Chapter 261 Chapter259-Departure from the Trail Grounds
Within the resplendent palace, Sovok's demeanor shifted from its previous nonchalance.
No longer did he regard Ethan as an insignificant insect. For the first time, he summoned his spell — the unique Elf forest magic.
"Arboreal Bind!" The Elf King Sovok bellowed.
From him emanated a dark mist that transformed into intertwining vines, weaving together into an immense net which then lunged towards Ethan.
Instinctively, Ethan sought to evade it. "It's no use; I can't dodge it," he murmured, realizing the implications. "No matter where I go, this vine-woven net seems to be able to engulf me. This isn't like any regular spell."
At this, Sovok scoffed, "That, young one, is the fundamental difference between you and me. Ordinary beings may rely on powerful skills, but in the hands of a deity, even the most rudimentary skill can be imbued with the Power of Rules."
"Take this Arboreal Bind, for instance. It's empowered with the Unerring Rule. No matter where you flee, you cannot escape its grasp. Evasion is futile against the Unerring Rule!"
Ethan was taken aback by this revelation. "Is this the power of a deity? Truly formidable."
Not far away, upon hearing Sovok's words, the expressions of Oberlis, Quel, and the others darkened considerably.
"How can we possibly defeat such a Sovok..." Quel hesitated before voicing the disheartening thought.
Although his words might dampen morale, they also starkly represented the grim reality: facing such overwhelming power, death seemed the inevitable outcome.
"Believe in Ethan," Rose whispered weakly.
She had been drained of most of her blood by the Original Elf King Sovok, her pallor ghostly white.
She was so feeble that she struggled to remain upright, relying on Oberlis for support.
The usually silent Kadiven also spoke up. "Ethan stands a chance."
His words were brief, yet they managed to inspire a glimmer of hope.
However, everyone understood that the "chance" Kadiven referred to was incredibly slim, bordering on nonexistent.
"I can't stand by. I need to help Ethan," Windsor declared with urgency.
Though her acquaintance with Ethan was relatively short-lived, Windsor had come to regard Ethan as someone immensely important to him.
"Windsor." Rose's voice halted her.
Windsor turned to look at her, then explained, "Don't worry, I've thought this through. I won't act recklessly. Ethan is a Dragon, just as I am. But I am a Rainbow Dragon. In the legacy of the Rainbow Dragons, there's a unique Dragon Spell that allows one to transfer their power to another Dragon, temporarily breaking through their limits."
"But if you..." Rose began, her voice thick with concern.
Before she could finish her question, Windsor, seemingly reading her thoughts, interjected, "The price? I can bear it."
Such a formidable skill naturally came at a cost.
Yet, seeing Windsor's resolute determination, Rose chose not to dissuade her.
Elsewhere, trapped beneath Sovok's Arboreal Bind, Ethan's face tightened, a resolution forming within his heart.
If he couldn't evade it, he would simply tear it apart!
In the split second as the Arboreal Bind descended upon him, Ethan brandished the Blasphemous Spear, slashing fiercely at the tendrils formed from the inky mist.
[Blasphemous Spear]
[Level: Divine Artifact (Sealed)]
[Characteristics:]
[Bloodthirst: Upon vanquishing a foe, it transforms the fallen into energy for absorption.]
[Slash: A chance to bypass an adversary's defenses.] [Demolition: Injuries inflicted cannot mend.]
[Description: A spear of divine artifact caliber. However, due to the imperfect craftsmanship of its forger, its quality was somewhat compromised, endowing it with profound potential for growth. When its seal is ultimately shattered, it may very well shake the foundations of the universe.]
This spear now embodied three distinct characteristics.
And while the Arboreal Bind was imbued with the Unerring Rule, making it inescapable, the vines that comprised it were certainly destructible.
With the swing of the spear, many of the tendrils that came into contact with it were severed.
This spectacle caused Sovok's heart to race.
"This is not just any divine artifact, but an evolvable divine artifact. If it were in my possession..."
Sovok's thoughts wandered into realms of fantasy, leaving him momentarily distracted. Ethan seized this golden opportunity.
As the Arboreal Bind shattered, Ethan lunged straight at Sovok, driving the spear into Sovok's arm.
Deities, while commanding the Power of Rules, were not invincible.
Sovok ascended to deity status by leveraging the Elf Bloodline, one of the shortcuts to divine ascension.
Although his power was formidable, the rules he mastered at the deity level were neither numerous nor particularly potent.
The Blasphemous Spear, on the other hand, was a divine artifact.
Even though it hadn't yet evolved into its full-fledged form, it already boasted significant might.
Under the attributes of Slash and Demolition, the spear effortlessly tore through the skin on Sovok's arm, causing him pain.
However, to Ethan's astonishment, beneath Sovok's skin wasn't flesh and blood.
It was a black mist.
"What in the world...?" Thoughts swirled in Ethan's mind.
The injured Sovok, now wholly enraged, hurled a punch imbued with the Unerring Rule, landing it squarely on Ethan.
The force of the blow sent Ethan hurtling backward, crashing into a pillar of the palace.
"Ethan!" Rose and the others cried out in alarm.
By this time, Windsor's Magic Circle was complete.
Bestowing one's own power onto another Dragon was no simple feat, especially when the recipient Dragon was immensely powerful.
As such, the task's complexity would escalate.
For this reason, Windsor had to employ the Magic Circle.
Being a Rune Fairy, Kadiven naturally held a profound understanding of the Magic Circle.
With Kadiven's assistance, Windsor swiftly set the Magic Circle into place.
"In the name of the rainbow, grant the Power of the Dragon!"
Windsor whispered, pouring the Power of the Dragon into the Magic Circle.
Soon enough, this power found its way to Ethan.
"What's this...?" Ethan detected this surge of energy, albeit faint.
Yet, his strength had already peaked at the zenith for ordinary beings, representing the epitome just below that of deities.
With this additional surge of power, it seemed as though a certain boundary was instantly shattered.
In just a fleeting moment, Ethan felt a distinct essence. It was akin to the Power of Rules.
However, the precise rule this essence embodied remained elusive to Ethan.
Thus, Ethan extended his hand and grasped it.
Sovok's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets upon witnessing this scene. This all-too-familiar spectacle made his voice tremble uncontrollably. "A deity!" he stuttered. "No, impossible! There's no way this boy could ascend to a deity so swiftly!"
Suddenly, Sovok's gaze snapped to Rose, Windsor, and the others.
"Damn it!"
"It was you lot who orchestrated this!" Sovok roared in unparalleled rage.
He discerned Windsor's evident weakness, a frailty not stemming from mere exhaustion, but rather a regression of his own Bloodline.
For Dragons, their formidable physique and strength are foundational.
The Rainbow Dragon's ability to bestow its power onto another Dragon comes at the steep price of permanently diminishing a portion of its own strength—a sacrifice no Dragon would willingly accept.
Such a cost was exorbitantly high.
Realizing that Windsor was the linchpin in this scheme, Sovok disregarded Ethan and lunged straight at Windsor.
However, just as his sword was about to pierce Windsor, a hand abruptly materialized before Sovok, seizing the blade.
"Sovok, your opponent is me," Ethan declared calmly, effortlessly snapping the sword in two.
From the fractured blade, Sovok felt the presence of the Power of Rules, a force even more potent than his own Unerring Rule.
"What is this?" Sovok instinctively inquired.
He hadn't expected Ethan to respond, but Ethan did.
"It's the Collapse Rule, capable of shattering everything," Ethan explained.
Ethan's revelation caused Sovok's pupils to constrict, and a palpable sense of dread arose within him.
He muttered to himself, almost deliriously, "The Collapse Rule, such immense power... it should be mine!"
Driven to the brink of insanity, Sovok lunged at Ethan.
"He's only just grasped this rule; there's no way he's a match for me!" Sovok assured himself internally.
However, with a swift thrust of his Blasphemous Spear, Ethan shattered Sovok's presumption.
For on the spear lay another Power of Rules - Sovok's very own Unerring Rule.
"How can this be... you've harnessed two rules!" Sovok exclaimed, his shock palpable.
Ethan furrowed his brows briefly before nodding and remarking, "Suppose so."
What Sovok didn't realize was that when Ethan's power broke its limits, he hadn't just tapped into these two rules, but a vast array of them.
It seemed as if Ethan could grasp them all at will, but time was of the essence.
Ethan couldn't stand by and let Windsor face harm.
So, in that pivotal moment, he chose the two rules he was most familiar with - the Collapse Rule and the Unerring Rule.
The Collapse Rule was derived from the attributes of the Blasphemous Spear, while the Unerring Rule was taken directly from Sovok himself.
Familiar with these two, Ethan was able to wield them swiftly and decisively.
Thus, when Sovok made his move, Ethan was prepared, piercing straight through Sovok's heart.
Yet, the battle was far from over.
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