Chapter 515: Man, After All, Can Only Rely on Himself

Blood spread across the red sand as Zhou Yun turned the winding key embedded in Karn's back.

He slipped several pills of different colors and shapes into Karn's hands; Karn took them and swallowed a few, but did not crush them, saving only one pill—white and glutinous like a rice dumpling—hidden silently in his palm.

Then Zhou Yun handed Karn a string of devices and gave him a slight nod.

This aligned with the Blood God's agreement with Zhou Yun: they had agreed to empower Anglon and Karn solely through blessings, using no other means.

Zhou Yun understood the Blood God's reasoning.

At the most critical moments of fate, a man ultimately relies only on himself—he must not become addicted to external tools.

Just as Zhou Yun, no matter how dire the situation, always relied on his own devices.

These devices were, of course, part of Zhou Yun himself; giving them to Karn was no different from bestowing a blessing upon him.

Was this not perfectly in line with the rules?

Karn knew these devices' miraculous effects far surpassed anything imaginable; the Blood God's blessing could not compare.

He felt nothing but gratitude, yet he remained the same taciturn Karn, able only to nod in thanks to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun said nothing, only clapped Karn on the shoulder.

Karn's task was extraordinarily difficult—he was to challenge his own gene-father.

Even in the Emperor's plan, there was little hope for this; the Emperor did not believe Karn needed to challenge Anglon at all, seeing no point in wasting time on Karn and Anglon—but Zhou Yun thought it worth attempting; even if it failed, they still had Plan B.

Karn took a deep breath and stepped forward, setting foot on the warm, gritty sand; the hot grains burned like freshly spilled blood, causing the mutated feet protruding from his power armor to ache slightly.

He looked at his gene-father—one hand gripping the Blood Son, the other clutching a small device like a firework.

"Father," Karn growled.

Once again, Karn stood before his gene-father.

He knew his gene-father was mocked by many.

But Karn only wished to say: those who mocked Anglon had never stood face-to-face with him.

He was the embodiment of terror itself—his body forged from thick blood-aura, his fuel pure killing intent, his furnace fueled by rage, his blood flowing with hatred, and his only output: slaughter.

Listening to his heavy, predatory-dragon breaths, smelling the sulfur stench that could burn out mortal lungs, feeling the skin seared by Anglon's surging fury—even Karn's soul trembled.

But should he be like this?

Was Anglon meant to be this way from the start?

Karn suddenly began to ponder this question, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

How cruel and bitter fate was—to twist his gene-father into this monstrous form.

"Father!" Karn raised his voice slightly; this time, emotion crept into his tone. His gene-father slowly lifted his beast-like head, his yellow, bloodshot eyes filled only with killing intent and rage.

The Butcher's Nail shrieked violently; the beast roared, howled, and answered Karn's call with slaughter.

"KILL!!!!" Anglon roared, his head raised; a crimson sun hung behind him, turning him in an instant into a black-and-red blur.

The massive axe tore through the air—only then did Karn realize Anglon was no longer wielding one sword or one axe, but two axes, just as he had when he was still human ten thousand years ago.

One was the Spinebreaker, the weapon Anglon seized after slaughtering an entire Dark Mechanicum world—capable of cleaving Titans and crushing fortresses.

The other, the demon-sword Sagnaris, forged from a Chaos God of Slaanesh, had been taken by Sanguinius and given to Saint Doraemon, becoming the saint's snack.

Now, Anglon wielded alongside the Spinebreaker: the Blood Father.

It was the paired weapon to Karn's Blood Son, both forged from the lower jaw-teeth of a Mica Dragon—deadly and perilous.

During the Great Betrayal, Karn inherited the Blood Son; the Blood Father passed through countless warbands, fought over and venerated.

But now, Anglon had clearly reclaimed the Blood Father, replacing Sagnaris, which Doraemon had devoured.

Blood Son met Blood Father.

The two weapons, separated for years, reunited—and let out a piercing roar together.

"Father, this Blood Father still suits you best," Karn blurted out.

Anglon's only response was the growl of muscle, the stench of sulfur-laced breath.

The power of the Lord of Red Sand remained terrifying—and had grown even more so under the Blood God's full blessing.

Even though Karn had now fused with Laum, nearly becoming a blood demon himself, he could not match the Primarch's strength.

In a single instant of impact, the crimson muscles on Karn's arms snapped like overloaded ropes, spraying blood.

Karn grunted, dropped to one knee, and raised his axe with all his strength to hold back.

He had not seen Anglon's face so closely in a long time.

He still remembered his gene-father's former face.

The coppery, curled red hair, the pale eyes hidden behind deep cheekbones carved by axe and blade, the hooked nose, the wide thin lips.

That was undeniably the Primarch's face; when Karn first saw it, his first reaction had not been rage—but sorrow.

An indescribable sorrow, as if a dead man mourned the truly dead, as if a king endowed with infinite empathy for others had been crushed by bitter fate.

Perhaps it was because Karn sensed this that he survived Anglon's axe—and became one of the few Blood Angels able to speak with his gene-father.

But now Karn saw only a beast; rage had twisted Anglon completely, turning every muscle on his body into tumors hanging from bone and soul. Those pale eyes, once holding sorrow, were now holes burning with sulfur. The proud, flint-like lines had vanished; the lips that once resembled a sage's were stripped away, leaving only rows of jagged teeth.

Karn felt sorrow. He felt pain. He felt rage—his father had been twisted into this.

Slowly, bit by bit, Karn rose to his feet; the Blood Son lifted higher, inch by inch pressing back against the Blood Father.

This was not because Karn had suddenly understood love, justice, or friendship—this was entirely because.

【Item Name: Super Deluxe Power Pill (Trial Version)】

【Origin: 22nd Century Earth—Future Department Store】

【Production Date: 231. 3】

【Function: A pill-shaped device; when ingested, grants power far beyond human limits, enabling high-speed flight and strength sufficient to lift trucks, and even topple the Tokyo Tower at full exertion—duration: approximately three minutes.】

Karn did not know what the Tokyo Tower was—he only felt his strength at this moment could knock down a Titan.

He swung his axe with all his might—and in an instant, forced Anglon back several steps.

At the same time, Karn raised the small firework; Laum's hand reached out and pulled the string behind it.

Karn remembered the name of this device.

"Mini Sun."

(Next chapter in a few minutes)

(End of Chapter)