Chapter 475: Breaking the Thunder God's Backbone with a Single Punch

"Wind Kings, your era ends here!"

A roar of thunder echoed as a colossal bolt of lightning, like a great dragon-snake, connected heaven and earth.

Beneath it, the Wind Kings fled in a panic. They had no courage to face the newly born Thunder God.

But before the newborn Thunder God could make his next move, a Ghost Energy Polymorphic Beam instantly tore across more than half the world illuminated by the lightning.

It struck the Thunder God with extreme ferocity.

In that instant, the light radiating from the thunder dimmed.

This made all the Wind Kings freeze. They looked back at the dissipating, ghostly beam, having no idea who had attacked.

Fortunately, they quickly snapped out of it. They didn't care who was responsible; their top priority was to escape.

This delay gave them the chance they needed, and they naturally sped away.

By the time the Thunder God recovered, the Wind Kings were long gone.

Not far away, a massive, amorphous shadow exuding an incomprehensible force field squirmed closer, inch by oppressive inch.

"I hear you're the strongest in this world?" The voice was laced with distortion and chaos, causing even the surrounding lightning to twist into grotesque, horrifying shapes.

After the Thunder God recovered, his very form, which connected heaven and earth, looked strange—clearly distorted by this incomprehensible force field.

"I was, before. But now, that's not so certain." The Thunder God's form swelled.

He could sense the threat emanating from the terrifying monster before him.

'I might actually die at its hands.'

Though he had only just been born, he was different from the Wind Kings. He was a complete god, not a collection of shattered kings.

"Thunder never retreats!" The Thunder God's roar accompanied a blinding barrage of endless lightning.

He had been injured by that ghostly beam just now, but he was no Wind King. He would face his enemy head-on.

The interwoven bolts of lightning fell upon the amorphous shadow monster, only to be completely warped and twisted by its force field, transforming into a bizarre, flesh-like energy.

His attack did nothing to halt the monster's advance. Seeing it shamble forward, the Thunder God could only brace himself and attack again.

Yet, it had no effect whatsoever.

It wasn't until the amorphous shadow monster drew near that its chaotic, distorting field instantly enveloped his body and mind.

"Are you trying to tickle me?" The amorphous shadow monster reared up, taking the shape of a colossal tentacle.

The tentacle then smashed down toward him, whistling through the air and shattering space and lightning alike.

The Thunder God wanted to block, but the monster's indescribable aura and ferocious speed gave him no chance.

He was smashed to smithereens.

There were no techniques involved—just pure, brute force that shattered him into pieces.

"Another squishy piece of trash. Hmph." The amorphous monster snorted disdainfully, then slowly squirmed away.

"Recover and grow strong. I'll come for you again."

"I hope you can give me a little surprise next time. Even a small one."

The creature added this last remark before departing.

The Thunder God's body re-formed. He gathered all his lightning, transforming into a single, leaping arc of electricity.

He didn't dare say a word, only watching as the terrifying monster departed.

His injuries from that last blow were severe; it would take at least a month to recover.

Thus, he had to suspend his hunt for the Wind Kings.

Besides, given his opponent's words, if he didn't grow stronger quickly, the next outcome would likely be the same.

'That power... it wasn't wind.'

'But this world only has wind and thunder. Where did a third power come from?' The Thunder God's body twitched slightly as he expelled numerous distorted bolts of lightning from within himself, then annihilated them.

'Defeating me was far too easy for it. The entire process involved only two attacks.'

'The first was from a distance, the second was up close. Both demonstrated unparalleled power.'

'As for being called trash?' The Thunder God didn't care in the slightest.

'A loss is a loss. If I'm not trash, what am I? The next time I win, I'll be the one standing over its body, calling it trash.'

'There's nothing unacceptable about that.'

'Survival of the fittest. It's the law of nature.'

'The Thunder God was thunder itself; of course he abided by this law.'

He wasn't like the Wind Kings, who had lived so long they had become almost human. He possessed more of nature's primal wildness.

'Forget it. It doesn't matter what kind of power it used. Its strength is undeniable. Whatever exists is reasonable.'

'Dwelling on these things now is useless. Getting stronger is what I need to do next.'

With a flicker of lightning, the Thunder God vanished.

He needed a safe place to recover. There were too many variables if he stayed here.

Being wild didn't mean he was brainless. Why would he endanger himself for the sake of so-called pride when there was a better way?

"Hiss..." Qi Suian sucked in a sharp breath. The sight was too painful to look at.

'Of course... show off and you get struck by lightning.'

It was the first time Qi Suian felt that saying was so literal.

No matter how arrogant his parting words had sounded, the beating he took was just as vicious. He was running on fumes.

'Good thing I'm resilient. Otherwise, I'd be fried to a crisp by now.'

Qi Suian's injuries were severe. Thankfully, a series of his abilities had locked his health, keeping him from dying.

Immediately, his regenerative abilities kicked in. He would be fully recovered in a minute at most.

It sounded great on the surface—recovering from a near-death state to normal in just one minute. However, death-reforging was even faster. If not for the fear of something happening to the World Core in his hands, Qi Suian would have just killed himself to trigger it.

Besides, a minute wasn't a short amount of time. He only had the luxury to recover because he wasn't in a fight.

If this had happened in the middle of a battle, Qi Suian would have likely already initiated his death-reforging.

Health-locking wasn't a catch-all solution. The Blood Race could do it too, but they still died when it was their time to die. There was no such thing as an invincible ability.

It all came down to how the user applied it.

'Still, the Ghost Energy Polymorphic Beam, plus my all-out attack, combined with that final psychological bluff... it should buy me at least ten days.'

'Ten days should be enough.'

Qi Suian muttered to himself and slowly started heading back.

The minute passed quickly. Once he had recovered, Qi Suian left immediately.

As for the Wind Kings' schemes, he wasn't particularly concerned. He knew the true nature of the Apocalypse Game better than anyone.

'Trying to threaten the Apocalypse Game with the lives of survivors? That's just laughable.'

If that actually worked, Qi Suian would have been the first to suffer the consequences.

The death of every previous batch of survivors was inextricably linked to him.

It was like a ruthless boss who couldn't care less if an employee had a cold and fever; they'd just tell you to show up for work on time tomorrow.

'They don't have the guts to fight, but they sure compete to see who can run the fastest.'

'That Profound Mechanism Wind King is an idiot, too. At a time like this, instead of taking the chance to gobble up a few other Wind Kings for a snack, he runs home to hide in his shell like a coward.'

Qi Suian's expression darkened, and he started cursing under his breath.

He really needed to work on being more vulgar; his verbal assaults were seriously lacking.

That's why his "attacks" were mostly physical.

After returning, the first thing Qi Suian did was find the Profound Mechanism Wind King.

"Where were you? Why didn't I see you?" the Profound Mechanism Wind King demanded as soon as he saw him.

"How's the situation?" Qi Suian ignored the question, asking his own while discreetly searching for the Profound Mechanism Wind King's weaknesses.

'I'll find a chance to hit the Profound Mechanism Wind King with a devastating blow soon.'

'Once he becomes my puppet, the rest will be easy.'

"The plan failed. The Thunder God was born successfully, and we failed to lure out the Apocalypse Game."

"I don't understand. Does the Apocalypse Game not care about those three Holy Sanctuary Mages? They are the most powerful humans under its command."

The Profound Mechanism Wind King was extremely bitter about this. If the roles were reversed and it was the Wind Kings being threatened, they would have been drawn out long ago.

"But rest assured, this isn't over yet."

"The Thunder God was severely wounded by an unknown power. We still have a chance to leave."

"Although leaving this world is dangerous, there's still a path to survival."

"Don't worry, I'll take you with me. After all, you are my chosen one." After a long speech, the Profound Mechanism Wind King's final decision was to flee.

It wasn't just him; all the Wind Kings felt the same.

"If the Thunder God is severely wounded, then this is our chance."

"You should use this opportunity to devour all the other Wind Kings and become the Wind God yourself. Then you wouldn't have to leave, and you could even contend with the Thunder God," Qi Suian tried to persuade him.

If the Wind King listened to him, it would be good news for Qi Suian. It would save him a lot of effort.

However, the Profound Mechanism Wind King refused.

"The changing of the guard from wind to thunder is the world's choice. We can't stop it."

"It's impossible to succeed, no matter what we do."

"If we leave, there's a chance to live. If we stay, we will surely die," the Profound Mechanism Wind King said.

"Then why did you say you wanted to become the Wind God before?" Qi Suian thought. 'This guy is so fickle. It's the worst.'

"I wasn't lying. I just don't have to do it in *this* world. If I go to another world and devour the other Wind Kings who escape with me, it will be more convenient and risk-free."

"Traveling between worlds exacts a heavy toll. The Wind Kings are already weak; after the journey, they will be even weaker."

"And that... that is the real opportunity." The Profound Mechanism Wind King had his own plan.

In fact, he'd had this idea from the very beginning.

Of course, if he could have gotten the Apocalypse Game and the Thunder God to destroy each other, that would have been ideal. At least he wouldn't have had to leave his home.

But alas, the plan had failed, and in the worst way possible.

He had no choice but to leave.

Hearing this, Qi Suian sighed. He had clearly overestimated his own eloquence and powers of persuasion.

The Wind King was clearly not going to listen to reason, so Qi Suian just opened his mouth and cursed him.

"As the Master said, 'Rotten wood cannot be carved, nor a wall of dried dung be plastered!'"