Jin An waved his blade again, a wave of saber energy sweeping out and knocking back all the Five Elders in front of him.
He breathed slightly, his gaze still sharp.
Scenes from just now flashed through his mind – those clear eyes, the struggle in their eyes, and then the even more frenzied counterattacks.
He gradually realized that these Five Elders in front of him might be the product of some kind of experiment, or weapons forcibly controlled by some kind of power.
"They are no longer the Five Elders, just tools."
Jin An said in a low voice, his tone tinged with coldness,
"But even if they are tools, they must be completely destroyed."
Loki panted heavily, resting his warhammer on his shoulder, glanced at Jin An, and asked:
"Then what do we do next? They don't seem to be afraid of death at all. Are we just going to keep wasting time like this?"
Whitebeard swung his long blade, repelling several Five Elders who tried to approach, and laughed loudly:
"Waste time? No, we don't need to waste time.
They're just stalling for time. We'll just break through!"
Jin An nodded, his eyes locked onto the depths of Pangaea Castle.
He knew that these Five Elders were just a smokescreen, and the real enemy was hidden in the deepest part of this city.
"Charge over."
Jin An's voice was calm and firm, and his steps did not hesitate in the slightest,
"Don't waste time, go straight for the heart of the matter!"
The blade was raised high again. This time, Jin An's target was not only the enemies in front of him, but also the evil force hidden in the depths of the ruins that was controlling everything.
Deep within Pangaea Castle, the light was dim and the air was filled with a cold aura.
Imu sat high on the throne, her eyes calmly watching the scene of the battlefield in the mirror.
In the mirror, the twisted and frantic figures of the new Five Elders were fiercely fighting with Jin An and others. Although their attacks were violent, they seemed increasingly powerless under Jin An's sharp blade and the powerful offensive of Whitebeard, Loki, and others.
Those brief moments of clarity in their eyes seemed to constantly struggle in their frantic attacks, only to be quickly swallowed up, giving people a strange sense of unease.
"Heh..."
Imu's eyebrows twitched slightly, and a cold smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. There was no emotion in that smile, only cold contempt.
She slowly stood up and walked lightly towards the mirror, her figure reflected in it, as if fused with the entire battlefield.
"These guys..."
Her voice was low and cold, revealing a coldness that overlooked everything,
"Are indeed just defective products."
There was not a trace of pity in her eyes. These new Five Elders were just one of the countless experimental products in her hands, and could even be said to be inferior experimental products.
Although these guys were much stronger than ordinary people in combat power, their instability, lack of independent judgment, and the occasional struggles of reason made her feel disgusted.
"Just consumables."
Imu said softly, her tone filled with undisguised contempt,
"Now that they're used up, there's no need to continue wasting time."
She waved her hand gently, and the image in the mirror instantly blurred, turning into an unfathomable darkness.
She turned and cast her gaze towards one side of the hall, where there was a thick metal door covered with ancient and complex runes, emitting a faint red light.
A low humming sound faintly came from the air, like some kind of life lurking deep within was whimpering softly.
Imu slowly walked to the metal door and gently stroked the runes with her fingertips.
The runes gradually lit up as she touched them, and the entire door seemed to awaken under her fingers, emitting a low trembling sound.
"These defective products are useless. It's time for the real research products to take the stage."
Her voice was cold and calm, as if she were talking about a trivial matter.
As her voice fell, the metal door slowly opened, and a cold aura surged out from behind the door, carrying some kind of indescribable sense of oppression.
Behind the door were rows of neat culture dishes, each containing a floating, blurry figure.
Those figures were immersed in a pale green liquid, their shapes varied, but they all exuded a chilling power.
Imu's eyes swept over these culture dishes, her eyes revealing a hint of satisfaction.
Compared to those crazy new Five Elders, these creatures she called "research products" were obviously more perfect.
Their body structures were more stable, their auras were purer, and—most importantly—they had no self-will at all, and were true killing machines.
She walked to a culture dish and focused her gaze on one of the creatures inside. It was a distorted humanoid creature with sharp bone spurs growing on its back, unusually thick limbs, and closed eyes, as if asleep.
"It's time to wake up."
Imu said softly, tapping the culture dish lightly with her finger.
The liquid in the culture dish began to churn violently, and the creature's eyes suddenly opened, revealing a pair of pure black pupils without a trace of emotional fluctuation.
Immediately afterwards, the creatures in the other culture dishes also began to awaken. Their movements were uniform, and the aura they exuded became more and more powerful. The air in the entire room seemed to be compressed, making people feel suffocated.
"Go."
Imu's voice was low and majestic, carrying an unquestionable command,
"Tear those overconfident guys to pieces."
The creatures did not respond. They walked out of the culture dishes, the green liquid on their bodies sliding down, their steps heavy but unusually powerful.
Their movements were silent, but every step carried a huge sense of oppression, as if death itself was slowly approaching.
Imu watched these creatures gradually leave, a faint smile on the corner of her mouth.
She looked up at the empty hall above her head, as if she could see through everything to Jin An and his companions on the battlefield.
"Jin An, can you handle this?"
She said softly, her tone full of indifference and mockery,
"These are not the defective products you encountered before."
She turned around and sat back on the throne, her fingers interlaced on her knees, her eyes slightly closed, as if waiting for a new drama to unfold.
On the battlefield, smoke and dust filled the air. At the foot of the broken Pangaea Castle, the monsters transformed from the new Five Elders had been almost completely cleared.
Although Jin An, Whitebeard, Loki, and others seemed a little tired, their combat power was still strong. Every blow carried the force of thunder, crushing those twisted enemies into wreckage.
"These guys... are finally almost taken care of."
Loki panted heavily, his warhammer swept across, completely smashing away the last Five Elder who rushed towards him. The monster's body rolled several times in the air before landing heavily, never to get up again.
The hand holding the warhammer loosened slightly, but the vigilance in his eyes remained undiminished,
"But this feels wrong. It seems like it's not over yet."
Whitebeard swung his long blade, and the shockwave cleared the last enemy in front of him. He snorted coldly, a sneer hanging on the corner of his mouth:
"Heh, it's indeed not right.
That woman—Imu, I don't believe she only relied on these wastes to block us."
Jin An stood in the center of the battlefield, the long blade in his hand drooping slightly, the blade still stained with the blood of his enemies.
His eyes were cold and he stared straight into the depths of Pangaea Castle, without a trace of relaxation on his face.
He could feel that a more powerful threat was approaching. The air seemed to be condensing, and a sense of oppression was gradually emerging.
