Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 11, Victory and Defeat
The Dragon Roar contained a spiritual attack component, but it wasn’t able to affect the Redcliff Lord at all.
However...
The most monstrous property of the innate divine ability, ‘Dragon Roar’, was the impact it had on time. There was no type of Law or Edict that was able to change the rate of time. Only this sort of unearthly innate divine ability was capable of it. Innate divine abilities were things which surpassed the limits of the Laws! As for the Azure Dragon clan, their innate divine ability was able to change the speed of time. In the region where the Redcliff Lord’s soul was located, the speed of time began to change!
“Swish!”
Linley, while executing his innate divine ability, ‘Dragon Roar’, also shot forward like a blur of light, the godspark sword Mirage mercilessly piercing straight towards the forehead of the Redcliff Lord. His most powerful blow...
Firmament Splitter!
“BANG!” A hole appeared in the Redcliff Lord’s forehead, and Mirage passed straight through it, piercing against his soul!
Silence! Utter stillness!
The enormous Azure Dragon Phantom in the sky had yet to vanish. The hundred million-plus spectators on the ground, upon seeing the enormous Azure Dragon Phantom appear, felt shock and awe in their hearts. But when Linley’s ‘Mirage’ sword pierced straight through the Redcliff Lord’s forehead, everyone below was truly stunned.
“The Redcliff Lord...died?”
Although they couldn’t see Mirage, even the weakest of the spectators below was at the Demigod level. After having watched for so long, they were able to guess that Linley was wielding an invisible sword in his hand. Judging from Linley’s posture, they were able to guess that the invisible sword had stabbed into the Redcliff Lord’s forehead.
Caught in a patch of slow time, the Redcliff Lord only felt that before he even had a chance to react, Linley’s ‘Mirage’ had come stabbing straight into his forehead. The Redcliff Lord felt as though Linley’s attack speed had suddenly increased tenfold, perhaps even twentyfold. This sort of speed was something he couldn’t react to at all.
Mirage pierced into his sea of consciousness.
An invisible black barrier was currently protecting the Redcliff Lord’s soul. This was the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact which the Redcliff Lord possessed. By relying on this soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, the Redcliff Lord was able to stably sit on his throne as a Lord of Tartarus.
However, a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact only protected against soul attacks.
It was much like how...
A soul attack could ignore the body and ignore all physical barriers, passing through to attack the soul, or be blocked by a soul-protecting artifact.
It was the same principle.
Material attacks would ignore soul-protecting artifacts. If someone used a soul attack to try and block a material attack, that would be an utter joke.
A soul-protecting Sovereign artifact was, by its very nature, formed to be used against soul attacks. Against an incoming material attack, it might as well not be there. Mirage pierced directly through the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact’s protection, and the artifact itself wasn’t damaged in the slightest.
They didn’t even touch.
Although time had slowed, the Redcliff Lord still knew, at the moment that Linley’s sword came stabbing in, that the moment of his death had come. But his thinking speed was simply too slow; there was no way he could react in time. The only thing he could do was...
“Bang!”
Deep within his sea of consciousness, within the hands of a divine clone...a drop of Death-type Sovereign’s Might exploded forth! A terrifying surge of Sovereign power spread out, according to the Laws of the Earth, forming into countless blades and swarming towards Linley’s ‘Mirage’, smashing against it! By now, the Redcliff Lord had almost gone insane.
All he knew was...
He had to block it!
Thus, he now used his most powerful attack while relying on Sovereign’s Might to block Mirage.
“BOOOM!”
As he stabbed down, Linley sensed a terrifyingly powerful force surge out from the Redcliff Lord’s sea of consciousness, and then surges of power slam against Mirage. In addition, the power of every single surge was tremendous. Linley couldn’t help but be shaken, and he flew backwards while staring at the Redcliff Lord in surprise.
“What’s going on?” Linley didn’t understand.
“Rumble...” Powerful Death-type light emanated from the Redcliff Lord, and the wounds on his body quickly repaired.
The Redcliff Lord’s eyes suddenly lit up as he stared angrily at Linley. “Linley!” With the might of Sovereign power filling his body, if he were to attack using the profound mysteries, he would clearly now be much stronger. The impact of Linley’s ‘Blackstone Space’ would be greatly lessened as well. “Bastard.” After having nearly been killed, the enraged Redcliff Lord prepared to charge forward.
“Do we have to continue?”
Linley’s voice rang out.
“Eh?” The Redcliff Lord’s body trembled, and he came to a halt.
Although his body was brimming with black light, and although his power had indeed risen tremendously after using that Sovereign’s Might, to a level that was indeed enough to kill the current Linley....he wouldn’t be able to kill what Linley was about to become. Because currently, in Linley’s hand, there was floating a drop of earthen yellow liquid...earth-type Sovereign’s Might!
“Do we have to continue?” Linley’s voice still echoed in the air.
The Redcliff Lord stared at the drop of Sovereign’s Might hovering in Linley’s palm, his heart filled with resentment.
But if this continued, the result was obvious!
When an expert of the Laws of the Earth used a drop of earth-type Sovereign’s Might, the power unleashed would be at a peak.
Without using his Sovereign’s Might, Linley, by relying on his Blackstone Space and his innate divine ability, these two supreme techniques, was already at a slight advantage.
If he were to use his Sovereign’s Might, even though the Redcliff Lord had used a drop of Death-type Sovereign’s Might, against Linley’s earth-type Sovereign’s Might, the result was obviously...that Linley’s advantage would rise dramatically. By then...the Redcliff Lord would definitely perish!
“AAAAAARGH!” The Redcliff Lord suddenly bellowed, face towards the skies.
A wild blast of Death-type Sovereign’s Might blasted out in every direction, and the surges of wild, powerful might caused multiple tears in space to appear around him. The aura was so powerful as to cause the countless spectators below to feel shocked. None of them knew what the results of the battle were yet.
“I admit defeat!” A hoarse, growling voice rang out.
Linley laughed.
This was all as he had expected. If they were to continue to fight, Linley was completely certain that by relying on his earth-type Sovereign’s Might, he would be able to win and kill this opponent. But if he did that...although his opponent would be dead, he would have used up his only drop of earth-type Sovereign’s Might. It absolutely wasn’t worth it. And, perhaps the enemy might have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, true, but even if he acquired it, in the future, it’s Sovereign would come reclaim it.
Thus, Linley didn’t wish to continue this battle. He chose to preserve his one and only drop of Sovereign’s Might.
This drop of earth-type Sovereign’s Might had been awarded to him after he had used up the previous drop in order to save Elder Garvey during the final battle between the Four Divine Beasts clan and the eight great clans. The clan had naturally replenished Linley with another drop, if for no other reason than to show gratitude for Beirut having helped the Four Divine Beasts clan.
“Linley.” The Redcliff Lord stared at Linley. “To be honest, I’m very reluctant to admit defeat in this battle! In terms of profound mysteries, you are far inferior to me. As I see it, you have at most fused three or four different profound mysteries.” The Redcliff Lord, based on his astuteness, naturally was able to tell that how many profound mysteries each of Linley’s attacks held.
“I admit this.” Linley nodded.
“However, you have Reisgem’s innate divine ability, as well as your Azure Dragon clan’s innate divine ability. With those two matched up with your decent understanding of the Laws...” The Redcliff Lord let out a self-mocking chuckle.
Linley was a single individual, but he actually possessed two powerful, supreme innate abilities.
“Reisgem’s supreme innate ability. In all the countless planes, he’s the only person I know capable of this.” The Redcliff Lord sighed. “This sort of supreme innate ability that allows him to constantly change the direction of a gravitational pull does indeed make others feel envious. This alone makes it so that virtually no one can surpass him in close-quarters combat.”
Linley nodded slightly.
“I lost. Having lost to two such supreme innate abilities, I have nothing to say.” The Redcliff Lord sighed.
Linley laughed calmly.
He could tell how reluctant to admit it the Redcliff Lord was. But so what if he was reluctant? Innate divine abilities were a part of a person’s power. For example, Bebe...he had fused no profound mysteries at all, but once he unleashed his innate divine ability, ‘Godeater’, how many could resist him?
There was nothing for it. This was an innate ability!
As for Linley, he had two powerful innate abilities. Because he had fused a low amount of profound mysteries, this made it so that...Linley’s potential was tremendous! But as for the Redcliff Lord, he had already tapped out all his potential.
“Redcliff Lord, let’s publicly announce the results.” Linley laughed calmly.
Just now, the conversation between the two of them after the battle came to an end had intentionally been separated from the spectators through Godrealm, so that no one below could hear them.
“Fine.” The Redcliff Lord nodded.
The Redcliff Lord looked down at the countless spectators, then said in an emotionless voice, “This duel is concluded. From today onwards, Linley is the next Lord of this region.” After speaking...he transformed into a black blur, streaking towards the west. Clearly, he was going to leave the Redcliff region.
Silence!
The countless spectators below instantly fell silent...and then erupted into a cacophony of cheers and chatter. Actually, when they saw Linley’s sword stab through the Redcliff Lord’s forehead, they had already expected this. Now that the Redcliff Lord had openly announced it, the results became confirmed.
“Linley!” Someone cheered jubilantly.
“LINLEY!” The cheer seemed to be infectious, and the countless people below all began to cheer in celebration. They all knew...
Yet another miracle had occurred!
Having defeated the previous Redcliff Lord, a new Redcliff Lord, Linley, was born!
“Swoosh!” Bebe flew into the skies.
He flew to Linley’s side, excitedly looking at Linley. “Boss, you succeeded! Haha! A Lord of Tartarus. That’s someone on the same level as a Purgatory Commander or a Lord Prefect of the Infernal Realm.” Linley stared down at the scene of the countless thronging, celebrating masses. He couldn’t help but have a feeling as though he was apart from the rest of the world.
He still remembered how...
When he just entered the Infernal Realm, he had hidden within the Black Dragon tribe.
How nerve-wracking the Fiend trials had been.
It seemed as though, in the blink of an eye, he had somehow become a Lord of Tartarus!
“Bebe, we are finally qualified to enter the Planar Battlefield.” Linley laughed.
“Right.” Bebe laughed happily as well.
Linley and Bebe, these two brothers, were currently high in midair chatting. They didn’t notice whatsoever that an old, familiar face was currently amongst the countless thronging masses below them.
A man dressed in a white robe, with long, unbound black hair, and a pair of scarlet eyebrows!
He was smiling as he looked at Linley and Bebe in the air. This person, amazingly, was the supreme expert who had provided guidance to Linley when Linley was young...Bluefire!
“It seems Beirut was worried over nothing. Linley’s power is even greater than I had imagined. There’s no need for me to remain here...oh, and the Planar Wars are currently proceeding. I need to come up with a way to enter the Planar Battlefield and watch.” Bluefire immediately turned and left.
His body was very real, but when he walked away, it seemed to become like a mirage.
In the blink of an eye, he easily traversed the massive, dense crowd of a hundred million Deities. When exited the crowd, his body seemed to transform into a blurry, fiery illusion. Transforming into red flash of light later, he disappeared into the horizon.
In terms of speed alone...
He was, amazingly enough, even faster than the former ‘Redcliff Lord’, who had shocked Linley with his speed.
From today onwards, the estate of the Redcliff Lord was now Linley’s estate.
“Your Lordship.” Ganmoly said respectfully. Ganmoly now had the feeling as though there truly was no such thing as permanence in this world; not long ago, he was leading Linley to pay his respects to the former Redcliff Lord, but in the blink of an eye...Linley had become the current Redcliff Lord. But of course, he knew...that Linley was actually an Elder of the Azure Dragon clan.
Linley glanced at Ganmoly, then said, “Ganmoly, I wish to ask you something. If I wish to enter the Planar Battlefield, do I need to bring any proof of my status?”
“No need.” Ganmoly laughed immediately. “Your Lordship, don’t worry. Once a person defeats the previous Lord and replaces him, the news will, within a single day, become known throughout the various estates of the Lords of Tartarus. At the same time, information regarding you will also spread to Flamebone Mountain.”
Linley nodded slightly.
“All you need to go is head over there, your Lordship. They will naturally recognize you, your Lordship. At most...your Lordship, you might just simply reveal that legendary sword of yours, which can become invisible.” Ganmoly laughed.
“A single day?” Linley nodded slightly.
“Bebe.” Linley turned to look.
“Eh?” Bebe was currently seated on a distant chair, chomping on some of the fruit that was local to the Netherworld. “What is it, Boss?”
“In a day, Flamebone Mountain will have my information. Tell me, when should we head out?” Linley laughed.
“A day?” Bebe immediately leapt to his feet. “Damn, flying over to Flamebone Mountain a long period of time as well. Boss, let’s hurry up and head out right away!”
“Right away?” Linley was stunned, but then he laughed.
Ganmoly was rather surprised as well.
“Right.” Bebe suddenly turned to stare at Ganmoly, then instructed, “Ganmoly, these fruits aren’t bad. Prepare some extras and bring them over. I plan to eat them on the way.”
“Uh....yes!” Ganmoly acknowledged.