Chapter 396: A Mysterious Expert Appears

A moment later, Hongye arrived with five Gold cultists.

"We greet the Divine Envoy," the five shouted in unison, their expressions fanatical.

Su Mu appraised them briefly and frowned. "Where is the Half-Step Saint Grade?"

Hongye hurried to answer. "Divine Envoy, that would be me."

Su Mu looked at Hongye in surprise. To think this devout, sycophantic red-robed archbishop was actually a Gold King.

Seeming to sense Su Mu's confusion, Hongye explained, "Thanks to the Divine Envoy exposing the Blasphemer's scheme, I was finally able to advance now that he is no longer wreaking havoc within the cult."

Su Mu understood. With the Primal Divine Cult lacking a Pope, Hongye's authority had surged. Combined with his merit in locating the Divine Envoy, he had seized the opportunity to drastically elevate his own strength using the cult's resources. He had probably performed quite a few sacrifices recently.

"What is your Law?"

"Wind Nightmare."

A wind-attribute Gold King? That wouldn't conflict with the Seven Kings.

...

...

The Coastal Border of the Chiyan Empire.

Dongfang Yuan stood tall atop a towering silver wall, his gaze heavy as he stared out at the endless, deep ocean in the distance.

Behind the silver wall, countless soldiers were repairing massive holes smashed into the barrier by Nightmare Creatures. The fighting was simply too intense; almost from the moment the Nightmare Invasion began, the battles had never ceased.

Nightmare Creatures knew no fatigue, but human soldiers did. They could only rotate waves of manpower for offense and defense, barely managing to hold the line.

He led the main army of the Chiyan Empire, and the border he guarded suffered the heaviest onslaught of nightmares.

Now, this grizzled, battle-hardened old general had deep exhaustion written all over his face.

Dongfang Yuan knew he had to hold out until King Chi recovered from her injuries. Only then would the Empire have the strength to counterattack.

Just then, he noticed a terrifying aura surging from the encroaching nightmare army.

His expression shifted slightly. He peered into the black tide and quickly locked onto a figure.

It was a hundred-meter-tall monster composed entirely of azure seawater, bearing a striking resemblance to an octopus.

"Son of the Sea! Damn it, it's back!"

Dongfang Yuan roared, "Lieutenant, I leave this place to you! I will deal with the Son of the Sea!"

Before his voice even faded, he leapt from the silver wall, plummeting straight down under the pull of gravity.

Halfway down, his body suddenly halted in midair, followed immediately by a deafening boom!

He shot toward the Son of the Sea like a cannonball. The air was instantly compressed and blown apart, producing bursts of white vapor.

The Son of the Sea was Dongfang Yuan's old rival. This Gold Nightmare was not only tremendously powerful, but within the ocean, it possessed a near Undying Body, making it incredibly difficult to deal with.

Even Dongfang Yuan could only manage to repel it repeatedly; he was entirely unable to slay it.

The heavy casualties along his defensive line were largely caused by the Son of the Sea. It could casually manipulate hundred-meter tsunamis—a force that human strength simply couldn't withstand.

Roar!!

As if sensing Dongfang Yuan's killing intent, the Son of the Sea suddenly erupted in a monstrous screech. The next moment, massive waves surged and a storm swept out.

On the horizon, a white line rapidly surged toward the silver wall with overwhelming, destructive momentum. At first, it was like a dormant behemoth slowly awakening, but in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive wall of water that blotted out the sky!

The wave grew taller and more turbulent, reaching almost a hundred meters in height. Like a towering mountain or a heavenly river pouring down, it carried a world-crushing momentum.

When the shadow of the wave loomed over the soldiers, it was like death itself descending, leaving them chilled to the bone with dread.

Fear and despair washed over them.

Dongfang Yuan raged, "You dare!"

Sinking Stars and Drawing the Moon!

He spread his five fingers and viciously slammed a palm toward the incoming hundred-meter wave.

Suddenly, a powerful gravitational force swept out, blanketing everything in its path.

Rumble, rumble!

The hundred-meter wave seemed to crash into an invisible wall, completely halting its forward momentum.

Roar!

The Son of the Sea bellowed. Several massive tentacles composed of azure water thrashed the ocean, continuously churning up massive waves as it tried to break through the invisible wall.

The two sides locked into a contest of strength. Veins bulged on Dongfang Yuan's aged face. His prolonged, bitter battles had pushed his elderly body's physical and mental endurance to the absolute limit; he was merely forcing himself to hold on.

If he were the only one here, he could ignore the wave and directly attack the Son of the Sea. But behind him were tens of thousands of soldiers, and behind them was a city housing over a million residents. If he fell back, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Therefore, he had to surrender his superior mobility and force himself into a contest of raw strength against the Son of the Sea. Pitting his own weaknesses against the enemy's strengths inevitably put him at a disadvantage.

Just then, a scene that drove Dongfang Yuan to despair occurred. From the depths of the ocean, another Gold Nightmare unexpectedly emerged!

It was a massive skeletal frame as large as a mountain. It had no lower body, but its upper half alone rivaled a great peak. Its stark white ribs formed a giant palisade, each bone thick, sturdy, and gleaming with a cold light in the dimness.

Its hollow eye sockets were deeply sunken like two black holes devouring all light, coldly staring at the humans present.

"Damn it!" Dongfang Yuan cursed, sinking into deep despair.

With his exhausted body, trying to protect the citizens behind the wall while simultaneously facing two powerful Gold Nightmares was simply impossible.

If he were at his peak, with no citizens holding him back, he naturally wouldn't fear fighting two at once. But right now, he held no advantage whatsoever.

The massive half-body skeleton floated in the seawater, arriving before the towering wall in an instant.

The soldiers on the wall looked up at the skeleton, which stood a full head taller than the barrier itself, and went pale with terror. It wasn't until the skeletal giant raised an arm and smashed it into the wall with a deafening boom that they finally reacted, but it was already too late.

As the wall collapsed, the nearby soldiers fell to the ground screaming. The lucky ones landed on their heads and died instantly; the unlucky ones lost arms or legs, wailing in the ruins. Then, a massive skeletal hand descended from the sky, snatched them up, threw them into its jaws, and chewed loudly.

"No!!" Dongfang Yuan watched the broken wall, frantic with fury, but he was powerless to turn the tide.

He could only watch helplessly as the half-body skeleton rampaged behind the towering wall, slaughtering people at will.

He closed his eyes in despair, unable to bear watching any longer.

But the instant he closed his eyes, the massive sounds of destruction caused by the skeleton abruptly ceased. The noise vanished so suddenly it was as if some invisible power had simply wiped it away.

Dongfang Yuan hurriedly opened his eyes, his pupils shrinking instantly. He saw that atop the head of the massive skeletal giant, a mysterious figure had silently appeared.

His figure was tall and straight, a Black Feather Cloak spreading wildly behind him like dark clouds unfurling in the night sky. Every feather gleamed with a dark, lustrous sheen.

Most striking of all was the ink-black mask on his face, carved with a lifelike dragon motif. The fine dragon patterns shone with a mysterious luster in the dim light.