The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex kept his gaze fixed on Rody, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
As a warrior seasoned in countless battles, he knew that Rody's actions were a provocation and a strategy to make him lose his rationality. It was audacious of Rody to engage in psychological tactics and strategic maneuvers right in front of him. Of course, in the heart of the one-armed Sword Emperor Jex, there was also a sense of crisis.
This was the super warrior's intuition, honed through innumerable battles and trials, making crisis awareness his top priority.
No fool could become a Sword Emperor, for they would have been killed by powerful enemies long before reaching maturity.
What secretly alarmed the one-armed Sword Emperor Jex was that a young man without any aura of fighting spirit or magical protection could make him feel the presence of a formidable enemy. To him, people of Rody's age were practically children, but now, the long-absent threat of death resurfaced in his mind. In the eyes of this young man across from him, he saw a killing intent that was no less intense than his own.
Under his oppressive aura, not only did the young man manage to smile easily, but he also kindled a raging killing intent.
Such a young man, if not killed today, would surely become a formidable enemy in the future.
"Do you know what your biggest flaw is? Mental magic has no direct attack power; it's more like a curse, a bewitchment of the mind. It's effective against the weak, but do you think your mental magic will work on a Sword Emperor?" Jex decided to strike at his opponent's morale. If Rody's spirit wavered, he would immediately unsheathe his sword and kill the young man who posed a threat of death.
"Is that so?" Rody coldly snorted, rapidly condensing a golden mental war hammer in his hand and swinging it at the silver-armored general.
The silver-armored general dodged, his sword radiating a fiery aura that soared towards the sky, slashing back at Rody.
Rody's missed golden war hammer suddenly flew back, spinning like a wheel. In the astonished eyes of everyone in the tent, it struck the silver-armored general's back. The moment it broke through the protective magic, the golden mental war hammer transformed into a wildly spinning mental buzz saw, slicing through the silver armor, with blood spraying everywhere.
As the general’s fiery sword wave neared, Rody extended his hand, creating a whirlpool-shaped ripple of spiritual force.
The sword wave, caught in the vortex, spun and shot back at the general's chest even faster. Caught between the mental buzz saw and the sword wave, the silver-armored general screamed in agony, stumbling back, ready to fall, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose.
Ghost Stab disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already behind Rody.
His black dagger silently pierced Rody's back garment, but just as it was about to touch the skin, Ghost Stab felt a stabbing pain in his own back.
That feeling was indescribably strange, as if Ghost Stab was being stabbed by his own hand. He even believed that his agonized expression with mouth agape was identical to the countless enemies who had fallen before him. He couldn't see it, but from the distortion on his face and the disbelief in his heart, Ghost Stab felt that those he had assassinated must have experienced the same shock and fear he was feeling now...
A golden dagger slowly pierced through his chest.
Ghost Stab tried to grasp it, as it seemed so unreal, so unbelievable. The enemy was right in front of him, yet his dagger managed to stealthily attack him from behind.
He had never seen such an attack method in his life, one that was traceless and silent.
Was it real? Even in extreme pain, Ghost Stab harbored a sliver of doubt about whether he was truly being stabbed through the heart. Was this an illusion? He wanted to touch it, to confirm his doubts. But before he could extend his hand, he found himself losing strength. He tried hard to stand upright, wanting to ask Rody a question from the bottom of his heart.
But as he opened his mouth, he saw a long stream of blood gushing out.
Ghost Stab's last sensation was of falling into a pool of blood, at the feet of the young man he had intended to ambush.
At that moment, the world around him started to blur...
"Mental materialization?" The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex observed, appearing calm but feeling a chill in his heart. Even for a mage of the Holy level, it was rare to completely materialize mental energy, which represented a human's pinnacle. If one surpassed this limit of mental materialization, it meant awakening to the power of laws, transcending humanity and becoming a deity.
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Of course, this young man's mental power was only close to materialization, still far from true perfection.
But for his age, reaching a realm that would take a Holy mage hundreds of years was astonishing. The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex resolved to kill this young prodigy, to destroy a talent surpassing his own.
On the path to heaven, he would not allow a more outstanding young genius to grow.
"Let me take care of some small fries for you!" Chris said with a light laugh, "I'm bored and itching for action. How about you hand over these two great mages to me? If you don't mind, I'll also deal with these two women. You know, I'm much better at handling women than you are. General, you look so pale. Don't push yourself, lie down and rest."
"Pfft..." The silver-armored general spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground with a thud.
"I only want this guy, the rest are all yours," Rody kept his eyes fixed on the one-armed Sword Emperor Jex, as if worried he might escape rather than launch a surprise attack.
"Ridiculous, do you think words can defeat me?" the one-armed Sword Emperor sneered, his sword flashing out of its scabbard like lightning, slicing through the air with such speed that the space itself seemed to tear, rapidly slashing across Rody's waist.
"Excellent swordsmanship!" Chris clapped his hands and laughed, "To the two great mages and two beautiful ladies, let's step outside and have some fun!"
"An afterimage…" The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex's gaze turned icy.
The Rody he had sliced at the waist turned into a fading shadow and disappeared. After the sword energy ripped through the tent, Rody reappeared, unarmed, and charged fearlessly at the Sword Emperor.
The Sword Emperor Jex was momentarily taken aback, stepping back as a crescent-shaped halo of sword emperor light spun around him for protection, his sword pointing forward.
Fighting spirit converged to a point, shooting like an arrow towards Rody's heart.
"Too late, soul burning," Rody flicked out an undying divine fire. In the shocked gaze of the Sword Emperor Jex, the arrow of fighting spirit was incinerated, and Rody continued his pursuit.
"So you're a follower of the Fire God!" Even if Jex had a water tank for courage, he wouldn't dare to clash with the undying divine fire.
This was the undying divine fire that burns the soul, something humans simply cannot resist. Now he understood why this young man with a mysterious smile was so arrogant; he possessed a divine fire granted by a deity, no wonder he dared to challenge the Sword Emperor. Unfortunately, he revealed his real strength too early. If he had used this undying divine fire when the battle was at its most exhausting, he might have had a chance to hit him.
But now, that was impossible.
Jex flew out of the tent in a flash of golden light, soaring into the sky.
He was a Sword Emperor, possessing the ability to fly. This was his greatest advantage; no matter how powerful the enemy or what treasures they had, it was impossible to easily hit someone who could freely soar through the sky.
"Kill them all!" Rody and Chris didn't pursue; instead, they cooperatively launched a surprise attack on the two great mages trying to escape.
"Ah…" The minds of the two great mages were overwhelmed, unable to chant their magic, allowing Rody and Chris to strike them down together, screaming as they fell. Rody drew out his man-eating vines, preparing to bind Jex's two female slaves. However, these women were astonishingly capable, not inferior to the Shadow Thief, and highly alert. Seeing the great mages fall, they immediately fled towards their master for protection.
"A bird in the sky can't escape the hunter's net," Rody first transformed the vine into a long spear and threw it, then changed it into a thin rope, weaving it into a huge net that fell from the sky.
Chris, dragging his silver sword, gave chase. As Jex descended from the sky to swiftly rescue with his sword, Chris flicked his hand, tossing a person.
Jex deeply regretted descending for the sake of his two female slaves.
The moment he descended, he felt something was amiss. This was definitely a trap set by the enemy to lure him. If they really wanted to kill the two female slaves, they didn't need to wait until they were halfway in the air to hurriedly throw a net. Moreover, that young man's deliberate speech was a hint, misleading him.
These two young men were incredibly cunning, constantly plotting against him.
Jex kicked his Sword Emperor's halo, using it to rebound and ascend.
At the same time, he saw the young man, propelled by his companion's force, rapidly chasing after him. The hand stretched towards his face held an even larger undying divine fire. This young man didn't possess just a single flame of divine fire; even the act of flicking the divine fire at him earlier was a ruse to numb him, a grand conspiracy to mislead.
Jex, realizing how crafty the young man was, exerted all his strength to dodge the hand.
He broke out in a cold sweat.
That was close, just a hair's breadth away. If his face had been touched by that hand, consumed by the undying divine fire, his life would have been over.
Despite his immense power, Jex felt constrained at every turn, unable to fully exert his abilities. In contrast, due to their strategies and traps, the young men were freely using their abilities and had him in a desperate plight. For the first time, Jex realized that strength wasn't everything. For the first time in his life, he felt the difficulties posed by intelligence.
It turned out that a sharp mind was even more challenging to deal with than great strength.
"The battle is over. You've done well to push me this far. But, you still don't understand what being a Sword Emperor means." Jex gathered all his fighting spirit, his entire being blazing like a radiant sun, illuminating the night sky like a massive meteor.
Sword energy, emanating from Jex's afterimage, sliced the earth into countless pieces.
Finally, the immense sun-like energy crashed down.
The ground where Rody and Chris stood was deeply indented by the sun-like energy blast, forming a huge crater as the dust settled and the earth was revealed. The surrounding trees had long been reduced to fragments in the shockwave, and several corpses caught fire on the ground.
"Absolute power is the absolute guarantee of victory. No matter how clever the strategy, without matching power, it's useless," Jex coldly said.
"I agree." Jex was shocked to hear the voice of that arrogant young man behind him. Not only had he not been blown to pieces, but he had also managed to get behind him. How was this possible? But before Jex could turn around, he saw a pair of hands, each holding an undying divine fire, embracing towards his waist.
"Ah…" Jex exploded all the fighting spirit he had, shattering all his armor and clothing.
He thought the explosion of his unceasing fighting spirit would blow the young man to smithereens. However, the young man was unharmed, his hands ready to encircle Jex's waist. If those hands with the undying divine fire embraced him, then it would be the end of him as a Sword Emperor. Jex's Sword Emperor halo furiously spun around him for protection. But to his horror, it was ineffective. It seemed as if a divine force was protecting the young man's hands, and the world's strongest Sword Emperor halo could not cut through the young man's arms.
In a life-or-death moment, Jex shot up into the sky.
Though a Sword Emperor, he couldn't resist the undying divine fire, nor could he kill someone protected by a deity... At this moment, he only thought of fleeing.
When his only remaining left foot was grasped by Rody's hands, Jex didn't hesitate to sever it from his body with his sword. After escaping several kilometers into the sky, he let out his first wail of pain. Though he knew the other couldn't possibly follow, Jex dared not look back. Apart from feeling utterly humiliated, he also harbored fear towards that arrogant young man...
He was always plotting against him.
Unless he stayed far away from that young man, even his last remaining arm might not be safe.
"One day, I will avenge this humiliation! You wait!" Jex nearly wept. In that moment, he no longer felt like an invincible Sword Emperor or a powerful being, but a pitiful swordsman manipulated by others.
"I can't kill him like this..." Rody, fading away in mid-air, was just a mental projection.
Rody, at the bottom of the deep crater, watched Jex's pathetic escape into the sky, shaking his head with a trace of disappointment in his eyes. He had done his best, but the gap in strength meant that his plan to hunt the Sword Emperor had not succeeded.