Iqimandan's expression shifted slightly. The meaning revealed in Zhang Yu's tone was clear: he had no intention of compromising, but was determined to take him down.
For a moment, he hesitated. It was obvious that he alone could not contend against Celestial Xia. If he surrendered...
But he immediately cut off that thought.
Even if the other side did not kill him and merely imprisoned him, once he entered their territory, there would be no chance of escape. Putting himself in their shoes, he would never allow any enemy capable of threatening him to remain at large.
Moreover, he carried far too many secrets. If Celestial Xia captured him, those secrets would very likely be forcibly exposed. That was also something he did not wish to see.
He raised his golden spear, planted it before him with both hands, and his body suddenly swelled upward. In the span of a single breath, he became a massive grayish-white giant, enormous yet not bloated.
His appearance was now vastly different from before. His facial features looked as though they had been hewn with an axe, while his body was wrapped in a layer of thick, hard skin like horn.
Golden light flickered in his eyes, spilling outward like lightning. One could sense the immense divine power within his body, poised to erupt at any moment. At the same time, the golden spear in his hand transformed into a gigantic lance suited to his current size.
Although the Ipal Gods were few in number, they too were divided into upper and lower ranks. The lowest-ranking Gods possessed no great strength, but upper-ranking ones like him were the backbone of battle, each capable of setting sea and land in turmoil.
Yet unlike those lower-ranking clansmen, he did not maintain such a colossal body at