116: Legalist Judgment: Heroes Trapped by Laws and Decrees (Part 2)

"Lock!"

A single word spoken, and his words became Law!

Behind Lin Zhou, the intangible force woven from the phantoms of countless Legalist articles instantly solidified and manifested! It was no longer the single edict restraint used against the Furnace Fortress Chieftain, but had transformed into three highly condensed, dark gold Edict Chains, shimmering with a cold metallic luster and flowing with countless intricate runes!

As soon as these three chains appeared, they triggered a resonance with the rules of the surrounding space! Within the crater area, the "Net of Law" maintained by Snik seemed to receive a summons; its residual power flowed into these three chains like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, making their light even more brilliant and their prestige even more majestic!

Divine Art Manifestation: Legalist Edicts: Chains of Judgment

Caster: Lin Zhou

Divine Art Rank: High-Rank (Barely cast with the help of the Temple of Civilization and the "momentum" of the battlefield)

Divine Power Consumption: 8,000 points (Drawn instantly, causing Lin Zhou's Divine Power reserves to plummet to the danger line)

Core Rule: "No Exemption from Punishment" – For powerful individuals with "crimes" (defined as active attacks and destruction against the caster and their order), perform rule-based forced binding.

Manifestation: Three materialized Edict Chains.

Chain Attributes:

Material: Rule manifestation, not pure energy or matter; has extremely high penetration against physical/energy defenses.

Strength: Correlated with the caster's Divine Power intensity, level of understanding of Legalist thought, and the depth of the target's "crimes." Current strength is estimated to briefly bind units below Medium Divine Power.

Special Effects: 【Order Imprisonment】 – Greatly restricts target movement and interferes with energy circulation; 【Judgment Mark】 – Bound units take 10% increased damage from the "Order" faction.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The three dark gold chains, like sentient spirit snakes, ignored spatial distance and instantly penetrated the still-present but weakened 【Golden Barrier】 surrounding the Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage, as if that powerful defense did not exist! Their targets were extremely clear—the Golden Behemoth's thick neck and the wrists of its two forelimbs, which contained terrifying power!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

A crisp sound, like metal clashing against iron, rang out!

The three Edict Chains wrapped around the target with pinpoint accuracy! The runes on the chains instantly lit up, emitting strong fluctuations of order, and bit deeply into the Golden Behemoth's incredibly tough golden fur and muscle!

"Roar—!!!"

The Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage's forward momentum came to a screeching halt! It let out a roar of shock and fury, filled with disbelief! It felt that the chains were not applying some massive physical force, but were a form of imprisonment originating from the level of rules! It was as if this piece of heaven and earth had suddenly become its cage; an invisible power spread from the chains, forcibly restricting its muscle contractions, energy flow, and even the drive of its will!

It struggled violently, a terrifying force capable of overturning mountains erupting as its muscles bulged and golden light tried to crush the chains! The dark gold Edict Chains were pulled taut, letting out a tooth-aching "creak," and the runes on the surface flickered wildly as if they might break at any moment!

Edict Chain Status (Real-time):

Bound Target: Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage (Hero Unit - LV 55)

Bound Positions: Neck, left forelimb wrist, right forelimb wrist.

Chain Durability: 72% (Rapidly decreasing, estimated full binding time: 4 seconds)

Binding Effects:

Movement Restriction: Completely imprisoned, unable to move.

Action Restriction: Limb movements significantly restricted, attack/casting speed reduced by 90%.

Energy Interference: Maintenance efficiency of Golden Barrier drops by another 20%, energy core repair process paused.

It succeeded! Though extremely forced and despite the chains being in a precarious state under the opponent's frantic struggling, Lin Zhou had ultimately used the supreme Legalist edict of "No Exemption from Punishment," combined with the battlefield's momentum, to forcibly bind this terrifying war beast in place!

This sudden turn of events once again silenced the entire battlefield!

Everyone saw that the once-unrivaled Golden Behemoth was pinned to the earth as if by nails; despite its earth-shaking roars and violent struggles, it could not advance another inch! Those three seemingly slender dark gold chains appeared to contain the ultimate truths of heaven and earth, forcibly restraining the Incarnation of destruction!

"Bound... It's bound?!!"

"It's the power of the Legalists! Lin Zhou can actually use edicts to directly lock down a Golden Behemoth!"

"This is too Heaven-Defying! That's a Golden Behemoth!"

"An opportunity! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Inside and outside the virtual battlefield, exclamations rose like a tsunami! Everyone understood what the opportunity created by this brief imprisonment meant!

Hao Tian's eyes nearly split from rage. He frantically pushed his Divine Power, trying to help the Golden Behemoth break free from the chains, while roaring orders to the Storm Giants and aerial units: "Attack the chains! Quick! Break them!" However, the Edict Chains existed between the ethereal and the material; when the Storm Giants' lightning spears struck them, most of the energy was deflected or refracted, having little effect! The Silver Pegasus Knights' lances were even more ineffective, bouncing off as if hitting indestructible divine metal!

On the Cloud City Team's side, Lin Zhou didn't even need to issue any more orders!

All hero units and all followers with strength remaining erupted with their strongest attacks at this moment! Their target was aimed directly at the Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage, which was tightly bound and completely exposed! Specifically—its energy core, located slightly to the left of its chest, which was still marked by Elwin's 【Righteous Qi Lock】!

"For my god! Attack!" Elwin endured the mental backlash and guided all the Literary Heart Elves, turning their final Mental Energy into the purest Righteous Qi Arrows, which poured toward the fatal weakness like a white torrent!

"For victory! Fire!" Bronzebeard Stonehammer roared, personally operating the last intact heavy armor-piercing Ballista. A bolt wrapped in earth-fire and armor-piercing runes—the 【Lava Siege Bolt】, arguably the strongest bolt the Tiangong Dwarves could currently manufacture—let out a piercing shriek as it shot ahead of the rest, heading straight for the target!

"Law—Execution!" Snik also gave up on maintaining the large-scale Net of Law, instead attaching all his power of order to the harpoons thrown by the Law Fishmen. These harpoons might lack raw power, but they carried rule-based inclinations of "Sure-hit" and "Bane of Evil," following the target like shadows!

Even Su Yueyao, while maintaining the Moonlight Guardian, sent out a condensed moonlight beam like a cold sword, coordinating with everyone's attacks to strike the energy core!

Concentrated fire! An unreserved, ultimate concentration of fire that gathered the final strength and conviction of the Cloud City Team!

All the attacks, almost simultaneously, slammed into the marked weakness on the Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage's chest!

This time, there was no complete block from the Golden Barrier!

There was only the crumbling energy shield, interfered with by the Edict Chains and weakened multiple times, as well as the Behemoth's own tough physical body!

"Thud—!"

"Boom!!!"

First was the 【Lava Siege Bolt】, which violently shattered that last layer of dim Golden Barrier and gouged deeply into the edge of the energy core, triggering a violent energy explosion!

Immediately following were the white torrent of Righteous Qi, the dense Law Fishmen harpoons, the cold moonlight beam... Like a sledgehammer hitting glass that already had cracks, they instantly widened, tore, and completely penetrated the damaged opening!

"Awooo—!!!"

The Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage let out the most shrill and desperate wail since the start of the battle! The sound was filled with pain, resentment, and disbelief! The golden light at its chest erupted violently like an out-of-control volcano, then rapidly dimmed! A massive, gaping wound that went all the way through appeared on its left chest, and golden energy mixed with a blood-like substance sprayed out wildly!

Its struggling strength receded like a tide, and its massive body swayed violently before finally crashing to its knees, smashing a deep pit into the cratered ground! The three dark gold Edict Chains, also flickered a few times and quietly dissipated due to the caster's insufficient Divine Power and the target's rapidly fading life aura.

Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage (Hero Unit) - Status Update (Fatal)

Health Points (HP): 18% (And still continuously falling due to Energy Core Collapse)

Status: 【Energy Core Collapse】, 【Near Death】, 【Heavily Wounded】, 【90% Combat Power Lost】

Golden Barrier: Shattered.

Threat Level: Extremely Low.

Silence, a deathly silence.

Then, a volcano-like eruption of cheers and clamor came from outside the virtual battlefield!

They won! The Cloud City Team actually did it! They had almost won against the odds, relying on brilliant tactics and death-defying courage to beat the unrivaled Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage into a near-death state!

Hao Tian was struck as if by lightning, staring blankly at the kneeling Golden Behemoth whose aura was at its lowest point. His face was pale, his lips trembled, and he couldn't say a word. He could not accept this fact! His Golden Behemoth, his symbol of invincibility, had actually... actually lost?!

Lin Zhou's body swayed, and he nearly collapsed. Fortunately, he was supported by Su Yueyao, who had timely withdrawn the Moonlight Guardian and whose face was also as pale as paper. His Divine Power was almost exhausted, his Divine Fire dimmed to the extreme, and waves of intense weakness washed over him like a tide. But looking at the kneeling Golden Behemoth and the followers around him who, though exhausted, had burning eyes filled with excitement and pride, a gratified smile difficultly curled at the corner of his mouth.

He had done it. Relying on the wisdom of the Hundred Schools and the bravery of his followers, he had defeated a seemingly invincible enemy.

"We... won this round," he said softly to Su Yueyao, his voice hoarse but carrying unquestionable certainty.

Su Yueyao looked at him, her cool eyes shimmering with complex light: the relief of surviving a disaster, admiration for Lin Zhou's strategy and decisiveness, and a hint of an indescribable... flutter. She softly hummed an "En," and her hand supporting him unconsciously tightened a bit.

However, just when everyone thought the outcome was decided and the Cloud City Team would secure their victory—

A sudden change occurred!

Within the kneeling, dying Golden Behemoth Royal Lineage, the energy core that was originally about to be completely extinguished suddenly lit up with a faint blood-red light, like a final surge of radiance, carrying an ancient, vast, and supreme aura!

A terrifying pressure, far more primitive and overbearing than during its previous berserk state, as if originating from primordial antiquity, felt like a sleeping giant opening its eyes, spreading out bit by bit from its dying body...