Chapter 843: The Giant Statue Cuts the Sacred Soul

Except for Anxiwodasi, everyone else thought Lei En was far too unwise.

To please the goddess, he actually gave up building Fu Kong Cheng!

Even the four Silver Star duke sisters and the lord Hei Si Ta Fu, who are all Chosen Ones of the God of Magic, were unwilling to make such a huge sacrifice.

Moreover, when they eradicated Augulevi Master's fallen Lich on an unknown minor plane, the goddess had already shown her favor toward Lei En, surpassing even that shown to the Divine Chosen; his spending such a huge price to build Fu Kong Cheng was utterly unnecessary.

Most Wizards are rational people; the stronger the Wizard, the more self‑centered they become, and they rarely act fanatically toward the deities.

Lei En's doing so is indeed abnormal and puzzling.

Ouroin glanced at Anxiwodasi, saw the old friend silent, and couldn't help saying, "Lei En, although you are not my student, we are both battle Wizards, so I must advise you: do not become overly close to the deities, lest it affect your pursuit of magical truth."

Halfway through, he looked up at the sky, his gaze piercing the void to glimpse the goddess's divine realm.

"Worship blinds people, stripping them of reason and self."

In front of several Divine Chosen, Ouroin Master said bluntly, "I think the goddess would not want to see you go astray."

"Thank you for the Master's teaching."

Lei En humbly accepted and replied earnestly, "Please, Master, do not worry; I did this mainly to create an absolutely safe environment for Gotham City."

VejesCui's magical torchlight!

This Ten-ring Spell is not just a simple ignition of light.

As Ouroin was about to speak again, the statue above trembled lightly; the torch it raised burst into fierce, blazing flame. A visible surge of magic formed a rainbow‑like halo that spread outward, instantly enveloping a three‑hundred‑mile radius.

Almost the next second, fierce battle cries rang from many places in Gotham City.

At the same time, among the spectators on both sides of the bay, some people experienced strange phenomena.

The overwhelming majority were bathed in the torch's radiance, feeling only peace and serenity; even non‑followers of the God of Magic felt no discomfort. However, some were exceptions: the magical light seared them like intense heat, burning their skin and souls, eliciting cries of agony.

"Ah…"

"So painful!"

There were over a hundred of them, mingling in the crowd.

The surrounding people noticed their oddity, initially clueless, then saw their bodies ignite, exuding waves of evil aura.

Followers of the evil gods!

People screamed in panic, fleeing far away, but when they looked back they found the evil‑god followers were not attacking anyone, only wailing miserably in place or rolling on the ground trying to extinguish the flames.

Within the raging flames, various phantom shapes appeared.

Pale wraiths, crimson blood‑flames, dark‑green aberrations, twisted skull masks, blood handprints, massive evil magic spiders, black crowns, six arms each wielding a different weapon, long nine‑tailed whips, a five‑headed dragon, and so on…

These are all the holy emblems of Ai Lun E Si's many evil gods!

The Lord of the Dead, the Lord of Chaos, the Plague Lord, the deceiver Luo Xi, the blood god Ha Ka Nu Si, Spider Queen Ros, the black emperor Ban Er Kou, the mad god He Ke Si Tuo Er, the joyous queen Mei Kan Wei Ta, the mother of evil dragons Ti Ya Xi Si, and some lesser‑known, hard‑to‑identify evil gods.

"There are so many followers of evil gods right here in Gotham City, and they're right beside us!"

The people looked horrified; before being ignited, these evil‑god followers had disguised themselves as various professions, appearing perfectly normal.

Some had even interacted with them, some being longtime friends.

In the shock, the lingering feeling was dread.

Fortunately!

Although we still don't know why these followers were exposed, it must be linked to the statue of the God of Magic, and they hurriedly prayed to the statue.

The same scene unfolded inside Gotham City.

Not all evil‑god followers took part in the rite; some hid at home or deliberately went farther from Truth Island. Yet the magical torchlight is unaffected by obstacles, piercing walls and magical wards directly.

Every inch within three hundred miles of the statue was filled with this strange radiance.

Those hiding in concealed basements or secret rooms were still illuminated by the torchlight, their bodies igniting.

West of Shield Island Bay, on the wilderness more than two hundred li from the statue.

This is the frontline where Thundercast Celestial Soldiers clear the dead, where tens of thousands of wandering or subterranean undead suddenly self‑ignited.

Under the horrified gazes of the people, most followers were quickly reduced to ash.

But not all followers simply waited to die.

They were at least high‑rank super‑humans, including several black Wizards, struggling against the torchlight and about to employ means to flee. In the western wilderness, the death knight and Lich leading the Undead Army immediately abandoned their troops and fled.

The first choice would certainly be a teleportation spell.

However, the black Wizards, Lich, and death knights discovered that every teleportation spell had failed!

Blink, Arbitrary Door, Teleportation, Greater Teleport, Teleportation Array, Heaven‑Disaster Gate… any spell involving spatial displacement was unusable.

This area was completely sealed off!

Plane‑hopping, inter‑realm teleportation, and astral jumps—these spells to other planes were also prohibited; no matter how they were cast, there was no response.

Only two ways to escape remain.

Fly, or run!

Below‑legendary evil‑god followers and undead were mostly burned to death without resistance; the higher‑ranked burned to ash even after a short run; those above legend could resist soul‑burn and fled desperately. Most chose to fly or shapeshift into various forms to dash away.

But after fleeing only a few hundred meters, the scene before them suddenly changed.

They were teleported!

The people on both sides of the bay saw the massive sky projection shift, switching to a plain where the terrain was flat, the ground already purified, and several tall artillery batteries surrounded it.

Sharp‑eyed super‑humans recognized the location.

"This is across the bay!"

"Right there, look!"

People followed the indicated direction and looked, especially the crowd that had run to the western shore of the bay; they turned and realized the place was only a few thousand meters away.

Before they could understand what was happening, a group of powerful evil‑god followers appeared.

They had been teleported here.

More than thirty cultists of the evil gods, black Wizards, Liches and death knights were suddenly teleported together; flames burned on their bodies, a powerful evil aura gathered, like beacon fire soaring into the sky.

So many legends!

The extraordinary ones in the crowd inhaled sharply; at least half were legends. From their appearance, several were legendary Liches.

Holy Soul Lich Pula Meng!

A few cries gave people a shiver—how could there still be a Holy Soul Lich?

In the middle of the projected image was a middle‑aged man in a plain magical robe, looking no different from an ordinary person, with a ruddy complexion, jet‑black hair, dressed like a courteous gentleman, but his eyes were like ice, utterly indifferent.

He was Pula Meng.

More than two years ago, Pula Meng took part in the assault on Gotham City and was blown up on the spot, so many people recognized him.

On the plaza before the temple, the Saint Rank strongmen also changed color slightly.

Pula Meng was actually lurking in Gotham City!

Anxiwodasi and Oruin drew their staffs and longswords, ready to act, and the other Saint Rank strongmen also brandished weapons, but Lei En stopped them.

He said calmly, "Everyone need not be anxious; Pula Meng cannot escape."

VijesCui's magical torchlight can seal space, detect and purify evil, and arbitrarily teleport selected targets within its spell range, but it lacks strong offensive power and has no direct means to eliminate enemies above legend rank.

However, Lei En had long been prepared.

The teleportation destinations of those evil‑god cultists were carefully chosen, within the range of four Electric Light Cannons, and the surrounding land was uncultivated, so no one else would be harmed.

Before the enemies arrived, the Electric Light Cannon began pre‑charging.

As soon as Lei En finished speaking, the Electric Light Cannon fired, almost seamless. All four Electric Light Cannons operated in bombardment mode, charged for twelve seconds, and their muzzles emitted four massive blue‑white bolts of electricity, solid as if material, each wielding power equivalent to a Nine-ring Technique, falling instantly.

The evil‑god cultists scattered at once, but none could outrun the lightning.

Rumble—...

A earth‑shaking, sky‑splitting massive explosion roared through the clouds; people saw a small sun rise over the wasteland, endless light burst across their sight, instantly blanking their eyes so they could see nothing, and some even shed tears from the shock.

A few seconds after the flash, people finally heard a sound.

A massive area‑wide shockwave swept the bay, raising spray, striking bodies like a raging storm.

After the explosion, people's vision returned.

They found that the wasteland's ground was left with a huge crater dozens of meters across; the evil‑god cultists and undead were gone, not even a trace.

"Are they all dead?" someone asked, trembling.

"They should all be dead..."

Most people had never experienced the battle of Gotham City; normally, when small groups of undead invaded, the Electric Light Cannon eliminated them in rapid‑fire mode.

Today was the first time they saw the Electric Light Cannon fire at full power in bombardment mode.

Only now did they realize that the Electric Light Cannon hovering overhead each day possessed such terrifying power!

Such a terrifying magical attack, scarier than a Nine-ring Technique—how could those evil‑god cultists possibly survive?

"Pula Meng!"

"Goddess, he is still alive..."

Someone pointed at the projected image in the sky and shouted in terror.

In the image, a faint icy‑blue mist raced through mid‑air, vaguely revealing a figure that looked rather disheveled.

People recognized him as Holy Soul Lich Pula Meng and were incredulous—he hadn't died!

Truly a Holy Soul Lich!

The next second, the projected view pulled back as if seen from high above, and in front of Pula Meng's flight path a massive silhouette appeared, perfectly blocking his escape route.

"What is that?"

Everyone who saw the huge figure thought the same.

Its shape was that of a standing giant, but clearly not alive; its whole body was forged of metal, with intricately detailed armor that seemed like an Arcane puppet or some kind of golem. The construct's shell resembled enchanted armor, mostly painted blue, with red stripes on the chest, arms and legs, its facial expression lifelike, and a simple human‑face emblem on its forehead.

A transparent force field shimmered around the construct, its eyes flashing electricity, as if possessing great intelligence.

It charged toward Pula Meng the moment it appeared.

The construct wielded an enormous two‑handed greatsword, moving with agile swiftness, showing none of the clumsiness of a machine, and its speed kept increasing, the blade flashing dazzling electricity.

Bang bang bang bang—

The ground trembled, electric flashes and thunder roared.

Even from a great distance, people could feel the construct's terrifying presence, like a mountain of waves crushing, suffocating.

Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed.

Pula Meng instantly spotted the construct, immediately altered course from west to northwest, trying to evade it.

Clang!

The construct transformed into a bolt of lightning, instantly moving hundreds of meters, still blocking the path; not only did it not slow, it accelerated further using Electric Flash Teleport, moving even faster.

Pula Meng, intent on avoiding combat, changed direction again.

This time he turned west again.

However, directly ahead to the west another construct appeared. The second construct was identical to the first—towering, heavy, swift, wielding an enormous greatsword, charging from the west toward Pula Meng.

He had to change direction again, fleeing south.

Karnod Icefield lies in the north of the New Continent; heading west or northwest would most quickly exit the range of the magical torchlight, but both routes were now blocked, leaving Pula Meng no choice but to go south. As soon as he escaped the torchlight's range, he could teleport away at any time.

The next second, a third blocking construct appeared to the south.

Then a fourth, a fifth…

They kept increasing up to eight!

People stared at the eight identical constructs, stunned, and the surrounded Pula Meng was also taken aback.

Normally, he wouldn't even pay attention to these constructs; if he couldn't win a frontal battle, he could just run away.

But now there is no way back.

Two giants appeared behind, blocking the direction back toward Gotham City.

Eight giants surrounded from all sides; whichever way he fled, he faced at least one. The giants were clearly linked, cooperating smoothly, constantly adjusting their positions as they ran, compressing space, leaving Pulameng no escape.

He also didn't dare fly high, for that would become a target for the Electric Light Cannon.

Finally, Pulameng had no way to escape; he suddenly stopped, the icy-blue mist enveloping him erupted violently, the temperature on the wilderness plummeted, instantly entering winter.

Ice elements within a radius of dozens of miles frenziedly gathered, with Pulameng as the center, forming a vast domain with a diameter of up to a kilometer. Within this range, thick frost formed on the ground, piercing winter winds howled, the earth was frozen, a true ice-bound snowland.

Nine-ring Technique——Deepfreeze Hell!

This is Pulameng's most powerful technique; within Deepfreeze Hell his power surges, allowing him to almost instantly cast any ice spell below the eighth ring, a single glance can freeze his enemies.

All eight giants were encompassed by Deepfreeze Hell.

However, Pulameng discovered with shock that the force field appearing on the giants' bodies resisted the icy power; the frost that formed on their legs shattered at a struggle, only slowing them slightly.

He instantly cast a sky-filling spell, submerging the giants.

Still, it was of little use.

In an instant, the first giant had already charged forward against the ice spell to within less than a hundred meters; the two huge engines behind it spewed scorching flames, its arms wrapped in countless lightning, and it slashed out a giant sword.

At the critical moment, Pulameng teleported away within Deepfreeze Hell; this was the only way he could break through the magical torchlight's spatial blockade.

His vision shifted, and he dodged the earth-shaking sword by a hair's breadth.

Then his vision shifted again.

In an instant, Pulameng was transmitted back, as if automatically sent to his death beneath the sword; the giant sword fell, and the Holy Soul Lich instantly turned to ash.

(End of chapter)