The figure sent flying backward was none other than Gegedor, though now three parallel charred streaks had appeared across its body — clearly wounds inflicted by the Lightning Storm Bear's thunderous claws.
Beside it, Gegel curled into a ball, having been dragged along.
An enormous force manifested in the void once more, almost instantly suppressing the lightning wounds on Gegedor's body.
"Get lost!" A violent burst of spiritual power swept outward, and several garrison members were sent flying. Blood — and even brains — spilled from their eyes and ears.
Drawing upon sacrificial power to suppress one's own injuries was one of the most common techniques employed by ritualists.
"You think you're leaving?" A vicious glint flashed across Governor Iyasi's face. "Summon — Dark Night Eagle!!!"
A tattoo of a massive black eagle suddenly materialized on his forehead, the eagle depicted within so vivid it seemed alive. Once Governor Iyasi gave the command, accompanied by a piercing cry, the black eagle beast soul instantly transformed into a streak of light and soared into midair. Its two enormous wings spread wide, carrying the power to blot out the sky.
"Hm? That beast soul?"
Among the onlookers in the distance, Leilin stood wrapped in an airtight black cloak, only his blue-glowing eyes visible as he watched the battlefield.
"The soul of a fourth-tier Morning Star–level giant beast! It seems this governor is playing for real!"
Leilin understood clearly that Governor Iyasi was at least a fourth-tier powerhouse. The Lightning Storm Bear he had summoned earlier was merely a third-tier beast soul — clearly just toying with Gegedor and the other one.
No! Rather, he hadn't been paying them any attention at all. Instead, he had been directing most of his focus toward the depths of the warehouse — toward whatever existence lurked in that cellar!
Leilin could clearly sense a terrifying bloodline power, one that had been lying dormant deep underground, siphoning away the majority of Governor Iyasi's strength.
"Yiyi!" But even so, the power of a Morning Star–level being was not something that Gegedor, even in its adult form, could resist.
Accompanied by the piercing eagle's cry, the black eagle's wings sliced through the air like blades, demolishing the sacrificial ritual array behind Gegedor.
With the channel of communication severed, no matter how unwilling the Eye of Judgment was, its enormous phantom of a vertical eye could only slowly dissipate.
At this moment, Gegedor slumped to the ground. Without the suppression of supreme power, the accumulated weakness and injuries in its body all erupted at once.
Pale colors spread from its base tentacles upward, reaching its eye socket.
"This temporary empowerment carries quite a few flaws!"
Leilin watched from the sidelines, even taking the time to command his Chip to collect all the data, calmly analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Purgatory World's power system.
"The power granted through the Sacrificial Path has its limitations. No matter how powerful the recipient of the sacrifice might be, the power generated is only temporarily lent out. Once the channel is severed, or the recipient voluntarily reclaims it, the ritualist is suddenly thrust into the most dangerous situation..."
Leilin's eyes flickered. "According to the records, there are indeed methods to obtain permanent power enhancement or attribute improvement, but those typically require great sacrifice and sometimes even the completion of specific tasks — such as performing a blood sacrifice of high-ranking members of hostile factions..."
This Sacrificial Path gave Leilin an extremely primitive impression. It even made him suspect that this power system was simply the original one of the Purgatory World.
"If that's the case..."
Leilin stroked his chin, as though something else had occurred to him. "I'm afraid I'll need to dabble in the Sacrificial Path as well. No — not merely dabble. I'll have to master it in order to carry out my final plan!"
"Yiyi!"
Meanwhile, outside the warehouse, the eagle circled down from midair with the bearing of a victor. Its sharp iron talons crushed Gegedor into fragments.
"Ah! Father..." Gegel screamed, yet could not escape the fate of death.
Watching this pair of Evil Eye tribe members fall one after another, not the slightest ripple crossed Leilin's face. This outcome had come about because he had secretly tipped off the garrison and the governor. But the root cause was Gegedor's attempt to act against Leilin first, so even seeing them reduced to this wretched state, his heart remained perfectly calm.
On the contrary, the reason he had come to the scene in person was to keep control of the situation and sever every last thread of Gegedor's life force. Even if it had managed to escape, Leilin would have struck from behind.
Now, seeing that both had lost all soul fluctuations, Leilin felt slightly more at ease. At the very least, no one would be fixated on him anymore.
At this point, Leilin's attention was entirely drawn to the dark figure still lurking in the shadows.
"That person is clearly Gegedor's superior — extraordinarily powerful, and has been lying in wait the whole time, biding for the perfect moment to strike!"
Leilin glanced around. With Gegedor's fall, the fishmen sailors had lost all will to fight and were kneeling in surrender.
Not far away, at the docking port, the Evil Eye tribe's ships had been completely surrounded and disarmed, while the enormous Gudolik floated on the surface of the water, rolling over to expose its white belly.
"The situation is decided! Or is it? If it were me, this would be the perfect opportunity!"
Leilin's cold eyes fixed on the warehouse.
Boom! At that very moment, the dark figure Leilin had been tracking through his senses finally made its move!
The moment it struck, massive amounts of earth and stone erupted outward, forming marble-sized projectiles in midair that swept across the perimeter in a barrage.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! The earthen projectiles carried tremendous kinetic force, capable of punching straight through steel armor. Garrison members screamed and fell in droves, blood pouring from the holes torn through their bodies.
"Kill!" A black cloak billowed into the air as a white figure, like a phantom, appeared before Governor Iyasi at a speed barely discernible to the naked eye. A hand covered in scales suddenly extended razor-sharp claws.
At this moment, Governor Iyasi's beast soul was still outside — clearly lacking his most powerful layer of protection.
"Mankedas Turtle!" A dark light emerged from Governor Iyasi's chest, and a layer of dark turtle shell materialized instantly before him, shielding him. Mysterious runes adorned its surface, and the entire shell had a dark metallic quality, giving an impression of utter indestructibility.
Beast Soul Masters could not only summon their beast souls to fight but also directly wield a portion of the abilities sealed within their own bodies.
The Mankedas Turtle was a sea beast renowned for its defense, though at most it was only a peak third-tier being. It wasn't that Governor Iyasi didn't want to summon something stronger — he simply didn't have any stronger beast souls!
The Beast Soul Arts served as the mainstream power system of the Purgatory World, and virtually every intelligent race practiced them to some degree. Beast Soul Masters were classified directly by tier, from first-tier all the way to the legendary ninth-tier!
But in the current Purgatory World, even sixth-tier or seventh-tier Beast Soul Masters had become almost mythical.
The conditions for a Beast Soul Master to advance were simple: first, seal a sufficiently powerful beast soul; second, possess enough soul power to dominate the sealed beast soul.
But to advance to a particular tier, one had to subdue a beast soul of at least the same tier.
A seventh-tier Beast Soul Master? That would require subduing the soul of a seventh-tier being of law and sealing it within oneself!
In the Purgatory World, beings of that tier were nothing less than the supreme rulers of each continent — making this an almost impossible feat! Just imagining the scenario of extracting the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' soul and sealing it within his own body made Leilin's skin crawl.
A first-tier Beast Soul Master could command at most a first-tier beast soul. A second-tier Beast Soul Master could command second-tier beast souls. As long as one's strength was sufficient and the soul could bear it, there was no problem sealing oneself full of beast souls.
But it was clear that Governor Iyasi was a newly advanced fourth-tier Beast Soul Master. The strongest thing he had was that fourth-tier Dark Night Eagle beast soul. The first-tier and second-tier ones weren't even worth bringing out — they'd only be embarrassing.
This third-tier Mankedas Turtle was the strongest beast soul he currently carried.
From Leilin's perspective, these Beast Soul Masters bore a strong resemblance to summoners. Although the beast souls they commanded were incredibly powerful, the Beast Soul Master themselves was also a weak point.
"No — or rather, newly advanced Beast Soul Masters were the true weak point! The greatest difference between a Beast Soul Master and a summoner was that a Beast Soul Master could seal beast souls within their own body and even draw upon a portion of their abilities. So as long as enough time passed and enough beast souls were sealed, they could grant themselves tremendous power!"
Leilin stroked his chin. "Furthermore, the beast souls sealed within their bodies could continuously nourish the Beast Soul Master's physique and soul. As long as they hadn't hit a bottleneck, they could keep advancing!"
Crack! The palm covered in white phosphorus delivered a single strike that shattered the turtle shell before Governor Iyasi piece by piece, revealing terrifying power.
At this moment, whether it was the Lightning Storm Bear or the Dark Night Eagle from before, though both were rushing back at full speed, they were still clearly some distance away.
Governor Iyasi's situation had become exceedingly perilous.
However, Leilin watched the scene calmly, with no intention of making a move.
In his view, Governor Iyasi had clearly detected the attacker as well, yet still sent out his strongest Dark Night Eagle — obviously because he had his own plans.
"Die!"
A low, feminine voice issued from the ambusher, and at the same time a phantom of a massive white python suddenly materialized. The bloodline aura it radiated caused Leilin's pupils to contract slightly.