Chapter 640 - 54: Whether It’s Futile Isn’t Your Call

Violet City would be reduced to ashes in the next second.

Its people, its life, the place where his daughter still slept—

—would be utterly annihilated.

Murphy did not hesitate.

He did not even think.

The four Longswords merged into one, transforming into a streak of Crimson light that shot toward the descending powers at a speed beyond all limits!

The streak of light slashed across the sky, meeting the descending powers head-on.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!

Terrifying explosions erupted against the streak of light!

But the descending powers were simply too immense, too concentrated.

How could Murphy's hasty counterattack possibly compare to the power of the Sword Array he had spent so long charging?

The very sword light he had poured his all into—a power great enough to challenge the Ironspine Duke's formless defenses—now slammed into his own body!

The Crimson Longsword vibrated violently in the air!

On the sword's blade, the Dao Patterns that had once flowed with a gentle luster began to show faint cracks under the repeated, terrifying impacts.

One.

Two.

Three.

Countless.

The cracks spread across the blade like a spiderweb, threatening to tear the Longsword—Murphy's very form—completely apart!

But he did not retreat.

He held his ground, using his own body to block the falling power of destruction, bit by bit.

With every tremor of the blade, new cracks appeared.

With every impact he withstood, more Dao Patterns dimmed.

But still, he did not retreat.

Behind him, the lights of Taymer Palace remained serene.

The people of Violet City were still lost in their dreams.

They did not know that high above their heads, someone was using his own flesh and blood to shield them from utter annihilation.

"Ha... haha..."

The Ironspine Duke's laughter came from behind.

He didn't pursue or take the opportunity to strike. He simply stood with his hands behind his back, watching Murphy's battered form with eyes full of derision.

"Do you see, Murphy?"

His voice was soft, yet it carried clearly to Murphy's ears.

"This is your so-called protection."

"You're willing to block this with your own life for the sake of ants whose names you don't even know."

"But how long can you last?"

Murphy did not answer.

He just continued to use his body to block the forces that were still falling.

On the Longsword, many new cracks had appeared alongside the ones that had just begun to heal.

The old cracks had not yet fully mended before new damage was inflicted.

The entire blade was now covered in a dense web of fissures, like a piece of porcelain on the verge of shattering.

"Do you know what's most laughable?"

The Ironspine Duke's voice continued, laced with a condescending pity.

"Not your ridiculous mercy."

"But the fact that your mercy is utterly useless."

"Even if you save all of this now, so what?"

"I will eventually set everything back on its proper course."

"The academies you built will vanish. The people you saved will die. The world you changed will return to the way it was always meant to be."

"Everything you have done is in vain."

Murphy's body faltered for a moment.

The descending power of destruction was finally, completely blocked.

In the night sky, the last gleam of sword light slowly dissipated.

The Crimson Longsword hovered there, its back to the Ironspine Duke, facing the peaceful land below.

Its blade was covered in fine cracks.

The cracks were slowly mending, but the healing was far slower than the rate at which new damage had appeared.

He did not turn back.

He simply looked down at the lights below, at the palace where his daughter slept, at the city where he had left countless memories.

His voice was quiet, as soft as the wind, yet it drifted clearly to the Ironspine Duke's ears:

"Whether it's in vain..."

"...is not for you to decide."

The instant the words left his lips—

A brilliant golden light erupted from the cracked, Crimson Longsword!