Chapter 682: The Tomb and the Prophecy

"This is the territory of the Gulesh Clan! Leave at once!"

The target's tomb location remained buried in loose sand; several mages were hardening part of the ground into compacted sandstone blocks, forming a downward archway.

Elite terrestrial naga of the Gulesh Clan surrounded the entrance.

Mostly female, with only a few males.

Crimson half-armor armored their upper bodies to the teeth, completely obscuring their faces.

Only the long hair spilling from their helmets and their voices revealed their gender to Rod.

Facing them were fierce warriors brandishing spears and blades, warning from the ground.

Eve, naturally adept at bluffing and posturing, had no thought of retreating.

Thanks to the previously cultivated 【Radiant Scales】, her entire body blazed with colorful light, dazzlingly brilliant.

Behind her, blue-white soul mist spilled forth.

The ancient white dragon's battle spirit rapidly formed, roaring furiously in midair.

"Roar!!!"

The overwhelming wave of dragon roars stunned the terrestrial naga on the ground in an instant.

"A dragon?! A dragon?!"

"How can there be a dragon in the Mirror Desert! What's going on?!"

"Flee!"

Beasts inherently feared dragons, and panic erupted instantly.

They retreated in disarray; some even dropped their weapons and fled like rats.

"Don't panic! Stay calm! The creatures from the Frosty White Dragon Zone couldn't possibly be here! That's a dragon's battle spirit!"

The leader of the terrestrial naga wore more ornate armor and was significantly stronger.

She roared, lashing her long whip across the fleeing warriors—armor tore, flesh split open, blood sprayed.

"Princess Eve of the Braal Clan? We've long heard you've mastered the heretical use of battle spirits. I never thought it true."

"Heretical?"

Eve threw back her head and laughed wildly, "Soul arts are judged only by effectiveness—there is no orthodox or heretical path. How absurd!"

The leader, enraged, laughed bitterly: "Fine, fine, I'll test you."

Saying this,

she extended her hand, soul mist surging—her own enlarged replica coalesced and charged at Eve.

The two naga collided, one above, one below.

Instantly, a shockwave erupted.

The impact expanded into a massive void, sending loose yellow sand surging backward like a tidal wave.

In an instant, the battlefield was shrouded in rolling yellow dust.

Eve was only seventh-rank early stage, and compared to the other girls, Rod had irrigated her far fewer times.

But she had ingested a Soul Seed, her 【Battle Spirit Collision】 had reached +2, and she bore the excellent soul art 【Sunlight Blessing】.

——【Details: While under direct sunlight, strength, speed, and constitution are greatly enhanced; affinity for fire and light elements increases; exposure to sunlight promotes soul growth.】

Losing was impossible.

A cry of agony.

The leader of the terrestrial naga fell like a cut kite.

Then came Eve's wild laughter as she floated in midair, her scales shining like the sun.

Her subordinates below, awestruck, admiring, and exhilarated, cheered loudly—some even shouted, "Eve my lord is the sun of the Mirror Desert!"

The Gulesh soldiers below turned pale again, stunned by Eve's power.

"Hahahahahaha—I'm fucking invincible! Come on! Kill them all with me!"

Watching the figure in midair, Tally couldn't help laughing:

"That smug snake's posturing is just like your master's."

"Nonsense. My master is a refined person—he'd never say such arrogant things."

Rod, hand resting on his sword hilt, landed slowly.

He had no interest in fighting himself—his feet sent a ring of red soul energy rapidly expanding, instantly engulfing every member of the Gulesh Clan.

【Aura of Fear】.

In an instant, their movements froze visibly; their faces turned ashen.

Their leader defeated, shaken by the dragon's roar, then crushed by Rod's 【Aura of Fear】—for them to withstand it would be miraculous.

Eve and her troops surged downward, and within five minutes, they shattered the enemy into utter rout.

"Hahahahahaha—weak, feeble, pitiful! This Mirror Desert belongs to me alone!"

The Naga Young Lady, intoxicated by her victory, began spouting all manner of boasts.

"Arrogant!"

A roar suddenly erupted from midair.

A withered, ancient terrestrial naga appeared from the tomb entrance in a flash, striking Eve's back with a punch at blinding speed.

Eve screamed, flying backward.

Just as she was about to crash face-first into the sand, a shadow caught her, steadied her, preventing a humiliating fall before the soldiers.

The 【Radiant Scales】 on her back exploded into sparks, cracking open a massive gash.

She glared angrily up at Rod nearby.

Why didn't that bastard catch me?!

Rod laughed and said, "She's only a high-tier seventh-rank. By all rights, you should be able to beat her."

"But I'm initial-tier!"

"When I was initial-tier, I already beat up an eighth-rank."

"You think everyone is a monster like you!"

The old Naga crone was gaunt and withered, but the battle soul behind her was in the fierce, valiant figure of her youth, rising slowly like flame.

"We were just worrying about how to deal with your mother, Priestess Lady Lilian, and here you go, daring to invade with such meager forces — truly a gift from the heavens! Princess Eve, my twelve sons have been sighing over your beauty. Please come visit the Gulaish Clan!"

"Bite me — a bunch of ugly freaks think they can touch me?"

"Fellow colleagues, what are we waiting for? Capture this girl alive. With Lady Lilian that woman afraid to act rashly, the Bulaar Clan's territory will be ours for the taking."

Crash, crash—

Four more figures leapt out from the desert — all of them high-tier seventh-rank.

The Mirror Desert isn't large. Eve's mother Lady Lilian, even as a priestess, is only at the peak of seventh-rank. Five high-tier seventh-ranks proves the Gulaish Clan is strong enough to dominate the Mirror Desert — so why are they still suppressed by the Bulaar Clan?

Eve's face went slack with shock. "How is that possible? You have this kind of strength?"

"Hehehe, you'll know once we try."

A beam of fire as thick as a wrist suddenly pierced through the old crone's skull, leaving a trail of red-fused flesh that rapidly oxidized and charred black. Her words cut off abruptly.

The smug grin on her face froze in place, and even as she crumpled to the ground it never softened.

The remaining four Naga looked at Rod not far away as if they'd seen a ghost, panic in their eyes.

The charred eyeball was squeezed out from the palm, thin smoke still rising.

Rod's pupils flickered with an invisible domain, and then he smiled. "Oh? There's a foreign power inside forcibly boosting her rank. Interesting."

Eve, who only ever fought winning battles, burst out laughing again: "You've been surrounded by me alone."

Dealing with the four high-tier seventh-ranks didn't take much effort.

The wind and sand in the Mirror Desert were strong too — in the blink of an eye, the blood sank into the loose yellow sand and vanished, and a thin yellow veil settled over the corpses strewn across the ground.

Rod didn't bother with Eve, who was giving her troops a post-battle speech — she said it was a perfect chance to consolidate authority, boost morale, and strengthen loyalty.

Click—

He stood before the arched entrance of the tomb, gazing down into the dark, cold depths of the staircase.

He tried out the new skill.

【【Whisper of the Galaxy】 has been triggered】

Immediately, the message appeared on the panel for one of the only two prophecy-type shared skills Rod had obtained from Miss Xiao Ke.

At the same time.

Yellow sand grains crawled up over the dark stone staircase, gradually gathering on the uneven surface into a sentence that made no clear sense.

—【The chance to become a god is within easy reach.】

(End of chapter)