Chapter 21: The Four Intermediate Gods
Above the O'Brien Empire.
"Boom!"
The sound of air explosions rang out. Amidst the turbulent airflow, four figures could be faintly seen flying side by side at extreme speed toward the east. The four figures made no attempt to conceal themselves, their speed soaring to terrifying levels. Nor did they care about hiding their tracks, the air explosions loud and clear. At the same time, from these four individuals, a berserk and terrifying aura radiated outward.
Below, on the boundless earth, in areas where people gathered, some powerful experts lurked in hiding.
A middle-aged man, who had been cheerfully instructing some youths in their training, looked up in shock, his face changing color: "This? Four intermediate gods? Could they be from Lord Adkins's side?"
"Teacher. Teacher."
The youths called out in confusion.
"You all continue practicing on your own," the middle-aged man said casually before leaving. As he walked, he felt a trace of curiosity in his heart. "Four intermediate gods going out together, and making no effort to hide their tracks. It seems they're about to do something big." Unable to resist his curiosity, he flickered and vanished directly from the road.
Bernice, Gatenby, Hambrit, and Ogavin flew side by side in a straight line at extreme speed. Their robes fluttered, and the air explosions sounded like thunderclaps. As Bernice had put it: "When we make our move, we need to have presence. There's no need for sneak attacks or the like—that would disgrace Lord Adkins."
Since Bernice had spoken, how could Ogavin and the others dare to disobey?
Naturally, the four of them flew in such a grand, imposing manner toward Dragonblood Castle. As they passed, some hidden Saint-level and God-level experts detected them, and those individuals would send divine sense messages to their friends, causing quite a few experts to quietly follow along.
It was fortunate that Bernice and his group actively radiated their domineering aura; otherwise, those God-level and Saint-level experts would have had no way to track them.
Inside Dragonblood Castle.
In the western courtyard, the purple sword shadows were dreamlike and illusory. Linley's figure moved at extreme speed along with the sword shadows, occasionally accompanied by the sound of sword chants. Where the Bloodviolet flexible sword passed, space sometimes produced overlapping images. At other times, it would directly collapse, or leave behind a thin, thread-like crack in space.
As he trained,
Linley's understanding of the 'Profound Mystery of Speed' deepened. Moreover, the power of the Bloodviolet flexible sword was gradually being unleashed.
Linley discovered that the sword chants of the Bloodviolet flexible sword were secondary; its true strength lay in its own sharpness. As Linley's compatibility with the Bloodviolet flexible sword increased, even without any improvement in his insights, the power of his Dimensional Blade attacks had clearly grown much stronger.
"Hmm?"
Linley, immersed in his training, suddenly stopped. He looked north in surprise. "Such a terrifying aura. And not even trying to hide it!" Linley clearly sensed several powerful auras rapidly approaching Dragonblood Castle from the north.
Not just Linley.
Even the War God and High Priest, who were refining divine sparks, as well as Tarossa, Dilin, Hise, Bebe—every God-level expert present had already sensed it.
"Mr. Bernice, ahead is Dragonblood Castle," Ogavin said, his heart surging with excitement.
He finally had a chance for revenge.
"I've waited two years for this day." Ogavin's face flushed slightly, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade as he looked at the distant Dragonblood Castle.
Bernice, with his silver hair, looked calmly at the distant Dragonblood Castle: "Oh, so this is Dragonblood Castle? The four of us have come all this way, actively radiating our auras. There are definitely quite a few people following behind us." Bernice was well aware of this.
Ogavin, Hambrit, and Gatenby all listened to Bernice's orders.
"We absolutely cannot disgrace Lord Adkins. This time, we must deal with them cleanly. Hambrit." Bernice said calmly.
"Mr. Bernice." Hambrit awaited orders respectfully.
"You make the first move. Destroy this Dragonblood Castle. Those ordinary people don't deserve to watch the battle." Bernice gave the order coldly. Hambrit's eyes lit up, and he flew forward. He sneered and extended his right hand in a grasping motion.
"Rumble~" In an instant, heaven and earth trembled.
Violent wind-element energy surged from all directions toward the sky above Dragonblood Castle, forming a massive, millstone-like cyan vortex in the air. Pale cyan wind blades occasionally shot out from this giant vortex, blocking out even the sunlight.
The entire Dragonblood Castle was bathed in a cold, cyan light.
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"... Figures appeared in the sky above Dragonblood Castle in an instant—Tarossa, Dilin, Linley, the War God, the High Priest, Bebe, and a group of God-level experts. The enemy's move was too grand, and such momentum was felt by everyone in Dragonblood Castle.
Linley, the War God, and everyone else looked up at the sky.
In the sky, the massive, millstone-like cyan vortex was clearly brewing an unprecedented and terrifying power. If that power were to strike down, even a Saint-level ultimate warrior would likely die. Only God-level experts could survive.
"They want to destroy Dragonblood Castle, killing even the ordinary people." Linley's face darkened.
Below, Dragonblood Castle held too many of his loved ones. Linley would never allow such a thing to happen.
"It's Ogavin again. This time, he's brought two more with him." Tarossa sneered, looking at the four figures in the distance. Dilin also smiled disdainfully and said, "Tarossa, it seems Ogavin didn't learn his lesson last time. He doesn't care at all. Now he dares to come again."
"Then we'll just destroy his remaining body too, won't we?" Tarossa said with a faint smile.
At this moment, only Tarossa and Dilin, both intermediate gods, could remain so composed.
In Dragonblood Castle, Wharton, Taylor, Gates, Delia, and a large group of people looked up at the four figures in the distance, their hearts trembling. In their eyes, the four intermediate gods, radiating a heart-stopping aura, were like four invincible demon gods.
Powerful. Unmatchable!
"Turn to ashes," Hambrit said with a light laugh, pressing his right hand down!
The massive cyan vortex, which had been hovering high above Dragonblood Castle, suddenly sank. Countless pale golden wind blades, dense as locusts, surged downward. As far as Linley and the others could see, there was nothing but endless pale golden wind blades.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
The sound of metal striking metal rang out. A translucent, greenish-white barrier appeared on the surface of Dragonblood Castle. Countless pale golden wind blades struck the translucent barrier, but it remained completely unharmed.
"Good heavens." The thousands of people in Dragonblood Castle looked up at the massive translucent barrier covering the entire sky above them.
They could clearly see the endless pale golden wind blades raining down, each one crashing into the translucent barrier. Many guards and maids in Dragonblood Castle broke out in cold sweat. It was no lie that God-level experts could destroy heaven and earth with a wave of their hands.
"Haha, Lord Adkins is, after all, a revered high god. Do you really think that killing these ordinary people will bring honor to your Lord Adkins?" Tarossa's loud laughter echoed through every space for dozens of miles around.
The endless wind blades stopped.
Hambrit's face turned ashen as he retreated to Bernice's side. He had gathered power for a while, but Tarossa had formed that translucent ice barrier in a short time and withstood it. His strength was clearly inferior to Tarossa's.
Bernice looked down at Tarossa: "Tarossa? Not bad. I'll give you a chance. You can leave now, and I'll spare your life."
Tarossa and Dilin were both stunned.
"Are you senile, you silver-haired old man?" Tarossa laughed in fury.
Bernice smiled faintly and flipped his hand. A spear appeared in his hand—an ancient-looking spear, bronze in color, with patches of bloodstains on it. But the moment this spear was held in Bernice's hand, the smiling silver-haired old man seemed to transform into an invincible deity!
Overwhelming!
"Buzz~" The mere natural aura radiating from the ancient spear tore through space.
"A highgod artifact." Tarossa and Dilin's faces changed drastically.
"Since you refuse my kindness, then..." Bernice looked at Tarossa coldly, "Prepare to die." Bernice's figure flickered like a phantom, crossing the sky in an instant. The ancient spear thrust directly at Tarossa.
Space seemed to freeze in that instant. There was only the ancient spear!
Irresistible!
Tarossa's face changed dramatically. Gritting his teeth, his figure split in two in an instant. The green-robed Tarossa and the black-robed Tarossa both moved to block the attack. The eerie cyan long whip coiled around the spear like a python, while the cold, narrow black longsword, radiating a destructive aura, slashed at the spear.
"Bang!"
Bernice's figure trembled slightly, but both the green-robed Tarossa and the black-robed Tarossa were sent crashing to the ground.
The terrifying impact produced visible shockwaves that spread outward.
Linley, the War God, the High Priest, Bebe, Hise—all the lesser gods—were involuntarily forced to the ground by the spreading shockwaves. Linley's face changed drastically: "Not good!" If those shockwaves hit Dragonblood Castle, it would be reduced to rubble, and many would die.
"Hmph!" Dilin flipped his hands and struck out with both palms. A wave of destruction spread out, forcibly dispersing the shockwaves.
"Whoosh!" Tarossa's two avatars rose again, floating side by side with Dilin.
The black-robed Tarossa transmitted via divine sense: "Dilin, this old bastard is too strong. His own strength is about the same as mine, but that weapon of his is a highgod artifact. And that's not all—he still has three intermediate gods behind him. We're in trouble this time!"
Dilin's face was grim: "We'll have to fight for now."
Linley and the others had landed on the ground. Wharton and Delia immediately ran over, worriedly asking, "Big brother, things don't look good."
Linley was extremely anxious inside, but he could only say quietly, "Don't panic. Lord Tarossa and the others should still have a plan." Bebe was also by Linley's side, equally helpless. After all, Bebe was only a lesser god. This kind of battle was beyond him.
"Linley, quickly, take the people and flee!" Tarossa's voice rang in Linley's mind.
Linley's heart trembled.
"The enemy is too strong this time!" Tarossa had no confidence at all.
"Boss, this isn't good," Bebe said worriedly.
"Today!" A booming voice came down from high above. Bernice looked down at the people of Dragonblood Castle. "None of you will escape. Prepare to receive the punishment of the 'Gothos Spear'!" Countless spear shadows filled the air as Bernice, holding the spear, looked down like an invincible demon god.
"Buzz!" Countless spear shadows rained down like dense raindrops.
Bernice split into two, while Ogavin, Gatenby, and Hambrit each had only one body. Five figures dove down from midair at extreme speed. Ogavin laughed wildly: "Everyone, die!!!"
Everyone in Dragonblood Castle felt despair.
"Flee!" Linley roared through divine sense, his face twisted.
In an instant, the War God, the High Priest, Linley, Delia, Bebe—everyone—immediately scattered in all directions, trying to escape the battle zone as quickly as possible. Only then could they temporarily save their lives.
"Haha, why is everyone running? Don't panic!" A loud laugh rang out.
Four blurry figures shot up from Dragonblood Castle into the air.
Even Dilin and Tarossa, who had been somewhat fearful, were overjoyed. They immediately accompanied the four figures as they charged forward.
Bernice's side: Bernice himself with two avatars, Gatenby, Ogavin, and Hambrit, each with one body.
Dragonblood Castle's side: the four suddenly appearing figures, plus Tarossa and Dilin.
Six figures attacked five. Three of them targeted Bernice's two avatars... The battle began and ended in an instant. Just as Linley and the others, who had been fleeing in despair, looked up in confusion—
The battle was already over.
Bernice, Hambrit, Gatenby, and Ogavin were all covered in blood.
"Highgod artifacts... four of them... all of them!" Bernice's face was pale, but his eyes were filled with shock as he stared at the four suddenly appearing figures. Judging by their appearances, it was clear that these four avatars belonged to two individuals. Two of the figures wore purple robes, and two wore golden robes. Their faces were all extremely delicate.
It had been five against four, with the two purple-robed figures jointly attacking one of Bernice's avatars. They had destroyed that avatar and seized its intermediate god divine spark.
"Bernice, today we destroy one of your avatars. Now get lost." One of the purple-robed youths, holding a divine spark in his hand, said with a faint smile.
"This... no..." Ogavin was completely dumbfounded.
They had been on the verge of victory just moments ago, with even Tarossa no match for Bernice. But who would have thought the battle would change in an instant? These four suddenly appearing avatars all possessed highgod artifacts!
"Dragonblood Castle is under Lord Beirut's protection. Tell Adkins it's best not to send anyone else. Otherwise, next time, it won't be as simple as destroying just one of your avatars," the purple-robed youth said with a faint smile.
Ogavin, Hambrit, and Gatenby immediately looked at Bernice.
Bernice's face was ashen. Looking at the four figures before him, all wielding highgod artifacts, a chill ran down his spine. He said in a low voice, "We're going back!" Ogavin was unwilling, but looking at the four mysterious young figures, he still followed Bernice as they quickly departed.
"They really came to deliver divine sparks," the four figures said, turning around.
Tarossa, Dilin, Linley, the War God—everyone went to greet them.
It was easy to tell that the four figures were avatars of two individuals, as two of them had identical faces.
"Bebe, you handle this divine spark." The purple-robed youth tossed the intermediate god divine spark directly to Bebe. Bebe caught it, staring blankly at the four figures.
Feeling their auras, he was extremely familiar with them. Bebe was dumbfounded: "You're Hart... Harvey?"
"Oh, that's right."
The four figures merged in pairs, becoming two youths. At the same time, two purple-golden phantoms flew over from a distance and merged directly into their bodies.
"But... you... you?" Bebe was stunned.
"Those are our true bodies. Our true bodies have always remained at the Saint-level," the purple-robed youth 'Hart' said. "Father wasn't at ease with you, so naturally, he had the two of us stay here."
Linley, the War God, the High Priest, and the others all felt their minds spinning.
What?
Those two Purple-Golden Rat Kings had suddenly transformed into intermediate gods?