154: A clash of true gods, the flame of civilization triumphs over death.
Like a sharp blade piercing into the darkness, the Vanguard Team did not pause for a moment after defeating the undead Dragon guard. They sped along the edge of the jagged rocks and the mist of death, heading toward the core area deep in the valley where the Spell fluctuations were most intense.
The closer they got, the more viscous and cold the air became. The aura of death was no longer just a smell, but a tangible presence that oppressed both Soul and body, as if invisible hands were gripping their throats, draining their life force.
The ground had completely lost any trace of life, leaving only a layer of grayish-white, bone-powder-like sediment that made a teeth-grinding crunching sound when stepped upon.
Scattered all around were enormous bones, some belonging to unknown giant beasts, others clearly from Dragons, all stained ink-black by the power of death and emitting an ominous, faint glow.
And ahead, about a kilometer away, the scene was even more horrifying.
Above a relatively flat clearing, a gray-black energy vortex with a diameter of over fifty meters was constantly rotating.
In the center of the vortex, a miniature phantom of the γ gate of death γ constructed from white bone and dark metal was vaguely visibleβit was clearly the core magic array node used by the Lich Lord γ Mordekaiser (Pseudo) γ to amplify its own Spells, communicate with the main body of the gate of death, and regulate the energy of the undead army behind it.
Below the magic array, a tall, thin figure draped in a dark purple robe embedded with countless faces of agony, holding a twisted white bone staff, was hovering three meters above the ground.
Its exposed skin was an indigo, shriveled dead skin clinging to its bones, and in its eye sockets burned two cold, ghostly blue flames that seemed capable of freezing the Soul. It was the Lich Lord!
Around it, six floating, wailing skulls circled in flight, forming a dynamic defense and amplification system.
Further away, thousands of high-ranking undead units (mainly Skeleton Mages, Liches, and Wraith Mages) surrounded the magic array like pilgrims. They knelt on the ground, continuously injecting their own Death Qi into the array, which was then integrated, converted, and transmitted by the Lich Lord to the front lines or used to maintain certain specific functions of the gate of death.
The Vanguard Team's surprise attack, especially the instantaneous annihilation of the undead Dragon guard, had clearly alerted the Spell core of this undead army!
When the Vanguard Team rushed out from the cover of the last stone forest and appeared in the vision of the Lich Lord's magic array, the Lich Lord's ghostly blue Soul fire suddenly flared intensely!
"Ants... how dare you violate my Domain?!" A cold, hoarse voice of the Soul, carrying multiple echoes, exploded directly in the depths of everyone's consciousness!
Accompanying the voice, a pressure of death divinity, far purer and more frigid than the undead Dragon's might, crushed down like an iceberg! Tiny black ice crystals condensed out of thin air, and even the light seemed to dim under this pressure.
Reconnaissance Information (Lin Zhou's Godhead / Su Yueyao's Moonlight Power perception comprehensive feedback):
γ Target: Lich Lord Β· Mordekaiser (Pseudo) - Undead Hero Unit / Secondary Divine Power Node γ
Rank: LV55 (Confirmed)
Status: Located at the core of the γ Undead Amplification Array γ, deeply linked with the gate of death and the "Nether Bone" Divine Power network, receiving continuous energy supply and rule enhancement.
Energy Reaction: Death Divine Power (highly concentrated), Frost Divine Power, Curse Divine Power. Comprehensive energy level is approximately equivalent to a LV70 - LV75 normal Hero unit (due to the magic array and link).
Core Ability Detection:
γ Death Frost Domain (Deploying) γ: Centered on itself, within a radius of 300 meters, the temperature drops sharply to just above absolute zero. All non-undead units have their movement speed reduced by 25%, attack speed reduced by 20%, and continuously suffer "frostbite" and "death erosion" effects (losing a small amount of health per second, healing effects weakened).
γ Painful Howling Skulls (Defense/Attack) γ: Six elite-level undead constructs around LV40, capable of automatically intercepting ranged attacks, releasing γ Soul Scream γ (area-of-effect mental attack/interrupt casting), or firing γ Death Ray γ.
γ Deep Spell Link γ: Can instantly cast most mid-to-low-tier undead/frost/curse Spells, and their power and range are significantly enhanced by the magic array. Be wary of the channeling of its high-tier Spells (such as γ Mass Death Wither γ , γ Frozen Tomb γ).
γ Undead Command (Secondary) γ: Can command all surrounding undead units, especially skilled in coordinated spellcasting. Killing it will cause the undead army's Spell system efficiency to drop by 30% - 50%, and it will be difficult to recover in a short time.
Kill Priority: Extremely High! But the difficulty is immense!
"It has discovered us! With the magic array's enhancement, it is stronger than expected!" Qin Qing's telepathic message carried gravity. Her Judgment Angel radiance had already deployed a Holy Light shield to resist the surging death chill.
"Even if it's strong, we must fight! Follow the second plan! Qin Qing, Su Yueyao, suppress its Domain and skulls! Zhao Hao, Wang Meng, follow me for a frontal Breakthrough, strike directly at the main body! Everyone else, clear out the outer spellcasting undead, and disrupt the magic array's energy supply!" Lin Zhou made the decision instantly, not flinching in the slightest because of the enemy's strength. In his eyes, the Fire of Civilization flickered slightly.
The Vanguard Team activated once again like a precision war machine!
Qin Qing's Judgment Angel radiance struck first, its four wings fully spread, and the majestic Holy Light soared into the sky, clashing fiercely with the Lich Lord's Death Frost Domain!
Holiness and filth, Order and chaos, two diametrically opposed powers of rules clashed fiercely in the air, emitting intense sizzling sounds as they eroded and annihilated each other!
Although the Holy Light Domain had a smaller range and was suppressed by the home field of death, the absolute restraint in attributes successfully tore a gap in front of the Vanguard Team, temporarily resisting the most core erosion effects of the Domain.
Su Yueyao's Moonlight Power was like the most dexterous scalpel, the cold moonlight precisely sprinkling onto the six circling, wailing skulls.
The "Purification" and "Calm" properties contained within the Moonlight Power had miraculous effects on such Soul constructs. The skulls covered by the moonlight had their wailing sounds suddenly become intermittent, the ghostly light on their surfaces flickered uncertainly, and their attack and defense rhythms were disrupted.
"Now! Go!" Lin Zhou shouted in a low voice, taking the lead!
His figure was shrouded in a layer of pale golden, faint light ignited by the Fire of Civilization; it was a protective layer formed by the Fire of Civilization's natural repulsion toward the rules of death.
The Literary Heart Elves hero Elwin's γ Subtle Influence γ spread in the form of mental ripples, attempting to interfere with the Lich Lord's cold and dead spellcasting will; the Law Fishmen hero Iron Inquisitor's γ Judgment γ mark locked onto the Lich Lord's core Soul fire like a maggot on a bone!
Zhao Hao's Red Dragon hero Crimson Scale roared and exhaled scorching Dragon Breath, aiming directly at the Lich Lord's main body! Wang Meng's Behemoth Elder Gold Mane, like a violent war chariot, trampled the ground, launched a γ Wild Charge γ, and slammed its giant claws toward the hovering Lich Lord!
The battle instantly entered a white-hot state!
The Lich Lord let out an angry shriek, waved its bone staff, and instantly cast three γ Walls of Death γ to block the Dragon Breath and the charge. At the same time, the six skulls, under its forced urging, broke free from some of the Moonlight Power interference and simultaneously released γ Soul Scream γ! Invisible sound waves, mixed with the impact of death Divine Power, slammed fiercely toward the Vanguard Team!
Lin Zhou groaned, feeling a sharp pain in his Divine Soul, but the divine office of γ Civilization Β· Education γ within his Godhead shone slightly, and the Fire of Civilization burned fiercely in his Sea of Consciousness, quickly smoothing out this mental shock. Elwin beside him turned pale, and his γ Subtle Influence γ was interrupted.
Zhao Hao and Wang Meng's charge was also delayed and weakened by the Walls of Death and the Soul Scream. After Crimson Scale's Dragon Breath burned through two Walls of Death, its power was greatly reduced, and it was blocked by the ice shield in front of the Lich Lord. Gold Mane's charge shattered the last Wall of Death, but it was entangled by γ Nether Ghost Claws γ composed of countless bone hands that suddenly surged from the ground, making it difficult to break free for a moment.
The Lich Lord's spellcasting speed was too fast! And with the help of the magic array, its magic power (Death Divine Power) was nearly infinite!
"Cannot let it continue channeling!" Lin Zhou's eyes sharpened. He knew that once this Lich Lord completed a large-scale Spell, the Vanguard Team would be in a desperate situation. He had to make a more aggressive move!
"Cover me!" Lin Zhou transmitted to Su Yueyao and Qin Qing. At the same time, he sank most of his consciousness into his Godhead, fully mobilizing the leaping γ Fire of Civilization γ at the core of his Divine Kingdom!
His goal was not just to defeat this Lich Lord projection. He wanted to use the Fire of Civilization to directly impact and burn the deeper source of Death Divine Power behind itβthe power extended by the undead deity "Nether Bone" through this Lich Lord node!
This was undoubtedly a gamble! Using his Faint Divinity (LV101) divine fire to actively collide with the extended Divine Power of a god at the Peak of Faint Divinity (LV130) who possessed a death divine office! But this was also the only way to break the deadlock and create a real opportunity for victory! The Fire of Civilization had a potential positional advantage over the rules of death!
Su Yueyao and Qin Qing instantly understood his intention. Qin Qing's Judgment Angel drove the γ Chains of Order γ to the limit, no longer seeking to bind, but turning into countless whips of light, frantically whipping and interfering with the Lich Lord's spellcasting and its link to the magic array. Su Yueyao bit her tongue (projection simulation) and spat out a mouthful of Origin Divine Power containing pure Moonlight Power, turning it into a brilliant γ Moonlight Canopy γ that temporarily isolated the Lich Lord from the energy connection of some surrounding undead, creating an opportunity for Lin Zhou.
Lin Zhou's eyes suddenly erupted with brilliant golden light! He stretched his right hand forward, palm upward, as if holding something invisible yet immensely heavy.
"Wisdom of the Hundred Schools, the torch is passed; Light of Civilization, pierce the netherworld!"
"In my name, Lin Zhou, I invoke the power of the Temple of CivilizationβFire of Civilization, appear!"
Humβ!!!
It was not a deafening roar, but a strange resonance, as if coming from the depths of time and space, the simultaneous whispers of countless intelligent beings! Centered on Lin Zhou's palm, a pale golden flame, extremely pure, dazzling, yet not blinding, leaped into existence!
At first, the flame was only the size of a bean, yet it radiated an indescribable sense of warmth, Order, vitality, and Legacy. The moment it appeared, the surrounding, impossibly thick deathly chill, the wails of vengeful spirits, and the intent of despair, as if encountering their nemesis, emitted a "hissing" sound and began to rapidly dissolve and retreat!
The Lich Lord's deep blue Soul fire flickered violently; it felt an unprecedented threat! The rules of "Life" and "Order" contained within that flame held an Innate suppression over the "Death" and "Silence" it represented!
"What... is this power?!" The Lich Lord's Soul voice carried a trace of imperceptible panic. It frantically activated the magic array, attempting to mobilize more Divine Power of death to extinguish this seemingly weak flame that made its Soul tremble.
But it was too late!
Lin Zhou pushed that point of Fire of Civilization from his palm, as if throwing a torch, violently toward the Lich Lord and the grey-black energy vortex behind it that connected to the gate of death and the main body of "Nether Bone"!
"Go!"
The Fire of Civilization left his hand and grew upon meeting the wind! In an instant, it transformed into a pale golden, not scorching but incredibly condensed line of fire, tearing through the Domain of deathly ice, piercing through the several layers of ice and bone shields the Lich Lord had hastily set up, and accurately shot into the center of that grey-black energy vortex!
Boomβ!!!
This time, it was a true collision and roar at the level of rules!
That pale golden Fire of Civilization and the surging grey-black Divine Power of death within the vortex, filled with the meaning of end and void, collided with a bang, like water and fire, light and darkness!
The earth-shattering explosion imagined did not occur. Instead, it was a more bizarre, more essential scene of annihilation.
At the core point of the collision, space seemed to twist and blur for an instant. Pale gold and grey-black intertwined, entangled, and devoured each other. Wherever the Fire of Civilization passed, the Divine Power of death, like ice and snow exposed to the scorching sun, emitted a "hissing" sound and rapidly dissolved and evaporated! It was not scattered, but forcibly "negated" and "purified" by some higher-level concept of "Order" and "Existence"!
Within the pale golden flame, one could vaguely see countless tiny, flowing runic phantoms flashing by; these were not any known script, but the manifestations of various concepts such as "Thought," "Wisdom," "Legacy," "Etiquette," "Law," "Creation," "Strategy," "Nature," "Debate," and "Harmony"! They together constituted the cornerstone of "Civilization," representing the side of "Life" and "Order" in the Universe.
While the grey-black Divine Power of death was filled with the cold rules of "Withering," "End," "Decay," "Silence," "Chaos (trace amount)," and "Void."
The collision of the two torrents of rules was not a simple cancellation of energy. One could see that the rule representing "End" attempted to entangle and erode the "Legacy" concept of the Fire of Civilization, yet it seemed to encounter an unshakable cornerstone; the rule representing "Decay" pounced on the spark of "Creation," but disintegrated before its vibrant vitality; that trace of "Chaos" was even more exposed by the light of "Order" and "Law," rapidly dissipating!
This was a fundamental suppression!
"Ahβ!!!" The Lich Lord let out a shrill, miserable scream! As an important node in the Divine Power network of death, it was deeply bound to that grey-black energy vortex. The Fire of Civilization burning and annihilating the Divine Power of death was equivalent to directly incinerating its Soul Origin and the connection channel to its master "Nether Bone"! On its indigo, withered body, a layer of pale golden, inextinguishable, weak flame ignited out of thin air! This flame did not burn its material body (undead body), but made the death divinity deep within its Soul feel as if it were being seared by a branding iron, causing unbearable pain! The six wailing skulls surrounding it were like encountering a natural enemy; their wails became sharp and fearful, their surfaces covered in cracks, and their spiritual light dimmed rapidly!
Not only that! That Divine Power network of death, originating from "Nether Bone," permeating the entire rear of the battlefield through the Lich Lord and the magic array, and buffing all Undead units, experienced violent tremors and a brief "interruption" under this precise and fierce strike of the Fire of Civilization!
The chain reaction on the battlefield erupted instantly! First was the Lich Lord itself: Rank determination temporarily dropped by 3 levels (LV55 β LV52)! All Undead/Frost/Curse Spell effects reduced by 25%! The range and intensity of the [Domain of Deathly Ice] plummeted by 40%! The stability of the energy connection to the gate of death dropped by 50%, and it continued to suffer Soul-burning damage from the aftermath of the Fire of Civilization!
Following that, there was a wide-area impact affecting the entire Undead army: All Undead units (those directly buffed by the gate of death and the "Nether Bone" Divine Power network) had their total attributes temporarily reduced by 12% - 18%! (Approximately 15% on average). Basic attributes such as Strength, Agility, and Physique declined. The attachment effects of death power (such as additional weapon damage, defense bonuses) weakened. The effects of Undead traits (such as slow self-healing, fear aura) were discounted. The summoning speed of the gate of death was reduced by 20%, and the basic attributes of summoned units were reduced by 10%. The overall "command coordination efficiency" of the Undead army, due to the tremors in the Divine Power network, experienced brief chaos, and the frontline offensive slowed down as a result!
The pressure on the main defense line on the south bank of the Lancang River suddenly lightened! The soldiers were astonished to find that the charge of the Undead opposite did not seem as fierce as before; the skeletons' bones seemed to have become brittle, and the zombies' movements were more sluggish!
"What happened?" "It's the Dominator! It must be the Dominator and the others who succeeded!" Shouts of excitement erupted on the defense line.
Meanwhile, the Spearhead Team seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
"Strike while it's down!" Zhao Hao roared, and the Red Dragon's Dragon's Breath, now unobstructed, slammed fiercely onto the Lich Lord, whose defenses were wide open due to pain and weakening!
Wang Meng's Gold Mane also broke free from the Nether Ghost Claws, and a [Crushing Strike] landed solidly on the Lich Lord's left shoulder, smashing half of its body with shattered bones and overflowing black Qi!
Qin Qing's [Sword of Judgment] and Su Yueyao's [Moon Blade Β· Sever] arrived simultaneously, Holy Light and Moonlight Power intertwined, delivering the final, fatal blow to the Lich Lord!
"Noβ!! Master... save..." The Lich Lord Mordekaiser (Fake) released a final Soul fluctuation filled with resentment and despair; its deep blue Soul fire, under the multiple strikes of the Fire of Civilization embers, Holy Light, Moonlight Power, Dragon's Breath, and brute force, was extinguished like a candle in the wind. Its withered body and robes, like burnt paper ash, shattered inch by inch and turned into flying dust. The six wailing skulls also exploded simultaneously.
That grey-black energy vortex, after losing its core node, vibrated violently a few times, and finally, unwillingly, dissipated and vanished. The Lich Lord had fallen!
The Spearhead Team erupted in a brief cheer. However, Lin Zhou suddenly looked up, his expression changing drastically!
Just at the moment the Lich Lord fell and the energy vortex dissipated, a pressure of death divinity, far more terrifying, deeper, and angrier than before, like a waking ancient Vicious Beast, suddenly crossed space from the direction of that distant gate of death and firmly locked onto Lin Zhou! And the strand of Fire of Civilization in his hand, which had not yet been fully retracted and had become much weaker!
That pressure was cold, dead, and filled with infinite killing intent and fury! A voice, as if coming from the Nine Nether Abyss, carrying endless chill, exploded directly in the deepest part of Lin Zhou's Divine Soul, and even through his Divinity, faintly echoed in the consciousness of all members of the Spearhead Team: "Ant..." "How dare you... use evil fire... to harm my divinity..." "Destroy my node..." "You... are courting death!"
It was "Nether Bone"! That LV130 Undead deity Examinee was finally completely enraged, turning its gaze from the scorching frontline to this bold "bug" in the rear, and across a vast distance, descended a Divine Thought lock and pressure shock containing its anger and killing intent!
Even more terrifyingly, Lin Zhou clearly sensed that within the opponent's Divine Thought, there was not only death, but also a trace of... Chaos and Void that became clearer after being burned by the Fire of Civilization! This matched Su Yueyao's previous perception!
A confrontation between True Gods seemed inevitable. And Lin Zhou, having just exhausted the Origin power of this newly condensed strand of Fire of Civilization to severely damage the Lich Lord and the Undead Divine Power network, felt his Divinity aching faintly due to the high-load operation.
The crisis had not been resolved; instead, it had arrived in an even more dangerous way!
π Text To Speech
Listen while reading