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Chapter 427: The Rift
Chapter 427: The Rift
"I don't want to die," Ren shook his head calmly.
"But this body of yours is merely a projection."
"Then, why don't you go die instead?"
Ren's tone was calm, but his words were explosive.
In simple terms, it was like a god asking a mortal how they wished to die, and the mortal telling the god to go die instead.
Coupled with Ren's calm tone, his words were dripping with sarcasm.
Of course, Ren wasn't being rude; it was a strategy similar to trash-talking to affect his opponent's mindset, just like before.
At this moment, the crowd on the second floor of the Astrologer's Platform in the Capital was filled with shock.
They finally understood why the Goddess of the Abyss, Hela, had an odd expression and tone whenever she saw Ren.
Had Lord Ren gone too far with his words?
Although Lord Ren's strength was indeed formidable,
and although the Secret Realm had power restrictions, limiting her full potential,
was it wise to provoke a divinity like this?
Hela, in her incarnation as a black-robed maiden, had been smiling, but it suddenly faded, and her ample chest heaved with emotion.
It was clear that Ren had once again managed to anger her.
Especially with Ren's calm gaze as he spoke,
for the eyes are the window to the soul,
and she had seen many warriors who, when facing her, had a hint of reverence in their eyes.
But Ren's gaze held no such reverence; it was as if he were looking at a small animal, a cat or a dog.
This was what she found most unbearable.
Just as Hela was about to take action,
Ren's muscles suddenly bulged, and his body began to grow again, sprouting horns on his head and a tail behind him, reaching a height of thirteen to fourteen meters from his original eight to nine meters.
The Secret Realm space around him seemed to be straining, and tiny rifts began to appear around his body.
Why did Ren dare to initiate the three-phase transformation without worrying about being pushed out of the Secret Realm?
It was because he suddenly realized something—he was different now.
His bloodline concentration had reached a 'higher' level, allowing him to partially control the extent of his transformation.
For example, in his battle with Lambert, he had only partially transformed his arms into dragon-like appendages.
This meant that when he initiated the three-phase transformation, he could also partially control the degree of transformation, ensuring his power level didn't exceed the Secret Realm's limit.
In simpler terms, Ren could only perform integer-stage transformations before, like a Dragon Human Warrior or a Dragon Human General.
But now, it was different.
He could execute transformations like 1.1-stage or 2.9-stage, allowing him to control his power level within an extremely precise range.
Of course, the primary reason Ren chose to transform was because, through the recent battle, he realized one crucial point.
If he couldn't elevate his power level to match that of the Goddess Hela's incarnation,
the fight would be futile.
No amount of combat skills, magic, or other advantages could compensate for this disparity.
Hela, as a divine being with peak mastery over experience, magic, and combat techniques, held a slight advantage in power level, making it impossible to challenge her.
Therefore, transformation was necessary.
Even if an accident occurred, like being pushed out of the Secret Realm due to a momentary loss of control, it was still preferable to perishing within.
Ren had the system,
and a saying from his past life perfectly described his situation:
"As long as there's a mountain, there will always be firewood."
Hmm?
Ren's further transformation caught Hela's attention, causing her beautiful eyes to narrow slightly.
She could sense that Ren's power level had increased again, and this power fluctuation had reached the limit of what the Dragon Valley Secret Realm could endure.
In other words, if there had been a slight power gap between them before,
it was now completely erased,
and both had reached the pinnacle of the Legendary stage.
If either of them increased their power any further, even by a tiny margin, they would be expelled from the Secret Realm.
"Boom!"
As Ren completed his transformation into the Dragon Human King, he stomped the ground, causing it to indent.
A burst of white energy erupted from his towering thirteen to fourteen-meter-tall body, and for a moment, one could see the compressed transparent air currents, resembling water, flowing backward from Ren's body!
Accompanied by the deafening sonic boom, Ren's massive form appeared before Hela in the blink of an eye.
His powerful dragon claw slammed into the swirling black energy shield surrounding Hela, creating a resounding impact.
"Bang!!!
The collision between the shield and the dragon claw sent ripples of black energy rings outward, bombarding the surroundings.
The rifts around the two combatants, originally as fine as cow's hair, suddenly expanded to the size of a thumb, as if the secret realm could no longer withstand the intense fluctuations of their battle.
This time, Haera's black energy cyclone shield, like a rubber ball, was suddenly dented by Ren's sharp dragon claw.
The razor-sharp claw was just an inch away from the exquisite face of the black-robed maiden that Haera had transformed into. This caused Haera's expression to change, becoming solemn.
She quickly raised her other hand and pointed at Ren.
The ancient witchcraft technique 'Ancient Black Water Necromancy,' which had instantly killed Agrippa, reappeared! Five rapidly spinning black water vortices suddenly appeared in front of her, and with her gesture, they flashed towards Ren.
But facing this attack, Ren neither dodged nor evaded!
Instead, he raised his other massive dragon claw and struck at Haera's swaying black water shield.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
For a moment, countless claw shadows flew towards Haera, seemingly willing to exchange injuries.
"Bang!"
The shield shattered! Haera's body flickered with black light, and in the next instant, she reappeared dozens of meters away.
This was the first time she had retreated since entering the secret realm.
At the same time, the five black water vortices, faintly revealing the faces of drowned corpses, approached Ren in his Dragon King form from multiple directions, nearly within arm's reach.
Ren's right claw, covered in demonized silver, struck out repeatedly in a flash.
Instantly, all the black water vortices exploded.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
For a moment, the sound of explosions reverberated, and smoke rose everywhere. After the explosions, Ren's dragon claw, covered in the combined witchcraft steel armor, was pitted and charred on the surface, emitting a stench of corroded dragon scales.
However, compared to the situation where Agrippa was instantly corroded, this was a world of difference. This was the power of Ren's transformation at this level.
As Ren was about to launch another attack, the next second, both of them noticed that the nearby space had become increasingly unstable due to the intense energy fluctuations. Dozens of rifts, each as thick as a thumb, suddenly connected with each other.
Instantly, a huge rift with an irregular edge and a diameter of about two to three meters appeared.
But most critically, one after another, black fog-like creatures emerged from the rift.
Although they had no faces, just a mass of black fog, Ren could sense the joy they felt upon entering the secret realm.
At the same time, in the capital city, on the second floor of the Astral Observatorium.
A questioning voice sounded:
"If Lord Ren has such a trump card, why didn't he use it earlier?"
"If he had used it, wouldn't Lord Agrippa and Lord Nick have survived?"
An elderly man in the uniform of an Inner Guard General asked, frowning.
"This should be Lord Ren's ace, not to be used lightly," someone replied.
"Lord Ren's bloodline transformation has a significant weakness: the greater the transformation's power, the faster his stamina is consumed."
"Therefore, Lord Ren likely didn't activate this level of transformation at the beginning due to the unclear situation." Tatiya explained logically.
However, General Augustus was more direct.
"Admiral O'Connor, didn't you see what just happened?"
"That bastard Nick used his crystallization killing technique, 'Dragon Lightning,' without any regard for Lord Ren's safety!"
"And after using it, he immediately fled!"
"We don't need such allies!"
General Augustus spoke bluntly.
He had been feeling very displeased earlier, and Admiral O'Connor's words only added to his anger.
"You!" Admiral O'Connor's face turned red as he was indirectly scolded by General Augustus. He stood awkwardly, embarrassed.
"Augustus, don't say things that disrupt unity," Marshal Alfred said, pointing at the oval stone platform's image, his expression stern.
"The deaths of Lord Nick and Lord Agrippa, as we all just witnessed, were due to the Dark Sea Goddess's strength far exceeding expectations."
"Casualties are inevitable in battle, and Lord Ren has no relation to this. Don't forget that Lord Ren didn't retreat but fought alone!"
General O'Connor didn't believe that Ren could survive.
Well, if that's the case, there's no point in arguing.
Even the few commanders who had previously shared O'Connor's opinion fell silent.
Marshal Alfred had touched upon the most critical point. Ren, currently fighting alone and refusing to retreat, rendered any doubts meaningless.
Who would dare to face a manifestation of a deity alone with such fearlessness?
Is this an attempt to smear the Empire's hero?
At this moment, the audience suddenly noticed that the image on the elliptical stone platform became blurry.
Then, it completely disappeared.
"The intense energy fluctuations from their battle have greatly affected the stability of the secret realm, and my astrology has been significantly impacted as well," said the Grand Astrologist Dalayn, his brows furrowed in surprise.
He never expected that the young Imperial Sword Holder Ren had reached such a formidable level of strength.
Ren was almost at the level of an epic-tier powerhouse.
"Lord Dalayn, you might be able to observe through Baldwin's perspective," Marshal Alfred suggested.
Alfred knew that real-time astrological observation required pinpointing an individual, and Ren's current combat intensity was beyond the scope of observation. Clearly, the best option was Baldwin, who was about to arrive at the scene.
"That's a good idea."
As Grand Astrologist Dalayn cast his astrology once more, the elliptical stone platform displayed a small team rapidly moving through the landscape.
It was Baldwin, the Arida sisters, and the newly recovered Lambert.
Half a minute ago, Baldwin had just received a message from Tatia, informing him of the intensity of the battle ahead. It was quite astonishing.
Within half a minute, two legendary peak powerhouses had fallen.
This... Even Baldwin himself wasn't very confident, but sometimes, there was no room for retreat.
"Try to dodge as much as possible, and be cautious of the two unique spells of the Goddess of the Abyss's incarnation," Baldwin instructed.
"One is the Ancient Black Water Necromancy, which is extremely powerful and has strong tracking abilities. So, once targeted, make sure to keep your distance and don't engage directly!"
"The other is the Energy Trident, which inflicts not only high physical damage but also has a corrosive effect. You must dodge immediately, or you'll be hit by the impact wave and corrosion."
"Even legendary peak powerhouses couldn't withstand it!"
Baldwin quickly conveyed the information he received from the communication chip to the Arida sisters and Lambert.
At this moment, the fastest among them, Elida, suddenly stopped her graceful sprint and pointed ahead in astonishment. "Look! What's that?"
In the center of the ravaged forest, a giant Dragon Human was fighting a stunningly beautiful girl in a black cloak. On their right side, there was a flickering spatial rift.
One after another, never-before-seen black mist creatures emerged from it.
The giant Dragon Human was undoubtedly Ren, and the black-cloaked girl he was fighting was, as they had learned from Baldwin, the Goddess of the Abyss's incarnation.
But what were these black mist creatures emerging from the spatial rift into the secret realm?
Just then, Baldwin's communication chip vibrated again, and he took it out.
"Captain Baldwin, this is Augustus!"
"General Augustus, how may I help you?"
"According to Grand Astrologist Dalayn's observations, a Void Destroyer has appeared at Ren's location. Please eliminate it as soon as possible to prevent it from damaging the secret realm's space!"
"Additionally, the Void Destroyer is immune to most physical attacks, so spells will be more effective."
"Understood, General Augustus," Baldwin replied, his heart tightening as he gazed at the distant battlefield.
Indeed, at that moment, the two were clashing once more.
Even from his position, nearly a kilometer away, he could sense the intense energy fluctuations.
What was even more terrifying was the frequent appearance of numerous spatial rifts around them, some lasting only briefly, others persisting for several seconds, and some remaining open. And from these rifts, black, mist-like Void Destroyers swarmed out, like sharks drawn to the scent of blood in the ocean.
(End of Chapter)
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