Chapter 478: Mental Breakdown. (Bonus Chapter)
In less than one minute, eighty percent of the Horn Lizard King’s Palace Guards had been slaughtered.
Ahhh! Ahhh!
Blood splattered into the air while shattered armor and broken weapons flew in every direction.
It was complete carnage.
"P-Please... don’t..."
"H-Help..."
"...M-My... King... Help..."
Many Palace Guards screamed and begged for their lives. They turned toward their once mighty King, hoping he would save them from the relentless undead legion.
But to their shock, their King stood frozen, completely unmoving.
His face was etched with despair and his mind descending into complete chaos.
The deafening screams of his men and their desperate cries, even their miserable deaths had all gradually faded into the background.
It was as though he could no longer hear anything.
Suddenly, he found himself standing alone in a world filled with nothing but an endless river of blood.
The crimson river stretched as far as his eyes could see.
There was no land.
No sky.
Only blood.
He instinctively tried to step out of the river but the moment he moved, his body sank even deeper.
The blood reached his knees and then his waist. It continued swallowing him bit by bit.
Devouring him slowly.
"No..."
"No..."
He struggled with all his might, trying to free himself. His powerful muscles bulged.
His claws tore wildly at the blood beneath him.
Yet, it was futile.
The more he struggled, the deeper he sank. Suddenly. a condescending laugh echoed beside his ear.
"Hahaha..." The laughter was calm.
Mocking.
Filled with endless ridicule.
He turned his head sharply toward the source of the laughter.
And then, he froze.
Standing only a few meters away was another version of himself. The only difference was the smile.
A smile filled with endless contempt.
"Why are you laughing?" He shouted, veins bulging across his forehead.
"You know this is the end of us, right?"
"If you don’t help me..."
"Our clan will be finished." With every word, his voice grew louder and louder until he was screaming at the top of his lungs.
His other self did nothing. He merely grinned, looking at him with naked disdain.
"What is that expression?"
"Do you think our situation is a joke?"
"Hahahaha..."
His other self burst into another round of hysterical laughter. The laughter echoed endlessly across the blood-filled world.
Finally, he slowly raised a finger and pointed directly at him.
"Pathetic..." He said, looking him up and down as though staring at something worthless.
"How dare you call me pathetic?!"
"We’re in this together. If you had helped me from the very beginning... We wouldn’t be in this situation." He roared, desperately defending himself.
"Do you really think your shouting can hide your thoughts from me?" His other self asked, his voice dripping with contempt.
"I am you."
"And you are me."
"Do you truly believe your little tricks can fool me? I can read every one of your thoughts like an open book."
"So... Stop this meaningless charade."
"Accept the truth. You are pathetic."
"A loser."
His words struck like invisible hammers, smashing into the Horn Lizard King’s heart one after another.
Each sentence was a truth he desperately wanted to deny. Yet, he could not refute a single word.
"A pathetic little lizard that was lucky enough to change his fate. Don’t think that because you have become a King, you are no longer that weak and insecure little lizard."
"How dare you talk to me like that!" The Horn Lizard King shouted.
His face twisted with fury and madness. He wanted nothing more than to charge forward and tear his other self apart.
But every time he tried to move, he sank deeper into the river of blood.
He struggled frantically.
Yet it was all futile.
"Shout. That’s all you can do." His other self continued, not missing the chance to ridicule him.
"This is the result of your own actions. Your little schemes have led you here."
"So own it. And stop making useless excuses."
"Now that you’re facing an enemy far beyond your petty schemes..."
"You want to run."
"You want to hide."
"Just like you always do."
"Aw... sorry. The monster standing before you doesn’t seem to be going anywhere."
Listening to the heart-piercing words, the Horn Lizard King’s chest rose and fell violently as he panted for breath.
His fists trembled and his eyes burned with unwillingness.
"You should have expected this day to come sooner or later. You knew those humans were not to be underestimated."
"Yet... To satisfy your petty greed, you colluded with your lifelong enemy."
"Wise?" His other self sneered.
"Idiot."
"You thought you were manipulating everyone. In reality... You were the one being led by your own arrogance."
"If I could find another body, I would abandon your pathetic little self and choose a far more promising creature."
Every word struck the Horn Lizard King like a sharp blade and his breathing became ragged.
He trembled as he had reached his breaking point while his crimson eyes burned with terrifying rage.
Rage that could no longer be contained.
Madness that completely swallowed his reason.
"What? You think I’m your enemy?" His other self laughed softly.
"Little lizard... The human undead servants are about to kill you."
"Hmm?"
The Horn Lizard King blinked twice and a trace of clarity finally returned to his eyes.
Instantly, the endless river of blood vanished and the illusion shattered like broken glass. He found himself standing once again inside his King’s residence.
Around him, everywhere was covered in blood. The ground was littered with broken corpses.
His Palace Guards had all been slaughtered like dogs. Cut into pieces were reduced to nothing more than a lifeless fragment.
Before his eyes, the undead servants calmly walked toward the few survivors still lying on the ground, groaning weakly.
Barely clinging to life.
Without hesitation, the undead soldiers raised their weapons.
Thrust! Thrust!
Their blades pierced through their hearts one after another and their miserable cries came to an abrupt end.
Silence.
Slowly, the Horn Lizard King turned his head and looked toward the young human standing only a few meters away.
The silver-haired young man remained calm from beginning to end. His expression had never changed.
Previously, the Horn Lizard King believed betraying the humans was the right decision for himself and his clan.
But now, he realized it was the greatest mistake of his life.
If he had not looked down on humans.
If he had not allowed greed to cloud his judgment.
If he had fulfilled his end of the bargain instead of siding with his enemy.
Perhaps...
Just perhaps, things might have ended differently.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The Horn Lizard King threw his head back and screamed with all his might. His roar echoed throughout the Horn Lizard Town with his aura erupting violently.
Crack! Crack!
His body began to change.
Three massive horns burst out from his head.
The middle horn glowed with a mysterious ancient energy, releasing a terrifying pressure that swept across the battlefield.
His muscles expanded once more.
The bronze scales covering his body became darker and thicker and his pupils narrowed into savage vertical slits.
His reason faded, leaving only beastly instinct.
He dropped onto both hands, displaying the posture of a true horned lizard preparing to hunt its prey.
The ground beneath his claws cracked apart and then.
***
[AN: This Chapter is sponsored by: Scott_Berry_3382. Please, we need more sponsors. Please support this book with your gifts.]