Chapter 430 - 412: Advent of the Gods

Chapter 430: Chapter 412: Advent of the Gods

The next moment, not only did Nerifien’s deathly aura and Dideri’s Magic Chains miss their mark, but even the previously persistent Shadow Spider Silk, Tracking Arrows, and Fire of Desire scattered aimlessly, having lost their target.

’This is... spatial teleportation? No... that’s not right...’

Tula’s scarlet pupils contracted, and his brow furrowed. He couldn’t sense any fluctuations of Magic.

’Could it be...’

Before the thought could even fully form...

SWOOSH!

An incredibly sharp whoosh tore through the air beside him.

Tula instinctively whipped his head toward the sound.

What met his eyes was a pair of cold, merciless, gilded vertical pupils and a blade, burning with a golden radiance, that was already right in his face.

Before the blade even arrived, the pressure of it tearing through the air made his skin sting with pain.

’What?’

A glimmer of true horror finally flashed in Tula’s eyes.

But even as a storm of shock raged within him, he did not resign himself to death.

"Angeris! Grant me the immortal barrier of life!"

In an instant, a warm, vibrant, emerald-green halo materialized before him.

Within the halo, phantoms of new vines and leaves seemed to writhe and flow, carrying the meaning of a Rule—one of "absolute guardianship" and "warding off disaster."

CLANG!

Roland’s sword slammed down on the emerald halo, producing a deep, muffled THUD, like an axe striking the roots of a ten-thousand-year-old tree.

The searing Dragon Blood Fighting Spirit and the terrifying Power in his blade poured out madly, yet the barrier, infused with life’s resilience, absorbed and dissipated it layer by layer. Not even a single crack appeared.

’Power on the level of a Rule... it’s true that raw physical Power can’t easily tear through something like this.’

He didn’t know exactly how many fragmented Authorities from the Deities Tula had mastered, but it stood to reason that if he had offensive ones, he would have defensive ones as well.

So, seeing this, Roland—who had anticipated it—felt no surprise or frustration.

Almost at the exact moment his blade was blocked, he flicked his wrist, shifting the force from a downward chop into a sideways push.

Then, instead of pulling his sword back, he followed the motion, swinging the Moonlight Longsword like a heavy club. With the flat of its broad blade, he brought it around with unparalleled force and slapped it horizontally against the emerald halo.

THUMP!

This time, the sound wasn’t the sharp ring of metal on metal, but a dull thud, like a heavy hammer striking tough leather.

The Guardian Authority of the Goddess of Life could "ward off disaster," meaning it defended against the blade’s edge and the Energy assault. But it couldn’t completely nullify such an extreme, purely physical impact.

Tula felt an irresistible, overwhelming force slam into him through the barrier.

The glow of Divine Power around him flickered violently. As if struck head-on by a savage behemoth, he instantly lost his balance and was sent flying, becoming a blurry streak of light.

’Brute! Barbarian!’

Although the immortal barrier had prevented any actual injury, the humiliation of being struck like this left him seething with shock and rage.

Just as he was about to cast some Magic to steady himself and counterattack...

Right in the path of his trajectory, the air cracked with another sonic boom.

Roland’s figure, moving even faster than Tula was flying, had appeared like a phantom, already waiting at his destination.

The same cold, vertical pupils. The same swung sword.

’No!’

Tula only had time for a single, furious cry in his mind.

SMACK!

Another incredibly heavy blow struck him squarely in the back.

The silvery-white barrier still shone, protecting his body from harm, but the terrifying impact force compounded, forcibly changing his trajectory.

He was sent flying in another direction, like a ball being batted about at will.

What followed was a bizarre and shocking scene high above the ravaged battlefield.

Tula, enveloped in the silvery-white barrier, became like a baseball struck repeatedly by an invisible bat, carving a series of hasty, chaotic zig-zags through the sky.

Meanwhile, the Dragonified Roland had become a ubiquitous, dark-gold Residual Shadow.

Relying on his incredible speed and Power, he precisely predicted Tula’s trajectory every time, appearing at the destination ahead of him before mercilessly swinging his sword and sending him flying once more.

SMACK!

SMACK!

THUMP!

The dull sounds of impact echoed one after another, endlessly.

Tula possessed numerous instances of Divine Favor Authority, yet against Roland’s completely unreasonable tactics—relying purely on speed and Power—he was beaten so badly he couldn’t fight back, unable even to conjure a single complete spell of Magic.

Trapped within the absolute protection of the barrier, all he could do was experience this unprecedented humiliation.

However, power has its limits, and it requires a stable anchor.

Tossed about in the air like rootless duckweed, dizzy and disoriented, Tula couldn’t even think of counterattacking with new methods; just maintaining the Divine Power Authorities he had already deployed became incredibly difficult.

The emerald Arrows, the black spider silk, the dancing Flames...

These fragmented Authorities, driven by his will, became difficult to focus as his mind was violently shaken.

They began to flicker like candles in the wind before finally dissipating into the air, one by one.

Just then, the Zor Elves and Surface Elves, who had sensed the terrifying aftershocks of the clashing Energy, finally arrived at the edge of the battlefield.

They arrived just in time to witness a scene they would never forget.

The man they saw as lofty and untouchable, the god-like Tula, was being batted back and forth through the air by a dark-gold figure, treated like a common ball and completely unable to fight back.

Both Zor and Surface Elves forgot their mutual hatred in that moment, leaving only dumbstruck shock.

And a deep-seated Fear of the pure Power displayed by that dark-gold figure—a Power like that of a savage, primordial beast.

SMACK!

Another heavy blow.

This time, with the impact, the emerald-green barrier of life around Tula flickered violently a few times before emitting a faint CRACK, like the sound of crystal about to shatter.

Clearly, without Tula’s continuous spiritual support, this powerful barrier had finally reached its limit.

The radiance on the barrier rapidly dimmed and faded, receding like an ebbing tide.

Finally, just before Roland’s next blow could land, the emerald barrier vanished without a trace, popping like a bubble with a soft *pop*.

’An opening!’

A sharp glint flashed in Roland’s cold, vertical pupils. He didn’t hesitate for a second.

He twisted his wrist, changing his strike from a slap to a thrust.

The Moonlight Longsword shot forward like a bolt of cold lightning across the night sky, like a striking viper. With a piercing shriek, it stabbed straight for Tula’s now-defenseless chest.

The strike was fast, precise, and ruthless, meant to run his opponent completely through.

But just as the tip of the blade was about to touch Tula’s robes...

"Enough."

A voice rang out.

Strangely, it wasn’t a roar filled with venom and rage. On the contrary, it was unusually flat, even carrying an indifference that seemed detached from everything.

More unsettling still, the very texture of the voice had changed. It was no longer entirely Tula’s. It seemed to be layered with an ancient, inhuman Echo, and what’s more...

It didn’t sound as if it came from Tula’s mouth, but rather as if it were resonating directly in the space around them—or perhaps, directly inside Roland’s own mind.

The next moment, Roland felt his sword tip plunge into something like an invisible but incredibly viscous swamp. His forward momentum was instantly halted.

Then, an indescribable force tightened around it.

It was as if countless invisible threads of Rule had ensnared his blade, locking it firmly in midair, unable to advance another inch.

Roland’s mind went taut, and he raised his eyes.

He saw that the tip of his Moonlight Longsword was now held firmly in Tula’s hand, which had been raised at some point he hadn’t seen.

It wasn’t held by brute force; it was as if the very space the blade occupied had been "locked" in place.

But that wasn’t what surprised Roland the most.

What truly set alarm bells screaming in his mind was the look in Tula’s eyes.

All emotion had vanished from his eyes—the horror, the rage, the arrogance, even the earlier hypocrisy. All that remained was a tranquility that looked down upon all living things, an indifference so profound it bordered on the Void.

It was as if nothing in the world could stir his emotions ever again.

And...

The Divine Attribute that radiated from Tula, once a chaotic and violent mix, was now surging upward at a suffocating pace.

It was as if some ancient shackle had been shattered, and a deeper, more fundamental Power was awakening from within him.