Chapter 482: Invincible Hand Beneath the Sacred Soul

He's gone mad!

Emily said in a deep voice.

Lei En shook his head, apparently guessing Marse's thought, that he himself was the most crucial figure for Emily's restoration, drawing the Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng's intervention, and his influence within the dragon‑born army even surpassed Emily herself.

If Marck could defeat him in the duel, even kill him, the entire dragon‑born army would suffer heavy losses.

Today's great battle saw Marck's plan completely fail.

Over 70% of the troops under his command were killed or wounded; his two staunchest allies, the Brandon and Etis families' Exalted Legion, were almost entirely wiped out; those two Legendary High-rank Wizards contributed nothing, and he has lost the capital needed to turn the tide.

Deciding the outcome through a personal duel is Marck's only hope now.

Marck's letter listed the duel's stakes: if he wins, Emily must return Duke Brandon and, with the dragon‑born army, withdraw from the royal domain, using the Great Dragon Forest as the border, and may not attack the capital Kingslan for three years.

If Marck loses, he will abdicate within ten days and leave Kangjiatuo.

As for the result of defeat and death, Marck said nothing in the letter, nor needed to, but his wording reveals his great confidence.

He does not think he will lose to Lei En, let alone die in the duel.

Lei En has never seen Marck himself, so cannot gauge his exact strength, but today's battle shows Marck's power far exceeds that of Duke Brandon.

Duke Feishe, Prince Morse, Prince Pedro, and several legends from the two families joined forces, yet Marck alone dealt a crushing blow, killing three legendary lords. The casualty report just came out: among the over two thousand dead and wounded from the two families' sturgeon warriors and snake speakers, plus the vassal troops, half were slain by Marck!

If Speaker Kaidejia had not intervened in time, Marck, leading half of the Giant Deer Legion, would have annihilated the two great families' legions.

"Cough..."

Duke Feishe coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face pale, and said, "Forty years ago, Marck was Kangjiatuo's topmost powerhouse. In recent years he has sat on the Iron Throne, rarely appearing and never publicly dueling anyone. I thought he had become decadent and neglected his cultivation, but he turned out to be even more terrifying than back then!"

"By my estimation, Marck's strength, when viewed across Kangjiatuo's history, would rank among the top three."

His words startled everyone.

Duke Feishe appears fine on the surface, but he was gravely injured when confronting Marck, rescued from near death by Kaidejia, and still harbors lingering fear.

Lei En's Soul Eye also sees that Duke Feishe's soul is in an extremely weakened state.

This nineteenth‑level sturgeon warrior and Divine Chosen, wielding a Legend Grade "Thousand Rivers Blade", now can barely stand, and any Exalted could kill him.

The two princes of the Morse Principality are likewise severely wounded, and their condition is not much better.

"Duke, do you think I can defeat Marck?" Lei En asked.

"Lei En!"

Emily hurriedly spoke up; Lei En's question clearly leaned toward accepting Marck's duel challenge, but she, having seen Marck with her own eyes, did not agree with the idea.

The dragon‑born leaders in the tent all wore worried expressions.

Duke Feishe let out a violent cough, steadied his breath, then carefully said, "Speaker, I have never seen a young man like you wield such great power, but… you are still young, with limitless future potential, and will surely surpass Marck, so there is no need to take a risk now."

He spoke politely, but essentially he was not optimistic about Lei En.

Duke Feishe did not look down on Lei En at all; he had been defeated by Lei En before and knows how strong Lei En truly is. Though only a Legend Grade beginner, he is no less than the other two Weizelan Speakers; in his eyes the three are about equal, yet all are a step weaker than Marck.

Kaidejia gently shook his head and urged, "Lei En, don't act rashly."

"If something happens to you in Kangjiatuo, I don't want to return and face the GrandSpeaker's wrath," Kelaoaosi clearly meant the same.

Mentioning Anxiwodasi made everyone's hearts tighten, increasing their opposition.

Lei En watched their expressions, shrugged, and laughed, "I don't want to go all out against Marck alone either, but it seems there's no other choice."

"I don't believe Marck would dare set the capital ablaze," Emily said through clenched teeth.

Marck's letter states that if Lei En refuses the duel and does not accept within an hour, he will immediately trigger all Red Dragon arrays to unleash the "Flame Torrent", igniting the entire city.

The Red Dragon arrays consist of over two hundred individual arrays, covering the whole of Kingslan.

Flame Torrent is not the strongest spell the Red Dragon arrays can cast, but it has the largest area of effect; once the fire spreads, the entire city will be reduced to ash.

Kingslan's population exceeds a million, and with recent refugees sheltering in the city, the number must be even higher.

A million people perishing in the sea of fire sends chills down one's spine just to imagine.

Even without the Red Dragon arrays' protection, the dragon‑born army would rush into the city to fight the flames and rescue people, and no one can guarantee how many could be saved.

In the tent, everyone stared at each other, and no one spoke for a long time.

Duke Feishe broke the silence, "From what I know of Marck, he doesn't seem that mad..."

Lei En interrupted, "Can you guarantee that?"

Duke Feishe hesitated, then shook his head and said he could not.

"When a person is cornered, even the craziest acts become possible," Lei En said calmly. "We cannot place our hope in the character and conscience of someone who has walked into a dead end, even if there's a one‑in‑ten‑thousand chance; we cannot take that risk."

"These are millions of lives!"

Lei En's tone grew solemn toward the end, prompting everyone to nod silently.

Emily also did not want a successful restoration that resulted in a capital reduced to ash, and said, "The Red Dragon arrays were built by the ancestors of the Zuo Gengbao family; as far as I know, each array can operate independently or be linked together."

"For Marck to have the whole city burned by the 'Flame Torrent', he must connect all the arrays, so that a single control can achieve the goal."

"If we can sever the connections between the arrays..."

She said no more; everyone understood her thought.

Lei En, however, disagreed, "Marck surely stationed guards at each array; trying to cut the links of over two hundred arrays without alerting the guards is too difficult. Moreover, arrays aren't easily destroyed; only Wizards can act on them, and we'd still have to deal with the guards—we lack manpower."

The Weizelan Wizard Corps deployed only thirty Wizards, plus four Legends, still far insufficient.

If the array guards are startled, it could backfire.

"I can sabotage the Red Dragon arrays while invisible, but I need enough time," Kelaoaosi suddenly said.

Emily was thrilled and quickly asked, "Speaker, how much time do you need?"

Kelaoaosi stroked his chin, "At least three hours."

"I should be able to do it too, just a bit slower," Kaidejia added, noting that as a Legendary Arcane master he is well‑versed in array knowledge, but not as familiar with the Red Dragon arrays as Kelaoaosi, so he would need more time.

The two acted covertly together, able to sever the Red Dragon arrays' connections within two hours.

"Two hours..."

Ai Mi Li Si shouted in hatred: "Ma Erke only gave us one hour to resume his duel."

It's been almost half an hour since the challenge letter arrived, and Ma Erke's messenger is still waiting outside the camp; even if the two Speakers act immediately, it would be too late.

Ma Erke's timing is so precise; someone must have guided him.

Everyone instantly thought of those two legendary wizards.

Lei En looked at the two Speakers, his eyes probing, and Kai De Jia replied: "The wizard who fought me was very cautious, showing no flaw. I can only confirm that he is from the Empire and follows the Naiser School's casting doctrine, though he may be deliberately misleading us."

"Naiser School!" Lei En shivered in surprise.

He sees more than others; the wizard who fought Kai De Jia is a Level‑18 Elementalist, and the one who teleported to attempt a surprise attack is a Level‑19 Arcane Mage!

Looking across the entire Oriense Empire, legendary wizards of such rank who are also from the Naiser School are exceedingly few, narrowing the suspect pool to a very small range.

Even without knowing their appearances, the Soul Eye has recorded their soul signatures.

As soon as we meet them in the future, we can recognize them at a glance.

Most of the Empire's Naiser School wizards are in the north; the most famous are the Naiser Floating City, ParrasFloatingCity, and Aien Floating City, and in Franlis Sky City about half the wizards also follow the Naiser School doctrine.

No matter which floating city those two wizards hail from, it is no small matter; their meddling in Kangjiatuo pits them against Weizelan.

Once the Kangjiatuo affair is over, a thorough investigation must be conducted.

Ai Mi Li Si has been in the Empire for years and knows exactly what the Naiser School implies; it is a colossal entity she would never dare provoke.

"Otherwise, we should retreat."

She hesitated for a long time before finally saying it, her face full of resentment.

The dragon‑born army immediately withdrew from the royal domain, leaving Ma Erke no reason to burn the whole city, and Lei En no longer needs to duel him.

"Your Majesty!"

"We cannot retreat…"

Wa Luo Gen, Duke Fei She and others all spoke up, disagreeing with the decision. If we retreat, Jin Si Lan will break the siege, inevitably spawning more complications; their restoration plan, plotted for years, must be executed in one stroke, leaving no breathing room for Ma Erke.

"I don't want Lei En to take the risk," Ai Mi Li Si waved her hand, her gaze burning as she looked at Lei En, and whispered: "Kangjiatuo's future cannot be without me, nor without you."

Lei En returned his gaze to her.

He understood Ai Mi Li Si's meaning; in her future plan, the Zhuo Gengbao family will lead the people to convert to the God of Magic, which requires Weizelan's support, and he himself is the link between Weizelan and Kangjiatuo; moreover, her rule over the kingdom also needs his army to suppress dissent.

Though mixed with self‑interest, Lei En felt somewhat moved; at least she truly cares about him.

"Even if we retreat, Ma Erke will not agree."

Lei En shook his head and said: "He has those two legendary wizards guiding him; he will certainly guard against a feigned retreat, then secretly sabotage the Red Dragon Formation and strike back. A temporary retreat will not let Ma Erke turn the tide; he specifically demanded a duel with me and set a one‑hour deadline, intending to defeat me so he can reverse his defeat."

Ai Mi Li Si frowned, caught in a dilemma.

She didn't fully believe that even if her troops withdrew from the royal domain, Ma Erke would still burn the whole city, but Lei En's point was valid; a cornered person can do anything, and she dared not risk the lives of millions in the royal capital.

One side is sending Lei En to risk it, the other is the lives of millions.

Either way is a terrible choice.

Ai Mi Li Si realized she was the one forced into a corner, her mind restless, and once again shouted in hatred, cursing: "He's gone mad!"

"No, he's very rational," Lei En said, actually admiring Ma Erke a bit.

Yet it is the rational who are more likely to harden their hearts and do the craziest things, because it is the most advantageous choice for themselves and offers greater deterrence to the opponent.

"I accept his duel challenge," Lei En stood up and said.

Ai Mi Li Si suddenly turned her head.

Kelaoaosi, Kai De Jia, Duke Fei She and others also showed surprise; before they could persuade him, Lei En continued: "I may not be Ma Erke's equal, but I will not be killed by him; the worst case is that I lose to him…"

"Listen to me finish."

He raised his hand: "While I duel Ma Erke, I will draw everyone's attention; the two Speakers will infiltrate Jin Si Lan to sabotage the Red Dragon Formation, and both sides will act simultaneously."

"I will try to stall as much as possible, giving you a better chance."

"If I am in mortal danger then, the two Speakers may step in to save me," Lei En smiled, a confident grin on his lips, "but the chance of that happening is low; you all think Ma Erke is unbeatable, yet don't forget that I have never lost."

"Under the Holy Soul, no one can defeat me, let alone kill me!"

"Under the Holy Soul, I am invincible!"

Those words sounded extremely confident, even bordering on arrogance, very overbearing; the tent fell silent, and no one objected.

Everyone then recalled that the man before them had created too many miracles.

Looking across the whole Ai Lun E Si, no one could find a younger man brighter than Lei En; his strength can no longer be measured by age or by extraordinary rank, having long surpassed people's imagination.

Perhaps this time Lei En will create miracles again!

Kelaoaosi and Kai De Jia did not know where Lei En's confidence came from; from what they knew of him, he was not a blindly self‑confident person, surely possessing hidden cards unknown to others.

This piqued their interest, so they did not intervene further.

Ai Mi Li Si lightly bit her lip, her eyes wavering, and finally agreed. She immediately sent someone to dismiss Ma Erke's messenger; Lei En will accept his duel challenge.

(End of Chapter)