Chapter 30: The Lord God's Envoys
Over a million gods watching the battle held their breath, the vast valley utterly silent.
"Unexpected. Even you, Russell the coward, dare to challenge me." A deep, rumbling voice sounded from the Blue Lion Lord. The beast-like gaze of the Blue Lion Lord fixed on his opponent, Russell. "Back in the Wind Hunter Trials, you could only tremble and hide in a corner, you coward."
Russell's face turned ashen, his gaze icy. "Don't get cocky. After today, the position of Blue Lion Lord won't be yours anymore."
"Full of confidence, aren't you?" The Blue Lion Lord sneered.
The Blue Lion Lord naturally released his divine sense. In battle, relying solely on sight wasn't enough; observing with divine sense was more important. The central clearing was only a few miles in radius, and as the Blue Lion Lord's divine sense spread, it reached the edges of the watching crowd, which included Linley, Bebe, and Abu.
"Buwel!" The Blue Lion Lord was greatly startled.
As a Lord, and under the jurisdiction of a Lord God, many Lords would occasionally visit the Lord God collectively. At such times, they would also meet the Legion Commander, Buwel. Although Buwel had changed his appearance, his soul's aura could not be altered. The Blue Lion Lord, Ombrafil, instantly recognized Buwel's true identity.
Abu was the Lord God's abbreviation for Buwel.
Other Lords generally addressed him as Mr. Buwel.
"Why is Buwel here? And it seems he's very respectful to the two beside him. That youth is a Highgod, I can tell. As for that brown-haired man... even a Paragon wouldn't make Buwel, a Legion Commander directly under a Lord God, act so humble and respectful." The Blue Lion Lord formed a conjecture in his mind. "Could it be... a Lord God?"
This conjecture startled the Blue Lion Lord.
"Ombrafil. Fight your battle normally." A voice sounded in the Blue Lion Lord's mind. The one transmitting was Buwel. Buwel knew... this old acquaintance had recognized him.
"Mr. Buwel. The one beside you..." The Blue Lion Lord quickly transmitted.
"Just pretend you haven't noticed anything," Buwel transmitted back.
The Blue Lion Lord was now completely certain of the brown-haired man's identity.
"Unexpected. A Lord God has come to my territory! Hmm. This time, I need to win cleanly and decisively." Knowing a Lord God was watching from the side, the Blue Lion Lord's fighting spirit soared instead. He cast a cold glance at the distant Russell and sneered inwardly.
Suddenly—
"Boom!" It was as if the air itself exploded. The Blue Lion Lord shot across the hundred-meter distance between them in an instant. His fist, like a boulder, shimmered with a black luster, following a bizarre trajectory like a meteor tearing through the sky, hurtling toward Russell.
Meteor of the Earth!
One of the Blue Lion Lord Ombrafil's famous ultimate techniques.
"Hmph." Russell's face turned cold.
"Whoosh!" A dazzling curtain of blade light, like a waterfall, tore through space.
The azure blade curtain collided with the fist, brilliant as a meteor.
Russell, holding his azure curved blade, used the force of the collision to gracefully retreat at high speed. With a flash of azure light, he was already tens of miles high in the sky. But then, with another flicker, he moved another tens of miles. His speed astonished all the onlookers.
"What incredible speed," Bebe exclaimed in amazement.
"Faster than most commanders," Linley remarked, his eyes lighting up.
Abu transmitted beside him: "Lord God, both Russell and Ombrafil have divine beasts as their true bodies. Russell is a Nine-Tailed Whistling Wind Fox, naturally gifted in speed. Combined with his cultivation of the Wind Elemental Laws, he is exceptionally fast. Moreover, as a Nine-Tailed Whistling Wind Fox, he possesses innate charm, making his soul-charming abilities extremely terrifying. He's a very troublesome opponent."
"Not bad. The first candidate we've encountered seems quite promising." A smile appeared on Linley's face.
The Blue Lion Lord was like an immovable fortress, while Russell rapidly changed positions, launching sneak attacks from all directions.
"After all these years, you coward still only knows how to run," the Blue Lion Lord sneered, his gaze turning cold. "Russell, I have no time to waste on you." "Boom!" A yellow-brown halo suddenly ignited on the Blue Lion Lord's body.
Power of the Earth Lord God!
"You have it, and I don't?" Russell replied with a cold smile, a faint azure halo igniting on his body as well. Since he dared to challenge, Russell had naturally prepared thoroughly.
Then—
"Yowl!" A piercing screech suddenly erupted from Russell's throat.
A massive, hundred-meter-tall phantom of a giant fox with azure fur crouched behind Russell. This azure-furred fox had nine fluffy tails, which swayed slightly. Staring at them made one feel dizzy, and many of the watching gods collapsed to the ground.
Innate Divine Ability—Illusory Charm Realm!
A transparent sword shadow shot from Russell's mouth, heading straight for the distant Blue Lion Lord.
Struck by the attack, the Blue Lion Lord's body swayed slightly.
"Roar!" Suddenly, the Blue Lion Lord let out a furious roar.
A thousand-meter-tall phantom of a snow-white-furred giant bear appeared, its emerald-glowing eyes fixed on Russell. Its claws clashed against its chest with a thunderous "Boom!" From the point of impact, wave-like yellow-brown ripples spread outward, instantly enveloping the surrounding space for miles. Naturally, Russell was also within this domain.
Innate Divine Ability—Earth's Collapse!
At the same moment—
The transparent sword shadow also sank into the Blue Lion Lord's body. His body trembled slightly, but it had little effect. "Damn it! How can his soul defense be this strong? My full-power attack barely affected him!" Russell cursed inwardly.
"Hahaha..." The Blue Lion Lord charged at Russell at extreme speed.
"Not good." Russell's face changed drastically. He clearly sensed the changes in the surrounding space. The constantly generated ripples made it feel like being trapped in heavy waves, also affecting space and creating a strange gravitational field effect. This move severely hampered Russell's speed.
Russell knew this was bad, but it was too late.
"Hahaha..." Laughing wildly, the Blue Lion Lord combined his innate divine ability with his strongest attack.
His massive fists, like two flood dragons, tore through the sky, even causing space to twist and collapse.
"Damn it." Russell retreated frantically, but within this restricted area, he was slower than his opponent. He could only roar and slash out with his blade.
"Explode!" The Blue Lion Lord roared.
The twin fists, tearing through the sky, unleashed their power in an instant.
"Bang." The curved blade shattered into pieces. Russell felt his entire body shake.
"How could this be... it's over." Russell felt nothing but helplessness.
The Blue Lion Lord, Ombrafil, stared blankly ahead. "He... disappeared?"
Russell, who had been fiercely fighting the Blue Lion Lord, had vanished into thin air. "He's gone? How is that possible?"
"Could it be that Lord has blasted Russell into nothingness?"
The over a million watching gods were dumbfounded. Right before their eyes, Russell had simply vanished.
"Lord?" The black-robed elder immediately flew over, looking at the Blue Lion Lord.
The Blue Lion Lord, Ombrafil, immediately turned to look in the direction Linley had been, but Linley and the other two had already vanished. "Indeed, it was the Lord God who acted."
Just now, the Blue Lion Lord had only sensed a flash of a shadow; before he could even react, Russell was gone.
"Why did the Lord God save Russell?" The Blue Lion Lord was puzzled. Then, glancing at the black-robed elder, he ordered, "Alright, this battle is over. Announce the result."
Immediately, the Blue Lion Lord led his subordinates away in a grand procession.
This battle, the Blue Lion Lord was victorious.
On a grassy plain millions of miles away.
"Thump." Linley casually tossed Russell, who landed on the grass.
A distance of millions of miles, at a Lord God's speed, could be covered in less than a second with full effort.
Russell only felt his body shake, and when he looked around, the scene had completely changed. Gone were the watching gods and his opponent, the Blue Lion Lord. The area was empty, with only Linley, Bebe, and Abu before him. "Thank you, Lord God!" Russell immediately knelt before Linley.
"Hey, how did you know my boss is a Lord God?" Bebe asked with a puzzled grin.
Russell replied respectfully, "Just now, I was in mortal danger, and everyone else was far away. Even a Paragon couldn't stop a Commander-level expert from such a distance! Only a Lord God could do it!" Not just a few miles away, even millions of miles away, a Lord God could kill a Commander-level figure with a single thought.
Of course, they couldn't kill a Paragon.
Linley had simply used a thought to gather a bit of Lord God power to slightly assist Russell. Then, he swept Russell up and, along with Bebe and Abu, instantly arrived here.
"Russell, did you notice anything unusual about that battle?" Linley asked with a faint smile.
Russell nodded quickly, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. "Indeed, something was off. I was well-prepared for this battle. Even if I lost, I shouldn't have died. But... I found that my innate divine ability, combined with my strongest soul attack, had little effect on him. That's simply unbelievable."
"That's because he has a soul-defense Lord God artifact," Linley said with a faint smile.
"Lord God, he's not a Lord God's envoy," Abu interjected, puzzled.
"Exactly, he's not a Lord God's envoy yet," Russell added quickly. "I checked thoroughly before. Given Ombrafil's arrogant nature, if he had become a Lord God's envoy, he wouldn't have been able to keep it secret for long. He would have announced it publicly."
"Could my divine sense be wrong?" Linley said coldly.
Abu and Russell immediately dared not argue.
"Does that mean I can never defeat him?" Russell asked bitterly.
Linley smiled and said, "Russell, I have a trial for you. The chance of death is nearly ninety percent. If you accept, you will become my Lord God's envoy. Are you willing... If you agree, before the trial, I can grant you any Lord God artifact you desire."
Russell's eyes lit up.
For someone at the Seven-Star Demon level, the allure of a Lord God artifact was immense.
"May I ask the Lord God, what is the content of the trial?" Russell quickly asked.
"It's a planar war," Linley began, explaining in detail. He didn't mention the ten consecutive victories, but he fully described the dangers of this planar war. "Everyone will have the Power of a Lord God. Even if you enter, the danger is extreme. You can decline this opportunity."
Russell hesitated briefly, then smiled. "Lord God, I accept! I excel in speed, and with my innate talent, my soul defense is naturally strong. If I have a material-defense Lord God artifact, my survival chance is at least thirty percent. I'll take the gamble. If I lose, at worst I lose my strongest divine clone. But if I win..."
Linley nodded slightly.
When selecting Lord God's envoys, he chose those who excelled in at least one aspect—soul or material defense. Combined with a Lord God artifact to compensate for their weaknesses, their survival probability would be very high.
"Then I grant you a material-defense Lord God artifact." Linley flipped his hand and produced a Lord God artifact armor.
Russell's gaze immediately burned with desire.
"Thank you, Lord God!" Russell knelt and accepted the artifact.
"Alright, let's go. We need to find the next Lord God's envoy," Linley said with a faint smile.
"The next one?" Russell was startled.
"This time, we're planning to find six. You're just the first," Bebe said with a grin.
Linley and his group treated the journey as a sightseeing trip, searching for suitable candidates along the way. They visited the Wind Elemental Divine Plane, then the Water Elemental Divine Plane, and then the Earth Elemental Divine Plane.
Time passed, slowly flowing by.
"I grant you a soul-defense Lord God artifact. You shall be my second envoy!" Linley produced a Lord God artifact earring and said.
"Thank you, Lord God!"
A bald man, whose body seemed made of azure rock, knelt down.
"I grant you a material-defense Lord God artifact. You shall be my third envoy!" Linley once again produced a Lord God artifact armor.
"Thank you, Lord God!"
A beautiful woman with emerald hair and fish scales on her forehead knelt in submission.
All those chosen by Linley accepted the trial. Linley's group gradually grew in number.