Chapter 994: Push Him to His Limits

Zhang Lie was shocked that the death spirit flagship had managed to survive the black hole.

Given his current strength, his [Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade] should be beyond the level of a superior king's skill, which meant that the flagship was able to defend even against such attacks. Even so, the flagship had paid a heavy price. Its exterior, once polished to a glossy finish, was now pockmarked and worn.

"[Fists of the Silent Sea: Hundred Dragons Soaring]!" A horde of over a hundred black dragons launched out of Zhang Lie's left arm as he expended half his genetic energy in one supercharged attack.

Howling with the force of thunder, the hundred dragons soared through the air. They were fierce and domineering, and all hundred of them boasted the power of annihilation.

Black bandages spooled out of the death spirit flagship, attempting to stop the dragons but to no avail. There were too many dragons, and they were able to tear apart the bandages as they drew closer to the flagship.

Suddenly, the flagship transformed. Purple lines appeared over the surface of the flagship as the octahedral structure unfolded. In the blink of an eye, it became a mecha.

Zhang Lie stumbled back in shock. "This battleship can transform?!"

A purple core was inlaid in the center of the mecha's chest, and six sharp pairs of wings unfolded behind its back. Its head was flared like that of a cobra, and two triangles on each arm like shields.

Zhang Lie was shocked beyond words that the death spirits' technology had developed to this extent.

If the death spirit king were allowed to continue his research, the technology of the third realm would soon catch up to that in the Milky Way.

The black bandages wrapped around the mecha and formed its outer layer of armor. It threw a punch and caused a black dragon to explode. However, the black dragon was formed from the energy of annihilation. As it burst apart, it spawned a chain reaction, and the black dragons all exploded at once.

Upon witnessing this sight, the death spirit mecha instantly grew fearful after having suffered so miserably from the first such explosion. It immediately tried to retreat, but it was too slow. The mecha was sucked into the explosion against his will.

When it finally emerged once more, its shiny body had become dull and sooty, and its core was dim. It extended an arm and shot out a beam of violet light, which was easily blocked by the blade Guicang that Zhang Lie raised.

The mecha's core burned as violet light poured out of it. The sizzling of the flames sounded like a soul's shrill scream. In order to defeat Zhang Lie, the mecha was burning the equivalent of its lifeforce—initiating a meltdown, as it were.

Its shield-like arms locked together. The black bandages unwrapped themselves from its body as the mecha rushed forward, rotating quickly like a spinning top, an electric saw. Violet light surrounded it.

Zhang Lie raised the blade in his hand high into the air, encircled by black genetic energy. The temperature of the battlefield dropped to sub-zero values, and a strong wind buffeted all combatants present. Blood-colored frost appeared around them all.

"[The Boundless Blade: the River Lethe]!" An underworld river materialized in the sky, one so vast the entire world could see it. As though the doors to hell had just been thrown open, tens of thousands of serpents rushed out in a flood.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As Zhang Lie swung his sword in an arc, the underworld river surged toward the mecha. The serpents exploded as the violet light struck them, but there were countless such serpents. The revolving mecha charged up the river against the current, destroying all serpents that came into contact with it.

Zhang Lie responded to the attack calmly. Before the mecha struck him, he leapt high into the air and slashed down with Guicang from above. The moment the sword came into contact with the mecha, violet sparks flashed as black bandages exploded from the mecha, sending Zhang Lie flying into the void.

The mecha faced Zhang Lie as its violet core whirred. Energy condensed around its hands as a violet pillar of light, one much like the one that the flagship had initially shot out.

Pitch-black energy exploded from Zhang Lie, as though a demon were descending on the world. "[The Boundless Blade: the River Lethe]!"

As the energy covered up the void, even Nightdemon and Wilbow grew shocked.

Nightdemon chuckled. "To think even what he'd shown us before wasn't his full strength..."

Zhang Lie had depths deeper than the abyss. Who knew what his limits were? Perhaps only his original body could push him enough to figure that out.

Zhang Lie's genetic energy roared as it took the form of a vast, angry sea. Waves charged forward, sounding like peals of thunder, like stampeding hooves. The surface of the sea frothed with angry waves, like dragons emerging with the tide. The entire sea roiled, and lightning crackled amidst the void.

Countless serpents swam across the raging sea as lightning flashed ominously overhead, a scene right out of an apocalypse.

As Zhang Lie struck, an underworld river hurtled into existence, roaring into the sea. The sword energy roiled like black waves. The sea had morphed into a boundless battlefield. The sea breeze was as a horn to action, and the serpents, thousands of courageous soldiers heeding its call.

A tremendous amount of pressure bore down on the mecha—a black sea formed of genetic energy and filled with serpents.

The pillar of violet light shot into the pitch-black sea, causing all the serpents in its path to explode. Black genetic energy roiled as it vaporized, but more energy manifested to fill its place.

In the end, the mecha gave out first. It roared in outrage as it overclocked its engine. Cracks appeared over its core. The violet light, as intense as a hurricane, clashed against the sea once more.

It felt as though there were tens of thousands of malignant spirits screaming, as though they were struggling against the serpents of the underworld river.

The confrontation between Zhang Lie and the death spirit mecha played out in the void, with a layer of black energy above and violet light below.

The shockwaves resulting from the confrontation tore apart the surrounding space, causing large numbers of the nearby battleships to explode...