On Lingmen Star, the battlefield had descended into pure chaos.
King Qianwu and Blood Ghost Venerable clashed with devastating force. Despite the Blood Ghost Venerable wielding a melee-class treasure that gave him significant advantage, King Qianwu's superior combat experience kept the fight surprisingly even. Neither could gain decisive ground against the other.
King Longyuan found himself locked in combat with the Spirit Elephant King, their powers nearly matched. The battle between these two peak-level Crowned Immortal Kings shook the surrounding space with each exchange.
The Spirit Elephant King hadn't come alone. Two additional Crowned Immortal Kings accompanied him, one peak-level, one high-level. Combined with Marquis Wuyu, who had reached barely King-level strength through Zerg enhancements, that made four King-class opponents!
"Rimuru, call for reinforcements!" Han Jue ordered quickly.
The situation had spiraled beyond his control. What had begun as a simple investigation had transformed into a full-scale assassination attempt involving multiple Crowned Kings and even Universe Venerables.
"Your Highness," Ian said through gritted teeth, divine power surging around him. "I'll handle the strongest one. You deal with the others!"
"No, you take Marquis Wuyu!" Han Jue pulled Ian back before he could charge recklessly forward.
A high-level Marquis attacking a peak Crowned King? That wasn't courage; it was suicide.
"Star-Eating Grass!" Han Jue called out softly.
A ninth-level World Master Star-Eating Grass materialized instantly, its thousand vines spreading like a massive net. The parasitic plant positioned itself defensively, intercepting the peak Crowned King's attack and shielding Han Jue from the devastating blow.
"Hmph!"
The peak Crowned King's expression shifted, concern flickering across his alien features as he retreated several dozen steps. Only after confirming that the Thousand-Vine Star-Eating Grass hadn't yet achieved Immortality did he release a breath of relief.
The brief reprieve bought Han Jue precious seconds, enough time to make a desperate gamble.
Water-Sky Holy Flame!
Han Jue was nowhere near ready to properly wield the Water-Sky Holy Flame. He hadn't even completed the fourth prison of the Ice Peak Nine Prisons Body technique. But circumstances had forced his hand. Using the Holy Flame might kill him through backlash, but not using it would certainly result in death at the hands of these assassins.
Gritting his teeth against the searing pain as his body began melting under the Holy Flame's overwhelming power, Han Jue forcibly channeled its energy. This was power comparable to a peak Crowned Immortal King, far beyond what his Domain Lord body should be able to withstand.
Though he possessed peak King-level power in raw energy, he lacked the corresponding law comprehension and combat secrets to fully utilize it. Still, even a fraction of that power would be enough to buy time.
"Boom!"
The Water-Sky Holy Flame attached itself to the Ice Wasteland Sword. Han Jue took a deep breath, compressing the Holy Flame's power within the blade until it reached critical density, then unleashed his strongest attack yet.
'Sui Han!'
A swift slash of pale blue flaming sword energy tore through space, the attack carrying enough force to rival a peak Crowned King's technique. The spatial seal already established by Blood Ghost Venerable overhead meant the peak Crowned King, who had mastered teleportation, couldn't escape. He was forced to take the blow head-on.
"Nineteen percent of my divine body destroyed!" The peak Crowned King staggered back in shock, genuine fear entering his expression.
Both peak Crowned Kings who had accompanied the Spirit Elephant King were affiliated race members, not Zerg soul slaves. They had obligations to fulfill for their Zerg allies but weren't expected to sacrifice themselves meaninglessly. After experiencing that devastating attack firsthand, thoughts of retreat filled his mind.
After unleashing that single strike, Han Jue lost the strength for a second. However, sensing the peak Crowned King's fear, inspiration struck.
The Water-Sky Holy Flame's power faded, and Han Jue immediately channeled the Water-Sky Origin Fire Seed instead.
The Ice Wasteland Sword ignited with pale blue flames once more. Han Jue pretended to give chase, the display frightening the already-shaken peak Crowned King into fleeing entirely.
Meanwhile, the remaining high-level Crowned King was intercepted by the Star-Eating Grass.
After reaching the ninth level of World Master, the Star-Eating Grass's combat power rivaled an ordinary Immortal Marquis. Combined with its massive divine body and incredible recovery abilities, it managed to barely hold the line against the barely-King-level Marquis Wuyu.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention to him, Han Jue maintained his composed exterior while quickly retrieving healing items and restoring his severely damaged body.
That explosive attack had nearly killed him, again. For the past few years, he had been studying soul enslavement secrets found in the "Ethereal Soul Canon," but the initial techniques for enslaving Immortal Marquis remained frustratingly beyond his current capabilities.
If he could master those techniques, he could have enslaved the Zerg Queen on Earth and created an army of Realm Lord servants, completely avoiding his current predicament.
After a moment of recovery, Han Jue surveyed the battlefield and made a split-second decision.
"Ian, hold on, I'm coming to support you!"
"Qianwu, you dare lose focus during battle? So concerned about that genius?" Blood Ghost Venerable sneered, his precious scimitar striking King Qianwu once more.
Clang!
King Qianwu parried without responding, concentrating fully on the combat.
"Bang!"
With a single devastating punch, King Qianwu, despite lacking a supreme treasure, demonstrated why he was considered formidable even among high-level Universe Venerables.
"Hmph." Blood Ghost Venerable snorted coldly, seeing King Qianwu remain silent, and continued his relentless assault.
Neither could decisively defeat the other.
Though Blood Ghost Venerable wielded a supreme scimitar, King Qianwu's powerful divine body compensated for the disadvantage.
King Qianwu deliberately lured Blood Ghost Venerable away from Lingmen Star into open interstellar space. Otherwise, the shockwaves from their battle would be sufficient to shatter the entire planet and kill everyone on it.
Blood Ghost Venerable, clearly lacking King Qianwu's combat experience, allowed himself to be drawn away from Lingmen Star, providing at least temporary relief for those still fighting on the planet's surface.
"Your Highness, where are the reinforcements?" Ian demanded through gritted teeth.
Marquis Wuyu excelled in soul attacks, but his physical combat abilities were also at peak Marquis level, and he fought with complete disregard for his own safety.
With one ordinary Immortal unleashing full power alongside a high-level Marquis, they still struggled to hold their own against the barely-King-level Marquis Wuyu.
This was because Marquis Wuyu hadn't chosen to burn his divine power yet.
Perhaps he simply didn't need to.
"They should arrive soon!" Han Jue, bearing the majority of Marquis Wuyu's attacks, was also beginning to falter.
Between Wuyu's Wuxia technique, the Henggumu Armor, and the Misty Pearl soul defense treasure, Han Jue's defensive capabilities probably reached peak Marquis level, significantly stronger than Ian's.
But where were the reinforcements?
Back in the Virtual Universe, Rimuru had practically maxed out every emergency channel calling for help, deeply worried about Han Jue yet unable to offer direct assistance.
Boom!
Marquis Wuyu launched another devastating attack, forcing back the combined efforts of Han Jue and Ian. The escaped peak Crowned King also noticed something was wrong and rushed back to rejoin the battle.
Han Jue glanced at the Star-Eating Grass, which was in very poor condition.
The gap between a World Master and a King-level Immortal remained enormous.
If the Star-Eating Grass achieved Immortality, these Kings would pose no threat to Han Jue whatsoever.
"Damn it!" Han Jue cursed inwardly, attempting to channel the Holy Flame again, only to cough up a mouthful of blood.
"Qianwu, you're finished!" A voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield, and the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Everyone looked up in shock, staring at the massive palace that had materialized in the sky above them.
Beside the palace, a towering figure appeared. Dressed in a silver robe embroidered with golden patterns, he had long reddish-brown hair, luminous skin, and black eyes. His overall appearance resembled an Earthling, but the aura radiating from him was incomparably vast.
"Lord of Sky Eclipse Palace!" Blood Ghost Venerable recognized the newcomer immediately, his face turning ashen. He attempted to flee, but was instantly suppressed by a spatial technique emanating from the Sky Eclipse Palace itself.
With a single casual wave of his hand, the Lord of Sky Eclipse Palace crushed every Crowned Immortal on Lingmen Star without apparent effort.
The Lord of Sky Eclipse Palace, one of humanity's three supreme Universe Overlords! Only those who could rival a Universe Master in combat could claim such a title.
Han Jue retracted the Star-Eating Grass and sat down heavily on the ground, breathing raggedly. For a mere Domain Lord to find himself caught in a battlefield of this magnitude had been far too dangerous.
"Han Jue, you did excellent work as bait this time! You even caught me a treasure." The Lord of Sky Eclipse Palace chuckled while looking at Han Jue, his tone almost jovial.
"Congratulations, Palace Master!" Han Jue said, understanding immediately that the melee-class treasure had been the real prize.
"No need for thanks." The Lord of Sky Eclipse Palace waved dismissively.
"The Zerg were remarkably generous this time. They must have guessed that either I or one of the other two Overlords would intervene, yet they still provided a Universe Venerable with a supreme treasure just to kill you. If you hadn't been able to unleash that peak King-level attack, the situation would have been quite dangerous." The Lord of Sky Eclipse Palace laughed, clearly pleased with the outcome.
"Next time, I suppose they'll send a Universe Master to assassinate you."
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