Chapter 424 - Battle of the Secret Technique

Chapter 424: Chapter 178 Battle of the Secret TechniqueThe arrival of Tao Tian·Heng Xin left the Domoco military utterly astonished.

From the depths of their souls, an oppressive force made these ordinary soldiers kneel on the ground—this was once the saint emperor of Domoco.

Of course, there were three individuals whose demeanor remained utterly undisturbed.

"You are indeed still alive," Bai Lion said undisturbed by the arrival of Heng Xin, then glanced at the Gold Tiger and the Chief Minister, "These two must have been instructed by you?"

"Bai Lion, since you know this, do you still dare to defy the Imperial Clan of Tao Tian?" Heng Xin snorted coldly, "How could the Imperial Clan of Tao Tian always be subjected to others? Now is a great opportunity for the rise of the Imperial Clan of Tao Tian."

As he spoke, Heng Xin stood with his hands behind his back midair and continued, "Bai Lion, if you are willing to swear an oath to the Heavenly God, I can forgive your past actions, and you will still be Domoco’s lead general. I can also promise that when the Imperial Clan of Tao Tian becomes powerful, I will grant you a personal plane."

"The Empire will not perish," Bai Lion responded indifferently, ignoring Heng Xin’s offer.

"Hmph," Heng Xin spoke with disdain, "I don’t care whether the Empire perishes or not, all I know is that no one can stop the rise of Domoco."

"Is that possible?" Bai Lion chuckled lightly, "With only four hundred thousand people, the Empire dared to attack deep into Domoco, directly confronting the millions of Domoco’s grand army alongside thousands of demon beasts. Do you still not realize what Domoco is lacking?"

Heng Xin was naturally aware and replied with an icy tone, "Formation and Combined Attack Skills can be learned later."

"Really?" Bai Lion scoffed more mockingly, having tried to promote formations and combined attacks ten years ago. However, due to Domoco’s innate characteristics, this policy was cut off by the royal family. Domoco’s citizens were predominantly Hunters—specializing in a single profession, with few employing formations or combined tactical skills. Influenced by national policies, every Hunter in Domoco revered individual strength and disdained team collaboration and professional diversity.

"I will give you one last chance!" Heng Xin did not want to engage in lengthy debates with Bai Lion, "If you submit, I can assure you the authority to command as you did previously in Domoco, second only to me."

"No need, if I were to overthrow the royal family, why would I still be second to anyone?"

Heng Xin’s eyes narrowed slightly, was his opponent aiming to become the Emperor himself?

"Seeking death!"

Before he could finish speaking, Heng Xin summoned a fierce windstorm, attacking Bai Lion.

Bai Lion was well-prepared, and a circle of earth-yellow aura unfolded around him as earth elements surged, constructing a barricade of mountains and rocks around him.

A second later, a loud bang burst in everyone’s ears.

The mountain walls dented inward, and a green falcon appeared before their eyes.

Suddenly, Bai Lion’s arm burst through the stone wall, firmly gripping the falcon’s neck.

Startled, the falcon struggled madly, its wings whipping up a fierce gale, slicing countless sharp Wind Blades across Bai Lion’s arm, spraying blood.

"You can’t escape," Bai Lion’s voice echoed from behind the wall, as the grip on the falcon tightened, its struggles growing weaker.

Heng Xin’s expression remained unchanged, and with a wave of his hand, another Fierce Beast charged out from the void.

It was a water-element Steel-Armored Rhino.

The rhino charged madly toward the mountain wall Bai Lion had formed; each step it took shook the ground, demonstrating the brute strength of the beast, easily capable of splitting mountains and smashing rocks.

Bai Lion remained calm, never loosening his grip on the falcon, instead, he raised his right leg and fiercely kicked at the charging rhino.

With a single kick, the ground shattered inch by inch from Bai Lion as the center, and the rhino shrieked, pinned firmly to the ground, struggling desperately but unable to escape the pressing force.

Heng Xin’s face darkened, "Do you think that by defeating these two demon beasts, I am without another move?"

Saying this, Heng Xin once more opened his pet space, a Hunter’s Third Transition profession, Beast King, boasting an immense subspace used for storing tamed demon beasts.

This Third Transition Peak Beast King had a vast collection of Level 11 demon beasts, having also tamed three extraordinarily powerful Level 12 demon beasts.

In an instant, thousands of demon beasts stepped out from the space, surrounding Bai Lion comprehensively.

As a Hunter advanced from the Pursuer to Sovereign Hunter, Bai Lion’s battle against Heng Xin could be said to be a fateful confrontation of the two Hunter Third Transition professions.

From the Second Transition, the Hunter system had been in a state of hostility, one treating demon beasts as partners, using them as a means of combat.

The other approach involved killing the demon beasts, absorbing their power, and continuously enhancing one’s own.

The starkly different attitudes towards demon beasts were the spark for frequent battles between the two systems.

This time was no exception; aside from the issue with Domoco, another significant reason for their decisive battle was to prove whose system was the most powerful.

Heng Xin was a top-tier Beast King, and Bai Lion was a top-tier Sovereign Hunter; their battle today was significant.

"Baron, I hope you will not interfere in this matter."

"Alright." Since Bai Lion had spoken, Lu Hong’s boiling vigor calmed down again.

He had thought about two against one, but it was a pity.

Heng Xin, however, did not appreciate it and laughed lightly, "Is he just a green kid, and yet you expect him to be able to help you?"

The Hundred Lions chuckled too, and Lu Hong was also provoked by Heng Xin’s words. Had the Hundred Lions not stopped him, he would have lost his temper at that fool.

Gold Tiger and the Chief Minister also harbored doubts, secretly blaming Heng Xin for his lack of perception, not seeing that the center of the battlefield had been smashed to pieces, yet still not learning his lesson.

Under Heng Xin’s control, a thousand Demon Beasts launched an attack on the Hundred Lions. These beasts, under the coordination of Heng Xin’s magic power, harmonized the brute force and magic power within their bodies.

Each of the beasts Heng Xin had trained was carefully selected, yet Heng Xin had a high pursuit of brute-force-type Demon Beasts. Nearly half of the thousand beasts were strength-type, with immense destructive power.

"Lotus Symbiosis!"

Facing the Hundred Lions, a top-tier Hunter king, Heng Xin immediately activated his ultimate secret technique. This secret technique was not unique; many Beast Kings within the Star Sea had come to understand it, but its strength was not to be underestimated.

This move, Lotus Symbiosis, completely unified the power within the Demon Beasts’ bodies, distributing it according to the Beast King’s will.

For instance, the gray-white giant ape that was currently wrestling with the Hundred Lions was endowed by Heng Xin with thirty percent of the power of a thousand Demon Beasts. Under this enhancement, the gray-white giant ape nearly overwhelmed the Hundred Lions, punching him into the ground repeatedly.

Although concentrating the power of a thousand Demon Beasts into one was extremely strong, breaking through the heavens, Heng Xin dared not do so. This was the downside of Lotus Symbiosis, for if even one Demon Beast died, the power of the Lotus Symbiosis would be weakened.

An opponent just needed to dodge the strongest beast’s attack and gradually kill those that had lost power, easily neutralizing the strength of this secret technique.

Hundred Lions thought the same and used the gray-white giant ape punching him to burrow beneath the ground, avoiding Heng Xin’s sight while stealthily moving towards those weakened Demon Beasts.

Heng Xin was also vigilant, on one hand, gathering beasts to protect himself, and on the other, sending an Earth Shield Beast to burrow underground, attempting to force out the Hundred Lions.

The Hundred Lions also understood that facing the Earth Shield Beast endowed with immense power, he once again activated the power of thousands of beasts and struck with a punch.

Instantly, a potent shockwave surged from beneath the ground, rendering the Demon Beasts on the surface oblivious. Under the assault, they turned into a rain of blood.

Heng Xin paled, "This isn’t the power of a Hunter King!"

Yes, the Hundred Lions had manipulated the airflow to create a horrifying force of annihilation, shattering the secret technique of Lotus Symbiosis in one fell swoop.

Emerging from underground, the Hundred Lions looked up at Heng Xin in the sky, "You’ve lost!"

"Me, lose?" Heng Xin’s face whitened, knowing he had lost, yet he stubbornly said, "You think killing these low-level Demon Beasts means you’ve defeated me?"

"Have you any tricks left?" the Hundred Lions paused before continuing, "Could it be that the Guardian Beast of the state is still alive?"

"Hmph!" Heng Xin produced a massive white fang.

As soon as the fang appeared, all Demon Beasts in the direction of Domoco immediately became chaotic, frantically trying to flee from the area as if they had seen something terrifying.

The Hundred Lions was shocked too, disregarding any factional decorum, he shouted at Lu Hong, "Please, Baron, lend me your help. We mustn’t let him sacrifice the fang!"

"Alright," Lu Hong immediately responded, his words barely uttered when divine light once again enveloped him.

Transforming into a blood-colored streak, he charged fiercely towards Heng Xin.

Heng Xin was also astonished by the aura Lu Hong had unleashed, but the magic power in his hands did not pause for a moment, continuing to refine the massive fang.

"Intimidate!"

Since it was a magic power sacrifice, Lu Hong made a quick decision and released the Intimidate skill. Although it only interrupted Heng Xin for less than half a second, it bought vital time for the Hundred Lions.

Between masters, the outcome could be decided in an instant.

Seizing this opportunity, the Hundred Lions gathered all his power, controlling the surrounding airflow and furiously compressing it towards Heng Xin’s location.

With the magic power temporarily halted, Heng Xin lost his best chance to defend.

"No!"

In a desperate cry, he was compressed into a mass of muddy flesh, dead beyond any doubt.

With Heng Xin down, Gold Tiger and the Chief Minister felt a chill run down their spines. They took to their heels immediately.

The Hundred Lions, however, was not willing to let them escape so easily. With a reverse wave of his hand, a burst of air hit their backs, shattering their heart meridians along with Heng Xin’s, sending them all to the Yellow Springs.

"What is this thing?" Lu Hong caught the falling fang, still somewhat warm to the touch. Although he could not sense any magic power fluctuations from it, the fact that it terrified thousands of beasts meant it was no ordinary object.

"This is a fang from a Domoco realm Guardian Beast." The Hundred Lions did not take the fang from Lu Hong’s hand but instead pushed it towards him, saying, "The Domoco realm once birthed a Demigod-level Demon Beast, which was worshipped by the Tian’an family, who ruled over Domoco with this beast’s help, established their own dynasty, and revered this Guardian Beast. After this beast naturally died due to old age, the Sacred Empire then dispatched an army to colonize and occupy Domoco."

Having heard the Hundred Lions’ explanation, Lu Hong nodded, "So, this fang is for summoning the soul of a Demigod Demon Beast."

"No," the Hundred Lions said gravely. "It is more likely used to summon a true Guardian Beast."

"Whether this Guardian Beast is really dead has always been something propagated by the Tian’an Emperor Clan. Although the Guardian Beast did not appear when the Sacred Empire attacked Domoco, it does not mean it is truly dead. This fang was presumably the last aid given to the Tian’an Emperor Clan by the Guardian Beast, sacrificing the fang could summon the Guardian Beast to fight once more. Initially, the Tian’an Emperor Clan likely couldn’t bear to use this final opportunity, since the Sacred Empire only wanted Domoco to submit, not to be destroyed."

Lu Hong nodded, holding the fang in hand, recognizing the substantial use this fang might have in the future. After all, a Demigod-level Demon Beast possessed terrifying power, making it an excellent tool for battling the sea clans. Presumably, this was also why the Hundred Lions had not taken it back.