517: Chapter 452: The Sword Cultivator Faces Death, Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source to Slay the Lord

Three days after the Lord of Nothingness fled back into the rift, a grey-white energy tide surged from the depths of the Return to Nothingness again.

It was not the true form of the Lord of Nothingness, but the last batch of God-King Level Lords—five giant beasts with Ranks between LV3500 and LV4000—that rushed out from the rift.

Behind them, there was no beast tide, only the five lone Lords.

The Lord of Nothingness needed time to recover; its godhead integrity had only risen from 50% to 60%. Not daring to emerge personally, it sent its final pawns to stall for time.

[ God-King Level Lord · Final Batch ] - Quantity: 5 - Rank: LV3500, LV3700, LV3800, LV3900, LV4000 - Size: 150-250 kilometers - Characteristics: Chaos Domain, Return to Nothingness Devour, God King Pressure - Mission: Stall for time, consume the vitality of the Civilization Guardian Legion

The five Lords simultaneously unleashed their Chaos Domains, the overlapping range covering an area with a diameter of 3,000 kilometers.

The inscriptions on the Great Wall of Civilization flickered violently again, its durability dropping at a rate of 1% per second.

Lin Zhou stood above the city gate; the water level of the river of civilization was only at 60%, and his godhead integrity was only at 70%. He could still fight, but he could not handle five Lords at once.

"Wang Meng, can you still fight?" Lin Zhou asked.

Wang Meng gripped his battle axe, the Fire of Civilization on the blade flickering slightly. "I can. But I can only use basic physical strength. I still can't unleash skills."

"Then use your sword. The Sword of Civilization does not require skills."

Lin Zhou drew the zhan nian sword and leaped off the city wall.

The Dragon Vein Golden Scale followed closely behind; its golden Dragon Breath dimmed by more than half in the Chaos Domain, but it was still burning.

Su Yueyao's moon radiance shone on the city wall, but the silvery-white light could only cover the city wall area and could not extend to the battlefield.

The five Lords stepped forward simultaneously, walking toward the Great Wall of Civilization.

"Rune Turrets—fire!"

150 Rune Turrets fired simultaneously, beams of light shooting toward the Lords. The power was only 30% of normal, stirring up only ripples. The Space Folding Cannon failed, and the Iron Wall Guardian Array failed.

Lei Zhan led the Heavy Armor Legion to charge out of the fortress. The shield wall of 3,000 Iron Rock Giants was teetering in the Chaos Domain, but Lei Zhan did not retreat.

"Shield wall—advance!" Lei Zhan roared.

The shield wall withstood the impact of the first Lord. Half of the Iron Rock Giants' shields were shattered, but they used their bodies to block the Lord's advance.

Wang Meng led the Vanguard Battalion to charge from the flank toward the second Lord. 3,000 Civilization Sword Cultivators held their Flying Swords, hacking at the Lord's toes. Every hack left a shallow sword mark on the scales, and the Fire of Civilization within the sword marks burned, causing the Lord's integrity to slowly drop.

[ Combat · First Wave ] - Lord A (LV3500): Integrity 100% → 95% - Lord B (LV3700): Integrity 100% → 96% - Lord C (LV3800): Integrity 100% → 97% - Lord D (LV3900): Integrity 100% → 98% - Lord E (LV4000): Integrity 100% → 99% - Our Losses: 500 slightly injured, 100 seriously injured

The battle lasted for an hour. The integrity of the five Lords dropped to about 80%, but the casualties of the Civilization Guardian Legion were increasing. 1,000 slightly injured, 300 seriously injured, 50 fallen.

Lin Zhou's river of civilization water level dropped to 50%, and his godhead integrity dropped to 65%. He knew that if they continued to fight like this, even if they could kill these five Lords, the Civilization Guardian Legion would lose its last combat strength. Once the Lord of Nothingness recovered, no one would be able to stop it.

He needed a one-hit-kill method.

The Shushan Sword Canon recorded a forbidden technique—Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin. It was not the Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin that Lin Zhou usually used, but the true, ultimate sword technique that cost one's life.

100 Sword Cultivators would burn their entire godhead, merging their Sword Intent into one to form a thousand-zhang giant sword capable of slaying a God King. The price was that all 100 Sword Cultivators would fall, their godheads shattered, their divine flames extinguished, and their true spirits dissipated.

Lin Zhou had never used this forbidden technique because the price was too high. But now, he had no choice.

"Civilization Sword Cultivators—assemble!"

100 Civilization Sword Cultivators withdrew from the battlefield and lined up below the city wall.

Their godhead integrity was between 60% and 80%; their divine flames were still burning, but they were already exhausted. They were the 100 most skilled in swordsmanship within the Civilization Guardian Legion, ten of whom were Civilization Sword Cultivators who had awakened their Sword Hearts during the fourth beast tide.

[ Civilization Sword Cultivators · 100-Member Squad ] - Number of people: 100 - Average Rank: LV580 - Average godhead integrity: 70% - Awakened Sword Heart: 10 people - Skill: Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin (Forbidden Technique)

"Captain, are we using the forbidden technique?" a Civilization Sword Cultivator asked.

"Yes." Lin Zhou looked at them. "Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin requires the sacrifice of 100 Sword Cultivators. The price is your lives. I will not force you. Those who are willing, stay. Those who are not, step back."

No one stepped back. 100 people, not a single one stepped back.

"Why?" Lin Zhou's voice was hoarse.

"Because we are Civilization Sword Cultivators. Our swords are not for ourselves, but for protection." The Civilization Sword Cultivator smiled, his expression relieved. "Captain, the Way of Civilization is passed down like a torch. We are just the ones passing on the spark."

Lin Zhou's eyes turned red. He did not stop them.

The 100 Sword Cultivators climbed onto the city wall, facing the five Lords. They sat cross-legged, placing their Flying Swords across their knees. The Fire of Civilization on the swords burned; the cyan-gold light was like a candle in the wind within the Chaos Domain, but no one extinguished it.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin—rise!"

100 Flying Swords rose into the air simultaneously, the light on the swords interweaving to form a thousand-zhang-long cyan-gold giant sword. On the body of the giant sword, the names of the 100 Sword Cultivators were engraved. Every name was glowing.

[ Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin · Forbidden Technique ] - Sacrifice count: 100 people - Giant sword length: 1,000 zhang - Attack power: Full power strike of a high-tier divine power intermediate × 10 - Damage to Chaos faction: + 3000% - Cost: Entire godhead of 100 Sword Cultivators

The giant sword slashed down, the sword light cutting through the Void Realm and slashing toward the five Lords.

The first Lord (LV3500) was struck by the sword light, its body disintegrating, its integrity dropping from 80% to 0%. The second Lord (LV3700) was struck by the sword light, its integrity dropping to 0%. The third, fourth, fifth... The sword light slashed across the bodies of the five Lords in succession, and their integrity all dropped to zero.

[ God-King Level Lord · All Slain ] - Kill time: About ten seconds - Lord drops: About 50,000 chaos crystals, about 10,000 rule fragments

The giant sword dissipated. The bodies of the 100 Sword Cultivators began to become transparent, their godheads shattered, their divine flames extinguished.

Their Flying Swords fell from the sky and stuck into the city wall. A wisp of the Fire of Civilization remained on each Flying Sword; the flame was weak, but it did not go out.

[ Civilization Sword Cultivator · Fallen ] - Fallen count: 100 people - Flying Swords: 100, stuck on the city wall - Residual Sword Intent: Merged into the Great Wall of Civilization

On the city wall, the Sword Intent of those 100 Flying Swords merged with the inscriptions of the Great Wall. 100 sword-shaped marks were added to the inscriptions. Each mark represented a sacrificed Civilization Sword Cultivator.

The marks glowed, and a line of small text was added to the golden poem "If only the flying generals of Long City were here, not allowing the Hu horses to cross the Yin Mountains" on the Great Wall— "Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin, no regrets in a hundred deaths."

[ Great Wall of Civilization · New Trait ] - Sword Intent Fusion: Sword Intent of 100 Sword Cultivators permanently merged into the city wall - Effect: Damage to Return to Nothingness faction + 100% - Flying Sword resonance: Flying Swords stuck on the city wall can resonate with later Sword Cultivators

Lin Zhou knelt on the city wall, watching those dissipating figures, silent for a long time. Su Yueyao's moon radiance enveloped him, and cyan-gold light spots were mixed in the silvery-white light—that was the residual Sword Intent of the Sword Cultivators.

The Dragon Vein Golden Scale lay beside him, emitting a low whimper.

"Captain, they..." Qin Qing's voice was choked with sobs.

"They are gone. But their swords are still here. Their Sword Intent is still here."

Lin Zhou stood up, walked to the city wall, pulled up the 100 Flying Swords one by one, and inserted them on both sides of the city gate. The Fire of Civilization on the swords was still burning; although the flames were small, they were continuous.

"From today on, this city wall is called the 'Sword Wall'. These swords are called 'Undying'. Their names are engraved on the Heavenly Pillar."

Lin Zhou looked up toward the direction of the rift. The dark red light was still flickering, and the Lord of Nothingness's integrity was still recovering. But on the Sword Wall of the Great Wall of Civilization, there were 100 undying Flying Swords. Each sword was a piece of undying will.