novelraw Chapter 1636 - 1635 - Execution vs Defiance
Chapter 1636 - 1635 - Execution vs Defiance
The camps were chaotic but not unruly. They were quickly packing up all they would need to face such a terrifying enemy.
"Lady, are you sure–?" One of the surviving commanders was sent flying by just a glance from her. Her mood was not just poor, it was subzero.
"I carry direct links to the Soul Lanterns for all my men! Do you think I would mistake them for being snuffed out?!" It was impossible on such a scale, unheard of, but she had seen it.
The links had gone out one after another so quickly it shocked her cold. What kind of power was that?! She still had no idea but the terrifying conflict still made her soul shiver.
That power had shattered her Lance of Annihilation as if it was so much paper! It had torn into the Greater Void as well in the clash which only Master Tier clashes should cause!
Such terrifying effects left her both horrified and angry. Her people had been killed completely which should have been impossible! The Divine Soul Lanterns were not like the pathetic versions for Immortals and below.
Those were glorified tracking artifacts. The Divine Soul Lanterns secured a true piece of the Divine Realm cultivator to recover completely from given time and resources.
What irked her was the brief moment she had seen her enemy. It was a damned dragon! Not only that, but it was only an Apprentice Tier! How had it reached such power when it was supposed to be beneath her?
What Mysteries did it wield?!
She had no answers but her choices remained the same. The odds of some beast laying traps for her people and not be related to her prey was too low to ignore. The princess was somewhere under that dragon's control!
The last shock was when he ascended above the cloud cover. That was flat out impossible to her knowledge but she did not know that much about dragon bloodlines. It was possible he could possess a special bloodline that gave him far more stamina or some connection to overcome the restriction normally in place for all beneath the Master Tier.
She knew where he was going as his energy trace was heading towards the chaos of the Ruined Islands. It meant he had a grasp of their power and knew he was on the losing end.
It gave her confirmation that his strange Art or skill was not all powerful! It had weaknesses once it was known!
The cost of that lesson was too damned high but her people finally got the artifact platforms loaded and they took to the sky. Their prey could not escape so easily!
The loss of personnel was making things a bit thin but they still had plenty of power to spare! Her group consisted of the most Journeyman Tiers sent to make the assaults.
"Lady, there is a strange vessel that briefly appeared above the clouds but it vanished again before we could analyze it with our artifacts." A slim man reported from the left side but she grabbed the cylindrical dark metal item in his hands.
Her aura sunk into it and she saw a flash of a boat like would be seen on the many bodies of water inland in any area yet it was in the sky above the clouds!
That contradicted her assumptions about her foe and it changed the dynamic. It meant they were dealing with a group beyond just the dragon and the princess.
"Launch the seekers, now." Several metallic and crystal objects shot out instantly and light trailed behind until they reached out to each other. A net was made before vanishing.
She sneered.
If they thought hiding above the clouds could save them, they were dead wrong!
While it was restricted, no one would ignore such an obvious place to hide even if it was limited. The ship was unusual in that it seemed to fly with ease yet they could bring it down!
She felt a reaction from a jade stone in her storage ring and she summoned it. It flared with tiny lights and looked up to see spears of light slash upward.
She expected to see the ship appear or hear the shatter of wood, but instead, emerald light flared and an ephemeral dragon appeared!
A roar filled the sky before it slashed downwards and that damned negation happened again! It was as if any Art or skill meant nothing in front of it but a target was revealed! That was all she needed.
Three lances appeared around her like blazing suns but the colors were different. One was bright orange like flames but the other 2 were far more terrifying. One sucked in all light yet licked flames as well. The last fed off the other 2 and became an amalgam of both!
The power made the air ripple and the mercenaries cheered to see it.
""LANCE OF EXECUTION!""
It was a legendary Art that only she had mastered. It was the combination of Life and Death Mysteries into a single composite effect.
Lance of Annihilation was a step down but easier to wield as it was only Daos so many could be used at once but her cold eyes locked onto the ship and used all her power to launch the devastating lance.
It sliced through the air like nothing stood in its way. Drag, gravity, or any force just vanished before it.
It was made for a single purpose. To execute her target without exception!
The lance of light and dark twisted and shattered through all obstacles, even the restriction did nothing to slow it down. She expected the defensive phantom to strike back but a pillar of emerald appeared on the deck.
A massive dragon then appeared in the sky that dwarfed any she had seen in the Western Lament she had worked in.
It was a sinuous body with massive claws and mane. It had 3 horns of differing colors on its forehead with an emerald gem set into the scales.
"Come to your death then, giant snake!" She sneered as she spoke and expected an epic clash of their forces but now his vessel would be exposed to the Great Void or destroyed by her Art!
Instead, she saw a massive staff appear in its claws. It shimmered with the power of Mysteries!
Gold and black shimmered but gray was present on it as well! What was that?!
[SHATTER!] His voice roared in all their minds as emerald light flared on the staff and his scales. The energy flowed into it and even from that distance, she felt the world shift.
The spear that seemed so mighty was suddenly dwindling in power before their very eyes! How?! What was that staff doing?!
Her connection to it suddenly lessened considerably until the very fabric of it tore itself apart. The spear was almost to the hull when it began to fall. The effects of the world were able to touch it once again!
That was impossible! It would mean the dragon could touch on her Mysteries! It would mean a weak Apprentice Tier could exert more influence than her at the Journeyman Tier!
That contradicted all known understanding of the Divine Realm!
Yet, even at such a distance, she confirmed only the Apprentice Tier aura from that damned dragon!
The shock among the mercenaries was clear as the storied history of the Lance of Execution had been undefeated since it was first made by their Lady!
She had become a legend and achieved her Divine title by it! Yet now, they saw her thwarted not once, but twice by a lower realm being!
She ignored their shock and across the distance saw those emerald eyes pierce her but she noticed it. Whatever it took to stop her Art, he could not do it again!
Exhaustion! He was exhausted and she was far from done!
"You will not stop me again!" She swung her arms and 3 lances appeared once more, yet she frowned. Something was wrong!
She almost forced it when her eyes went wide.
[STOP FORWARD MOTION NOW!] The dragon's massive snout opened wide in a smile.
The damned thing was buying time as they slipped into range of the Ruined Islands! Mysteries would not work right there outside a cultivator's body! She dismissed her current attempt and conjured Lances of Annihilation instead but it did not go the way she wanted.
The distortions of the very air and lands scattered her attacks. The Laws and Daos were too twisted for any long distance attack to work. She gave up but she noticed the ship kept going.
It was possible that above the restriction, space was more stable farther in but either way, a stalemate now existed.
They had to leave and the 3 artifact vessels could cover a wide enough range that slipping away was no longer possible.
"Vector 3 in relation to distortions then set up the arrays for maximum range. Anything that is not confirmed from those thrice cursed islands, destroy it!" She did not personally have to kill the princess.
A body was a body no matter how it came into their possession or they confirmed her death.
The dragon had defied her but now it was trapped. She had all the time in the world and began requesting supplies to get to her. She would wait them out until she Faded but the princess would die!