It even left scorched trails across the ground!
Ifrit, who took the ferocious blow head-on, instantly had half her body vaporized!
There are four left!
Li Ye's gaze sharpened as he swept his eyes over the remaining Ifrits still trying to attack him.
"!"
A chill ran down Li Ye's spine, and he instantly pulled back. The next moment, he saw a brilliant beam sweep through where he had just stood, leaving behind a charred ravine!
King Ozymandias's doing?!
Li Ye's expression darkened slightly. From the beam's direction, he immediately determined that Ozymandias had launched the attack!
Almost instinctively, Li Ye turned his head slightly toward Ozymandias.
King Ozymandias stood motionless, holding a hooked scepter. His gaze met Li Ye's, and then he swung the hooked staff.
The air was instantly torn apart, and heavenly light emerged from the void, 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 brought down his blade once more!
He cleaved an Ifrit in two where she stood!
"Eeeek!!"
With Ifrits dying one after another, the remaining three could not help letting out mournful cries.
"You can dodge that, huh!"
Ozymandias's approving words arrived alongside five beams from different directions.
A guaranteed attack that sealed off every route of escape!
Screech!!
The magic-infused blade collided head-on with those beams!
The wind pressure generated by the collision made the surrounding air collapse toward Li Ye like crashing waves before exploding!
"Then what about this?"
Without giving Li Ye a moment to catch his breath, an enormous surge of magic appeared in an instant, making him whirl around—
Behind Ozymandias, an incomparably massive Sphinx silently emerged, different from the one Li Ye had seen in the desert before.
It was not merely an overwhelming victory in size; its face, like a star-filled sky, made Li Ye's eyes widen.
Damn it—
Azure radiance bloomed, unlike the thin beams from before.
What burst forth at Li Ye head-on was an ocean of light!
By the time Li Ye barely reacted, the attack was already before him!
There was nowhere to evade!
Boom!!
A violent explosion erupted within the temple.
After the explosion.
Li Ye still stood firmly where he was.
Tch.
The armor on his upper body had been completely destroyed, yet Li Ye expressionlessly let blood run down his cheek.
He stared at the watchful Ifrits.
Crimson magic suddenly erupted!
Dragon Blood awakened. The suddenly rising might of the Red Dragon instantly threw the remaining Ifrits into panic.
As Fire Spirits, they understood even better how terrifying that Red Dragon's might was.
"Oh? The power of Dragon Blood has tainted you—"
Ozymandias stood with his arms crossed, utterly unmoved and completely ignoring the frightening Dragon's Might.
Li Ye silently lowered his body, his cold gaze sweeping over the three Ifrits and Ozymandias.
"Thunderclap—"
"Eeeek!!"
The Ifrits screamed as they rushed forward, trying to ease their fear by attacking Li Ye.
"Flash!"
Li Ye's figure instantly vanished from where he stood, leaving spiderweb-like cracks radiating outward.
A crimson crescent flashed past.
Then the roar of an explosion drowned out the Ifrits' wails.
Boom!!
One corner of the temple was smashed to pieces, but almost at the same moment—
Crimson Lightning burst out again!
"Second Strike!"
Its target—Ozymandias!
"Am I the target?!"
Ozymandias finally moved. With a sweep of his hooked scepter, dazzling rings of light spread across the temple floor and erupted all at once!
They instantly swallowed Crimson Lightning!
But it was useless!
Crimson Lightning remained, charging ever onward!
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"I acknowledge your valor. You have succeeded in making me stretch my limbs a little. Celebrate this, Knight of the Lion King."
As Ozymandias laughed aloud.
The atmosphere instantly froze, and an indescribable wave of magic spread from Ozymandias's body.
The temple, too, responded to the awakening God-King.
In an instant, radiant light flourished!
Li Ye, who should have been advancing without pause, felt an overwhelming force suddenly erupt at his side, forcibly interrupting his charge!
It was a beam Li Ye knew well.
Though it was a pure white beam little different from the previous ones, the magic it contained now was worlds apart!
Boom!!
Far more powerful than any previous attack, it sent Li Ye flying backward.
Crash, crash!
Li Ye's feet sank into the ground as shattered stones surged and scattered like waves.
He slid for dozens of meters, only barely stopping when he was nearly beyond the temple grounds.
So this is King Ozymandias's true strength?!
Li Ye barely steadied himself, breathing heavily. Seeing Ozymandias's calm expression, he dared not let his mind wander.
He feared that the moment he relaxed, the omnipresent magic would crush him!
Yes, even Ozymandias's magical fluctuations placed immense pressure on Li Ye, forcing him to devote every ounce of focus to resisting them!
But it isn't over yet!
Li Ye's expression grew ever colder, his icy pale-gold vertical pupils fixed firmly upon Ozymandias.
This battle could not end here. He had to gain Ozymandias's recognition.
Otherwise, his life and death would be uncertain.
Crackle—
The crimson magic contracted, filling every inch of his body.
He abandoned all external protection, exchanging it all for the fastest and strongest burst of power!
Silently, Crimson Lightning rose again.
The gale kicked up when Li Ye vanished was like raging waves, ravaging the temple!
Dozens of meters vanished in an instant.
The blade was only three inches from Ozymandias—
It could go no farther.
Li Ye's entire body was flushed red, his chest rising and falling unevenly. Beams of light bound his limbs like chains.
It had been an immature technique to begin with. After unleashing Thunderclap Strike three times in succession, combined with the inertia he had forcibly endured during the transitions, Li Ye's body had reached its limit!
"Worthy of being the Lion King's knight. To be hailed as one of the Knights of the Round Table, you naturally possess non-human valor."
Seeing that Li Ye could no longer fight, Ozymandias decisively withdrew his hand.
He turned and ascended the jade throne.
As Ozymandias departed, the magical fluctuations around Li Ye receded like a tide.
He immediately let out a breath of turbid air and began panting heavily.
"Ha ha ha, interesting. Knight of the Lion King, state your name. I intend to hear your wild words."
Back on the jade throne, Ozymandias snapped his fingers. The temple damaged in battle instantly returned to normal, as though no fight had ever taken place.
The gap between me and a top-tier Servant really is enormous.
Still shaken, Li Ye swallowed and answered loudly, "I am Li Ye of the Knights of the Round Table, a Foreign Knight who survived beneath the Lion King's radiance.
Great Pharaoh, for the salvation of humanity, I have come to compare myself against you."
"Li Ye, is it? Setting aside the conduct of you Rebel Knight, although you have shown a certain degree of valor, where does your confidence come from, to compare yourself with me, a king?"
"Because I am a Person of the Present. Whether it is the Lion King who became a god, or King Ozymandias who manifested in this world as a Heroic Spirit, we are ultimately different.
I cannot understand a king's decisions, so I wish to see the Sun King's decision."
For the first time, Li Ye looked directly into Ozymandias's eyes.
Almost at the same time, hearty laughter rang out from the jade throne. "Ha ha ha ha! Are you serious?!"
Even as the exalted Pharaoh, Ozymandias could not help laughing. "First you question your own king, and now you question me. Is this so-called comparison meant to prove that you are right?! What an arrogant Rebel Knight!"
"Interesting, very interesting. Then I shall permit your insolence and acknowledge your arrogance!"
Thus spoke the strongest Pharaoh.