Chapter 126: Purge Mode

"Soru!"

Sakazuki let out a low shout, and his figure instantly vanished from its original spot.

In the next moment, his silhouette shuttled through the missile swarm like a ghost; every movement was precise to the extreme.

Explosions rose and fell in succession, firelight illuminating the entire sky.

When the smoke and dust dispersed, Sakazuki's figure had already appeared atop the Supreme Teigu's head.

Inside the cockpit, the young Emperor widened his eyes, staring at the scene before him in disbelief. "Impossible!"

The young Emperor frantically manipulated the control console, attempting to make the Supreme Teigu retreat.

However, the previously damaged leg armor let out a piercing metal grinding sound, and the mecha's movements became sluggish and clumsy.

"Mei Gou!"

Sakazuki roared in anger, his right fist crashing down like a meteor.

With an earth-shaking boom, Sakazuki's fist slammed heavily onto the Supreme Teigu's head. A terrifying shockwave spread outward in all directions with the fist as its center.

Under this terrifying blow, the Supreme Teigu's head armor shattered instantly; spider-web-like cracks spread at an astonishing speed.

Amid the deafening impact, the Supreme Teigu's massive body tilted backward, losing balance. At that moment, it seemed as if time itself had slowed down.

"No no!" The young Emperor frantically slapped the control console.

"Boom!"

The gigantic mecha slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up towering waves of dust.

The entire earth trembled violently, as if a small earthquake had occurred; rubble and dust scattered like raindrops, blotting out the sky and sun.

On the ground, Minister Honest was knocked over by this massive shockwave, rolling several times in a sorry state before barely stopping. He struggled to climb up, his face covered in dust.

"This piece of trash!" Honest said through gritted teeth, "Can't even use the Supreme Teigu properly — simply a disgrace to the royal family!"

He quickly fished out a communication device and rapidly pressed buttons.

Inside the cockpit, the young Emperor slumped on the ground, his hollow eyes staring at the constantly flashing warning messages.

Suddenly, the minister's urgent voice came from the communication device: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Are you alright?"

The young Emperor starkly came to his senses, as if grasping a life-saving straw. He eagerly grabbed the communication device, his voice trembling: "Honest! Quick, quick, save me!"

Honest's voice became calm and determined: "Your Majesty, don't panic! I have a way to help you. But you must first turn off the cockpit's defense system."

"Turn off the defense system?" The young Emperor froze for a moment, a trace of hesitation flashing in his eyes. "But..."

"Your Majesty!" Honest's voice suddenly turned stern. "Now is not the time to hesitate! Do you want to be captured by that rebel army? Think of your Father Emperor, think of the Empire's glory! We must employ extraordinary means!" The young Emperor bit his lip, then took a deep breath, his trembling fingers moving rapidly across the control console.

"Okay okay, I'll turn off the defense system right now." The young Emperor's voice carried a hint of hope. "Honest, I believe in you!"

At this moment, on the other end of the communication device, the corner of Honest's mouth curled into a bizarre cold smile.

With the young Emperor's operation, the blue shield originally enveloping the cockpit receded like a tide. The young Emperor held his breath, tensely awaiting Honest's rescue.

Suddenly, a bizarre wriggling sound came from all directions. The young Emperor's heart skipped a beat; he saw countless tiny cracks on the cockpit walls expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Amid "crack, crack" sounds, those cracks opened like mouths, spitting out disgusting long tentacles.

These tentacles had wet, sticky surfaces covered in dense suckers; each sucker's center was embedded with a blood-red eyeball, constantly rotating.

These tentacles rapidly closed in on the young Emperor, directly entangling his body, and emitting a hair-raising "glug glug" sound.

"Ah!!!" The young Emperor instantly widened his eyes.

He struggled desperately, but those tentacles only tightened further; he could feel those eyeballs sliding across his skin, leaving trails of sticky residue.

"Minister! What is this?!" The young Emperor's voice trembled, already carrying a sob. "What's going on!! Honest! Save me!"

However, the only response was the sticky sound of tentacles wriggling and those eyeballs' bizarre rotating sounds. The young Emperor felt a bout of dizziness; the tentacles slowly fused into his body.

Finally, Honest's cold voice came from the communication device: "Your Majesty, you have made your final contribution to the Empire."

Just then, an astonishing change began on the exterior of the Supreme Teigu. The originally cold metal surface suddenly writhed, as if something were about to burst out. Flesh and blood surged from the armor's gaps, covering the entire frame at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Transformation?!" Sakazuki's eyes sharpened; he charged forward without hesitation, his fist instantly coated in a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki, aiming straight for the mecha's head.

However, just as he was about to touch the target, the mecha's back suddenly split open with a ferocious wound. A barb-covered tail shot out like lightning, lashing viciously at Sakazuki.

"What?!" Sakazuki's pupils shrank sharply; caught off guard, he could only cross his arms to block.

"Bang!" With a huge boom, Sakazuki was knocked flying several kilometers by this heavy, powerful strike, plowing two deep furrows in the ground before barely steadying himself.

He raised his head; the sight before him made his pupils contract slightly. The Supreme Teigu now stood fully upright, but its appearance had completely transformed into something like an evil demon.

The mecha's shoulders and chest split open, revealing several giant eyeballs; crimson pupils scanned in all directions, as if searching for prey.

That newly born tail danced wildly in the air; every swing brought a piercing Break Sky sound. The entire Supreme Teigu had completely mutated, turning into a biological weapon brimming with evil aura.

Just then, a low, hoarse laugh came from inside the cockpit, as if countless people were speaking simultaneously: "Damned rebel army, let me, this Empire's Emperor, send down divine punishment for you!!"

The young Emperor's facial expression turned ferocious and twisted; his eyes glowed with a bizarre red light. Those horrifying tentacles seemed to have already become part of his body, fused as one with him.

On the ground, Minister Honest's mouth curled into a gloomy, cold smile.

"I anticipated this long ago," Honest's voice was low and steady, yet carried a bone-chilling aura. "The Emperor's personality fundamentally cannot control the mecha."

His gaze remained locked on the mecha, as if appreciating his own masterpiece. "So, I specially had people prepare this hidden secret technique."

Honest spread his arms, his tone growing increasingly impassioned. "The perfect fusion of Shulianshu and Teigu — this is our final result: Purge Mode!"

As his words fell, the mutated mecha seemed to receive some stimulation, letting out an earth-shaking scream. It violently raised its right leg and slammed it into the ground; the earth instantly cracked under this terrifying power, rubble flying in all directions.

(Chapter End)