Volume 1, Chapter 158: Wang Xiao – Fallen

At the exact same moment, aboard the Magma flagship, a transparent bead shattered into pieces with a sharp crack.

Seeing this, the adjutant standing nearby was completely dumbfounded.

His mouth fell open, his lips twitching dozens of times before he let out a heart-rending scream: "Quick... quick retreat! General Zagi is dead!"

His voice was transmitted via microphone to every warship in the Magma armada.

"What? The General is dead?!"
"No way!"
"What's going on?"
"..."

For a moment, all the Magma aliens were utterly bewildered.

They simply could not believe that their tall and mighty general had suddenly died just like that.

Could it be that the strength of the Phantom Beast Fighter was even greater than the General's?

At this thought, all the Magma aliens involuntarily swallowed hard, panic gripping their hearts.

After all, the General was the strongest among them. Since even he was dead, wouldn't continuing the attack be like moths flying into a flame, courting their own destruction?

Coupled with the adjutant's order to retreat, the panic-stricken Magma aliens hurriedly turned their ships around and fled in disarray.

While it was easy for the smaller spacecraft to turn around, turning the massive flagship was extremely difficult.

Moreover, the stellar weapon was still in an activated state and completely immobile.

In his desperation, the adjutant could only shout: "Shut down the weapon system! Retreat, I said retreat!"

The laser beam of the stellar weapon stood straight into the clouds like an inverted pillar supporting the heavens.

At its very end, however, it was being held back by a rapidly fading fist imprint.

Logically speaking, with the wielder of the power dead, the source of that power was gone, and it should have vanished instantly.

Yet, that fierce Rigorous Bull Fist did not disappear with Master Orestes's passing; instead, it was still stubbornly holding back the energy beam of the stellar weapon.

Even so, it was at the end of its tether and would soon dissipate.

Having dealt with Zagi, Diavolo transformed back into the appearance of Dias, a crooked smile curling the corners of his mouth as he flew in the direction where Wang Xiao and the others had departed.

At this time, Wang Xiao and the others had already arrived at the boarding area for the escape spacecraft.

However, as they boarded, they realized that someone seemed to be missing.

"Where is Dias?" Wang Xiao asked in a deep voice.

Regulos and the others exchanged glances, looking bewildered.

"Could he still be back there somewhere?" Ling Lan guessed.

However, no sooner had her voice fallen than a familiar voice rang out from behind them.

"This is bad!"

Dias came running over, panting heavily. Before Wang Xiao could even ask, he dropped a bombshell: "Master Orestes... Master Orestes is dead!"

What?!

Master Orestes is dead!

The moment they heard these words, everyone's bodies trembled violently, a wave of profound sorrow washing over them.

Ling Lan, in particular, instantly lost all color in her face, her delicate body swaying backward.

Regulos hurriedly reached out his arm, preventing her from falling to the ground.

Yet the grief in his heart was no less than Ling Lan's; what burned even hotter, however, was a rage he could no longer contain.

"Magma aliens, I'll fight you to the death!"

The moment he caught Ling Lan and laid her gently on the ground, Regulos let out a furious roar and rose to his feet, intent on avenging Master Orestes.

But Wang Xiao stopped him, shouting with equal intensity: "Have you forgotten the Master's teachings? Do not let anger cloud your judgment. Calm down!"

"Master..." Regulos froze, flashes of Master Orestes teaching him playing through his mind, while two trails of tears streamed down his face.

Ling Lan was also sobbing uncontrollably, burying her face in her hands as she knelt on the ground, looking so fragile it broke the heart.

The others lowered their heads in desolate silence, their hearts aching with relentless throbs.

Master Orestes was the master of them all, and the very first guide who had taught them the Cosmos Phantom Beast Fist.

His death was undoubtedly more agonizing to them than a thousand cuts.

The only one whose face bore no sorrow was perhaps Dias. He smiled coldly, feigning comfort as he said, "Master Orestes died at the hands of the Magma aliens, but since they have already retreated, we must gather our strength and avenge the Master!"

"Avenge him!"

These words seemed to ignite Regulos. He snapped his head up, his eyes burning red, wishing he could tear those Magma aliens apart with his bare hands right this second.

"They retreated?" Wang Xiao turned around, looking somewhat puzzled. "After defeating Master Orestes, they should have proceeded to further devastate D60. Why would they suddenly retreat?"

"I don't know either," Dias shook his head, feigning confusion as well. "Torethea must have returned and scared them off, I suppose."

"Junior Brother is back?!" Ling Lan finally raised her head, her face stained with tears, though a glimmer of hope flickered in her eyes.

Hearing the name "Torethea," Wang Xiao also visibly relaxed, murmuring to himself, "If it's him, then that's truly wonderful."

He didn't complain that Torethea had returned too late—if he had been earlier, perhaps Master Orestes wouldn't have died.

But the dead could not be brought back to life, and Torethea's return at this moment had already saved them and the suffering inhabitants of D60.

He believed that if the Master were still alive, he would surely be comforted by this.

"Let's go, let's go outside and take a look," Wang Xiao suppressed the emotions in his heart and stepped forward.

Yet, as he brushed past Dias, Dias suddenly whirled around and, with the speed of a thunderbolt, drove a fist straight into Wang Xiao's back.

Perhaps sensing something, Wang Xiao instinctively tried to turn his head.

But it was already far too late.

Rip—

Dias's fist punched straight through Wang Xiao's body, bursting out from his chest, his blood-stained palm clutching a still-beating, crimson heart.

This happened so suddenly that Regulos and the others had no time to react at all.

After lingering in a daze for several seconds, Ling Lan cried out with a trembling voice, "Mentor Wang Xiao... Dias... You..."

"Heh heh heh, didn't expect that, did you?" A sinister smile appeared on Dias's face. He pulled his arm out of Wang Xiao's body and, right before everyone's eyes, crushed the heart to pieces.

Bang—

Instantly, blood splattered everywhere, and Wang Xiao's body fell straight down, devoid of any remaining life.

"Mentor Wang Xiao!" Regulos roared. The anger he had just suppressed surged back up with a vengeance, and he lunged recklessly toward Diavolo, who had now reverted to his true appearance.

"Heh," Diavolo chuckled disdainfully. With a casual lift of his hand, he seized Regulos by the throat and hoisted him into the air. "My, my, didn't they always teach you not to be consumed by your emotions? How did you end up getting so furious?"

"Who the hell are you?!" Regulos struggled violently, his eyes shifting from crimson to blood-red.

Yet the arm gripping his neck was like an indestructible pair of iron pliers; no matter how much strength he exerted, he could not break free even a fraction of an inch.

"Who am I? Heh heh heh..." Diavolo laughed sinisterly, flung Regulos aside, and then said with arrogant bravado, "Since you're all going to die anyway, I might as well let you die knowing the truth."