"Since that's the case, I'll leave it to you, Butler Hobbs. Let me get ready, and then I'll go meet Ren." Electra gathered his thoughts and spoke in an even tone.
"Then I'll trouble you with this, Mr. Electra. I'll return to report to the Prefect." After a brief greeting, Hobbs left the manor and flew toward Tamojin Lake to report back.
"Electra really is a strange fellow." After leaving the city, Hobbs couldn't help muttering to himself.
Having lived in Hell for many years, Hobbs considered himself well-traveled. He'd heard that after countless years, many powerful beings developed all sorts of peculiar hobbies. Some liked playing chess, while others enjoyed fishing.
But hobbies like Electra's were exceedingly rare. Hobbs had only ever met one person like him. Even his disciple Salomon managed to keep smiling so brightly in such an environment, which left Hobbs feeling puzzled.
At the Battlefield, Ren had once again defeated his opponent in a single move, winning by an overwhelming margin. He then looked toward the announcer, whose face was alight with excitement.
"Everyone, Ren has won fifty-nine matches in a row! If he wins this one, he'll reach sixty consecutive victories. And next, he'll face a special opponent. He is..."
The announcer paused deliberately, then continued once every eye had turned toward him:
"He is the mighty warrior who once achieved a Hundred-Battle Victory, the Prefect's strongest subordinate—the Nirvana Demon, Electra!"
When the announcer's voice rang out, the entire arena fell silent for a few seconds before erupting into even more thunderous cheers, as if they would drown out the Battlefield itself.
"Electra, huh? He's finally here." A flash of brilliance passed through Ren's eyes as he looked toward the passage opposite him. His expression grew a little more serious.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Slow, steady footsteps gradually approached. A gaunt old man in a gray robe emerged, walking unhurriedly, one step at a time. As Electra stepped onto the Battle Arena, the once-raucous stands fell utterly silent. Everyone stared fixedly at the fighting platform, afraid they might miss a moment of the coming clash.
The old man wore a gray robe. His eyebrows drooped below his eyes, and his long hair hung loose. A chilling light shone from his eyes: one was gray-white, the other blood-red. He looked utterly bizarre.
"Young man, you must be Ren. To become a Seven-Star Demon at such a young age—your talent is quite good. Make the first move. Let me see what you can do. If you impress me, you might qualify to become one of the Prefect's subordinates."
Electra looked Ren straight in the eye and spoke in an even tone, as if it were only natural. He didn't take Ren seriously in the slightest.
Ren raised an eyebrow, displeased. "Oh? Become the Prefect's subordinate? And you think you can make that happen? I'm sorry, but I came here to challenge the Prefect."
Their voices weren't loud, but the entire Battlefield was silent, so everyone heard them clearly.
"Boom!" The entire Battlefield erupted. Nearly everyone sucked in a sharp breath.
Challenge the Prefect!
Those four simple words hadn't been heard in who knew how many years. To most ordinary gods, a Prefect represented invincibility—the pinnacle of godhood. Aside from the legendary, mighty Overgods, Prefects were the most powerful beings alive.
There were only 108 Prefects in Hell. The Prefect of Liang'an Prefecture was a veteran Asura who had existed for countless years. Whether it was the powerful Nirvana Demon Electra or Boyd, whose family was spread throughout Liang'an Prefecture, both had to bow their heads before the Prefect.
And today, someone had declared that he would challenge the Prefect. How could that not excite everyone? The battle before them hadn't yet been decided, and Ren wasn't qualified to challenge the Prefect just yet, but some were already imagining the spectacle if he won—and what a battle against the Prefect would look like.
"Hm? Challenge the Prefect? You've got quite the nerve, boy!" Hearing Ren's "brazen words," Electra abruptly lifted his head. His drooping brows shot upward, and a hazy gray mist began to rise around his body.
"I was going to give you a chance to serve the Prefect. Since you don't know your place and are looking for death, I'll take care of you on the Prefect's behalf!"
Gray mist enveloped Electra. His gaunt figure suddenly blurred, as if he had merged with the mist.
"Vooom—"
The gray mist abruptly spread out, then condensed into a single point, transforming into a pitch-black giant serpent a hundred meters long. Its blood-red eyes gleamed with a savage light as it lunged toward Ren at blinding speed, jaws wide open.
"Boom!"
Blue light flashed in Ren's eyes. He planted his feet firmly on the platform, and white mist spread outward from him, swiftly forming a sphere ten meters across around his body.
"Ice Point—Break!"
Ren shot forward to meet the giant black serpent's attack. The white sphere around him gathered over his right hand, then transformed into a blue sword-shaped projection a hundred meters long.
As the sword projection appeared, the surrounding space seemed to freeze. Faint cracking sounds rang out, and razor-sharp sword energy swirled around the blade.
"Boom!"
The blue blade sliced through the air and cleaved down through the giant black serpent's head. In an instant, the serpent's head was severed without the slightest resistance, dissolving into gray Divine Power.
In midair, after deflecting Electra's attack, the sword projection had lost much of its energy and shrunk to less than half its original size. Yet the remaining blue blade didn't stop. It continued its downward arc, slashing toward Electra.
"What? How is that possible?" Electra's expression changed at once. With a flip of his hand, a black whip appeared.
Electra gripped it with both hands and swung it rapidly, setting it spinning. More than a dozen black ribbons appeared wrapped around the once-pitch-black whip. Then the ribbons seemed to melt together, forming a wall of energy in front of him.
"Boom!"
After the fierce collision, the blue sword projection vanished, and the black energy wall shattered. Electra stood where he was, his expression dark as he fixed his gaze on Ren.
"Looks like I underestimated you." Electra spoke slowly. There was no trace of disdain in his voice now; instead, it carried a note of gravity.
Without waiting for Ren to reply, Electra took a deep breath. Then he moved, transforming into thousands of phantoms that circled the entire platform. In an instant, Electra's figure could be seen everywhere.
"To show you the respect you deserve, I'll kill you with my strongest attack!"
His icy voice rang in Ren's mind. At the same time, gray Divine Power erupted, and the bodies of Electra's many clones began to radiate hazy gray energy.
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