When the invisible entities said that they wanted to capture Reneedol, the conflict had become unavoidable.
Shroud tried to move but wasnât able to muster the strength to sit up.
Atley, Epta, and Scarlet were all anxious.
Reneedol was glowing like a sun on earth.
She chanted before anyone else could speak: âLaw Behemoths who serve the Overlord of Radiance, please come to my aid!â
The immense glow rose all the way to the edge of the sky.
ââbut not a single Law Behemoth appeared.
Reneedolâs expression changed and asked: âShroud, whatâs going on?â
Shroud was also startled: âIâm not sure eitherâ
The radiant glow around Reneedolâs body was visibly turning dimmer, slowly fading away.
Everyone appeared perplexed.
âThe power of the Overlord of Radiance... is weakeningâ Shroud muttered.
Gu Qing Shan felt his heart becoming heavy.
He tried to call upon the Overlord of Death.
Instantly, a cluster of black flames manifested behind him.
ââfortunately, the Overlord of Death remained as powerful as before!
Right at this moment, a grey net appeared out of nowhere, catching Atley, Epta, and Scarlet.
The three of them were shocked and tried to struggle, but the net only tightened itself.
Loud laughter sounded from the void of space:
âKill the boys, leave the girls, the most beautiful will be left for boss Knight!â
Another net was then cast towards Reneedol, Gu Qing Shan, and Shroud.
Gu Qing Shan raised his handâ-
Two bursts of black flames manifested directly on top of the two nets.
Atleyâs group was freed.
âThereâs been a change in plansâ Gu Qing Shan shouted.
Atley stood next to him, while Epta and Scarlet hid behind them.
Scarlet lowered her head and began to chant an incantation.
Gu Qing Shan instantly felt strength surging in his body.
The current situation was a complete mystery, the Law Behemoths suddenly stopped responding to the Overlord of Radianceâs power.
The strongest among them had suddenly turned from Reneedol to Rhode.
From the air, dozens of frigid spinning ice blades were shot towards their group.
Knowing that the situation was completely irreconcilable, Gu Qing Shan shouted: âIâll cover your backs, everyone start breaking the encirclement towards the South!â
Black flames instantly engulfed Gu Qing Shan.
His body swiftly moved towards the spinning ice blades without hesitation.
Seeing that, Reneedol carried Shroud in her arms and hurriedly called out:
âEveryone, follow me!â
Knowing that there was no time left to hesitate, the rest of the group swiftly followed her.
Scarlet suddenly turned around, stared closely at Gu Qing Shan, then shouted: âRhode, donât die!â
âI wonât!â
Gu Qing Shan roared in response, then landed on the ground while still completely engulfed in flames several hundred meters away, which caused a resounding explosion.
The black flames left a long trail behind him, reducing everything in his path to ashes.
Gu Qing Shan reached into the empty space and caught a half-burnt arm.
âA human armâ
Gu Qing Shan muttered to himself, then looked around his surroundings.
These people must be relying on some sort of concealment spell in order to remain invisible.
Gu Qing Shan crouched down and pressed one hand onto the ground, then quickly chanted an incantation from the Covenant of Death:
âDeath is like a constantly accompanying shadow, and an appropriate price must be paid for offending itâ
âTime to embrace Deathâ
Boomâââ
Black flames began to rapidly spread from the palm of his hand, enveloping the entire surroundings.
Desperate screams could be heard from every direction.
Corpses began to appear in Gu Qing Shanâs vision.
All of them were equipped with a complete set of chainmail armor, shield, and blade.
An army?
As Gu Qing Shan was feeling surprised, a layer of ice abruptly manifested to stop the flames of death.
All the flames faded away.
The ice melted into white frost.
The ice and flames were evenly matched!
Gu Qing Shan narrowed his eyes, only to see a cavalry knight in heavy armor with a sword in his hand, he was also evaluating Gu Qing Shan from atop his horse.
Behind the knight, countless soldiers occupied the entire wilderness.
âBrat, youâve killed quite a few of usâ
A chilling voice filled with killing intent sounded from behind the knightâs visor.
Gu Qing Shan replied: âThatâs because you wanted to hurt our peopleâ
The knight laughed: âHurt your people? Your World Valley has already been destroyed, of course, everyone else cannot be allowed to survive as wellâ
âWhose decision was that?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
âEvery powerful domainâ the knight urged his horse forward, gradually gaining speed.
Gu Qing Shan lowered his head and opened his palm.
A cluster of black flames was lightly beating within it.
âIt seems youâve all suffered quite a bit mentally from being oppressed by the World Valley for so many yearsâ he probed.
The knight didnât answer him and simply shouted: âYouâre going to die right here and now!â
A layer of frost manifested on top of his sword.
Behind him, a sea of vast frost and ice manifested.
ââ-the Law Behemoth of Ice!
Gu Qing Shanâs pupils dilated.
Thatâs impossible.
Only those from the World Valley know how to form a covenant with the Law Behemoths, creatures from other domains could only use the power of the Laws to reinforce themselves, not directly summon a Law Behemoth like this!
What exactly happened?
During the short time when Gu Qing Shan was thinking, the knight had already approached him.
âDieââââ
The knight uttered a cry.
Gu Qing Shan pointed one finger towards him.
The burst of flame shot out, carrying with it a bolt of blue lightning as it struck the knightâs body.
[Dreamjolt]!
Gu Qing Shan had combined his Thaumaturgy with the power of Death.
The knight was instantly incapacitated and fell to the ground, his horse neighed in panic and fled.
The vast ocean of ice uttered a curt scoff, then vanished.
Gu Qing Shan stepped forward and caught the knight by his neck, lifting him into the air.
âSpeak, how did you summon a Law Behemoth?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
The knight was still being burnt by the black flames, his entire body shaking as he continuously moaned in pain.
Gu Qing Shan pulled the black flames back.
Having walked by the verge of death and returned, the knight fearfully said: âThe Overlord of Ice came to me, they said that I was talented with the Laws of Ice and wanted me to serve themâ
âServe them? What were you ordered to do?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
The knight didnât respond.
Frost had developed all over his body and spread until it fully encased him.
He was turned into a frozen corpse.
Gu Qing Shan was stunned.
To ensure that their secret was preserved, a Law Behemoth had directly attacked a mortal.
This was completely unprecedented.
Gu Qing Shan tossed the body on the ground, then looked towards the distance.
The army still hadnât retreated.
Thousands of soldiers drew their weapons and readied their formation, all of them slowly approaching Gu Qing Shan.
The power of various Laws could be seen exuding from the bodies of some of them.
â-they had all formed a covenant with an Overlord.
The power of a Law Behemoth was considerable.
So instantly, they had been boosted to be as powerful as Shroud.
How is that possible!
There were too many of them that if Gu Qing Shan was surrounded, even he wouldnât be able to escape unscathed.
Gu Qing Shan suppressed his fear and quickly asked: âOverlord of Death, what exactly is happening here?â
From the void of space, a series of burning text quickly appeared:
[Youâve told you before, the Laws do not welcome me, I do not know about their matters]
After a short pause, another line of burning text manifested:
[But I can tell you a certain fact. Just earlier, the Overlord of Radiance had ceased to exist]
Gu Qing Shanâs expression changed.
The most powerful Overlord is dead?
What exactly happened?
Could these Laws be planning something?
Another line of burning text suddenly showed up:
[I can sense danger; those Laws seem to want to eliminate me as well]
Gu Qing Shan asked: âArenât they afraid of you?â
The black flames manifested more burning text:
[They still do, but they are also blatantly communicating with living beings with the promise of granting them power. Once those living beings and Laws of the world resonate, they would instantly absorb those living beingsâ souls as well as all of their powerââ- they will soon surpass me]
âThey could do that? If they do such a thing to the living beings of the world, wouldnât that mean all living beings would go extinct?â Gu Qing Shan asked in disbelief.
[Indeed, they have completely forsaken the original rules of the world, everything is now in total chaos] the burning letters replied.
Gu Qing Shan fell silent.
The Overlord of Radiance had been eliminated.
Even the Overlord of Death could sense danger.
The Apocalypses still hadnât arrived, but the world itself was already becoming more dangerous.
Gu Qing Shan sighed and asked: âOnly death can bring you power?â
[Indeed] the burning text replied.
âMost likely, youâve already predicted this situation before. That was why you searched for a covenant bearer, wasnât it?â Gu Qing Shan asked.
[Indeed. I am the guide of all living beingsâ ends, he who leads the way into the world of eternal slumber, if my existence itself wasnât at risk, I would not have wasted the effort to ally myself with a living being] the burning letters replied.
Gu Qing Shan looked at his surroundings.
Soldiers were approaching him in waves.
The boundless power of the Laws was emanating from their bodies.
What exactly are the other Law Behemoths planning?
Why are they trying to compete for living beings?
Could they be trying to use mortal warfare to decide victory and defeat?
Noââ
The truth must be significantly more terrible than that.
Gu Qing Shan couldnât help but sigh, then asked: âWhy did you not absorb my soul and life?â
More burning text quickly appeared:
[Even when the Lord of Radiance was snuffed out, he still upheld his own persistence, otherwise, he would not be considered Radiance; as the Lord of Death, I shall too silently uphold the nobility of Death]
[Human Rhode, do not waste any more time, if you do not escape from the encirclement, you will die here!]
Gu Qing Shanâs eyes flickered.
ââinnumerable soldiers had surrounded the forest, all of which were charging towards Gu Qing Shan.
âDIE!â
âKILL HIM!â
âI WILL TAKE HIS HEAD!â
They all viciously roared.
Gu Qing Shan shook his head and muttered: âI have a certain technique that I usually do not abuse because of how cruel it isâ
A mass of black fog began to appear from his body.
âBut when a group of Overlords want to gang up on and bully a mere mortal like I myself, then I have no other choiceâ
Fwooââââ
The black fog spread in every direction, weaving through the layers of soldiers and continued to spread increasingly further.
An instant.
All the soldiers collapsed.
A sense of bone-breaking pain, an unbearable suffering that ate into oneâs soul had afflicted all of them.
This torment was beyond what humans could endure.
âAAHHHH!â
âMy hand!â
âWhatâs happening to my head!? Whatâs happening to my head!?â
âSave me!â
The bodies of these soldiers were beginning to morph.
They were evolving into a certain unique species, the suffering caused by this process had directly knocked most of them unconscious, while the rest were unable to do anything except scream and cry while wishing for death.
âââDemon Dragon Bloodkin.
The most terrifying power of the ancient war Soul Artifact created by the Bygone Era humans had been unleashed.
Observing these people, Gu Qing Shan fell into thought.
If I wait for a bit longer, these people would complete their conversation into Dragon Bloodkins.
Their strength would then grow at an exponential pace.
ââbut there was no âifsâ in this world.
Gu Qing Shan crouched down and pressed his hand against the ground, chanting: âYour lives shall belong to the Overlord of Deathâ
âYour powers will not be taken away by the other Overlords, as the entire existence of a Bloodkin shall return to meâ
He paused slightly, then whispered:
âEmbrace your deathsâ
Fwoom!!!
Boundless black flames spread from his hand and engulfed this entire region.