With the intent to stomp Wolf King Lan to death, Life Taming Monarch took a step forward.
"So... That is what you'll choose to do? You won't use my beloved heritage to kill me?"
"Why are you asking me to do that? If you wanted to be killed by your heritage, then you shouldn't have severed your arm, damn fool."
"Hahaha!"
Laughing wildly, albeit weakly, Lan eased his body as he stared up at the Monarch.
"You have no idea... what it means to be embraced by kin...!"
"To enslave, how crude... You have defiled my heritage, the beliefs of my people, for far too long."
"Therefore, you will meet your end, as you were born... alone."
Gritting his teeth, Life Taming Monarch smirked malevolently.
"I see... so you wish to spit on my boot, is that it? Why don't you lick it while you're at it?!"
Stomping, Wolf King Lan's head was buried under the Monarch's boot, pinned to the soil stained with various colours of blood.
"Writhe while you lick. Spit while you're seething. Enjoy your final moments like the insignificant ant you are!"
Emerging from the air was a mouth full of fangs, sharp and lethal. This mouth closed around Life Taming Monarch's neck, which was hastily protected.
However, his protection was too sudden, not well prepared enough.
"Argh—!"
A Mystical Wolf King revealed itself and bit down, its abundant teeth striking into the Monarch's neck and shoulders, as well as the side of his right arm.
"How...! How dare you...!"
The Monarch's defences were only focused on his neck, a preemptive measure that left the rest of his body vulnerable.
With his free left arm, Life Taming Monarch tried to pry himself free from the Mystical Wolf King's maw.
"Tonight, at this hour, you will meet your death!"
Stabbing with his halberd, Wolf King Lan rushed forward to pierce the heart of the Monarch.
A sudden veil appeared before the tip of the halberd, stopping the blade from piercing through, and yet...
"Argh—!"
Having summoned the utmost of his strength, with Qi flooding his muscles, Wolf King Lan pushed the tip of the halberd through the veil and dug it into the Monarch's chest.
Cold steel pierced skin, muscle, bone, and the heart.
With a sputtering cough, Life Taming Monarch spat blood with a groan.
Adding to his pain was the Mystical Wolf King's bite, threatening to break what little defence he had set up, and sink its top fangs into the Monarch's neck.
"To die... like this. To your hands... to a beast's maw!"
"I cannot accept this!"
"I will not die like this!"
The faint sound of cracking could be heard, like that of shattering glass.
"...!"
As the noise began to grow louder, Wolf King Lan tried to retreat while raising his defensive Dao Art, but it was too late.
With a brilliant flash of light, Life Taming Monarch detonated.
The first light erupted from his chest.
The second light burst from his stomach.
The final light surged from his mind.
Life Taming Monarch detonated his three Qi Cores.
A terrifying power enveloped the surrounding area, uplifting soil and stones, snapping trees and pulling their roots out of the ground.
Bubbling intensely like boiled water, the white light spread outwards by several dozen meters before dying out.
After the light waned and the dirt cloud had settled, only a charred crater was left, and within that crater lay a lone man.
"I... survived..."
Laughing in a low tone, he felt glad to have survived, but his voice carried solemnity.
"I would've preferred... not losing you."
Turning his head, Wolf King Lan looked at the corpse of his Mystical Beast King, whose jaw was blown off in the detonation.
"Thank you... old friend..."
"..."
"..."
"Now... are you going to keep me waiting?"
"Forgive me, Lan, but I am not familiar with any healing Dao Arts."
That last voice came from a woman who tread into the crater.
Lustrous black hair waves in the gentle wind, a stark contrast to her fair skin. A faint scar crossed the left side of her face.
Dawn had arrived.
"That blood... are you injured...?"
"Lightly. Nothing that hinders my strength too significantly, at least."
"Did you get struck by his weapons...? They have a toxin laced on their edges."
"It happened to be a Dao Art, so it was destroyed within my body, but it was quite potent. Even now, I am feeling quite weak."
"You don't say."
Laughing again, Wolf King Lan did not seem at all concerned for his dire situation.
"The person you were fighting with..."
"Yes... It was that fiend, Life Taming Monarch. Does anything remain of him?"
"No. I have searched the surrounding three hundred meters, and nothing of him remains..."
"Good... good... good."
"I might not be very capable, but I can lighten the injuries. Let me help."
"No... it is fine... I am but a lost cause anyway."
"Don't say that. If you can hold on for a few moments, then I can bring you back. When the situation at the Settlement is quelled, I can bring you back to get healed..."
"There is no need."
With the vitality of his voice fading, Wolf King Lan calmly gazes at the Starlit Sky above.
"I still remember the story my parents told me... when I was just a boy..."
"When the first man of the East found his way through Night."
"When the first star that tore through Night's Sky was born."
"When the first steps of our kin were taken."
"We carved our paths, our Way."
"And yet... do we find our end any different?"
"Was all that was left for us truly in our hands?"
"Did we truly have a choice to live our lives?"
Unable to respond, Dawn quietly stood over Wolf King Lan.
The visages of a myriad stars reflected in his eyes. His gaze was lost to the sight high above.
"What awaits us... is Night so cruel?"
Those last words spilt from his lips loosely; they were weak and desperate.
Wolf King Lan was gazing at the Starlit Sky above, embraced by the dim radiance of Late Hour.