Chapter 422: The Power of a God!

The White Dragon Lord felt a surge of excitement. "Tell me the details."

The half-elf ranger pulled a brooch from a pile of miscellaneous loot and offered it to the two of them.

Mage Alan took the brooch and turned it over. "It is indeed a relic of the Arcane Empire, but what makes you so sure it was recently discarded?"

"My lords, for decades now, we've periodically searched the perimeter of the Lord of Putrid Silt's territory. We found this brooch on land we had already swept."

The White Dragon Lord asked, "Did you discover anything else?"

"We captured a goblin who trades with demons," the half-elf ranger said, nodding. "From him, we learned the Lord of Putrid Silt hasn't shown himself to his subordinates in a very long time. Currently, the entire city is overseen by his grand steward, the Recorder. He resides in..."

The White Dragon Lord and Mage Alan listened patiently to the rest of his report.

Restricted by the squad's limited strength, the intelligence had its flaws, but it gave the White Dragon Lord a rough understanding of the layout of the Lord of Putrid Silt's fortress: the Temple of Rise and Fall.

The pair set out once more, silently flying out of the adventurer camp and heading straight for the Temple of Rise and Fall.

"Amos, are we sneaking in or fighting our way through?"

"It depends," the White Dragon Lord said after a moment's thought. "If the Lord of Putrid Silt is in the city, we sneak in. If not, we fight our way through and capture those Legendary Demons for some clear answers."

Soon, the Temple of Rise and Fall appeared in their line of sight.

A peculiar pyramid constructed of black rock sat nestled in the wetlands of the Endless Swamp. It was not particularly large; its footprint was roughly the size of the adventurer camp.

But the White Dragon Lord knew the pyramid before them was only a small fraction of the Temple of Rise and Fall. Its main body was buried beneath the swamp.

Legend had it the Temple of Rise and Fall was once the sanctuary of an evil god who had perished long ago. The Lord of Putrid Silt later forcefully took up residence, converting it into his own fortress.

Soul Sight!

A bright light flashed across the White Dragon Lord's eyes. In his vision, the entire world drained into shades of ash and white. He turned his gaze toward the Temple of Rise and Fall, and a series of blood-red souls materialized before him.

"I spot seven Legendary Demons, and not a single High-Tier Legend among them. Let's force our way in—wait! Hold on!"

The White Dragon Lord looked toward the center of the Temple of Rise and Fall. A slender soul lingered there, one that practically radiated a lewd, seductive allure. He recalled the Lord of Putrid Silt's favored consort, the succubus Pink Shroud.

"There's something wrong with Pink Shroud's soul! Not good! She's trying to run!"

The White Dragon Lord charged directly at the Temple of Rise and Fall while Mage Alan rapidly chanted an incantation.

Teleportation Interference!

A transparent ripple spread outward from Mage Alan. It reached Pink Shroud, sweeping over her half-formed Portal. The gateway immediately collapsed, and a flash of despair swept through the enchanting succubus's eyes.

At the same time, the White Dragon Lord used his Divine Artifact, the Authority of Winter, to command Ice Elementals across a thousand miles to converge. They formed two massive frost claws in front of him, which brutally stabbed into the pyramid.

Boom!

With an earth-shattering explosion, the giant frost claws viciously pierced the Temple of Rise and Fall and wrenched it apart. The entire temple was split in two. Many demons were buried by falling rubble before they even realized what was happening.

The bone-chilling breath of the Abomination Rank White Dragon blasted over the scantily clad succubus. His massive eye glared at her with a ferocious light—a single eye larger than her entire body.

The legendary succubus shivered violently, partly from the freezing cold, and partly from absolute terror.

Taking advantage of the White Dragon Lord's focus, the six Legendary Demons inside the temple recovered from their shock and immediately scattered to break through the encirclement.

Amos's Frost Domain!

Fierce frigid air erupted in all directions, coating everything it touched in a layer of frost. Demons below the Legendary Rank were killed instantly. Even the Legendary Demons were heavily affected, the energy within their bodies rapidly depleting as they struggled to push forward through the intense cold.

Since stepping into the Abomination Rank, the chilling energy within the White Dragon Lord's body had undergone a qualitative leap. Coupled with the powerful amplification of his Divine Artifact, the Authority of Winter, his strength layered upon strength, utterly crushing the six great Legendary Demons.

Frost energy condensed around the Legendary Demons, transforming into massive hands of ice that gripped them tightly. They were completely captured. The White Dragon Lord retracted his Frost Field, and the freezing air slowly dissipated.

Up in the sky, Mage Alan witnessed the scene through the clearing icy air. The massive Temple of Rise and Fall looked like an apple that had been snapped in two. The rubble, the swamp, and everything else was covered in frost. Six giant hands of ice held the six Legendary Demons in a death grip, while the legendary succubus trembled under the White Dragon Lord's gaze.

Mage Alan was profoundly shocked. 'Is this... the power of a god?!'

In practically an instant, a demon stronghold guarded by seven great Legendary Demons had been destroyed. From the lowest-level grunts to the legendary commanders, not a single demon managed to escape.

To the White Dragon Lord, dealing with the other six Legendary Demons was merely an afterthought; his true focus was the succubus before him. He stared at her soul with intense curiosity and marvel, for deep within it, he found a wisp of extremely pure Soul Energy. Its structure was identical to the core of his own soul clones.

"Fascinating! Look what we have here! A clone of a powerhouse! Care to tell me where your main body is, little succubus?" The White Dragon Lord paused and corrected himself. "No, wait! I should be addressing you as His Excellency, the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh!"

Hearing the White Dragon Lord call out his true title, the despair in the succubus's eyes grew even heavier. She tried to mobilize the magical energy within her body to self-destruct, but he suppressed her with effortless ease.

"Never mind! I suppose you wouldn't tell the truth anyway. I'll just find the answer myself!"

Soul-Seizing Hand!

A giant, transparent hand of Soul Energy reached out and struck the alluring legendary succubus, ripping the soul right out of her shell. Her body slumped limply to the ground. Her breathing, circulation, and other vital signs remained, but she would never wake up again.

Soul Search!

The White Dragon Lord violently wiped away the consciousness of the succubus's soul and directly read the memories stored within it. His eyes grew brighter and brighter as he came to understand everything.

"My luck really isn't bad at all!" he couldn't help but marvel.

The full context of the situation went back over a thousand years. Mage Alan's intelligence was correct; the ruler of the 71st Layer of the Abyss, the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh, had indeed fallen. However, a fragment of his soul had survived, possessing a demon's body in an attempt to stage a comeback.

A hidden treasure from before his fall was his key to rising once more. But the Lord of Putrid Silt had discovered it. Breaking through the trove's outer defenses, the Lord of Putrid Silt had obtained a series of Arcane Empire artifacts, including the chalice and other items the White Dragon Lord's group had found earlier.

Discovering that his treasure had been seized, the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh was incredibly resentful. However, his newly reborn state left him weak, entirely outmatched by the Lord of Putrid Silt. Thus, he formulated a plan and crafted a succubus clone.

Under his scheming, the clone successfully became the Lord of Putrid Silt's favored consort. She earned his trust and was granted some of the less important items from the Arcane Empire.

The succubus secretly discarded these items around the perimeter of the territory, intending to draw the attention of powerhouses and mire the Lord of Putrid Silt in trouble. This would give the main body an opportunity to slip in and retrieve the treasure while he was bogged down.

But she never expected to attract an Abomination Rank being like the White Dragon Lord. Furthermore, the dragon was highly proficient in Soul Magic and saw through her disguise at a single glance, capturing her before she could even try to escape.

The Lord of the Corrosive Marsh could hardly be blamed for this miscalculation. The older one gets, the more cautious they become; a true god's main body would never lightly leave their Divine Kingdom without a matter of utmost importance, and the same applied to Abomination Rank powerhouses. How could the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh have ever anticipated running into a newly ascended anomaly like the White Dragon Lord, who also happened to be a master of Soul Magic?

"Alan! Let's go! We have something wonderful waiting for us!"

The White Dragon Lord hurriedly sealed the captured Legendary Demons. Bypassing the spoils of war inside the Temple of Rise and Fall entirely, he opened his claw, gesturing for Mage Alan to step into his palm.

Mage Alan grabbed onto one of the massive digits. "Amos? What's going on?"

The White Dragon Lord beat his wings violently, shooting eastward at breakneck speed. "The Lord of Putrid Silt is currently trying to break into the core vault of the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh's treasure trove. We need to get there quickly!" he explained.

As he spoke, the White Dragon Lord relayed the entire context to Mage Alan, leaving the human with no choice but to marvel at their sheer luck.

When the Lord of Putrid Silt had found the treasure trove all those years ago, he had only managed to loot the outer areas before being stopped by magical formations. Worried about damaging the treasures inside the core vault, he hadn't forced his way in, choosing to leave instead.

But the Lord of Putrid Silt had also played it smart. Before leaving, he set up countermeasures in front of the vault; if anyone triggered them, he would instantly be alerted. This was exactly why the reborn Lord of the Corrosive Marsh needed to create a distraction.

A few years ago, after a period of intense cultivation, the Lord of Putrid Silt felt ready to crack the core vault. He set off for the treasure trove alone and had yet to return.

Mage Alan's goal was the Arcane Empire relics, but the White Dragon Lord had an additional target: the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh himself. What could possibly serve as a better sacrifice than a former Abyssal Lord?

Massive dragon wings beat against the air. Propelled by both magic and immense physical strength, the White Dragon Lord carried Mage Alan rapidly across the sky.

The speed of an Abomination Rank powerhouse moving at full throttle was terrifying. In just a few minutes, they traversed nearly half the plane. Maintaining his stealth magic, the White Dragon Lord arrived at the location from the succubus's memories.

The treasure trove was located at the edge of the Rotting Swamp, its entrance hidden beneath the bog. Who would have imagined that this seemingly ordinary mire concealed precious relics of the Arcane Empire?

Beneath the swamp, the White Dragon Lord sensed two powerful demonic auras. One was the Lord of Putrid Silt, situated at the Peak High-Tier Legend stage. The other was the reborn Lord of the Corrosive Marsh, who had barely stepped into the High-Tier Legend rank.

Whether they were harboring a sliver of hope, the treasure was simply too tempting, or they just hadn't expected the White Dragon Lord to arrive so quickly, neither demon had left. The Lord of Putrid Silt was actively trying to breach the vault, while the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh lay hidden in the swamp outside, biding his time.

Concealing their auras, the White Dragon Lord and Mage Alan closed in rapidly.

"Alan, you deal with the Lord of Putrid Silt. I'll come help you as soon as I capture the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh."

"Alright!"

"Move!"

Teleporting, the two instantly appeared in the sky directly above the trove's entrance. The White Dragon Lord dove toward the hidden Lord of the Corrosive Marsh while Mage Alan plunged headlong into the swamp to engage the Lord of Putrid Silt.

Because he had the automatically triggered Forbidden Spell forcefield—the Emperor's Shield—the White Dragon Lord didn't even bother casting any additional defensive spells on himself.

Dimensional Anchor!

Amos's Frost Domain!

Fierce frigid air erupted in all directions, rapidly freezing the liquid in the swamp. The soft mud was instantly transformed into rock-hard permafrost.

Barely having time to react, the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh burst from the ground, splitting into more than a dozen magical clones that fled in every direction. Having only just stepped into the High-Tier Legend rank, he couldn't even defeat the Lord of Putrid Silt, much less the Abomination Rank White Dragon Lord.

Soul Sight!

Magic could craft shells to deceive the eye, but it couldn't conjure souls out of thin air. The White Dragon Lord spotted the blood-red soul at a single glance and chased straight after the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh's true body.

With a single flap of his wings, the fifty-meter-long behemoth crossed hundreds of meters. The shadow of his dragon wings completely swallowed the frantically fleeing demon.

Ice Burst Bomb!

Massive spheres of ice rained down from the sky. With a series of booming explosions, lethal shards blasted in all directions, blowing huge craters into the permafrost below. Stifled by the shockwaves and the flying debris, the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh was forced to slow down.

Magic Beacon!

A bolt of magical energy shot into the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh. The demon's expression drastically changed; this Magic Beacon would lock onto his position, meaning no matter how hard he tried to run, he could never escape the White Dragon Lord's senses.

"You forced my hand!"

Fierce demonic energy erupted from the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh, dyeing the frigid air an ominous blood-red. The White Dragon Lord's gaze turned solemn. The Lord of the Corrosive Marsh had once been an Abyssal Lord rivaling those of Intermediate Divine Power. Even though he had lost the vast majority of his strength upon rebirth, he might still hold some kind of trump card. The dragon had to proceed with caution.

Protection from Malicious Energy: Greater!

Frost Shield: Legendary!

Shield of the Soul Guardian!

The White Dragon Lord layered himself in forcefield defense magic, shield defense magic, and soul defense magic. Combined with the Emperor's Shield from the Authority of Winter, the defenses covering his body couldn't be shattered in a single blow even by an Abomination Rank powerhouse.

The raging demonic energy swiftly reversed its flow, surging back into the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh as he gathered his strength and clenched his fists.

"Die!"

The White Dragon Lord stood in strict defensive formation, fully prepared for the attack—only for the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh to spin on his heel and sprint away.

'Damn it! He actually dared to play me!'

The White Dragon Lord rapidly chanted a spell, maintaining a distance of about five hundred meters from the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh. This distance fell well within his optimal magic range, yet it also left him with plenty of time to react to any incoming attacks.

Seeing that the White Dragon Lord hadn't rushed forward in a furious rage, the Lord of the Corrosive Marsh felt a chill grip his heart. He truly had prepared a strike powerful enough to kill an Abomination Rank powerhouse, but unleashing it would plunge him into a severely weakened state, leaving him utterly at his enemy's mercy. He had to be absolutely certain it would hit before he struck—and the cautious White Dragon Lord simply hadn't given him the chance.

The White Dragon Lord's incantation came to an end, and an icy blue sphere of light coalesced within his maw.