Chapter 827: Ring
Ujfalusi looked even more disheveled, and his robe was so tattered and torn that he looked like a beggar. Fortunately, there was nothing but a skeleton beneath the robe. Hence, it did not suffer too much damage.
During the sudden outburst previously, the Vampire Norfeller who killed a Death Knight managed to remain unharmed despite being besieged by the Death Knights whose strength was greatly improved thanks to his incredible speed. However, the bloody flames on his body were no longer as intense as they used to be. Clearly, the power that had burst out of him was gradually declining. At this moment, a look of hopelessness and anxiety formed on Norfeller’s face because he saw the predicament that his master Lin Li was in.
The Holy Death Knights were a force that were transformed in the Eternal Furnace, and they had the characteristics of Death Knights, but not their weaknesses. In a sense, they could be considered perfect existences. If they were facing ordinary Death Knights, they would definitely win. However, they were now facing Death Knights that were working under a Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight. When Rodhart truly awakened, the Death Knights immediately exploded with power that was several times greater than before. The Holy Death Knights couldn’t hang on any longer.
“Damn it, do you have any more tricks? Hurry and use them. Do you really not have any more!?” Connoris muttered incessantly while waving the Holy Light Cross in his hand and casting spells continuously. He managed to somewhat hold on despite being besieged by 20 Death Knights. However, there were still wounds appearing continuously on the perfect body even though it was claimed to be stronger than the ancient wyrm.
Although Lin Li did not come up with a solution to save them from the dangerous predicament just now, Connoris still believed that it was impossible for Lin Li to take the risk without any preparations. Now that Rodhart had woken up and the matter had escalated to a critical point, there should be no reason for him to delay, unless he really had no solution?
If that kid really has no solution… Impossible! Connoris thought to himself, after which he shook his head profusely as if he was trying to get rid of the horrible thought as fast as he could.
However, Lin Li, whom Connoris had placed high hopes on, was behaving in a manner that left everyone else hopeless. Regardless of how close one might be to a certain realm, they would still be worlds apart as long as they did not step into it. It would be no exaggeration to say that Lin Li was just like a tiny ant compared to Rodhart. While being compelled by Rodhart, Lin Li managed to survive till now, which was actually considered to be rather miraculous.
“You’re great, but unfortunately…” Rodhart did not continue to explain what the unfortunate matter was, and simply raised his left arm to grab the air while facing Lin Li. The black flames around him suddenly split into countless revolving giant black pythons while dashing in the direction that Rodhart was pointing at, after which they darted towards Lin Li menacingly.
Lin Li’s hair was still wet as if he had just washed it as it was still dripping with sweat. His hands were also shaking when he was holding the Helios’ Scepter. He had just escaped from Rodhart’s sword, and before he could even catch his breath, he saw Rodhart launching yet another powerful and terrifying magic spell, which immediately frightened him. Actually, Lin Li had been rather tense ever since Rodhart appeared, and he had been living every second on the brink of death. His goosebumps had never vanished at all.
At the moment that the magic was blasted, the mageweaths on the Domain Robe lit up instantly, and Lin Li’s figure was immediately teleported to a spot more than 10 meters away. That was considered the only benefit that Lin Li had obtained in the battle—he had become more and more proficient in mastering the Space Power in the Domain Robe.
However, the Eternal Frost Blade that Rodhart used was also a powerful magical weapon that utilized Space Power. As its user, he naturally wouldn’t be clueless about Space Power. Even though he was not a mage, he was a Sanctuary powerhouse who probably had a good understanding of Space Power through the Eternal Frost Blade, which Lin Li could never compare to.
Lin Li was able to escape the dangerous situation with the power of the Domain Robe only because Rodhart hadn’t really woken up yet previously, merely fighting instinctively. Rodhart now managed to get a grasp of the routine of Lin Li’s usage of Space Power after just looking at Lin Li for a few times.
As soon as Lin Li’s figure appeared in a spot that was more than 10 meters away, he saw Rodhart’s magic spells which turned out to be right in front of him. At this moment, Lin Li tried to repeat the trick, but to no avail. Fortunately, he didn’t pin all his hopes of surviving on the Domain Robe. He swung the Helios’ Scepter forward continuously; all of a sudden, a wave of darkness darker and deeper than the cave appeared and shrouded everything around him.
The Eternal Darkness was a type of Dark Magic that was included in the Darkness scripture, and had the effect of negating the enemy’s attack using the user’s own mana. Lin Li had almost infinite mana and mental strength, and was not inferior even to a mage of the Sanctuary-realm. Rodhart was essentially still a Retribution Knight, and there was a difference in mana between him and a pure mage of the Sanctuary-realm. Besides, it was impossible for all his mana to be released, regardless of how powerful the magic that he cast was.
There was almost no break at all. As soon as Lin Li cast his Eternal Darkness spell which he had prepared long ago, Rodhart’s magic was already right in front of him. However, to Lin Li’s surprise, Rodhart’s attack did not directly hit his body, and instead split into numerous black pythons and shot into the surrounding space before Lin Li came into contact with the Eternal Darkness.
Magics below the Sanctuary-level would all have their own characteristics, and experienced mages would be able to determine what magic the opponent was casting at the moment that the opponent attacked, even if the magic was launched instantaneously. However, while there were some well-known Sanctuary magic spells in the Sanctuary-realm, most of them were just the arbitrary use of nomological power by the Sanctuary powerhouses who tried to adapt to the situation.
In order to predict the magic launched by a Sanctuary powerhouse, one would have to have a fairly deep understanding of the nomological power that the opponent mastered. Although Lin Li had already gained some enlightenment about the power of the Sanctuary-realm, he was still worlds apart from the Sanctuary powerhouse, Rodhart, in terms of mastering nomological power.
Lin Li used the Eternal Darkness magic, which could be considered the strongest defensive magic he currently possessed, to deal with Rodhart’s offensive spell which seemed to be powerful enough to destroy the world. However, when the magic was right in front of him, it didn’t strike him, and instead darted in all directions into the surrounding space. Obviously, it was not an offensive spell.
With the outburst of magic, Lin Li could immediately sense that the space around him seemed to be solidifying. He quickly stimulated a small portion of Space Power in the Domain Robe, only to realize that he had lost contact with the surrounding space after giving it a try. The space he was in seemed to have been removed.
“Let’s see where you can run within my Netherworld Dungeon, weakling!” Rodhart sneered while appearing in front of the black space where Lin Li was at. He then stabbed his Eternal Frost Blade at Lin Li, aiming at his heart.
Although Eternal Darkness had a high defensive effect against offensive spells, it couldn’t defend against a sword at all. The only useful effect of the sort it had was the concealment of the user’s figure, which might cause some hindrance to ordinary warriors, but it wouldn’t be a problem to Rodhart at all.
After discovering that the Space Power in the Domain Robe could not be used, Lin Li naturally guessed what Rodhart was thinking. The Helios’ Scepter disappeared, and was instantly replaced by two pieces of the debris of the stars. He held Thunderbolt with one hand and Nothingness with the other. Seeing that the sharp sword was passing through the Darkness and darting towards his heart, Lin Li waved his hand to throw out Thunderbolt.
Thunderbolt, which contained the Laws of Destruction, was the most powerful and tricky one out of the seven debris of the stars, and had indestructible power. Of course, with Lin Li’s current strength, he was still far from being truly invincible because he did not have Stars of Fury. However, he could still somewhat manage to block Rodhart’s sword.
At the same time that he was attacking Rodhart with Thunderbolt, Lin Li swung his debris of the stars, Nothingness, into the surrounding space. Lin Li didn’t know what kind of magic spell the Netherworld Dungeon was, but he was certain that it was a type of spell that would result in spatial confinement. What else would be more suitable than Nothingness which contained the Laws of time and space for breaking the confinement of space?
Boom! A loud and violent explosion made the entire cave quake. A large amount of gravel was constantly being shaken off the top of the cave, which seemed like it would collapse at any moment.
There was a look of slight surprise on Rodhart’s face. He grabbed the Eternal Frost Blade which had been blocked, looked at it, and then shifted his gaze onto the two pieces of the debris of the stars in Lin Li’s hands which were rather far away. He could feel that the power that blocked his sword was not entirely from the human mage Lin Li, but from that lightning-like weapon. The Netherworld Dungeon that he had cast was difficult to break even with the Eternal Frost Blade, and yet Lin Li managed to use another spear-like weapon to break through the confinement and escape. That was clear evidence that the spear might be more powerful than the Eternal Frost Blade.
As a Sanctuary powerhouse, Rodhart was no longer easily tempted by ordinary foreign objects, but the power shown by the debris of the stars in Lin Li’s hands still piqued his interest. In Rodhart’s opinion, the two powerful weapons were wasted in Lin Li’s hands, and he felt that he was the only one who could truly exert their full power.
When he took out the debris of the stars, Lin Li knew that Rodhart would inevitably develop an interest in it. However, he felt that Rodhart wouldn’t waver, because his goal was to kill Lin Li anyway. After getting out of the danger with the power of the two pieces of the debris of the stars, Lin Li didn’t dare to stay still for a slightest moment. Instead, he turned around and flew towards the palace where Rodhart had slept in.
The underground palace had long been destroyed during the intense battle which turned the luxurious building into ruins. The palace where Rodhart had slept in was the only one that was intact. Lin Li dived into the palace and took a quick glance at the various things in the palace. However, he ignored the previous magical materials that had already turned into waste. He only felt a little upset about the fact that he had underestimated his opponent.
The various arrangements, decor of the palace, and the large amount of precious magic materials invested in it were expensive enough to make any major forces in the Breezy Plains go bankrupt. Not to mention, top knowledge and skills of various fields were also used in the arrangements that Lin Li had prepared painstakingly. However, all of Lin Li’s efforts had gone in vain because he didn’t even get to buy a single minute for himself. Although he had underestimated Rodhart’s strength, another reason was also that Sanctuary powerhouses were truly too powerful and terrifying.
Lin Li fled into the palace, and before he even did anything, he saw some distortions in the space ahead not too far away from him, after which Rodhart, who was covered in black flames, came out carrying the Eternal Frost Blade. Lin Li was taken aback, and quickly retreated while raising the debris of the stars Thunderbolt in his arm, shooting it at Rodhart.
Seeing a ray of lightning exuding a violent aura that seemed to be able to destroy everything, Rodhart raised the Eternal Frost Blade and gently swung it in a circle at the ray of lightning, which then seemed to have frozen all of a sudden. It hovered in front of Rodhart, and the violent aura of destruction vanished without a trace.
Rodhart stretched out his hand to grab Thunderbolt; without taking another glance, he swung his sword and stabbed at Lin Li without pausing at all. The sword contained all of Rodhart’s enlightenment in the Laws of Killing. It did not contain the power that could destroy the world or a dazzling ray of light. All that was left was the endless somberness and nirvana. It was as if one glance would be all it took for the soul to sink forever.
The sword attack could be considered the embodiment of Rodhart’s full strength. It was the strongest blow that the Sanctuary-level Retribution Knight Rodhart had ever launched. Even the Sanctuary powerhouses of the same level might not dare to take on the sword attack head-on.
Lin Li, who had just seen the door of the Sanctuary-realm, would never be able to counter the sword strike even if he were to put in all his effort. Regardless of how many trump cards he had, he would only end up being destroyed by the sword.
Facing the sword that put him in despair, Lin Li didn’t take out any more pieces of the debris of the stars. If he had already been a Sanctuary powerhouse, he would’ve probably been able to block the blow with any debris of the stars piece of his. However, he couldn’t resist Rodhart’s sword at all, even if he were to use all of his debris of the stars.
Lin Li even put away Nothingness, but he pulled out a light green ring from his Ring of Endless Storm, which looked like grass rings that children would weave. However, the entire ring was glowing with a green halo and exuding an incomparably majestic vitality, as well as some holy aura that could not be profaned.
Looking at the ring in Lin Li’s hands which appeared rather ordinary, Rodhart paused in attacking with his sword, and there was a tinge of fear that could not be concealed on his pale and cold face.