Chapter 746: Power Overwhelms

Bang!

Lei En triggered a Destruction Critical this time; there was no lightning or light on his war hammer, only the purest destructive power!

At this moment, his Titan Power Armor raised his power to level fifteen and unleashed boundless fury. The longer this legendary Element lasts, the greater the power boost; it started at five times and, as the battle progressed, has now reached six times.

This pushes his power close to level sixteen!

A seventh‑level Destruction Critical, the instant it hits a target, unleashes seven‑fold damage; even the King of the Hills' defense, no matter how strong or how fast his recovery, results in either death or injury when his head is struck.

However, the instant before the war hammer landed, Kestajin vanished.

His body merged into the hard ground like water, disappearing without a trace, and Lei En's war hammer struck the floor, emitting a bang.

The sound was faint and caused little vibration.

But the rock floor, as hard as steel, collapsed instantly, as fragile as tofu; several meters of surrounding ground were shattered by the terrifying force, the rock turning to fine sand, and a five‑meter‑wide pit suddenly appeared in the arena.

Lei En himself was also inside the pit, his vibrating metal wings lifting off.

Through the Mirror Image's perspective, he immediately located Kestajin, who had burst from the ground a hundred meters behind, already free of dizziness and fully healed.

Earth Traversal!

This ability Element also exists in the Sandworm Demon Soul, and Lei En recognized it.

Before he could chase, the Mirror Image had just charged a new wave of Thunder God's Spear; Kestajin burst from the ground, immediately raised his war hammer, and slammed it down with full force.

Earth Shaking Strike!

Earth Binding!

Mass Earth Spike Technique!

With a booming roar, the Iron Furnace Arena shook violently, and Kestajin's hammer unleashed vast Earth Power, instantly delivering threefold attacks.

The ground cracked like a spiderweb, countless shards of stone rose to form a fierce shockwave that swept the entire arena; Lei En and the Mirror Image standing on the ground were not spared, while the Mirror Image soaring in the sky seemed bound by invisible chains, its body weighing many times heavier and involuntarily plummeting down.

At the same time, huge stone spikes erupted from the fissured ground.

These spikes were as thick as stone pillars, densely packed, growing wildly, reaching dozens of meters in height in an instant; their massive, spear‑like tips thrust upward, directly impaling the Mirror Image falling from the sky.

Up and down, forces met head‑on.

A few Mirror Images mid‑cast were caught off guard and impaled by the spikes; the others dodged in time, but for a moment could not assist their main bodies.

Lei En's main body was also lifted by the spikes beneath his feet.

He casually swung his hammer to shatter the spikes; the Earth Shaking Strike and Earth Binding had negligible effect. Fixing his gaze a hundred meters away on Kestajin, he saw the King of the Hills unleash an indiscriminate attack and shout loudly, "Mountains, hear my command!"

A thunder‑like roar echoed throughout the second level of the underground fortress.

Within a radius of several thousand meters, rocks, soil, and everything on the earth seemed to come alive, trembling slightly; a far larger Earth Power gathered and surged into Kestajin's body from afar, causing his form to swell again like a blown‑up balloon.

Higher, larger, stronger!

In the blink of an eye, Kestajin became a giant over four meters tall; the Mountain's Fury and Heaven‑splitting Great Axe, originally two‑handed weapons, now seemed a size smaller in his grasp, like one‑handed weapons.

Endless Earth Power swirled around his body, condensing into half‑meter‑thick stone armor, making him look like a mountain giant.

At the same time, his strength surged dramatically again.

This is Kestajin's ultimate form—Earth Avatar!

Lei En's pupils narrowed; in this state, Kestajin's power already surpassed that of the Baro Flame Demon that Reslin and his teammates had slain before.

Out of caution, he did not rush to kill, but with a thought, his Rainbow Light Cloak concealed his form.

Kestajin was about to launch a frenzied attack when he suddenly found no one.

Meanwhile, Lei En's Mirror Images swarmed him.

All ten Mirror Images bore injuries, undergoing revitalized metal regeneration; one had just been hammered on the head and remained unconscious, so only nine took part in the fight, and none could lift off for a while, yet that was enough.

The two most recent Mirror Images grew to five meters tall, taller than Kestajin, crackling with lightning as they charged wildly forward.

Thunder Charge!

In an instant, the two Mirror Images, enveloped in power and lightning, one ahead and one behind, flanked Kestajin.

Another two Mirror Images slashed Thunder Slash from the left and right.

Two more Mirror Images flashed to the distance, creating space for casting, each forming a translucent cyan magic sword before them.

The remaining three Mirror Images waited for an opening, ready to disrupt Kestajin's spells or to assist the Mirror Images leading the charge.

Outside the Iron Furnace Arena.

The dwarf spectators, seeing Kestajin besieged by numerous Mirror Images while Lei En's main body was nowhere to be found, thought to themselves: this human Wizard's tactics are downright sneaky!

Yet they had to admit that Lei En's strength was terrifyingly formidable.

The legendary Wizard dared to challenge the King of the Hills across ranks and clearly held the advantage, a miracle only heroes of legend could achieve. Earlier, the dwarves who had witnessed Lei En issue a challenge to Kestajin in the palace felt embarrassed, yet they stared unblinkingly at the battle, unwilling to miss any detail.

Inside the arena.

Kestajin let out a fierce roar and charged toward the front Mirror Image.

Two giant‑sized bodies collided with a booming crash; amid the fierce impact, the Mirror Image's war hammer struck Kestajin's shoulder, triggering a Destruction Critical that shattered the stone armor on his shoulder, the force penetrating but being blocked by Storm Rune Armor, causing little damage.

Kestajin's war hammer also hit the Mirror Image's head.

With a clang, an Earth Shaking Strike erupted, the Mirror Image toppled to the ground, its five‑meter‑tall massive body gouging a huge pit.

The two fought a trade‑blow style, like berserkers brawling each other.

However, Kestajin's combat skill was clearly superior, his strength and defense outmatched Lei En's Mirror Image, and the stone armor on his shoulder regenerated instantly.

After smashing the front Mirror Image, Kestajin instantly turned into lightning, trying to evade the Mirror Image charging from behind. As before, the Electric Flash Teleport flew only a few meters before being interrupted; Kestajin fell out but managed to dodge the incoming Mirror Image.

The two Thunder Slashes from the left and right missed.

Kestajin swung the Heaven‑splitting Great Axe, delivering a tenth‑level whirlwind slash laced with countless lightning bolts, like sharp lightning blades, forming a terrifying vortex that swept the three Mirror Images attacking him.

A clatter of metal rang out as the three Mirror Images escaped the whirlwind slash; their bodies seemed caught in a meat grinder, riddled with massive wounds deep enough to see bone, with organs exposed.

The damage they inflicted on Kestajin healed instantly.

One Mirror Image activated a psychic leap to a distance, then suddenly stood still, its head rolling down.

He was beheaded.

The other two Mirror Images luckily escaped the disaster, but only because they were not Kestajin's primary attack targets; the beheaded Mirror Image bore most of the damage.

The headless Mirror Image's corpse dissipated like foam.

This was the third opponent capable of killing his own Mirror Image after Lei En obtained the titanium‑ultimate golden body; the first two were Eternal Chosen Aikon and Augulevi Master.

Kestajin suddenly stepped back a large stride and hurled the Mountain's Fury backward with a smash.

Earth Shaking Strike!

With a booming sound, the Mirror Image lying on the ground had its head smashed and its body dissipated. In an instant, eight Mirror Images remained in the arena: one still unconscious, two severely crippled and unable to fight, leaving only five still standing and threatening.

Kestajin gradually turned the unfavorable situation around, and the dwarves in the stands erupted in cheers.

"King of the Hills will win!"

"King of the Hills, King of the World!"

The dwarves' shouts rose wave after wave, cheering for their kin.

Amid the cheers, two Rending Sky Swords shot toward him at lightning speed, aiming for Kestajin's neck. His perception was extremely sharp, and he possessed "Lightning Reflex", allowing him in an instant to grasp the trajectory of the massive magical swords and make the best choice.

He only managed to block one magical sword.

The Mountain's Fury shielded him, and he swung the Heaven‑Cleave Great Axe to slash at the Rending Sky Sword ahead.

A light clang.

The forward Rending Sky Sword was knocked away, while another Rending Sky Sword slipped in from behind, its unparalleled sharp blade piercing the earth armor and stabbing into the neck, but it was briefly stopped by storm rune heavy armor and then lodged.

Kestajin swung his war hammer backward, knocking the Rending Sky Sword lodged in his rear neck off.

The Rending Sky Sword was as light as nothing, yet its material was tougher than the hardest metal, indestructible by physical attacks; after being knocked away it instantly readjusted its trajectory, arced, and struck back.

At the same time, two Thunder God's Spears also shot out.

Boom!

Boom!

As soon as Kestajin knocked off the Rending Sky Sword, a Thunder God's Spear struck him directly, exploding on his face and chest; even though earth armor mitigated part of the power, he was still blown backward repeatedly, barely keeping his footing.

The Rending Sky Sword seized the opportunity to slash through, leaving two deep, massive cuts on Kestajin's body, nearly reaching the bones, with blood gushing out.

"Ah…"

Kestajin let out a pained cry, triggering the Ignoring Pain Element.

Two Rending Sky Swords raged over him, slashing the earth armor into shattered stone, scattering everywhere, leaving bloodied wounds that could not be killed with a single strike; no matter how many cuts, they were instantly healed by the Heart of Earth, truly granting an Undying Body.

If not for the continuous barrage of Thunder God's Spears, Kestajin could even ignore the damage from the Rending Sky Sword.

Four Mirror Images launched ranged attacks, holding Kestajin back.

There was another Mirror Image that never joined the assault, kept its distance, observing Kestajin's every move, occasionally using "Weak Energy Technique", "Mind Blast", "Shadow Entanglement", and "Disintegrate", but the King of the Hills' resistance was so strong that it had almost no effect.

At this moment, the Mirror Image that was first stunned by the hammer finally awoke, got up, and joined the attack.

Those two Mirror Images that almost got beheaded also recovered.

The number of Rending Sky Swords increased to three, and each wave of Thunder God's Spears rose to four, bombarding Kestajin relentlessly.

Kestajin roared repeatedly, only to find he could no longer hit his opponents.

He possessed two rapid mobility techniques.

One was Electric Flash Teleport, but each time it turned into lightning it was interrupted; the other was Earth Traversal, an Element with a longer cooldown—usable once every ten seconds, can be instant, but it is too easy to be locked onto, and before he could burrow out of the ground, the Mirror Images had already mind‑leapt away.

The King of the Hills' strength, defense, resistance, and regeneration are top‑tier among Saint Rank cultivators.

However, speed is their greatest weakness.

In contrast, Lei En and the Mirror Images have Blink, Electric Flash Teleport, and Mind Leap, which they can rotate, perfectly avoiding casting gaps. Even without displacement spells, relying only on titanium‑golden feathers and Wind‑Thunder Wings' speed, he is still faster than Kestajin.

If Lei En intends to avoid battle, Kestajin has almost no chance to chase him down.

However, if Lei En's main body does not strike, even relying solely on the Mirror Images' ranged attacks would find it hard to defeat Kestajin.

The battle temporarily stalemated.

In the Iron Furnace Arena, explosions rang continuously, azure great swords whirled, crazily slashing around Kestajin, and the King of the Hills let out repeated roars.

He had already been cut by dozens of swords and blasted by hundreds of shots!

Yet none struck any opponent.

This wholly passive, hit‑by‑everything situation made Kestajin extremely depressed; caught in Blood Frenzy, he was constantly wounded and healed, and even with the Ignoring Pain Element his stamina never depleted, yet the repeated bodily trauma only made him increasingly irritable.

Gradually, Kestajin's fury flared, and the Anger Control Element could not suppress his rage; his eyes turned blood‑red, madness overwhelmed reason, giving him the upper hand.

"You, come out!"

Kestajin let out a roar, ignoring the Rending Sky Sword embedded in his body, raised the Heaven‑Cleave high, dazzling electric light flashing on his form as he ascended to the Great Axe, brewing massive thunderous power.

He intended to unleash the Nine‑ring "Lightning Storm" to bombard the Mirror Images, while also forcing Lei En out.

The entire arena was shrouded in black clouds.

The concentration of Lightning Element grew higher, but the casting was interrupted at its start; two Mirror Images withdrew their Rending Sky Swords, each pointing at Kestajin from afar.

Mind Blast!

Silence Technique!

A transparent shield materialized over Kestajin's head, blocking the Mind Blast, while the almost simultaneous Silence Technique pierced the shield, reaching deep into his mind.

In an instant, Kestajin lost his ability to speak, his mind was cut off, and his thinking was impaired, leaving his brain a blank void.

Bang!

A burst of light exploded on Kestajin's face.

Seven-ring Light Burst Technique!

The King of the Hills was caught off guard, instantly blinded. He quickly regained his senses, his view filled by a giant over ten meters tall standing just a few steps ahead, who was Lei En transformed into a Titan Giant.

"You…" Kestajin managed to utter a sound, then his body lost control.

Lei En seized the King of the Hills' right foot, activated Indestructible Iron Fist, his palm became unbreakable, and tightly clamped Kestajin's ankle.

Then, he spread his stance and swung.

Boom—

Kestajin was slammed heavily onto the ground, and the arena trembled. At this moment, Lei En's Infinite Blood Frenzy amplified his strength eightfold, finally pushing his power to level sixteen, fully unleashing it in his Titan Giant form.

But on the first hit, Kestajin felt his whole body as if it were falling apart, his internal bones shattered, and the war hammer and great axe in his hands flew away.

Then came the second strike.

Lei En, holding his ankle, slapped the opposite ground, producing a deafening crash.

Left strike, right strike.

Switch stance, forward strike, backward strike.

The rumbling roared continuously, echoing in the arena at a rate of twice per second. Each time Kestajin's body struck the ground it sounded like metal hitting rock, a massive bang that struck the hearts of the watching dwarves, turning their faces pale and their spirits trembling.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom…

Large craters pocked the ground around Lei En's feet, and Kestajin's body in his hand turned as soft and limp as noodles; his Earth Armor had long since collapsed, and the Storm Rune Heavy Armor was reduced to a few hanging fragments, like tattered cloth.

Suffering such horrific damage, Kestajin's body not being torn to pieces was already a miracle.

This shows how solid the King of the Hills' body truly is.

Moreover, the Heart of Earth remained active, and a continuous flow of Earth Power surged into Kestajin's body, rapidly healing his wounds.

However, Kestajin's Willpower collapsed.

"I concede!"

The dazed King of the Hills, his voice trembling yet resolute, shouted, "I concede! Count, I am willing to pledge my loyalty to you!"

Kestajin's words echoed throughout the arena, and every dwarf heard them.

Lei En nodded with satisfaction and released his grip.

After landing, Kestajin's legs gave way and he plummeted onto his rear, quickly dispelling his Earth Avatar and Blood Frenzy to revert to a normal dwarf's form. Within a dozen seconds his injuries fully healed, and he sprang up lively, though only a few scraps of cloth remained on him.

The Space Ring that had been on his hand, along with the Magic Necklace and Rune Stone, had vanished without a trace.

Kestajin's old face flushed red.

At this moment Lei En also shed his Titan Giant form, returning to normal height, and took a leather coat from his Nebula Ring, tossing it over.

"Thank you, sir."

Kestajin hurriedly draped the coat over himself, avoiding the embarrassment of streaking before tens of thousands of dwarves.

He glanced at Lei En, still shaken.

The feeling of being seized and slammed onto the ground like that is something he never wants to experience again in his life. If he hadn't ignored the pain, such torment could have left a psychological scar.

"No wonder Thorgrin dared to stake his bet on you; you wouldn't even split the money with me…" Kestajin said with a bitter smile.

He recalled the brag he had made earlier, feeling his face burn, only wanting to find a hole to crawl into.

Lei En smiled faintly, "Lord Kestajin, the construction and safety of Gotham City now rests on you."

"I will not disappoint you." Kestajin sighed inwardly, knowing he had been bested this time but could only accept his fate. He faced Lei En, half‑kneeling, solemn, and replied in a resonant voice, "Kestajin Ironwhisker, at your service!"

(End of Chapter)