The moment Dumbledore said this, Link froze.
Father.
The word was already unfamiliar to Link.
Even the various memories related to this word were things Link no longer wanted to pursue.
Because there was no point.
The King's Blood within his body had been completely brought under his control, and the second soul named Mike had also been sealed inside the fortress of the heart.
At present, it had almost lost its own consciousness and was beginning to turn into nourishment and merge with Link, strengthening his mental power.
Everything left behind in the original host's body had already been resolved by him.
He had also begun pursuing the sea of stars. Everything from the past truly no longer held much attraction for him.
Yet now, Dumbledore had suddenly brought him up again, or rather, the original host's father, and had even mentioned the word "sacrifice."
Link was no fool. [Father, sacrifice, King's Blood], these three phrases put together, along with some things he had learned earlier, made it easy to construct certain scenes in his mind.
"You mean, that man..."
Link spoke with difficulty, but Dumbledore interrupted him, "Yes, you guessed correctly. Back then, during the bloodline fusion ritual your father performed on you, he not only implanted the bloodlines of large numbers of legendary wizards and extraordinary creatures, including Slytherin, into your body, he also implanted the King's Blood into you."
"But after the entire ritual was completed, your body began to collapse."
"That was inevitable. With so many powerful bloodlines mixed together, it would have been strange if your body hadn't collapsed."
"Your father had anticipated this situation as well. So, he sacrificed himself."
Dumbledore pointed toward Iyeta below, who was continuously absorbing the blood-colored points of light. "A sacrifice to the King's Blood is a cruel and ancient ritual. It requires someone who loves you wholeheartedly to offer up their entire body and even their soul before there is a chance of success."
"And what corresponds to such a harsh condition is that this kind of 'sacrifice' can greatly increase the amount of King's Blood."
"It was precisely because of the enormous amount of King's Blood that surged forth after your father completely sacrificed himself that you managed to survive the collapse period following the bloodline fusion ritual."
"You understand what I mean, right? The King's Blood within your body directly integrated all the other bloodlines and turned them into your talent."
Dumbledore's voice was impassioned, but Link showed little reaction. He only stared at Iyeta below.
Dumbledore clearly didn't care either. His emotions were already in an extremely complicated state, and he spoke somewhat impatiently, "Theoretically speaking, sacrifice is the best way to increase the power of the King's Blood. Relying solely on nourishment from the body and soul is ultimately too slow. So Voldemort actually used the same method of sacrifice, except that he forced others to sacrifice themselves to him."
"That's also why he advocated 'love' so strongly, because only people who truly loved him could be used as the material for 'sacrifice.'"
"His split souls are the best example."
"Those split souls nourish the King's Blood with their own bodies and souls on one hand, while on the other hand, they also deeply love Voldemort, and thus can be used for sacrifice."
"This may sound strange. After all, that was Voldemort. How could his split souls sincerely 'love' other people?"
"But it really happened. Because although Voldemort didn't love other people, out of biological instinct, he still loved himself."
"And essentially speaking, all of the split souls were actually one person, Voldemort."
"Number One exploited this loophole and carried out 'sacrifice' using the other split souls as material."
"In other words, every time we kill a split soul, the King's Blood within Number One will increase."
"If you'd told me these things earlier, I definitely would've thanked you." Link closed his eyes and began adjusting the magic power within his body in preparation for the battle ahead. "But now that you're telling me, it's hard for me not to have other thoughts about you."
"What use would it have been for me to tell you earlier? Would you have stopped killing those split souls? You know you couldn't stop. Even if it weren't for the King's Blood inside those split souls, you would still need to kill them to ensure the safety of the British magical world."
Dumbledore smiled bitterly. "Let's continue talking about sacrifice."
"You're probably also curious why Iyeta can now have other people perform 'sacrifice' for her, right?"
"It's very simple. This is actually a shortcut developed by Voldemort, or rather, Number One."
"What these Sky City residents love is actually this Sky City, not Iyeta. But Iyeta is the ruler of this Sky City at this moment. In a certain sense, she is the Sky City itself."
"Therefore, she can also draw upon the power of the King's Blood and carry out such a 'sacrifice.'"
"It's just that because this 'sacrifice' is taking a shortcut, its effect is ultimately not as great as a proper 'sacrifice.'"
"That Professor Lilo back then was still somewhat better. At the very least, the students of Beauxbatons genuinely admired him, so the power they offered was also quite terrifying."
"But the 'sacrifice' Iyeta is carrying out now is far less effective. After all, the residents of Sky City don't have much affection for her personally."
"Of course, there are also many more people here than there were at Beauxbatons, so in terms of the overall effect, this time should be slightly stronger than the one at Beauxbatons."
Hearing this, Link said nothing.
He had already adjusted the chaotic magic power within his body, and the phantom of the evil beast behind him had also recovered from its previous weakened state.
After doing all this, he gave Dumbledore one last deep look before leaping forward and once again charging toward Iyeta beneath the coils of the steam armor.
He really didn't want to say anything more to Dumbledore.
The other party had hidden so many facts that all the little goodwill Link had finally developed toward Dumbledore through their long-term cooperation had completely disappeared.
Link even believed that the reason Dumbledore had hidden so many things was because he had some other scheme.
He would settle all of these matters properly with Dumbledore.
Of course, that depended on whether he could win this war.
BOOM!
Link collided with the blood-colored divine light filling the sky.
The pure curse magic continuously surging from his body transformed into a drill, boring fiercely toward Iyeta, who was wrapped in divine light.
In essence, even though curse magic had been purified to the extreme, it was still one level weaker than the King's Blood.
But now, with Link also using the King's Blood to strengthen it, these drills displayed power that surpassed the rules. Amid the roars of the evil beast phantom behind Link, they continued boring downward. Before long, they broke through the blockade of the blood-colored divine light, allowing Link to close in on Iyeta's true body.
Link slightly raised his wand, and a pillar of Vanishing Curse light instantly blasted out.
When it came to dealing damage to and consuming the King's Blood, the Vanishing Curse could be said to be Link's best method at present.
This had already been proven in his previous battle with Iyeta.
But this time, the moment Link attacked, Iyeta's originally tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.
Buzz!
Dense blood-colored divine light suddenly shot out and collided with the pillar of Vanishing Curse light.
The Vanishing Curse, which had previously displayed extraordinary power, was instantly crushed in this clash, and the energy released from the collision sent Link flying.
Dense blood-colored divine light flickered within Iyeta's empty eye sockets.
A sinister smile appeared on her face. With a gentle raise of her hand, Sky City, which had originally dimmed because its energy transmission channels had been destroyed, suddenly burst into brilliant light. A huge energy core broke through the ground, drilled into her body, and condensed a deep-blue full moon behind her head.
As the blue full moon rotated, an enormous amount of magic power gathered in her palm before transforming into a terrifying gigantic energy blade that crashed down.
Before the blade even arrived, a huge slash had already been carved into Sky City's tough heavenly walls and foundations.
Link, who was at the very center of the attack, felt an enormous pressure bearing down on him like a mountain, forcing him to drive the evil beast phantom behind him into a defensive position.
Link's expression was extremely solemn.
He knew that he was now in an absolute predicament. After Iyeta had sacrificed almost all the residents of the city, she had clearly also gained control of the magic reserves accumulated within Sky City over hundreds of years.
With such an enormous amount of magic power reinforcing her, Iyeta was now as powerful as a god.
If he couldn't think of a better way, then once the blade truly came down, all that awaited him would probably be death.
Having thought this far, Link had nothing left to hesitate about.
The King's Blood within his body surged wildly. No longer concerned about the side effects, he began directly drawing upon the power of the King's Blood in a manner similar to Iyeta.
Even brighter and more dazzling crimson divine light appeared across Link's body.
The originally pure-white steam armor was instantly dyed red. Even the evil beast phantom protecting Link transformed into a streak of blood-colored light at this moment, condensing above Link's head into a huge blood-colored ring.
Not only that, Dumbledore had finally finished adjusting himself and joined the battle.
Threads of platinum holy light fell like rain, sprinkling across Link's body and draping a platinum cloak over him.
"Roar!"
A terrifying beast roar erupted from Link's mouth.
With multiple buffs strengthening him, Link's figure was like that of a god. He suddenly threw a punch at the descending blade of magic power above.
The next moment, blinding white light erupted from the point where fist and blade met.
Immediately afterward came a terrifying wave of sound and a magic shockwave powerful enough to destroy everything.
By the time the Auror coalition forces within Sky City reacted, the 'Heavenly Wall of the Celestial Realm' covering Sky City had already been completely destroyed.
Two points of light wrapped in crimson radiance broke through the sky. At times they intertwined, unleashing terrifying explosions across the heavens, shattering clouds and piercing the sun. At other times they chased each other, drawing out sheets of blood-colored light.
Only then did Dumbledore's golden light catch up.
His condition, however, was not very good at this moment.
In the previous energy shockwave, Link and Iyeta had the protection of the King's Blood and hadn't suffered much damage, but he was different.
He was only flesh and blood. He had already been blasted by a steam bomb earlier, and now he had been hit by an even greater energy shockwave.
His injuries were already quite serious, and even maintaining his flying posture as he rushed toward the battlefield where Link was fighting was extremely difficult.
Unfortunately, not many people noticed his predicament at this moment.
Almost all of the attention of Nulan, Skegfin, and the other members of the Auror coalition forces had been drawn to the battle taking place in the sky.
The battle before them had already exceeded the limits of their understanding.
Even though they were wizards, beings who were supernatural by nature, they still felt that the battle between Link and Iyeta was completely absurd.
It had almost surpassed the very concept of magic. This was a war between rules and rules!
At the same time, the impact on the people of Jerusalem outside was even greater.
Earlier, with the arrival of the teleportation formation and the army led by Link into Sky City, Jerusalem had actually begun gradually returning to order.
People had begun putting out fires and dealing with disasters on their own, as well as treating the wounded.
But now, Link and Iyeta had once again appeared before everyone in such a shocking manner.
This drove the people of Jerusalem completely into a frenzy.
Although this city was a holy city in the hearts of many people, the killing and chaos it carried had never disappeared.
In the mere few minutes after Link and Iyeta appeared, the believers throughout the city had already become agitated.
They divided themselves into two factions and began slaughtering each other.
The believers representing Link's side, relying on their numerical advantage, instantly gained the upper hand.
But unlike what was happening in Jerusalem, the situation between Link and Iyeta in the sky had completely reversed.
Although the magic power stored within Link's body was terrifying, it ultimately could not compare with the accumulation of hundreds of years within Sky City.
Originally, both Link and Dumbledore had thought that the sword Iyeta had swung within Sky City earlier should at least count as a small ultimate move.
But when Link and Dumbledore truly began fighting the current Iyeta, the two of them were shocked to discover that it had actually only been an ordinary basic attack.
Terrifying magic slashes continuously appeared in Iyeta's hands. Before one sword had even fallen, the next had already followed.
Facing such terrifying attacks, even though Link and Dumbledore had already joined forces, they were still beaten into a disadvantageous position.
If Link and Dumbledore hadn't been stronger in mobility, they might have already been knocked down.
BOOM!
After dodging another slash, Dumbledore finally couldn't take it anymore.
He flashed in front of Link and said while panting heavily, "We're not her opponents. Retreat for now and make another plan!"
Perhaps because he heard Dumbledore's words, Link, who was locked in a stalemate with another slash, turned his head toward Dumbledore.
At this moment, Link was also covered from head to toe in crimson divine light, just like Iyeta, even his eyes.
But Link's eye sockets were not completely filled with crimson divine light.
Amid the dense blood-colored light, Link's pupils still radiated black light.
This was a sign that he still retained his reason.
If Link hadn't possessed a brain occlumency technique that could be called extreme, and hadn't been constantly fighting against the bestial nature of the King's Blood for a long time, then at this moment, just like Iyeta, his humanity would have been swallowed the instant he fully unleashed the power of the King's Blood.
Dumbledore had also noticed that Link still possessed his reason, which was why he dared to approach Link and speak with him.
However, after staring at Dumbledore for a moment, the corners of Link's mouth slowly rose.
"Retreat? Where can we retreat to? Are you saying you want me to abandon the tens of thousands of soldiers who followed me, abandon the wizards of the British magical world, and even abandon my family and friends?"
Link's voice was unexpectedly gentle, but Dumbledore's expression became solemn upon hearing it.
Dumbledore still wanted to say something.
But Link smiled, withdrew his gaze, and turned his attention back to Iyeta, who was wildly swinging the blade of magic power in her hand.
"You understand, Professor Dumbledore. We have nowhere left to retreat to. So, fight! If we cannot win, then let us die in battle!"
[🎉 Shoutout to Pablo, N8tive and Ferocious_Beast for joining p@treon. Consider joining to keep the stories going. Thank you very much.🤗]