally at Yunli, and her entire demeanor soured.
"Oh, Reignbow Arbiter above, your relationships are far too chaotic! I don't even know how to deal with this."
Sushang struggled to maintain her composure, fearing any hint of her thoughts might be noticed.
Even Castorice and the others looked at Sushang's expression with some bewilderment. Why would she make such a face for no reason?
Swallowing, Sushang painstakingly kept her expression neutral, then walked towards the Stelle Lou's interior.
"Li Sushang, oh Li Sushang, you have to believe in yourself. Derick specifically warned me not to reveal what happened that night, so I absolutely cannot say anything..."
She stood in a corner of the Stelle Lou, trying her best to imagine herself as a stone.
Seeing her act this way, the others stopped paying attention to her. After all, the Flame-Reaver still hadn't been dealt with. The Lofu Xianzhou would show absolutely no mercy to an enemy that randomly destroys and kills.
"Alright, let's go!" Derick said, seeing everyone assembled, ready to depart for the Flame-Reaver's location.
He was still controlling his Fourth Clone to fight the Flame-Reaver, so there was no need to worry about him escaping.
Just as he was about to close the hatch of the Stelle Lou, the distinct sound of footsteps approaching echoed. Derick turned his head and saw Jingliu, wearing an eye patch, approaching.
Upon seeing Jingliu, everyone present was surprised.
"Lady Jingliu, why are you here?" Derick couldn't help but ask her.
"Didn't you go with my master and General Huaiyan to find Marshal Hua?"
The matter of Luocha carrying the Aeon of Propagation's legacy was very important, and coupled with Luocha's plan, Jing Yuan and the others didn't dare to delay, immediately sending someone to find Marshal Hua.
Derick had originally thought Jingliu would go with them, but he hadn't expected her to appear here.
"Those plans and matters have nothing to do with me. Leave them for that man to consider. All I need to do during this time is continue honing my swordsmanship." Jingliu told Derick.
"I hear the enemy you're going to deal with is quite strong. It's a good opportunity for me to verify just how powerful he is. Derick, are you willing to let me ride along?"
Jingliu had been invited by Jing Yuan. Jing Yuan still found Derick and his group's operation too unstable, so he simply had Jingliu accompany them. With her presence, the operation could be considered practically foolproof.
Derick's strength was considerable, and Jingliu was also willing to act alongside him.
"Of course, we're willing, absolutely willing." Derick happily invited Jingliu to join them.
Before this, Derick and the others had worried that the Flame-Reaver might escape. Now, with Jingliu joining them, Derick and the others couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the Flame-Reaver.
What virtues or capabilities did he possess to provoke so many factions?
On their side, there were the Golden Lineage of Amphoreus, the Xianzhou Alliance, the Interastral Peace Corporation, the Galaxy Rangers, the Astral Express, and now Jingliu.
Derick imagined the situation the Flame-Reaver was about to face, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Hang in there! I'm rooting for you!"
The Flame-Reaver, at this moment, had no idea what he was about to face.
He was still attacking Boothill and Derick's Fourth Clone.
Though the Fourth Clone possessed plenty of Abundance power, and Boothill was a strong Galaxy Ranger, compared to the Flame-Reaver, their gap in strength was still significant.
Even working together, the two were still thrashed and sent scrambling away by the Flame-Reaver.
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