Chapter 34: A Contest of Attrition?
The green-haired girl and the blue-robed youth had no time to dodge. Their first instinct was to rely on their respective Sovereign artifacts to block the attack. The two massive fists came crashing down like two small mountains pressing upon them.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Two heavy impacts sent the green-haired girl and the blue-robed youth smashing deep into the ground. Moments later, they shot back out from the earth, hovering high in the sky, drawing close to the other four.
"We were wrong." Lanasha transmitted her voice lowly to the other five. "This big fellow is an Earth Sovereign, not a human! If he transformed into human form, the head would indeed be a vital point, and the soul would be within it. But now, in his Earth Sovereign form, his vital point is the heart core. The soul is within the heart core, and the divine spark is also inside the heart core!"
It was just like when Linley had encountered that Flame Giant in the Godrealm Cemetery. Even when the Flame Giant's entire body was shattered, it didn't die. Its vital point was that transparent stone—the heart core!
This type of metallic, stone-like life form possesses a single, most important heart core.
The soul resides within it, and upon becoming a god, the divine spark also merges into it! As long as the heart core is destroyed, it can be killed!
"Haha, so that's it." The blue-robed youth laughed loudly. "Since we know his vital point, killing him will be simple."
"I'll use my innate divine ability once more. I'll rely on all of you." Lanasha transmitted to the other five. In truth, even without her innate divine ability, the six of them could still kill Lei Hong. After all, Lei Hong only had two fists; he couldn't possibly obstruct all six at once. The six could easily take the opportunity to blast a hole in his chest and charge in, destroying the heart core!
But using the innate divine ability to bind Lei Hong, then killing him, would be effortless.
"Your companions are quite formidable. An Earth Sovereign—such a naturally freakish being, yet able to reach this level in profound mysteries of the laws—truly rare." Monterro seemed very relaxed. He had full confidence that his group could easily kill Lei Hong. The earlier mistake was just a momentary lapse.
"Not good!" Reisgem also sensed trouble.
Last time, they had struck Lei Hong's head. Next time, those six would surely attack Lei Hong's heart core.
"Roar!" Reisgem couldn't help but let out a furious roar. A phantom image of a massive violet crystal beast appeared behind him.
Innate Divine Ability—Violet Crystal Barrier!
Streams of black Sovereign power tinged with violet light spread out, forming a huge black cocoon. However, unlike a black cocoon, this one instead wrapped heavily around Monterro. In truth, the shape the Violet Crystal Barrier took and who it enveloped were entirely controlled by Reisgem. In that instant, Monterro was trapped within the Violet Crystal Barrier, unable to break free.
Reisgem regained his freedom!
"Lei Hong, run!" Reisgem transmitted mentally.
At the same time, Reisgem shot forward like an arrow. As he sped out, a violet longspear appeared in his hand. His right arm traced an arc, and he hurled it with all his might. The violet streak of light, at an astonishingly terrifying speed, shot directly toward the silver-robed woman, Lanasha.
Lanasha could only cross her arms.
"Clang!" The violet streak slammed into Lanasha's arms, sending her flying backward.
Lanasha dared to block like this because she had a trump card—the only Sovereign artifact she possessed was a defensive material Sovereign artifact.
Although Lanasha wasn't dead, she was knocked back, interrupting her innate divine ability.
"Lei Hong, go!" Reisgem urged anxiously.
"Get out of the way!" A sharp shout rang out. The green-haired girl flickered and appeared before Reisgem, seizing the chance to attack him. Reisgem's own offensive Sovereign artifact was still flying back to him. He could only let out a low growl, stretch out his palm, and fiercely slap forward—
Reisgem's palm shimmered with a crystalline black light. It seemed to strike casually, yet it felt as if it were enveloping the heavens, wrapping around the delicate little fist.
"Boom!" A deep, muffled sound. Reisgem was knocked backward, and a crisp crack of breaking bone followed.
"Sss..." Lei Hong's body rapidly shrank.
A hazy black light emanated from Reisgem's body, spreading out to form a Violet Crystal Space spanning a full kilometer. The powerful gravitational force made the seven enemies' bodies tremble involuntarily.
"Don't let them escape. Kill!" Lanasha commanded via mental transmission.
"We need to go." Reisgem had no time to think of anything else. He grabbed Lei Hong and fled madly.
"Snap!" A long whip shot out abruptly, lashing directly onto Lei Hong. The others immediately gave chase.
"Don't think you can escape!" By now, Monterro had also broken free from the Violet Crystal Barrier. Countless white rays once again bound toward Reisgem.
"Roar!" Reisgem turned and let out a furious roar. A large amount of destructive Sovereign power spread out, forming a massive net—his innate divine ability, the Violet Crystal Barrier. The enormous Violet Crystal Barrier swept backward, attempting to envelop the seven pursuers. Unfortunately, they were all spaced apart, so it only trapped four. Three escaped, including Monterro.
"Swish!" "Swish!"
Reisgem and Lei Hong fled.
"After them!" Monterro shouted.
Reisgem knew the situation was dire, but he also understood: "Linley and Bebe are underground, being chased by Uman. Uman is strong, but Bebe's defenses are formidable—he won't die." While fleeing, Reisgem suddenly raised his head and roared, "Linley! You two run for your lives! If there's a chance, we'll meet again!"
The roar echoed across the heavens and earth! Uman was also in a sorry state. He was clearly a practitioner of the Laws of the Earth, and his underground sensing was very accurate. Although Linley and Bebe were using the Blackstone Space to stay a few hundred meters ahead, Uman could easily pinpoint their location.
This Uman was dead set on Linley and Bebe.
"Linley! You two run for your lives! If there's a chance, we'll meet again!" The thunderous voice penetrated the ground, and Linley and Bebe heard it.
"Boss, looks like Reisgem and the others are in trouble too." Bebe transmitted.
"Only one person is chasing us. Seven are chasing them! Those seven might not dare to kill Reisgem, but they'd dare to kill Lei Hong. Let's go. Don't linger in this area." Although Linley had been fleeing, he had been circling around, hoping to reunite with Reisgem and Lei Hong.
But now, it seemed the situation had deteriorated to the point where they had to scatter and flee.
"Whoosh, whoosh!" Linley and Bebe didn't bother with direction. They picked one and sped off in a straight line.
"Swish!" "Swish!" They quickly burst out of the surface.
"You two won't escape." Uman shot out almost immediately after.
Linley and Bebe glanced back. Uman was following a few hundred meters behind. At the speed of commanders, a few hundred meters was but a blink of an eye. Linley and Bebe couldn't escape Uman's line of sight. On the surface, Uman could see them with his eyes.
Underground, Uman could sense them through his connection to the earth.
Bebe growled, "Hey, Uman, you keep chasing us! Aren't you tired?"
"It's boring on the planar battlefield anyway. I'm not in a hurry. Even if it takes two more days, I'll catch you two." Uman seemed relaxed, sneering, "In terms of speed, you're both much slower than me! Aren't you just relying on that space similar to Reisgem's Violet Crystal Space to shake me off?" As he spoke, Uman was already running parallel to Linley and Bebe, still a few hundred meters apart.
Uman's speed was indeed faster than theirs.
But with the Blackstone Space, Uman couldn't get close.
"Chasing like this, you'll never catch us." Bebe shouted loudly.
"Once your Sovereign power runs out, this gravity space won't stop me either." Uman sneered.
Indeed, without Sovereign power, the Blackstone Space's power would drop significantly. Uman, using Sovereign power, could resist the gravity and catch up.
"Haha... Sovereign power running out?" Linley laughed loudly. "Mr. Uman, just keep chasing."
Linley wasn't worried. He continued fleeing in a straight line, putting more distance between them and the original battlefield.
A moment later—
Linley's Sovereign power finally ran out. The black light around his body faded.
"Haha!" Uman laughed loudly, darting like lightning into the Blackstone Space. As expected, the gravity was much weaker. Uman's speed decreased, but he was still much faster than Linley and Bebe. "Prepare to die." Uman was exhilarated. Finally, he could kill these two troublesome brats.
But just then—
"Boom!" Black light once again coiled around Linley's body. The Blackstone Space's power surged, and Linley and Bebe's speed increased again.
"More Sovereign power." Uman was stunned. His speed dropped sharply.
"Uman, want to compete in consuming Sovereign power?" Bebe sneered. "Go ahead. We're happy to oblige."
At the same time, the Blackstone Space's area shrank from five hundred meters to a hundred meters. That range was enough to ensure safety. A smaller area meant slower Sovereign power consumption.
"You seem to have a lot of Sovereign power." Uman hesitated.
"Of course. My brother Reisgem is the son of the Violet Orchid Sovereign." Bebe sneered. "Come on. Let's see how much Sovereign power the Radiant Sovereign gave you."
Uman was taken aback.
He knew Reisgem had a lot of Sovereign power. In the eyes of Sovereigns, Sovereign's envoys could be replaced. They didn't care much, unless it was someone at the level of Paragon or Beirut. The amount of Sovereign power given to envoys was limited. A few dozen drops at once was already considered generous.
But what about Sovereigns giving to their own children?
Uman knew that the second and third generations of the Augusta family each had plenty of Sovereign power. And that was with over a thousand members. Reisgem was an only child. How much Sovereign power did he have? In the eyes of many commanders, Reisgem was a walking treasure trove. Tempting! But Reisgem wasn't stupid. He wouldn't give Sovereign power to anyone who wasn't a friend or brother.
"Did Reisgem give them a lot of his Sovereign power?" Uman wondered.
He hadn't thought of this before because, deep down, he still considered Sovereign power precious. From his own perspective, he wouldn't give it to friends. But he forgot that, from Reisgem's perspective, it was a different story.
"Wasting Sovereign power on this is pointless." Uman frowned. "I can't compete with them!" Uman was decisive. Without another word, he turned and fled. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the vast, desolate battlefield.
Linley and Bebe finally stopped.
"He's gone?" Bebe laughed.
"He didn't want to waste Sovereign power." Linley sighed. Having a large amount of Sovereign power changed one's perspective. In the past, he had been frugal, only using it in life-or-death situations.
"Now we've used two or three drops. That flask doesn't seem any lighter." Linley marveled.
Two or three drops were nothing compared to a whole flask of Sovereign power. "Boss, we're separated from Reisgem and the others now." Bebe frowned.
Linley looked around. Everything was silent and desolate.
"We'll have to rely on luck. We'll meet again if we can." Linley frowned. "For now, let's find a place to rest. I haven't had a chance to study that crown carefully. Let's go!"
Linley and Bebe moved, disappearing into the wilderness.