As the divine shield was broken, Sea God Xiao Wu, with her long blue hair, was bathed in blood, her body blasted away at third cosmic speed, crashing toward the core of the pseudo black hole's explosion—into the raging spatial turbulence.
Only Xiao Wu, who had been watching Tang San without looking away, could react in time to Ma Hongjun's sudden ambush, rushing forward without hesitation to block the deadly blow for Tang San.
"No—Xiao Wu!"
Even Tang San, usually calm and dignified even in the face of death, could no longer keep his composure. He rushed madly toward the twisted spatial turbulence.
The clash of the Sword of Three Realms' Judgment and the pseudo black hole had caused unprecedented chaos.
Divine power, gravity, attraction, spatial force—all tangled and compounded, creating a chaotic core where not even a God King dared approach.
The Golden Dragon King, bloodied and with shattered scales, escaped only with great effort.
But Sea God Xiao Wu, already grievously wounded, was now on the brink of death.
In an instant, her divine armor was torn to shreds by the raging chaos, her figure swept away by the spatial turbulence, finally vanishing from the God Realm.
Sensing Xiao Wu's aura vanish completely, Tang San lost his mind.
His eyes turned blood-red as he frantically slashed at the chaotic region with the Asura Blood Sword, desperate to find any trace of Xiao Wu.
Everyone fell silent at this sight.
Tang San's devotion to Xiao Wu was well known among the gods. Such depth of feeling was rare in the God Realm.
Because of this, many goddesses admired him, and envied Xiao Wu even more.
Even the God of Destruction, who often clashed with Tang San, had to admit that Tang San's love for Xiao Wu was no less than his own for the Goddess of Life.
Though he had many grievances against Tang San, he respected him for this devotion.
But after taking Ma Hongjun's full-strength blow and falling into the spatial chaos, Xiao Wu's chances of survival were less than one in ten thousand.
Even a God King would likely perish in that terrifying environment, let alone Xiao Wu, who was only a first-level god.
"Phoenix God, why did you do this?"
The God of Destruction, God of Evil, God of Kindness, and Goddess of Life surrounded Ma Hongjun. The Goddess of Life questioned him, full of confusion.
She knew Ma Hongjun as someone who had ascended to godhood alongside Tang San.
Though he had lived quietly in his own domain and was not well known, the Goddess of Life, who was close to Tang San's family, had met him before.
That's why she was so puzzled. Ma Hongjun had always been a staunch supporter of Tang San, a brother—why would he betray him with such a ruthless ambush? And how had he become so strong?
That strike had God King-level power, as strong as the Gods of Evil and Kindness, even if not up to the God of Destruction's or the Golden Dragon King's level.
Yet Ma Hongjun was only a second-level god! As one of the three great law enforcement gods of the realm, the Goddess of Life could clearly sense that his status remained unchanged.
For a second-level god to unleash God King-level attacks was beyond comprehension.
"Fatty, have you lost your mind? What are you doing?"
Dai Mubai and the others rushed over, heartbroken and completely unable to understand why Ma Hongjun had gone mad.
"Ma Hongjun!" Tang San, unable to cut through the spatial chaos to find Xiao Wu, glared at Ma Hongjun, eyes deadly.
With a furious roar, he swung the Asura Blood Sword, sending a killing sword light flashing toward Ma Hongjun.
This attack was filled with Tang San's rage—a true God King full-force strike, showing his fury.
He no longer cared about Ma Hongjun's reasons for betrayal; he only wanted revenge for Xiao Wu.
"Third Brother, no!"
Ning Rongrong and the others turned ashen. The sight of brothers fighting broke their hearts.
But just as the bloody sword light was about to strike Ma Hongjun, a golden-armored hand reached out and easily crushed it.
A handsome youth, clad in golden armor, short golden hair bristling, with blood-colored vertical pupils, appeared at Ma Hongjun's side—the human form of the Golden Dragon King.
"You finally act, King of Plagues. Let's destroy the God Realm together!"
The Golden Dragon King looked pale, clearly injured by the earlier explosion of the pseudo black hole and Sword of Three Realms' Judgment, and had taken human form to minimize his vulnerabilities.
Seeing them together, the God of Destruction's expression grew grave. "Phoenix God, when did you collude with the Golden Dragon King?"
It was obvious now that Ma Hongjun stood with the Golden Dragon King, but nobody knew when their alliance began. Was Ma Hongjun behind the last seal-breaking incident?
Unaware of this baseless suspicion, Ma Hongjun scanned the gods calmly.
Seeing the disbelief in Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, and the others' eyes, and the killing intent in Tang San's, he slowly spoke: "I am not the Phoenix God. The gods granted me a sword, immortal flames wrap me, starlight engulfs the world—I am the King of Plagues."
As he spoke, flames rose, compressed, and Ma Hongjun's form transformed dramatically.
His torso was covered in dark red crystalline scales, with molten gold bones exposed at the joints, and searing energy flowing through the cracks.
A miniature star, wrapped in a chain-like seal, was embedded in his chest.
His fiery hair turned into flowing plasma, spiral dark red horns grew from his forehead, and his eyes became hollow, with platinum flames flickering within.
Four twisted flame wings spread from his back, each beat warping the space around him.
This was Ma Hongjun's Herrscher of Flamescions form.
"Hahaha, yes, that's it! King of Plagues, show your power! Let these gods see the might of Herrschers—we are the true gods!" the Golden Dragon King laughed, activating his Herrscher of Rimestar core.
Dark gold light spread, black gravitational waves wrapping his body.
Now standing 2.5 meters tall, the Golden Dragon King was encased in dark gold armor, with gravity well devices on his limbs, golden hair flashing like diamonds, spiral tungsten-steel dragon horns on his forehead, a semi-transparent crystal mask on his face, and stardust leaking from its cracks.
Seven miniature neutron stars formed a gravitational crown floating behind him, connected by asteroid chains.
The two Herrschers, facing the gods, unleashed a terrifying might.
"As expected, someone is manipulating our God Realm from the shadows, using both the Golden Dragon King and Phoenix God. They are themselves, yet no longer themselves," the Goddess of Life sighed.
She had long sensed something was wrong: the Golden Dragon King's new gravity powers, his escape, and now Ma Hongjun's sudden betrayal and God King-level power.
Clearly, some invisible hand was behind all this, with terrifying strength.
But why, she wondered, would they use these two to wreak havoc on the God Realm?
"Fatty, what's going on? Are you still the Ma Hongjun we know? Our brother?" Dai Mubai asked painfully.
Ma Hongjun's betrayal and Xiao Wu's death were almost unforgivable, but Dai Mubai desperately wanted the truth.
"My pain, my long-standing resentment and unwillingness, like a spark, ignited a raging fire of destruction and gave me a new life. Never have I been so clear-headed. I am the calamity of civilization and will bring destruction to you all, equally."
At this moment, Ma Hongjun—or rather, the King of Plagues—was wholly replaced by the Herrscher's persona, set on a path of destruction.
His longing for Bai Chenxiang, after countless years, had twisted into rage.
He hated the God Realm's cruel rules, blamed Tang San for not helping in his time of need, and despised his own weakness.
All this combined, making him the Herrscher of Flamescions, vowing to burn everything to nothing.