With Bodach's terrifying physique combined with a seventh-level body refined by Rules, just how devastating would the explosive force he generated be?
To put it bluntly, if he collided with the
But right now, Bodach stared in shock to find that Cerulus had both hands clamped tightly around his wings, standing like a boulder battered by a waterfall without retreating a single step!
The scene was as terrifying as a person stopping a full-speed locomotive with their bare hands!
"Heh heh… not much strength behind that. It stung a little!"
Cerulus's cold laughter drifted over, carrying an immense sense of menace.
Immediately after, Bodach felt his body go flying, accompanied by the sounds of snapping bones and tendons, as massive quantities of dragon blood sprayed outward like an ocean.
"Is that so? Then how about this?"
However, riding Bodach's charge, Leilin had by now closed the distance to Cerulus and drove the blood-red longsword in his hand straight into the other's armor.
Clink!
By Leilin's standards, the longsword in his hand wouldn't even compare to a toothpick in Cerulus's eyes — yet that very blade left a red dot on the armor.
Crack! Crack! As if triggered by a chain reaction, black fractures spread outward from the central point, rapidly proliferating until they covered the entire suit of armor.
Rumble! A blaze of blood-red flame erupted with furious intensity, scattering even the blizzard.
Within the dark crimson glow, Cerulus's armor exploded away inch by inch, revealing the body beneath.
"My… armor that I originally used to seal away my overwhelming power!!!"
Cerulus roared. Sensing the mortal danger, Leilin immediately retreated without a moment's hesitation.
BOOM!!!
A aura ten times more terrifying and sinister than before exploded outward. The entire world seemed to freeze in an instant, the Snow of Destruction humming and vibrating — yet even that could do nothing against the colossal figure now standing there.
The enormous tornado dissipated in an instant, extinguishing the Bloodline Flames along with it, revealing Cerulus's form within.
Withered limbs, blackened skin, steeped in an aura of laxity and decay — he looked like a starved humanoid, without a shred of fat, just a layer of skin clinging to bone performing its last connecting function.
Yet from this body even more desiccated than a mummy, there now emanated an aura of absolute terror!
"Calamity! And Decay! These should be the primary Rules he commands!"
Leilin's expression was grave as he withdrew.
In this state, the Calamity Lord was truly displaying the horror of an eighth-level existence!
"No wonder his performance before seemed somewhat off — leaning toward weakness. So he still had another layer of seal?"
Leilin examined his own palm. From just the indirect contact through the Bloodline Sword moments ago, the skin's surface had already developed a layer of aged, dead flesh, utterly devoid of luster or vitality.
The power of Decay, like the most insidious curse, continued spreading alongside the force of Calamity.
"A regular seventh-level existence would find dealing with this kind of infection troublesome enough…" Leilin clenched his fist abruptly. A layer of purplish-red flame surfaced, incinerating the dead skin entirely and giving rise to fresh, smooth, and vital skin from within the flames.
…
"Heh heh… Cerulus is truly furious now! Good — let me see your trump card! Wizard…"
Not far away, a moth dusted with iridescent phosphorescent powder materialized, carrying the will of the Dream Fiend.
"The wrath of an eighth-level Calamity Lord isn't so easily extinguished…"
Endless phosphorescent powder swirled around the area, carrying a specialized Rule force that shielded the moth from the shockwaves of the battle raging ahead.
"Get out of my sight!!!"
But at that very moment, Cerulus's withered red eye glanced in this direction, radiating intense hatred.
"Cerulus… your progress exceeds my expectations…"
The moth transmitted a faint pulse of mental energy, only to be entangled by a wisp of Decay power and crumble into scattered ashes.
The true might of an eighth level — to think it could do this!!!
Within the Dream Fiend's domain, the charming Dream Fiend's avatar — appearing as a young girl — frowned but did not send out any further scouts.
After all, the fury of an existence on the same tier was something even she would struggle to withstand, and a Calamity Lord in a frenzied state in particular — if he merely strolled through her territory, it would leave devastation and casualties everywhere.
If even the Dream Fiend felt this way, the pressure bearing down on Leilin, who faced the eighth-level might head-on, was far greater.
"I've long heard that the evil gods of the Dream World are all exceptionally powerful in combat — that's how they've swept through countless worlds and earned their fearsome reputation…"
Leilin felt the surrounding space seem to congeal, saturated with powers of darkness, calamity, and decay converging in the void, faintly coalescing into a 'path.' A bitter smile surfaced on his face.
"A fully unsealed Dream God and Calamity Lord — their strength would absolutely surpass those supreme beings of the Purgatory World…"
This was Leilin's latest assessment. In particular, a seventh-level Rule existence facing a Calamity Lord could endure at most a limited time before ultimately falling — their True Spirit corroded and destroyed!
"I am the King of Calamity! Master of the power of Decay! All things, upon reaching their end, shall wither before the river of time…"
Cerulus chanted in a withered rasp, his skeletal, horrifying hand reaching out toward Leilin from a distance.
"Decay! Calamity! Terror!"
Several streams of Rule force materialized from thin air, forming a colossal, monstrous claw around Leilin. Within it, faintly, could be heard hymns and chants praising Cerulus.
This was the power of faith harvested from spreading terror. Leilin had no doubt that in the
"Roar…"
Facing the eighth-level offensive, Bodach's roar was pitifully faint. Cerulus hadn't even directed his main attention toward the dragon — a mere residual sweep was enough to grievously wound Bodach once more, his massive dragon body riddled with marks of decay before being flung away to an unknown location.
"Calamity! Decay!"
Within the giant claw, these two of Cerulus's most powerful Rule forces formed a chaotic abyss, ceaselessly grinding away at the Devouring Rule power protecting Leilin's body.
Once this final layer of defense vanished, not only would Leilin perish directly, but even his True Spirit might not manage to escape!
It was evident that Cerulus's hatred for Leilin in this moment actually surpassed his hatred for Bodach.
"As expected — for me to face an eighth-level Wizard on my own, without any other assistance, is simply too much of a stretch…"
Leilin sighed. Through this probing exchange, he now understood that while his strength ranked among the very top of seventh-level Wizards, he still fell short against an eighth-level existence.
"Had I not prepared a trump card, today I would have had to pay a grievous price — injuries so severe they'd be nearly impossible to heal — just to barely escape. Fortunately…"
Leilin touched his forehead. At this moment, the crimson line there had slowly split open, revealing a dark-red vertical eye!!!
…
"Curse it! That feeling again! Overwhelming lethal danger! The sense of a natural predator!!! Who is it? Who can bring a premonition of death to me, a Calamity Lord!!!"
Watching Leilin enveloped within the colossal magical claw, Cerulus showed not a trace of satisfaction on his face. Instead, his gaunt, hideous features twisted with madness.
Today, it was precisely that sensation of being stalked by a nemesis that had driven him to enter his strongest state at any cost. Yet the truth had proven that whether it was that detestable one-eyed dragon or this seventh-level Warlock, they were nothing more than ants before him — differing only in size!
But now, his敏锐 Rule-revibrated with alarm, and the premonition of danger intensified tenfold!!! Signaling the arrival of a terrifying crisis.
"Who is it?!" A piercing roar instantly tore through layer upon layer of void.
BOOM! CRACK!!! As if in answer to his roar, the Rule-formed magical claw exploded violently, revealing Leilin's figure within.
Hummm… The environment, thrown into chaos by the previous battle, began to transform once more. Dense black clouds had gathered in the sky at some unknown point, blotting out the light of the Astral Plane and other worlds, and the Snow of Destruction surged tenfold in an instant!
The entire Dream World seemed to have 'awakened' in this single moment, directing its immense attention toward this location.
"It's the World
Thick, dense black smoke seeped from Cerulus's body, forming an eerie canopy that firmly blocked the Snow of Destruction outside.
The Dream World's Will offered no response whatsoever, as if it were an eternal supreme sovereign, silently observing all that transpired.
The Dream Origin Force, which had been approaching exhaustion, surged and roared — yet instead of answering Cerulus's summons, it flowed toward the figure opposite him.
"Warlock from before!!! It's you!!!"
Cerulus's withered eyes flew wide open as he stared at the figure walking forth from the ocean of Origin Force.
He could never have imagined that the world's Origin Force would favor this Warlock so overwhelmingly — surpassing even that of a Calamity Lord!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Accompanied by thunderous footsteps, the silhouette of a giant slowly emerged, only half a head shorter than the hundred-plus-meter Cerulus.
The figure possessed a perfect physique, every muscle flawlessly sculpted, emanating a jade-like luster. Dark crimson patterns of exquisite complexity covered the entire body like a suit of ornate armor.
Between his handsome eyebrows — identical to the Warlock from before — a blood-red vertical eye had opened wide, carrying an aura of merciless cold resolve!
Most importantly, the vast ocean of Dream Origin Force churned and roared around Leilin, submitted entirely to his casual command, utterly docile.