Chapter 396: One Punch Against a God

[Cassian Vale]

[Level: 95]

[Physique: 2,100,000]

Two million one hundred thousand Physique.

That was the strength running through Cassian’s body now.

Even with Life Water, Seraphine only dared to open the Third Star of Seven-Star Release. He had opened the Fourth. His version of the skill was also Legendary, obtained by exchanging her gift for the complete book, and its enhancement was greater.

Add the two hundred billion Aether he had burned through Dragon’s Blessing, and his temporary Physique far exceeded Nine’s or even Lysette’s. For these few moments, he could stand beside a Crystal Princess in her merged form.

Across the Homeworld, the silence finally broke.

"He stopped it!"

Tears streamed down Nessa’s face. She wiped at them, only for more to spill out.

"He really stopped it!"

She could not have explained why she was still crying. Cassian was alive. He was standing right there without a scratch. The tears would not stop anyway.

Darian and the others were just as excited. After the first rush of relief, however, Elara’s expression grew troubled.

"Did he place life imprints on Nine and the others beforehand? If he didn’t..."

Their hearts sank.

They had been so relieved to see Cassian alive that, for a moment, they had forgotten the troops who had shielded him.

They knew his forces possessed a skill that could mark someone for restoration. But such skills had severe limits. Only a limited number of units could be chosen, and the marks had to be placed in advance. Surely he would have given priority to the Heroes fighting at the front, rather than Nine guarding him at the rear.

Losing her and the Praetorians would be a terrible blow, even without counting what those women meant to him.

——

In Highcrest, the three rulers let out quiet breaths and settled back into their seats.

"That boy really is..."

For once, the Valcrest founder could not find the words.

The Caerwyn Sovereign was frowning. Regret had begun to creep in.

He had sent a group of his House’s most promising young women to Divine Province. Then, after learning that Cassian intended to challenge Fivefold Heaven, he had recalled many of them. Every one was valuable to the family. Through marriage, each could have secured a connection to another powerful House.

But the strength Cassian had revealed today, and the promise it held for his future, had more than doubled his value in their eyes.

Had he withdrawn them too soon?

——

The Black Banner, Western Beacon, and Jade Court reacted very differently. Some of their Lords seemed unable to accept what they had seen.

"His troops must have absorbed ninety-nine percent of the divine judgment! He only survived by luck!"

"Exactly! That attack was terrifying, but his Dragon was a genuine Mythic!"

"He may have lived, but he lost a Mythic Dragon. That’s worth celebrating!"

Those with any sense felt no desire to celebrate.

The young Lord from House Keldrath was among them.

As a divine servant of Slaughter, he understood how much power had just been wasted. Spent on strengthening the army, it could have increased the attributes of every troop by more than ten percent.

Fortunately, they had sacrificed the blood and vitality of two billion fallen. Some power remained. It might not be enough for another divine judgment, but a blessing was still possible.

"I must ask the great Lord of Slaughter to—"

"Look! What’s Cassian doing?"

The shout cut through his thoughts.

He looked up.

An enormous golden fist had formed in front of Cassian. It looked solid enough to touch. Even the fine lines across its knuckles were clear.

"He means to... Has he gone mad?"

The young servant’s voice rose sharply.

He had been taught devotion to the Slaughter Lord since childhood. The thought that anyone might dare strike his god was almost beyond his understanding.

More and more people noticed the fist. The relief of a moment earlier vanished, replaced by fresh tension.

Even Edran gave a rare, helpless smile.

"He really will dare anything. The Spirit Realm’s seven Evil Gods are all greater deities. In terms of Quality, that puts them somewhere between Mythic Ten-Star and Twelve-Star. Even an avatar like this could have the strength of a Three-Star or Four-Star Mythic."

His smile faded a little.

"The Realm restrains them from acting freely. That doesn’t make angering one a small matter."

Cassian’s voice rang out.

"Origin Fist!"

The golden fist shot upward.

It was slower than the divine beam, but only a few seconds separated Cassian from his target. The condensed power roared toward the vast red eye.

"Insolent mortal! You dare strike the great Lord of Slaughter?"

The eye twisted in fury. Blood energy surged in front of it, forming barrier after barrier.

The fist broke the first.

Then the second.

One after another, the defenses burst like bubbles. They stripped away half the attack’s power, but the remaining half drove straight into the vertical pupil.

The eye ruptured.

A torrent of condensed energy sprayed outward, as if a bomb had exploded beneath the surface of a lake. The structure holding the avatar together had been shattered. Its enormous outline wavered and began to collapse.

"I know your aura now."

The Slaughter Lord’s voice rolled out of the breaking vortex.

"One day, you will crawl at my feet and beg forgiveness for what you have done."

Below it, the young Keldrath Lord exploded into blood mist.

Nothing remained of his body.

The Slaughter Lord could not simply will an arbitrary creature in the main world to death. Even a Level-1 Militiaman lay beyond that kind of casual reach. His own believers were another matter, especially those who had become his divine servants.

The young Lord had paid for his god’s anger.

The Homeworld fell silent again.

Cassian had survived divine judgment. Then he had answered with a punch and destroyed the god’s avatar.

Whatever his enemies wanted to believe, there was no mistaking the strength behind that blow. His own power had kept him alive.

Nessa seized the moment.

"Who was saying Cassian only survived by luck?" she demanded.

No one answered.

Across the entire Homeworld Channel, not one of those voices dared reply. Nessa enjoyed every second of it.

Then Cassian’s presence weakened sharply.

The light faded from his exposed skin. In its place came an ashen gray, and his vitality dwindled until it seemed ready to go out altogether.

"Seven-Star Release!" Seraphine shouted. "It’s the backlash! Get him Life Water!"

His body began to sink.

Arms closed around him from behind before he could fall. Rhea held him securely, her voice tight with concern.

"My lord, did you have to push yourself that hard?"

"I’m all right. I wanted to be certain."

Cassian’s gaze remained calm. He had expected this.

He took out several bottles of Life Essence and drank them in quick succession. A little color returned to his face.

Without Life Essence, he would never have dared open the Fourth Star.

The new sector suppressed the Level of any powerful being that entered it. At present, the map’s limit was Level 95. But Quality and skills remained intact.

The Spirit Realm’s seven Evil Gods might fall short of mighty chief deities such as the War God. They were still renowned greater gods. He had no intention of treating one carelessly.

Watching his sudden weakness, Lords across the Homeworld let out almost simultaneous sighs. Even the three rulers in Highcrest were no exception.

Now it made sense.

Power like that, sustained for little more than a dozen seconds, was something they could understand. If Cassian could fight at that level all the time, what chance would anyone else have?

A Black Banner War Marshal tried to turn the moment to his advantage.

"The Mythic Dragon is dead, and Cassian is dying! Warriors of the Black Banner, now is our chance to strike back!"

Anyone with a little sense knew how empty those words were.

Had the Keldrath servant spent the sacrifice’s power on the army from the start, he might have bought the Black Banner several more days. Instead, he had tried to erase Cassian and ended up as the target of his own god’s rage.

Even so, the shout gave the troops a brief lift.

It also reached Aurelia.

"He dares wish death on our lord?" Her voice turned cold. "Sisters, come with me. We’re killing that one."

The Marshal’s face drained of color. He turned and fled.

Cassian released the Skyreaver.

"Rhea, withdraw the Eclipse corps from the battle. I want them guarding me for the rest of it."

In his present condition, he had no desire to endure another attack like that.

"At once, my lord."

Soon, a thousand Eclipse Legionnaires surrounded his flying ship. Rhea and Celia remained at his side.

The Black Banner’s surviving War Marshals cursed at the sight. Several had been wondering whether his weakness offered a chance to finish him off. That chance had disappeared behind an entire corps—Epic troops whose performance had already put many Legendaries to shame.

In the middle of a battle this fierce, he could still spare a thousand of them to protect himself.

How could one man be so cautious?

Aboard the Skyreaver, Cassian stretched out comfortably in a reclining chair and let his body and Spirit recover.

Rhea peeled an amethyst grape and placed it in his mouth. Then she asked the question that had been troubling her most.

"My lord, Nine is Mythic now. Can the Fountain of Life still bring her back?"