Chapter 10: Light and Dark
Within the spacious hall, the engraved array patterns on the floor emitted faint ceremonial light. The members of the Dark God Cult, led by the Dark Twins, surrounded Su Xiao.
However, these Dark God Cult members were not mindless. They all kept a distance of over 50 meters from Su Xiao, a Blade Grandmaster, to avoid being instantly killed.
Su Xiao stood up from the metal seat. This ordinary movement caused the surrounding vicious Dark God Cult members to instinctively step back several steps.
Clang~
The long blade in Su Xiao's hand was drawn. He held the blade diagonally, pointing toward the ground, the tip lightly touching the array pattern on the floor. Just this slight scrape caused irreparable damage to the painstakingly laid [Reverse Abyss Summoning Array].
Seeing this, the Dark Elder Brother's eyes narrowed. Those pitch-black eyes held no anger, but a chilling brutality.
Then, a smile appeared on the Dark Elder Brother's face. The figure, about 1.6 meters tall, spoke with a smile, "Law Destroyer, state your purpose."
"..."
Su Xiao said nothing. Instead, he let his long blade cut across the array pattern beneath his feet once more. With a *clang*, the array suffered further significant damage.
As a master of Alchemy, Su Xiao knew exactly how to destroy this array. Each of his cuts felt like a slash to the Dark Elder Brother's heart. At this point, the Dark Elder Brother was seething with rage.
Compared to the elder brother, the younger brother was calmer—no, more accurately, apathetic. Standing over four meters tall, his hands were metallic black with fine scales, making him seem less human and more beastly, driven by cruelty and a murderous desire.
The Mystic Eye floated behind Su Xiao, scanning the Dark Twins' information.
[The Mystic Eye has been activated. This scan will randomly select one attribute for comparison between enemy and self. The random selection range is: Strength, Agility, Stamina, Charm, Intelligence.]
[Random selection complete. The attribute for this scan is: Charm.]
[Enemy Charm attribute: 268 points.]
[Enemy 'Charm Attribute Judgment': 268 points.]
[Your Charm attribute: -21 points.]
[Your 'Charm Attribute Judgment': -315 points (15x multiplier of -21 points).]
[Comparing Charm attributes...]
[Comparison complete. Because the enemy's Charm attribute is far higher than yours, you cannot view the enemy's combat data. However, because your Charm attribute judgment value is greater than the enemy's, you have successfully detected some special information.]
...
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao was not confused. This judgment stemmed from his [Charm Attribute Exclusive Basic Passive]. After he created [Basic Passive: Blood Awakening], he gained several passive bonuses exclusive to negative Charm attributes. One of them was:
[When equipping Charm-specific equipment, a Charm judgment of your negative Charm attribute × 15 will be compared to determine if it can be worn. Equipping or using Charm-specific equipment in this way will greatly accelerate equipment durability consumption (25-30 times normal speed).]
The current Charm attribute comparison followed this judgment process. Su Xiao's Charm judgment was undoubtedly lower, but not entirely lost, because while 268 points was higher than -315 points, the latter had a greater absolute value.
[You have detected the following information.]
Name: Light/Dark Lord.
Category: Element Child/Abyss Child/Former Twin Guardians of the Astral Tower.
Health (Light Lord): 100% (Approximately 700,000 HP).
Health (Dark Lord): 200% (Approximately 1,800,000 HP).
Light Power: 120,000/120,000 points.
Dark Power: 85,000/85,000 points.
Devouring Annihilation Power: 5,000/5,000 points (Current state of Light/Dark Lord; this energy is unavailable).
True Strength (Light): 450 points.
True Agility (Light): 518 points.
True Stamina (Light): 380 points.
True Intelligence (Light): 540 points.
True Charm (Light): 268 points.
————
True Strength (Dark): 540 points.
True Agility (Dark): 430 points.
True Stamina (Dark): 540 points.
True Intelligence (Dark): 260 points.
Charm (Dark): 1 point.
Twin Skill 1, Light/Dark (Exclusive Passive, Lv.EX): Light Lord/Dark Lord have 95% damage reduction against Light and Dark attributes. The Dark Lord additionally gains 25% physical damage reduction.
Twin Skill 2, Abyss/Element Child (Exclusive Passive, Lv.EX): The elder brother, Light Lord, has Element characteristics; the younger brother, Dark Lord, has Abyss characteristics. They can use abilities from both the Element and Abyss systems.
Twin Skill 3, Twin Lords (Exclusive Passive, Lv.EX): Light and Dark converge, generating Devouring Annihilation Power.
Warning: The Devouring Annihilation produced by the convergence of Light and Dark is extremely dangerous. It can cause injuries that cannot be healed by normal, mid, or high-tier authorities. If a vital area is affected, there is a high probability of being killed or permanently losing some mastered abilities.
...
Su Xiao glanced at his main mission. As expected, the mission objective had changed from killing the Dark Twins to killing the Light/Dark Lord. This wasn't a mission data error. The Light/Dark Lord was known externally as the Dark Twins, and the main mission information followed this designation. The task executor was expected to use personal judgment to uncover secrets and learn the true ability types of the Light/Dark Lord.
Among the Light/Dark Lords, the elder brother, Light Lord, possessed formidable Light Element abilities. Unfortunately for him, he was up against Su Xiao, who had an Element Affinity of 1,160 points.
Conversely, the younger brother, Dark Lord, became the more troublesome opponent. With 1,800,000 HP, high damage reduction, over 540 Stamina, and 540 Strength—51 points higher than Su Xiao—he would be extremely dangerous in close combat. However, the Dark Lord's Agility was 430 points, 59 points lower than Su Xiao's, meaning Su Xiao had a significant speed advantage.
This was the benefit of balanced attribute development. Su Xiao couldn't surpass some major bosses in their primary attributes, but he could compensate for his weaknesses with his strengths in other areas, even achieving a degree of superiority.
Among the cult members surrounding Su Xiao were two Absolute Strength individuals named Balong'er and Gangsa. Balong'er was a burly, bearded man three meters tall, exuding strength. Gangsa resembled a damp, withered corpse, his body wrapped in filthy bandages soaked with black fluid, a visually disturbing sight.
Neither Balong'er nor Gangsa had originally reached Absolute Strength. They achieved it after joining the Dark God Cult and undergoing several Abyss baptisms, but at a cost.
Balong'er and Gangsa exchanged glances and silently retreated behind the other cult members. Facing a Shadow of Law Destruction, they had no intention of charging to the front. They knew that in the Eternal Light World, where Absolute Strength individuals were common, this Law Destroyer had cleared out the monsters in that maddened prison. Just thinking about this made the rough-looking but meticulous Balong'er feel a chill in his heart.
"Devour... completely."
The elder of the twin leaders, Light Lord, floated up and pointed at Su Xiao. After this command, including Balong'er and Gangsa, all the Dark God Cult members felt the mark on their hearts burn. A violent urge to destroy surged into their minds. This was the price of obtaining Dark power.
Boom!
Cult members charged from all sides, creating layers of air explosions. Even Balong'er and Gangsa, who had planned to hold back, were forced forward by the Dark Mark. Balong'er rapidly transformed into a half-human, half-wolf form. The silver-gray fur indicated this was no mere werewolf transformation—this guy had dared to covet Moon Wolf blood.
In the center of the encirclement, the red light in Su Xiao's pupils faded, replaced by the blue light of the Law Destroyer.
Crackle!
A blue arc of lightning appeared beside Su Xiao. As thin as a strand of hair, it effortlessly pierced through space.
At Su Xiao's heart, a blue ring appeared. From this starting point, blue lightning surged outward, spreading in all directions. It was as if a blue heavenly thunderbolt had struck Su Xiao, harming him not at all, but spreading with terrifying force.
Crackle~!
Electric arcs shot through the air, piercing it and riddling space with holes. Various abilities aimed at Su Xiao were instantly evaporated by the bouncing chains of blue-white lightning.
Facing the oncoming wave of lightning, the cult members, whose murderous intent had been fueled by the Dark Mark, snapped back to their senses. More than half of them twisted their faces in terror, overwhelmed by the impending sense of death.
All the surrounding cult members leaped backward, but the lightning spread of Azure Shadow King enveloped them in an instant.
[Azure Shadow King (Active): Immediately consume 30% of maximum Mana to convert it into Cyan Steel Shadow Energy and turn it into lightning. Instantly envelop a diameter of 3,000 meters centered on yourself, dealing 25,000 True Damage + 4% of maximum HP as True Damage. Additionally, it will inevitably trigger the 'Soul Electrocution' effect, causing enemies to be paralyzed for 0.2 to 3 seconds.
Note: If two enemies within this range are less than 5 meters apart, a lightning chain will be triggered. The chain will bounce multiple times between the two targets, each time dealing 25,000 True Damage + 4% of maximum HP as True Damage (up to 125,000 True Damage + 20% of maximum HP as True Damage to a single target).]
Lightning chains bounced between the cult members. Their bodies shattered like broken ceramics, the flying droplets of blood evaporating before they could hit the ground, vaporized by the countless bouncing blue-white chains.
Those who tried to activate spatial abilities fared even worse. If they managed to enter spatial movement, they found themselves in a relatively narrow space. The lightning chains on them crackled and bounced within this confined space, instantly shattering their bodies.
Balong'er and Gangsa, positioned further back, suffered greatly. Balong'er was particularly unlucky. A lightning chain bounced from a nearby leader toward him. Seeing the impossibly fast blue-white chain, Balong'er raised one hand.
Smack!!
Balong'er's entire right arm shattered. But the lightning chain's destruction didn't stop. After obliterating his arm, it shot toward the right side of his head. Balong'er felt a buzz in his brain, and the vision in his right eye vanished.
To others, it looked like a blue-white lightning chain had shattered half of Balong'er's head, sending fragments of skull and brain matter flying.
At this moment, including Balong'er, all the surrounding cult members felt only one thing: everywhere they looked, there was only the Law Destroyer's blue lightning. This place had become a domain, a zone of bouncing lightning chains with no escape.
Though severely wounded, Balong'er was still an Absolute Strength. He barely dodged a lightning chain from his left, but before he could relax, a chain from behind punched through his chest, leaving an arm-sized hole. The surrounding flesh was covered in ceramic-like cracks.
Balong'er looked at Gangsa and saw an unforgettable sight. A figure of black smoke stood beside Gangsa, lightning chains bouncing rapidly between them. Gangsa's filthy bandages shattered, and he couldn't move a single finger.
The black smoke figure held a long-handled crystal warhammer and swung it sideways at Gangsa's cracked body.
Boom!!
Gangsa, an Absolute Strength at the lower end, had his already fractured body smashed to pieces. After two more lightning chains bounced through, his soul was instantly evaporated.
When everything settled, only the Light/Dark Lord and Balong'er, whose lower body was shattered, remained. The other enemies who had surrounded Su Xiao were now scattered fragments. These pieces of flesh lacked biological elasticity, slowly emitting blood mist as they evaporated.
Crunch, crunch~
The sound of flesh being crushed reached Balong'er's ears. He barely opened his left eye. Before his vision cleared, a hand wrapped in a crystal layer grabbed him by the neck and lifted him.
"Law Destroyer... I... inherited a trace of Moon Wolf... blood... don't... kill... me..."
Before Balong'er could finish, there was a *crack*, and his neck was snapped. The residual blue lightning on Su Xiao's arm entered Balong'er's body, completely annihilating his soul.
After using Azure Shadow King, Su Xiao realized the skill description was somewhat inaccurate. The damage limit was calculated based on lightning chains bouncing between two targets. In actual combat, the chains were extremely active. Some unlucky enemies were hit by chains bouncing from three or four nearby teammates, instantly killing them after the chains passed through.
Azure Shadow King's lightning chains were more terrifying than imagined. They could even merge during bouncing. Su Xiao saw one chain merge to the thickness of an arm. When it hit the bandaged Absolute Strength cult member, his body immediately cracked, and then the Demon Spirit shattered him with a crystal hammer blow.
Blood mist rose in the hall. Su Xiao made a grasping motion with one hand, and the surrounding blood mist converged toward his left hand, forming a compressed blood core. A crimson light bloomed, illuminating the Light/Dark Lord dozens of meters away.
The Light Lord already had visible cracks on his body. Even with his powerful Light healing abilities, he couldn't quickly recover from the injuries caused by Azure Shadow King.
The Dark Lord was in better shape, with only some cracks on his tight-fitting armor and a few broken black scales.
Compared to when they first appeared, the Light/Dark Lord's presence had greatly diminished. The difference in combat power between a Law Destroyer who had fully awakened Azure Shadow King and one who hadn't was significant.
Ahead, the elder brother, Light Lord, floated in midair, his eyes pitch black. The younger brother, Dark Lord, had white light shining from his eyes, making him look even more cold and violent.
Clang~
The Dark Lord drew two three-meter-long black blades from the darkness. Each blade was a palm-width wide, with a row of eyes crowded together on the spine, all staring at Su Xiao.
[Warning: You are being subjected to the Gaze of the Dark Eye. You have a 50% chance of triggering an instant death judgment.]
[You have triggered an instant death judgment.]
[Judging...]
[Due to your Abyss Resistance of 53 points, you have immune this instant death judgment.]
...
With a *sizzle*, the Dark Lord's two black blades scraped against each other. Black flames that could ignite spirit and soul erupted from them. As they burned, they dripped a tar-like burning substance onto the ground.
The Light Lord, floating a dozen meters above the ground, made a grasping motion with both hands. With a *hum*, a wisp of light flame formed in his hands.
Whoosh!
The hall floor ignited with Element-type light flames that climbed onto Su Xiao. However, with his Element Affinity of 1,160 points, this Element-type attack was rather ineffective.
Wind pressure suddenly hit Su Xiao's face. The Dark Lord charged like a dark beast, a low growl rumbling from its throat as it swung the black blade in its right hand.
'Light of Time.'
The Light Lord pressed down with one hand. Almost simultaneously, the air around Su Xiao turned from colorless to translucent, making everything around him seem to slow down. Only the Dark Lord's descending black blade remained at full speed.
Thud!
Su Xiao was shattered into pieces, splattering like black sand. This wasn't him, of course. Before the black blade struck, he had swapped positions with the Demon Spirit.
Having missed its slash, the Dark Lord didn't care. It reversed its grip on the other black blade, stabbed it halfway into the ground, and then pulled it out with full force.
With a *boom*, a dark shockwave accompanied the blade's extraction, spreading outward. The broken array pattern on the ground shattered with a *crackle*. The hall itself was pulverized by the dark shockwave. From above, it looked like the ground within a 10-kilometer radius around the Dark Lord had been ripped up, forming a massive black ring.
The array pattern was destroyed. The Light Lord's face twisted in rage, but he quickly suppressed his anger. He knew that continuing the fight with the array would only hinder them. It was better to destroy it outright. Besides, the blue lightning had already damaged it irreparably.
The dark shockwave sent Su Xiao flying into the distance. The Light Lord split off several avatars to try and delay Su Xiao a bit longer.
The Light Lord lowered his flight altitude, coming behind the Dark Lord. He placed one hand on its back, converting light into life force, which was then devoured by the Dark Lord's darkness, rapidly restoring its health.
The Light Lord had realized a serious problem: his Element abilities were ineffective against this Law Destroyer. Normally, enemies would be in great pain within the light flames, but this Law Destroyer had been standing in them for a while, seemingly too lazy to even step out, lest he reveal an opening.
"Is this the calamity the prophet spoke of? Fate... cannot bind us!"
The Light Lord used his right hand as a blade, *plop*, and chopped off his own left forearm. Light blood splattered from the stump. He turned sideways to the Dark Lord and pressed the stump against its neck.
Flesh merged and devoured. A massive mouth full of sharp teeth formed on the Dark Lord's neck. Dark arms sprouted from its shoulders and back, grabbing the Light Lord and stuffing him into the gaping maw. It chewed him to pieces with a gruesome crunch and then swallowed with a *gulp*.
This all happened too fast. The Light Lord was decisive. Realizing his abilities were useless against the enemy, he abandoned the first and second stages, entering the third stage form.
"Roar!"
The Dark Lord roared. Now, it should be called the Twin Lord. The armor on its upper body burst, revealing a body covered in black scales. The scales on its right arm turned silver-white. Twisted wings sprouted from its back. These two black wings looked tattered, incapable of flight, more like ragged cloaks hanging behind it.
But don't underestimate these tattered wings. They were the Twin Lord's power source. Light and Dark forces converged within them, generating Devouring Annihilation. This was why the wings were so damaged.
The Twin Lord's silver right arm was slightly thicker. The two original black blades had their straight spines facing each other, clicking together as they merged. The eyes on them melted, and the two blades fused into a single three-meter-long black greatsword.
Faintly glowing white threads spread along the greatsword's spine. When the Twin Lord's right hand grasped the Light-Dark Greatsword, black flames rose from it. Looking closely, one could see white flames mixed within the black, giving it terrifying power. Just a slight touch burned through the space it passed.
The Twin Lord's completely black eyes gradually developed white ring-shaped pupils. This meant the Light Lord's consciousness had taken control of the body, while the Dark Lord's consciousness had transferred to the Light-Dark Greatsword.
The Twin Lord raised its left hand. A pale bone mask formed in its hand, which it placed on its face. Its movements carried a strange, eerie elegance.
Su Xiao walked forward steadily. White light particles drifted from the long blade in his hand, indicating that the three avatars, which held most of the Light Lord's power, had been dealt with in such a short time.
Snowflakes fell from the sky. On the cracked earth, Su Xiao and the Twin Lord stood a hundred meters apart. Blood Qi and darkness made their respective positions into domains of aura, eroding each other.
Just as they were about to clash and decide life or death, the ruler of Eternal Winter City, the Winter King, hidden in a distant place, showed a different light in his eyes. A hundred years ago, faced with this situation, he would have immediately retreated with his hundred or so personal guards.
But now, the Winter King was nearing his end. The weakness and approaching death of old age had made this former king greedy and reckless. His former wisdom had been eroded by desire and a desperate will to survive. Especially since the Twin Lord, a few kilometers away, possessed the Dark origin he needed to extend his life.
A few kilometers away, the aura confrontation between Su Xiao and the Twin Lord had reached its peak. Blood Qi and darkness eroded each other. The two stared at each other, neither showing any intention of backing down.
But suddenly, the Blood Qi and darkness both retracted. Su Xiao and the Twin Lord, without a word, both looked toward the hiding place of the Winter King and his men. No words were needed. The two sides, ready to fight to the death, had decided to first kill all those hidden in the shadows before settling their own score.
In this decisive battle, neither Su Xiao nor the Twin Lord was confident of victory. But they agreed on one thing: whoever won would do so through pure strength, and the loser would have no complaints. They absolutely could not let those lurking in the distance become the final victors.