Chapter 561: Midas Touch

A strong wind swept through the city square, sending dust skittering across the ground as the hairs of Damian and Lazarus fluttered wildly in the air. The armies surrounding the square remained tense, their weapons trained on the center as both sides stared each other down.

Lazarus slowly nodded as he finally accepted the situation he had been placed in. Truly, this sly Fox had caught him in a deadly trap, one even Lin Qui had never managed to create against him. How Damian had discovered his invasion plans remained a mystery, but at this stage, it no longer mattered.

The arrays were already active, the cannons were positioned, and thousands of soldiers surrounded him. Whatever opportunity he once had to retreat had already disappeared.

Instead of showing fear, Lazarus began clapping, his palms echoing across the square as pearls of eerie laughter escaped his lips.

"You, my friend, are truly worthy to be Lin Qui’s successor...." Lazarus began, only for Damian to raise his hand and cut him off.

"Save that bullshit for someone who cares about what you have to say!" Damian said coldly.

Khalid immediately raised his weapon and shouted, "UNLEASH THE CANNONS!"

His voice boomed across the square, and almost immediately the same command echoed from the surrounding rooftops as commanders relayed the order to their artillery crews.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

The Heaven Sundering Cannons erupted simultaneously, their thunderous blasts shaking the city as enormous cannonballs tore through the air and descended upon Lazarus’ position.

The bombardment was relentless, each projectile striking the area with enough force to shatter stone and send massive clouds of dust into the sky. Damian watched without moving, his eyes fixed on the destruction as the surrounding soldiers maintained their formations despite the violent tremors beneath their feet.

"Hmph!" Lazarus’ voice suddenly emerged from within the smoke, followed by a violent surge of golden energy.

WILD!

A pillar of golden aura erupted from his body, tearing through the clouds above and reaching toward the heavens as his divine power surged outward.

BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

Powerful explosions continued to rock the city square, but Damian’s expression remained unchanged.

"Keep firing... That scoundrel still breathes," Damian ordered as he stared into the thick cloud of smoke.

Through the haze, he could barely make out Lazarus standing behind a gigantic golden bull, its massive body floating in front of him like an enormous guardian while its golden horns radiated enough power to distort the surrounding air.

"I won’t let you!" Lazarus hissed as the golden bull suddenly lowered its head and charged.

It shot out of the darkness like a golden comet, racing toward one of the surrounding buildings.

Damian’s expression hardened immediately. "Didn’t I tell you nothing I won’t let you move freely?"

Damian hissed.

WILD!

A gigantic nine tailed fox materialized beside him, its body formed entirely from dense purple energy. The massive beast lunged forward and slammed into the golden bull before it could reach the building, stopping its charge with a violent collision that sent shockwaves across the square.

At the same time, dark red vines erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around the bull’s legs, torso and neck.

BOOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

The cannons never stopped firing, continuously bombarding the golden construct as Lazarus gritted his teeth, his gaze fixed on the fox avatar restraining his attack.

"If that brat wasn’t here, breaking out of this would be easy," Lazarus cursed under his breath.

The presence of Damian’s constructs and the battlefield arrays had turned what should have been a straightforward assault into a prolonged struggle, and Lazarus knew every passing second was working against him.

Hagrid, meanwhile, was in an even worse condition. He was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling with increasing difficulty while the wounds where his arms had been torn away burned violently with crimson light. The flames flickered around the severed limbs before finally dying once the bleeding had stopped, leaving him pale and visibly weakened.

Lazarus glanced over his shoulder and frowned at the sight. Hagrid desperately needed medical attention, yet there was nowhere safe for him to retreat to. The golden bull attempted to strike with its horns, but the vines wrapped tightly around its neck and head restricted its movement, disrupting the power it was attempting to accumulate.

The fox avatar easily sidestepped the attack before clenching its enormous fist and swinging from the side. Its punch slammed into the bull’s face, forcing its massive head to jerk sideways as one of its legs buckled beneath its body.

The vines immediately seized the opportunity, wrapping around the damaged knee and preventing the construct from standing properly. More vines crawled over its body, tightening around its limbs as the bull roared and struggled. Its fierce golden radiance gradually began to dim under the constant pressure while the Heaven Sundering Cannons continued their merciless bombardment.

Rin watched the battle from beside Damian and gave a small whistle. "I will give it to him, his defenses are quite sturdy... If it were you, your avatar would have broken apart already."

Damian rolled his eyes without looking at him. "Stop praising the enemy you silly fox."

Rin giggled as his tails swayed behind him. "Jealous?"

Damian merely snorted disdainfully and raised his hand above his head. His body slowly lifted from the ground as white flames erupted above his palm, twisting together as they formed an enormous sphere of fire. The sphere rapidly expanded until it resembled a miniature sun hanging above the battlefield, its intense heat causing the surrounding air to distort.

Lazarus immediately noticed it and narrowed his eyes.

Damian looked down at him calmly and said, "You can’t hide in there forever you know that right?"

Without hesitation, Damian released the sphere.

BOOOOOOM!

The miniature sun descended upon the golden bull and exploded against it with catastrophic force. The entire city square disappeared beneath a sea of white flames as the shockwave spread outward, only to collide with the defensive barrier surrounding the battlefield.

Instead of allowing the energy to destroy the surrounding buildings, the barrier redirected the majority of the force upward, sending a towering column of flames into the sky. Damian remained suspended above the battlefield, his long hair whipping violently in the wind as he stared toward the center of the explosion. His brows narrowed when he heard Lazarus’ voice emerging from the chaos.

"FOOLISH HUMAN... IF A GOD IS SO EASILY DEFEATED, EVERYONE CAN EASILY BECOME A GOD!"

A powerful gust of wind suddenly exploded outward, sweeping away the smoke and dust and revealing the result of the attack.

A massive golden sphere sat at the center of the city square, its surface glowing beneath the lingering heat. The entire ground surrounding it had been transformed into liquid gold, flowing around the sphere like a turbulent river.

Damian’s eyes narrowed as he watched countless dark red vines attempting to emerge from beneath the golden river, only for the spots they touched to immediately solidify into gold, preventing them from breaking through.

Rin’s expression became serious.

"Midas Touch," he said, staring at the golden landscape. "He can turn every non living thing he touches to gold."

Damian remained completely indifferent as he studied the sphere. "Because it’s gold my Samsara Flames are not effective against it... it’s just a mineral, not some sort of demonic power."

Rin nodded. "Exactly. Plus it’s more durable, so it can withstand the Heaven Sundering Cannons."

Damian’s eyes moved toward the river of gold surrounding the sphere. "And with the river of gold he can recover from the damage easily."

"NOW... NOW... WHAT’S WITH THE HESITATION, HUMAN? ARE YOU NO LONGER EAGER TO BECOME PRINCE OF GILDREACH VAULT?!" Lazarus’ laughter echoed from within the golden sphere.

Damian snorted disdainfully as a purple iris appeared within each of his eyes before multiplying into three, the strange eyes rotating within his pupils as his demonic force surged.

He slowly formed a hand seal, and the air around him immediately distorted. A gigantic divine avatar emerged behind his body, possessing three heads and six arms, each hand performing the same seal as Damian.

The avatar’s enormous body towered over the battlefield as its six hands moved in perfect synchronization with its creator.

Damian stared directly at the golden sphere and sneered, "THERE IS AN ORDER TO THINGS, FOOLISH ELF. DON’T RUSH IT. THIS NUT OF YOURS WILL BE CRACKED, YOU WILL BE SKEWERED AND ROASTED LIKE EVERY OTHER OPPONENT THAT HAS COME BEFORE YOU!"