Chapter 557 - The Strongest Duo, Dog and Flower! (Part 3)

During Hel’s travels, she had earned the attention of many gods. Although she was powerful, her strength was no match for elemental rulers who had governed their domains for so long. It was this absolute dominion over Stellar Moon’s elemental forces that made the gods believe the world was theirs to command.

In the capital, hidden resistance members stared at the sky in shock.

“What... is this...?”

In an instant, millions of elite ice soldiers had gathered, their average rank and level formidable. Their target was the battlefield of gods.

In a tavern, an elder and a youth clutched steaming mugs, only for the heat to vanish the next moment.

“Teacher, I can’t wait any longer. I must help Lord Hel! Even if we can’t fight the gods, we can hold off the legion!” the youth cried.

“It’s hard.” The elder’s eyes were filled with bitterness.

Many understood that the key wasn’t defeating the Ice Goddess but changing her mind. Even if they succeeded against her, the Ice Goddess was just one of ten elemental rulers. The Light and Dark Gods were even stronger. Now, with the Ice Goddess summoning her legion, it was clear she intended to annihilate Hel completely.

“Even though it’s hard, we cannot stand by.” The elder chose to act, determined to buy Hel even a sliver of time to escape.

At this moment, seeing the ice legion mobilize, resistance members across the nation could no longer remain hidden. Knowing Hel’s defeat was inevitable, they resolved to stall for her. Hel herself, facing the rejuvenated Ice Goddess and her gods, frowned deeply.

She wasn’t surprised by the legion’s summoning. What frustrated her was the resistance’s disobedience. As Lu Ran had said, even if the entire resistance mobilized, it would be a drop in the ocean. Hel had hoped to change the Ice Goddess’s mind alone. Even in failure, only she would perish.

Among the ice elemental gods, a crown-wearing, tree-like entity demanded solemnly, “You’ve reached your limit. Return what you stole!”

“The outcome isn’t decided yet. And I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hel refused to concede.

However, even the resistance could see the truth. With the ice legion approaching, her defeat would accelerate unless a miracle stopped the army’s advance, allowing her to focus on the gods. Such a miracle was impossible. The resistance’s strength was no match for the legion.

Boom!

Despite her unparalleled power as humanity’s strongest, Hel felt a pang of sorrow. She had dreamed countless times of Stellar Moon’s destruction under the Divine Dragons’ awakening. It seemed fate was sealed.

Sensing her wavering resolve, the nine ice elemental gods attacked in unison, their icy beams almost engulfing Hel. However, this time, before Hel could react, an awe-inspiring scene unfolded, stunning both sides. A surge of sword intent tore through the sky like divine light piercing the darkness, severing the icy onslaught in an instant.

With a series of eerie sounds, the nine ice elemental gods under the Ice Goddess—three Intermediate Legendaries, and six Low Legendaries—were cleanly bisected by a mysterious wave of sword intent.

One after another, the elemental gods widened their eyes in disbelief. Although the sudden sword intent hadn’t damaged their cores, which meant their injuries could heal, the sheer force required to split all nine of them in a single strike was enough to shock even these divine beings.

While the ambush played a role, even the Mythical human before them had never exerted such overwhelming pressure.

“Who’s that?”

The Ice Goddess had also been a target, but she was the only one who managed to block the sword intent. Even so, she felt a sliver of danger. She clenched her hand around the sword intent, trying to crush it, but the searing pain in her palm made her realize the newcomer’s power was terrifying.

At the same time, Hel was equally stunned.

Someone’s helping me? But who among my acquaintances could possibly have this kind of strength?

“

Awooooo!

”

“

Wooooo!

”

As the ten elemental gods reeled, the source of the sword intent finally revealed itself. Standing on top of a collapsed iceberg in the distance, it howled at the sky. Its form was now clear.

It was a massive husky with a swordgrass blade, a spectral bone sword, and a lightsaber floating behind it. Together, the four unleashed a storm of sword intent that bore down on the gods once more.

BOOM!

Captain Doofus, now an Intermediate Legendary at level 100 after consuming the Time Fruit, alongside its three Low Legendary kin, possessed overwhelming power against the nine elemental gods.

Moreover, due to the unique lethality of the Sword attribute, even the Ice Goddess, who was a Superior Legendary, felt a pang of unease.

“That’s...”

The moment Captain Doofus appeared, both the Ice Goddess and Hel were flabbergasted. Although it had returned to its normal, massive size, its appearance was unmistakable. It was a husky—a mere beast.

In the Elemental Era, beasts were practically at the bottom of the food chain, incomparable to the noble elemental beings. In this vast era, not a single beast god existed. Yet, this dog was an Intermediate Legendary.

Even more bizarre were the three swords orbiting it. They were a Legendary plant sword, a spectral bone sword, and a mechanical lightsaber, all forms the elemental gods had never seen before.

Where did these four come from?

As both sides stared in shock, Lu Ran stepped forward through the snow, revealing only half his face. Smiling, he patted Captain Doofus’ head and gazed at the divine battlefield above.

“My apologies. Let’s pause for a moment. I’ve been asked to take that woman with me. How about giving me some face?”

“And who are you?” The Ice Goddess’s gaze turned even colder.

At the very least, this human was clearly on Hel’s side. Meanwhile, Hel stared at Lu Ran in confusion.

Who are you...?

“You don’t need to know who I am. However, you may call me... the Mythical necromancer.” Lu Ran’s lips curled.

Mythical necromancer?

“Whoever you are, since you’ve chosen to interfere, you’ll stay here too.”

By now, the cracks Hel had initially inflicted on the Ice Goddess’s elemental core had fully healed. With no more worries, the Ice Goddess coldly pronounced death upon Lu Ran and Hel in her heart. Her gaze shifted to the approaching ice legion, sealing their fates.

“So ruthless...”

Just as Hel was about to speak, an icy gale blew Lu Ran’s hood back, revealing his youthful face and short black hair fluttering in the wind.

At the same time, Lu Ran’s voice rang out. “Well, if you won’t give me face... all the better.”

He smiled. That smile sent a tremor through the Ice Goddess’ soul. She felt her authority being stolen. As for the other nine elemental gods, they were gripped by the terror of imminent death. As they were already severely wounded from protecting the Ice Goddess, their injuries now burned even more intensely.

Swish!

In an instant, an unimaginably vast domain unfolded, covering the entire Ice Nation. A domain of this scale was something only the Ice Goddess could barely achieve within her own nation.

The elemental gods stared in shock at the dog beside Lu Ran. Its appearance had changed. Now, it held a six-colored flower in its mouth.

[Species: Divine Sword Dog (Six-Path Form)]

Had anyone from the Beastmaster Empire been present, they would’ve recognized the flower. It was Six-Path Flower in its base form. With the flower clamped between its teeth, Captain Doofus couldn’t resist winking at the gods.

“

Awoo...

”

At this moment, Lu Ran’s two strongest familiars had combined forces, executing an advanced combat technique which was Fusion Domain. Compared to Six-Path Flower’s current prowess, Captain Doofus’ domain abilities were lacking, with it barely being able to cover a few cities. However, by merging their domains now, they were able to create a divine realm that enveloped the entire Ice Nation.

A sense of foreboding gripped the Ice Goddess. She tried to counter with her own divine domain, but in terms of pure domain mastery, the ice-focused goddess was no match for Six-Path Flower. By the time she could break it, Captain Doofus would’ve already struck.

Within the Limitless Sword Domain, Captain Doofus, aided by the domain’s power, instantly seized the Ice Goddess’s supreme command over the legion of ice elemental lifeforms.

Under the domain’s influence, the ice elemental legion morphed into countless frost swords of different sizes, covering the sky in a breathtaking, endless sea of blades. The citizens of Ice Nation gaped in horror, unable to comprehend what was happening. The number of swords was just staggering.

[Species Talent: Sword God (When this familiar wields swords, it ignores its base level, ascending to the realm of Sword Gods. Its species rank rises to Legendary based on the swords’ quality and quantity!)]

With so many “swords,” Captain Doofus’ talent reached its peak. Its species rank underwent a meteoric transformation, unleashing a sword intent so overwhelming that even the gods and the Ice Goddess were shaken to their cores.

“You’ve got to be kidding me...” Hel had never seen anything like this.

Before she could react, sword waves crisscrossed the sky, leaving billions of cuts on the nine elemental gods, reducing them to floating elemental cores in an instant. Only the Ice Goddess, encased in eternal ice, remained barely standing. Her body was now riddled with cracks. The Ice Nation’s gods were instantly on the brink of annihilation.

Without giving Hel time to process this, Lu Ran teleported to her side, gathering the cores with one hand while grabbing her wrist with the other.

“Come with me. This technique won’t last more than a few seconds. I’ll take you to the Supreme Divine Dragons.”

Those few words made Hel’s expression shift rapidly. Without hesitation, she recalled her elemental familiars and followed Lu Ran.

At the same time, the seven other elemental Superior Divine beings, aside from those of the Light and Dark Nations, paused their assault on the world’s rules, emerging from their divine realms to stare at the Ice Nation in shock.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

However, the most stunned of all were the Ice Emperor and the Winter Knight in the ice cavern.

“What...?”

As they watched #18’s projection with jaws agape, their minds were still struggling to process the sight of billions of ice swords dominating the sky.

“A dog... holding a flower? What kind of combo is this? Strong... so strong... That’s incredible! I want him as my brother-in-law!”

#18 side-eyed him.