Otherworldly Affairs Office

Chapter 1158: The Dragon King’s Might

The surrounding black fog was swiftly dispersed the moment Zhuo Geng shouted those words, and all the silhouettes hidden within the fog reappeared in his field of vision. The first was Ye, who had been suppressing his senses and mobility with the black fog.In his rage, Zhuo Geng drew his greatsword and slashed it horizontally at Ye, the culprit who had caused him such injuries. Under the influence of the Divine Artifact, Ye found herself trapped within the attack range, as if time had slowed. Try as she might to escape, her body moved at a snail’s pace, barely advancing.

Whether to repay the life-saving favor just afforded or because they couldn’t lose an ally against Zhuo Geng, Shitang Longsi, positioned to the side, nonetheless fulfilled his duties as a teammate during this moment of crisis. He dashed into the range of the Divine Artifact’s control, placing his long knife in the path of Zhuo Geng’s assault, hoping to slow it down.

Meanwhile, Ivan continuously threw spears from afar, and Nero unleashed his full strength to deliver heavy blows to Zhuo Geng from the side. These rapid attacks finally gave Ye a sliver of a chance to escape. Just as Shitang Longsi’s long knife met Zhuo Geng’s chest, Ye leapt out of the range of the Divine Artifact’s control and exited the battle circle.

Just as Ye was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking she had narrowly escaped death, the battlefield changed once more. Zhuo Geng raised his greatsword to the sky, and with a snap, heaven and earth turned dark. The clear sky above quickly gathered a thundercloud, and barely giving the others a moment to react, countless bolts of lightning poured down like torrential rain.

Within the vast canyon, the thunderbolts were overwhelming, akin to a heavenly tribulation. This forced the four to temporarily avoid confrontation. In facing retreating enemies, Zhuo Geng clearly had no intention of halting his onslaught. As the thunderclouds rumbled, his sword swept, cracking the ground below, releasing a deluge of lava aimed at the quartet.

"Don’t forget, this is the Dragon Realm! And I am the Lord of the Dragon Realm!" Zhuo Geng roared to the heavens, his pupils vanishing to be replaced by terrifying red light beams. Simultaneously, a formidable aura and dragon pressure radiated from him, causing the momentum of the five Children of Origin to falter.

In any plane, only the highest Master of Origin deserves to be described as a god. As the Lord of the Dragon Realm, the Dragon King could only break through the boundaries in the Spirit Monster Plane and wield power beyond his limits by leveraging the advantage of heaven and earth. Although this power, while destroying enemies, also continually tormented his body, he could no longer afford such concerns at this perilous moment.

"Damn, Fafnir always boasted about how heroic he was back in the day, how even his brother was overshadowed by his prowess. But now, it’s clear he and his brother’s strength are worlds apart!" Among them, Ivan, who was the weakest and had just recovered from serious injuries, was driven to the brink by the combined forces of lightning and fire and couldn’t help but complain.

"After all, becoming the Lord of the Dragon Realm confers the heritage of the race and blessing of the Ancestral God, making him one of the top-tier beings across various planes, beyond the reach of someone like Fafnir who left years ago." As Nero spoke, he slashed open a spatial rift, from which emerged a Divine Artifact hide tailored for him, woven from powerful mythical beasts, drifting out and merging back with him.

The incomplete flawless god-body had been shattered by Pei Yan the first time it was used, leaving Nero impaired and unable to utilize it to its full potential again until he perfected the Cultivation Technique. Facing a formidable foe now, he could only merge with this Divine Artifact to strengthen his body to its utmost, approximating the power of a flawless god-body.

"We must finish this quickly!" Completing his fusion with the Divine Artifact, Nero looked up to the heavens where the battle had reached its critical stage. Both sides were fighting desperately, and the sky, once clear at the canyon’s entrance, was now veiled by Zhuo Geng’s summoned thundercloud, tinged with faint streaks of blood-red. Seeing this, Nero couldn’t help but warn: "The Array obscuring the celestial phenomenon is about to fail. Once it collapses, Dragon Realm will quickly notice the anomaly here. If we can’t take down the Dragon King before they react, all our plans will be for naught. Bai Ze! Aren’t you ready yet?"

Nero’s roaring questions echoed across the battlefield.

"Wait a moment longer!" came Bai Ze’s response, hidden somewhere in the void.

"I hope you can strike the decisive blow and not let me down!" Nero cursed internally, sneered coldly, then charged forward towards Zhuo Geng in the center of the field, bracing against the dual tribulations of lightning and fire.

"Judgment!" Facing the attack from Zhuo Geng’s Divine Artifact, Nero’s super body, forged from multiple bloodlines, managed to break free from time’s control just slightly. Although his speed was slowed, he succeeded in swinging his fist. That fist carried the Divine Artifact, the black cross of Judgment, capable of absorbing all damage and reflecting it.

The small cross that had been absorbing damage since the battle’s start struck with full force. Bang! After a muffled collision, Nero’s expression soured as he saw the shield that blocked his punch.

"You used this Divine Artifact to injure my son, didn’t you?" Slowly emerging from behind the shield was Dragon King Zhuo Geng’s face, rage etched into every feature. Nero quickly noticed the changes to Zhuo Geng’s body. The shield didn’t just absorb the damage from his fierce attack—it also transformed into healing force, restoring two or three-tenths of Zhuo Geng’s previous wounds.

How can this fight be won? Close-range attacks fall under the Divine Artifact’s control. Even breaking through this layer, if my attacks land on this shield, they’ll turn into healing force for the opponent’s body. Such is the superiority of the Dragon Realm Lord’s Divine Artifact, one sword and one shield perfecting both offense and defense, superior to the Divine Artifacts absorbed and fused by the Children of Origin.

Before Nero had time to lament his predicament, Zhuo Geng’s counterattack arrived. At such close range, he needed neither thunder strikes nor a sword swing; he merely opened his mouth and unleashed a Dragon Breath accumulated within, aiming it straight for Nero’s head.

No searing heat, no thunderous roar, just the pure essence of Dragon Race energy, more potent than any other Dragon Breath. Even with Nero’s formidable physique, the strike rendered his mind blank. His face, devoid of features under the Divine Beast hide, twisted and cracked, with thin streams of blood seeping through, adding an extra layer of terror to his already chilling visage.

Battle-hardened Zhuo Geng was undeterred by such a face, and seeing Nero fall into brief unconsciousness, he raised his greatsword to stab Nero’s throat.

"Awooo!" At that moment, a piercingly discordant howl burst out behind Zhuo Geng.