"Bandits?"
Because Locke's divine sense could currently only spread about ninety meters—far less than the range of his eyesight—he didn't use it to scout ahead while traveling.
It wasn't until he sensed fluctuations in the elements that he realized someone was attacking him.
And the attack was fast.
One moment, Locke caught sight of lightning—
the next, it was already upon him!
With a flip of his palm, the rising Sun Spear appeared in his hand. Locke poured divine power into it without restraint, activating the spear's might to the fullest he could manage.
Crack!
The Rising Sun Spear slashed out, carving a black line through space and tearing the incoming lightning apart.
In the next instant, dozens of streaks of light closed in on Locke.
Boom boom boom boom boom…
Brilliant, multicolored flashes erupted, explosions of lightning and flame blooming one after another in the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Seven or eight figures shot up from the ground, completely encircling the area of the explosions.
Their divine senses swept through the raging flames, probing to see whether their combined attack had struck its target.
In the hand of a blue-haired man among them, a middle-aged man was being held aloft.
"Oh? Interesting."
When the aftershocks of the explosions finally dissipated, the group discovered that the center of the blast was completely empty.
As if their attacks had hit nothing at all.
"Lord Luke, you see? I wasn't lying, was I?"
At this moment, the man being held finally spoke.
"This guy is extremely strange. I fell for his tricks back then."
"He has some kind of odd item that lets him conceal himself. Using divine sense to find him is useless."
"That time, I had my subordinates indiscriminately devastate the ground—that was the only way I managed to force him out."
"Heh. Let's hope what you're saying is actually useful."
The god holding him sneered. He swung his longsword, arcs of lightning flashing as massive craters were blasted into the ground below.
"Everyone, move faster! Once we finish off this fat lamb, I'll treat you all to a feast in Yilan City!"
"Ohhh!"
At once, divine power surged through the group. Their profound mysteries drew in elemental forces from heaven and earth, bombarding the ground relentlessly.
Boom boom boom boom boom…
High above them, Locke remained hidden as always, concealed by Phantom Drift.
None of what the man said escaped Locke's ears.
"So it's him."
Locke focused his gaze on the Saint-level man and immediately understood.
From the man's soul aura alone, Locke grasped the reason behind this ambush.
This Saint was none other than one of the bandit leaders who had tried to intercept him right after he disembarked from the Purple Thorn Legion's Metal Lifeform.
Locke clearly remembered that after killing that bandit leader, he had been unable to open the spatial ring left behind.
At the time, Locke had already known the man must still have another clone hidden somewhere.
What he hadn't expected was that the bastard would even bring in outside help to ambush him.
A mere Saint daring to show his face before him now—
That was nothing short of courting death.
With his soul still weakened, using lethal soul attacks against god-level opponents would place an enormous burden on him.
But dealing with a mere Saint…
Estimating the distance between himself and the target, Locke quietly gathered the surrounding water-element particles.
As the group continued to indiscriminately destroy the terrain in an attempt to force him out, a thin mist slowly spread, enveloping them all.
A cold glint flashed in Locke's eyes.
Without any medium, his soul power could only spread a little over fifty meters.
But with this mist as a conduit, the range of his soul power extended even farther than his divine sense—
Over one hundred and thirty meters.
"Die."
Without the slightest hesitation, Locke's soul power slipped through the thin fog, silently invading the Saint's soul. Like a spark landing on dry tinder, it ignited his emotions and set his soul ablaze.
"AAAAAAAH—!"
The Saint bandit leader's true body clutched his head and screamed in agony. But there was no suspense—within just a few breaths, his soul was completely burned away, his life extinguished.
"What? Such a bizarre soul attack!"
The god holding him changed expression instantly. He flung away the now-lifeless body and shouted, "Everyone—close in on me!"
Boom!
Lightning erupted. The mist Locke had painstakingly created was instantly dispersed.
Seven or eight demigod-level bandits formed a tight circle around their leader, backs pressed together, eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
Soul attacks were the most dangerous type of attack for divine beings who lacked deep attainment in the soul.
Without a soul-defense divine artifact, even with a difference in rank, such eerie soul assaults could leave them utterly helpless.
"Tsk."
Seeing how tightly defended they were, Locke shook his head. He didn't take the risk, instead slipping away silently.
Having learned his lesson from this ambush, Locke used Phantom Drift continuously during his subsequent journey, keeping his presence hidden at all times.
Only Highgods—whose divine senses could spread thousands of kilometers through Hell—could safely release their senses while traveling to scout for danger ahead.
Wrapped in his soul power, even if a Highgod's divine sense swept past Locke, unless they examined the area carefully, they would be deceived—treating Locke as though he were nothing more than empty air.
"Wait… that guy appeared with his Saint-level true body. That should mean he doesn't have any other divine clones left, right?"
While flying, Locke suddenly recalled the bandit leader.
If he remembered correctly, the spatial ring left behind after killing that man was still in his possession.
At the thought, Locke pulled out the spatial ring he had taken from the bandit leader and pricked his finger, dripping blood onto it.
Just as expected, the ring no longer rejected his blood. It seeped in smoothly.
In an instant, Locke felt a faint connection form between himself and the ring.
When his soul power entered it and he saw what lay inside, delight surged through his heart.
He barely spared a glance at the other items.
Instead, his soul power lingered around several violet crystals within the ring.
From them, Locke could clearly feel one thing—
His soul was hungry for these crystals.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Bonus chapter at 100 powerstones.