Chapter 915: Saint Rank War

Time Stop!

Within a range of several hundred meters, the world suddenly fell silent; time ceased to flow, and air, sound, and everything else stalled. Both sides—the Hell three-headed dragon and the Golden three-headed dragon— froze midair, their massive wings motionless, like two colossal dragon statues.

On the dragons' backs, three powerful Demonkin could not move.

However, the Aiken in the middle was only frozen for an infinitesimal instant; his mind resumed operation, his eyes flared with fierce blood‑red light, yet his body felt as if mired in mud—though he could move, his speed was absurdly sluggish.

In the first second of Time Stop, he sensed the source of the spell, strained to turn his head, and saw a black silhouette materialize not far to his right.

It was a young human Wizard.

His complexion was pallid, his frame gaunt, a transparent shield enveloped his body, and he floated in midair holding a straight mithril staff; the Time Stop emanated from his hand.

Aiken recognized him.

Years ago, this Wizard had sparred with him; his superb casting technique and great power left a deep impression. Back then he was only a legendary Wizard, and in just three or four years he rose to become a Holy Soul Wizard!

The young Wizard's face showed no ripple, indifferent and cold.

He himself was completely unaffected by Time Stop, waved his staff to cast, and in a flash his figure was surrounded by twelve identical black‑robed Wizards.

This casting consumed one second.

The Wizard's original body plus the twelve Mirror Images began rapid casting in the second second.

The spells they unleashed were identical: transparent beams no thicker than a thumb, appearing harmless and without menace. Yet Aiken's heart leapt; he recognized them as the Greater Disintegrate, a technique invented by a Holy Soul Wizard of the Oruisen Empire, named after himself and colloquially called "Greater Disintegrate"!

Disintegrate can dispel various magical effects, including buffs, protections, anti‑magic fields, and so on.

But most detestable is that Disintegrate can destroy magical items, regardless of their quality; even artifacts have a chance to be shattered.

The Wizard's original body cast a Nine-ring Disintegrate, while the Mirror Images cast an Eight-ring version.

Each second, thirteen Disintegrate spells completed.

The transparent beams advanced slowly within the Time Stop field, like straight projectile trails, covering the area where Aiken stood, a saturated assault leaving no blind spot.

When Time Stop ends, a total of sixty‑five Disintegrate spells will fire.

Once active, not only the few Legend Grade pieces on his body but even artifacts could be stripped clean.

But Aiken had no time to worry about those Disintegrate spells, for a more lethal attack was incoming.

As Time Stop fell away, Lei En stepped up from the dragon's back, his body expanding wildly; in an instant he became a Titan Giant over thirty meters tall, a shadow that eclipsed the sun.

At the same time, his left hand grasped a massive black sword, power surging, surrounded by a torrent of lightning; his right hand manifested a tens‑of‑meters‑long mithril spear, terrifying thunder energy coalescing upon it, the electric light intensifying, as if a second sun rose in the sky.

Lei En aimed the terrifying mithril spear at Aiken.

He waited for the optimal moment to strike.

Aiken's brow throbbed wildly, sensing extreme danger, but that was not all; on both sides of the Golden three-headed dragon, two figures appeared, their looks similar—both aged, white‑haired, white‑bearded old Wizards.

One wore a magenta‑purple magical robe, wielded a red staff taller than himself, its tip encircled by six crystals radiating terrifying fiery heat.

The old Wizard acted the moment he appeared.

In an instant, five fireballs coalesced; even within Time Stop they were barely hindered, and during flight they expanded dramatically, becoming twenty‑five spheres larger than a table.

Each fireball contained terrifying potency, far surpassing ordinary Nine-ring Technique.

A rapid burst of twenty‑five Nine-ring fireballs!

Aiken instantly deduced the old Wizard's identity: the head of the three titans of the Oruisen Empire, ruler of the Weizelan Floating City, founder of the Mo Du sect, one of the world's most powerful casters, Lei En's master— Anxiwodasi!

Anxiwodasi's name is widely known even among the Nethifer tribes.

Purgatory Mages especially revere Anxiwodasi.

Because the Purgatory Mage profession was born from the Mo Du sect's philosophy; each Purgatory Mage adheres to Mo Du's magical doctrine, mastering a few spells, amplifying their potency, focusing on fire magic, and seeking maximum lethality.

One could even say that Purgatory Mages are unofficial students of the Weizelan Floating City, far out on the New Continent.

At that moment, the two companions beside Aiken also regained their thoughts.

They were both Saint Rank elites: one a Level 27 Chosen Champion, the other a Level 25 Purgatory Grand Mage, their souls having undergone multiple metamorphoses and blessed by the gods, granting them some resistance to Time Stop.

The Purgatory Grand Mage instantly saw the sky filled with fireballs and Anxiwodasi.

He recognized him.

In an instant, the Purgatory Grand Mage's eyes shone with intense admiration, as if meeting a lifelong idol— thrilled, yet faced with being obliterated by the idol's fireball technique, powerless to act, he felt utter despair.

Aiken's attention shifted to the other old Wizard.

The elder originally clad in a white robe instantly transformed into a three‑meter‑tall half‑giant, his muscles bulging the robe, wielding a cross‑shaped longsword in one hand and a white‑wood staff in the other; his combat style resembled that of a Purgatory Mage.

However, this Wizard's strength was incomparably greater than that of a Purgatory Mage.

He too was a Holy Soul Wizard!

He raised the white‑wood staff and emitted a beam of light.

During Time Stop, Aiken observed the light's propagation clearly: it burst from a point at the staff's tip, rapidly expanding into a conical radiance, each ray within containing dreadful potency, sweeping over the three of them and the Hell three-headed dragon beneath.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

Half of the Time Stop had elapsed.

The black‑robed Wizard and his Mirror Images had already released twenty‑six Disintegrate spells; Anxiwodasi instantly cast a second round of fireball technique, splitting into twenty‑five, the conical white light also reached close, and the three heads of the Hell three-headed dragon, upon touching the light, had their scales crumble.

"Ah…"

The Chosen Champion beside Aiken let out a roar, but no sound emerged.

He frantically mobilized the evil energy within, finally managing to slightly break free from Time Stop's control; his body moved a little, desperately raising the massive double‑handed hammer he wielded.

Usually very wieldy, the hammer now felt as heavy as a mountain, its speed as slow as a snail.

The Purgatory Grand Mage's gaze flickered wildly.

He also cast, but his resistance to Time Stop was far weaker than Anxiwodasi's; casting became extremely difficult, even spells that could normally be instant now lagged due to his slowed thoughts.

Fourth second.

Lei En's power rose to the Level 20 cap, channeling massive thunder energy into the mithril spear; the electric light concealed the spear's shape, and in his hand it felt like grasping a colossal bolt of lightning.

Fifth second, he hurled the Thunder God's Spear!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

Reslin is his own split self, sharing the same soul; the Time Stop Reslin cast has no effect on his original body. In the blink of an eye, the Thunder God's Spear shot to Aiken's front, a step faster than the Disintegration Technique, Fireball, and Light Technique.

At this moment, Time Stop has not ended; there is still the final second.

During the first five seconds, Aiken, unlike the two people beside him, made no move, as if completely restrained by Time Stop.

At the hair's breadth, he finally reacted.

Snap!

A silent, faint sound; a crack opened at the brow of Aiken's helmet, revealing a bizarre eye. It stood upright, burning with four‑colored flames—blood‑red, dark‑purple, eerie‑green, and pallid—and within the pupil a seal emerged.

When the eye opened, four ancient evil deities of differing forms manifested around Aiken.

A terrifying aura assaulted the souls of everyone present.

Abyssal Four Gods!

Anxiwodasi, who was hurling the third round of Fireball, had his mind involuntarily freeze for an instant, interrupting his casting.

Ouroin Master's Light Technique was also extinguished.

Reslin's Time Stop was broken, time resumed its flow, but in the same second, Aiken's Crown of Dominion emitted an invisible surge, sweeping the surroundings and freezing space within several hundred meters, seamlessly linking with Time Stop.

The Disintegration Technique, Fireball, and Thunder God's Spear were all frozen.

The massive lightning was less than half a meter from Aiken, within arm's reach, yet that half‑meter gap felt as insurmountable as a celestial chasm.

Lei En and his three companions were momentarily unable to move.

Like a turn‑based game, battlefield control flipped instantly, now seized by Aiken. With a thought, he displaced the newly freed Hell Three‑Headed Dragon, the Chosen Champion, and the Purgatory Grand Mage, scattering them to escape the enemies' spells and spear attacks.

The Hell Three‑Headed Dragon appeared before BoErQi, opening its three massive jaws and spewing three differently colored draconic breaths that rained down on Lei En.

The Chosen Champion was shifted to Anxiwodasi's front, where it swung its heavy hammer in a furious smash.

The Purgatory Grand Mage was moved far away, outside the frozen space, brandishing its staff to unleash its strongest spell—Extreme Meteor Burst!

Aiken himself appeared behind Reslin, brandishing the Crimson Great Sword 'Regicide Sword', cutting a hundred‑meter‑long blade of fire.

The angle of the strike was deft, allowing it to slash both Reslin and Ouroin Master simultaneously.

In his view, Reslin, who wielded Time Stop, posed the greatest threat and had to be the first killed.

As for the other Holy Soul Wizard who seemed only capable of casting white light, joining the attack was fine; killing him would, of course, be best.

Aiken locked onto Reslin.

He knew this young human wizard could break free of his spatial bind, but this strike carried additional potency.

Above the blade's light shimmered an illusion of the Blood Sea Corpse Mountain.

A shadow of an evil god from the Bottomless Abyss erupted with endless malevolent aura; the blade had not yet struck, yet merely seeing it could assault the target's soul, leaving no chance of resistance.

Hoo!

Before the blade could land, Reslin vanished suddenly.

The Crown of Dominion controlled every inch of surrounding space—whether teleportation, planar traversal, or invisibility—leaving no escape from Aiken's detection. Yet he could not locate Reslin's trace, as if he had truly vanished from this world.

Time jump?

A flicker of speculation crossed Aiken's mind, but before the thought settled, an earth‑shaking roar erupted before him; the Regicide Sword seemed to strike something, and the hundred‑meter fire blade collapsed instantly.

A silhouette over three meters tall advanced within the dissipating blade light.

That Holy Soul Wizard!

Aiken's pupils narrowed as he finally grasped the Holy Soul Wizard's dread: the cross‑longsword in its hand sliced through the frozen space, seemingly faster than light, striking him almost the instant he saw it.

Pfft!

Aiken had no time to react before a slash struck his neck.

The jet‑black armor he wore, called 'Moka's Armor', was originally a Legend Grade armor, blessed by the Plague Lord 'MoXiFaLe', incredibly sturdy and airtight; since donning it, it had never been broken nor had he been injured even once.

But today an accident occurred.

Aiken felt a sharp pain radiate from his neck, stunned to realize he was wounded!

The injury was not severe nor fatal; the Plague Lord's blessing granted the armor near‑infinite vitality, the damaged spot writhed like a living thing, instantly restoring to pristine condition, the wound healing immediately, its effect comparable to the Legend Grade Element Earth Heart.

Yet having not been injured for years, this unfamiliar pain slowed his reaction, and he was immediately struck on the head by an enlarged White Wood Staff.

Bang!

A blast rang out; the Crown of Dominion shielded Aiken's head, preventing a fatal blow, but his body involuntarily fell.

The spatial freeze was violently shattered.

Ouroin Master swung his sword again, cutting through the void with both man and blade, appearing before the falling Aiken. This time Aiken reacted in time, raising his left hand's 'Thousand Throat Demon Shield' against Ouroin. The square shield bore a twisted human face at its center, surrounded by countless evil snarls that opened together, extending greasy illusory tendrils that emitted terrifying whispers straight into the soul.

Every human is intimately familiar with this nightmarish whisper; like the Blood Soul Curse, it originates from the Lord of Darkness 'YouKeSuoEn'.

Humans beneath the Saint Rank, even legendary transcendents, if their will wavers even slightly, will have the Blood Soul Curse trigger at the sound of the Thousand Throat Demon Shield, their souls plunging into madness, losing reason, becoming the fallen.

Ouroin Master had long dispelled the Blood Soul Curse; the shield's whisper only stalled his movement for half a breath.

Aiken seized the moment to reactivate the Crown of Dominion, freezing the surrounding space, the Regicide Sword thrust upward from below, piercing Ouroin's heart.

But as he began his counterattack, he heard a massive explosion.

Aiken did not turn to look; the Crown of Dominion sensed the source—a fireball from Anxiwodasi—twenty‑five massive fireballs formed a ring, encircling his Chosen Champion and detonating inward.

The Chosen Champion vaporized instantly, body and spirit annihilated, not even a scream emitted.

Those dreadful fireballs were unaffected by the spatial freeze, even shattering the void, triggering a chain reaction that violently assaulted Aiken's mind, who controlled the space.

His Crimson Great Sword suddenly stalled.

Ouroin instantly shook off the whisper's interference, seizing the moment his opponent was dazed; the White Wood Staff smashed open the Regicide Sword, the cross‑longsword thrust forward, piercing Aiken's armor, its unparalleled sharp tip piercing his heart and exiting his back!

The story's not finished yet, don't talk nonsense!

(End of Chapter)