The Strongest

Even leaving scorched marks on the ground!

And Ifrit, who took the full brunt of this fierce attack, instantly had half its body vaporized!

'Four more left!'

Li Ye's eyes sharpened as he swept his gaze over the remaining Ifrits attempting to continue their assault.

"!"

A chill ran down Li Ye's spine, and he instantly pulled back. The next moment, he saw a brilliant beam of light sweep across where he had just been, leaving a scorched gash!

'Is this the work of King Ozymandias!'

Li Ye's expression tensed. From the direction of the beam, he quickly deduced that Ozymandias was the source of the attack!

Almost by instinct, Li Ye turned his head slightly towards Ozymandias.

He saw King Ozymandias standing still, holding a crooked staff. Their gazes met, and Ozymandias then swung the crooked staff.

The air was instantly torn apart, and light from the void was born, arriving in an instant!

But Li Ye was even faster!

Bang!

Using the momentum from dodging the beam, Li Ye closed the distance between himself and the Ifrits.

He swung his butcher knife down again!

Directly cleaving an Ifrit in two on the spot!

"Eeeek!!"

With the successive deaths of Ifrits, the remaining three could only let out mournful cries.

"You can dodge that!"

Ozymandias's voice, filled with admiration, arrived before Li Ye along with five beams of light from different directions.

An unavoidable attack that sealed off all escape routes!

Screech!!

The sword edge, wreathed in magic power, clashed head-on with the several beams of light!

The wind pressure generated by the collision caused the surrounding atmosphere to collapse like a roaring tide towards Li Ye, until it exploded!

"Then how about this move?"

Giving Li Ye no time to breathe, a colossal surge of magic power that appeared in an instant made Li Ye whip around—

He saw a gigantic Sphinx silently materialize behind Ozymandias. This one was different from the Sphinx Li Ye had seen in the desert.

This one wasn't just superior in size; its face, like a starry sky, made Li Ye's eyes widen.

'What the hell—'

A brilliant blue radiance erupted, unlike the small beams from before.

What was blasting directly at Li Ye was an ocean of light!

By the time Li Ye could barely react, the attack was already upon him!

No escape!

Boom!!

A violent explosion occurred within the temple.

After the explosion.

Li Ye was still standing stubbornly in place.

'Tch.'

His upper body armor was completely destroyed, and Li Ye emotionlessly let the blood stream down his cheeks.

He looked at the Ifrits watching him with predatory eyes.

Crimson magic power erupted suddenly!

The Dragon Blood revived, and the Red Dragon's might, which surged abruptly, sent the remaining Ifrits into a panic.

As Fire Spirits, they understood the terror of this Red Dragon's might even better.

"Oh? The power of Dragon Blood..."

Ozymandias stood with arms crossed, unmoving, completely ignoring the terrifying dragon's might.

Li Ye silently lowered his stance, his cold gaze sweeping over the three Ifrits and Ozymandias.

"Thunderclap—"

"Eeeeeeek!!"

The Ifrits shrieked and charged forward, attempting to alleviate their fear by attacking Li Ye.

"—Flash!"

Li Ye's figure vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving spiderweb-like cracks radiating outwards.

A crimson crescent moon flashed by.

Then, the sound of an explosion drowned out the wails of the Ifrits.

BOOM!!

A corner of the temple was smashed to pieces, but almost simultaneously—

Crimson Lightning surged out again!

"Second Strike!"

The target—Ozymandias!

"The target is me!"

Ozymandias finally moved. With a wave of his crooked staff, dazzling rings of light spread across the temple floor and erupted together!

Instantly engulfing the Crimson Lightning!

But it was useless!

The Crimson Lightning remained, pressing forward!

"Hahahaha!"

"I acknowledge your valor, for successfully getting me to move. Celebrate this, Knight of the Lion King."

As Ozymandias laughed heartily.

The air instantly froze, and a mana fluctuation that Li Ye couldn't describe permeated from Ozymandias's body.

The temple also responded to the awakening of the God King.

In an instant, the radiance intensified greatly!

Li Ye, who should have pressed forward relentlessly, felt an overwhelming, immense force erupting beside him, forcefully interrupting his momentum!

It was a beam of light that Li Ye was very familiar with.

Although it was a pure white beam, similar to the previous one, the magic power it contained was worlds apart!

BOOM!!

An attack far surpassing any before, Li Ye was sent flying backward directly.

CRASH!

Li Ye's feet sank into the ground, and the gravel surged and splashed like waves.

He slid for dozens of meters, almost leaving the temple grounds, before Li Ye finally stopped himself.

'Is this Ozymandias's true strength?!'

Li Ye, barely steadying himself, breathed heavily. He looked at Ozymandias's calm expression and dared not think further.

He was afraid that if he let his guard down, he would be crushed by that omnipresent mana!

Yes, even Ozymandias's mana fluctuations put immense pressure on Li Ye, forcing him to exert twenty parts of his focus to resist!

'But it's not over yet!'

Li Ye's expression grew colder, his pale gold vertical pupils fixed on Ozymandias's figure.

This battle couldn't end here; he had to gain Ozymandias's recognition.

Otherwise, his life was uncertain.

CRACKLE—

Crimson mana contracted, filling every inch of his flesh.

Abandoning external defenses, he exchanged it all for one ultimate burst of speed and power!

In the silence, Crimson Lightning arose again.

The strong wind stirred when Li Ye disappeared, like a raging storm, ravaging the temple!

The distance of tens of meters was covered in an instant.

The sword edge was three inches from Ozymandias—

He could not advance any further.

Li Ye's entire body was flushed red, his chest heaving unevenly, beams of light like chains binding his limbs.

It was an immature technique to begin with, and the Thunderclap Flash used three times in succession, combined with the inertial force he forcefully endured during the transition, had pushed Li Ye's body to its limit!

"As expected of the Lion King's Knight. To be called a Knight of the Round Table, you naturally possess inhuman valor."

Ozymandias saw that Li Ye was unable to fight further and decisively withdrew his hand.

He turned and ascended the throne.

Seeing Ozymandias leave, Li Ye's mana fluctuations receded like a tide.

He immediately exhaled a breath of turbid air, gasping for breath.

"Hahaha, interesting. Knight of the Lion King, state your name. I intend to hear your boastful words."

Ozymandias, having returned to his throne, snapped his fingers. The temple, damaged during the battle, instantly restored itself as if no fight had ever occurred.

The gap between me and a top-tier Servant is truly immense.

Li Ye, still shaken, swallowed and responded loudly, "I am Li Ye, a Knight of the Round Table, a knight from a foreign land who lives under the Lion King's radiance. Great Pharaoh, for the salvation of humanity, I therefore wish to compare."

"Li Ye, is it? Setting aside your rebellious knight's actions, while you've shown a certain bravery, on what grounds do you dare to compare yourself to me, a King?"

"Because I am a person who lives in the present. Whether it's the Lion King who became a Divine Spirit, or King Ozymandias appearing as a Heroic Spirit, we are ultimately different. The King's decisions are beyond my comprehension, so I wish to see the Sun King's decision."

For the first time, Li Ye looked directly into Ozymandias's eyes.

Almost simultaneously, a hearty laugh echoed from the throne. "Hahahahaha, are you serious!"

Even as a noble Pharaoh, Ozymandias couldn't help but laugh. "First you question your own King, and now you question me. Is this so-called comparison meant to prove your own correctness! What an arrogant, rebellious knight!"

"Amusing, most amusing. Then I shall permit your insolence and acknowledge your arrogance!"

So spoke the strongest Pharaoh.