Chapter 483: Legendary Divine Art

In the afternoon, light snow fell in the sky of Jin Si Lan.

Outside the city, the open fields were quickly covered with a white layer, hiding the blood left by the recent great battle. In the biting cold wind, the dragon‑born army gathered three li outside the western gate; tens of thousands of centaurs and supernaturals stepped on the thin snow, forming a formation that stretched for several li, gazing at the enemies on the city walls.

Wooo…

A resonant horn sounded from the city, and the towering city gate opened.

A lithe azure deer stepped out; its body was taller than a warhorse, its head more than three meters above the ground, bearing a pair of massive antlers that spread like branches, disproportionate to its body. Its skin was pale blue, faintly glowing with the wind Element, its hooves stirring breezes, steps light, its graceful form surrounded by airflow, appearing and disappearing as if it could merge into the wind and soar into the sky.

On the back of this magnificent giant deer rode a hulking man.

He wore thick armor, a brown cloak draped over his back, no helmet; his face was cleanly groomed, black hair fell long behind his head, a ring of black, stiff beard framed his mouth, thick eyebrows and large eyes, his clear blue pupils shone with pure gaze, his demeanor was dignified yet somewhat friendly, exuding the mature charm of a middle‑aged man.

Ma Erke *Lao Bo Di Er and his mount, the Spirit‑wind Stag.

"Is he the only one who came out?"

Lei En, Ai Mi Li Si, and the others in the dragon‑born army were somewhat surprised, watching Ma Erke ride the massive azure deer sprint out of the city gate.

The Mid‑stage legendary Spirit‑wind Stag moved at extreme speed; its hooves left no trace on the snow.

It ran to the snow between the city wall and the dragon‑born army, stopped, and the city gate behind it slowly closed, with no one else emerging.

"He is Ma Erke," Ai Mi Li Si confirmed without doubt.

Duke Fei She, Prince Mo Er Si, A Si Tan and others had repeatedly encountered Ma Erke, even sparred with him, confirming his identity was not an impostor.

They looked at Lei En, but found him staring at Ma Erke in a daze, as if he had seen something unbelievable, and he was stunned.

"Lei En?" Ai Mi Li Si whispered.

Lei En only then regained his senses, glancing toward a barely discernible spot not far away. There stood the two councilors, Kai De Jia and Kelaoaosi, who had vanished under invisibility and teleported into Jin Si Lan City.

On the surface, the two councilors still appeared beside them, but they were merely an illusion created by the Scale‑blood Guard's spell.

"I'm going."

Lei En said.

Bo Er Qi revealed his radiant golden dragon true form, three differently colored dragon heads rose proudly, and Lei En used the dragon's wings as steps, climbing onto the neck of the central golden dragon.

Kangjiatuo's duel rules place no limits on spells or weaponry, including mounts and pets; as long as both sides use roughly equivalent items, it is permitted.

If one side uses or brings something, the other side may also have it.

Since Ma Erke brought his own Spirit‑wind Stag, Lei En allowing Bo Er Qi to join the duel is also within the rules.

The golden three‑headed dragon flapped its wings and took off, carrying Lei En in a low‑altitude glide that skimmed over the heads of the dragon‑born army; with a boom, it landed a hundred paces from Ma Erke, the ground trembling and sending up a spray of snow. The three dragon heads roared skyward, their terrifying draconic might felt as if solid, stirring the falling snow within several hundred meters; even the guards on the city wall, two li away, were thrown into panic.

The Spirit‑wind Stag's rank matched Bo Er Qi's, but its size was smaller, less than a quarter of Bo Er Qi's, and far less imposing.

Its intelligent eyes were full of defiance, and it let out a hard sneeze.

Ma Erke's face remained calm, showing no concern for the golden three‑headed dragon's might; his gaze fell on Lei En, observing carefully, with a hint of curiosity.

"Councilor, you truly are young."

Ma Erke spoke, his voice deep and resonant; from the first word, one sensed a very cheerful man, who would win the favor of both men and women.

"Ma Erke, sir."

Lei En did not address him as king, nodded and replied, "I've heard that many times. People habitually judge strength by age, yet ambition is not bound to age; when power reaches our level, age is merely a footnote. I think Ma Erke, sir, would not be so shallow."

"Ambition is not bound to age, well said!" Ma Erke laughed, clapped his hands, "Seeing you reminds me of my younger self. Youth is wonderful, full of boundless yearning for this world, no worries, each sunrise a beautiful day, truly nostalgic…"

Lei En listened, feeling odd; why was this fellow nostalgic for his own youth?

"You accept my duel challenge, that pleases me," Ma Erke suddenly showed a hint of pride on his face, "I haven't many other skills in this life, but I'm always accurate in judging people. It's a pity, if we had met under different circumstances, we might have become friends."

Lei En was completely ungrateful, snorted, "You threaten the lives of a million people in Jin Si Lan; can I refuse?"

Ma Erke's mouth twitched, his expression a bit playful.

Lei En stared at him, feigning anger and forced helplessness; his Soul Eye had long been activated, sensing the matter might not be simple, and he asked in a deep voice, "The whole capital plus a million people—you dare threaten to burn them all; aren't you afraid the gods will mete out divine punishment?"

He did not rush to act, which gave the two councilors time to secure a better opportunity.

"This is you forcing me."

"I won't retaliate; not only would I lose the throne, I'd also lose my own life. If I die, let the flames rage; having so many die with me isn't a bad thing."

"They are your subjects," Lei En said coldly.

"Soon they won't be."

Ma Erke scoffed, "Don't use the Dragon God to intimidate me; if He cared about Jin Si Lan's believers, He wouldn't have allowed me to overthrow the Zhuo Geng Bao family's rule back then. Moreover…" He straightened his back, stared at Lei En, exuding a grand aura, "His Majesty Ge Luo Shi protects me; even if I die I would enter His divine kingdom—do you think I need to worry?"

Lei En's heart trembled, and he could barely conceal the horror on his face.

It is the aura of a deity.

Ma Erke is the Divine Chosen of Ge Luo Shi, the God of Beasts and Strength; Lei En recognized this at first sight. A vivid scarlet flame of faith enveloped Ma Erke's soul, bursting outward, reaching some void high above, linking to a great being.

This mighty deity, bearing the divine offices of "Beasts," "Strength," "Bloodline," "Fearlessness," and "Resistance," is the highest‑ranking among Kangjiatuo's Seven Gods, its divine power only slightly weaker than the God of Magic.

The Lao Bo Di Er family worships Ge Luo Shi; Ma Erke becoming His Divine Chosen is unsurprising.

Lei En had known this long ago.

What surprised him was that when Ma Erke spoke of burning the whole city, his Soul Eye showed Ma Erke was lying!

At this moment, Ma Erke's soul color was a pale white, extremely calm, showing he was very relaxed, with only a few strands of orange, as if excited for the duel about to begin.

This completely contradicted the extreme emotion of burning a city of a million people.

Whether rational or mad, under normal circumstances Ma Erke's soul color should be large swaths of red or black, fluctuating violently; yet the reality opposed that.

Lei En's peripheral glance swept to the guards on the city wall, especially the supernaturals stationed on the Red Dragon formation tower. Their faces showed only fear and awe, their soul colors the same, seemingly unaware of the city‑burning plan, and unaware whether they had been deceived.

Lei En was somewhat uncertain of the situation.

Since their first meeting, the Soul Eye had been observing the other in secret.

It must be said, Ma Erke's strength truly astonished him; he was the strongest supernatural under a Holy Soul that Lei En had ever seen, surpassing even the death knight Ai Long Rui Wen Na Te from the undead sky army's invasion of Weizelan the previous year.

Moreover, Ma Erke's soul was stronger than Councilor Kelaoaosi's; perhaps the two's power gap was small, but Ma Erke was certainly closer to the Saint Rank.

Ma Erke's soul contained only a little over thirty Elements, which, compared to a nineteenth‑level supernatural, was far too few; this is a common flaw of Kangjiatuo's supernatural system.

However, all of Ma Erke's Elements have been honed to the limit.

Lei En's first glance caught the "Strength" Element at Level 10, the same as his own. In addition there were Level 10 "Endurance", Level 10 "Giant Stag Hide", Level 10 "Self‑Healing", and Level 7 "Swiftness"; these physique Elements are Supreme level, making Ma Erke's bodily quality unbelievably strong.

Ma Erke's combat‑technique Elements need no mention: Power Burst, Heavy Strike, Rapid Sprint, and so on, have almost all been honed to the Level‑5 ceiling.

Lei En saw two Supreme Elements, "Storm Strike" and "Blood Frenzy", both also at Level 5!

As a Legend‑grade Giant Stag Warrior, Ma Erke also mastered many wind‑type Arcane Elements.

These spells are mostly supportive, such as the sixth‑ring "Acceleration Technique", the fifth‑ring "Flight Technique" and "Field Deflection", among others, and there are also some powerful wind spells.

Lei En discovered that Ma Erke had entered a soul pact with the Spirit Wind Stag.

This Legend‑grade Mid-stage Giant Stag is not only his mount, but also his soul companion.

Ma Erke shared from the Spirit Wind Stag the "Child of Wind", "Spirit Wind Leap", "Storm Strike", "Level 7 Swiftness" and "Endless Spring Breeze", all of which are Supreme Elements!

Child of Wind possesses super wind‑element affinity, doubling Ma Erke's wind‑magic potency.

Spirit Wind Leap is a Supreme Arcane Element; Lei En had previously seen it from Master Luo Jie's friend Mei Lige. Its effect is similar to "Blink", extremely rare, usually only Legend‑grade storm mages can master it.

Storm Strike can bind wind‑element force to a weapon; upon hitting a target it erupts with multiplied power, flinging the enemy and generating terrifying wind‑blade cuts. It works much like his own "Thunder Heavy Strike", with a wide, hard‑to‑dodge area and relentless defense.

Level 7 Swiftness gave Ma Erke a speed no Giant Stag Warrior should possess.

The final Supreme Element, "Endless Spring Breeze", is what Lei En cares about most. It is an anomalous Element whose effect turns the body into a gentle breeze, allowing transition between energy and matter, granting terrifyingly potent regeneration and healing comparable to the Supreme Element "Limb Severance Rebirth", even stronger, because after activation one can merge into the wind and vanish.

Lei En had just sensed this Element with his Soul Eye in the Dragonborn Army, and was instantly overjoyed.

"Endless Spring Breeze" is precisely the Element the chairpersons of Weizelan have been searching for years.

It can perfectly solve the teacher's bodily collapse problem, and being an anomalous Element, it can be extracted from the Spirit Wind Stag's demonic soul to forge a soul seal!

The moment Lei En discovered "Endless Spring Breeze", he sentenced the Spirit Wind Stag to death.

Compared with solving the teacher's problem, a mere Ma Erke amounts to nothing, even if it means abandoning Weizelan's interests in Kangjiatuo.

However, defeating Ma Erke is not that easy.

Lei En was extremely cautious; as a Divine Chosen of Ge Luo Shi, Ma Erke had received a Divine Technique blessing—a Legend‑grade Divine Technique, i. e., a Legend Element, called "Grosh's Battle Roar".

He had once read an introduction to this Divine Technique in a book; it is the exclusive Divine Technique of the Power God Ge Luo Shi, usually only bestowed upon Orc chieftains or High Priests favored by Him, and unexpectedly it was granted to the human Ma Erke.

The Divine Technique's name is long, but its effect is simple.

It raises the recipient's Strength Element by one level.

Regardless of the recipient's current Strength level, Grosh's Battle Roar takes effect, directly increasing Strength by one level—simple, brutal, yet astonishingly effective.

It is the Legend‑grade Divine Technique that every melee Supreme being dreams of!

Lei En inhaled deeply; this means Ma Erke's Strength can reach Level 11, while even with all his augmentations Lei En is only near Level 11, so in pure Strength Ma Erke is stronger than he is.

His thoughts rushed, and he remained silent on the surface for a few seconds.

Ma Erke, not knowing he had been completely read by his opponent, saw Lei En stay silent and asked the Dragonborn Army, "Bolo * Bu Lande where?"

Lei En waved his hand.

Ai Mi Li Si received orders to have the Scale‑bound Blood Guard carry the gravely wounded Duke Bu Lande out. Duke Bu Lande had awakened from a coma but his combat ability was completely gone, utterly unable to struggle, and from a distance he watched Lei En and Ma Erke in the snow, a faint ripple appearing on his austere face, words unsaid.

A concealed anger flashed in Ma Erke's eyes, yet Lei En still caught it.

"Very well."

"Since you didn't kill Bolo, I can spare your life in the duel."

Ma Erke drew a black two‑handed hammer onto his shoulder, leapt down from the Spirit Wind Stag, and upon landing kicked up a spray of snow‑mud, as if a heavy object struck the ground.

He patted the Spirit Wind Stag, sending it away, clearly not intending it to join the duel.

Lei En, expression unchanged, withdrew his gaze from the Giant Stag and fixed it on Ma Erke's weapon, examining it closely as his pupils instantly contracted.

It is a Legend‑grade weapon—"Fury Messenger, Infinite Rage"!

(End of Chapter)