Chapter 758: Falling Meteor

Strong Meteor Burst!

There are many known Nine-ring Techniques; they are classified by effect into offensive and functional, by number of targets into single‑target and area, and by casting method into release‑type and guide‑type, and the difficulty of performing different Nine-ring Techniques varies enormously.

Meteor Burst belongs to the guide‑type area spells, and ranks among the most difficult Nine-ring Techniques.

Of course, its power is also top‑tier.

Roni teamed up with more than sixty Wizards; supported by massive soul energy, they not only cast beyond their rank limit but also amplified it into the more powerful Strong Meteor Burst.

When the spell completed, the sky was shrouded in endless fire‑burning clouds, like rolling heat waves with no visible horizon.

Within a ten‑mile radius the temperature surged abruptly, as if standing inside a furnace.

Gotham City had just been blanketed in ice and snow by Pu La Meng's Deep Cold Hell, and in the blink of an eye entered midsummer, making people experience both ice and fire extremes.

The scope of the Deep Cold Hell was compressed by about half.

Pu La Meng sensed the great danger and could no longer wait; with a wave of his hand, more than five thousand Black Soul Knight Corps around the portal surged forward.

The thunderous hoofbeats sounded like an earthquake.

The massive Black Soul Knight Corps charged together, splitting into three forces that formed left, center, and right black tidal waves, flooding toward the highland fortress.

"Ho!"

Roni let out a loud roar and pointed his staff forward.

High above, a flame cloud roiled violently, instantly forming a massive fireball over five meters in diameter that fell like a meteor at breakneck speed, dragging a hundred‑meter‑long tail of flame, with countless fire elements surging in and expanding continuously.

Lei En and the Extreme Warrior had already moved away from the Deep Cold Hell, circling above the fortress to avoid accidental damage from the Wizards' spell.

Even at that distance, the skin still felt a burning sting.

After two or three breaths, the meteor hit the ground.

Boom!

A nearly ten‑meter‑wide massive meteor struck the center of the Deep Cold Hell; Pu La Meng's soul energy surged wildly, his rune tome unleashed countless spells, and all the icy power within a kilometer was gathered into a solid ice shield that protected both himself and the portal.

The clash of ice and fire collided, causing a terrifying massive explosion.

Heat and cold.

Flame and ice.

Explosion and freezing.

Everyone on the battlefield witnessed a strange sight: scarlet and crystal blue, two element energies of opposite colors and natures, one above the other, splitting the world into two halves.

When the energy was fully released, time seemed to pause for an instant, then instantly returned to normal.

The explosion's shockwave, fast as lightning, swept across half of Gotham City.

Pu La Meng's solid ice shield collapsed instantly, and endless high‑temperature flames surged into the Deep Cold Hell, melting the massive ice spears and ice guns, finally dissipating dozens of meters away from Pu La Meng.

The Holy Soul Lich's normally ruddy complexion turned somewhat pale.

He glanced at the Black Soul Knight Corps; because he intended to protect them, the Meteor Burst's shockwave only turned two or three hundred people into dust, while the vast majority were unharmed, their bodies reinforced with ice armor as they sprinted forward through the ground's sea of fire.

However, Pu La Meng's expression was extremely stern; the attack of the Strong Meteor Burst could not possibly be a single strike.

He looked up and saw a second flaming meteor forming.

It was falling directly toward him.

The interval between the two meteor attacks was less than ten seconds, and the ice shield of the Deep Cold Hell had only barely re‑repaired; having consumed too much energy, it could at most withstand three attacks.

A normal Nine-ring Meteor Burst gathers four meteors, while a Strong Meteor Burst has at least six. If the caster's skill is sufficiently advanced and they are willing to expend soul energy, the number of meteors can increase to eight, ten, or even twenty.

Pu La Meng began to entertain thoughts of retreat.

In fact, when he saw the Weizelan Wizards Corps jointly casting Meteor Burst, he already knew the situation was hopeless and only managed to delay it slightly.

Boom!

The second meteor hit the ground, and an earth‑shaking explosion reverberated throughout Gotham City.

Yet Pu La Meng's Deep Cold Hell remained unharmed.

The Holy Soul Lich's complexion changed wildly, realizing he had been tricked. The first meteor that struck him was only a test and misdirection, making him reluctant to leave the portal.

The second meteor instantly switched targets, booming toward the Black Soul Knight Corps.

At that moment, most of the Black Soul Knight Corps had already surged out of the Deep Cold Hell; the massive meteor struck the dead‑soul field they had opened, releasing terrifying flames and a shockwave. One hit and the dead‑soul field collapsed. Some Undead Cavalry had their soul energy drained, the flames in their eyes extinguished, and they collapsed to the ground.

The third meteor followed immediately, only five seconds later, and its size was slightly smaller.

But its power was still considerable.

A five‑meter‑diameter meteor struck the exact center of the Black Soul Knight Corps, unleashing flame power fully; over a thousand Undead around were blown into fragments, and a huge hole instantly appeared in the charging formation.

Then came the fourth, fifth, and sixth meteors.

Roni, to prevent the Black Soul Knight Corps from opening a dead‑soul field, deliberately accelerated the meteors' coalescence, which reduced their lethality considerably, but he dispersed the impact points, allowing the meteors' destructive power to cover a larger area.

After three consecutive meteor bombings, the Black Soul Knight Corps had suffered over half casualties, and the charging formation was in disarray.

If it were a living army, facing such terrifying attacks with such high losses, morale would collapse instantly.

Only the fearless Undead Legion remained unshaken.

The first round of the Strong Meteor Burst consisted of six meteors; after releasing them, Roni had to pause briefly, letting his over‑charged soul settle and taking a breath.

The remaining over two thousand Black Soul Knight Corps stepped on corpses and re‑formed a torrent, with no loss of speed.

They had already surged to within less than two li of the highland fortress.

This was the closest approach yet.

The four Electric Light Cannons on the highland fortress had calculated the lead and pre‑charged, and almost the instant the Black Soul Knight Corps entered range, they launched two volleys of Electric Light Cannon shells.

Light blossomed, and lightning boomed.

The dead‑soul field trembled on the brink of collapse; all members of the Black Soul Knight Corps released their soul energy, barely withstanding the bombardment, and surged forward another few hundred meters.

At this moment, two other Electric Light Cannons emitted two thick beams.

The two electric light beams converged on a point and moved with the Black Soul Knight Corps, staying fixed on the same spot of the dead‑soul field; the high‑temperature, high‑pressure laser persisted for several seconds before finally piercing the field, the beams slicing through rapidly like two swords, cutting the Black Soul Knight Corps' formation into three sections.

Any undead hit by the ray, both rider and horse are cut in half.

The undead aura field collapsed again.

At this moment, the Black Soul Knights had already surged to the foot of the high ground where the fortress stands, a distance of one thousand meters; they number nearly two thousand, and the enemy's core position is now clearly in view.

But what greets them is the firepower of the Extreme Warriors.

In the sky, one hundred twenty Extreme Warriors riding fire dragons dive down, the Bolt Gun firing continuously, spewing streams of crimson flame.

On the ground, the three remaining squads finally get a chance to join the fight.

They, organized by squads, spread across the fortress's great hall entrance, walls, watchtowers, rooftops and other spots, taking advantageous terrain, high above, forming an airtight crossfire net, delivering a head‑on strike against the Black Soul Knights.

The Electric Light Cannon on the fortress has finished cooling and entered sweep‑fire mode.

Beams, bullets, flames.

These two thousand Black Soul Knights suffered a devastating blow; they charged upward toward the fortress, but it was as if they slammed into a steel wall—none could break past a hundred meters.

Earlier, Roni's spell cooldown had already ended, and he launched a second round of Meteor Burst.

Lei En sent him a message: ignore the Black Soul Knights.

Roni fully trusted Lei En's strength and judgment; this round of six meteors all struck Plamon's head. One massive meteor after another, a bead‑linked barrage, continuously hammering the Deep Cold Hell, with a steady rhythm, the explosion sounds unending, each reverberating across the battlefield.

Black Soul Knights are still bursting out of the portal.

Therefore, Plamon cannot withdraw the Deep Cold Hell now, or this wave of attack on Gotham City will fail.

The Holy Soul Lich bites while resisting the Meteor Burst.

He, single‑handedly, opposes half of the Weizelan Wizards, the two sides a five‑li distance apart exchanging fire; each meteor lands and explodes, blasting the solid ice shield, then wildly re‑condensing.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom……

Plamon is but a hair's breadth from th Level; his total soul power is several times that of a newly ascended Saint Rank caster. He grits his teeth and persists, but his two fists cannot match four hands; after enduring four consecutive Meteor Bursts, he finally cannot continue.

He discovers that the opposing Weizelan Wizard, though only a legend, has exceptionally skillful casting techniques.

The Meteor Burst's rhythm is fast and steady.

Moreover, each meteor's impact point is extremely clever, striking the weak spots of the Deep Cold Hell, causing maximal damage.

After each strike, the Deep Cold Hell's resistance difficulty increases by one.

A shadow falls over Plamon's heart.

Weizelan already has the terrifying wizard Anxiwodasi, in recent years the prodigy Ryan Augustus appeared, and now there is this gifted, legendary wizard whose skill rivals that of a Holy Soul.

If one day, the latter two both ascend to Holy Soul Wizard…

This is a huge bad omen for the death‑knot sigil that bears a mortal enmity with Weizelan.

Boom!

Another Meteor Burst erupts, interrupting Plamon's contemplation.

The Deep Cold Hell's area has been compressed to only one‑third, barely shielding the portal; as soon as the Black Soul Knights emerge from the portal, they are instantly exposed to the Meteor Burst shockwave, unable to get far before being blown up.

Plamon's own condition is also terrible.

He is an aberration among Holy Soul Liches, having poured countless effort to keep his body vigorous, his appearance indistinguishable from a living person.

Although he long ago lost normal human emotions, his heart is icy, he still retains his former habits, always wearing a smile, a courteous demeanor.

Now his soul power is over‑consumed, making him feel decades older; his skin sags, muscles atrophy, turning into a skin‑and‑bone skeletal frame.

This is its true form.

Flames flicker in Plamon's eye sockets as he looks up to see a massive meteor hurtling toward him, sighing, then vanishing.

Boom—!

The meteor pierces the Deep Cold Hell; the terrifying flame explosion instantly destroys the portal, immediately triggering a second blast that kills the Black Soul Knights that had just emerged.

As the portal is destroyed, a surge of flame pierces to the other side of the portal.

On the wasteland three hundred miles west of Shield Island, the explosion shakes the earth.

Several Liches maintaining the portal couldn't escape in time and died in the blast; Black Soul Knights within several hundred meters instantly fell into a sea of fire, suffering heavy casualties.

There is also a Mirror Image of Lei En here.

Earlier, the Mirror Image was blocked by the enemy from approaching the portal, so it vanished, hiding in the shadows, originally intending to bide its time, but it waited until now, harvesting a massive wave of souls. The energy in the soul‑power pool surged wildly, nearly filling from empty to full.

But at this moment, Lei En is unwilling to allocate energy.

He had long seen that Plamon intended to flee; after several recent engagements, he had gauged this Holy Soul Wizard's temperament—cautious and steady, never risking his own life.

Even if it could resurrect in the Soul Box, it would not recklessly take risks.

Each resurrection causes the Lich to lose all carried magical items, and the rebuilt body's power also diminishes; the stronger the power, the longer the recovery.

No one knows how many times a Lich can resurrect.

But rumors persist that if the death count is too high, the Lich's soul develops gaps, losing memory and knowledge, becoming a mindless walking corpse.

Each death inflicts irreversible damage on the Lich.

Before the Deep Cold Hell collapsed, Lei En's gaze had already locked onto Plamon; when it vanished, the All-Seeing Eye pierced the plane and discovered it had entered the Star Realm.

Boom!

Lei En swings the Thunder God's Hammer, dashing through the void, and in an instant also pursues into the Star Realm.

But in that brief instant, Plamon vanished.

Lei En is not familiar with the Star Realm, indeed he has done little research, far behind Plamon's countless years of study; the two differ by more than eight streets in understanding and application of the Star Realm.

With no other choice, he can only return to the Prime Material Plane.

Roni is still casting; the Wizards' soul energy invested in the gathering‑soul rune array cannot be withdrawn nor wasted. The third round of Meteor Burst falls, all landing on the opposite bank beyond Gotham City's walls, stretching along the strait in a line, the explosions covering the Undead Army.

Under the bombardment of six Electric Light Cannons, the Undead Army, already reduced to merely twenty‑to‑thirty thousand, is further decimated.

Flaming meteors rained down one after another, shaking the earth and moving the mountains.

The dwarves on the city walls were terrified, their hearts pounding.

If these meteors veered off and unfortunately landed on one's own head, the newly formed Three-Hammer Legion would be annihilated on the spot.

When the explosions of the Meteor Burst subsided, the opposite shore of the strait was unrecognizable, with six huge craters on the ground, vast seas of fire burning, and the bones of tens of thousands of undead reduced to ash.

East of the highland fortress, the Black Soul Knight Order was also completely slaughtered.

The battlefield suddenly fell silent.

Lei En appeared beside Roni; the two exchanged a glance, seeing the gravity and doubt in each other's eyes, their gazes continually scanning around, especially the sky above, but found nothing.

What about the Disaster Legion's Fu Kong Cheng?

(End of chapter)