In this moment of desperation, avenging his son became the least of Ode’s concerns. He knew all too well that his own survival was uncertain, let alone seeking revenge for his son.
Stephanie retorted, “When you made the decision to send troops to Skydragon City, did you ever consider sparing me?”
Ode didn’t directly answer Stephanie’s question. Instead, he proposed, “Frigid Fortress, and even the entire Demonrealm City, can submit to you. I can assist you in attacking Mysthaven City!” He continued, “Furthermore, all the territories under my jurisdiction in Demonrealm City can be ceded to Skydragon City without any compensation!”
Stephanie sneered, “Do you really think I would believe you?”
Ode let out a heavy breath, feeling the weight of the situation. “I understand that you could easily kill me now. But if you push me to my limits, even in death, I won’t let you off easily!”
He asserted, “Even if I cannot harm you directly, I can at least take down a few of your people. You should be aware of my capabilities!”
As he spoke, a large crowd gradually surrounded the estate from all directions.
Stephanie scanned the surroundings and then turned back to face Ode. “Is that so? You overestimate yourself!”
With a wave of her hand, she commanded, “Attack! Spare those who cripple their cultivation, kill the rest!”
Billy and Sol Stuart responded simultaneously, “Understood!”
Immediately, everyone rushed out in all directions.
“The rest of you, attack and kill them!” shouted the white-haired old man leading the other side.
Without hesitation, both sides engaged in a fierce battle. However, it was clear that the battle was completely one-sided. Apart from the twenty or so Saint martial artists, the opposing side consisted mostly of Sovereigns.
With a mere wave of their hand, the people from Skydragon City effortlessly defeated dozens of enemies. The two old Sixth-rank men who attacked Sol Stuart were in for a rude awakening. Sol Stuart’s cultivation was only one step away from the Eighth Rank, and after consuming the seventh-tier beast core given to him by Billy, his cultivation easily broke through. Thus, the two Sixth-rank Saints were sent flying into the air soon, crashing to the ground and becoming motionless.
Billy’s opponents were two old men at the Fifth Rank. Like the previous two, they couldn’t hold their ground against Billy and were swiftly defeated, their blood and flesh splattering everywhere.
Together, Billy and Sol Stuart charged towards the other Saint warriors on the enemy side. Under their attack, all the early-stage Saint enemies, numbering over twenty, couldn’t last for ten minutes before falling.
Meanwhile, several kilometers away in the sky, Ode clashed with Stephanie in a single move. At first glance, it seemed that neither had gained the upper hand.
“You must have recently restored your cultivation, right?” Ode spoke loudly after suppressing the surging blood in his heart.
In the depths of his despair, a glimmer of hope faintly rose within him after this exchange. Perhaps, if he unleashed all his trump cards, he might still have a chance to fight back.
“Make your move!” Stephanie did not respond to his words. “I will give you one opportunity to unleash your trump cards given your identity, but it’s best if you go all out, you won’t get a second chance!”
Ode responded loudly, “Thank you!”
With those words, his momentum rapidly surged, revealing his cultivation as a Half-Step Ninth-rank Saint. He then saw his hands open and close in the void, creating countless afterimages accompanied by a piercing sound of breaking wind.
Before long, a Chi-formed fierce beast appeared above his head, emanating a strong aura of death. Resembling a vulture, it was massive, with a wingspan of about twenty meters when its wings spread open.
As the fierce beast flapped its wings, a violent wind stirred in the void, brewing an impending storm. The sheer momentum alone was enough to strike fear into the hearts of early-stage Saint warriors.
Ode shouted loudly, “I will fight you!”
As soon as he finished the words, the giant Chi-formed beast swooped down towards Stephanie with thunderous might. Simultaneously, a strong hurricane swept through the void, howling with terrifying force.
Stephanie’s voice reached his ears, “You overestimate yourself!”
Facing the full-force attack of a late-stage Eighth-rank expert, Stephanie stood motionless in mid-air, showing no intention of dodging.
Then, without anyone seeing how she made her move, her eyes narrowed slightly, and a substantial ancient sword materialized above her head. This was the materialization of spiritual power, as Casey had explained.
The materialization of spiritual power differed fundamentally from Shadow Beasts formed by one’s Chi power. With a mere thought, people with the former type could deal a blow with materialized spiritual power that was more powerful than the latter.
“Slash!”
With a stern voice, Stephanie uttered a single sentence before the ancient sword, brimming with destructive energy, stabbed towards the fierce shadow beast.
Immediately, a thunderous roar echoed in the air, like a bolt from the blue.
The resulting shock-wave not only created a massive crater below but also leveled everything within several kilometers, shrouding the sky in a cloud of dust.
Ode spewed a mouthful of blood into the air, propelled like a cannonball. After flying for kilometers, he crashed into the ground, creating a large pit, his face filled with endless despair. Originally, he thought he could hold his own against Stephanie for a few rounds, and if lucky, maybe even escape unscathed.
But once they truly clashed, he realized how naive he was!
The two of them were simply not in the same league. Forget a few rounds, he couldn’t even last a single round.
His opponent was a late-stage Saint, a tier above him, and she was indeed formidable!
Even though he had almost reached the Ninth Rank realm, he was nowhere near on par with a genuine Ninth-rank Saint.
If Stephanie had gone all out earlier, he would have been dead by now!
“So, do you have anything else to say?” Stephanie strolled over soon after.
“Victory goes to the strong… There’s nothing more to say…” Ode spat out another mouthful of blood and struggled to get up.
“But I did say, even if I die today, I’ll take a few of your people down with me!”
With those words, a resolute look flashed in his eyes, and he quickly charged towards the battle arena where Billy, Sol Stuart, and others were.
As he darted forward, his aura surged, his eyes turned crimson, veins bulging on his forehead, and his entire body visibly expanded at an alarming rate.
Clearly, he intended to self-detonate!
The power of an Eighth-rank Saint’s self-detonation was unimaginable!