Book 19, Metamorphosis â Chapter 11, Victory and Defeat
The Dragon Roar contained a spiritual attack component, but it wasnât able to affect the Redcliff Lord at all.
HoweverâŚ
The most monstrous property of the innate divine ability, âDragon Roarâ, 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 Lordâs soul was located, the speed of time began to change!
âSwish!â
Linley, while executing his innate divine ability, âDragon Roarâ, 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 blowâŚ
Firmament Splitter!
âBANG!â A hole appeared in the Redcliff Lordâs 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 Linleyâs âMirageâ sword pierced straight through the Redcliff Lordâs forehead, everyone below was truly stunned.
âThe Redcliff LordâŚdied?â
Although they couldnât 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 Linleyâs posture, they were able to guess that the invisible sword had stabbed into the Redcliff Lordâs forehead.
Caught in a patch of slow time, the Redcliff Lord only felt that before he even had a chance to react, Linleyâs âMirageâ had come stabbing straight into his forehead. The Redcliff Lord felt as though Linleyâs attack speed had suddenly increased tenfold, perhaps even twentyfold. This sort of speed was something he couldnât react to at all.
Mirage pierced into his sea of consciousness.
An invisible black barrier was currently protecting the Redcliff Lordâs 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 howâŚ
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 artifactâs protection, and the artifact itself wasnât damaged in the slightest.
They didnât even touch.
Although time had slowed, the Redcliff Lord still knew, at the moment that Linleyâs 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 wasâŚ
âBang!â
Deep within his sea of consciousness, within the hands of a divine cloneâŚa drop of Death-type Sovereignâs 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 Linleyâs âMirageâ, smashing against it! By now, the Redcliff Lord had almost gone insane.
All he knew wasâŚ
He had to block it!
Thus, he now used his most powerful attack while relying on Sovereignâs Might to block Mirage.
âBOOOM!â
As he stabbed down, Linley sensed a terrifyingly powerful force surge out from the Redcliff Lordâs sea of consciousness, and then surges of power slam against Mirage. In addition, the power of every single surge was tremendous. Linley couldnât help but be shaken, and he flew backwards while staring at the Redcliff Lord in surprise.
âRumbleâŚâ Powerful Death-type light emanated from the Redcliff Lord, and the wounds on his body quickly repaired.
The Redcliff Lordâs eyes suddenly lit up as he stared angrily at Linley. âLinley!â 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 Linleyâs âBlackstone Spaceâ would be greatly lessened as well. âBastard.â After having nearly been killed, the enraged Redcliff Lord prepared to charge forward.
âDo we have to continue?â
Linleyâs voice rang out.
âEh?â The Redcliff Lordâs 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 Sovereignâs Might, to a level that was indeed enough to kill the current LinleyâŚ.he wouldnât be able to kill what Linley was about to become. Because currently, in Linleyâs hand, there was floating a drop of earthen yellow liquidâŚearth-type Sovereignâs Might!
âDo we have to continue?â Linleyâs voice still echoed in the air.
The Redcliff Lord stared at the drop of Sovereignâs Might hovering in Linleyâs 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 Sovereignâs Might, the power unleashed would be at a peak.
Without using his Sovereignâs 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 Sovereignâs Might, even though the Redcliff Lord had used a drop of Death-type Sovereignâs Might, against Linleyâs earth-type Sovereignâs Might, the result was obviouslyâŚthat Linleyâs advantage would rise dramatically. By thenâŚthe Redcliff Lord would definitely perish!
âAAAAAARGH!â The Redcliff Lord suddenly bellowed, face towards the skies.
A wild blast of Death-type Sovereignâs 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.
âI admit defeat!â 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 Sovereignâs Might, he would be able to win and kill this opponent. But if he did thatâŚalthough his opponent would be dead, he would have used up his only drop of earth-type Sovereignâs Might. It absolutely wasnât worth it. And, perhaps the enemy might have a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, true, but even if he acquired it, in the future, itâs Sovereign would come reclaim it.
Thus, Linley didnât wish to continue this battle. He chose to preserve his one and only drop of Sovereignâs Might.
This drop of earth-type Sovereignâs 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.
âLinley.â The Redcliff Lord stared at Linley. âTo be honest, Iâm 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.â The Redcliff Lord, based on his astuteness, naturally was able to tell that how many profound mysteries each of Linleyâs attacks held.
âI admit this.â Linley nodded.
âHowever, you have Reisgemâs innate divine ability, as well as your Azure Dragon clanâs innate divine ability. With those two matched up with your decent understanding of the LawsâŚâ The Redcliff Lord let out a self-mocking chuckle.
Linley was a single individual, but he actually possessed two powerful, supreme innate abilities.
âReisgemâs supreme innate ability. In all the countless planes, heâs the only person I know capable of this.â The Redcliff Lord sighed. âThis 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.â
Linley nodded slightly.
âI lost. Having lost to two such supreme innate abilities, I have nothing to say.â 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 personâs power. For example, BebeâŚhe had fused no profound mysteries at all, but once he unleashed his innate divine ability, âGodeaterâ, 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 thatâŚLinleyâs potential was tremendous! But as for the Redcliff Lord, he had already tapped out all his potential.
âRedcliff Lord, letâs publicly announce the results.â 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.
âFine.â The Redcliff Lord nodded.
The Redcliff Lord looked down at the countless spectators, then said in an emotionless voice, âThis duel is concluded. From today onwards, Linley is the next Lord of this region.â After speakingâŚhe 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 silentâŚand then erupted into a cacophony of cheers and chatter. Actually, when they saw Linleyâs sword stab through the Redcliff Lordâs forehead, they had already expected this. Now that the Redcliff Lord had openly announced it, the results became confirmed.
âLinley!â Someone cheered jubilantly.
âLINLEY!â The cheer seemed to be infectious, and the countless people below all began to cheer in celebration. They all knewâŚ
Yet another miracle had occurred!
Having defeated the previous Redcliff Lord, a new Redcliff Lord, Linley, was born!
âSwoosh!â Bebe flew into the skies.
He flew to Linleyâs side, excitedly looking at Linley. âBoss, you succeeded! Haha! A Lord of Tartarus. Thatâs someone on the same level as a Purgatory Commander or a Lord Prefect of the Infernal Realm.â Linley stared down at the scene of the countless thronging, celebrating masses. He couldnât help but have a feeling as though he was apart from the rest of the world.
He still remembered howâŚ
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!
âBebe, we are finally qualified to enter the Planar Battlefield.â Linley laughed.
âRight.â Bebe laughed happily as well.
Linley and Bebe, these two brothers, were currently high in midair chatting. They didnât 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 youngâŚBluefire!
âIt seems Beirut was worried over nothing. Linleyâs power is even greater than I had imagined. Thereâs no need for me to remain hereâŚoh, and the Planar Wars are currently proceeding. I need to come up with a way to enter the Planar Battlefield and watch.â 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 aloneâŚ
He was, amazingly enough, even faster than the former âRedcliff Lordâ, who had shocked Linley with his speed.
From today onwards, the estate of the Redcliff Lord was now Linleyâs estate.
âYour Lordship.â 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 eyeâŚLinley had become the current Redcliff Lord. But of course, he knewâŚthat Linley was actually an Elder of the Azure Dragon clan.
Linley glanced at Ganmoly, then said, âGanmoly, I wish to ask you something. If I wish to enter the Planar Battlefield, do I need to bring any proof of my status?â
âNo need.â Ganmoly laughed immediately. âYour Lordship, donât 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.â
Linley nodded slightly.
âAll you need to go is head over there, your Lordship. They will naturally recognize you, your Lordship. At mostâŚyour Lordship, you might just simply reveal that legendary sword of yours, which can become invisible.â Ganmoly laughed.
âA single day?â Linley nodded slightly.
âBebe.â Linley turned to look.
âEh?â Bebe was currently seated on a distant chair, chomping on some of the fruit that was local to the Netherworld. âWhat is it, Boss?â
âIn a day, Flamebone Mountain will have my information. Tell me, when should we head out?â Linley laughed.
âA day?â Bebe immediately leapt to his feet. âDamn, flying over to Flamebone Mountain a long period of time as well. Boss, letâs hurry up and head out right away!â
âRight away?â Linley was stunned, but then he laughed.
Ganmoly was rather surprised as well.
âRight.â Bebe suddenly turned to stare at Ganmoly, then instructed, âGanmoly, these fruits arenât bad. Prepare some extras and bring them over. I plan to eat them on the way.â