Chapter 877: One Sword, Instant Kill

Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi is dead?

It was the first thought that sprang in the minds of the Empire's superiors: they could hardly believe it, then were full of doubt—what just happened?

From their perspective, Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi was swapped by a Mirror Image of Lei En, teleported to Lei En's front; the area where Lei En stood suddenly froze for a few seconds, and when it returned to normal, Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi had vanished.

There was no sign, no process, as if those seconds had been cut out.

Time!

Ou Ti Lu Ke's eyes flashed, and he shouted in alarm, "Time Stop!"

The other Legendary Wizards also reacted, realizing that the earlier situation was exactly the result of observing Time Stop from outside the spell's range!

The Saint Rank elites also suddenly understood.

Immediately, their gazes toward Lei En were complicated. Time Stop, the world's most powerful and hardest-to-master Nine-ring Technique, renders its caster invincible once unleashed. The vast majority of Saint Rank elites who fall victim can only await death, often not even knowing how they died.

Although they couldn't see how Lei En killed Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi during Time Stop, merely Lei En's mastery of Time Stop alone was enough to inspire awe.

Ba Tu La exhaled slowly, sighing inwardly.

Lei En's melee power is already so formidable that even he is a step behind, and he is also a Wizard who has mastered Time Stop...

This world is, after all, a world of spellcasters.

Ba Tu La has regretted countless times that he, with outstanding talent, could have become a Wizard, yet due to youthful folly, he stubbornly chose the path of the Iron Guard.

The other Saint Rank elites and Legendary Wizards each had their own thoughts.

"That's not right."

Bi Ge Bai suddenly realized, saying with a puzzled face, "Time Stop is a Nine-ring Technique."

Everyone immediately understood his meaning.

It is not only Holy Soul Wizards who can wield the Nine-ring Technique; Legendary Peak Wizards who are breaking through the Saint Rank can also cast one or two Nine-ring Techniques, but they belong to the Law Seal school, whereas Lei En belongs to the Combat school. Wizards of the Combat and Soul‑Guiding schools have only one way to master the Nine-ring Technique: by merging with a Saint Rank demon soul.

Could Lei En already be a Holy Soul Wizard?

Instantly, the Empire's superiors were shocked, then thought it natural: given Lei En's displayed overwhelming power, it would be even more terrifying if he were not a Holy Soul Wizard.

Ba Tu La, Ou Ti Lu Ke, Lin Di An and the others—candidates for the Empire's Consulship—could not help but show delight.

Lei En's Holy Soul Wizard Ascension is excellent news for them!

Holy Soul Wizards cannot serve as Consuls; although the Empire has no explicit law forbidding it, everyone tacitly observes this unwritten rule. Empire legislators and the Supreme Council would not permit a Holy Soul Wizard to wield the Empire's executive power, lest the millennial stable order be disrupted.

Lei En loses his candidacy, giving others hope.

"Finally dead!"

Viscount Stoindde Wei Li En sprinted from outside the palace, still trembling, and shouted, "Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi's power was terrifying; luckily you, Lei En, killed him."

Ba Tu La and the others gathered as well, each with their own thoughts.

Lei En nodded.

He stared at the sky for a few seconds before lowering his gaze.

Ma Youfu said anxiously, "I don't know how the Duke and the Holy Soul Wizards are faring; if we don't eliminate the enemy quickly, Fa Lan Ni Si will suffer severe damage."

The others were also somewhat worried, their faces solemn.

Governor Su Lan Ye of the province, his complexion pale and wounds not yet healed, couldn't help asking, "Who invaded Fa Lan Ni Si?"

Ou Ti Lu Ke and Bi Ge Bai both shook their heads.

Sa Laiyin, Hai Si Ke Tuo and Suo Rui Ke's gazes turned to Lei En; they knew he knew something, yet Lei En also shook his head, "I don't know."

In fact, he wasn't looking at Fu Kong Cheng moments ago.

He was gazing into the distant void, trying to locate the divine realm shadow of Black Emperor Ban Er Kou; he killed Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi before the deity, unsure what reaction the evil god would have. Yet after waiting, he heard no voice from Ban Er Kou, and its gaze seemed to shift away.

Lei En silently exhaled a breath of relief.

The Black Emperor now favors him, intent on making him a follower and plotting grand designs.

Before he explicitly refuses to serve, the deity likely won't strike him, but will covertly assist, helping conceal certain secrets, such as the existence of Thunder God's Hammer.

Wei Li En couldn't help asking, "Lei En, have you already ascended to Holy Soul Wizard?"

He is relatively close to Lei En, a friend, so he asked without much reservation. Instantly, everyone's attention focused there; it was a concern for all.

"No, it's not that easy to break through to Holy Soul Wizard," Lei En saw through their thoughts and immediately denied.

"But the Time Stop just now..." Wei Li En was puzzled.

"That wasn't a spell I cast," Lei En explained, "It was a caster who refused to reveal their name, cooperating with me to kill Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi."

Reslin's Time Stop—what does it have to do with me, Lei En?

"So that's it."

Wei Li En was half‑believing, half‑doubting; the others were silent, and an image of a figure in a black magical robe instantly formed in their minds.

Across the world, the number of spellcasters who master Time Stop can be counted on one hand; the most famous is, of course, Augulevi Master, though he has vanished. Among the Empire's Holy Soul Wizards, Black Robe Duke Tu Zi Lei can also perform Time Stop.

Given Black Robe Duke's low‑key nature, it is unsurprising that he covertly followed the Empire's legions to Ban Bei Cheng, struck down Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi without revealing himself.

The group quickly filled in a plausible conjecture.

The Consul candidates felt a tinge of disappointment; if Lei En is not a Holy Soul Wizard, their chances vanish.

Lei En smiled inwardly, stepped forward a few paces, and released a psychic field.

On the ground, soil shattered by Thunder God's Hammer into a glassy swirl rolled, and a massive black sword hilt rose from deep beneath, revealing a broad blade like a door panel, wrapped in blood‑red straps, still bearing a few wisps of soul flame, its emanating power suffocating.

Apocalypse King, the Soul‑Igniting Greatsword!

Wei Ke La Ma Ti Ya Er Shi's body was pulverized into dust by Thunder God's Hammer; this Legend Grade greatsword was his only remaining possession, driven into the ground by the war hammer.

"Doomsday Final Battle!"

Ba Tu La let out a low, awed exclamation.

The Empire's superiors kept their eyes fixed on it; a Legend Grade weapon, the highest tier of Legend Grade arms, worth at least several million Gold Shields, unattainable even for the rich—who wouldn't want it?

"What a pity..."

Batu La's face was full of regret.

He already possessed a Legend Grade "Earth Guardian", yet still lacked a sufficiently powerful offensive weapon; the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword, though massive and unwieldy with one hand, can boost power by two levels and has the terrifying "Apocalypse Decisive Battle", so its size drawback can be fully overcome.

However, the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword is Lei En's loot.

Lei En's melee prowess is greater, and he can even transform into a Titan Giant to wield it easily; this sword seems tailor‑made for him and could never be given to anyone else.

Batu La hesitated, ultimately saying nothing.

The legendary Wizards were only a bit envious, not regretful; they could not use the sword anyway.

Wei Lien stared at the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword, saliva almost dripping, and couldn't help asking, "Lei En, you already have the Soul‑Eating Blade, will you sell this sword?"

"I'll keep it for myself," Lei En replied decisively.

The Thunder God's Hammer cannot be revealed yet; the Soul‑Eating Blade is too light, better suited for agile Transcendents, and its potency is slightly lower, so the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword fits Lei En perfectly.

Especially the Apocalypse Decisive Battle!

He has no imperial armament, but he has phone battery; if nothing goes wrong, the charge can also fuel the Apocalypse Decisive Battle's consumption. The Soul‑Combusting Greatsword already adds two levels of power; activating the Apocalypse Decisive Battle could raise him by at least three levels, possibly four or even five!

In the future, one hand Thunder God's Hammer, the other the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword!

Who can withstand his single strike?

Lei En grasped the rough hilt; the six‑thousand‑pound greatsword felt weighty and solid. Instantly, a wondrous force streamed from the hilt into his body, the Element of power in the soul‑world tree quivered, and his power surged two levels in an instant.

At this moment he had already dispelled all amplification states.

The Titan Power Armor was nearly destroyed by Vikramatia II in the earlier fight; having held out until the battle's end, the armor's enchantments failed and must be sent back to the Titan Elder for repair before it can be worn again.

Thus his base power was Level 15, and gripping the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword immediately raised it to Level 17!

It felt as if endless power surged within him.

"So strong!"

Lei En exclaimed in awe.

Even without the Titan Power Armor, he still has boundless frenzy, electric heart power and battle music; re‑activating the Apocalypse Decisive Battle lets him easily reach Level 20 power again.

Those around watched Lei En take the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword, a terrifying aura of power radiating outward, forcing them to instinctively step back a few paces.

Batu La, Heiskto, Suorik and Hetes, these Saint Rank powerhouses, were all envious, some even a bit jealous.

Hetes said in a deep voice, "Speaker Lei En, we also contributed to killing Vikramatia II; you cannot hoard this Soul‑Combusting Greatsword alone."

With those words, everyone glanced at each other.

"Oh?"

Lei En glanced sideways, "Governor Hetes, what did you contribute?"

"I indeed did little, but the Marquis held Vikramatia II off with all his might, and the Time Stop was cast by someone else." Hetes spoke as if stating facts, "Lei En, you contributed the most, I won't deny that, but the Marquis's merit must not be buried; the loot should include a share for the Marquis."

His words received the majority's approval.

Batu La risked his life to hold Vikramatia II, creating the opening for Lei En's kill, which was evident to all.

Lei En could not deny it.

He looked at Batu La; the Marquis said nothing, but clearly sided with Hetes, as it served his own interests.

Hetes added, "We do not know what occurred during the Time Stop, who killed Vikramatia II, nor can we be certain…"

"Are you questioning my credit?" Lei En cut him off.

"I mean no disrespect, Speaker Lei En, please do not misunderstand." Hetes said solemnly, "Personally, I think it was improper for you to claim the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword without consultation."

Lei En stared coldly at him.

Hetes showed no fear, his posture unyielding, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

"A follower of an evil god dares to act brazenly before me." Lei En sneered, and Hetes's face changed dramatically, yet he made no response; two Mind Blasts and two Space‑Time Shocks struck him, all emanating from the nearby still‑lingering Mirror Image.

Hetes is a Level 21 Flame Swordmaster, with high magical resistance, though not yet able to ignore two Eight‑Ring and two Seven‑Ring spells.

Caught off guard, he froze on the spot.

Lei En flashed before Hetes, swinging the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword in a horizontal slash.

The terrifying blade light swept over Hetes's head; a layer of flame armor appeared but was useless, the greatsword cut through like a knife through tofu, and the portion from his neck upward vanished instantly.

With a crack,

Hetes's headless corpse fell to the ground.

In a blink, Lei En had slain a Saint Rank powerhouse as easily as crushing an ant. The onlookers were still processing Lei En's remark about an "evil‑god follower" when they saw Hetes's corpse turn into a semi‑transparent worm and finally understood.

Wraith Worm!

Hetes was disguised by the Trickster Master; he was sowing discord, and this was only a Wraith Worm clone.

"It must be Lockriang; he's nearby!"

The Empire's Transcendents scoured the area; Lockriang was the mastermind behind the assassination of Consul Gneus, and killing him to avenge the Consul might earn them credit against Lei En.

A low, painful groan echoed.

Though faint, everyone present heard it clearly and instantly realized it was the death backlash of the Wraith Worm on Lockriang; the source was close, less than a hundred meters away on an open patch, evidently preparing to ambush.

In an instant, several Empire Transcendents followed the sound and spotted a vague silhouette.

A dim light ripple indicated the enemy was fleeing into the Shadow Plane.

"Block him!"

"We must not let Lockriang escape into the Shadow Plane; that's the Trickster Master's domain, and once he's in, we can't pursue."

This was Batu La and the others' shared thought.

Then, before they could act, their thoughts stalled. The world fell silent again, and this time they were all encompassed within the spell's radius.

Their lives vanished for six seconds.

A flash occurred; nothing seemed to change, time felt unchanged, yet they immediately noticed Lei En's position had shifted, having teleported to the spot where the sound originated, still holding the Soul‑Combusting Greatsword in a ready‑to‑sheath stance.

At Lei En's feet lay two decapitated bodies, clad in black leather armor, faces hidden behind masks.

The corpse quickly decomposed into a large mass of transparent worms, rapidly expanded, and turned into several corpses of various forms.

This is the posthumous apparition of the Master of Deceptive Arts!

(End of chapter)