The waters of the Liuyan River surged and roared, but as the crew members on the riverbank watched the two massive corpses of the Hellfire Phoenixes drift downstream, their hearts trembled with fear.
Looking up at Lin Lei, who resembled some manner of demon god, they felt only one thing — invincibility, overwhelming power.
"Lord Lin Lei is the strongest." Adoration filled the hearts of every crew member.
And now, over the Liuyan River, the moment Lin Lei killed the Hellfire Phoenix, a full-scale battle erupted — the Church of Light, the Church of Darkness, and Lin Lei's forces all clashed at once!
"Rumble~~~" The combined battle of so many Saint-realm powerhouses threw the very currents of space into chaos. The violent, howling winds were like a hurricane, sending sand and stone flying. Even the river below churned as though stirred by a giant's hand.
"Terrifying, that ultimate warrior."克莱默森 felt fear grip his heart. Then came a roar like that of a wild beast — "ROAR~~"
The Fallen Angel leader, Klemson, threw back his head and bellowed in fury. A black magic sigil materialized on his forehead, and cold flames erupted across his body. The surrounding temperature seemed to plunge. Most striking of all, armor of a dark golden sheen emerged on his skin — the legendary "Dark Holy Armor," which bore a strong resemblance to the "Earth Guardian Armor" of the Earth System.
"You can roar as loud as you want. You're still dead." Lin Lei's indifferent voice rang out.
Lin Lei's dragon-scale-covered right hand clenched into an iron fist and punched forward as though piercing through the void itself. Wherever the fist passed, the very fabric of space shimmered with illusory afterimages. Klemson's black longsword, wreathed in cold flames, lashed out with blinding speed, darting like lightning.
A dragon-scale fist met the tip of a cold-flame-enshrouded black blade.
"Clang!"
The sharp ring of metal on metal echoed across the battlefield.
"Fallen Angels were born for battle. Why would I fear you?" Klemson's confidence surged. But in the very next instant, blood streamed from his eyes, nostrils, mouth, and ears. His entire body went limp and plummeted from the sky.
His lifeless form crashed into the Liuyan River and drifted with the current, bobbing up and down.
Earth Essence — 256-Fold Tremor!
In a single head-on exchange, Klemson's body had already been shaken to a pulp on the inside.
"A six-winged Fallen Angel dares to face me in close combat?" A glint of frigid cold shone in Lin Lei's dark golden pupils. The current Lin Lei was a Dragon Blood Warrior in his ultimate Saint-realm form — in terms of raw strength and Battle Qi alone, he was ten times more powerful than an ordinary Saint-realm powerhouse!
That alone was staggering, and on top of it, Lin Lei's "Wind Essence" and "Earth Essence" were both devastating close-range combat techniques.
When one's foundational power and comprehension of the Laws both reached a supremely high level, and the two complemented each other perfectly, even a powerhouse on the level of Desli — one footstep from entering the Divine Realm — would never choose to engage the transformed Lin Lei in close combat. Brawling with an ultimate warrior who had delved so deep into the Laws was suicide.
"Don't fight him up close!" Haitings shouted urgently from a distance.
"Lin Lei's attacks are strange and unpredictable — everyone, be careful!" Usennor bellowed as well. He was currently locked in battle with Bakker, who had transformed into a "Saint-realm Undying Warrior."
Meanwhile, the Dark Pope, Aflek, and the Grand Adjudicator, Orcais, had both gone pale. The Church of Darkness's third pillar of power — Fallen Angel leader Klemson — had just fallen, just like that. Standing atop the Saint-realm Black Dragon, Aflek produced a black crystal orb.
Aflek's expression turned solemn, and his lips moved faintly.
"Hm?" Lin Lei's expression shifted.
"What is that?" He clearly felt an invisible, chilling force seep into his body. His "Pulse Defense" proved utterly useless against it. That sinister energy surged rapidly toward his brain.
Dark Forbidden Secret Art — Evil Force!
This was a technique only the Dark Pope could unleash, using the Church's supreme treasure — a crystal orb from the Dark Divine Realm. Once an enemy was struck by this "Evil Force," they would fall completely under its control for a period of time. The duration of that control depended on the target's mental power.
Against a "Holy Domain Grand Mage," it might not achieve full control, but it could at least cause severe dizziness and leave them unable to react.
The most mysterious place within one's mind.
Boundless mental power surged like a vast ocean, and within it floated a mysterious, semi-transparent seven-colored crystal. When the Evil Force charged into the mind and crashed against the boundless mental power, the faint blue aura embedded within that mental energy collided with it head-on.
Dark Pope Aflek's eyes gleamed with cold, eerie enchantment as he stared intently at Lin Lei.
"Go. Kill that rodent magic beast," Aflek said softly.
"No — Orcais, kill him now!" Aflek suddenly changed his tone. He could clearly feel Lin Lei's mental power pushing back. Though Lin Lei was somewhat affected, the Evil Force simply could not breach his soul.
Orcais raised the "Blade of Judgment," a weapon nearly two meters long. The blade, cold as a winter moon, hummed with an uncanny波动 as it slashed directly at Lin Lei.
The Blade of Judgment struck Lin Lei's "Pulse Defense."
In that instant —
"Pfft!" Like a bubble popping, the Pulse Defense — uncontrolled by Lin Lei's will due to the Evil Force's influence — shattered apart. The Pulse Defense relied on Lin Lei's active control to mimic the undulation of the earth; only then was its defensive power formidable. Without anyone guiding it, it merely produced simple vibrations, offering little protection.
However...
Lin Lei's dragon scales were a different matter entirely. Whether Lin Lei was conscious or not, the dragon scales remained what they were — the defense of a peak Saint-realm Dragon Blood Warrior was monstrous. The ancestors of the Baruch Family had once used precisely this advantage to dominate the continent.
"Ssssh — ssssh —" Like a common cleaver scraping against rock and iron, sparks flickered and flew, and one of the dragon scales merely cracked slightly.
"One more strike and it'll break," Orcais thought to himself. The Pulse Defense had simply absorbed some of the impact the first time. His right hand became a blur as he raised the Blade of Judgment once more, slashing directly at the fracture from before.