Chapter 573 Sword Intent

At this moment, behind the highway battlefield, inside the armored command vehicle on Highway 41, the many busy staff officers were thrown into a state of panic.

“Report, the position of the Forty-fifth Regiment of Onassis has been breached. They are less than 2.2 kilometers from Command Base Two!”

“The Thirty-seventh Regiment of Matteola has scattered. The commander of the Thirty-seventh Regiment died gloriously in battle. They can no longer stop the enemy.”

“All three outposts outside Command Base One have been destroyed by their rocket artillery!”

“Sir! Their artillery fire is extending deep into Command Base One. They’ve mobilized almost all of their ‘Holy Annihilators.’ Our people can hardly fully intercept those heavy guns. You must make a decision as soon as possible, sir.”

“We can’t spare any more Legends for now. We can’t stop them.”

“Has everyone noticed? Their number of Legendary ranks also exceeds our estimates. They are strange things that forcibly elevate the ranks of those magic-energy professionals to Legendary tier, and they can display extremely high combat proficiency. It looks like some kind of symbiotic battle armor?”

“Unbelievable. Has bio-symbiotic technology already reached this level?”

At this moment, not only was John Adams’s face pale and bloodless, but in Salas Onassis’s pupils, a restless color flickered as well.

After all, they were still young men under thirty. No matter how outstanding they usually performed, when faced with such dire circumstances, they could not help but be somewhat impatient and agitated.

“If these two bases are destroyed and all control equipment is lost, nearly ninety percent of our Beast Blood warriors will go berserk.”

John Adams’s voice was somewhat hoarse: “Without the Beast Blood warriors to hold them back, those two ancient dragons will slaughter us to the last!”

“I know!”

Salas Onassis’s voice was cold and heavy: “Contact Ms. Chilino and Mr. Contade. Have their reserve demigod team provide support. Under no circumstances can we allow them to break within one kilometer of the two command bases.”

To facilitate command and combat coordination, the National Progressive Association had divided all fifty-two demigods invited for this battle into fifteen groups, three to four per group.

To guard against unforeseen events, Salas had kept two demigod groups in reserve, not yet committed to the battlefield.

But Salas knew that just these seven demigods were probably far from enough. He waved his hand again and actively contacted the magisters waiting on the battlefield’s periphery: ‘Supreme Edict’ Yvonne Matteola, ‘World Shaker’ Jody Chandler, ‘Energy Monarch’ Ron Edmund, as well as the lich magister Eddie Adams, the God of Strategy Garcia Ferren, and the God of Navigation Lund Onassis—six in total.

“Gentlemen, although I personally am very reluctant to see this, given the current situation, I’m afraid we have been backed into a corner.”

“A divine-domain-level decisive battle, is it?”

Yvonne Matteola’s expression was understanding: “We’ve all seen the situation. The troops they’ve fielded are unexpectedly strong.”

“I have already sent demigod combatants to stop them, but this will inevitably draw forces from both sides to converge here. Yet this is exactly what I was trying to avoid earlier—”

Salas Onassis smiled bitterly: “I can see that they have extremely powerful forces, but they are better suited for point attacks. Once our personnel become too concentrated, we may suffer a heavy blow from them.”

“So, this is likely to trigger a decisive battle.”

This was the God of Strategy, Garcia Ferren. His gaze was grim: “Your judgment is correct, Onassis. May I offer my advice? Retreat now. I have a premonition that what follows will be terrible.”

But everyone present fell into silence.

Even John Adams, who was most restless, did not voice agreement.

They could not swallow the bitter fruit of defeat. It would mean that both he and Salas would bear responsibility for this defeat. They would be cast into the family’s trash heap, with little hope of ever returning to the family’s core.

John Adams also fundamentally refused to believe that the Wieldanstein family could truly muster the strength to fully oppose the National Progressive Association.

The current situation was merely a matter of more or fewer casualties.

Salas Onassis’s eyes were tormented, his voice harsh: “But this is too terrible, Your Highness Garcia. For this battle, we have mobilized countless resources just on the government level. And over four hundred Legends, over fifty demigods—the National Progressive Association spent more than three hundred billion gold shields to invite them to fight.”

“So, you still want to take a look, take a gamble? At this point, you probably won’t be satisfied without seeing the cards in that grandfather and grandson’s hands.”

‘World Shaker’ Jody Chandler shook his head knowingly: “Then let’s start the show hand. But before that, I suggest you mobilize all the resources you can now. This is not the time to conserve strength.”

“Of course! I will use all the resources of the National Progressive Association! I have already contacted them in advance. Within ten minutes at most, two more divine-level combatants from our side will enter the field.”

Salas’s gaze was firm. He also fixed his eyes on ‘Energy Monarch’ Ron Edmund: “Mr. Edmund, I hope you can go all out in this battle! If the Wieldanstein family wins today, and if we lose the protection of the National Progressive Association, I think you know the consequences?”

Ron Edmund’s eyes narrowed slightly, then he nodded slightly: “Of course, I will do my best! But please also be wary of the ‘Ouroboros Spine’ I lost. Einstein is on their side. This item has likely been made into a mythical artifact. Einstein’s proficiency in energy studies is second only to mine. This mythical artifact will be very powerful!”

“I will remind everyone to be careful!”

Salas Onassis was not very concerned. This equipment might indeed be powerful, but it was ultimately just a defensive artifact, not impossible to deal with.

Meanwhile, inside the command post of Saint Rock Fortress, Li Mochen slightly curled his lips.

“Inform Lambern Torredo and Delfinia that they can now attack!”

Beside him, the Magic Goddess Diana also raised her eyebrows: “So, you’re preparing for a decisive battle, right?”

“If they are not willing to give up these two control bases—”

A look of anticipation appeared in Li Mochen’s eyes: “Then the next war will be the stage for gods and magisters!”

As he spoke, Li Mochen reached out and took the ‘Dragon Blade Slash’ in his hand, then lightly flicked the blade, producing a dull ring.

“I will make them realize that the Wieldanstein family is no longer an existence they can provoke.”

Li Mochen felt the battle intent within him boiling, almost to the point of insatiable hunger.

Since coming to this world, his extraordinary swordsmanship had never had a chance to be displayed.

Only the battle with Robespierre had given Li Mochen a bit of satisfaction, but that Sakura Blood Sword could not bear even thirty percent of his swordsmanship.

Now, the ‘Dragon Blade Slash’ in his hand was much stronger than the Sakura Blood Sword. Although its shape differed from a true sword, for a strong man like him, he had long ceased to be constrained by the form of a weapon. Falling flowers and drifting leaves could all wound; even a twig could be a deadly weapon.

Li Mochen estimated that with the ‘Dragon Blade Slash,’ he could display at least seventy percent of the swordsmanship level of Wenjian Taoran.

Yet, possessing the demigod armor Light Demon No. 8, the Ring of Strength, the Five Elements External Elixir, and numerous mythical artifacts, his strength and speed were no longer comparable to Wenjian Taoran’s—in terms of combat power, he had already surpassed Taoran at his peak!

So, could these enemies before him match even fifty percent of Dugu Tianyi’s strength?

…

‘Void Night Lord’ Delfinia did not delay a moment after receiving Li Mochen’s command, and her void magic allowed her to appear on the battlefield instantly.

By now, this alien race queen had eliminated many of her previous distractions.

Just two months ago, thoughts of finding an opportunity to stab Li Mochen in the back for revenge would occasionally cross her mind. But now, she was ‘wholeheartedly’ playing the role of a vassal of the Rising Sun Group.

In the nearly one year by Li Mochen’s side, Delfinia had deeply understood the terror of this guy and knew what terrible consequences those thoughts in her heart would bring to her and her race.

Unless she could truly and completely kill this guy, there would be endless troubles. And this, even for her who possessed powerful void abilities, she considered extremely difficult and hard to achieve.

His ultimate form had never been revealed.

In Delfinia’s view, Li Mochen, who simultaneously possessed the Scarlet Dragon Armor, the Ring of Strength, the Mandala Bracelet, the Burial Spirit Pendant, the Dragon Blade Slash, and the Sky Scepter, was truly the most powerful.

Yet even today, when the Wieldanstein family faced such a crisis, that Andrew Li Wieldanstein seemed not to intend to go all out.

So after appearing, Delfinia went all out, cleanly and neatly banishing the several demigods before her one by one into the extremely perilous ‘Baator Hell,’ and to the ninth layer.

In the battle over a month ago, Li Mochen had given her a fifth-level sacred artifact, which greatly strengthened her void abilities. It allowed her to easily banish these demigods simultaneously and prevent their return.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Lambern Torredo was locked in a bitter struggle.

This one was also an ancient vampire, but his strength and speed could not compare to Odyssey Ventrue of the Ventrue clan. He only possessed a weak ice divine authority and a weak painting divine authority.

To be fair, ice divine authority itself was a very powerful ability, and if the painting divine authority were of a higher level, it would also be very unstoppable. Lambern Torredo could turn the things he painted into ‘reality’—he could paint an ancient dragon in the air and then make it possess the strength of a true dragon.

But the problem was that Torredo’s skill in this area was not profound enough, and his mana and mental strength were insufficient to support a powerful ancient dragon.

Of course, this one, after all, was an ancient who controlled two divine authorities, and he could still suppress the three demigods opposite him, including the demigod hunter Contade.

But as the National Progressive Association’s second demigod group joined the battle, his situation became somewhat strained. He had to counter the sniping of two demigod hunters and be wary of the assassination of a demigod shadow, but he did not need to worry about the opposing magic power. The National Progressive Association’s several demigod mages were firmly tied down by the two ancient dragons and the luxurious mage group of the Tremere clan.

Yet even so, he found it difficult to fully exert his most powerful divine authority under the interference of several demigods.

“Truly the weakest ancient among the vampires—”

Watching this scene, Li Mochen could not help but rub his forehead with a bitter smile. He could see that Lambern Torredo’s ‘strain’ had a bit of performance in it, but aside from that, this man indeed had little strength left.

“The National Progressive Association has deployed six magisters and gods this time, while the Wieldanstein family only has Conshuri, Robespierre, and you, young Mr. Wieldanstein.”

The Magic Goddess Diana looked at Li Mochen with a scrutinizing gaze, and at the blade in his hand, her eyes flickering with unusual light.

She simultaneously sensed the aura of several conceptual divine authorities from this man. They were fused together, inspiring awe.

—It somewhat resembled Eastern sword intent, but the foundation was derived from the source power of the Western magic-energy professional system. Li Mochen had integrated them well.

Diana only did not know to what extent Li Mochen had cultivated these conceptual divine authorities.

“That is enough, Goddess.”

Li Mochen’s gaze remained cold as he looked ahead: “Even among magisters and gods, there are strong and weak, aren’t there? The Wieldanstein family and the Rising Sun Group also have many powers you do not know of.”

“Oh?”

After a moment of surprise, Diana’s expression turned serious: “Then I will wait and see!”

She did not wait long. In just a moment, the battlefield there changed again. As the Void Night Lord Delfinia banished the sixth demigod sent by the National Progressive Association to reinforce them to the ninth layer of hell and covered Sampson’s Storm Troops in breaking through to within 1.5 kilometers of the opposing control base, the two gods of the National Progressive Association finally appeared on the battlefield.

As Clark Banfield’s intelligence indicated, they were the God of Strategy Garcia Ferren and the God of Navigation Lund Onassis!

These two struck with great fanfare from the start, their vast divine source power directly blasting huge ravines into the ground, forcing Delfinia to continuously perform dimensional jumps to evade the divine might of these two. But she dared not go far; below their battlefield were the Storm Troops that had broken through to this point. And these symbiotic warriors, all above level seventeen, were very powerful relative to ordinary people, but before these two gods, they were still very weak.

Delfinia had to expend a large portion of her mana to divert the power of these two gods into the void, to prevent Sampson and the others from being affected. The two gods clearly saw this, and their attacks were more focused on the ground than on Delfinia herself. Thus, in less than three seconds, they had pushed Delfinia into a perilous situation.

At this moment, Li Mochen turned his gaze to the sky above. To their east, four magic towers had successively slid in from the astral plane. They were Yvonne Matteola’s eighteen-story magic tower ‘Supreme Codex,’ Jody Chandler’s eighteen-story magic tower ‘Oscillation Core,’ and Eddie Adams’s sixteen-story magic tower ‘Mind Gate.’

In addition, there was an eight-story magic tower—that should be Ron Edmund’s magic tower ‘Energy Conservation.’ In just one month, this magister, whose strength rivaled Bethel Einstein’s, had restored his power to this extent.

Without hesitation, Li Mochen directly shot a ‘North-South Polarity Life-Death Divine Light’ toward Eddie Adams’s magic tower.

He wanted to first see what gave this lich magister the audacity to appear before him!

The next moment, his eyes narrowed. Eddie Adams made no resistance, allowing the black-and-white beam to strike deep into the ‘Mind Gate’ magic tower. Yet he remained unharmed, completely unaffected by his life-death divine authority.

“This is a divine authority that can ‘balance’ all things! It should be a divine authority scroll, and of the highest grade, from some Archangel.”

Diana commented without emotion: “This is indeed a good way to resist your life-death divine authority’s interference, but the cost is a bit high—no less than ten billion gold shields. They understand you and have made ample preparations.”

“Then I can only say that their preparations are far from enough!”

As Li Mochen shook his head, a magical projection suddenly appeared beside him. Inside were three figures: Conshuri Wieldanstein, and Hazer and Robespierre, who were also watching from the top floor of the Wieldanstein Building.

Upon seeing Diana’s figure, the two magisters there changed expression, visibly moved. The status of the Magic Goddess among mages was, of course, beyond words.

If there was any god among the pantheon whose stance had always been on the side of mortals, it was undoubtedly the Magic Goddess. In the Middle Ages and earlier eras, during the wars between mages and gods, the Magic Goddess had always been their greatest support behind the scenes. Several of her falls were also related to this.

Thus, the mage community of this world, even if they did not worship the Magic Goddess, maintained a considerable degree of respect for her.

But now that they were in wartime, the two merely bowed slightly to the Magic Goddess in greeting before turning their attention back to Li Mochen.

"How do you plan to fight? Andrei?"

"Chandler's 'Oscillation Core'—old man, you should be able to match him? Edie Adams will be handled by the Void Night Lord; his mental divine power and mental forbidden curse are extremely dangerous. Sending him to the Astral Plane or another dimension is the best choice. As for Ron Edmund—"

Li Mochen's gaze fell on Lafitte de Robespierre and Jennifer behind him.

"Can you keep him occupied, Mr. Robespierre? I will use the Sky Scepter to block his return to the divine kingdom."

"I feel like you're underestimating me?"

Robespierre tightened his grip on his purple-gold scepter and frowned in displeasure: "A severely wounded Ron Edmund, and you say I just need to keep him occupied?"

"The key is still Jennifer. You know what I want to do, don't you, Mr. Robespierre? You alone cannot accomplish this, so don't kill him, and don't let him escape. This truly tests your ability. I'd say this task is the most arduous and tricky."

Li Mochen smiled, then turned his gaze to a spot dozens of kilometers away: "As for those two gods, I'll handle them!"

"So that 'Supreme Edict' Yvonne Mattiola is left to me, right?"

Hazel, standing beside Conshil, was already itching for a fight: "I promise to bring down his magic tower!"

Even before Hazel spoke, the Magic Goddess Diana had been intently watching the figure of the girl in the magical image. Her eyes showed both shock and understanding.

Although what appeared before her was merely an image projected by Conshil's spell, the goddess's divine power of 'Insight' still glimpsed part of the girl's true nature.

That was power that should have belonged to the Calamity Fire Dragon Maiden Adriana, along with an extremely powerful mythical artifact and a living, demigod-level powerful creature—presumably also a so-called bio-armor.

So that's it. Was this the source of Li Mochen's confidence, the hidden power of the Wiltenstein family?

This girl named Hazel indeed possessed the strength to confront a god head-on.

"Of course! Make good use of your divine power and the combat AI of that bio-armor!"

Li Mochen spoke solemnly: "I look forward to the clash between divine power 'Edict', forbidden curses 'Edict of Death' and 'Misfortune', 'Calamity', 'Curse'. Among everyone here, you are the most suitable to face him, besides me."

At this moment, he had already teleported away via dimensional shift. The situation with Delfinia could no longer be delayed.

Dozens of kilometers away on the battlefield, Delfinia was already gritting her teeth. The combined assault of Garcia Feren and Rond Onassis had twice brought her to the brink of danger, nearly severely wounding her.

Though their 'Source Force Slashes' and divine-level source force had never truly touched her body, the residual force alone had already stirred her internal energy, making it hard to calm.

Garcia Feren was a famous general from the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War. Due to his outstanding strategy and tactics in war, he was revered by many soldiers and became the God of Strategy of America. Several military books he authored remain selected textbooks in many top military academies.

Rond Onassis was one of the founders of the Onassis family. In his mortal days, he ran a vast shipping company, making the Onassis family the world's premier shipping dynasty. Because he never encountered any shipwreck in his life and amassed immense wealth from the sea, he was revered by countless sailors as the 'God of Navigation'.

But the combat prowess of these two did not stem from their divine power but from their personal martial abilities. The Navigation God Rond Onassis was a powerful warrior and sea sorcerer; even as a mortal, his source force strength could shake gods. Garcia Feren was a magic sword fighter兼猎杀者; his sword and gun were equally lethal.

Delfinia, only at Legendary Level 5, would struggle to handle even one of them. With the two joining forces and the Storm Troops restraining her, preventing her from using void power to evade widely, each of their strikes brought her to the brink of death. They exploited the rank suppression of gods over mortals to the fullest.

Delfinia had to relax her guidance of the two's power, shifting the pressure onto the Storm Troops below. Fortunately, by then, Sampson Brut and others had, with the help of many mages, built several temporary shelters. Their warrior-grade bio-armor and 'Demon Refiner' magic power armor were sturdy enough to hold for now.

"Doesn't your boss want a decisive battle at the divine level?"

Rond Onassis's face was cold, filled with killing intent: "If he wants war, then we'll give him a decisive battle! You can remind those grandfather and grandson to show up now! Unless they want to watch you die!"

He swung a Source Force Slash that not only shattered the sky but also broke the barrier between the material plane and the Astral Plane. The residual light of the sword strike hit beside Delfinia, causing a trace of blood to spill from her mouth. The key was that the Navigation God's water divine power was also affecting all water molecules in her body, constantly trying to destroy her body.

The Void Night Lord's eyes showed hesitation. She could avoid Rond Onassis's strike via void shift, but not far away, the Strategy God Garcia Feren had locked onto Sampson Brut. His source force slash, mixed with magical power, was falling from midair with irresistible force!

At this moment, Sampson's only hope lay with her. Only Delfinia could tear space and divert Garcia Feren's sword strike into the Astral Void! But the cost would be her being severely wounded by Rond Onassis—at best, losing an arm and having a large amount of water drained by the Navigation God.

Worse still, the six demigods she had banished to the Nine Hells were beginning to return, and soon she would be caught in a pincer attack!

"When will that damned bastard finally show up?"

Just as she was about to make a painful decision, a platinum-golden streak of light flashed out from beside her. It was an arc of blade light that seemed utterly ordinary, though it was right at her side, the Void Nightlord felt no piercing chill or sharpness from it. Yet this single slash effortlessly tore apart and shredded Rondo Onassis's sword aura!

What finally reached Delphinia was nothing more than a gentle breeze.

Across from her, Rondo Onassis's eyes narrowed slightly. He cast his gaze into the void, his expression more solemn than ever before: "Andre Lee Willtonstein?"

At this moment, even the God of Strategy, Garcia Ferrero, temporarily halted his actions and turned to look this way. In his eyes, there was also a hint of awe.

For experts like them, a single exchange revealed much.

The young man he was observing, though far inferior in source power intensity, simultaneously displayed a strength that made their hearts tremble.

What exactly it was required careful discernment, but the only certainty was that his level of power was enough to contend with them head-on!

"It's me!"

Li Mochen's voice was indifferent as he stepped out from the void of the astral plane, then looked at the two before him with a gaze of contemptuous scrutiny.

"You're right, Onassis! This divine war is exactly what I hoped for, even craved. I think that by dealing with you here, it will be enough to decide the outcome of this war."

Behind him, Delphinia first let out a long sigh of relief, then pouted discontentedly: "You came too late! Andre, were you trying to watch me die?"

"Sorry! A guest delayed me a bit. But it hasn't come to that yet, has it? If you used the magic scrolls you got last time, I think you could have held out a while longer. Whoa, with that expression, you haven't sold them already, have you? My apologies."

Li Mochen expressed his apology sincerely while raising his right hand that held the blade. At this moment, his source power, his mind, his will, his divine authority—all had begun a fierce clash with the two gods before him!

Though they were a thousand meters apart, every speck of dust in that distance exploded one by one under their pressure!

Li Mochen was in no way at a disadvantage. The long-lost excitement caused his momentum to continuously grow and expand.

"In short, leave this place to me, Dyer. Your next enemy is that former 'Mind Master' Eddie Adams. Can you send that guy and his magic tower to the Astral Plane? I'll help you with the Sky Scepter!"

Mind Master—this was the title of the mage Eddie Adams during his lifetime. According to the rules of the Magic Association, after a mage's death, the Association reclaims the title they bestowed and no longer regards them as a member of the human mages. Even so, they still possess strength at the level of a mage.

"I can!"

Delphinia very decisively stepped through the void. She believed that Li Chenmo's strength was sufficient to take on the two gods here.

At this moment, Ronald Onassis and Garcia Ferren both showed anger in their eyes. They could clearly sense the arrogance and contempt in Li Chenmo's demeanor!

Although in the less than ten seconds of confrontation, Li Chenmo had already displayed strength that warranted their attention, even full alertness, this was still not enough to justify the young man's disdain for them!

"Quite arrogant, little one—"

Ronald Onassis let out a long breath of turbid air, and then his vast source energy suddenly surged, not only tearing open the clouds in the sky but also causing the ground three thousand meters below to sink continuously under the immense pressure.

"Do you think that you alone can hold us back? You're underestimating us too much, you arrogant and ignorant fool! The divine power of gods is not something that can be countered by the mythical armaments on your body."

"I don't think so."

Li Chenmo waved his right hand, causing the Sky Scepter to float beside him. A powerful force instantly radiated outward from him, spreading in all directions and affecting many dimensions.

From this moment on, the void dimensions within a radius of one hundred and twenty kilometers were completely sealed! For these gods and demigods to leave this place alive, there was only one way—to cross this one hundred and twenty kilometer distance under his watchful eyes using means other than void magic.

And at that moment, a cruel and bloodthirsty arc curled at the corner of Li Chenmo's lips.

"Hold you back? Don't make me laugh, you two. I have only one purpose for appearing here today—to kill you!"

Boom!

In that instant, Li Chenmo's sword intent tore a huge rift directly through Ronald Onassis's surging source energy!