When Eddie arrived at the ant hole, he found hundreds of mercenaries surrounding a rock formation.
The ground was a bloodbath, with bodies everywhere. At least a thousand corpses littered the area, and countless more of the summoned beasts.
Pools and streams of dark red blood formed amidst the carnage, a scene reminiscent of a war rather than a skirmish over a few Golden Ant eggs.
Eddie couldn't understand how things had escalated to such an extreme.
Did the ants' eggs really warrant such slaughter?
He thought he understood mercenaries well enough.
The seasoned ones, aside from the greenhorns, were usually cunning and prioritized their lives above all else.
Death was their greatest fear, while indulging in the pleasures of life was their passion.
How could over a thousand mercenaries, seasoned or not, throw themselves into a fight with the ferocity of trained soldiers, just for three Golden Ant eggs?
Were their lives not more valuable than the eggs? Had they collectively lost their minds?
As Eddie pondered these questions, he saw Grey Wolf, grievously wounded, howling mournfully while carrying the unconscious Sophia.
Eddie's rage exploded like a lit powder keg. He felt a surge of energy from his feet to his head, and something inside him burst, unleashing an uncontrollable, bloodthirsty fury.
His strength increased exponentially, and his muscles and skin became 'excited' under this berserk power.
He could feel his blood coursing through his veins, and his heartbeat thundered in his ears. In his mind, there was nothing but destruction.
Surprisingly, Eddie remained fully conscious despite his uncontrollable rage, a contradiction like flames burning on ice.
He knew his actions could lead to countless deaths, yet an overwhelming urge compelled him to slaughter everything in sight.
To Eddie, the mercenaries before him were no longer human. In his frenzied state, they seemed as insignificant and contemptible as ants.
Their offense against his family was unforgivable, and his subconscious dictated that they deserved no mercy.
If ants bite, they must be crushed underfoot.
This was Eddie's mindset in his frenzied state.
"You all, die!" Eddie roared furiously, wielding the Ashen Blade in one hand and the Moon Blade in the other.
His aura erupted in a burst of purple flames, and a shockwave spread rapidly.
In his berserk state, Eddie was unrecognizable from his usual self.
His eyes flashed with golden sparks, and his clothes and hair moved as if blown by an invisible wind.
A golden glow surrounded his body, and a strange halo formed under his feet.
Eddie had no time to notice these changes, as his only desire was for blood and slaughter, the only relief for his burning hatred.
The mercenaries had no time to react.
Even the hidden powerhouses among them could only see a golden figure, like a demon, plunging into their ranks with more ferocity than a tiger among sheep.
The carnage began before they even heard Eddie's delayed roar.
Eddie moved faster than the sound of his roar. By the time his thunderous bellow shook the mountains, he had already slain a hundred men.
All mercenaries surrounding the rock, regardless of their rank or the size of their beasts, became targets of Eddie's wrath.
They fell like wheat under a scythe, their bodies torn apart by Eddie's whirlwind charge.
The mercenaries had no time to react, flee, or even scream before they were slain by the demonic, frenzied Eddie.
"Clang!"
As Eddie rampaged through the mercenaries, he was surprised to find that an ordinary-looking mercenary could parry his thunderous strike.
This person exuded a strange aura that caught Eddie's attention.
If Eddie had completely lost his mind, he might have charged forward without a second thought.
But this person immediately vanished into the crowd, seemingly reluctant to reveal his true strength, only forced to act in defense against Eddie's deadly strike.
Eddie shouted, his aura blasting the surrounding mercenaries away like a hurricane. He then used his third-level insight to observe this odd man.
Upon closer inspection, Eddie realized something was amiss.
Among the ordinary mercenaries, two were Level Six Sovereigns, and eight were Level Five Masters.
On the Continent, mercenaries were not without strong individuals, but none were at the level of a Level Six Sovereign.
Such individuals were typically appointed as city lords by nations.
Even if they disliked being city lords, they would likely become generals of a nation.
Strong individuals who reached Level Six Sovereign status would normally venture to the Heaven-Reaching Tower for team-based trials, not remain on Dragon Teng Continent as mere mercenaries.
Any such cases would undoubtedly be suspicious and likely part of a hidden agenda, as was evident now.
"Kill!"
Eddie didn't care who these two Sovereigns were or what their schemes entailed.
Anyone who dared harm his sister, even if they were princes, would not escape his wrath.
The moment he recognized their strength, Eddie attacked, leaping above one of them and unleashing a rain of slashes from his Ashen Blade.
The target, incredibly agile, slithered through the mercenaries like an eel, constantly changing positions and even attempting to disguise himself as another mercenary to confuse the berserk Eddie.
Had Eddie lost his rationality, such a disguise might have succeeded.
However, it now seemed laughable. Eddie swung his Moon Blade, drawing a perfect circle in a slow motion.
The disguised mercenary turned in shock, screaming, "No, this kid still has his wits about him and is incredibly strong. He knows devastating combat techniques..."
Thinking Eddie would strike at him, the man tried to slink away through the crowd like a cunning fox. But Eddie didn't pursue him.
Suddenly, Eddie vanished before everyone's eyes, reappearing behind an ordinary mercenary who had stealthily climbed the rock.
Eddie's Moon Blade, filled with murderous intent, was pressed against the man's neck as he thundered.
"Disgusting fool, turn around and let me show you the fate of those who dare to threaten my family!"
The mercenary trembled, unable to believe that Eddie could cover nearly a hundred meters instantly.
As the man reflexively turned, Eddie dropped his blades and grasped his neck, slowly, excruciatingly twisting it.
The mercenary's dying screams echoed through the valley, sending shivers down the spines of the other mercenaries.
Eddie twisted the man's head off his neck, lifting it high before smashing it against the rock, turning it into a pulpy mess.
With a kick, he sent the remains splattering against a nearby cliffside, leaving an unrecognizable mass of blood and flesh.
"Grey Wolf, you stupid dog, you're utterly useless, failing to protect a single person!" Eddie first picked up Sophia, then furiously kicked Grey Wolf.
Despite the beating, Eddie infused a large amount of innate energy into the wolf, rapidly healing its wounds.
Grey Wolf howled to the sky, reigniting its black flames, leaping up to roar defiantly at the beasts below the rock, proclaiming its revival. With its master present, it was an invincible Grey Wolf!
Eddie quickly attended to his sister, placing her on a clean stone surface and crushing a healing stone to let its white light heal her.
However, seeing Sophia's pale face and multiple bleeding wounds, Eddie's rage erupted once again.
"You worthless ants, all of you will die, all of you will be destroyed!" In his second outburst, Eddie's strength and aura increased manifold.
This time, he didn't pick up his Moon Blade or Ashen Blade but wielded the Blood Scythe left by the Blood Reaper Demon.
Leaping from the rock, he descended upon the mercenaries below with a mighty slash.
A Level Five Master, enhanced with a Level Four Bronze Armadillo, was impervious to swords and blades.
Yet, under Eddie's wrathful slash, he was cleaved in two. The enhancement was useless against the berserk Eddie.
Another Level Five Master tried to flee but couldn't get far before a demonic whip of black flames struck him down, burying him into the ground.
The whip, like a living serpent, lashed and cracked, sending a head flying into the air.
The disguised Level Six Sovereign, who had previously parried Eddie's strike and was cunningly hiding in the crowd, summoned a smoke-like beast to turn invisible.
While Eddie slaughtered mercilessly with the Blood Scythe, this crafty individual, more cunning than a rat, slinked away through the crevices in the rock face.
Even as a Level Six Sovereign, he chose to flee rather than fight.
When he was about fifty meters away and about to crawl into a crevice, he looked back to see the massacre continuing, relieved that no one noticed him.
He quickly pulled out a teleportation scroll, ready to escape.
Suddenly, a demonic trident pierced deep into his back, protruding through his front. His body, enhanced by the 'Golden Bull' beast and impervious to weapons, was effortlessly penetrated by the trident, as if his once invulnerable body was made of paper.
Before the man could struggle, Eddie was upon him, lifting him and the trident high into the air and slamming them down to the ground.
As the Sovereign tried to push himself up in agony, Eddie's foot came crashing down on his face, shattering teeth and spattering blood.
As the man's body flew away, Eddie thrust the trident, pinning him deeply into the cliffside, taunting, "Hiding your head but showing your tail, you want to play turtle, I'll let you play enough!"
In a critical moment, the Level Six Sovereign's abilities manifested a dramatic change. Chanting an incantation, his body radiated blood-red light.
With a powerful punch, he shattered the rock wall, contorting like a serpent to wriggle free from the spear impaling him. Despite his severe injuries, his Level Six Sovereign's strength still enabled him to escape.
"You won't move now, we'll all die here!" the Sovereign summoned a thick Lin Python in mid-air to halt Eddie.
He himself climbed the rocks at high speed, shouting, "Summon the meteor, crush him with it! This kid's brute strength is terrifying, beasts won't work! We must use the meteor. Stop hiding, come and help me, kill this kid fast!"
Two nearby Level Five Masters rushed to aid the severely injured Sovereign. They summoned a Bronze Lion and an Iron Bone Cheetah, but in Eddie's berserk state, these Level Four Bronze beasts were like paper. The Blood Scythe's terrifying power effortlessly cleaved through them.
The Lin Python was decapitated by a swing of Eddie's trident, the Bronze Lion impaled through the mouth and out the back of its head, and the speediest Iron Bone Cheetah, terrified, turned to flee but was impaled by Eddie's trident from rear to front.
"Hold him off, I need at least a minute to fully summon!" The other hidden Level Six Sovereign, an elemental master, was pale with fear.
Eddie's unexpected power disrupted their plans, even threatening their lives.
If this operation was exposed, many would face execution...
Thus, they were determined to kill and silence everyone involved. Only by quickly eliminating everyone here could their plan succeed.
But would Eddie give him that time?
Covered in the blood of mercenaries and beasts, Eddie, like a demon god, wielded his trident, effortlessly slicing through any creature in his way, steadily advancing.
Apart from the remaining six Level Five Masters and two Level Six Sovereigns, the other mercenaries were paralyzed with fear, collapsing on the ground, trembling as they watched Eddie's murderous advance. With each step, it was as if he trampled on their souls, shaking the surrounding mountains.
He was a demon god incarnate, each step thunderous, striking terror in everyone's hearts.
"Die,"
Eddie said simply, but with that one word, a shadow of death loomed over everyone's hearts.