by <unknown>
However, instead of running, Lei Chenghu lunged at where the assassins of the Covenant Alliance were densest. The power claws named "Tiger's Soul", which was made of the essence of five chainswords and vibration sabers collected from the battlefield and crafted carefully by the experts of refining in the Imperium after three years, truly looked as if the souls of five tigers had possessed it. It attacked five assassins at the same time!
Judging from the thunderous, unstoppable attack, it seemed that "run away" was not even an option in Lei Chenghu's head.
He would either kill all the assassins or be killed by the assassins, standing.
There was no third option!
Chi!
The power claws pierced into the chest of one assassin and began to revolve rapidly.
The longsword of the second assassin, in the meantime, pierced into Lei Chenghu's shoulder, only to be pinched by his muscles and bones and could not move forward at all.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The honeycomb-type magazines on Lei Chenghu's shoulder were opened at the same time. Dazzling mini balls of light exploded between him and the assassins, blowing the crystal suits of the assassin into pieces of garbage.
His own crystal suit, on the other hand, was also barraged by the rest of the assassin. The spiritual shield soon turned dark red and completely collapsed, and the crystal suit was torn apart inch by inch, revealing the bleeding old body down below.
Lei Chenghu sensed none of it, as if his nerves of pain had been completely sealed in the hundred years of fierce battles. It was not until he executed three assassins in a row and the blood of his enemy's and his own drowned the floor that he finally slipped and fell on one of his knees, pressing the claws deeply into the ground.
The crazy tiger had finally run out of all his ammunition, fuel, spiritual energy, and physical strength and had to come to a stop.
Even the assassins of the Covenant Alliance whose feelings had been sealed and who knew nothing other than carrying out commands dutifully were greatly shocked by Lei Chenghu's toughness and craziness. It was not until half a second's daze later that they all raised their chainswords, vibration sabers, storm bolters, and crystal cannons.
Lei Chenghu let out blurred chuckles from the broken facial cover of his crystal suit. There was no telling whether he was laughing at himself for his futile attack or the Council of Elders for their idiocy. He struggled to his feet and held his head high at the blades and firearms of the Covenant Alliance.
Right then—
When the storm bolters and crystal cannons of the assassins just shot out lethal flames of light, and the scorching bullets were flying at Lei Chenghu's chest and head, four streaks of blackness stopped between the two parties at the perfect moment and stretched out to four black shields instantly, helping Lei Chenghu absorb all the attacks in clinking noises!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
It felt that an entire ocean was running at them in deafening noises!
The assassins of the Covenant Alliance immediately bulged their eyes, unable to believe what they saw with the crystal cameras on their helmets. When they looked back, they discovered that their crystal cameras were not wrong at all, and it was true that a dark gold cube in mosaics was rushing close!
BAM!
An assassin wearing a heavy crystal suit more than 3.5 meters tall crashed the dark gold cube heavily while waving a power knuckle that was thicker than the thigh, but the crystal suit was immediately blown into pieces. Even his bones were all broken and extended out of his flesh; he couldn't have looked more miserable!
BAM! BAM!
Another two assassins of the Covenant Alliance lunged at the dark gold cube from two sides in weird positions, only to be blown back by appallingly huge forces into the wall. Their crystal suits were pressed until they became as thin as paper too!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Before the remaining assassins realized what was going on, the chainswords, vibration sabers, storm bolters, and crystal cannons in their hands all exploded, and they were swallowed by the uncanny forces each higher than the last, unable to control themselves at all like canoes in a tsunami!
By the time the four black shields turned into four black crystals again and slowly hovered around Li Yao, not a single assassin from the Covenant Alliance was still standing.
Huchi! Huchi! Huchi! Huchi!
Li Yao breathed heavily and swallowed abundant nutrition drugs and medicines into his stomach through the automatic energy refilling system on his crystal suit, draining all the supplies inside a Cosmos Ring in only three seconds.
It couldn't be helped. The higher one's level was, the greater energy they would consume when they were attacking with all their strength. The preparation time before the attack and the cooldown after it would be longer too. The crazy performance in the one minute just now was even more exhausting than training at high intensity for three days and three nights. Even a whole Cosmos Ring of high-energy nutrition drugs was not enough to refill one-third of what he had used up.
He would not be able to perform a similar crazy attack anytime soon.
But thankfully, he made it in time!
"General Lei, Marquis Liaohai?"
Li Yao stared at the middle-aged man before him who was short and slim, but who was fearsome and intimidating despite the loss of his left arm.
The gazes of "Vulture" and "God of War" collided heavily!
Chapter 2221: Conquer the Godly Might Prison! |
"You are not a guard of the Godly Might Prison."
Lei Chenghu glanced at Li Yao up and down and said, not in suspicion but affirmatively, "And you are a rarely-seen battle-type expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage. Few warriors in the entire Imperium of True Human Beings have a Cultivation as high as yours, and certainly, none of them are bold enough to barge into the Godly Might Prison on their own and put themselves under the danger of being besieged by thousands of enemies! In the meantime, not only are you exceptionally strong, but the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures your crystal suit has adopted are more than valuable too. Even the top-tier experts in the four Kurfürst families might not be privileged enough to equip it. So, who are you exactly, and what do you want from me?"
"God of War" Lei Chenghu had just walked on the thin ice of death, but he did not waste half a second on surprise, confusion, or fear. He got to the critical question without any delay.
"My name is 'Vulture Li Yao'. It is true that I have never been exposed on the stage of the Imperium until this battle!"
Due to the limited time, Li Yao had no time to chatter with Lei Chenghu either. "I am a secret guard of Her Grace. Knowing that Marquis Liaohai was held in prison, the queen ordered me to come here to rescue Marquis Liaohai!"
"Her Grace… Li Linghai?"
Coldness flashed in Lei Chenghu's eyes as thousands of thoughts rolled over in his mind. He sneered, "It's true that all kinds of devils will be arising when a country is about to die. Now that the Imperium of True Human Beings is walking to the sunset, all foul creatures are jumping out to cause trouble! Before, I hardly paid attention to the big shots in the royal palace. Little did I know that Her Grace, who had never shown anything special, had in fact secretly raised such a distinguished expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage and knew that I was caged here… Such a massive capability couldn't have been achieved without a hundred years of hard work, could it? Li Linghai truly holds great ambitions!"
"Naturally, Her Grace is not the only one who should be credited. There are countless other real Immortal Cultivators and patriots, as well as the insightful people who hate the corrupted politics and the dark society today. We are only able to rescue Marquis Liaohai when we are gathered!"
Li Yao declared solemnly, "Of course, Marquis Liaohai can also understand it as an association of the oppositions of the four Kurfürst families, who hope to destroy the Council of Elders that is controlled by the major noble families and rebuild a
new Imperium!
"The incident of the Blood Oath Alliance was obviously a trick of those noble families to eliminate their political opponents. They were also bold enough to confine and even try to murder Marquis Liaohai in order to completely swallow the Astounding Thunder Fleet. Such insanities were certainly beyond our expectations.
"But now that the noble families have revealed their true intentions, we have to fight for the future of the Imperium with our best too! Right now, Her Grace has gathered the troops of the reformists and is about to conquer the Godly Might Prison. The purpose of the battle is to rescue Marquis Liaohai so that Marquis Liaohai can return to the frontline to supervise the situation and wave the bloodstained flag for the reformists!"
With a pair of serious-looking eyes under the broken facial cover, Lei Chenghu stared at Li Yao without blinking, "All the oppositions of the four Kurfürst families have joined their hands in the pursuit of a reform under the leadership of the queen?"
It was indeed the sharpest eyes that Li Yao had ever seen in his entire life. Xiao Xuance, Bai Xinghe, or Lu Zui in the past were no match at all.
Although Lei Chenghu had lost one arm and almost run out of all his blood due to the heavy wounds, his eyes were still piercing through his skin, his bones, and his brain, catching what was really on his mind.
"Exactly!"
Li Yao gritted his teeth and said, "Her Grace believes that Marquis Liaohai is one of the few real patriots the Imperium has left today and that you will certainly second the ideas of the reformists. In any case, the disunity of the Imperium must not go on. If the Imperium of True Human Beings is to emanate infinite glories in the next ten thousand years, there must be a powerful central government and a highly-united and invincible army!
"The aim of the reformists is to collect the power that has been stolen by the noble families and the magnates and to return it to His Majesty to establish a powerful grand government. Who else except Marquis Liaohai is qualified to call for all the warriors at the center of the cosmos and establish a united army with a sense of honor and duty?"
Lei Chenghu's eyes suddenly brightened, like the dazzling spots of light before the main guns of a starship roared.
An army of the Imperium, which was driven by a sense of honor and duty, but not by the selfish interests of the nobles, and which was really united and boasted its own will!
"Besides—"
Li Yao rubbed his hands and said, "I've been hearing the extraordinariness of 'God of War' Lei Chenghu since childhood. It was exactly because of Marquis Liaohai's accomplishments and integrity that I finally firmed my belief and grew into a real, pure, and selfless Immortal Cultivator. So, I am your most loyal admirer. There's no doubt about that. When I heard that Marquis Liaohai was arrested and would likely be killed by the scoundrels, I was in such anxiety that I couldn't even wait for half a second to get Marquis Liaohai out of the place!
"Marquis Liaohai, there is no time for hesitation right now. Come with me. I have sensed countless experts of the Godly Might Prison and assassins of the Covenant Alliance coming to the place. They will probably arrive in a few minutes. I consumed too much spiritual energy just now, and my combat ability has dropped by at least 50%. There is no way that I can stop their incessant attacks!"
"A-Admirer?"
Lei Chenghu was rarely stunned, but he was now, as he never thought that an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage could be so shameless. His thoughts disrupted, he pondered for a while before he went on, "I can take action with you and even consider to cooperate with the queen on one condition. You have to listen to my command for now!"
Li Yao was slightly dazed. "What do you want, Marquis Liaohai?"
"You have snuck into the Godly Might Prison on your own?"
Lei Chenghu raised questions nonstop. "When is Li Linghai going to attack? How many troops does she have? Also, since you knew I was caged here, and you could sneak into the place without alerting anyone, you must have someone to help you in the Godly Might Prison, don't you? Who is the spy of the highest level? Where do you want to take me to right now in order to avoid the hunters of the two parties?"
"The fleet of the reformists would jump to the Mystic Ice Sector in twenty minutes and arrive above the Godly Might Prison suddenly. Also, there are spies of the reformists in the Godly Might Fleet. It shouldn't be a problem for us to take down the Godly Might Fleet thunderously."
Li Yao replied, "It's true that I have snuck in on my own, but I had the help of 'Luo Wenyao', a deputy warden of this prison. Right now, our focus is to help Marquis Liaohai to keep yourself safe until the reformists control the Godly Might Prison. Thankfully, the Covenant Alliance has offered us great help. With the chaos in the Godly Might Prison right now, as long as I slightly disguise you into a jailor or a dead body, we will be able to hide in any random dark corner. There will be a good chance that we can dodge the hunting with my keen senses!"
"You have bought a deputy warden?"
Pondering for a moment, Lei Chenghu said, "Can you reach out to him?"
Li Yao frowned. "There is an emergent line that we can contact each other with. But considering the chaos in the Godly Might Prison right now, this deputy warden is probably at the control center with the warden. Isn't it too risky to contact him?"
"It can't be better if Deputy Warden Luo is really at the control center."
Lei Chenghu sneered, "Because our destination is exactly the highest command center of the entire Godly Might Prison!"
Li Yao was stunned, "What?"
"Vulture Li Yao, since you are an expert in the Divinity Transformation Stage and you have saved my life, you do not need to call me 'Marquis Liaohai' to show respect. Let's just call each other 'fellow Cultivators'."
Narrowing his eyes, Lei Chenghu said, one word after another, "Both of us are in the Divinity Transformation Stage, and we have the dignity of the Divinity Transformation Stage too. If you want me to hide in a dark corner like a rat, shuddering and waiting for somebody else to save me, you might as well kill me directly!
"I will not place fate in the hands of anybody else, neither my own fate nor the fate of the Imperium!
"Besides, the so-called 'four best experts' of the Godly Might Prison are all lying here. The other experts above average are either taming the turmoil in the rioting districts or marching to where I am caged. Then, who exactly is defending the control center that the warden is at? Nobody!
"It is needless to say that Luo Wenyao, your spy, is very likely to be in the control center!"
Although Lei Chenghu had lost one arm and his face was paler than a dead body, his eyes were so brilliant as if he were commanding thousands of troops in space!
Li Yao blurted out, "What are you trying to do exactly?"
"What am I trying to do?"
Lei Chenghu smiled. "To occupy the Godly Might Prison, of course. Do you want to fight by my side, Fellow Cultivator Li?"
There were only two of them, one of whom had lost an arm and almost all the blood in his body. Yet, they were talking about occupying the entire Godly Might Prison!
Taking a deep breath, Li Yao smiled too. "Naturally. General Lei's plan is indeed a hundred times better than mine. Assault the control center and occupy the Godly Might Prison. That meets my appetite perfectly!"
Right then, a guy below Lei Chenghu's feet was back to himself.
It was exactly Lei Honghai, his eldest son who passed out in fear just now.
"Dad…"
Lei Honghai was confused at first but then immediately scared out of wits when he saw that his father had lost an arm and looked as creepy as a ghost with all the blood on his body. He lost all his dominance when he persuaded Lei Chenghu earlier, and he simply stammered, "They-They forced me to do it. Help me, Dad, help me!"
When he noticed that the determination of killing condensed into lines in Lei Chenghu's eyes, he simply burped and changed his way of talking. "Don't… Don't kill me. I am your biological son. Dad, don't kill me!"
Lei Chenghu sneered and picked up a bloodstained saber with the tip of his foot. Then, in a bellow, he pierced it at his son's head!
Lei Honghai shrieked in fear. Even Li Yao was more or less surprised, not expecting Lei Chenghu to be even more ruthless than he was told.
However, the saber did not penetrate through Lei Honghai's face but only brushed past the side of his face, cutting off one of his ears.
"Don't say that I'm a merciless father anymore. Use this saber to fight for a way of survival in the Godly Might Prison!"
One word after another, Lei Chenghu said coldly, "If you can make it, you will still be my son, and your betrayals will never be talked about again. If you can't make it, as long as you die with your head held high like a man, I will bury you first and avenge you later!"
Chapter 2222: You Have Lost. Surrender Now! |
Looking at the shining saber that was stuck to his face, Lei Honghai wept hard and did not know how to react.
Lei Chenghu did not look at him anymore but turned to Li Yao. "Let's go!"
Li Yao hesitated. "General Lei, your wounds…"
"They are just minor injuries. Not a big deal!"
Lei Chenghu had lost an arm, but he was as casual as if he had lost a finger. Picking up a storm bolter and holding it in his armpit, he grabbed a dented chainsword again before he said to Li Yao emotionlessly, "Where should we go?"
Considering for a moment, Li Yao dashed to the few guards of the Godly Might Prison that had been killed and dismantled their crystal suits into tiny components quickly. Soon, he found the identification units as well as the passes to the various gates of the Godly Might Prison.
The few guards were all the "four best experts" of the Godly Might Prison. Because of their high rank, their passes were enough to open most of the gates in the prison.
After embedding an identification chip and a pass to Lei Chenghu's unit, Li Yao retrieved a piece of delicate communication magical equipment from his Cosmos Ring and activated the highly-confidential short-distance channel.