In Kunsas's disbelieving gaze, Bai Qi moved.
Gently nudging aside the axe embedded in his body with his hand, observant individuals would have noticed that the axe blade was now covered in fine, web-like cracks.
Bai Qi walked slowly towards Kunsas.
Bai Qi was now of normal human stature, and before Kunsas, the very sky seemed to darken.
In the past, Kunsas would have paid no mind to such an ordinary-looking human; he could have easily swatted him away with a single palm. But now, he dared not harbor the slightest hint of underestimation.
Bai Qi, having approached Kunsas and come to a halt, lifted his feet off the ground, floating to hover at Kunsas's eye level. He casually extended a hand, thumb and middle finger forming a simple flick, a most ordinary finger flick.
*Bang!*
Yet, this utterly commonplace finger flick, the instant his middle finger touched Kunsas's forehead, sent the surrounding air rippling away. Kunsas's head snapped back, and his entire body was propelled backward at extreme speed.
Just as he was about to collide with the stone wall behind him, Bai Qi suddenly appeared behind Kunsas, intercepted him, and casually tossed him out of the castle.
*Bang!*
This seemingly innocuous toss exerted a force on Kunsas that sent him hurtling outwards again at incredible speed. He crashed heavily onto the street outside the castle, his face carving a trench over a dozen meters long in the ground before he finally came to a halt.
Looking at Kunsas now, any trace of his initial composure was gone. An unknown number of his bones were broken, and his chest and abdomen were a bloody mess from the violent friction against the ground. Drops of pale golden blood trickled from Kunsas's lips.
Kunsas did possess the bloodline of the Golden King. Though it had been greatly diluted by his generation, it still conferred a certain resilience. This faint golden bloodline made Kunsas's physical strength far superior to that of ordinary individuals, allowing him to graft numerous limbs from others onto his own body.
His potent regenerative abilities allowed the injuries on Kunsas's body to heal at a visible rate. In mere seconds, Kunsas's wounds were about seventy to eighty percent recovered. Despite this, after witnessing Bai Qi's strength, Kunsas's composure shattered. He held not a shred of courage to resist.
The damage inflicted by Bai Qi's few simple moves surpassed what his own father had ever inflicted upon him.
Now, Kunsas's mind was consumed by a single thought: to escape, to flee as far as possible. As long as he lived, there would be opportunities to rise again. The dignity of a strong individual, pride, these were all useless vanities.
Kunsas's survival among his siblings was due to his clear-sightedness in these matters. He was willing to abandon dignity for survival, and resort to any means for power.
This time, Kunsas chose to flee.
But in the next moment, Bai Qi reappeared before him, ruthlessly cutting off Kunsas's retreat.
Kunsas, having lost his initial arrogance, began to plead.
"I can give you this Golden City, and my two daughters. Take whichever you fancy, and I beg you to spare my life."
Bai Qi remained unmoved, calmly stating, "Once I defeat you, all that you have will be mine."
"Are you truly going to drag us both down?"
While Kunsas could be cowardly, even a clay Buddha had its temper. How much more so the dignified Golden King?
"You overestimate yourself. The fish will die, but the net will not break."
With that, he walked towards Kunsas.
With each step Bai Qi took, Kunsas retreated, until he had nowhere left to go. Kunsas finally erupted; he punched his own chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes turning crimson, his body panting heavily, as if entering some altered state.
"Invader, you will pay for your arrogance."
With that, a golden magic circle appeared behind Kunsas. As incantations were recited, the ancient dragon corpse that Kunsas had once prostrated himself before slowly rose from within the circle.
Just as Bai Qi was wondering what Kunsas intended to do with a rotting corpse, Kunsas suddenly turned, and his severed right arm plunged into the neck beneath the dragon's head.
Perhaps due to severe decay, Kunsas's arm penetrated it with ease. With a fierce tug, the dragon's head fused with Kunsas's broken limb.
"Ancestors! Bear witness!"
The dragon's head roared, unleashing a torrent of scorching flames that swept overhead.
Judging by its stance, it was preparing to engage Bai Qi in a fierce battle. However, just as it struck a pose and was about to act, it looked down to see Bai Qi, who had inexplicably appeared before it.
Bai Qi slowly raised his right hand and slowly brought it down.
Initially, Kunsas didn't understand what Bai Qi was doing. The next moment, he realized his left arm was gone. Turning his head, Kunsas was utterly aghast.
Kunsas knew Bai Qi was powerful, but he never imagined he would be this strong. With mere gestures, he had shattered half of his body. The terror was immense.
Knowing resistance was futile, Kunsas completely caved. He knelt and again pleaded with Bai Qi to spare him. But before he could utter the words, a blue beam of light struck Kunsas directly in the chest, and a layer of visibly solid ice encased him.
Bai Qi looked at the frozen Kunsas with satisfaction, casually placing the freezing gun into his storage space.
As for the surrounding knights and other guards, upon witnessing this, they knew they would die but still charged towards Bai Qi, demonstrating the ultimate loyalty.
"Stop!"
At that moment, Kunna'er appeared in time, blocking the space between Bai Qi and the charging guards.
Seeing their former princess, the guards immediately halted their advance.
Though Kunna'er had long since left the Golden City, as the successor to Golden King Kunsas's throne, she still held the right of inheritance through bloodline.
Therefore, Kunna'er's words now carried significant weight.
Kunna'er's appearance there was simple: to prevent an all-out war. Bai Qi was beyond compare; the Golden King was like a chick to him, easily handled. What more these insignificant guards.
If the two sides were to clash, the guards would suffer heavy casualties. Kunna'er, who was about to inherit her father's throne and become the next Golden King, did not wish to be a commander of an empty army.
Bai Qi glanced at Kunna'er.
"I leave this to you. Do not forget our contract."
With that, Bai Qi departed the Golden City, taking the ice-bound Kunsas with him.
Though Kunsas's strength was somewhat lacking, this was only in comparison to Bai Qi. In this world, he could still be considered a powerful figure.
Now that Kunsas had been defeated, forcing his genuine submission was impossible. Since that was the case, he would extract what he could from the defeated foe, study him thoroughly, drain his blood, and squeeze out all his accumulated knowledge, contributing his minuscule power to Bai Qi's grand enterprise.