Such a Masterful Lightning Strike

Dark clouds covered the sky, obscuring the sun.

A raging storm swept across the land, its sharp howling sounding like the lament of a banshee. Houses creaked loudly, the relentless wind blinded everyone, and bats swooped through the sky, shrieking.

The continuous bolts of lightning couldn't even be described as striking; rather, they swept across the ground repeatedly—these beams of lightning resembled tornadoes piercing the heavens and earth, carving furrows into the earth. The buildings were struck by lightning and burst into flames... Yet, even so, not a single villager fled their house in fear.

If it weren't for the fact that the lights were on in the room and there was indeed a human scent, it would have thought that the people had already left.

But... what's going on?

Do they prefer to burn to death in their rooms rather than come out?

Even so, why is Iver so calm? Doesn't he feel any shame or remorse for implicating this ordinary village because of his own actions?

The Punishment Demon hadn't told him much about the village before, and Wolfram wasn't interested in such trivial details.

But now, Wolfram's brows were furrowed.

As the Demon of Punishment Demon continued to guide the lightning, the Giant King suddenly felt a subtle sense of foreboding, as if things were slipping out of his control.

Just then, Ye Zhi, who was fishing by Sapphire Lake, suddenly frowned.

A bolt of lightning struck him, smashing his bucket full of plump salmon and trout over—the iron bucket exploded and was casually slapped aside by Ye Zhi.

He looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, his pupils turning crimson in an instant.

"How annoying, Wolfram..."

His calm and mellow voice, like that of a poet, gradually became rough and deep. "My master said not to cause her any trouble, so I wasn't even planning to come looking for you... Now you can't blame me for this, can you?"

"You're the one who came looking for trouble."

As he spoke, the man, who was as thin as rotten wood, suddenly began to swell.

He was already nearly two meters tall, but now he had grown even taller. His once thick, black hair, which hung down to his shoulders like damp seaweed, had turned into a thick layer of fur.

It was not the withered gray wolf he had transformed into before.

Instead, it was a robust werewolf, over two and a half meters tall, with a slightly hunched back—

He crouched slightly, and then disappeared from the spot.

On the other side, Merlin was walking on the road near the swamp when a rune suddenly lit up on his body.

He vanished from his spot without warning. At the same time, a bolt of lightning struck his location, leaving a deep crater. Then he disappeared again—another bolt of lightning struck the same spot.

"Who is it? Are you crazy?"

Having almost been struck by lightning twice in a row, even the good-tempered Merlin was a little angry.

He didn't even need to analyze it. He could see at a glance that the lightning contained the power of "Sin and Punishment".

This was not a natural lightning strike, but rather Punishment Demon's innate ability.

Unless someone is very young, no one in this world is completely innocent. And these lightning bolts will track down and attack every guilty person—in other words, they will try to wipe out all living people within their range.

Merlin's staff tapped slightly on the ground, and a faint aura appeared around him. The lightning bolts grew denser, yet they avoided him as if they had eyes.

"Really..."

... Interfering in the Material Realm as an apostle, it won't be easy to explain to the boss when I get back.

Merlin narrowed his eyes and murmured softly, touching the holy sword at his waist.

Although he had sworn never to kill with magic again... he was also a swordsman.

But then, he paused slightly, and suddenly a mocking smile appeared on his face.

Feeling the sudden chill in the air around him, Merlin smiled with delight, "Oh dear, how could I forget... Sir Hellerchein is buried here. It's so good that I don't have to lift a finger."

"But since things have come to this point, we still need to move around a bit. Otherwise, we'll really be looked down upon by the younger generation."

Merlin spoke softly, adjusting his monocle.

He lowered his head slightly, his glasses reflecting a white light.

Without incantations, gestures, or materials, a complex Ritual Array suddenly appeared on the ground in front of him. Line after line appeared out of thin air, as if they had "grown" out of the array.

Merlin had no intention of breaking his oath. This magic circle was definitely not meant for killing.

The spell he prepared was something he made up on the spot, so it didn't have a name. Merlin didn't know this spell before, but after deeply understanding the principles of magic, creating something new was a piece of cake for him.

The effect of this spell is very simple.

It has only one simple effect: to prevent people nearby who are trying to teleport, use the Substitute Technique, or regenerate from appearing at their previously set location, and instead make them appear here instead.

"Grand Wizard, is it..."

Merlin's lips curled up slightly, revealing undisguised malice.

Just as Merlin was adding ingredients to the basic spell, black mist rose from beneath the dark clouds.

It looks like black smoke, but you can't feel any heat at all; there's only a bone-chilling cold.

The black mist rose from all directions, covering the entire street.

The fire ignited by the lightning strike was instantly extinguished and swallowed by the black mist. The pale cavalry legion appeared in the air in a distorted form, as if it had grown out of the black mist.

Silver-white armor and Ghost Horse, along with armored skeleton cavalry wielding weapons—

Just like every Night of the Wild Hunt in the past.

But the difference was that today, upon their appearance, they did not engage in their usual revelry and mockery. Instead, they stood in perfectly orderly rows, uttering not a word. A cold and solemn atmosphere enveloped the entire Wild Hunt Legion.

Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning struck! In the dark night of the storm, a hero in black descended from the sky!

A cavalryman, clad in exquisite elven silver armor and wielding a vanguard lance, appeared. Beneath his armor were white skulls. He rode a winged Ghost Pegasus.

Originally, whether it was the silver armor, the spear, or the celestial horse, they should all have been pure white. They were heroes like pure white comets—but now their entire bodies are dyed completely black, and that chilling black smoke is emanating from them.

With a sharp clang, the helmet visor fell off. Two dim yellow lights shone from the helmet's visors, followed by the edges of the Pegasus wings turning dim yellow, like rising smoke. The color gradually changed from pure black to dim yellow.

Immediately afterwards, all the Wild Hunt's white armor was stained a dull yellow.

Like a sandstorm sweeping through the night, or like pure white clouds turning into dark clouds, it possessed a destructive, oppressive force—

The next moment, the Wild Hunt Legion launched their charge in the storm. They even briefly illuminated the sky, turning the dim night into a pure, hazy yellow—a spectacle like an approaching sandstorm or a sudden downpour.

Faced with such power, even the Punishment Demon felt nervous. The moment it saw the Wild Hunt Legion appear, it immediately withdrew the "Thunderstorm" buff to prevent itself from becoming too conspicuous.

It had never experienced a battle of this scale before, and when it sensed something was wrong, it turned tail and ran.

I wonder if His Highness the Prince can attract its attention...

—As expected, the Punishment Demon breathed a sigh of relief when it realized that not a single Wild Hunt was charging towards it.

Great, the plan was a success.

This "thunderstorm" was extremely effective! Even at the cost of such power, it was worthwhile! It was exactly the right thing to do—destroy those buildings to prevent the enemy from hiding, kill all living things to cut off their access to support. It's even possible that we've already severely damaged or killed them!

The Wild Hunt King, drawn out by the storm, was also lured away by Wolfram!

Such a brilliant lightning strike! It blocked the enemy's reinforcements, safely launched a complete and irresistible group attack, used Wolfram to lure away the Wild Hunt King Wild Hunt King, who posed the greatest threat to him, and even killed Wolfram, who was at risk of betraying him at any moment... It was a plan that achieved multiple goals at once!

Ultimately, there can only be one beneficiary! "—The one who obtains the Book of Law can only be me!"

The grotesque demon, covered in matte black scales, resembling a crocodile or a turtle with bat-like black wings, roared and let out a triumphant laugh.