Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

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At this very moment, in this desert, the vampire army and the undead defenders clashed in a fierce battle, their battle cries deafening, and the energy beams intertwining into a chaotic sea of ​​light. Everywhere were exploding sparks, flying bone fragments, and splattered blood…

In the very center of the desert, two figures caught Liu Nian's attention.

One of them was the bronze-skinned vampire prince Dracono, who was flying in mid-air!

The other half, with its lower body resembling a metal scorpion and its upper body in human form, is Shams' true form!

The two are engaged in a fierce battle.

Dracono hovered in mid-air, the Crimson Cube slowly spinning in his palm. Each side of this strange weapon released a different ability when it returned to its original position—a blood-red shockwave leveled the sand dunes, blood-red spears rained down like a storm, twelve crimson blood orbs circled around him for automatic defense, and blood-born creatures surged out from all directions to attack Shams.

Shams brandished his scepter, unleashing a fusion of dark purple necromancy and mechanical technology, relentlessly bombarding Dracono. His scorpion tail was equally active, its tip wielding an energy beam like a nimble spear, constantly launching sneak attacks on the prince's flanks from treacherous angles.

From time to time, a hidden turret would suddenly appear in the sand beneath their feet, firing dark purple energy bullets from unexpected angles.

After observing for a while, Liu Nian made a judgment.

Draco Noo was indeed stronger.

On Shams' home turf, aided by the numerous defensive structures, he was still able to hold his own against Shams, even gaining a slight advantage. If they were to fight one-on-one elsewhere, Shams probably wouldn't last long!

Shams's initiative in challenging Dracono was clearly a ploy to buy time. While he called it a "duel," he actually intended to use his home-field advantage to slowly wear down Dracono until the undead reinforcements arrived.

But Dracono, that old fox, while verbally agreeing to the duel, didn't stop his vampire army for a second. They killed those they needed to kill, looted those they needed to loot, and the rate of destruction in the city only increased.

So Shams is in a very awkward situation – he can't beat Dracono in a fight, he can't slow down the vampires' destructive speed, and he doesn't know when reinforcements will arrive.

"This old body is probably not going to make it," Liu Nian thought.

Ultimately, the vampires' raw strength is simply superior to his!

After all, they were originally targeting the Eastern Continent, and fought against those veteran undead lords of the Eastern Continent for so many years without being defeated. The Southern Continent is just a subcontinent, and its strength is naturally incomparable to that of the main continent!

Moreover, the vampires have been fighting the undead for so many years and have a very good understanding of the undead. They also laid out plans decades in advance. If this city hadn't been the legacy of the Starry Sky Gnomes, they might have already occupied it by now!

Just then, Dracono suddenly glanced in the direction where Liu Nian was hiding, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"My friend over there," his voice came from the battlefield, "since you're here, why not lend me a hand?"

Shams followed his gaze, and the will-o'-the-wisp in his eyes suddenly contracted.

He recognized Liu Nian.

Or rather, he recognized "Oregon"—the dragon general who had destroyed his clone on the platform.

If it weren't for the metal wolf head, his expression would surely be extremely unpleasant right now.

"It's you?!" Shams's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger as he glared at Liu Nian.

Dark red flames flickered wildly in the metal wolf's eye sockets, as if it were engaged in some kind of intense psychological struggle.

He knew that the real battle was about to begin.

And... he probably can't win!

But we have to fight even if we can't win!

He will never easily hand over this city!

He is not willing!

How many years did he spend transforming the core of this crashed Ark into a golden royal city? How many years of painstaking effort, how many years of planning, how many years of technology painstakingly extracted from the Mechagon's mind—and just hand it over to someone else like that? Are you kidding me?

If things become impossible, he will have the entire city perish with him!

"Very well." His voice lowered, carrying a resolute air of desperation. "Since you're courting death, then let's die together!"

He slammed his scepter into the sand beneath his feet.

The entire desert trembled.

Then, beneath the sand, countless energy conduits surged wildly like awakened blood vessels, and dark purple light gushed out from the cracks, continuously converging on Shams.

His body began to swell.

The hands were the first to change—the five fingers came together, lengthened, and hardened, turning into two huge metal pincers.

The scorpion's tail split into three from one, each end of which was covered with a dark purple energy stinger, like three spears poised to strike.

Those energy conduits, like countless strands of hair, completely bound him to the city's energy system.

His size increased wildly, quickly exceeding ten meters, thirty meters, fifty meters... and finally becoming a colossal creature with a height of over five hundred meters!

This is his ultimate battle form!

"Come on!" his voice boomed from within the metal shell, "I'll show you my full power!"

Dracono didn't waste any words. He snorted coldly, clasped his hands together, and his dark golden pupils suddenly burst forth with a blinding blood-red light.

"The Blood God has descended!!"

Thick blood gushed from his body, rapidly condensing around him and instantly forming a blood-red giant that was half a head taller than Shams.

The giant was clad in flowing dark red armor, had two horns on his head, and wielded a giant blade made of congealed blood, from which blood droplets constantly dripped. He also wore a cloak that resembled a blood-red membrane.

Dracono hovered inside the giant's chest cavity, controlling the blood king's every move.

"Holy crap, a vampire version of Susanoo?"

While Liu Nian was secretly complaining, golden light surged within his body. He did not transform into a divine dragon, but instead directly activated the Law of Heaven and Earth!

His body began to grow rapidly, from two meters to ten meters, to twenty meters, to thirty meters, and in the blink of an eye he became a giant a thousand meters tall, almost on par with the Blood God avatar summoned by Dracono!

Golden armor covered Liu Nian's entire body, and twelve wings of light spread out from his back, each longer than his body. He radiated a dazzling holy light, like a war god descended from the heavens.

Three enormous creatures stand in a tripod formation in this desert.

Everyone on the battlefield stopped fighting, their eyes widening and mouths agape involuntarily.

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