Chapter 426: Ancient Abyssal Water Souls

Chapter 426: Ancient Abyssal Water Souls

"However, before we play, I think we should clean up these two little pests first."

The black-robed girl, who had transformed into the Sea Goddess Hela, glanced at Nick and Agripa, who had just arrived by her side.

This glance was enough to make their hearts race with fear.

And with these words, they instantly understood that she intended to clear the field before dealing with Rain.

This caused both of them to glance at Rain with a troubled expression, thinking to themselves:

"What's going on here?"

"You're supposed to attract the opponent's attention, but you're doing a bit too good of a job."

"Big brother, you've attracted enough attention!"

pressure to further entice Rain.

This scene was witnessed by the crowd on the second floor of the Astral Mage Platform in the Imperial City of Tamriel.

For a moment, even Marshal Alfred and the Grand Astral Wizard Dalian, who was maintaining an astrological spell nearby, were all stunned as they watched Rain on the Elliptical Stone Plinth.

"Augustus, did you say that Rain had previously fought with the Sea Goddess?" Marshal Alfred quickly regained his composure and asked.

"Well, to be precise, it was a projection of Rain and a strand of the Sea Goddess that had clashed." Augustus paused slightly, nodding.

But in an instant, Augustus also understood the implication of Marshal Alfred's words.

If it was merely a confrontation with a divine projection, the Sea Goddess Hela should not be so determined to clear the field and make such a statement.

"Was it just a clash last time?" Marshal Alfred asked in confusion.

"That's right." For a moment, Augustus struggled to recall the details.

The Empire was vast, with numerous cults and even secret ancient sects resurfacing. Although divine projections were not extremely frequent, on average, there would be one or two such occurrences every month.

And every few months, there would be reports of divine incarnations appearing in various parts of the Empire.

"I might know the reason." At this moment, Lieutenant General Tatiya spoke with a peculiar expression.

"Because the location where Rain and the projection of the Sea Goddess clashed was in the Frostwind Tundra, so the Swordsmen Division of Men Province was the first to report it."

"I've seen it several times, and it left a deep impression."

Tatiya's words immediately captured the attention of everyone present.

"Cough, Rain's words might have been a little poisonous, which is why the Sea Goddess was so deeply impressed." Tatiya wanted to elaborate, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she realized it wasn't appropriate, so she simply glossed over it.

However, this only piqued the crowd's curiosity further.

"Be more specific, for example?" Marshal Alfred, who rarely showed his emotions, now had a glint of curiosity and inquiry in his eyes as he asked.

"For example, the Sea Goddess wanted Rain to submit, but Rain immediately replied, 'You should submit to me instead.'"

What?

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes widened in shock, staring at Tatiya in disbelief.

"No, it wasn't me who said that. It was Rain who said it." Tatiya, feeling uncomfortable under the gaze of her superiors, quickly waved her hands.

At the time, she had read the related description in the intelligence report and was quite shocked, so she reviewed it several times and even sought confirmation from the Swordsmen Division of Men Province, leaving a deep impression.

Only then did everyone realize that there was another reason behind this.

No wonder!

At this moment, the Sea Goddess Hela's expression was one of deep affection as she gazed at Rain.

She seemed like a woman looking at a man who had abandoned her.

Her smile was breathtaking, but it only made everyone feel a chill down their spines.

However, just as everyone turned their attention back to the projection on the stone platform, the scene within suddenly changed.

The Sea Goddess Hela suddenly pointed lightly at Agripa, who was not far to her right, and in an instant, five rapidly spinning black water currents appeared in front of her.

Within the black water currents, there seemed to be something trapped, like imprisoned souls, and faintly, one could make out the agonized faces of humans.

Following her white finger, the black water currents immediately rushed towards Agripa with lightning speed.

Apparently, she was going to eliminate the two pests first, just as she had said.

This caused Rain to furrow his brows, and in an instant, he flashed towards the Sea Goddess to attack.

Although Nick and Agripa both had their own plans, Rain wasn't going to stand idly by and watch Hela kill them.

As the target of the attack, Agripa naturally dared not rely on his own third-level wind-based spell, 'Cyclone Shield', to defend against the attack of a divine incarnation.

Moreover, with his perception, he could easily discern that although the Sea Goddess Hela's spell was almost instantaneous, the energy fluctuation was so intense that it was almost comparable to a fourth-level spell.

Therefore, Agripa's first reaction was to rely on his own swift wind-based spells to quickly dodge the attack.

Agripa's body, enveloped in cyan light, quickly moved, and at the same time, he also cast first and second-level innate spells to further enhance his defense.

But unfortunately, one of the black water vortices appeared right in Agripa's path of evasion.

"Boom!"

The first Black Water Vortex shattered Agrippa's Level 3 Wind-based Mystic Art, 'Cyclone Shield', and sent Agrippa staggering.

It was important to note that there were a total of five Black Water Vortexes.

One had exploded, and four more were yet to come.

"Boom!"

With this blast, Agrippa's speed significantly reduced, and the second Black Water Vortex immediately caught up, instantly dispersing the remaining protective effects on his body.

Even the amulet around Agrippa's neck, which had momentarily glowed and released a blue shield, shattered into pieces right after! This caused Agrippa's hair to stand on end in sheer terror.

It was his last automatic trigger-based protective Mystic Artifact.

"Boom!"

At this moment, the third Black Water Vortex struck, instantly blasting Agrippa away.

"Ahhhh!"

As the black water splattered, Agrippa cried out in agony. The black water, like the strongest aqua regia, had an incredibly corrosive effect, directly eroding Agrippa's unprotected body.

It was as if a candle was encountering a raging inferno, rapidly melting away.

Just then, Agrippa's cries abruptly ceased.

The subsequent fourth Black Water Vortex instantly killed him, leaving behind only a puddle of foul-smelling black water on the ground, symbolizing that a Legendary Peak powerhouse had once stood there.

Nearby, Rain witnessed this scene, amazed at the strength of Hela's incarnation.

Compared to her previous projection, her power had increased by at least fivefold.

Moreover, the Mystic Art Hela had just displayed possessed such intense energy fluctuations that Rain vaguely saw faint spatial rifts.

In other words, the energy of her Mystic Art had reached the upper limit of what the Sanctuary could withstand.

If Agrippa was at the Legendary Peak, then Hela at this moment was akin to Legendary Perfection. If her strength increased by a mere thread, she would be forced out of the Sanctuary.

No wonder, even a powerhouse like Agrippa, after directly enduring her Mystic Art, met his demise.

This was the terrifying aspect of a deity. Merely an incarnation, yet it was so horrifying.

At the same time.

Rain had already rushed to within ten meters of Hela. Instantly, Rain's body rapidly expanded, revealing hints of dark gray dragon scales, as he directly initiated his second stage transformation—the Dragon Knight Form. The Hardened Gold Rank on his hand swiftly covered his dragon claws.

Rain was well aware that facing the current state of the Sea Goddess, his attacks would be unable to breach her defenses without transforming.

As Rain's transformation smoothly concluded, he took his final step, crossing the ten-meter distance in a single stride.

A white energy wave instantly erupted from Rain's nearly ten-meter-tall body, and the speed of this sudden burst even surpassed the speed of sound. Accompanied by a massive sonic boom, Rain's powerful dragon claw slammed towards Hela's incarnation, the black-robed girl.

"Bang!!!"

A three-meter-wide black energy shield was propped up by Hela's single hand, and Rain's claw strike seemed to hit a highly resilient ball.

At the point of impact, a circle of black energy halo burst forth, sweeping the surroundings, while the black energy vortex shield slightly dented.

However, from the Sea Goddess Hela's still-smiling face, it was evident that Rain's strike hadn't caused her any trouble.

At this moment, she wasn't a projection but an incarnation.

The energy she could wield was on a completely different level.

To break through her vortex shield with the previous Mystic Art was nothing more than a pipe dream.

But she wanted to see Rain's desperate expression.

The consecutive scenes left Nick, the Inner Guard Captain on the other side, utterly shocked.

The strength of the Sea Goddess Hela was terrifyingly powerful.

He immediately made a decision.

They must retreat at once.

Not even a minute could be spared here.

However, there was still an issue.

If he wanted to return to the Dragon Empire, he couldn't hold back on using Mystic Arts.

Unless Nick abandoned everything and embraced the Cult, he had to at least launch an attack.

With this thought, a cruel expression flashed across Nick's face.

"Then don't blame me for accidentally harming our ally!"

At that moment, Nick began casting his Mystic Art towards the Sea Goddess Hela, who was currently engaged with Rain.

The next second, the surface of Nick's white mage robe swiftly wrapped around with circles of light blue energy, resembling a high-voltage resistor. All living creatures on the ground around him were instantly killed by the scattered electricity.

Leaves, green grass, and more began to float.

At the same time.

In the Imperial City of Tamriel, on the second floor of the Astral Mage Platform, within the Elliptical Stone Plinth's command center.

The scene within the Elliptical Stone Plinth had changed drastically within these short few seconds.

Although the command personnel, including Marshal Alfred, had repeatedly overestimated the strength of the injured Hela's incarnation, who had infiltrated the Dragon Valley Sanctuary.

But this scene still thoroughly shocked them.

The veteran Legendary Peak powerhouse, Agrippa, couldn't withstand a single Mystic Art. How could they continue this battle? Only Rain and Nick remained, and their strength, even if slightly stronger than Agrippa, was merely a hair's breadth stronger.

Facing the Sea Goddess in such a state, could they withstand two or three Mystic Arts?

For a moment, everyone was astonished by the Sea Goddess's strength, and their minds filled with unsettling thoughts.

"This is the ancient Mystic Art 'Ancient Abyssal Water Souls', and it is said that each black water ball imprisons a Soul of the Styx."

"This is actually a Fourth Rank Dawn Tier Mystic Art, but the Sea Goddess Hela has simplified and weakened it through some means, allowing it to be used at the Third Rank Dawn Tier."

At this moment, the Grand Astral Wizard Dalian's brows slightly furrowed as he explained.

Hmm? A simplified Dawn Tier Mystic Art? That's almost a Fourth Rank Mystic Art. This is a dimensional strike. No wonder Agrippa couldn't withstand a single move.

The crowd understood.

"This Mystic Art is powerful, with strong tracking ability, but the black water vortex's movement speed isn't too fast. If one can anticipate it in advance, dodging it isn't too difficult." Grand Astral Wizard Dalian continued.

"Tatiya, immediately check who else is nearby."

"Marshal Alfred stood up, his expression grave.

'Yes, sir!' Tatiya quickly sprang into action.

She knew that without reinforcements, even Lord Rain and the others would be—

'The closest is... Huh? It's Captain Baldwin! He's about two kilometers from Lord Rain's location.' Tatiya exclaimed in surprise.

'Quickly contact him and have him rush over.'

'Yes, sir! Captain Baldwin is rapidly advancing towards the target location.'

'Good! Inform Captain Baldwin about the power of the Sea Goddess and the situation Lieutenant General Dalian mentioned. It's best if he can remind Lord Rain.' Marshal Alfred instructed.

If they had known the enemy's strength beforehand, they wouldn't have been caught off guard.

If Agrippa had known earlier, he could have employed a different strategy, although it couldn't guarantee a flawless victory, it would have increased their chances of survival significantly.

'Yes, sir! Additionally, there are two more—'

Just as Tatiya was reporting, she was abruptly interrupted by a furious shout!

'Smack! That bastard, Nick!' General Augustus slammed his hand on the table, his eyes fixed on the image within the Elliptical Stone Plinth, his gaze filled with anger.

Everyone turned their heads, looking up at the stone plinth.

'Dragon Thunder!'

Nick roared.

'Smack!'

As he struck the top of his staff, the blue crystal ball at its tip shattered, and the metal magic he was casting instantly intensified. In an instant, a spherical lightning bolt shot towards Lord Rain and the Sea Goddess, who were in its path!

Just before it reached them, the spherical lightning bolt split open, forming a ten-meter-wide web of dazzling lightning.

Hmm?

Lord Rain's eyes flashed with a cold light.

'This guy actually attacked me too!'

Furthermore, he was using metal magic, and at this moment, the Sea Goddess, with her Steel Plate Armor, would bear the brunt of the attack.

Lord Rain didn't believe that Nick hadn't considered this.

However, the Sea Goddess, protected by her defensive cyclone shield, remained unconcerned and watched with amusement as Lord Rain countered the attack.

But Lord Rain's response was swift. With lightning speed, he transformed the hardened Tempered Gold in his hand into a spear and stabbed it into the ground near the Sea Goddess's feet.

'Whoosh!'

Most of the electrical arcs were instantly absorbed by the metal spear, and in turn, the Sea Goddess's black water ball conducted electricity.

This caused the Sea Goddess to pause.

She hadn't expected Lord Rain to effortlessly neutralize this indiscriminate attack and then use the collected lightning to strike her.

The Sea Goddess's expression turned somewhat angry.

However, she didn't attack Lord Rain because she intended to play with him before finishing him off.

Naturally, she wanted to keep Lord Rain for last.

So, the Sea Goddess's anger could only be directed at Nick.

Her beautiful eyes turned towards Nick, who was fleeing at full speed.

'This little bug thinks he can escape?'

'Such ignorance!'

The Sea Goddess extended her other hand and clenched it into a fist. Instantly, a black light flashed, and a trident composed of pure energy, shimmering with translucent black light, appeared in her hand.

'Swish!'

A black lightning bolt flashed and vanished. In the blink of an eye, the trident, shimmering with black light, appeared behind the fleeing Nick.

Nick cursed and felt his scalp tingle as he searched for the target.

'Lightning Teleport!'

However, Nick's combat experience was extensive. With a roar, he suddenly shifted his body, using a rare third-level lightning magic—'Lightning Teleport'! Although it consumed a large amount of mental power, it allowed him to teleport a few meters in any direction.

When facing physical attacks, it was a life-saving skill!

Nick saw the energy trident barely miss him and pierce the ground beside him, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

'Phew! I still have this life-saving ultimate move.'

'Otherwise, I'd be dead for sure!'

'.'

But before he could finish his thought, Nick found himself blasted away for reasons unknown.

From Lord Rain's perspective, everything was crystal clear.

Although the black trident didn't directly hit Nick, as it pierced the ground, a black current flashed across its surface, followed by an explosion.

A shockwave comparable to a mini cloudburst grenade and black light flashed by.

Nick's protective magic didn't last even a second before shattering like glass.

Consequently, Nick was blasted away.

The previous attack wasn't purely physical; in a sense, it was a hybrid attack.

Lord Rain didn't need to check; he knew Nick was finished.

Not only did Nick endure the damage from the shockwave, but that black energy also possessed strong corrosive properties.

At this moment, Nick's fallen body lay like a wax figure.

If he were still alive, he would surely struggle to get up.

But now, there was not a hint of movement.

Although Agrippa and Nick had fallen one after the other, Lord Rain didn't feel the slightest discomfort or guilt.

During the battle, he hadn't made a single mistake.

On the contrary, Nick's 'Dragon Thunder' was clearly intentional.

As the saying goes, 'Too clever by half, and you've ruined yourself!'

In fact, since the enemy had set a trap, even if the Sea Goddess didn't finish off these two first, Lord Rain would make them pay during the battle.

However, this outcome was even more blameless.

'Good, now both little bugs are dealt with.'

'Now, it's your turn.'

The Sea Goddess, with her beautiful eyes, looked at Lord Rain with a smile.

'Speak, how do you want to die?'

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end