Chapter 488: Fierce Battle

“Split the earth!” With another roar, the Demon General parted the air once more. Instantly, fierce winds blew, sand and stones flew, and the long sword in his hand emitted a suffocatingly dangerous aura. The elements surged wildly, moving rapidly toward him as the center point.

A dark wind quickly formed, growing to the size of a bucket in no time and continuing to expand and spread.

The sky turned completely dark—midday had turned into night, casting a gloomy atmosphere. The long sword was held high, resembling a giant scythe. Its dark surface emitted a deadly glow, offering an enchanting allure; just looking at it made one feel as if they had sunk into that world.

Boom… Thunder rumbled in the sky, with white lightning streaking across like dragons, illuminating the land.

Whoosh… The winds howled, and at the top of that dark wind, the figure of the Demon General appeared! He stood out brightly in the pitch-black world.

Behind him, a vague figure emerged and quickly became clearer—a head with an open mouth, a monstrous face, the face of a devil! As the elements condensed, the image grew clearer, allowing everyone to see it clearly.

Aaaah… With its mouth wide open, it let out a terrifying roar that sent chills down one’s spine.

When the image almost took solid form, something astonishing happened—the long sword suddenly emitted a powerful suction force, and in an instant, the image was drawn into the sword.

At that moment, the world seemed to fall silent, but everyone could clearly feel their pressure increase exponentially. A deadly threat was approaching them relentlessly.

The long sword now appeared as if it were hundreds of feet long, pitch black, as if alive, dancing in the wind with fierce momentum.

“Retreat quickly!” The voice of the Ancestor rang out, seemingly awakening those who had been mesmerized by the dark sword.

Everyone couldn’t help but break into cold sweats. They had already faced such a great threat without even attacking, and nearly all of them had been tempted by its allure. It was clear just how terrifying this move was—almost like killing silently.

Taking a deep breath, everyone hurriedly retreated further, fearing unnecessary harm. Such a battle was truly beyond their capabilities.

All they could do was to stay as far away as possible, trying to avoid getting involved, preventing unnecessary deaths and injuries, and avoiding trouble in the battle between the two. That was enough.
Rod, the Wolf King, and the others retreated once again. They were still a bit frightened—even they had almost been lured in just moments ago. If not for the ancient ancestor’s furious shout filled with authority, they would have already been trapped. The thought alone made them break into cold sweat. If they were the enemy of the Demon Marshal, one could imagine the consequences; they probably wouldn’t even know how they would die in the end.
After this lesson, they quickly invoked their divine essences. In an instant, a brilliant golden light filled the dim world, shining like a lamp in the darkness, illuminating the entire area. It was especially dazzling and radiant beneath the dark clouds! The warriors in the distance were almost mesmerized by such divine light.
Everyone was envious—at this moment, the holy light appeared so glorious, representing their achievements. Everyone’s gaze turned respectful as they stood straighter to show their admiration.
However, a few people’s expressions were particularly complex, including Elena’s.
Looking at that towering figure, she even forgot that they were in the midst of a cataclysmic battle. All she saw was Rod’s silhouette. Under the holy light, his figure appeared infinitely pure and majestic, inspiring awe.
Was he the man who had been hunted across the continent? The man she had once pursued? Thinking of this, she felt a bit absurd. What was the right path? What was the evil path? It seemed that at this moment, she realized that right and wrong were merely matters of perspective—there was no such thing as a true right or evil path; only good and bad deeds.
Even among the evil, there were good people—like him!
She remembered that day in the palace when she had unleashed her full power with magic, only for him to dispel it with a wave of his hand. The shock from that moment still lingered in her heart.
For some reason, looking at Rod now filled her with obsession. A faint smile appeared on her face as she gazed at him in a daze.
“Elena, what’s wrong?” A high priest of the church asked anxiously beside her.
That brought Elena back to reality. Her face turned slightly red as she quickly lowered her head.

“No… nothing!” She hurriedly pretended to be confused and calm, but sadly, how could such an act be convincing? Fortunately, at that moment, the battle was intensifying, and a critical moment was approaching, so the archbishop merely gave Elena a puzzled look before stopping further questioning. “Do you think they can win?” Elena asked anxiously, looking at the people in the distance. “Maybe,” the archbishop replied for the first time without confidence in the pope. In the past, whenever the pope appeared, nothing seemed impossible. But now, everything had changed. The pope’s presence was useless now; in front of these people, he appeared so weak, so insignificant, so negligible that anyone here was stronger than him. Especially the two fighting in the arena—a demon general and the ancestor of the Dark Source trolls. These two were true gods, and even Rod and the others had their own divine statuses! What was the pope then? The archbishop’s face showed utter helplessness. The faith of the church, which had endured for thousands of years, now seemed so weak, and his own devout admiration over decades now seemed so futile. It collapsed instantly in the face of reality, leaving him in deep turmoil. “They will definitely win!” A cool voice came through, causing both Elena and the archbishop to feel puzzled. They turned to look, not realizing when two stunning figures had appeared beside them—two breathtakingly beautiful women. Even someone as unperturbed as the archbishop couldn’t help but admire them. They were indeed very beautiful. Elena recognized them immediately— weren’t they the two women who always followed Rod? The two women from the Dark Source. Both of them were incredibly powerful. In front of them, Elena, hailed as a genius once in a century for the church, appeared so weak, so pale, so ordinary. If Elena was a genius once in a century, then what were they? At least a hundred or a thousand times stronger than Elena. Thinking of this, Elena wore a helpless wry smile. Her pride over the past decade wasn’t unfounded. Having grown up surrounded by admiration, she had every reason to be proud. But after arriving in Autumn Water City, meeting Rod, meeting the people from the Dark Source, everything changed completely!

It was as if a towering building had collapsed in an instant! All pride and achievements vanished, leaving only an utterly ordinary figure. Here, no one would look at her differently, for there were countless strong ones. No one would treat her like the stars surrounding the moon back in the church, for there were too many geniuses here. Even in terms of appearance, there were women like Lilith and Nightingale, as well as Lucy and Ada, who were on par with her or even more graceful. All her advantages seemed to have worn away, disappearing completely.

“Big Brother will definitely win, he surely will!” Lucy said firmly, clenching her fists tightly, her eyes filled with unwavering conviction.

“Mm, Rod will definitely win!” Lilith added firmly as well. Their unshakable tones seemed to inspire Elena as well. After a moment of surprise, she turned to look at that figure again. For some reason, an unprecedented sense of security arose, dispelling her earlier worries. Her anxious heart relaxed instantly.

“Yes, with him around, we’ll definitely win!” she murmured to herself.

Women are so blindly stubborn—once they decide something, even if you present them with facts, they’ll insist it’s false! Just like now, in the eyes of these three, Rod seemed to be the real protagonist, while the ancient ancestor fighting below had become a supporting character. They might doubt the ancient ancestor, but they would never doubt Rod, not even a little. Such is the complexity of women’s hearts.

Gasps of shock could be heard around them, drawing the three women’s attention. When they looked, just like everyone else, they couldn’t help but gasp in shock, concern appearing in their eyes.

At that moment, the Demon General stood tall in the air like a war god, his giant sword hundreds of feet long, emitting a black glow and a seductive aura as it swept downward. Below him, the ancient ancestor looked grave, swiftly wielding his silver-white sword. As the sword energy spread, it formed a silver shield-like barrier that instantly expanded to over ten feet wide before floating upward.

The two sides were about to collide—spear against shield. Whether the spear was sharper or the shield stronger remained to be seen, keeping everyone on edge once again!