Heaven-Swallowing Beast

Barn had already gripped the Mist Hidden Spear in his hand. Pale white mist curled around its shaft as he stood ready. With the speed he had gained after becoming a god, he could easily escape alone; the enemies before him would never be able to stop him. The problem was that Blair and Declan were slowed down by Tiebo, whom they carried, and had no chance of getting away.

Fukaloss raised her willow brows, about to threaten them, but her opponent gave her no chance. The Three-eyed Youth in the lead, clad in a Dark Gold Robe, flashed forward. A pair of Ink-black Gauntlets, Divine Artifacts, covered his hands. Wrapped in a surge of savage power, his fists shot straight at Fukaloss's forehead!

"How dare you!"

Fukaloss snapped, and the two chain Divine Artifacts in her hands instantly stretched out, crossing in midair to form a shield that blocked the young man's charge. At the same time, her Death Clone split from her main body. Both palms blazing with green flames, it struck viciously at the youth.

But just then, the vertical eye between the youth's brows snapped open!

A blinding beam of golden light erupted from it, shooting straight at Fukaloss!

Fukaloss's expression changed drastically. Not daring to take any chances, she instantly merged her separated clone back into her main body, turned into a streak of golden light, and retreated at full speed, barely dodging the attack.

At the same time, two more gods arrived. Beaumont's Azure Saber and the Grand Wizard's Black Scythe both radiated an unsettling aura. More than a dozen Sanctuary figures trailed far behind them.

Barn's gaze sharpened, and he charged straight at Beaumont, who wielded the Azure Saber!

As soon as they clashed, Beaumont swung his saber. The blade was imbued with the profound mysteries of the Destruction Law, carrying enough force to split mountains as it came down on Barn!

Mist swirled around the Mist Hidden Spear in Barn's hand. Its tip traced a strange, unpredictable path and struck the side of the saber with perfect precision, knocking the powerful blow off course. Without breaking stride, Barn drove forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, using the force of the collision to barrel straight into Beaumont!

Years of sparring with Fukaloss and Gideon had given Barn a whole new understanding of his physical strength.

As a Tiger-pattern Warrior with a Divine Beast Bloodline, his body had been only as strong as an ordinary Sanctuary Beast's during the Sanctuary stage, slightly weaker than outstanding Sanctuary Beasts like the Earth Violent Bear. But after becoming a god, the dormant Divine Beast Bloodline in his body had been further awakened, and the strength of his true body had surged once more.

Ordinary Sanctuary Beasts, on the other hand, had bloodline talents that peaked at the Sanctuary stage. Even if they were lucky enough to become gods, their physical strength would not improve at all.

With that contrast, Barn's body was now every bit as strong as Gideon's!

In the Supreme Plane, such a physique might have been considered merely impressive. But in Gobada, where powerful beings were few and far between, Barn's body was unquestionably among the best!

That was precisely why Barn dared to fight head-on with his bare body!

Beaumont clearly hadn't expected a human god to use such a savage, bizarre fighting style. Caught off guard, he took a heavy elbow to the chest from Barn. He flew backward as if struck by a boulder—he was an ordinary human god, after all, not a magical beast with terrifying physical defenses.

Just as Barn scored an early victory, a pained wail suddenly rang out nearby.

Barn turned and saw Gideon clutching his head and rolling on the ground in agony. Opposite him, the gaunt Grand Wizard swung his scythe, Death Aura swirling around him. Clearly, he was a god who specialized in the Death Law!

Barn understood at once.

Gideon cultivated Earth Pulse, giving him high physical attack and defense, but soul defense was his greatest weakness. Against a god of the Death Law who specialized in Soul Attacks, he was naturally easy to counter.

"Gideon, I'll take him!"

Barn shouted, turning into a streak of blue light as he rushed to help.

Seeing Barn charge, the Grand Wizard immediately guessed that his opponent was good at defending his soul. He had no intention of attacking where the other was strongest, so he hurriedly turned and fled. But how could his speed compare to that of a Tiger-pattern Warrior?

The Mist Hidden Spear vanished into the white mist, then crashed down at the Grand Wizard with immense force!

The Grand Wizard hastily raised his scythe to block. With a resounding clang, the terrifying force struck like a blow against an iceberg. The old man couldn't withstand it and was smashed straight into the ground, leaving a massive crater.

Barn cultivated the Water Element and the Water Body Technique. Though both were Lesser Profound Mysteries, he had become a god through fusion, so the power of his mysteries alone was in no way inferior to that of a Water Element expert who cultivated a High-level Profound Mystery. With the added boost of the Tiger-pattern Warrior's natural gifts, his actual combat strength was formidable.

His only weakness was that Water Profound Mysteries had relatively poor offensive power. If he had cultivated fire or earth instead, that strike would have been enough to temporarily take the Grand Wizard out of the fight.

"Beaumont, save me!" the Grand Wizard roared in disarray from the crater. Faced with Barn and Gideon together, he couldn't withstand even three blows.

But Barn didn't take the chance to finish him off. His attention was focused entirely on his mind. During the clash of weapons, a cold force of death had slipped through the opening and entered his body. Even after the Town Evil Gale weakened it by twenty percent, the remaining eighty percent became a gray ripple that surged into his mind, striking at his Spear-shaped Soul.

He had dared to face a god who specialized in the Death Law head-on because he had absolute confidence in his defenses.

As things stood, he had become a god through a single element and couldn't draw on the advantage of Fused Divine Power. His Fate Law and Water Law had not fused either, so he couldn't benefit from fused laws. But as a Soul Mutant, he still had one advantage to rely on: his soul!

His mutated soul surpassed an ordinary Lowgod's in both strength and resilience!

In Barn's mind, the light around his Spear-shaped Soul flared. The sickly green Soul Shockwave melted and evaporated like morning dew beneath the blazing sun. In the end, only thirty percent of its power remained when it lightly struck his soul. Barn was dazed for only an instant before he regained his senses completely.

By then, Beaumont had charged back after being knocked away. Gideon swallowed a Soul Gold Bead to nourish his soul, recovering somewhat before immediately taking up his sword to meet Beaumont. With his mastery of Earth Pulse and his powerful body, Gideon excelled at physical defense and Soul Attacks. He was a natural counter to a god like Beaumont, who specialized in physical attacks, and the two were evenly matched.

Seeing this, Barn was about to step in and help. But the Grand Wizard, who had crawled out of the crater, seemed to have gone mad. He forced himself to fly back despite his injuries and swung his scythe, clinging stubbornly to Barn to share the pressure on his companion.

He wasn't worried about Beaumont, of course. His own situation was at stake. If Beaumont died, Azure Fire City would surely suspect him of disloyalty, and he would have to defect again.

But defecting was no easy matter. It was uncertain whether another Royal City would accept him, let alone whether he could escape the joint pursuit of Azure Fire Royal City and Evil Royal City.

As Barn and Gideon fought Beaumont and the Grand Wizard respectively, the battle between Fukaloss and Dylan had already reached its most intense point!

Dylan let out a deafening Lion's Roar, and a Giant Lion Phantom glowing with rainbow light appeared behind him! As the lion opened its enormous jaws, a terrifying suction force swept over the area around Fukaloss. Space seemed to twist into a gigantic funnel. Sand, air, and even the Divine Power fluctuations around the wasteland surged madly into the Heaven-Swallowing Beast's mouth!

Fukaloss's expression changed dramatically. She seemed to recognize this Innate Divine Ability and stopped holding back. Her body transformed in an instant, becoming a golden vertical eye three meters in diameter. A tightly condensed beam of Gray Light shot straight toward Dylan, at the center of the lion phantom!

As Dylan used his Innate Divine Ability, he couldn't move. All he could do was watch the Gray Light enter his body. He gave a pained groan, and the phantom of the Heaven-Swallowing Beast behind him quickly vanished like a bubble.

"It's a Heaven-Swallowing Beast!" Barn blurted out in shock.

With his Innate Divine Ability broken, Dylan knew they could no longer succeed today. He immediately shouted, "Retreat!"

Beaumont and the Grand Wizard, who had been fighting Barn and Gideon, heard the order and didn't dare linger. They unleashed their strongest attacks to force their opponents back, then swiftly retreated behind Dylan.

Watching the three disappear into the distance, Fukaloss breathed a quiet sigh of relief and said gravely, "Don't pursue them. We need to leave here as soon as possible."

The Sanctuary fighters from both sides, who had been watching from afar, relaxed when the battle between the gods ended. They followed their respective leaders as they withdrew. For Sanctuary fighters like them, the outcome of the gods' battle determined whether the ambush succeeded. Being able to avoid a fight was the best possible result.

Barn put away his spear, looked at the two Iron Cypresses behind him that were still intact, then glanced toward where Dylan and the others had vanished, his expression grave.