Phantylia's worst fear had come true. She could feel her supposedly world-ending attack starting to fade while Jing Yuan's Lightning Lord drew closer with its blade.
In a single breath, her destructive power weakened, and at that moment, Jing Yuan uttered three simple words.
"Show no mercy!"
The blade came down, scattering her destruction energy completely. At the same time, a water dragon, summoned by Dan Heng, followed the blade's strike and flew straight into Phantylia's mouth, which she had reflexively opened in shock. Feeling something entering her mouth, Phantylia instinctively chomped down on the pink dragon.
The strike hit Phantylia's body, leaving a massive wound. But under the influence of both Abundance and Destruction, her flesh instantly regenerated.
Though her body had healed, it wasn't the same. The balance of powers shifted, and her form changed. Once vibrant with hues of green and gold, her body darkened, taking on deep shades of blue and black.
The attack hadn't been decisive, but Phantylia was grinning now. She could feel it—her control over this body was improving. She could now harness more of the Abundance energy within her.
With a mocking tone, Phantylia taunted, "Hah! The great general of the Xianzhou is nothing more than an insect. And you—offspring of the immortal—your little sneak attack was pathetic! Permanence's power tastes delicious. I've decided—I'll make you into one of my mara-struck soldiers, an immortal slave! Hahaha!"
Despite taking a hit from Jing Yuan, Phantylia felt stronger than ever. She also sensed the bindings around her legs loosening. While it was true she could no longer use that massive attack again so soon, she could move now. Meanwhile, Jing Yuan's strike had drained him, leaving him unable to call upon the Lightning Lord again without time to recover.
Jing Yuan's expression darkened as he watched her regenerate. But just when the tension was at its peak, Phantylia bit down on Dan Heng's water dragon and swallowed it whole, even appearing pleased as she did so.
Jing Yuan almost lost his composure for the first time in years.
It wasn't just him—everyone who saw that moment felt a wave of disgust.
March 7th cried out in horror, "Did she not notice? That was—that was…"
Stelle's face twisted. "That was me and Ah Guang's—and it's still dripping out of her mouth."
March 7th covered her mouth. "Don't say it! I already took pictures…"
Click. Click.
March 7th snapped a series of photos, her expression torn between revulsion and determination.
Meanwhile, the scene was already making waves across the galaxy's data networks.
A viral video popped up with the headline: "Shocking! Lord Ravager Prefers Eating Trash and Vomit?! Is This the Taste of Destruction?"
The comments poured in instantly.
"Someone explain! Tell me this isn't real!"
"Xianzhou representatives, care to comment? Do all their commanders have this… refined taste?"
Adding fuel to the fire, a Xianzhou general from the Luofu responded: "We in the Xianzhou are known for our hospitality. If the so-called Lord Ravager has a preference for garbage, we'll make sure they're served all they can eat. Oh, and we can even throw in some fertilizer if that's more to their liking!"
The other Xianzhou ships had already received word of the ongoing battle, but they were too far to intervene in time. Even so, one thing was clear—this fight had made future hostilities between the Xianzhou and the Antimatter Legion inevitable.
And if this really did escalate into war, the Xianzhou were prepared to maintain their hospitality and keep the mockery going. After all, if Phantylia wanted trash, they were more than willing to serve it to her in bulk.
Phantylia still hadn't realized that she'd single-handedly dragged the reputation of the Lord Ravagers through the mud. She hadn't noticed anything strange because, while her body was formed from the fruit of the Ambrosial Arbor, it wasn't designed with unnecessary sensory functions like taste or smell.
So no, she couldn't even tell what she had just eaten. Unfortunately for her, that didn't stop Pei Guang's group from laughing at her expense.
But jokes aside, March 7th couldn't help feeling uneasy as she glanced at Phantylia's darker, more menacing form. "Ah Guang… she changed color. Is this what you meant by her second phase? She looks… kind of terrifying."
Pei Guang waved it off. "Terrifying? Please, this is just her second phase. Nothing to worry about. Although judging from her transformation, I think we're done with long-range harassment. But don't worry—I've got a plan."
He turned to March 7th, Seele, Silver Wolf, and Bailu. "I need all of you for this."
Seele and Silver Wolf immediately stepped closer. Bailu floated up without saying a word, but it was clear she was paying attention.
Then Pei Guang started explaining his plan. By the time he finished, all four of them were staring at him, their faces frozen in disbelief.
"This is insane!"
"This is completely unrealistic!"
"It's impossible!"
"But if it's Pei Guang…"
One by one, the group nodded. "Leave it to us!"
And with that, the four of them split off and started moving toward the back of the battlefield to carry out Pei Guang's outrageous idea—building a lightspeed ship. By accelerating the ship to near-light speed, they were going to deliver a particle beam strike directly to Phantylia's body.
Of course, that meant someone had to keep Phantylia distracted—and who better than Pei Guang, Stelle, Welt, Dan Heng, and Jing Yuan?
Phantylia wasn't stupid. She noticed the four leaving immediately and knew they were up to something. But Pei Guang didn't even give her time to react before he drew her attention with a verbal jab.
"Hey, Phantylia! You're strong, no doubt about it. But tell me—how was the taste of my vomit and garbage?"
Phantylia froze. "What?"
Pei Guang grinned. "Oh, you didn't know? That water dragon you bit into? We filled it with vomit, food scraps, sewage water, and rotting garbage from another world. Don't worry, though—I get it. You Antimatter Legion types must think that's gourmet cuisine. No shame in it. I can even spit a few more mouthfuls for you. Ptooey!"
Phantylia's expression stiffened, but then she sneered. "Insects like you think that matters to me?"
Pei Guang smirked. "Was it good? If you liked it, I'll treat you to more."
Phantylia scoffed. "Your filth means nothing to me."
Pei Guang kept pushing. "Oh, by the way—there was some extra seasoning in there. Fermented bile and animal intestines. It's all over your mouth right now. You might wanna wipe that off."
Phantylia froze. "…!"
Pei Guang leaned in mockingly. "So? Was it tasty? Say the word, and I'll get you seconds."
Finally, Phantylia snapped. "I'll kill you!"
Pei Guang pointed and laughed. "Look! She's mad! If you want more, just say so! Enemies or not, I'm always happy to give you a free meal before a big fight."
It worked. Phantylia's rage boiled over, and she focused entirely on Pei Guang, ignoring the four who had slipped away to work on the lightspeed vessel. She no longer cared about their plan—all she wanted was to tear Pei Guang to pieces.
Honestly, even the rest of the team felt a bit sorry for her. Pei Guang's taunts were so over-the-top, even they wanted to strangle him a little. But that was the problem—he was practically untouchable.
With Jing Yuan protecting him, Phantylia couldn't just kill him outright. And Jing Yuan, while not the strongest combatant, was still one of Xianzhou's generals—bringing him down wouldn't be easy.
If she couldn't deal with Jing Yuan, then she couldn't get rid of Pei Guang. And if Pei Guang stayed alive, she'd have to keep enduring his mouth—and that mouth was somehow more nauseating than her own corrupted flesh.
Even without a proper stomach, she felt sick.
For the first time, Phantylia understood what Pei Guang meant when he talked about "nested dolls." From her perspective, it really was an infuriating, endless loop of annoyances.
If she could do it all over again, she'd have avoided messing with Pei Guang entirely. But there were no do-overs. She was already caught in this mess, so the only way forward was to double down and kill them all.
If she destroyed every witness here, no one would ever know about this humiliation.
And if no one knew… then it never happened!