I can see experience bars after being transported to another world.

Rain pelted Klaus's shoulders, soaking his clothes.

Amidst the endless black and white rain, a sphere suddenly fell from the sky. Klaus's expression tightened, and he instinctively reached out to catch it, the sphere landing directly in his hand.

It was a sphere about the size of a fist, completely black, with a faint, pale, cold light emanating from its surface. It was heavy in the hand and had a cool feel to it, but it did not contain any of the strange aura one would expect.

Klaus could clearly sense that there was not a trace of resentment or remaining will within this sphere.

Aside from that pure energy, it was practically the last thing the Guardians left them, obtained at the cost of their own demise.

A bizarre, complete fifth-order core.

Meanwhile, the tremors coming from the inner city were becoming increasingly intense.

Beneath the dim sky, the enormous star-shaped flesh surged upwards almost frantically, its thick veins constantly interlocking with the Crown of Kings, the crimson colors devouring every inch of space around the Tower of Learning.

The colorful light emanating from the rift in the sea of ​​knowledge in the sky appeared somewhat dim under the violent compression.

Lu Yuan was currently suspended deep within that rift, constantly resisting the crown's attacks.

Klaus knew that Lu Yuan wouldn't last much longer.

If the riots here cannot be quelled in a short time, once the crown and flesh have merged, the new taboo that hatches will bury the entire city and all its inhabitants.

"This is the only way."

Klaus looked down at the fifth-tier core in his arms.

As long as he takes this core along with the special potion he has, he can cross that barrier and forcibly advance to the fifth-order transcendent.

But he was also very clear about what this step taken with this core meant.

The core of the Guardians is that they are firmly bound to the sealing rules of this bronze city.

Once he takes this shortcut, he will never be able to break free from the city's shackles, becoming the next guardian locked up by the entire city, unable to leave even as his body rots away.

Moreover, this restricted promotion will completely block his future path.

He will never again have the chance to glimpse that orthodox, higher realm, free from any constraints.

But he had no choice.

If this step is not taken, everyone in the city will be buried alive in blood and flesh.

A resolute glint flashed in Klaus's eyes. He exhaled a breath of stale air, rainwater sliding down the corner of his mouth, carrying a slightly bitter taste.

He raised his right hand, about to crush the core in his arms.

At that very moment, a very fine, chilling rustling sound suddenly filled the air.

The sound didn't resemble the sound of heavy rain hitting the ground; rather, it sounded like countless tiny things crawling among the rocks, instantly forming a continuous sound.

Before Klaus could turn around, he suddenly noticed a surging gray-black wave appearing beneath his feet. It was an extremely dense swarm of insects, moving faster than anyone had anticipated.

Those swarming insects rose up in the most ruthless and decisive way, leaving no room for trial and error.

The swarming insects twisted into a cold tentacle several meters long, and with violent force, slammed into Klaus's palm.

With two snapping sounds, Klaus's arms bent upwards at an odd angle, his wrists and elbows instantly dislocated.

The excruciating pain struck, and Klaus was caught off guard, as he had not been on guard against Rex at all.

On this ruin of the Night's Watch branch, he never thought of guarding against his comrades.

The swarm of insects nimbly tied a knot in mid-air, and the jet-black core in Klaus's palm, as well as the still-warm dark gold fifth-tier potion in his arms, were simultaneously wrapped up by the swarm of insects and rolled deeper into the ruins.

Klaus's dislocated arm hung limply at his side. He was knocked back several steps by the swarm of insects and finally collapsed awkwardly onto the pile of rubble.

The sudden turn of events left the group of people on the ruins frozen in place.

Among them, the Blue Knight's face turned cold, and his right hand instinctively rested on the hilt of the rapier, with fine threads unfolding from behind him.

Her icy blue eyes were fixed on the swarm of insects that had retreated into the shadows, her doubts and wariness barely concealed.

It should be noted that, after spending this time together, the Blue Knight is certain that all the Night Watchmen who remain are his most trusted partners, and in the Knight Academy's creed, betrayal and infighting are the most unforgivable crimes.

So the Blue Knight was a little confused about what Rek was trying to do.

The servant, who had just been pulled back from the edge of that bloody mess, was somewhat stunned.

He witnessed Rick attacking Klaus, but Rick didn't kill him. The purple light around him flickered slightly, and then he strode forward.

"Rex, you've gone mad!" the servant cried out from afar, leading some residents and the Night Watchmen directly towards them.

Because at this critical juncture, such an absurd struggle has occurred within the Night's Watch.

"Rek!"

Klaus looked down at his limp hands, veins bulging on his forehead. Ignoring the excruciating pain from the dislocation, he roared out.

His bloodshot eyes widened in the wind, locking onto the writhing shadow.

As a colleague who had worked with him for many years, he knew more about Rick's past than anyone else and immediately understood what Rick wanted to do.

"No, Rex, put the core down!" Klaus flashed with green light and pressed his dislocated arm back into place.

He simply controlled the swarming insects to quickly retreat under his somewhat tattered leather armor, tightly protecting the core and the potion in his arms.

He looked at the crowd before him, whose expressions ranged from panic and anger to unease, and dragged himself back a few steps.

Blackish-gray swarms of insects kept emerging from beneath his feet, filling the gaps between his steps, until he retreated to the edge of an open space where no one was standing, creating a relatively safe distance.

The cold rain, mixed with black and white debris, lashed against Rick's face, which was covered in dirt and blood, making his somewhat disheveled face appear desolate.

He looked up at Klaus, opened his mouth, but finally said, "I'll take care of this."

Rick's voice was a little hoarse, tinged with regret. He looked at Klaus, who was trying to get closer, and took a few steps back: "Don't come any closer."

Klaus froze on the spot when he saw the determined look in Rex's eyes.

Those present also realized that Rick didn't seem to be there to attack Klaus; he had his own plans.

Rex looked at Klaus, who had stopped standing, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Klaus, I've seen your talent. You might be the only one among us who has any hope."

"Moreover, the path and direction you've chosen are very clean. You have the hope of treading that unpolluted extraordinary path and reaching the true fifth tier, instead of ending up like the Guardians."

"Beneath this now completely rotten bronze city, too many Night Watchmen's bones have already been buried, so one more cripple at the early stage of the fourth rank won't make a difference."

"Rex, you can't get over this. The swarming worms inside you will devour you until there's nothing left but bones." Klaus's voice trembled slightly as he tried to persuade Rex to put down the core and the potion in his hands.

But Rick didn't answer Klaus, because he knew that in the current situation, any further explanation would be pointless.

Moreover, Rick actually felt that he was more suited to this approach than Klaus because his approach was completely different from Klaus's pure and flawless one; he himself was a huge contaminant.

If it weren't for the fact that human will has always been at the top, he might have long since become a large swarm of insects, wandering underground in search of food.

Then, with a thought, the swarming worms wrapped around the fifth-order core suddenly tightened inward.

The seemingly solid black sphere had its original will completely dissipated when the guardian took its own life, leaving only a fragile outer shell formed by pure energy.

Under the frenzied piercing of countless sharp insect legs, the sphere was quickly covered with rings of white cracks.

The next moment, the core shattered with a deafening roar, turning into a sky full of pale white and pitch-black powder, which was completely devoured by the swarm of insects in front of Rex.

It was an extremely vast yet incredibly pure fifth-order extraordinary energy. It lacked the maddening incantations and curses of ordinary, bizarre cores; instead, it possessed only purity and deathly stillness.

The violent energy spread along the connection between Rex and the swarming insects, surging from the first insect swarm to pierce through and into Rex's limbs and bones.

rustle...

Countless dark gray larvae surged out of Rex's pores, skin, and even flesh, wriggling densely on the surface of his skin.

The newly formed swarming insects looked particularly strange; on their backs and antennae, tiny, pale white or pitch-black eyeballs were faintly visible.

Those eyeballs moved erratically, staring intently at every living thing around them.

Clearly, the swarming worms underwent some degree of mutation after devouring the Guardian's core.

Rex could feel his body being stretched open into a bottomless abyss in an instant.

The abyss seemed insatiable, and swarms of worms were constantly pouring out of it.

The extreme cold power emanating from the core flowed continuously beneath every piece of flesh and blood in Rex's body, almost completely solidifying his bones and muscles.

His flesh and blood were frozen to death, fell off, and were replaced by swarming insects, from which new ones grew.

However, what is more terrifying than physical pain is the flaw that stems from the underlying nature of his pathway, or rather, his control over his own pathway.

(Writing in progress, two more chapters to come later)