Chapter 342: That Time and Place Was Exactly Like This Time and Place!

"So is this a good thing or a bad thing?!" Morgan retorted.

Bevil staggered for a moment.

He vaguely remembered that the Morgan of the past was not in his current state.

Arrogant, haughty, and presumptuous, the former Morgan could almost be said to be the epitome of the Britannian nobility that Bevil despised.

But now, he could no longer see those traits in Morgan.

Three years had passed, and Morgan had changed greatly; of course, the shadow of that man was present within this transformation.

Three years had passed, and Morgan had changed greatly; of course, the shadow of that man was also present in this transformation.

Indeed, it was not just Morgan; even he himself, had he not encountered Gao Wen and his group, had Britannia not suffered such a colossal catastrophe...

... he would absolutely never have had the courage to face his past mistakes directly, nor to draw the sword left behind by Arthur.

He absolutely lacked the courage to face his past mistakes head-on, or to draw the sword Arthur had left behind.

"A good thing."

"Of course, it is a good thing."

Having said this,

Bevil turned and departed, leaping down from the outer walls of Britannia in a few bounds, plunging straight into the oncoming beast tide.

Bevil turned and departed, leaping down from the outer walls of Britannias in a few bounds to plunge directly into the oncoming beast tide.

Silver-white aerial slashes erupted, tearing the attacking beast tide apart.

Yet, in the next instant, they were engulfed by a pillar of pure white light!

Yet in the next instant, it was engulfed by a pillar of pure white light!

A blinding white light gushed forth from the White Dragon's mouth, sweeping along the earth, splitting Avalon in two from its very center, and spreading all the way to the horizon.

Blinding Bai Guang erupted from the White Dragon's mouth, sweeping along the earth to slice Avalon in half from its very center, continuing all the way to the horizon.

Countless houses were ignited, and countless survivors let out deafening wails!

"The White Dragon!"

"It's the White Dragon!"

"The legendary all-devouring white calamity, the first monarch of Britannia!"

"He must have come for revenge, to swallow everything!"

"He must have come for revenge, intending to swallow everything!"

"This is our fault!"

Amidst the noisy, chaotic sounds were countless hysterical survivors.

That hope, which had just been within reach, that pure white figure in the sky, crushed it all in a single grip.

The Church of Heaven's Sense had fallen, yet the fate of this nation's destruction remained unchanged.

The Church of Tianjue had fallen, yet the fate of this nation's destruction remained unchanged.

"Look!"

"This is my power!"

A hysterical roar erupted from the White Dragon's mouth.

At this moment, he—no, she should say—felt nearly endless power surging from within her body, even generating the illusion that she could accomplish anything.

At this moment, he—no, she—felt only nearly endless power surging from within, even generating the illusion that she could accomplish anything.

That was not an illusion.

Even though her own combat strength was not high, and her will-based Haki was far inferior to Bevil's, the power hidden within this flesh was simply too immense.

So immense that relying solely on physical capabilities, she could withstand attacks from Xiang Keluo and other powerhouses.

One claw tore the earth apart; one breath sliced through the entire city; this was power surpassing even Wales!

Her wings blocked out the sun and moon; a gentle flap of her wings generated air currents that forced Xiang Keluo and the others back, while the shadow she cast nearly enveloped the whole of Avalon.

Looking at the fearful gazes of the crowd, the White Dragon, or rather Jeanne, gradually curled the corners of her mouth:

"Is this the power of the first monarch of Britannia?"

"The White Dragon, symbolizing divine authority, corresponding to the Red Dragon, symbolizing royal authority?!"

"The White Dragon, symbolizing divine authority, corresponding to the Red Dragon, which symbolizes royal power?!"

She raised her dragon claw, looking at the pure white feathers covering it, gazing at her own fierce yet somewhat divine form, her eyes filled with nothing but unspeakable intoxication:

She raised her dragon claw, gazing at the pure white feathers covering it and at her own fierce yet slightly divine form, her eyes filled with nothing but unspeakable intoxication:

"Flesh, blood, bones, heart, and soul can only create an immortal body, but the soul still has a limit to its lifespan!"

"When one reaches the end, the soul decays, yet the body remains alive, possessing only the instinct to survive."

"And the Fruit of the Mind, apart from abilities like mental manipulation and hypnosis, its greatest function is the ability to freely transfer the user's will into another body."

Although it would take no short amount of time to fully master this body, Jeanne knew clearly that even relying solely on her current power, it was already sufficient to seize this nation before her eyes!

Furthermore, Jeanne's ambitions extended far beyond this; such an extremely powerful body brought desires beyond imagination.

"With such power, perhaps I can also go and take a look at that national treasure hidden in Mary Geoia, to see if the gods who dominate the world are truly irresistible, or if perhaps... I can replace them!"

"With the aid of such power, perhaps I can also go and see that national treasure hidden in Mary Geoia, to see whether the god who dominates the world is truly irresistible, or if perhaps... I could take their place!"

Jeanne lowered her eyes, glancing at Xiang Keluo and the others who had reorganized their offensive but were now held back by the surging beast herds on all sides, then lost all interest.

Her attention shifted to what lay before her.

She saw a semi-transparent door slowly opening in the void.

Bevil slowly walked out from within, yet still found it hard to believe the voice he had just heard:

Beville slowly walked out from within, yet still found it hard to believe the voice he had just heard:

"You are not Fafnir!"

"You are Jeanne!"

Beville's voice trembled.

He knew Jeanne had always been plotting something behind the scenes; perhaps even Wales reaching this point today was secretly driven by her.

This woman had lived for far too long.

For decades, ever since Fafnir rose to power and the Heaven's Sense Church was founded, she had always been by Wales's side, always maintaining this same form.

But what Beville never expected was that Jeanne's goal from the very beginning was never the Heaven's Sense Church, but Fafnir.

The Immortal Mad King!

"As expected, you bastard aren't so easy to kill."

"The Door-Door Fruit's ability to open gates in the void and hide within alternate spaces can, to a certain extent, truly be called an invincible defensive capability."

"If one could advance further to leave permanent doorways, the strategic value of this ability would be unimaginably vast."

Jeanne's gaze fell upon Beville, and she spoke, extending an offer:

"Why not become my subordinate?!"

Beville's face flushed crimson, his anger reaching its peak:

"Don't joke around! I will absolutely never..."

"In that case..."

Before Beville could finish, Jeanne raised her dragon claw, pointing toward the distant Avalon, pointing toward the countless panicked civilians within the city.

Her tone carried a hint of mockery:

"Make your choice again!"

"Will you stand and die alongside your loyalty and the hundreds of thousands of civilians behind you, or will you kneel and live?"

Beville's breath hitched; he turned stiffly, looking back toward Avalon.

The outer city walls had already been melted by Jeanne's earlier breath; flowing magma formed rivers, piercing through the entirety of Avalon.

Through the gaps in the city walls,

what Beville saw were countless civilians wailing in despair.

Some, with half their bodies burned away, died in agony; others were devoured by frenzied, dragonified beasts, their flesh and blood scattering everywhere.

Likewise, countless survivors fled helplessly in all directions, but facing a tide of beasts that had completely surrounded Avalon, where could they possibly escape to?!

Gao Wen's group was powerful, Xiang Keluo's combat strength was no less than Beville's, Algin was not to be underestimated, and there were dozens of elites present; such fighting strength was sufficient to decide the course of a war.

But against the surging, tireless, pain-insensitive frenzied dragonified beasts, they were ultimately too few.

Even if they could extricate themselves unscathed, protecting Avalon under such circumstances was nearly an impossible task.

Beville fell silent.

The battlefield was noisy; the sounds of artillery fire, slashing blades, and roars continued incessantly, like a swelling symphony that made one's ears ring.

His heart was in chaos.

His footsteps were in chaos.

Only instinct remained, supporting everyone's bodies to continue fighting.

Xiang Keluo manipulated the gale, charging through the beast tide, leaving a trail of dismembered limbs behind him. Algin simply transformed into a war fortress, assuming a centaur form, extending bone cannons from his shoulders to continuously bombard the attacking beasts, holding the frontline firm!

Zoro transformed into an Asura, bathed in blood, killing to his heart's content amidst the battlefield.

Sanji donned his Germa battle suit, moving invisibly through the beast herd to pick off high-threat frenzied dragonified beasts capable of flight.

Cavendish, Law, Bepo, Chopper...

Bathed in blood, the group barely managed to hold the majority of the beasts outside Avalon's walls, yet they continued to retreat step by step.

After dragonification, these beasts' already massive bodies became even more grotesque, their physical abilities similarly enhanced; among them, the leaders were even comparable to pirates with bounties exceeding one hundred million!

Furthermore, their numbers far exceeded those of Gao Wen's group to an absurd degree!

Dense and packed, numbering in the tens of thousands, stretching beyond sight!

Even without further intelligence, Beville could foresee the collapse of the frontline.

That might happen in a few minutes, or perhaps in a few hours.

At this moment, Beville felt only a terrifying silence around him; the hand gripping his sword trembled, and Jeanne's voice rang in his ears once more.

"Anyway, for someone like you, betrayal is as simple as drinking water."

"Betraying Arthur three years ago, betraying Wales three years later, and now betraying Britannias—what does any of that matter to you?!"

"You know my abilities, and you know that without my support, Wales would never have obtained that Angel Fruit, nor could the Heaven's Sense Church have reached the point of dominating Britannias."

"I can grant him everything, so I can equally grant you everything!"

"Haven't you always wanted to protect Britannias, to protect this land and the people upon it?!"

"Then I will give you this chance!"

"Submit to me, and you shall be the new King of Britannias; by then, you will be able to protect everything in this nation."

"Decades later, no one will remember your dark history; the history books will only record your glory in repelling the beast tide and protecting the entire country!"

Jeanne's tone visibly grew excited.

She saw Beville's hesitation, saw the struggle within this man's heart, and even saw the scene of this man kneeling before her.

This man had knelt too many times; his spine could no longer straighten!

After all, humans are like this: once they compromise once, there will be a next time, and they will convince themselves again and again.

Something about great righteousness, something about temporary compromise, something about enduring humiliation to fulfill a mission...

Heh.

Bullshit!

"Very well."

Beville's trembling voice rang out.

Jeanne laughed, the dragon tail behind her, massive as a mountain range, swaying to display her inner joy, yet it froze in the next instant.

A semi-transparent gate opened beneath her feet, vast enough to accommodate her thousand-meter-long dragon body.

"You dare!"

While Jeanne was distracted, her massive dragon body crashed heavily into the giant gate, feeling only a surge of scorching heat.

She lowered her head.

All that met her eyes was a sea of molten rock buried deep beneath the earth, surging and churning endlessly, the scorching air already touching the white dragon's flesh!

The intense burning sensation made her dragon body tremble, suddenly reminding her what this thing actually was.

Beneath the seas of the New World exist three massive magma lakes, known as endpoints.

Once these three magma lakes are detonated simultaneously, the resulting chain reaction could even burn the entire New World to ash; under such a natural disaster, everything would be destroyed.

And one of these endpoint nodes lies within the borders of Britannias.

"Beville!"

Jeanne let out a hysterical roar, only to look up and find that the gate in the void had already been closed by Beville.

Her body crashed heavily into the magma lake, instantly swallowed whole!

"Was this your plan?!"

"I will kill you!"

"All of Britannias must be buried along with your stupidity!"

……

……

……

Mary Geoise.

Black smoke filled the air, and the figures of Gunzi and the others reformed.

"Lord Im?!"

Gunzi opened his eyes, his body unable to help but tremble, yet upon seeing Im on the Wang Zuo, he immediately came to his senses.

Several members of the God's Knights also recondensed their bodies at this moment, their faces still bearing immense fear.

"Are we still alive?!"

"Thank goodness!"

Im, seated on the Wang Zuo, spoke coldly:

"What happened!"

Gunzi swallowed hard, fear still lingering in his eyes as he half-knelt on the ground:

"Fafnir is still alive."

"Furthermore, contrary to our speculation, he is alive, possessing selfhood and consciousness."

"His power is even more absurdly exaggerated than imaginable!"

"With merely a single strike, we... were annihilated!"

Bang—!

A corner of the Wang Zuo was torn off by Im with bare hands.

Not a trace of change appeared on his face, yet an invisible oppressive force surged like a tide, pressing down on Gunzi and the others, leaving them gasping for breath yet daring not to show any defiance.

They knew why Im was angry.

If Fafnir, the first monarch of Britannias, had truly achieved immortality through that kind of ritual, then he would pose a threat to Im's status and have the opportunity to challenge the King of the World.

The potential impact of this matter is far more severe than the God Valley incident from over thirty years ago.

Anyone sitting in Im's position could never tolerate the existence of such a person!

After several breaths.

The oppressive force within the palace suddenly dispersed.

Above the Wang Zuo.

Im's gaze had already returned to its usual indifference.

Yet the God's Knights kneeling below did not dare show the slightest negligence.

This was solely because they knew that beneath a calm surface, the surging undercurrents are often even more severe.

Im waved his hand, signaling Gunzi and the other God's Knights to withdraw.

He then summoned the Five Elders and the Figarland father and son, issuing a direct command:

"I want to see Britannias and that old bastard disappear from the map!"

"Yes!"

The Five Elders responded in unison, their breathing nearly coming to a halt.

Although Im's command was short, the information conveyed within it was not scant.

Especially since they had seen members of the God's Knights upon entering here, which further clarified the situation.

Logically, at this point in time, they should still be in Britannias; their appearance here indicates that the God's Knights likely encountered combat...

Knight Gao Wen?!

No!

That fellow just had an encounter with my lord Im; there is no reason for him to actively attack the members of the God's Knights.

Then who was...

Wait!

Fafnir!

That monster is still alive; does this mean the legend is true?

(End of Chapter)