Yet—
The three before him were all beings at the level of Great Demon Kings.
They would not be so easily intimidated.
Gallows opened his foul-smelling mouth filled with rotting black teeth, laughing uproariously!
"Hahaha! Ahahahaha! This is hilarious—absolutely hilarious!"
"Did you all hear that?
A man who's lost everything dares to speak such words!"
"Your right-hand ally, Alice, and the One-Eyed Owl have already abandoned you!"
"Even the Ancient Dragon Clan, your main pillar of support, has flown far away!"
"The queen of the Dwarven Kingdom has fallen ill!"
"And your loyal Goblin Kings?
They're busy recovering from their own grievous wounds!"
"So—what makes you think you have the right to act so arrogant before us?
Hahaha!"
Hunched over, Gallows sneered, his mocking laughter dripping with sarcasm.
The thing he enjoyed most was watching another person's brilliance be ground into nothingness by his own hands.
Gallows continued, "Sure, you got lucky, managed to handle the rebel forces for now.
But trust me—you're going to lose control of this empire soon enough, hehehe…"
Seeing the madness in Gallows's expression, Hir couldn't help but show a look of disdain, yet he still spoke up, "Lowly goblin scum, I originally had no ill will toward you, but your arrogance and bravado truly deserve a punishment."
Hearing this, Scarlett burst into gleeful laughter, "Hehehe, you're done for, Lin Tian.
You've angered Lord Hir—there's no way you'll see the sunrise tomorrow!"
"Indeed, with Lord Hir here, he won't even make it to tomorrow," Gallows added darkly.
As the three of them continued to revel in their own taunts, Lin Tian's expression grew darker by the second.
Slowly, he rose to his feet.
"It seems none of you have realized the gravity of the situation yet.
Gallows, do you feel death closing in around you?"
"Enough!
Lord Gallows, I can't stand his bluffing any longer—speed this up and let's give him an even worse death!"
Scarlett spat, full of contempt.
Gallows chuckled sinisterly.
"Be patient, goblin.
Oh, I feel it all right—a sense that you're about to lose something even more precious!
Hahaha… What could it be?
Let's find out together."
They had come here with the sole purpose of watching Lin Tian die in agony.
With Hir here, they weren't the least bit worried about Lin Tian's last-ditch struggles.
Such resistance would only hasten his demise.
"Ding!
Detected hostile actions against the System by entities in this world.
Initiating Administrator Mode.
Target: Envy Demon King, Gallows.
Identified attack method: Curse of Envy.
Detection complete!
Prepare for eradication!"
Suddenly—
A cold, decisive voice from the System echoed in Lin Tian's mind, chilling him to the bone.
Just then, Gallows's twisted smile froze, terror filling his face as his eyes began to tremble.
He sensed that something precious within Lin Tian was indeed under assault, corrupted by the Curse of Envy.
But then—
Gallows's grin vanished, replaced by sheer horror.
Looking around frantically, he muttered, "What… what is happening?!
It's like someone's ripping my heart to shreds—I feel so uneasy, so afraid!"
He started to turn in circles, looking in all directions, trembling uncontrollably.
"What's wrong with you?"
Hir asked, watching him.
Gallows, thoroughly panic-stricken, darted his gaze around and stammered, "I feel like I'm going to die!
What is happening?
Can anyone help me?
My heart's racing—it feels like it's going to explode!
Someone, save me!!"
"Have you gone completely mad?
No one here can harm you—Lord Hir is standing right here!"
Scarlett exclaimed, utterly bewildered.
But Gallows's expressions and reflexes were disturbingly genuine.
A growing, unsettling fear spread among them.
Suddenly—
Gallows felt a stabbing pain in his chest.
"My body is… it's being devoured!"
The System's eradication had begun!
From the center of his torso, a swirling vortex appeared, twisting and tearing, devouring his very being.
"Crack… crack…"
The sound of bones shattering and organs rupturing filled the air!
Gallows spat a mouthful of thick, black blood.
"You!
What did you do?!
What is this?!
Save me, Hir!
Help me!"
"Swish!"
A massive, blood-red battleaxe, three or four meters long, swung fiercely toward the vortex pulling at Gallows's body.
"Crack!"
The sound of the axe splintering echoed!
The weapon, a Full Moon-class enchanted artifact, shattered into fragments!
Hir's hand bled from the recoil, but the pain was negligible in comparison.
Instead, a profound warning throbbed deep within her soul.
Terror-stricken, Hir began to shiver uncontrollably, overwhelmed by a dread so fierce she could no longer summon even a spark of anger.
Only endless, consuming fear.
"What… what is that?!"
Hir stumbled back a few steps in terror, almost losing her balance.
Scarlett, utterly bewildered, stared at them.
"What are you doing?
How did things turn out like this?!"
Dread.
A dread like nothing they had ever known.
It felt as though an incomprehensible, untouchable force lingered around them—a force capable of killing anyone it desired.
"Shut up!
Help me!
Ahh, it feels like my body's being thrown into a meat grinder!
It hurts so much!"
Gallows struggled to shout, his words broken by the agony twisting his midsection into a grotesque vortex.
At that moment, he noticed Lin Tian staring at him, a triumphant glint in his eye.
Unease and despair flooded through Gallows.
"What… what did you do?
No, this power… it isn't yours!
It feels more like divine punishment!
Lord Demon God, save me!"
"Stop whining.
If your Demon God tried to save you, he'd end up just as thoroughly obliterated."
Lin Tian strode toward him, standing directly in front of Gallows.
"Pah!"
Lin Tian spat an ancient, thick wad of phlegm onto Gallows's face, then continued, "It's almost a shame to let you die like this.
Tell me, Gallows, any family?
Parents or children?"
"I… I—!"
Gallows tried to speak, but blood flooded his throat, choking off his words as he coughed out more and more blood.
"Never mind.
When the time comes, I'll make sure to vent my rage on the rest of you cursed Demon Kings.
Not a single one of you will meet a painless end…"
Lin Tian's voice rang with authority and strength, a confidence that deepened Hir's fear.
She had already been shaken by the system's warning, but now, terror overwhelmed her completely.
"Pop!"
The twisting force intensified, and Gallows's eyes were forcibly squeezed from their sockets.
They didn't even hit the ground before being swallowed into the void, vanishing without a trace.
Finally, he was utterly erased, not a drop of blood left behind.
Hir and Scarlett stared, paralyzed and trembling, utterly horrified by what they'd just witnessed.
"Run, run!!"
Scarlett shrieked, spreading her wings to escape.
Hir followed close behind.
"How… how could this happen?
How did Gallows die so suddenly?
And what was that warning, as if from some god?"
"Forget it!
If even the Curse of Envy couldn't kill him, we're better off fleeing while we can!"
Scarlett's voice quaked with fear as she sped up, desperate to escape before Lin Tian caught up.
Watching the two flee, Lin Tian didn't pursue immediately.
Instead, he muttered darkly, "Once I've settled all this… you'll suffer deaths worse than you can imagine…"
But for now, he needed to reverse the damage caused by the Curse of Envy.
Alice, the One-Eyed Owl—none of them had returned yet.