Chapter 39: Gilding the Lily
Nirv's twelve bodies were all attacking with their legs, not using his divine artifact. Because Nirv himself did not want Linley to detect his true form. However, when he saw Linley's Blackheavy greatsword swinging toward his true body, Nirv's main body flipped his hand, and a longspear covered with mottled black spots appeared.
"Ptoo!" Space twisted.
"Clang!"
The Blackheavy greatsword clashed with the mottled black-spotted longspear. A faint, gray, illusory sword shadow directly ignored Nirv's bodily defense and entered his body. This was Linley's 'Netherworld Swordwave,' which had greatly increased in power after he had fused the 'Earth Element' and 'Earth Pulse.'
"Die!" While controlling his mental energy to block this Netherworld Swordwave, Nirv frantically commanded his other bodies to attack Linley.
Even if he died, he had to kill Linley!
Moreover, Nirv didn't think much of Linley's attack. In his view... how powerful could Linley's soul attack be? At best, it would be a condensed mental force shaped into a form and then launched. But Nirv was wrong!
Countless dense mental waves, following the profound mystery of the Earth Pulse, formed this cohesive whole.
"Hum—"
The countless mental waves of the Netherworld Swordwave struck the mental defense in a relentless barrage, breaking through it like a storm, plunging straight into Nirv's soul sea, and smashing violently against the divine spark that emitted a cyan light. Nirv only felt a deafening roar that shook his soul, and then he lost all consciousness.
At that moment—
Countless white light rays abruptly appeared everywhere. All twelve of Nirv's bodies were entangled and bound by these light rays, unable to move, and naturally unable to attack Linley in the slightest.
"Haha, Linley." A light laugh sounded. A handsome youth appeared before Linley and Bebe.
"Lord Adkins." Linley was somewhat surprised. Why had this Adkins suddenly shown up? But Linley still said gratefully, "Thank you, Lord Adkins, for your help."
Adkins felt a surge of joy inside.
Ever since a year ago, when he had spread his divine sense over the O'Brien Empire and accidentally discovered Tanner telling his subordinates about Nirv's plan to kill Linley, Adkins had been keeping an eye on things. He had even deliberately gone to that gorge, staying near Nirv.
His goal was to rescue Linley at the critical moment, making Linley grateful to him, and making Bebe grateful to him!
Building a good relationship with Bebe was a very important part of Adkins's plan. Since Lord Cyanfire was on the Yulan continent, if Adkins still wanted to obtain treasures from the Necropolis of the Gods, his only option was to ally with Beirut.
"I was just passing by and happened to discover..." Adkins was all smiles, but halfway through his sentence, this Lord Adkins's voice abruptly stopped.
He discovered that eleven of the twelve bodies of the midgod 'Nirv' had collapsed and dissipated, turning into wind elements and vanishing. As for Nirv's main body, it was also bound by him without any resistance. The muscles on Adkins's face twitched.
He clearly sensed that the soul within Nirv's main body had already dissipated, leaving only a divine spark.
Adkins gave Linley an awkward smile. "Linley, I really didn't expect that you would actually kill this Nirv. Whether I acted or not, it wouldn't have mattered." Linley's Netherworld Swordwave had killed Nirv in one blow. With Nirv's soul gone, his avatars naturally dissipated.
His main body wouldn't attack either. Linley was never in any danger!
But Adkins had planned to save him at the most dangerous moment, so that Linley would be even more grateful. Now he realized that what he had done was completely gilding the lily! Even if he hadn't acted, Linley wouldn't have had any problems.
"I still need to thank Lord Adkins." Linley said with a smile. Then he turned his head to look at Bebe. The one who had truly helped him this time was Bebe. If not for Bebe using his innate divine ability to determine which of the twelve bodies was the true one...
If Linley had randomly chosen one to attack based on his previous plan, he wouldn't have hit the true body. And if he didn't hit the true body... then, facing the frenzied attacks of a midgod, Linley's body would definitely have burst apart.
"Boss." Bebe also had a smile on his face.
Linley and Bebe didn't need to say much; just a look was enough to understand each other's thoughts. They had experienced this kind of danger many times.
"This person was killed by you, so everything is yours." Adkins directly controlled Nirv's midgod divine spark, along with his spatial ring and divine artifact, suspending them in front of Linley. Linley didn't stand on ceremony and directly stored them in his own spatial ring.
Adkins felt a bitter taste in his heart.
Ever since he learned that Nirv was going to kill Linley, he had prepared for this day for a long time! He had also deliberately put in the effort to act at the most dangerous moment!
Who would have thought that it was all for nothing?
"Lord Adkins, I'd like to ask, what profound mystery did that person just use to create so many avatars? And why couldn't their aura be determined?" Linley inquired.
Adkins was determined to build a closer relationship with Linley and Bebe, so he naturally answered very enthusiastically. "Oh, that person used the 'Avatar Art' from the wind-elemental laws. His divine power was relatively low, his soul wasn't strong enough, and his mastery of the Avatar Art was insufficient. I know of a highgod who can instantly create over a thousand avatars!"
"Over a thousand avatars?" Linley was stunned.
"That's an extreme case. Most experts have a few dozen. He only had eleven avatars, which is indeed very few." Adkins said dismissively. "I think this person became a god by refining a divine spark. His understanding of the wind-elemental laws is also very shallow. The power of his avatars isn't great; they can only be used for material attacks. They're fine against lower-level opponents, but useless against experts of the same level."
Adkins suddenly smiled. "However, they are a good way to escape."
Linley's eyes lit up at this.
The aura of these avatars was the same as the main body, so others really couldn't tell them apart. After all, not many people could, like Bebe, discern which body contained the divine spark. And Bebe's method came at a considerable cost.
"Linley, I know this midgod." Adkins took the initiative to say.
"Who is he? Why did he want to kill me?" Linley quickly pressed. Bebe also listened carefully. In the past few years, Linley had already been assassinated twice in a row.
Adkins said, "Do you still remember the highgod that Lord Cyanfire killed last time? That highgod was named Sadista. This person was one of Sadista's subordinates." Adkins had learned the name 'Sadista' by covering Sadista's residence with his divine sense and overhearing Tanner and the others talking.
"That highgod? Sadista?" Linley frowned.
Linley had also heard from Cyanfire 'Raylin' that the ones who had assassinated their group were from the Infernal Realm.
"Well, Linley, I still have things to do, so I'll be going now." Adkins said with a smile. "If you have time in the future, you are always welcome at my place." Adkins's attitude was friendly, and then he transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the sky.
Linley and Bebe exchanged a glance.
"Adkins's attitude is a bit too good, isn't it?" Bebe blinked. "I feel like something's off."
Linley looked toward the O'Brien Empire.
The Ogwen faction was hostile to him, but now Ogwen's 'leader,' Adkins, was acting like this.
"Whatever his game is, at least I can be sure that Adkins genuinely wants to build a good relationship with us. Let's go. We're heading back." Linley thought of the divine spark he had just received. "It seems I have a gift for Delia too!" With Nirv dead, that wind-element midgod divine spark was perfect for Delia.
After all, Delia had become a god by refining a divine spark, and she would only be able to rely on refining divine sparks in the future. It would be very difficult for her to break through on her own.
The battle between Nirv and Linley, especially the collapse of Nirv's eleven avatars, released a powerful burst of wind elements that even caused a tremor in the world's elemental energy. This naturally alerted many experts on the Yulan continent. For a time, many divine senses covered this area.
Within the Rohr Empire.
"Nirv is dead..."
Tanner let out a long sigh. His divine sense also detected the figures of Linley and Bebe. "Nirv failed too." Then Tanner's expression changed.
"Anras acted last time, and Nirv acted this time. Could Linley possibly know that Nirv and the others are from our side? If he goes to ask for revenge from the midgods in his mansion, or if Lord Beirut acts... then..." Tanner's heart skipped a beat.
"Anyway, staying on the Yulan continent any longer is useless."
Tanner knew that, firstly, they couldn't obtain the treasures of the Necropolis of the Gods, and secondly, they couldn't kill Linley.
"It's time to return to the Infernal Realm."
"Everyone, gather in the front courtyard!" Tanner immediately sent a mental message. In just a moment, dozens of people flew directly out of the Rohr Empire, heading toward the Arctic Icefield. They set off in the morning and flew for several hours, arriving at the Arctic Icefield around noon.
Their speed was indeed extremely fast.
On the Arctic Icefield, atop an iceberg, the cold wind howled. Hoddan walked out of his ice hut.
"Oh? Tanner?" Hoddan saw Tanner and shook his head with a sigh. "You're all going back?"
Tanner nodded slightly and said bitterly, "Our mission to the Yulan continent has failed."
"Did Nirv succeed in killing Linley?" Hoddan asked. Three years ago, Tanner had already sent someone to inform Hoddan of this news.
"He failed. Nirv is dead too." Tanner shook his head helplessly. "If this Linley goes to the Blue Prefecture, he will indeed be a great threat to our Renars family. But even if I go back and report this to the family, I'm afraid they won't take it seriously."
Tanner's status in the family was relatively low. Those who became gods by refining divine sparks, unless they were highgods, generally had low status.
"I have no say in family matters." Hoddan sighed. "Otherwise, this boring task wouldn't have fallen to me. Alright, I'll send you back."
The group of god-level experts led by Nirv immediately stood inside a hexagonal magic formation. Hoddan activated the formation, and streaks of light shot into the sky. The space within the formation became distorted and dreamlike. In just a moment, the dozens of figures vanished.
Tanner and his group immediately fled the Yulan continent and returned to the Infernal Realm. Meanwhile, at Dragonblood Castle on the Yulan continent, there was laughter and joy everywhere. Tarosse, Dylin, the War God, the High Priest—everyone was having lunch together.
It had been six years since Linley had last returned.
Hearing about some of the things Linley had experienced in the past few years surprised Tarosse, Dylin, and the others. In particular, Raylin killing the highgod Sadista in one move left the experts present dumbfounded.
"You say that the master of the Bronze Mountain, 'Raylin,' is Lord Cyanfire? One of the Five Kings, Lord Cyanfire?" Dylin asked in surprise.
Dylin had also been in the Gebados Planar Prison and knew how terrifying 'Cyanfire' was.
Bebe, with his mouth full of food, said, "Even Adkins, when he went to Bronze Mountain and saw Mr. Raylin, immediately knelt on one knee and called him City Lord."
"Adkins?" Wharton, sitting next to Linley, frowned.
Wharton detested Adkins. Because his grandson, Siri's son 'Little Cassa,' had been killed by Ogwen back then. And Ogwen was one of Adkins's subordinates.
"Speaking of Adkins, I remember something." Linley looked at Olivier, who was not far away. "Olivier, Adkins has already guaranteed to us that Ogwen will never come looking for you again from now on."
Olivier's eyes immediately lit up.
He had been staying in Dragonblood Castle for years, afraid to go anywhere else, precisely because he feared Ogwen's attack.
"Linley, thank you." Olivier felt a surge of excitement inside.
"You should thank Mr. Raylin." Linley said. But Olivier immediately followed up, "Linley, since Ogwen is no longer coming after me... then, tomorrow, I plan to set off for the Arctic Icefield. I really can't hold back anymore."
"Tomorrow? What are you going to the Arctic Icefield for?"
Olivier smiled slightly, a look of longing in his eyes. "I plan to go to the highest plane, the 'Infernal Realm'!"