Chapter 552
"You usurpers, all of you, get out of here!"
Asmodeus waved his hand, and countless unstable red cubes burst forth in the sky.
In the distance, Maria and Raiden Ei exchanged a glance, and in their silent understanding, they each brandished their long swords.
Crimson and dark purple flashes of light emanated from the blades of two female swordsmen, their martial arts skills reaching their pinnacle, as they unleashed two dazzling crescent moons of light. The sword energy clashed, hurtling towards Asmodeus, who was launching his attack.
"Useless!"
Asmodeus's heart was as cold as ice. The crimson cube multiplied wildly, distorting space and devouring energy, directly meeting the ultimate martial arts sword intent head-on.
Her unique spatial powers devoured the energy within the sword energy, but her body was still pushed backward by the powerful impact.
At the very moment the sword energy completely dissipated, the other three attacked.
An indestructible spear, a fist as heavy as a mountain, and a sword beam as surging as the sea approached Asmodeus's divine body from three directions.
"Bang!!!"
Endless radiance was released high in the sky.
The aftershocks shattered many of the Celestia's armed forces below and completely stunned many demon soldiers who couldn't dodge in time, causing them to fall to the ground like snowflakes.
After the tremor subsided, Asmodeus stood in the void, his snow-white armor bearing some cracks that were rapidly repairing themselves.
However, her eyes were unusually gloomy.
These five individuals are among the strongest in the mortal world over the past ten thousand years. Their rich experience allows them to quickly integrate and continuously unleash even greater combat power in battle.
On the other hand, Asmodeus hadn't fought a full-scale attack in tens of thousands of years. She hadn't fought a real war in far too long. While her foundation was undoubtedly deep, she simply couldn't break through the encirclement of five people in a short time.
'I lost.'
Asmodeus made a calm judgment.
Since the start of the full-scale war, she has been entangled with these traitors, and her own strength and the foundation of Celestia have been wasted in vain, without ever encountering the real enemy.
Below, amidst the mountains, the Dragon's Authority emanating from the Descendant grew ever stronger. Opposite the Scar of Tear of Heaven, the aura of the King of the Abyss became increasingly unfathomable.
The real adversary remained an observer throughout, as if all his efforts were nothing more than a futile struggle.
And indeed, this was the case. Faced with an Outer God that even the Heavenly Principles could not overcome, Asmodeus, even with all the resources of Celestia at stake, still had little chance of victory. Now, however, he was still wasting his energy on the traitor, and a sense of despair washed over him like a tidal wave.
'But I can lose! Teyvat cannot fall!'
Asmodeus ignored the five menacing figures, looked up, and gazed at the infinitely distant horizon.
There must be something wrong with Heavenly Principles, otherwise he wouldn't have been so slow to respond.
But Heavenly Principles must not be dead, otherwise Asmodeus, as Heavenly Principles's shadow, would not have been completely unaware of it.
"There is no other choice. For Teyvat, we must pay any price!"
Asmodeus was attacked with swords, spears, fists, and blades, but she only released the defensive power of her divine body and armor, keeping the five at bay. Her gaze was fixed on the distant horizon, her hands crossed, making a tearing motion.
"Stop her!"
Barbatos, with his keen senses and constant focus on the highest battlefield, was the first to realize something and shouted in the direction of Morax.
Morax naturally noticed the Sustainer's unusual behavior. Although he didn't know what she was planning to do, it was best not to let the enemy accomplish what they intended.
"Don't hold back, destroy her body with all your might!"
Morax gave a warning, and then the five of them simultaneously increased the destructive force of their impact on the Maintainer's defensive perimeter.
For Demon God and dragons, physical form is merely an appearance; their essence is a combination of powerful souls and Elemental Power. The Maintainer likely shares this characteristic; the destruction of her physical form might not kill her, but it would be enough to severely injure her and thwart her plans.
Asmodeus remained undeterred, her gaze fixed on the space where Heavenly Principles was in seclusion, even as her defenses crumbled.
Once torn apart, it might reveal the dying remains of Heavenly Principles, or it might simply be that he needs to be awakened.
But Asmodeus has only one option at the moment. Only by having the Heavenly Principles intervene, with Celestia and the Sustainers accompanying them, can they possibly suppress all factors threatening the safety of Teyvat.
"Uh... I can't break through! Why is it so hard?"
"After all, I am the maintainer. Gentlemen, I have one more blade, but I need only a drop of heart's blood!"
Maria certainly didn't want to see the Sustainers forcibly drag the principles of Heavenly Principles into the battlefield.
Although in theory Heavenly Principles's condition must be terrible, what if he is a powerful person who can forcibly fuse Honkai Energy? The Ancient Dragon Authority of the Descendant Anqi is still in the final integration stage. Even if Heavenly Principles is to intervene, it will have to be after she is fully prepared.
Everyone was taken aback when they heard Maria's words.
The Teyvat don't often use the term "heart's blood," but they understand the meaning—it's likely a considerable burden.
Then they all nodded. Even Kong, who was originally on the opposing side, readily agreed to Maria's request for help. The others below who had heard the words also nodded in agreement.
Maria then withdrew, hundreds and thousands of blood-red threads floating from her body, connecting all the powerful figures present.
Streams of crimson energy converged along the blood lines into Maria's body, transforming into burning blood flames, and scarlet flowers bloomed from her wrists to her arms.
"Hiss~~"
Maria closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and Ling Chankong took a step back, holding the blood blade in both hands, ready to draw and slash.
Her aura had broken through to a level far surpassing that of Demon God, even exceeding that of a sustainer. Her eyes remained closed, but a tear of blood slid down her cheek. The surrounding world suddenly lost its color, transforming into a black and white ink painting world amidst the intense and pure aura of death.
"I wish to mourn for the deceased."
In the inky black world, the open, blood-red eyes became the only color, while at the same time, the dazzling and terrifying light of the blade stole everyone's vision.
The standard Great Void Sword God is in the form of Fu Hua. However, Anqi Faction has many clones, and many powerful clones have their own sword gods in different forms. Maria's move is the same; her supreme state of mind and pure killing intent, amplified by the energy of the gods and dragons, transform into an unstoppable strike.
"Call out!"
The blade slashed through the strong defenses of the maintainer, as if a sharp blade had cut through a thin sheet of paper, and then pierced through her body.
In an instant, the armor shattered, and a straight cut appeared on the maintainer's body, with the radiant glow of dissipating energy overflowing from the wound.
"Liyue's... Salt King..."
Asmodeus touched the knife wound on his chest, and could not help but look at Maria breath was rapidly fading.
Maria returned a weak but polite smile.
Then, both of them fell from the sky.
"The Salt King!"
A strong wind swept by, Barbatos, standing on Dvalin, caught the falling Maria.
Asmodeus, however, faced relentless pursuit from the other four.
But at this critical moment, the one who had diligently maintained order for millennia breathed a sigh of relief and murmured:
"The Heavenly Principles have returned."
The next instant, a terrifying and ominous overwhelming demonic power crashed down from the high heavens.
It is far more massive and profound than the level of Demon God or Sustainer, yet it carries endless madness and killing intent.
"Roar!!!"
The once-creating god, who had persevered for millennia, ultimately succumbed to the Honkai Energy. Now, he has transformed into World-Destroying Demon and descended upon the mortal realm!