by Zhuang Bifan
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.
Chapter 828 - Purification
Lin Li didn't seem to be in a desperate situation at all. He gently pinched the green ring with two fingers, smiled at Rodhart, and nonchalantly said, "You've seen it, eh? Willen purified you once, and I can purify you for the second time now. By the way, you probably don't know this yet, but an acquaintance living in the big rift wanted me to tell you that the ring that your brother took away back then actually belongs to a pair of rings."
"No, that's impossible!" Rodhart exclaimed with a look of disbelief. He no longer hesitated, and instead stabbed at Lin Li rapidly.
Lin Li no longer looked as disheveled as he used to. Still smiling, he looked at Rodhart and infused some mental strength into the ring on his hand. All of a sudden, a strong and intense wave of holy aura spewed out endlessly, and the brilliance of Holy Light instantly filled the entire palace, enshrouding Rodhart's figure.
Rodhart immediately froze on the spot, while the raging black flames formed by the surrounding death aura became more and more obvious under the pressure of the holy aura which seemed to be flickering like candlelight in a storm. The Eternal Frost Blade in his hand contained intense and powerful nomologica
l power of killing, but it gradually dissipated under the holy aura.
Looking at the changes in Rodhart, Lin Li finally heaved a sigh of relief. In fact, according to the original plan, he didn't have to experience those dangers at all. However, he didn't expect Rodhart to be so strong that he almost killed him. Fortunately, Lin Li persisted to the very end.
The ring on Lin Li's hand was one of the gains he'd obtained from his previous trip to the big rift—he was obviously referring to Nefa who wanted to be the next Dragon of Destruction when he mentioned the acquaintance in the big rift to Rodhart. When Nefa and Lin Li first made the deal, he once mentioned that apart from the Domain Robe, he also had other relics of the Immortal King. The ring was one of them.
The ring was not a piece of magical accessory made by someone, but an alteration of the fruit of the Tree of Eternity. It contained unrivaled Divine Power which was sufficient to purify all evil and filthy existences in the world. Speaking of Divine Power, the debris of the stars, Holy Light, which Lin Li owned actually contained much more power than the ring. However, in order to exert the infinite power contained in Holy Light, Lin Li still had to gain further enlightenment about the laws contained in Holy Light. He also had to induce his mental strength into the ring to activate it.
Nefa used to own a pair of rings which were transformed from the fruit of the Tree of Eternity. One was given to Willen for a deal that they struck when Willen and his brother Rodhart explored the big rift. As for the second ring, Nefa gave it to Lin Li, claiming that it was an eyesore. In fact, it could be regarded as a compensation for deceiving Lin Li. However, Nefa was too embarrassed to admit it.
However, although the ring was powerful, it was still not enough to subdue Rodhart, let alone purify him completely. Willen was rather powerful, and he was the Sanctuary powerhouse who had defeated Apophis. Yet, he couldn't use that ring to really purify Rodhart. Perhaps there were emotional factors involved, but the insufficient power of the ring was certainly also an important reason. That was also the reason Lin Li didn't take out the ring immediately at the beginning.
He decided to take it out now because he felt that it was the right timing. Although things seemed to have deviated from the original plan because of Lin Li's underestimation of his opponent, Lin Li's painstaking persistence finally brought everything back to the original plan.
In the palace where Rodhart awakened, Lin Li had gone all out and made plenty of arrangements, including the Requiem Array and all sorts of advanced magic traps regardless of the cost. However, his real motive was to trap Rodhart for a period of time because he had hidden a larger Holy Light Mageweath array, and the most critical part of it was not in the palace, but in the underground palace outside.
At this moment, the Archbishop Englos of the Brilliance Shrine was leading more than 300 believers of Holy Light who were above level-15 to get into a strange formation outside the underground palace. That was the most critical part of the Holy Light Mageweath Array.
The power of the Holy Light Mageweath array was omnipresent, but no trace of it could be found. Under normal circ.u.mstances, no one could detect its existence, but once there was Divine Power within it, the Divine Power would be multiplied by up to 10 times. However, the Holy Light Mageweath array could not be activated with just a few mana sources. It would still require the acc.u.mulation of power through the continuous prayers of the believers of the Holy Light.
Lin Li's original plan was to use the various arrangements in the palace to trap the awakened Retribution Knight, Rodhart, and then get rid of him easily once enough power was acc.u.mulated in the Holy Light Mageweath array. However, Lin Li didn't expect Rodhart to be so tough after awakening, so tough that the arrangements he'd made in the palace were nullified without even lasting for a minute. In the end, he inevitably faced an intense and horrid battle.
Lin Li released his fingers, and the ring that had evolved from the fruit of the Tree of Eternity floated quietly in the air while constantly emitting the brilliance of Holy Light towards the surroundings. The palace that was initially dim suddenly became extraordinarily bright at this time, but it was not glaring. Lin Li felt rather refreshed, as if all the impurities in his body and soul were washed away in the brilliance of the Holy Light.
However, it was definitely not a pleasant experience for the Retribution Knight Rodhart. Under the Divine Power, the death aura on Rodhart's body was f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y drawn and burnt as if he was having his bones removed. The pain was far beyond imaginable.
Rodhart had once experienced the pain of being purified, and cursed his brother to fall into deep sleep. He did not expect to awaken from his deep sleep hundreds of years later, only to be greeted with such pain. Rodhart's heart was filled with infinite fury and indignation. However, the Divine Power that filled the air made him lose almost all control of his body, making it difficult for him to even move a finger.
Lin Li took a few steps back, but he did not seem to have let his guard down any lower. After all, he was dealing with a real Sanctuary powerhouse. Who knew if he might have to struggle for the last time while being on the brink of death? Seeing that the aura on Rodhart's body was getting weaker and weaker, Lin Li felt rather amazed. He was a legend of Anril from the Dark Age, and yet he was making things hard for Lin Li.
Of course, Rodhart was unwilling to be purified. Although he was unable to wave the Eternal Frost Blade in his hand or even take another step, it did not mean that he really wanted to give up on struggling. Rodhart was glowering at Lin Li with bloodshot eyes while muttering a string of obscure notes. With the emergence of every note, the death aura of his body that had been gradually weakened by the purification of Divine Power unexpectedly began to rise again immediately.
Seeing this change, Lin Li was instantly astonished, but he soon figured out that the spell Rodhart chanted just now was probably the spell used by the Retribution Knight to gather the power of his underlings. In other words, every bit of strength that Rodhart had now was drawn from the Death Knights outside. Unfortunately, there were only 100-something Death Knights outside. If they were the 1000 Death Knights recorded in legends, Rodhart might really get a chance at a comeback.
However, at the thought of this, Lin Li was still rather worried; hence, he immediately took out his debris of the stars, Holy Light. Although the power he could manipulate was inferior to the holy ring's, it was still rather impressive. The only unfortunate thing was the presence of the Death Knights outside. Lin Li's original plan was to subdue and take in the Death Knights after purifying Rodhart. However, it seemed to be a little unlikely.
With the addition of the power of the debris of the stars, Holy Light, the pressure that Rodhart had to withstand suddenly rose sharply, and the original death aura of his body was once again relentlessly suppressed. Rodhart looked at Lin Li with immense fury and anger in his eyes. He even regretted not using his full strength to kill Lin Li.
Rodhart, who had just awakened, simply regarded Lin Li, an insignificant Legendary-mage, as a thing to toy with to kill time. Why would a Sanctuary powerhouse need to use all his effort to deal with an insignificant Legendary-mage? Had he not reached this point, how could he have imagined that the insignificant Legendary-mage would pose a threat to him and bring him so much trouble?
However, it was too late to regret. Rodhart was chanting the curse even more quickly. Although the Death Knights had been following him for hundreds of years, and made great contributions that helped him enter the Sanctuary-realm, now that he was facing the threat of being purified, he couldn't care about them anymore. Anyway, if he were to get purified, Lin Li would stand to gain by getting to acquire the Death Knights.
As Rodhart chanted a spell quickly and desperately, a strange scene took place on the battlefield outside the palace.
The fierce and menacing Death Knights suddenly stopped fighting, while the soul fire in their eyes flickered. Everyone on Lin Li's side tensed up as they thought that the Death Knights were about to become stronger
again. The current strength and abilities of the Death Knights were already difficult for them to deal with, and if they were to increase further, it would be fatal.
However, everyone did not stay nervous for long when they saw to their astonishment that the soul fire in the eyes of the Death Knights was getting somehow extinguished after flickering violently. As the soul fire went out, the bodies of the Death Knights also began decomposing rapidly, and they turned into piles of ashes.
"Hah, I knew it. That kid had a solution," Connoris said while holding the broken cross-shaped spear in his hands. Although his body was heavily wounded, he was still looking at the surroundings with a grin. In fact, he even acted like he hadn't cursed at Lin Li during a moment of hopelessness.
There were groundbreaking changes on the battlefield, but the situation on Lin Li's side in the palace was rather unsatisfactory.
Although the abilities of the Death Knights were restricted to the peak of level-19, their soul fire was extremely powerful, and Rodhart swallowed the soul fire of over 100 Death Knights in one go, resulting in a sudden surge in power. The black flames that surrounded him were ignited again, and he swung the Eternal Frost Blade while dashing towards Lin Li menacingly.
I want to save some effort and energy, but I can't! Lin Li thought to himself helplessly while manipulating the debris of the stars Holy Light and holding the Helios' Scepter in his hand. At this point, Lin Li was no longer afraid of Rodhart. Under the suppression of the infinite Divine Power, Rodhart barely had 1% of his previous strength, even though he was still in the Sanctuary-level.
This battle was quite even, but under the suppression of the Divine Power, Rodhart's momentary outburst could not last long. Lin Li wasn't too bothered about Rodhart's situation, either. He went all out to deal with every attack from Rodhart.
The fight did not last long. Soon, Rodhart was once again suppressed by the Divine Power, leaving him with no choice but to remain standing in place with the Eternal Frost Blade. Perhaps because of his resistance towards the Divine Power, his body was trembling a little. However, Rodhart no longer looked at Lin Li with so much menace and hatred like before. The redness of his eyes seemed to have faded a little too.