Chapter 1076: Dragon-Slaying Sword

"This is impossible!"

Suo Lim sprang to his feet, his gaze fixed on Lei En's eyes where bolts of lightning flickered, clearly suppressing his anger, and said in a deep voice, "Whether it's the Storm Temple or the Storm Plane, only I can control it; it can never be handed to you."

Lei En furrowed his brow; Suo Lim's intense reaction exceeded his expectations.

Is the Storm Plane really that important?

It seems Suo Lim values the Storm Plane even more than Divine Fire.

Lei En thought for a moment, then proposed, "I can carve out a sufficiently large territory on the Prime Material Plane, guarantee abundant resources and great value, let it be wholly autonomous for the giants, even establish a Giant Kingdom, as compensation for the elder's loss of the Storm Plane."

That's definitely sincere.

However, Suo Lim hesitated briefly, shook his head, and refused again, "No matter how fine the territory, it cannot be exchanged for the Storm Plane."

"Really can't be negotiated?" Lei En asked earnestly.

"The Storm Plane, for giants—especially for us Storm Giants—is the most important holy land in the world; it means everything!" Suo Lim shook his head firmly, "This plane holds ancestral legacies, many secrets; to defend it, Storm Giants are willing to pay any price."

"If we lose the Storm Plane, Storm Giants have no purpose for existence!"

Titan Elder shouted, "Moreover, after eliminating the invading enemy, I will commence deification, just like my lord An Heluozi; I will reactivate the Storm Temple and build my divine kingdom."

"If I cannot control the Storm Plane, no giants will support me."

"Your Majesty, I must refuse this request!"

As he spoke, Suo Lim's expression grew increasingly solemn, showing an unmistakable resolve; though unspoken, it was clear that if Lei En persisted in seizing the Storm Temple, Suo Lim would rather refuse Lei En's aid and devise his own way to face the enemy.

Lei En gave a slight nod, indicating his understanding.

In fact, his desire to control the Storm Temple stemmed merely from his fascination with the system.

When he learned that six Storm Temples are scattered across the entire plane, allowing preliminary control of the plane, a flash of insight sparked a vague idea he couldn't grasp, so he made the request, intending to study it further later.

This could relate to his future path of transcendence!

Moreover, if he controlled the Storm Plane, the Storm Giants, the entire giant race, and Suo Lim would be at his command, and the plane could be annexed into the Empire.

He thus probed.

But now it seemed impossible; Suo Lim clearly would not agree.

Seeing Lei En silent, Suo Lim assumed Lei En might backtrack, which he dreaded; without Lei En's help, the Storm Plane could hardly be preserved. His tone softened as he asked, "Your Majesty, if you abandon this request, I can offer some compensation."

"Oh?" Lei En smiled, "What compensation?"

"The Storm Temple was once my lord's divine kingdom, also his treasure vault; Divine Fire resides within that vault," Suo Lim revealed a secret, "Only I know how to open the vault; inside are vast precious materials, magical items, weapons and armor forged during the Giant Empire era, and perhaps even artifacts!"

Lei En instantly became interested, "Artifacts, are you certain, elder?"

"I cannot guarantee it," Suo Lim shook his head, "But I can give Your Majesty a promise: after opening the vault, you may take half. The most powerful magical items, materials, including artifacts, will be yours to select first."

Titan Elder displayed generosity.

Lei En, however, calmed down.

No matter how splendid An Heluozi's vault is, the most valuable thing remains Divine Fire!

Even several artifacts combined can't match a single Divine Fire, and that's assuming artifacts might exist at all. Artifacts vary; if it were a high‑grade artifact, An Heluozi wouldn't store it unused in the vault—almost certainly it would be a lower‑grade artifact.

Moreover, lower‑grade artifacts aren't all extremely powerful; they may be coveted treasures to others, but to him they lack some appeal.

Some lower‑grade artifacts are crudely forged by deities, inferior even to top Legend Grade magical items!

In the worst case, the vault may have already been emptied.

Seeing Lei En's waning interest, Suo Lim continued, "Besides half the vault, I am willing to give Your Majesty several gifts." He produced a Source Crystal Exchange List, "Anything on this list that you favor may be taken."

Lei En took the bronze tablet; he was already intimately familiar with everything on the list.

At a glance he saw the most valuable treasure—"An Nam's Dragon-Slaying Sword"!

This notorious Legend Grade great sword has not appeared in the world for over ten thousand years. Legend says it was forged by the giant god An Nam, given to his giant troops, and that more than three hundred dragons have perished beneath its blade—a true dragon‑slaying axe.

Dragons and draconic races, upon hearing the name Dragon‑Slaying Sword, instinctively shudder; the fear of this weapon is deeply etched into their bloodlines.

Exchanging for the Dragon‑Slaying Sword requires fifty thousand pounds of Source Crystal.

Previously, Lei En couldn't produce that many Source Crystals; Suo Lim listed it as a gimmick to motivate his own collection. Later, when the Storm Temple had surplus Source Crystals, Suo Lim removed it from the exchange list.

"The Dragon‑Slaying Sword as well?" Lei En asked.

"Of course!"

Suo Lim did not hesitate, pulling out a massive sword.

This great sword measured over two meters in length, with a half‑meter‑long hilt as thick as an arm, clearly wieldable only by a giant. It is a single‑edged sword—a "blade"—though in the Ai Lun E Si world they do not use the term "blade."

The blade was like a door panel; the hilt merged directly with the edge, lacking a guard, appearing rather crude. Its back was wide and thick, the sharp edge curved slightly, forged entirely of a silvery‑blue metal, with a few grooves etched as simple decoration; each side of the back bore a row of Titan Runes, glowing with a blood‑like light.

The weapon's design was plain yet imposing, resembling a gigantic cleaver—truly majestic!

When it appeared, a chilling, blood‑laden scent assaulted the senses, faintly accompanied by the wails of dragons.

That's the smell of dragon blood!

Lei En's gaze was instantly drawn; the All-Seeing Eye examined the legendary great sword, his eyes showing surprise and admiration.

"Your Majesty may give it a try," Suo Lim handed the great sword over.

"Fine."

Lei En rose to about three meters tall, grasped the hilt, finding it perfectly comfortable; the moment he lifted it he sensed its weight—just over ten thousand pounds, slightly lighter than the Thunder God's Hammer. Of course, the Hammer can weigh up to a million pounds, still the heaviest weapon in the world!

He lifted the Dragon‑Slaying Sword, holding it before his eyes for close inspection.

Soon, the enchantments manifested.

First, a Strength boost: wielding the Dragon‑Slaying Sword raises Strength by two levels, enough by itself to rank it among Legend Grade weapons.

Next, the sword bears five layers of "Sharpness," one tier higher than the Soul-Eating Blade, demonstrating its extreme keenness; additionally it has five layers of "Armor Penetration," and these two five‑layer enchantments are virtually the ceiling for Legend Grade weapons.

Sharpness combined with Armor Penetration clearly targets heavily defended foes.

Namely, dragons!

Dragon scales are famed for their toughness; the mightier the dragon, the sturdier the armor, yet before this ten‑thousand‑pound weapon fully enchanted to its limit, even ancient dragons cannot withstand a few blows, and even primordial dragons would feel wary.

Other targets, such as armored enemies, are no different from running naked under the blade of the Dragon‑Slaying Sword; they are certainly cut clean in one strike.

Magic shields and Element armor provide little protection.

Because the Dragon‑Slaying Sword comes with an attack ability—Dimensional Slash!

This is one of the rarest combat techniques in the world.

Reverse Slash, Aerial Slash, and Charged Slash, after countless trainings reach level nine, have a minuscule chance upon further upgrade to advance into a Legend Grade Element, namely Dimensional Slash.

One sword swing cuts through, killing at a distance.

Dimensional Slash ignores distance and obstacles, like an attack from another dimension, making it impossible to defend against.

Giants are poor at flying, so they are always at a disadvantage when battling dragons; Dimensional Slash can compensate for this flaw. Moreover, Dimensional Slash can carry other attributes, acting as a conduit to inject different forces and produce varied attack effects.

Lei En instantly thought of his own Thunder Slash.

Infusing it with lightning power and thunder flame, he swings a Dimensional Slash whose power reaches unimaginable levels!

Finally, the Dragon‑Slaying Sword has an even more powerful effect, the source of its fame: "Annam's Avatar".

This is an enchantment forged by the giant god Annam, consuming massive divine power; it can be used only once per day. Once activated, the wielder's strength rises another level, entering an "Infinite Frenzy" state, becoming immune to dragon might and mental attacks, and in turn imposing soul suppression on the dragon.

When the sword‑wielder becomes Annam's Avatar, they gain the "Dragon‑Slaying Divine Technique"; the great sword pierces the dragon's body, directly wounding its soul, the blade devours dragon blood, converting it into the wielder's stamina and mana, which can also be used to heal injuries.

The more dragon blood it devours, the stronger the wielder becomes!

If the Dragon‑Slaying Sword slays a dragon, it instantly draws the dragon's soul into the blade, permanently enhancing the sword's potency.

Over ten thousand years ago, more than three hundred dragons fell beneath the Dragon‑Slaying Sword, nearly pushing it to the Legend Grade weapon limit. At that point, even slaying another few hundred dragons would no longer significantly increase its damage.

Nevertheless, Lei En was still amazed.

No wonder it's a Dragon‑Slaying Blade!

Among all Legend Grade weapons, this great sword may not be the strongest, but it is certainly among the top, only slightly inferior to the Thunder God's Hammer.

Yet, when facing a dragon, it can be called a divine artifact!

Imagine a dragon soaring high, the enemy still far away and unaware, when suddenly a Dimensional Slash strikes it, instantly causing Armor Penetration, devouring its blood, grievously wounding its soul, possibly cutting off the dragon's head in a single blow.

Then the dragon's soul is also devoured; how desperate the dragon must feel.

Lei En couldn't help but shake his head and exclaim:

"What a weapon!"

Compared with the Soul‑Eating Blade, "Annam's Dragon‑Slaying Sword" is clearly more suitable for him; it's heavy enough, sharp enough, and although he already has the Thunder God's Hammer, he can wield both.

Left hand the Dragon‑Slaying Blade, right hand the Thunder God's Hammer—truly a perfect match.

In combat, if the enemy is far, he unleashes a Dimensional Slash; if close, he uses the hammer for a crushing blow—who can stand against that?

The thought alone is terrifying.

Lei En was about to return the Dragon‑Slaying Sword, but Sorin said, "It now belongs to Your Majesty. The Dragon‑Slaying Sword can regain its fame in Your Majesty's hands; that is its honor."

"Then wouldn't I become the dragon's public enemy?" Lei En asked in astonishment.

Sorin smiled lightly, "Just dragons; they can be slain with a flick of the hand. With Your Majesty's strength, are you still afraid of a few dragons?"

Lei En, of course, feared not the dragons.

But he thought of Oxyriya; he must not let her see this weapon.

Also Emillise and her son Rex; the dragon‑born family carries a dragon bloodline, so the Dragon‑Slaying Sword affects both mother and son. His mount Borchi, if he saw the Dragon‑Slaying Sword, would likely be terrified to the bone.

Before Lei En could agree, Sorin pointed to the list on the bronze board and said, "What else does Your Majesty desire? Anything I have on hand can be given to you now."

Lei En glanced over casually.

To be honest, with his current wealth and power, the items on the crystal source exchange list held little appeal.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Please have the Elder give me ten Nebula Rings; if ten are unavailable, teaching me the method to craft Nebula Rings will do." Nebula Rings have a storage capacity of a thousand cubic meters; he doesn't need them, but the Grand Mage's duplicate does.

Sorin's face lit with joy, and Lei En's request indicated his agreement.

"I only have four Nebula Rings on hand," the Titan Elder produced the rings and said cheerfully, "I'll tell you the crafting method right away." He wrote the method with Lightning Runes in a metal book and handed both the book and the Nebula Rings to Lei En.

However, Lei En didn't take them and said, "Just a Dragon‑Slaying Sword and Nebula Rings aren't enough."

"What else does Your Majesty want?" Sorin asked.

"I hope that after rebuilding the Storm Temple, the Elder will fully grant permissions, allowing me unrestricted research into its principles," Lei En said, "Of course, I will no longer vie for control of the Storm Plane; I'm merely very interested in this system."

This is his true purpose.

In comparison, the Dragon‑Slaying Sword and Nebula Rings are rather insignificant, together worth at most twenty million Gold Shields.

Sorin's expression shifted slightly; after much deliberation he said, "Now only three Storm Temples remain; rebuilding the other three will take many years and massive resources. I also know little of the temple's principles, so I plan to research while rebuilding, which I originally intended to take three to five hundred years."

"That's too long," Lei En shook his head; he didn't want to wait centuries.

Sorin solemnly said, "If Your Majesty is willing to participate and accelerate the reconstruction, I will agree to reveal all the secrets of the Storm Temple to Your Majesty."

"Deal!" Lei En replied immediately.

(End of chapter)