Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 566 Choose one of the two
The Crypt Spider Mother—or, as Keynes called her, the "Rosie Spider"—its enormous, mountain-like body completely tore apart the floor of the Old Throne Room and burst forth from the earth!

Its pale white carapace was covered in a sticky, foul-smelling secretion, its eight compound eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty, eerie green light, and its massive pincers snapped open with a teeth-grinding cracking sound. The terrifying pressure it exuded was enough to drive an ordinary soldier to the brink of mental collapse!
"Form ranks! Defend!"

The commander of the mage legion, his roar, delivered through wind magic, remained clear amidst the violent tremors and the spider mother's hiss, carrying a chilling calmness.

After all, this world has been at war for years, and the mages have seen it all.

Moreover, they rely on a magical barrier, which even a so-called super magical beast could not break through in an instant.

The mage legion quickly assembled, activating pre-set defensive magic arrays. Layers of translucent energy shields lit up, resembling giant bowls inverted before the Queen's palace and the core area where Saruman resided.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I am here."

Saruman looked at the little queen who was clinging tightly to him, and an indescribable expression appeared on his face.

That was a very contradictory emotion.

On the one hand, reason told him that it was most reasonable for the Queen to die here, and all the blame could be shifted to Prince Keynes.

However, his emotions prevented him from doing so. Over the past year, he had discovered that this girl was completely different from her father. She was also very intelligent, a natural-born queen, but she was also very sentimental and... very human.

She understood the meaning of rights, yet she had unconditional faith in herself. On several occasions, even during thunderstorms, she would hug her rabbit doll, wanting it to sleep with her.

Of course, a man in his fifties wouldn't have any malicious thoughts about a little girl. Although he was bad, his badness didn't discriminate by class. Whether commoner or noble, everyone had to accept my exploitation, but it wouldn't manifest in this way.

Perhaps it's related to his past experiences?
Twenty years ago, he had a daughter the same age who died.
"Sigh, let's talk about it later."

After a moment of deep thought, Saruman gently took the little queen's hand.

"Don't worry, with me here, everything will be fine."

"Um"

"Attack! Aim for its joints and eyes!"

Under the command of the mage leader, relying on the huge magic circle of the magic barrier, a scorching [Fireball] was fired first! This is a unique ability of the magic circle, which can fuse all spells together. It is somewhat similar to Li Zhongren's military formation, but the activation conditions are more demanding and complex. At the very least, everyone involved must be a mage.

In an instant, a huge fireball, as big as a small sun, crashed down on the Spider Mother!

However, a truly despairing scene unfolded!

A fireball spell powerful enough to melt gold and corrode iron struck the Spider Queen's carapace, leaving only a charred mark. This ancient magical beast's magic resistance was beyond imagination! It seemed to have a natural immunity to elemental magic!

"hiss--!"

The spider mother let out a shriek. If the mage group didn't know that this thing had no intelligence, they would have thought it was a mocking sound. With the shriek, the giant spider had already arrived in front of the magic circle, and its pincers slammed into the magic shield!
"boom!!"

The outermost shield fluctuated violently, but ultimately did not break, which relieved the mages inside. As long as they could maintain the stalemate, there was still a chance to fight, but they were ultimately at a disadvantage.

Similarly, Keynes, watching this scene from the distant ruins of the dilapidated palace through the Heart of the Web, wore a maniacal and triumphant smile.

right! That's it!

Tear them apart!

These traitors!

Let them die in despair! He could almost see himself sitting on the throne again, with Saruman and Emilia's corpses beneath his feet!
"Regent, what should we do?"

The battle remained deadlocked when a mage approached Saruman.

Saruman's eyes were cold, showing no sign of panic.

He had long anticipated that this legendary creature could not be easily defeated by conventional means.

"Then don't use elemental spells, use shaping spells instead."

Saruman said.

So-called shaping spells involve using magic to affect an existing physical object. For example, if you use your mind to create a small person, the person will disappear when the mind disappears. But if you use your mind to sculpt a clay figure, the clay figure will still exist when the mind disappears. Magic resistance is not very useful against this type of spell.

“But, King Photographer.”

The monk continued.

"Shaping spells are primarily for control, and they're too weak against this thing. If we keep fighting it, we'll only be able to survive until the underground elemental pool runs out."

"Don't worry, leave the rest to me."

"Yes, sir!"

The mage left, leaving him with no choice but to trust the regent. After all, both the queen and the regent were present, and if they didn't want to die, they would have to show their true abilities.

“Your Majesty, please sit there. I have some things to do.”

"I'm afraid."

"It's alright, Your Majesty, I will not leave this balcony."

After settling the little queen in, Saruman suddenly waved his hand, and his luxurious robes vanished in the wind, revealing the mage's robes underneath!
Yes, few people know that Saruman was not only a politician, but also a powerful magician.
With the help of the mage legion, countless rocks, soil, and ice gathered together, forming a series of interlocking mechanisms that firmly pinned the Screw Spider down.

Rose the spider struggled incessantly, resisting the attacks from the shaping magic.

Everything was just as the mage had said. Shaping magic is primarily for control, and while it does have some destructive power, it's not very effective against such a super magical beast.

They kept filling the screw spider's body with heavy rocks, soil, and ice, but with each struggle, the screw spider would shake them off.

The two sides were in a stalemate.

In the distance, Keynes's eyes were cold; he was even somewhat nervous. However, sensing the power of the Screw Spider, he breathed a sigh of relief. The magic circle consumed a huge amount of energy every moment; they certainly couldn't hold out against him.
on the balcony.

Saruman watched this scene quietly, took a deep breath, and then raised a short staff hidden in his sleeve.

A scarlet gem was inlaid on the staff.

He raised his staff and began chanting incantations.

The incantation was long, obscure, and filled with oppressive force. Just hearing it made the little queen feel breathless, and she could only cling tightly to her doll. She knew very well that her survival depended on her regent.
As time passed, the gem at the top of Saruman's staff began to emit an increasingly dazzling light, and the surrounding magical elements frantically converged towards it, even causing a small-scale elemental tide!
However, all of this was concealed by a huge magic circle, and almost no one noticed it.

The battle remains deadlocked.

The sky was already tinged with red. This was a sign that dawn was approaching.
On the ground, with the mage legion tied down, the private armies of the old nobles began to emerge from the shadows and clash head-on with the army guarding the castle.

In an instant, the entire Lionheart Castle was filled with the sounds of battle.
However, it's clear to anyone with eyes to see that, at least for now, the scales are steadily tipping in favor of the third prince.

The Spider Queen, increasingly enraged by the shaping spells, spewed out viscous webs with strong corrosive and paralyzing effects, and wildly attacked the shield with her pincers. The magical shield shattered layer by layer, and inside, the mages began to teeter on the brink of collapse. They would not die under the protection of the shield, but their mental energy would be depleted.

Fortunately, they can still grit their teeth and persevere for now.
"Ha, I won."

Saruman finished reciting the last incantation, at which point the magical shield was already on the verge of collapse.

He suddenly pointed his staff at the sky and roared out the last syllable with all his might.

"The meteorite has arrived!!"

"boom!!!"

The sky above Lionheart Castle looked as if a huge rift had been torn open!

A massive meteorite, engulfed in raging flames and trailing a long, fiery tail, pierced through the clouds with the force of destruction, piercing through the clouds and crashing down with perfect precision toward the Spider Mother below!
Its terrifying power left everyone on the battlefield breathless!

Keynes's madness transformed into utter despair and disbelief: "No—!!!"

The spider mother also sensed the deadly threat, let out a terrified shriek, and tried to burrow back into the ground, but it was too late!

"boom!!!"

The meteorite struck the Spider Mother's massive body with pinpoint accuracy!
The deafening explosion resounded through the sky!
A terrifying energy shockwave spread out in a ring, sweeping indiscriminately across everything around it.

However, although the mage's shield was teetering on the brink of collapse, it was only teetering on the brink. It was only facing the shockwave, not the direct impact, and thus it barely withstood everything. But the old nobles' private armies that charged forward were not so lucky. They were torn to shreds and blown away like pieces of paper! The scorching air and the billowing dust engulfed everything!
Of course, this also includes the soldiers guarding the castle; unfortunately, in this era, in the eyes of the nobles, the lower-ranking soldiers were merely expendable resources.
Or rather, they are the bait.

Otherwise, how could they have lured out this large private army of the old nobles?
It was cruel, but effective, though at a great cost. Afterwards, without sufficient appeasement, the blow to morale would be enormous. But at least there was still a chance to appease them, unlike the enemy, who no longer had that opportunity.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, only a huge, charred crater remained.

The once invincible ancient spider mother, along with a large area around her, was completely razed to the ground and reduced to dust!

Only some broken shell fragments and burning slime prove that it once existed.

Saruman's face was as pale as paper, and his body swayed precariously; clearly, the forbidden spell had exhausted almost all of his magic power.

But he forced himself to stay upright, looking at the deep pit, a victorious smile appearing on his lips.

He won!
Despite suffering heavy losses, he eliminated the biggest monster and those rebellious old nobles!
He looked coldly in the direction where Keynes was hiding and summoned his trusted men.

"Confirm Keynes' fate."

"Yes, Regent."

In fact, Saruman knew that Keynes was already dead. This method of controlling magical beasts was a lose-lose situation. Having been hit by his own forbidden spell, there was no chance of survival. He was just being cautious as always, wanting to see Keynes alive or dead.

The year-long internal strife appears to have ended with a Pyrrhic victory for Saruman.

He stood on the ruins, looking at the devastated Lionheart Castle. Although exhausted, his eyes burned with the ambition to control everything.

Now, no one can stop him anymore…

Apart from
A cold dagger was pressed against the back of his neck.

“Emilia?”

Saruman thought this at first glance, and at this moment he even felt a little sad. Surely, political creatures shouldn't have the emotions of ordinary people?

But soon, he reacted.

No, the height is wrong.
Emilia, that little bean, only reaches her waist at most.
How could you possibly touch your own neck?
Sure enough, he slowly turned his head.

What he saw was Emilia, her mouth covered by two soldiers, crying as she looked at him, and Li Zhongren with a half-smile on his face.

"A magnificent battle, Your Excellency Saruman, or rather... Master Saruman."

Li Zhongren clapped his hands, his tone carrying a hint of appreciation.

"After years of patient endurance, you're one step away from a decisive blow. Kill this girl and you'll be the new king of the Spider Territory. Of course, I can't help you, since, theoretically speaking, I'm related to this little queen."

"Humph"

Saruman snorted coldly. Everyone knew that the Fifth Princess was his fiancée, so this relative was indeed related to him.

"So, young lady, I'll give you a chance. Kill her, and I'll let you continue as queen. How about it?"

Suddenly, Li Zhongren changed the subject, took out a dagger, and handed it to the still trembling Emilia.

Emilia looked at the dagger in her hand, then at Li Zhongren.

“Lord of the Mist, can I not do this? Grandpa Saruman is a good man, at least to me.”

"Unfortunately, no."

Li Zhongren shrugged.

“I only need one puppet, and this puppet must have something on me. What could be more damaging than killing your benefactor? Between you and him, only one can live.”

Upon hearing this, Emilia froze for a moment, then looked up at Saruman.

A pair of deep blue eyes stared straight at the old man opposite her.

The wind blew, the dark clouds dispersed, and moonlight fell on the old man's pale face. He looked at Emilia, and then he saw a hint of determination in her eyes. She had made up her mind, and then, trembling, she walked step by step to him.

"Kill me, I won't blame you."

Saruman spoke.

"Hu~~"

Emilia took a deep breath and raised the trembling dagger high.

Then, he stabbed himself in the heart.
(End of this chapter)