Chapter 829: Fishing Enforcement

A black shadow reflected in Lei En's field of vision.

In an instant, he saw through the hazy illusion to the truth. It was a human transcendent, clad in black, his face also covered with black cloth, eyes cold as ice, seemingly devoid of any human feeling, each hand gripping a sword—one long, one short.

Shadow Warrior!

And he was the "Shadow King" evolved from the Umbral Assassin, a rare Saint Rank assassin.

The opponent slipped from the Shadow Plane, appearing in the control room in a flash, his body blurring briefly before vanishing from the spot.

Lei En sensed someone leapt behind him.

At the same time, everyone in the control room was attacked: Duke Silver Star, Storm Queen, Yi Xi Na and Kuilu—the four sisters—each had a black shadow appear behind them, a sharp short sword piercing space and thrusting toward their vests.

Nevertheless, Lei En and the four sisters showed no sign of panic.

Lei En ignored the enemy behind him and did not act to aid the sisters; with a thought, the hovering Iola Core suddenly burst into light, the control room's brightness soaring, dispelling shadows as massive energy waves erupted.

The Shadow King and his shadow clone stalled for a moment.

Ding!

A short sword pierced Lei En's back.

His mithril light armor offered no protection; dozens of hair‑thin rays erupted, shredding the armor into fragments. The blade tip struck his skin, sparking a flash, yet left no trace.

The Shadow King's gaze froze.

By then, Lei En had already accelerated his casting using the Iola Core.

Phase Distortion!

The Eight-Ring Spell's ripple was extremely faint, with no sound or light display, yet its effect was immediate: within the control room and a larger surrounding area, the relative positions to other planes were warped, preventing any further transference or traversal.

Lei En spun and drew the Soul-Eating Blade at his waist.

Mind Freeze!

A seven‑ring Technique instantly locked onto the Shadow King; the black silhouette flickered, evading the spell's effect, yet his movement inevitably stalled for a moment.

Immediately, the gleaming blade struck.

Clang!

The Shadow King's reaction was unbelievably swift; the long sword in his other hand still managed to block the Soul-Eating Blade, yet whether he blocked or not, the result was the same.

The power of the Soul-Eating Blade was countless times stronger than the Shadow King; even his "Release" Element and blocking techniques were Master level, but against absolute force those skills were pale and useless.

The long sword was instantly cleaved by the Soul-Eating Blade; when the Shadow King realized he was outmatched, he decisively withdrew, but it was already too late.

Poof!

The blade swept through, severing the Shadow King's neck.

Yet no blood spilled; the enemy's head and body turned into a wisp of black smoke and dissipated.

It was only a shadow clone.

Lei En was not surprised at all; he had long seen through the Shadow King's true form, which was not targeting him or any of the four sisters. After releasing the clone, the true body hid beneath the Iola Core, just revealed by the intense light.

At this moment, each of the four sisters dealt with a shadow clone.

Pure casters dread close‑range attacks, especially from fast enemies; fortunately, the four sisters were prepared, making handling easy.

North‑Wind Blade Yi Xi Na was even more adept, eliminating her clone faster than Lei En.

She instantly locked onto the true Shadow King.

Hoo!

A cold gust brushed by; Yi Xi Na merged with the chill, flashing behind the Shadow King. Her long sword, forged of ice, glittered crystal‑clear, slicing out countless ice‑wind blades, each wielding power equivalent to a Five‑Ring Technique, instantly sweeping the enemy.

Lei En intended to deliver a Soul-Eating Slash to the Shadow King, but Yi Xi Na beat him, forcing him to switch targets.

He locked onto the clone of Duke Silver Star with a single finger.

Mind Blast!

In the control room, Lei En's energy was inexhaustible; using the rune array to accelerate casting, most Nine-ring Techniques could be completed within a second, and Eight‑Ring and lower spells could be instant‑cast.

This Mind Blast was an Eight‑Ring spell.

Duke Silver Star had just bound the clone with Silver Fire, breaking its defenses, when Lei En's Mind Blast arrived, blasting the clone's head outright.

Storm Queen and Kuilu each dealt with their opponents.

In the blink of an eye, only the Shadow King remained in the control room, dueling Yi Xi Na; a black and a blue silhouette darted like lightning, weaving left, right, up, down, almost too fast to see. Every second, their long swords clashed repeatedly, rays and sword qi slicing the surroundings, ice and shadow forces canceling each other, resulting in a stalemate.

The Shadow King's most relied‑upon tactic was the legendary Element "Shadow King", using the Shadow Plane to traverse space, faster than a flash; if a strike missed, he would instantly retreat.

But Phase Distortion barred any planar traversal.

The entire control room was bathed in intense light, leaving no shadow.

Deprived of those advantages, the Shadow King's strength waned by at least thirty percent; forced into a direct clash with Yi Xi Na, he was quickly suppressed.

Moreover, his enemies were more than just Yi Xi Na.

Lei En made a voided handshake toward the two combatants; instantly, the space around Yi Xi Na and the Shadow King solidified.

Seven‑Ring Stagnation Field.

This spell tops out at Seven‑Ring; for stronger effects only the Nine‑Ring Eternal Stagnation exists, but Eternal Stagnation is as difficult as Time Stop, and New Village Fu Kong Cheng lacks it, so they resort to the Stagnation Field.

Against targets above Saint Rank, Seven‑Ring spells are easily evaded, yielding limited effect.

Yet at this moment it was sufficient.

Yi Xi Na and the Shadow King were both affected, their movements slowed severalfold, allowing everyone to see their forms clearly.

Duke Silver Star raised his hand and launched a massive burst of Silver Fire.

Storm Queen instant‑cast an Eight‑Ring Ice Finger.

Kuilu directly hurled an Annihilation Technique.

Because they were in the control room and wished to avoid damaging the rune array, the three Saint Rank casters coincidentally used single‑target spells, all aimed at the Shadow King.

Lei En also prepared to deliver a Nine‑Ring Death Finger to the opponent.

At a hair‑breadth from disaster, he suddenly sensed something was off; his Soul‑Eye saw the Shadow King's emotions were extremely calm, not the look of being in a desperate bind. His All‑Seeing Eye saw through the black cloth on his face and discovered the other had actually shown a smile.

This is a smile of victory!

The Shadow King gave up resistance, neither breaking free of the static field nor attacking the Ishina who was right before his eyes.

Something's wrong!

Lei En stopped casting Death Finger, his mind quickly shifted, and he fully observed the Shadow King's soul state, finally discovering an anomaly.

This Shadow King is not the true body; he is a fragment being controlled by someone.

The Trickster's phantom duplicate!

"Don't kill him!"

Lei En suddenly realized, guessed the plot of this phantom duplicate, hurriedly shouted loudly, but the three casters' spells had already been completed.

While shouting, he instantly cast a teleportation spell, trying to send the Shadow King out of Fu Kong Cheng.

But it had no effect.

The Shadow King wore a magic item resembling a temporal‑spatial disruptor, preventing his teleportation; Lei En had anticipated this, and without hesitation used his final method.

Mind Leap.

Lei En appeared in front of the Shadow King.

Almost the instant he arrived, a Silver Fire sphere, Ice Finger, and a Collapse Spell struck him, and Ishina's ice‑wind sword qi slammed at him head‑on.

Ah!

Ishina let out a startled cry.

The other three sisters were also wide‑eyed with shock; they had heard Lei En's words, but it was already too late to retract, and they could only watch helplessly as their spells engulfed Lei En, and in the next second their eyes widened even more.

The Silver Fire burned only briefly before extinguishing, the Ice Finger was completely absorbed, and the Collapse Spell had no effect at all.

After the massive ice‑wind sword qi dispersed, Lei En emerged unharmed.

He blocked all attacks for the Shadow King; behind him the Shadow King was uninjured, staring at Lei En's back in astonishment, his eyes full of shock.

"You…"

The Shadow King exclaimed in surprise, about to say something, but Lei En vanished.

Just as Lei En disappeared, a teleportation portal opened within the static field, and a massive electric claw flew out, seized the Shadow King and dragged him in, forcibly pulling him out of Fu Kong Cheng.

It was only then that the four sisters understood.

Ishina and Kuilu rushed through the portal, discovering that on the other side was a farmland not far from the sea, with Fu Kong Cheng hovering not far above, clearly still within Gramo​gen territory.

After the two emerged, the portal closed immediately.

The Shadow King had broken free of the electric claw, but fell into Lei En's mental force field; the omnipresent massive telekinetic pressure wildly squeezed and bound him, preventing him from fully exploiting his speed advantage.

Lei En had become a little giant over three meters tall, wielding a Soul‑Eating Blade, and swung several Soul‑Eating Slashes.

But the Shadow King's speed was still too fast.

Even with the mental force field's interference, he still narrowly evaded the Soul‑Eating Slashes, and Lei En's instantly cast spells were also nullified.

Ishina immediately drew her sword and joined the fight.

Kuilu cast from afar, preparing a lethal strike on the enemy.

Ishina entangled the Shadow King, Lei En immediately retreated dozens of meters, his body swelling again to sixteen meters tall, like a true Titan Giant, with a pair of massive metal wings unfurled behind him, bolts of lightning circling the wings and the giant's body, his eyes flashing with electric light.

An aura so suffocating that even Saint Rank elites felt it radiated from the Titan Giant.

The Shadow King's complexion changed wildly.

Run away quickly!

It was the only thought left in his mind: the plan had failed, staying would not only prevent him from killing any target, but also cost his own life.

In an instant, the Shadow King was about to slip into the Shadow Plane.

Roar!

A roar imbued with terrifying power rang out, shaking the surroundings, carrying dozens of miles; everyone in Gramo​gen territory heard it, and even those far away were shaken and terrified, many falling into panic.

Dragon's Roar!

Lei En's roar was directed toward the Shadow King; the stronger the force, the more potent the Dragon's Roar's power and intimidation. After the true dragon body merged with the titanium‑golden form, the upgraded titanium‑golden level further amplified the Dragon's Roar's lethality.

At this moment his power amplification reached level seventeen.

With a single roar, the Shadow King froze on the spot, blood streaming from both ears. Ishina, who was fighting alongside him, was not spared; her mind went blank, and Kuilu's casting was interrupted.

Lei En swung his Soul‑Eating Blade, now ten meters long, delivering a Soul‑Eating Slash.

Boom!

A massive sword aura dozens of meters long spanned the heavens, as if to cleave the world in two, and the Shadow King, at the forefront, was instantly reduced to ash.

After the sword aura, a trench a hundred meters long and over two meters deep remained on the ground.

Ishina stood less than half a meter from the trench, having recovered from the shock of the Dragon's Roar, and was instantly stunned by the scene. Before she could regain composure, an electric claw flew in, snatching her into the Titan Giant's grasp, and she heard Lei En say, "Stay away from him."

The moment the words ended, the spot where the Shadow King had stood erupted with intense magical turbulence.

First, an invisible shockwave swept the surroundings.

Then a semi‑transparent ray fired; it seemed to have a preset target, but none was found here, so it shot out aimlessly.

Finally, a pitch‑black magical sphere over a meter in diameter detonated instantly, blasting fissures throughout the void within a hundred meters; at its core was a bottomless black hole that seemed to swallow everything, only in, never out.

After the spell burst, a huge pit dozens of meters in diameter appeared in the farmland.

Ishina's expression changed instantly.

She is a magic swordsman, not adept at casting, but as a Chosen One of the God of Magic, her magical knowledge rivals that of a Holy Soul wizard; she recognized the three spells as "Release Binding," "Greater Disintegrate," and "Annihilation Sphere," all nine rings!

Obviously, the three spells all targeted the Iola Core.

Release Binding can destroy all control, restraint, and sealing spells, destroy magical barriers, closures, and imprisonment effects; it cannot break force fields and protective spells, but the subsequently triggered Greater Disintegrate can, and together they have a high chance of destroying the Iola Core's outer shell.

Even if it cannot be destroyed, there is still the Annihilation Sphere.

This is a spatial spell that creates a void black hole to devour all things; its principle is exactly opposite to the Iola Core, and its effect against the Iola Core is outstanding.

If three Nine-ring Techniques erupt in the control room of Fu Kong Cheng, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Kuilu flashed over, concerned, and asked, "Are you all right?"

"All fine."

Lei En set Yixina down.

He shrank to a normal human size, his complexion looking bad. This time he and the Silver Star Title: Duke anticipated that someone might covet the Iola Core, so they set a bait and played a fishing enforcement.

Just now the soul binding of the Iola Core was supposedly lifted, but it was only a show; it was not actually removed.

Didn't expect to almost capsize in the gutter.

The enemy never intended to take the Iola Core; they only wanted to destroy it. If the two Iola Cores were detonated simultaneously, both I and the four sisters would have nowhere to be buried, and the explosion of New Village Fu Kong Cheng would kill an unknown number of Gelamorgan people.

"How did he do it?" Yixina asked.

Kuilu replied in a low voice, "Soul Trigger Technique. He uses his own soul as the casting medium, storing the three spells inside his body; as soon as he is killed, the spells will trigger."

Lei En exhaled, "Let's head back to Fu Kong Cheng first."

(End of chapter)