Hard Catch

As time went on, Lucio and all the experts of the Lucio Family grew resentful.

I'm not trying to seize power!

I'm only acting in the collective interests of the Eighteen Families!

But by the time the message reached those below,

many members of the Lucio Family had gotten the wrong idea, believing their family was challenging the authority of the Eighteen Families Alliance council.

Especially the authority of the Baldivi Family, the first family.

"Just watch. This reckless mining policy will eventually cost the family alliance dearly!"

That was the complaint of Alfose, a Seven-star Demon Expert.

Of course, he only complained about it within the Lucio Family.

If that old man weren't a High God of the Lucio Family, Alfose wouldn't have said a word.

"No one will interfere with raising Saint Domain humans in captivity, but controlling divine beings on a large scale still carries risks."

The old man said.

The fact that there were risks didn't mean anyone would interfere. There was more to it than that.

Their conversation revealed the intricate power dynamics and tangled interests among the Eighteen Families.

The Purple Crystal Mountain Range was not only a resource-rich region, but also the focal point of the families' struggles.

As Hermes and Bamer ventured deeper into the Mist Sea, the infighting within the Eighteen Families continued in secret.

Everyone was working toward their own goals and interests.

The Purple Crystal Mountain Range, this mysterious region, had become a stage for conflict.

It was all about profit!

"Haha! Purple light soars into the sky. After countless eons, the Purple Crystal Mountain Range is finally undergoing a Mist Sea Riot."

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~!"

From eighteen large castles scattered across different directions of the Purple Crystal Mountain Range, and from countless smaller castles, great numbers of experts dressed in black or purple robes flew out.

They hovered high in the sky, watching the purple light that repeatedly burst out of the Mist Sea.

Each streak of purple light might represent dozens or even hundreds of Purple Crystals—and wealth belonging to the Eighteen Families.

"Rumble~!"

Hermes and Bamer were flying when they suddenly felt an immense force. Both of them plunged straight down from the sky.

"What's going on?"

Hermes's body was like a meteorite, crashing down from high above.

He slammed into the hard, black-red rocky ground.

The impact left a deep crater.

Bamer reacted faster. The instant he felt the extreme gravity, he activated his Elementalization ability.

His body turned into a mass of flames, allowing him to drift lightly out of the way.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~!"

All around them, the upheaval in the Purple Crystal Mountain Range grew more violent.

Countless Purple Crystal Grottos seemed to have been activated, firing out purple light like Gatling guns, an endless barrage.

Every flash of purple light corresponded to a cluster of Purple Crystals. They posed a deadly threat to divine beings caught in the Mist Sea, but to the Eighteen Families, they were wealth.

Endless wealth.

Aside from the few most powerful clan leaders of the Eighteen Families, no one knew that a Sovereign God lived in the Purple Crystal Mountain Range.

They only knew that once every countless eons, the Purple Crystal Mountain Range would erupt with a Mist Sea tide at irregular intervals.

Each eruption was a disaster. For divine beings who had paid Ink Stones to come to the Purple Crystal Mountain Range and mine crystals, it was a disaster.

It was even worse for those who couldn't scrape together even five thousand Ink Stones and had only been allowed in after promising to hand over three Purple Crystals.

They were usually Middle Gods or even Lowgods, poorer and weaker still.

They had no way to withstand the danger.

"Rumble~!"

Another Purple Crystal Grotto erupted on its own, spewing out a cluster of at least several hundred Purple Crystals.

The Purple Crystal Mountain Range, stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles, trembled.

"Mist Shadow Heavy~!"

Before the cluster of purple light could fly up, the extreme gravity pulled it back down to the ground.

"My lord, be careful~!"

Hermes had just used Mist Shadow Space when he charged straight toward the Purple Crystals bursting out of the grotto.

"Whoosh~!"

Another cluster of purple light burst out like a divine dragon surging from the sea. Its momentum was so immense that it seemed to tear space apart.

In fact, cracks had already appeared in the space the Purple Crystals flew through!

Bamer's expression changed in alarm.

"You can't catch that head-on..."

He knew Hermes had a powerful divine body, but he didn't have a clear idea of just how powerful. The fact alone that the Purple Crystals could fly tens of thousands of miles after being blasted out of the grotto showed him—

how terrifying their initial speed was!

And now Hermes wasn't using a High-grade Divine Artifact or any special technique. He was actually trying to catch the freshly erupted Purple Crystals with his bare hands.

Bamer was beside himself.

"My lord is certainly powerful, but he can be rather reckless."

"This time, his divine body is bound to suffer serious damage. Getting injured in a place as dangerous as the Purple Crystal Mountain Range..."

He didn't dare imagine what might happen. At the same time, he prepared himself to risk his life protecting Hermes.

"Clang~!"

The terrifying force struck as though it had hit a mountain, its immense speed coming to a sudden stop.

All the impact force of the Purple Crystals transferred to Hermes.

Hermes had just touched the cluster of Purple Crystals pulled back down from midair when he raised his other hand and blocked the cluster that had suddenly erupted.

The impact knocked him off balance.

But that was all.

"My lord, you..."

Bamer was stunned.

It wasn't as if he had never witnessed Hermes's terrifying physical defense.

But he had never seen the whole extent of it!

During the battle at Blocking Castle, when Bamer had been under Soul Control, his mind had been in disarray. Besides, Hermes had been wearing divine armor.

What was more, Bamer hadn't actually hit Hermes. He had only gained a clear understanding of Hermes's terrifying strength.

He knew Hermes's physical defense was probably powerful too, but just how powerful?

Bamer had no idea!

Now, Purple Crystals that could easily pierce even a High-grade Divine Artifact had been stopped by Hermes's bare hand.

What did that even mean?

"My lord, is his body tougher than a High-grade Divine Artifact?"

Terrifying!

Simply terrifying!

Bamer continued staring blankly at Hermes. "How absurd must the strength amplification be when his body is tougher than a High-grade Divine Artifact?"

He had never seen anything like it.

This wasn't like the defense of a High God achieved through High-grade Divine Artifact armor.

It was an all-around improvement, a perfect six-sided defense with no blind spots.

"About the only weakness my lord still has is his speed..."

With Hermes's Earth Clone standing over three meters tall, anyone could tell he came from a Special Race.

"I've never seen my lord use an Innate Divine Ability, so he can't be a divine beast who cultivated into godhood either."

Hermes had no idea what Bamer was thinking. He was still standing guard beside the grotto that had spewed out the large cluster of Purple Crystals.

"Three hundred and eighty-three! Haha, there really are more Purple Crystals in the fog!"

After catching two clusters of Purple Crystals that had burst out, Hermes tossed them both straight into the Golden Space.

"Rumble~!"

The instant the Purple Crystals entered the Golden Space, all 383 of them turned into a pale-purple mist.

The other matter vanished.

"Is this all some kind of miraculous substance that strengthens the soul?"

The pale-purple mist was formless and intangible. Even with Hermes's control over the Golden Space,

he had no idea what it was.

But Hermes could feel that it strengthened the soul.

It was a kind of intuition.

He even felt that this mist was purer than the Soul Gold Bead.

"Although no one has ever said that the Soul Gold Bead has any negative effects, Hermes still didn't dare refine it carelessly."