DD Black White [295-296] (Patreon)

Chapter 295: Kong Deming's Choice

Lu Jingming's gaze swept over Jiang Nannan and the other three, finally settling on Songque and Qingque. The corner of his mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible smile—of course he recognized them at a glance.

After all, these were beings summoned based on his own memories.

"You're alright? Why are there only a few of you?" Lu Jingming asked, puzzled.

Shrek Academy came well prepared this time. Not only were Titled Douluo like Xuan Zi anchoring the lineup, there were also many powerful Servants. By all rights, students like Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao shouldn't have ended up separated.

"Phew—so you're one of us. Scared the life outta me!"

Songque patted her chest with theatrical relief, her golden hair swishing wildly with the motion.

"You suddenly speaking up like that—totally scared me!"

She truly had been spooked. The nuke-like shockwave hadn't fully dispersed, and with danger everywhere, even the slightest movement could keep her heart pounding.

"Ah—my bad, then!"

Lu Jingming's mouth twitched. As expected of Granny Songque—immediately chummy.

Jiang Nannan stepped forward and concisely explained what had happened—how the shockwave scattered them, how they regrouped under Qingque and Songque's protection, how they witnessed Siegfried unleashing his Noble Phantasm, and how that suggested Dai Huabin's group had run into trouble.

She spoke clearly and calmly, slipping in Shrek Academy's current intel on known Servants, and also informing Lu Jingming about Hoolay and the Antimatter Legion.

"I see."

Lu Jingming nodded, though ripples stirred in his heart.

Shrek Academy's luck wasn't bad at all—to have summoned someone like Jing Yuan, a Hunt Arbiter-General. A general of the Luofu—someone who could sit at the same table as the Lord Ravager, Celenova.

As for Hoolay and the Borisin, he didn't care much.

If even a Lord Ravager like Celenova had been summoned, an extra Borisin warhead would just make the brawl that much livelier.

Moreover, when he looked off into the distance earlier, he clearly saw a silver-white meteor streak across the sky, and even caught a glimpse of that general. Her combat prowess surpassed even that of Jing Yuan.

And thinking that Jingliu was also in Mingdu at the moment—and remembering that Hoolay had once been defeated by the former Sword Champion of the Luofu—Lu Jingming couldn't help the playful curve at his lips.

Jingliu had once captured Hoolay alive and imprisoned him in the Luofu's prison. Now that these old rivals had met again in another world, who knew what kind of storm they would stir up.

While he pondered, heavy footsteps sounded at the mouth of the alley.

Lu Jingming's eyes narrowed. He slowly raised his right hand, aiming into the distance.

A mass of black mist surged out of thin air, spreading in an instant to engulf three Borisins and over a hundred voidrangers just turning the corner.

Those monsters, who should have been charging with roars, didn't even manage a single howl within the fog.

As Lu Jingming clenched his fist, the black mist abruptly contracted—then detonated.

A blinding black flash flickered and vanished. Only faint wisps of smoke drifted where they'd stood—the Borisins' hard shells and the voidrangers' energy cores had all been reduced to primal particles by that all-dissolving power, leaving not a trace behind.

Qingque subconsciously tightened her grip on the jade token in her hand, and Songque even edged back to hide behind Xiao Xiao.

That effortless, all-disintegrating technique just now was more terrifying than Siegfried's Noble Phantasm—no apocalyptic spectacle, yet it carried an absolute, irresistible authority, as if a mere wave of the hand could decide life or death.

"Come on, I'll take you someplace safe."

Lu Jingming lowered his hand as if dusting off his fingertips and turned toward the end of the alley.

The setting sun spilled through the clouds, drawing out a long silhouette behind him. His voice was as calm as if discussing the weather: "My people are over there. They can escort you safely out of Mingdu."

Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao exchanged a look, each seeing an indescribable sense of relief in the other's eyes.

Lu Jingming's steady presence was too reliable. With him around, it felt like even the worst disaster could be resolved.

Jiang Nannan patted the back of Xiao Xiao's hand, signaling her to relax, then quickened her pace to follow Lu Jingming's back.

Qingque watched his retreating figure, quietly rolling the jade token between her fingers. Inwardly, she mused, "So this is the auspicious sign the hexagrams just showed…"

Xiao Xiao trailed along, step for step. Lu Jingming had no reason to harm them—and with his power, if he'd wanted to ambush them, Songque and Qingque wouldn't have reacted in time. If a Master dies, their Servants won't last long either.

Songque, delighted to relax, skipped to the middle of the group, sneaking glances around for danger while whispering to Qingque, "Having a big shot backing us really is different. My legs were jelly just now…"

She truly feared running into that nuke-level battlefield again. With Lu Jingming clearing the way, she could finally catch her breath.

They crunched over broken brick, brittle cracks sounding underfoot.

Behind them, Mingdu still burned. Pillars of flame stained half the sky red, explosions and roars overlapping like a vision of hell on earth.

Yet under Lu Jingming's lead, the path forward seemed to grow clearer. Even the coppery tang of blood in the air seemed to fade.

"Hahaha, exhilarating!"

Childe's wild laughter echoed among the ruins. The azure water-blades in his hands spun deftly, sometimes a keen dagger, sometimes extending into a spear.

He moved like a fish through the antimatter legion's voidrangers. Each slash shrieked through the air; any voidranger touched dissolved into a storm of negative particles.

High-pressure water constantly changed form in his palms—sometimes condensing into a dense rain of water arrows to riddle incoming Reavers, sometimes whirling into vortices to grind nearby Distorters to shreds.

The Master of Many Arms carved seven in, seven out through the antimatter legion with transcendent skill, and couldn't hide the excitement and fighting spirit in his eyes.

Elsewhere, Hoshimi Miyabi stood atop a broken wall, her demon blade glinting with icy light.

Her movements were far simpler than Childe's. When her blade flashed, time itself seemed to halt. Reavers that could rend steel, Distorters, even Borisins that could match Titled Douluo or hundred-thousand-year soul beasts—none could withstand her weightless cut.

Where the blade passed, ripples of frigid energy spread. The antimatter legion's bodies froze, then were severed by keen light and dissipated into negative particles.

Two top-tier Servants rampaged like tigers among sheep, routing the antimatter legion wherever their eyes fell.

Without top-tier opponents to stop them, those endlessly spawning kill-machines were merely time-consuming nuisances.

"Grandfather, what do we do? We can't just keep grinding like this."

Meng Hongchen stood within a makeshift soul tool fortification, brows knit, worry clouding her pretty face.

Her gaze drifted toward the distance again and again, heart tied to Lu Jingming and the others. She knew he was powerful, and had strong Servants at his side, but the chaos was beyond imagination—she couldn't help worrying.

Jing Hongchen's eyes were locked on the palace, a complex light flickering within.

Of course he knew that Kong Deming had gone to the palace to find Xu Tiannan.

What he couldn't fathom was why Xu Tiannan chose to abandon Mingdu—especially when the regent had previously built underground defensive facilities large enough to shelter a million civilians, personally inspecting every detail to ensure that, after the tournament, the Holy Grail War's aftershocks wouldn't reach the populace.

The antimatter legion's strike was sudden, but with the Sun Moon Empire's foundation, as long as Xu Tiannan gave the order—if the mecha corps and the Five Hands of the Nation sallied forth, coordinating with city soul cannons and soul arrays—they could at least hold thirty percent of Mingdu and save many more civilians.

But in reality, the regent chose to sit on his hands, letting the antimatter legion run rampant, abandoning even the pre-built shelters.

What truly chilled Jing Hongchen was that the four beast-king-level soul engineer regiments stationed outside the city—Terrorclaw, Evil Lord, Royal Dragon, Fire Phoenix—remained motionless. Even the strongest Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Regiment turtled inside the palace, making no move.

Kong Deming had once commanded that very regiment. It seemed he'd lost control, and Xu Tiannan had seized it by some unknown means.

The antimatter legion also avoided the palace area, never attacking it. The two sides seemed to share a tacit understanding—even if one had already broken the pact, neither had torn the mask off entirely.

"Wait a bit longer."

Jing Hongchen's voice was low. "You and Xiao organize the civilians. Move everyone into the underground facilities. Quickly!"

He was waiting for a result—Kong Deming and Xu Tiannan's final choice.

If they broke completely, he would have to withdraw the Hongchen clan from Mingdu. If there was room to maneuver… His words cut off as a silver ripple surfaced in the air, spreading like waves across water.

Kong Deming stepped out, with a girl at his side—the Sun Moon Empire's princess, Xu Tianzhen.

With the power of a rank-10 soul tool, the Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier, the Super Douluo had achieved what only Limit Douluo could normally do—spatial transference, playing space itself in his palm.

"Teacher!"

Joy lit Jing Hongchen's face, and the boulder in his heart finally dropped.

Truth be told, he didn't want to tear things with Xu Tiannan at this moment—the upheaval was too sudden, and the Hongchen clan's roots were all in the Sun Moon Empire. A hasty retreat would be ruinous. He needed time.

Kong Deming gently set Xu Tianzhen down. The little princess had none of her usual lively air, head bowed in silence.

Even the innocent could understand harsh reality amid Mingdu's calamity.

"Take Tianzhen and your grandchildren and leave Mingdu."

Kong Deming's voice was hoarse and weary. "When it's all over—if Mingdu still stands—come back."

In the end, he hadn't laid hands on Xu Tiannan. He chose instead to take away the last untainted bloodline of the royal family.

Jing Hongchen's heart clenched—he understood at once.

Between the royal bloodline and millions of civilians, this lifelong guardian of the Sun Moon Empire had chosen the former.

Where you sit decides how you think. From the start, his stance dictated this outcome—even if he was furious at Xu Tiannan's cold-bloodedness, even if he pitied the dead civilians, he had still made the most rational choice.

"Then you, Teacher…"

Jing Hongchen faltered, voice trembling.

Kong Deming's expression turned cold, a flash of grim resolve in his eyes. "For the future of the Sun Moon Empire, these old bones ought to move."

Having chosen to indulge Xu Tiannan, he would see it through—he would help Xu Tiannan clear away all obstacles, keeping the old Douluo Three Kingdoms and Shrek Academy in Mingdu, burying them with the millions.

After this battle, no one on the Douluo Continent would be able to resist the Sun Moon Empire's iron tread.

As for the pact with Haiyuan City—he viewed it as a fallback.

If Xu Tiannan won, the pact would be void. If Xu Tiannan lost, the royal line could persist in Haiyuan City thanks to Zhang Lexuan's status.

Kong Deming never put all his eggs in one basket. Now he could gamble without scruples.

As long as the royal bloodline continued, there was hope.

Kong Deming turned toward the battlefield. Silver radiance rose around him—the Silvermoon Divine Light Barrier gleamed, a miniature silver-moon space faintly visible within.

Jing Hongchen fell silent. Kong Deming couldn't let go of the royal family or the Sun Moon Empire. Even though he had clashed with Xu Tiannan and had once wanted to kill him, his long-held convictions won out.

Jing Hongchen was different.

He was loyal too, but with a sober bottom line—the family's survival always came before the empire.

It wasn't ingratitude—just the truth that without skin, where would hair cling? If the Hongchen clan fell, what would a mighty empire mean to him?

Compared to the now unhinged Xu Tiannan, he preferred Haiyuan City's prospects. On that, he and Kong Deming could never see eye to eye.

"Since Teacher has decided…"

Jing Hongchen drew a deep breath, turning to his grandson and granddaughter. "Meng, Xiao—have your Servants assist your teacher. In the end, this is a war between Servants."

It was the last contribution he could make to the empire. The power of two top-tier Servants could give Kong Deming better odds—a final gesture to honor their teacher-student bond.

At his word, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen looked to their Servants simultaneously, eyes asking.

Masters had no absolute control over Servants. They were equals; respect was required.

Chapter 296: Doomsday Beast

"No objections here."

Childe toyed with the water-blade in his hand. Azure eyes gleamed with excitement, a rakish smile on his lips. "As long as there's a fight, I don't care who I help."

He hadn't come to the Holy Grail War with any complex goal—either grow stronger through battle and win the Grail, or die a glorious death under a mighty foe.

Either outcome would be an exhilarating end. As for right and wrong—never part of his calculus.

He had no stake in this world.

Hoshimi Miyabi, however, knit her brows slightly. She was a martial fanatic, no less hungry for the strong than anyone—but unlike Childe's freewheeling ways, her mother's words always echoed in her ears:

"A true hero draws the blade not to destroy, but to protect."

Looking at the crying civilians in the distance, at those struggling under the antimatter legion's claws, what surged in her heart wasn't fighting spirit, but a heavy weight she couldn't name.

Rather than duel other Servants, what she wanted was to wield her blade to shield the innocent.

"Miss Miyabi, don't force yourself."

Meng Hongchen spoke softly, full of understanding.

After so long together, she knew that beneath Miyabi's cool exterior—and occasional airheadedness—lay a steadfast creed.

"Go do what you want. It's okay."

Meng Hongchen never believed Masters should boss Servants around—especially top-tier ones like Miyabi. Forcing orders against a Servant's heart could backfire.

A Master's restraints weren't as strong as people imagined. Servants like Karna or Siegfried, so agreeable and obedient, were the exceptions.

Miyabi blinked, eyes growing gentler as she looked at Meng Hongchen. She nodded slightly, the demon blade's chill light dimming, then flashed away toward where civilians were gathered.

Where her blade now fell, it wasn't to challenge the strong, but to strike precisely at threats to civilians. Every cut was controlled to perfection—killing the enemy without harming the innocent.

Jing Hongchen watched her go and sighed lightly, without displeasure.

Both he and Kong Deming respected her choice—even if she didn't choose to help them. She was saving Sun Moon civilians—the very people they ought to protect.

And Kong Deming hadn't expected extra help anyway.

…

"Jing Yuan. Hoolay!"

A brilliant meteor tore across Mingdu's night sky and halted midair.

Feixiao was wreathed in raging airstreams, silver-white hair whipped by the gale, her long-hafted battle-axe glinting coldly.

Her gaze locked onto the zone swathed in golden lightning and blood-red flame. The familiar auras let her recognize both figures at once—the Stratagem General Jing Yuan and the Borisins' warhead Hoolay, an ancestral foe of the foxian.

On instinct, Feixiao tightened her grip and dipped to dive.

She saw it clearly: Jing Yuan had the upper hand, but the scarlet flames around Hoolay still churned stubbornly—he hadn't reached the end of the road.

Abundance aberrants had notorious vitality. Though Hoolay wasn't an Abundance Aeon's Emanator, he inherited that tenacity that was so hard to put down for good.

Jing Yuan wasn't Jingliu. He lacked the sword-tech and ice that countered Hoolay. To finish him would take time—this would be a war of attrition. The question was how long Hoolay could hold out.

But the moment her body shifted, high above in extradimensional space, Celenova's fingers stroked a void projection.

The Lord Ravager's gaze was glacial. Clearly, she didn't intend to let Feixiao interfere so easily.

Crack!

The sky over Mingdu shattered like glass, fissures spreading everywhere. A vicious aura poured through the breaks, congealing the very air of the city.

Feixiao froze, snapping her eyes to the sundered vault above.

She felt it—a terrifying power descending, intent on annihilation.

With a dirge from the sky, a claw wreathed in countless wraiths thrust through first—armor blackened like magma, purple-black cracks curling around its talons, swallowing light itself as they passed.

From that hand alone came a pressure that could unnerve a Titled Douluo.

A moment later, a second giant claw—pale bone, frosted with crystalline patterns—reached out. Blue-white energy flowed between its talons, as if freezing time.

The two monstrous claws pulled apart in opposite directions. Space, already fractured, tore like paper.

From the depths of the void, a colossal draconic body, hundreds of meters long, emerged. Its main carapace was dark-gold, each scale glinting with metallic chill. A tail of shadowed calamity stretched behind it, its tip wrapped in dusky violet energy like a shattered star-ring.

Most terrifying was its chest—a dark-red orb floated there, dark-matter currents flowing within, webbed with crack-like energy veins radiating a power that could shake the land.

Roar!

The earth-shaking bellow carried the wails of countless spirits—a proclamation from hell.

The dragon of destruction fully descended from the other space onto Douluo, hanging over Mingdu, its shadow blanketing nearly half a district.

"Doomsday Beast…" Far away, Lu Jingming's mouth twitched at the sight.

Back when the soul beasts of the Jingyang Mountains were wiped out in one sweep, he'd suspected Celenova was secretly forging this—using hundred-thousand-year soul beasts as base material, thrown into the furnace of war, tempered with the resentment of myriad bones and the unquiet wills of the masses—into a machine of war.

That dark-matter engine in its chest was the core, providing endless energy.

This was a pure anti-planet weapon. Even the budget version cobbled together by Celenova with Douluo's materials would still have demigod-level power.

Even in Celenova's hands, such monsters were likely rare—kept in reserve unless absolutely necessary.

The Doomsday Beast's scarlet eyes locked onto Feixiao at once, as if singling out the most troublesome foe.

Its wings spread wide. The dark-matter core flared, rivers of dark matter coursing like veins through its body, its aura surging again.

The sky turned dark red. Space-rifts snapped open under the strain.

The next instant, dense golden beams of destruction lanced out from its body like a torrential downpour—most locking onto Feixiao, with some raining indiscriminately onto Mingdu. Houses winked out on contact; the ground was plowed into bottomless furrows.

"Heh, just what I wanted!" Far from retreating, Feixiao's eyes blazed with battle fervor.

Azure winds raged around her. The phantom of a giant two-winged fox rose behind—her weiling, Flying Aureus.

Gales wrapped the battle-axe, its hum swelling.

Feixiao became a streak of cyan, bursting past the sound barrier, daisy-chaining sonic booms and ring-shaped shockwaves through the air.

She charged headlong into the rain of annihilation beams. Each sweep of her axe gathered wind into massive blades, cleaving the beams apart.

A clash between rule-breaking titans erupted over Mingdu.

Azure gales tangled with dark-gold scales. Destructive rays crashed into rending wind. The ruined city plunged into a deeper catastrophe.

"What the hell is that? A dragon?"

Du Busi's emerald soul power surged. He and several elders of the Body Sect were shielding Weina and the younger disciples, breaking out toward the east gate of Mingdu.

The sudden Doomsday Beast smothered the sky, seizing everyone's attention.

When the golden beams fell like rain, even the Limit Douluo's pupils shrank. He hurriedly unleashed his body martial soul, sheltering Weina and the others behind him.

He could feel it clearly—the destructive energy in those beams could kill an ordinary Titled Douluo on contact. Even as a Limit Douluo, he didn't dare take them head-on.

"Lady Feixiao… she can handle this onslaught with ease?"

He stared at the cyan figure in the sky, thunderstruck.

Feixiao danced among the beams, severing mortal strikes again and again with the winds around her axe. That effortless poise humbled him.

If he were targeted by the Doomsday Beast, even escape might be a luxury.

Clearly, when she fought him earlier, she'd been holding back oceans. Even holding back, he was no match.

"Grandpa, we have to go now."

Weina's voice was calm beyond her years, her spiritual sense already spread wide, taking in the battlefield.

"Mingdu is a dead zone. Staying longer is too dangerous."

She was steady by nature. Even under the antimatter legion's rampage and the Beast's pressure, her eyes stayed clear.

Du Busi drew a deep breath and nodded.

Mingdu was far more dangerous than expected. Even he had felt mortal threats from Servants several times just now. Those summoned beings each had power that could shake a Limit Douluo.

Just as he produced a tunneling soul tool to escape underground with his group, a blinding light erupted from the palace—an enormous mushroom cloud soared skyward. Solar fire lit half the night. A terrifying shockwave swept out, leveling the entire palace district!

"Hm? Someone attacked the palace?" A sharp light flashed in Du Busi's eyes as he locked onto it with his spiritual sense.

He knew the Sun Moon's politics well. The current emperor was bedridden; real power lay with the regent, Xu Tiannan.

That ambitious man was Heavenly Soul Empire's great bane. Du Busi had planned to remove him to buy Heavenly Soul Empire some breathing room.

But Celenova's sudden move upended everything. Even he had to flee, with no time for side schemes.

Now, though, an attack on the palace was heaven-sent—at a time like this, the target had to be Xu Tiannan!

"If I can behead Xu Tiannan…"

His breath quickened. "With Mingdu in ruins and the Sun Moon crippled, Heavenly Soul might counterattack and end this scourge!"

"You take Aotian and Weina and get out—break through, no matter what!"

He decided instantly, turning to the elders. "I'll be right back—time to see if I can take Xu Tiannan's dog head!"

Before the words finished, he'd become a beam of emerald light, cutting through smoke toward the palace.

"Be careful, Grandpa!" Weina didn't stop him. She knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

If Xu Tiannan died, Heavenly Soul's fortunes would reverse. The risk was worth it.

…

Over the palace ruins, He Caitou stood in heavy soul tool armor, eyes burning with revenge.

He looked at the fire-devoured wreckage, a long-suppressed satisfaction on his face—this had once been his home, also the grave of all his kin. Now it was ash.

Beside him, Karna stood quietly, golden armor shining with sacred luster in the flames.

The army-busting Noble Phantasm that destroyed the palace—Brahmastra—had been his work.

Blinded by vengeance, He Caitou hadn't cared about collateral damage. The moment he reached the palace, he ordered Karna to fire.

To him, no one in the royal household was innocent. Everyone in the palace had abetted tyranny. All deserved to die.

"How dare you attack the palace—seeking death!"

A roar came from the ruins. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Regiment surged out from behind the remaining barriers, instantly surrounding He Caitou and Karna.

Regiment Commander Xu Tianyuan's face was so dark it could drip. Near-mad destructive lust burned in his eyes, soul cannons fully deployed around him.

Karna frowned slightly, a strange look in his eyes.

With "Discernment of the Poor," he could see the essence of a person. In Xu Tianyuan, he saw a twisted blur—humanity corroded by some eerie force, his essence being rewritten.

"This corruption…"

Karna's heart tightened. His gaze swept the regiment—most bore the same signs.

If their essence had been altered, were they still themselves? Before he could ponder further, the ground shuddered violently and cracks spidered out.

Hidden underground, soul cannon platforms and devices rose and unfolded at once. A forest of black muzzles swung toward the center, cold murder pooling in their depths.