The one sent flying backward was none other than Gegedor, though now three parallel scorch marks adorned his body—wounds clearly inflicted by the Lightning Storm Bear's electrified claws.
Beside him, Geger had curled up into a ball, carried out along with him.
A massive surge of power materialized from the void once more, suppressing the lightning wounds on Gegedor's body in virtually an instant.
"Get lost!" A violent wave of spiritual power swept outward, sending several members of the garrison flying backward. Blood and even brain matter poured from their eyes and ears.
Using the power of their patron to suppress physical injuries was one of the Worshipper's most commonly employed techniques.
"Think you can run?" A vicious glint flashed across Governor Iyas's face. "Summon—Night Hawk!!!"
A tattoo of a massive black eagle suddenly materialized on his forehead, the eagle depicted with startling vitality. Once Governor Iyas issued his command, accompanied by a piercing cry, the black eagle's beast soul instantly transformed into a streak of light and soared into midair. Its enormous wings spread wide, carrying the power to blot out the sky and sun.
"Hmm? That beast soul?"
Among the distant onlookers, Leilin was wrapped in an impenetrable black cloak, only his faintly glowing blue eyes still fixed on the battlefield.
"A fourth-level Dawn Star giant beast's soul! It seems this governor is getting serious!"
Leilin understood clearly that Governor Iyas was at minimum a fourth-level powerhouse, and the Lightning Storm Bear he had summoned earlier had been only a third-level beast soul—clearly toying with Gegedor and his companion.
No—or rather, the governor hadn't been paying attention to them at all. His focus had been directed elsewhere, toward whatever presence lurked deep within the warehouse, inside that cellar!
Leilin could clearly sense it—a terrifying bloodline force had been lurking deep underground, drawing away the bulk of Governor Iyas's power.
"Yiyi!" But even so, the strength of a Dawn Star was not something that Gegedor in his adult stage alone could withstand.
Accompanied by a piercing eagle cry, the black eagle's wings slashed through the air like blades, shattering the Worship Array behind Gegedor.
Once the channel of communication was severed, no matter how unwilling the Eye of Judgment might have been, the enormous vertical eye phantom could only slowly dissipate.
At that moment, Gegedor collapsed to the ground. Without the suppression of that supreme power, all the accumulated weakness and injuries in his body erupted at once.
Layer upon layer of pallid color spread from the tentacles beneath him, quickly reaching his eye sockets.
"This kind of temporary empowerment has quite a few flaws!"
Leilin watched the battle from the sidelines, so relaxed he even had the leisure to order his Chip to collect all of this data, calmly analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Infernal World's power systems.
"The empowerment generated by the Path of Worship has its limitations. No matter how powerful the patron may be, the power produced is only temporarily lent. Once the channel is severed, or the patron recalls it, the Worshipper is suddenly thrust into the most perilous situation…"
Leilin's eyes flickered continuously. "According to the records, there are methods to obtain permanent power enhancements or attribute upgrades. But those usually require enormous sacrifice, and sometimes even the completion of specific tasks—like performing blood sacrifices using high-ranking members of hostile factions…"
This Path of Worship struck Leilin as exceedingly primitive, even leading him to suspect that this power system was the Infernal World's original native framework.
"If that's the case…"
Leilin stroked his chin, apparently considering something else entirely. "I'm afraid I'll need to dabble in the Path of Worship as well. No—not just dabble. I'll have to master it, if I want to carry out my ultimate plan!"
"Yiyi!"
At that moment, outside the warehouse, the eagle circled down from midair with the bearing of a victor, its razor-sharp talons crushing Gegedor to pieces.
"Ah! Father…" Geger screamed in agony, yet could not escape the fate of death.
Watching this pair of Evil Eye perish one after the other, not the slightest ripple crossed Leilin's face. This outcome was naturally the result of him secretly tipping off the garrison and the governor. But the root cause was that Gegedor had plotted against Leilin first, so even seeing them reduced to such a miserable end stirred not the faintest emotion within him.
On the contrary, the reason he had come to the scene personally was to maintain control over the entire situation and sever even the last sliver of Gegedor's chance of survival. Even if his target had managed to escape, Leilin would have struck from behind.
Now, seeing that both had lost all trace of soul fluctuation, Leilin felt somewhat relieved. At the very least, no one would be fixated on him for the time being.
At this point, Leilin's attention was drawn entirely to the dark shadow still lurking in concealment.
"That person is clearly Gegedor's superior! Extraordinary strength, and they've been lying in wait all along, biding their time for the perfect moment to strike!"