"Myriad Serpents... you're always like this, hoping for more help and allies, not knowing that the most reliable one is yourself..."
The moment these words were spoken, Myriad Serpents' expression changed drastically.
"Did you reach some kind of agreement with him?"
When it came to valuing allies, Myriad Serpents actually considered Leilin more important than the other three Eighth-level beings — perhaps because she had suffered losses at Leilin's hands before.
"No! But since he hasn't shown up, I can deal with you all without worry..."
An innocent smile appeared on Shar's face, but the terrifying killing intent darkened the skies of the entire world, sending down freezing snowflakes.
"That's exactly what I wanted to say..."
Myriad Serpents' will carried the most resolute killing intent.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a terrifying layer of black annihilation wind swept across the entire Shadow World.
The horrifying black storm erupted from the gaping maw of the colossal serpent beneath Myriad Serpents and swept across in a destructive rampage.
Almost from the very first strike, Myriad Serpents dragged the entire Shadow Empire into the range of attack. Since Lady Night intended to seize control of everything, Myriad Serpents chose destruction!
Destroy everything, push the world back into chaos — essentially a complete reset!
One had to admit, Myriad Serpents was quite imaginative and possessed both the resolve and audacity to carry it out. What was even more terrifying was that her peak Eighth-level strength gave her a real chance of success!
How terrifying could a peak Eighth-level being be?
Under Myriad Serpents' assault, within just a few short minutes, the Shadow Empire's territory had shrunk by a tenth — and it was still being eroded.
The Life Light Tree, which was merging with the entire world, also took a devastating blow. Several luminous branches fell away, scattering into twinkling motes of light.
"You are provoking me! Myriad Serpents! I never imagined... you could be so foolish!!!"
Shar looked at Myriad Serpents, pity in her eyes.
And above this region, a furious will had already manifested. Surging Primordial Force suddenly concentrated, carrying terrifying oppressive power.
If the world were returned to chaos, the World
Shar wanted control, while Myriad Serpents wanted annihilation. Clearly, the latter attracted far more enmity.
And so, the World Will erupted in fury! It no longer cared about Myriad Serpents' status as an indigenous being of this world.
However, for Myriad Serpents, it made little difference anyway. Shar already controlled more than half of the World Will and could draw upon the World's Primordial Force for assistance.
"Myriad Serpents... you truly deserve to be called the favored child of shadow. To have accumulated such power over tens of thousands of years..."
Shar's voice remained calm, and an enormous Magic Web had already materialized in her hands.
Though the terrifying black storm destroyed vast swaths of the Magic Web, it was quickly replenished, turning the battle into a war of attrition.
Gradually, the black annihilation wind began to retreat, enveloped... devoured... by the colossal Magic Web.
"What a pity... I, who have already mastered the entire Shadow World, am invincible..."
At this moment, Shar was like the most terrifying Spider Queen, using the Magic Web to continuously compress the power of Myriad Serpents and the others.
Under this insidious attrition and restraint, Myriad Serpents was like prey trapped in a spider's web. Though her initial desperate struggles snapped a few strands, she could not escape the fate of being captured and killed.
At the critical moment, Haikoer, the guardian in mermaid form, stepped forward.
She had brilliant golden hair and beautiful green eyes, with her lower half taking the form of a slender fish tail, its emerald scales gleaming with an enchanting luster.
"The sea!" Haikoer whispered a single syllable.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The oceans of the entire Shadow World roared.
How vast were the oceans of the Shadow World? It was a difficult question to answer, but even combining all the territories of the Shadow Empire, they probably wouldn't amount to half of it!
And Haikoer, who had mastered the Rule of the Sea, could unleash truly terrifying devastation once she mobilized the ocean's power.
Almost in the same instant, surging tsunamis crashed ashore, once again bringing catastrophic destruction to the entire empire.
Unlike last time, when only a few coastal cities were submerged, this time the waves rose hundreds of meters high, sweeping directly inland. Every inlet along the coastline surged in reverse, and the entire sea level began to rise eerily.
The vast blue ocean, cradle of life, now revealed its uniquely savage face for the very first time!
A rise of one or two meters in sea level would be enough to significantly shrink the continental landmass — and this was under Haikoer's control, with no end in sight!
The surging waves immediately brought apocalyptic destruction to the surface's flora and fauna. The terrifying pressure and floodwaters instantly wiped out all traces of life on land.
Often, before the Life Tree network could spread to cover them, those lives had already completely perished — their souls annihilated, no longer of any value.
This was the battle of time between Shar and Myriad Serpents!
Myriad Serpents and the others had to destroy everything before the Life Tree plan was fully completed, while Shar had to ensure its completion at any cost!
And Shar's opponents this time were far more troublesome than the Eye of Judgment before!
Myriad Serpents was already extremely close to the Eighth-level limit, and having painstakingly accumulated power for tens of thousands of years for revenge, her strength was unfathomable. Kale and Haikoer were equally formidable beings who could not be taken lightly.
More importantly — all three Rule-level beings were natives of the Shadow World! They were born with the legitimate right to rule the Shadow World and possessed great resistance to the World's Primordial Force.
Even though both Prophet Kale and Haikoer were in poor condition, with Myriad Serpents supplying them with the power of her bloodline, the threat they posed was still terrifying.
What made things even more troublesome was that these two beings bore a death grudge against Shar! They had already fallen once and now existed only as remnant souls — they had nothing left to fear.
"I can see the Primordial Force gathering... We must be careful. She's stalling for time. Once the Life Tree is complete, the enormous volume of World Primordial Force will swallow us whole..."
Prophet Kale fixed his gaze on Shar and spoke slowly.
"No need to wait! I can finish you off right now!"
Perhaps out of the frustration of having her plan exposed, Shar held nothing back. The terrifying sea of Primordial Force roared to life, and the Primordial Force originally distributed across the world was instantly recalled.
Without the Primordial Force's protection, the Shadow Magic Web retreated in rapid succession, and the speed of the world's destruction increased tenfold!
But neither Myriad Serpents nor Kale showed any trace of joy on their faces.
Because what they now faced was a powerhouse who had drawn back her fist and truly touched the threshold of the Eighth-level limit!
Having reclaimed the majority of the world's power and seized control of most of the World Will, Shar had already stepped into the threshold of the Eighth-level limit! Once the Life Tree plan was complete and she had controlled and devoured the entire World Will, she would achieve true Eighth-level limit!
"I was born in shadow, raised in shadow — the favored child of shadow! The ruler of this place! It was always meant to be me!"
With this declaration, Shar surged forward a step.
Boom! The entire world roared and pressed down! The overwhelming power, like an executioner's blade, instantly severed several colossal serpent heads, spraying blood across the sky.
"Those who have already died should not return to this world!"
With every sentence Shar uttered, the entire Shadow World seemed to roar in resonance, causing Kale's expression to shift again and again.
"I see it... she ultimately completes the Life Tree plan... ah..."
Kale's eyes cycled through several colors, but before he could finish his prophecy, a hand saturated with Primordial Force pressed down upon his head.
"Dust to dust, earth to earth. Only the eternal Astral Abyss is the proper resting place for a will like yours..."
Whoosh!
In a flash of light, Kale's body was steadily dissolved.
In Shar's grasp, the Rule-level being known as Prophet Kale — even with the Mother of Myriad Serpents' aid — was simply annihilated.
After all, he was merely revived from a soul fragment, far from his full-strength capabilities, and was virtually no match for Shar at her peak.
After Kale's body had completely melted away, a few motes of starlight-like radiance also dissipated entirely in Shar's palm.
These were the remnants of his will, signifying that Kale's grand plan of resurrection had utterly failed.
From this point on, his True Spirit would have to endure a long period of accumulation within the River of
When Shar truly unleashed her power, her strength was terrifying beyond measure.
"Myriad Serpents... did you think I hadn't noticed the little tricks of these two remnant souls?"
Shar suddenly looked up, her charming smile laced with bone-chilling cold.
"A complete World Will not only encompasses the thoughts of all living beings, the will of the land, the ocean, and the sky — it must also include the authority of Rule-level beings. Only when all these conditions are gathered together does the true essence of the World Will exist!"
Shar said softly.
"Haikoer! Her next target is you!" Myriad Serpents' expression changed instantly.
The World Will necessarily included every sentient being within a world — so did Rule-level beings count? Of course they did! Not only that, but they occupied a very significant proportion!
If ordinary people's share of the World Will didn't even amount to one hundred-millionth, then each Rule-level being accounted for at least one percent or more!
This was the true capital that allowed Myriad Serpents to compete with Lady Night — and to escape after failing!
Rule-level beings were, after all, children of the world, and they also embodied a world's essence!
"You're wrong..."
Shar's stride covered thousands of miles in an instant as she came face to face with Myriad Serpents' true form, vast as a star.
"I have stripped away the World Will authority of every native Rule-level being in the Shadow World — only you remain!"
At these words, the Mother of Myriad Serpents' expression changed dramatically!