The Last Sentinel

Tianyou Mansion.

The raging fire engulfed the ancient, dilapidated palace, charring the carved beams and scattering rubble everywhere.

On the ruined hall in the center of the mansion, two figures stood facing each other. The air was thick with the stench of blood and burnt flesh, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

On the left is the Shogun Tokugawa Mitsunobu, whose black armor has long lost its former luster. Dark brown bloodstains are visible between the gaps in his armor, and some parts are even deformed by the scorching fire. His face is covered with bloodstains, and a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his left cheek is still slowly oozing blood, but it cannot conceal the fierce and ruthless aura surging in his eyes.

He gripped the long knife tightly with both hands, the blade hanging down to the ground, the tip pressed against the charred wooden board, and a deep, muffled growl came from his throat.

On the other side of him, Young Master Tianyou looked even more disheveled.

He was still wearing that moon-white hunting robe that symbolized the nobility of the heavens and the universe, but the robe was already stained with blood and smoke, and many places were burned with holes by the raging fire, revealing the wounded skin underneath.

Yu Zan still tied his long hair up, but a few strands of hair were scattered and stuck to his sweaty forehead. The most shocking thing was his left arm—severed cleanly from the shoulder, and blood was still gushing from the wound, staining most of his robe red. A small pool of dark red blood had already accumulated on the ground.

The expression on Tianyou Gongzi's face was no longer the usual refined and indifferent one; instead, it was one of extreme ferocity and pain. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with intense resentment and anger, and his aura became violent and chaotic.

"Why!" Young Master Tianyou roared, his voice hoarse and broken from the pain and rage. He raised his only remaining right hand, pointing tremblingly at Tokugawa Mitsunori, his eyes bloodshot. "I've treated you well. From when you were just a nobody, I defied all opposition to promote you, imparting all the family's cultivation resources to you. I even risked breaking ties with the family elders so you could gain a foothold! Why did you betray me?!"

His words were full of disbelief. He had once thought that Tokugawa Mitsunobu was the most trustworthy person, his right-hand man whom he had personally supported.

But now, his opponent has turned on him with a knife, severing his left arm and forcing him into a desperate situation.

Upon hearing this, Tokugawa Mitsunori slowly raised his head, looking down at Prince Tianyou with a gaze devoid of any remorse, only naked indifference and greed. He spoke each word slowly and deliberately, his voice as cold and hard as iron, carrying an undeniable resolve: "You've treated me well? Prince Tianyou, tell me then, your so-called 'well' treatment is nothing more than using me as a pawn in your power struggles, a tool to consolidate your position! Then why did you go to see Hua Xiaobai!"

When the name "Hua Xiaobai" was mentioned, Tokugawa Mitsunori's tone suddenly became more serious, and his aura of ferocity surged. His sword trembled slightly, emitting a buzzing sound, clearly indicating that he was extremely concerned about this matter. In his view, Prince Tianyou's private meeting with Hua Xiaobai was a betrayal, an attempt to join forces with outsiders to seize everything that was about to be his.

"I went to extract Hua Xiaobai's secrets!" Young Master Tianyou cried out in protest. He staggered forward, the excruciating pain from his wound turning his face deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down his cheeks. "Hua Xiaobai holds the core secrets of the carbon-based universe, crucial to our survival in this hellish battlefield! I went to see him not to betray you, but for our shared goal!"

He tried to convince Tokugawa Mitsunobu, his eyes pleading, but Tokugawa Mitsunobu saw it as nothing more than sophistry.

"Do you think I'd believe such a reason?" Tokugawa Mitsunobu scoffed, pacing slowly, each step leaving a deep imprint on the charred wooden planks. His voice grew increasingly cold and menacing. "Who is Hua Xiaobai? He's our mortal enemy, a key figure in the Great Xia civilization! The Sentinel's most trusted confidant! And I'm irreconcilably opposed to Great Xia! You met with him in secret, and you dare say you have no ulterior motives? Have you considered my feelings? It's hard for me not to suspect you're trying to betray me!"

"You may not believe me, but you should at least believe in our deal!" Young Master Tianyou completely lost control of his emotions. Ignoring the excruciating pain from his wounds, he roared, "Without my help, how could you have become the Demon Suppressor of the Carbon-Based Universe Demon Locking Tower! This position of Demon Suppressor was earned for you by exhausting the power accumulated by my family over a century, and even bowing to the experts of the Thirty-Three Heavens! It was given to you by me!"

"I don't think so." Tokugawa Mitsunori stopped, gripping his long sword tightly with both hands. The blade reflected the blazing firelight, gleaming with a cold, icy light. "There's an old saying in Japan: 'Those with great power bear great responsibility, high status, and a sacred mission!' I've reached this point not through your charity, but through my own strength!"

He paused, his eyes growing increasingly fierce, his tone filled with ambition and greed: "I killed my incompetent adoptive father, the bastard, and seized the position of Shogun, all with the sword in my hand; the title of Demon Suppressor was also earned through my own strength, through bloody battles in the Demon Locking Tower, and has nothing to do with you! But you, how much benefit have you gained in your family over the years thanks to my contributions in the Demon Locking Tower? How much empty fame have you acquired throughout the universe? Have you ever calculated it?"

"You, you ingrate!" Young Master Tianyou trembled with anger at his words, and the blood from his wound gushed out even more rapidly. He pointed at Tokugawa Mitsunori, his lips trembling, but he could not say anything more. He could only use these four words to vent his anger and disappointment.

"You didn't calculate it, but Strategist Sima did!" Tokugawa Mitsunori's voice suddenly rose, a hint of smugness flashing in his eyes. "The strategist said that based on my contributions in the Demon-Sealing Tower's exploration of the universe, I could at least become a realm lord of a first-level realm in the Thirty-Three Heavens! What an honor, what a status that would be!"

"Based on this merit, I could have led the Fusang tribe away from the Carbon-Based Universe, this Demon-Sealing Tower, away from this battlefield of carnage! We could have gone to the First Heaven of the Thirty-Three Heavens, found a peaceful and tranquil universe, multiplied, and lived a life of serenity!" His tone was full of longing for the future, but then it turned icy cold. "But you plagiarized my merit! You used your family's power to tamper with the Demon-Sealing Tower's merit records. Now, in the entire universe, there's no trace of my merit whatsoever!"

"You want to keep me forever in the carbon-based universe, in this battlefield of carnage, making me defend you against the Great Xia civilization's attacks, to die for you! And you, you can take my credit and enjoy wealth and glory in the Thirty-Three Heavens!" A fierce rage blazed in Tokugawa Mitsunori's eyes, his aura surged once more, and the flames on his sword burned even brighter. "If we're talking about ingrates, you're even greater than me! Today, I will take back everything that belongs to me and make you pay the price for your actions!"

At this point, even the most obtuse Tianyou Gongzi fully understood that Tokugawa Mitsunobu was determined to kill him. All explanations seemed futile, and all sentimentality had long been cast aside. Since that was the case, then let's fight! Even if he only had one arm left, even if he was severely wounded, he would make this ungrateful bastard pay the price!

A ruthless glint flashed in Tianyou Gongzi's eyes. He suddenly raised his only remaining right hand, and with a flick of his wrist, a snow-white soft sword appeared out of thin air. The blade gleamed with a cold, clear light in the firelight. With a slight twitch of his wrist, the soft sword, like a silver snake spitting its tongue, hurtled towards Tokugawa Mitsunori's face with a sharp, piercing sound. Its speed was so great that it left only a snow-white afterimage.

"Kill!" Young Master Tianyou roared, his voice filled with a do-or-die determination. He poured all his violent aura into the soft sword, and a faint halo appeared on the blade, clearly indicating that he had used his full strength.

"Well done!" A fierce glint flashed in Tokugawa Mitsunori's eyes. He shouted and drew his long sword, the blade carrying a fierce wind and raging flames, fierce and unmatched, as he met the soft sword head-on. His swordsmanship was powerful and domineering, each strike carrying a world-destroying aura, forming a stark contrast with Prince Tenyou's swordsmanship, which was soft yet sharp.

Prince Tianyou spun around to avoid the attack, his soft sword moving as nimbly as a snake in his hand, lightly flicking, stabbing, and sweeping, each move aimed directly at Tokugawa Mitsunobu's weaknesses, his soft strength concealing a sharp edge, making him impossible to defend against.

The two instantly became entangled in combat, the clanging of metal against metal rising and falling, drowning out the crackling of flames. The strength of the black armor and the ferocity of the white robe intertwined and collided in the sea of ​​fire and ruins of the palace, scattering countless sparks.

Tokugawa Mitsunori's swordplay grew increasingly fierce, each strike carrying the intent to kill. He knew that Prince Tenyou was severely injured, had lost his left arm, and his stamina and fighting ability were far from what they used to be. If he could prolong the fight, his opponent would undoubtedly be defeated.

But as the old saying goes, Chen Chuanhai has three pounds of nails. As the holy son of a great family in the universe, Young Master Tianyou cannot be without any trump cards!

In addition, Hua Xiaobai is nearby. If Hua Xiaobai finds out that he and Tianyou have fallen out, he will definitely come to take advantage of the situation!

We must finish this quickly!

Thinking of this, Tokugawa Mitsunobu suddenly roared. This was his ultimate move. As a half-step 3.0 planetary-level space warrior, he poured all his energy into the blade. The blade instantly turned red-hot, like a fiery blade just forged in a furnace, radiating terrifying high temperature.

"ha!"

The long sword in his hand kept lengthening until it reached a hundred meters in an instant. As Tokugawa Mitsunobu's figure suddenly expanded, his original 1.9-meter body instantly grew to a gigantic 10 meters. His face became ferocious and terrifying, with fangs bared and eyes bloodshot, like an ancient beast clad in armor. The ferocity and flames around him intertwined, forming a terrifying halo of fire.

"The End - Fiery Rakshasa Slash!"

"Kill!" Tokugawa Mitsunori roared, his voice shaking the entire battlefield and even drowning out the sound of the flames.

He brandished his hundred-meter-long flaming sword and slashed at Young Master Tianyou. Wherever the sword passed, the air was scorched and distorted, and the wooden planks on the ground instantly turned into dust.

At the same time, hundreds of ferocious Asura sword demons, each ten meters tall and wielding a hundred-meter-long flaming blade, appeared out of thin air behind him. Each sword demon exuded a similar malevolent aura and fiery energy as Tokugawa Mitsunobu. They were densely packed, blotting out the sky, and frantically slashed at Prince Tianyou, as if they wanted to crush him into dust.