"This is impossible." Under the pain, the Radiant King roared in disbelief. He knew the defensive capability of his Holy Light Shield intimately; never mind this soft, yielding Netherworld Finger, even if its power were doubled, it shouldn't be able to penetrate his shield. Much less tear through it like tofu, and then stab open several fist-sized holes in his body after piercing it.

He was, after all, a powerhouse at the peak of the mid-stage Soul Transformation realm, his physical body comparable to tempered metal after constant evolution and refinement.

He was tricked. After roaring, the Radiant King suddenly realized the truth. Lei Dong had first used an ordinary Netherworld Finger to lower his guard, and then used a tainted Netherworld Finger to severely wound him.

Just as the Radiant King became alert, dozens of shadowy figures flickered into existence around Lei Dong, each exuding a fierce and powerful aura—clearly, they were all peak Soul Transformation experts. In perfect unison, they unleashed a black dragon toward the Radiant King.

Given Lei Dong's temperament and disposition, he always believed that dead enemies were good enemies. As for one-on-one duels or notions of honor, those were never things Lei Dong concerned himself with. He had merely taken slight advantage of the excessive pride inherent in the Winged God Clan members.

"I say, space is frozen." Taking advantage of the Radiant King's injury, Lei Dong truly unleashed a True Word spell, not just an empty shout. Dozens of black dragons, roaring fiercely, swept toward the Radiant King like a furious tempest.

"Despicable and shameless bastard, actually using the presumed one-on-one setting to lower my guard, setting up a killing blow." The Radiant King felt utterly humiliated by Lei Dong's ruthlessness, truly a case of "My heart sought the bright moon, yet the moon shone on the ditch."

However, as the actual controller behind the scenes of the Light Holy Domain, the Radiant King still possessed numerous hidden trump cards. His eyes flashed with pain, yet without hesitation, he crushed a golden talisman with his divine sense.

A colossal wave of energy erupted from the Radiant King, exploding outward in all directions and shattering the solidified space into countless fragments. A golden shield immediately formed around him, its surface covered in spiraling golden runes, projecting an aura of immense defense.

"Boom—"

It happened faster than words could describe. The dozens of black dragon roars, thanks to the exquisite coordination of the Hidden Dragon Soldiers, had almost merged into one attack, striking the Radiant King almost simultaneously.

This combined strike by thirty Hidden Dragon Soldiers at full power, in Lei Dong’s estimation, should have pulverized anything. Never mind a peak mid-stage Soul Transformation expert; even a late-stage or peak Soul Transformation expert would likely be blasted into dust upon a direct hit.

It could even be said that anyone below the Void Refinement level could not possibly withstand this blow—not even Lei Dong’s Undying Dark Yin Shield. Even a Void Refinement expert would not emerge completely unscathed.

Centered on the Radiant King, the violent shockwave stretched for several miles, the rippling vibrations staggering everyone else engaged in battle, causing them to involuntarily halt their actions. Who unleashed such terrifying might? Such power, perhaps, even a low-stage Void Refinement expert could muster.

Yet, a bizarre sight unfolded: the Radiant King stood unharmed in the void, still encased in that glittering golden shield.

Lei Dong was also momentarily stunned. What level of shield was that? That ferocious strike just now, surely even a Void Refinement expert couldn't take head-on and remain completely intact, could they?

"Divine Shield Talisman?"

Others might not recognize it, but how could several Winged God Clan experts fail to recognize the ancient protective talisman passed down within their clan? King Adjudicator’s face changed drastically; he never imagined that the Divine Shield Talisman, rumored to be long exhausted, was actually in the Radiant King's possession.

It was known that, according to legend, even a Void Refinement expert would need to exert full effort for several successive strikes to break through the effect of a Divine Shield Talisman.

Of course, the Hidden Dragon Soldiers’ combined attack amplified their individual might drastically. It was considerably more potent than the full-power attack of a single Void Refinement expert. At the very least, a Void Refinement expert would struggle to instantly kill a mid-to-high stage Soul Transformation cultivator, but the Hidden Dragon Soldiers' combined attack could achieve it.

Crack, crack— The Radiant King’s supposedly unbreakable Divine Shield finally exhausted its power after enduring such a fierce blow, its luminous surface cracking into fragments.

"Lei Dong, you are ruthless." Although protected by the Divine Shield, the rebounding force transmitted through it dealt a further blow to the Radiant King's already injured body, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. By this point, however, the Radiant King fully understood that discussing one-on-one duels or honor with Lei Dong was pure nonsense.

The Sanctuary, which he had been reluctant to use, intending it for the Night Emperor, swiftly materialized before the Radiant King's chest.

The Sanctuary was an ultimate treasure of the Winged God Clan, used to suppress destiny and fortune. Once deployed, its might was overwhelming, invincible in offense and defense. The small, majestic-looking miniature temple, emitting waves of solemn white light, began to grow rapidly, accompanied by a deep, humming chant from within.

As dazzling radiance shot forth, eighteen phantom figures of Winged God Clan members sprang out from the Sanctuary. Each radiated an immensely vast and astonishing aura; the majority were certainly no weaker than the Radiant King’s level, and several even possessed a stronger presence. These were the most elite and powerful beings from successive generations of the Winged God Clan, whose damaged primordial spirits were placed within the Sanctuary after falling in battle, receiving the reverence of their descendants to become Guardian Spirits, protecting the clan through the ages.

Naturally, these spirit-like entities could not fully exert their peak strength from when they were alive. However, the most formidable among them would likely not be significantly inferior to the Radiant King.

Fortunately, the depletion of Heaven and Earth spiritual energy had been ongoing for quite some time, and while spirits could persist, they could not live eternally. The Guardian Spirits enshrined in this Sanctuary should mostly be beings from the last tens of thousands of years. If this were the peak era of the Winged God Clan in antiquity, this Sanctuary might hold not eighteen Soul Transformation spirits, but perhaps eighteen peak Void Refinement, or even Integration stage experts.

After his initial attack failed, Lei Dong had already commanded everyone to retreat with caution. But upon witnessing the majestic and sacred Sanctuary and the eighteen powerful spirits, Lei Dong couldn't help but curse under his breath.

Ever since learning that such a terrifying object as the Sanctuary was in the Radiant King’s hands, Lei Dong had been scheming how to directly eliminate the Radiant King before he had the chance to summon the spirits. This led to the painstaking setup before, where everyone was almost fighting individually, and he himself had prepared for a one-on-one duel with the Radiant King.

He had calculated everything, yet he hadn't accounted for the Radiant King possessing a heaven-defying talisman like the Divine Shield Talisman, which saved him from the fatal blow even when trapped and ready to be annihilated by the Hidden Dragon Army's combined assault. Furthermore, it bought him the time needed to summon the spirits Lei Dong most wished to avoid.

However, what is fated to happen, will happen; where human effort meets destiny, there are limits. Since he could not prevent the emergence of the Sanctuary Spirits, the only recourse was to dismantle them by force. Though the Sanctuary Spirits were formidable, they were still merely eighteen Soul Transformation level beings.

"Alright, everyone, stop holding back. Attack!" After a moment of brief frustration, Lei Dong's eyes burst with fierce light, and he roared, "Radiant King, even with your Sanctuary Spirits, you are doomed to die."

Following Lei Dong's words, figures possessing formidable auras emerged from the concealed spatial gate he had hidden. Among them were mid-stage Soul Transformation experts like the Evil Phoenix and King Yaksha, and early-stage experts including the Demon Dragon Emperor, Dark Serpent, Flame Demon King, Elder Li, and the Netherworld Demon Venerable.

These experts clustered around Lei Dong. Combined with his inherent strength, they faced the Radiant King with a total of forty-two Soul Transformation powerhouses.

"Destroy the Sanctuary first, then kill the Radiant King," Lei Dong commanded without ceremony, waving his hand.

The experts began pairing off against the Guardian Spirits, engaging them in simultaneous combat. Although the Sanctuary was powerful, Lei Dong's reserves were equally deep. The elaborate scheming beforehand was merely an attempt to avoid a drawn-out, difficult battle.

Since he couldn't take the easy path, he could only go all out to exterminate the enemy. Since his debut, Lei Dong had fought countless battles, large and small, often turning defeat into victory in desperate circumstances. He had overcome so much hardship; what was there to fear now?

Moreover, through the wide-open connection channel, Lei Dong’s elite Hidden Dragon Soldiers and Ferocious Ghost Soldiers were surging out like a tide. Each possessed the combat strength of the Nascent Soul realm. While one or two Nascent Soul cultivators might not warrant the attention of a Soul Transformation expert, dozens or hundreds could make a Soul Transformation expert extremely wary and unwilling to provoke them easily.

If the number exceeded one hundred, even a Soul Transformation expert would avoid confronting them head-on, choosing to maneuver around them instead. And Lei Dong commanded over ten thousand Nascent Soul stage experts alone.

Initially, the Radiant King expressed slight amazement at Lei Dong's military storage treasure. However, he too possessed a similar artifact and immediately summoned a tower-shaped spiritual treasure, from which elite Winged God Clan members poured out, spreading the battlefield wide to confront Lei Dong's Hidden Dragon and Ferocious Ghost armies.

But as the fight progressed, things began to feel wrong. Lei Dong's armies seemed endless; thousands had already emerged in a short time, and more were continuously pouring out. This sight shocked the Radiant King to his core, making him inwardly cry out in horror: How is this possible? How many people can this guy’s military storage treasure hold?

It should be known that the Radiant King's Storage Pagoda was a supreme spiritual treasure painstakingly refined over an entire lifetime by a renowned ancient mighty figure, capable of holding two thousand individuals. A treasure of this magnitude was something even an Integration-stage expert would fight desperately to acquire. Who would have thought that his proud trump card, the Storage Pagoda, would look so insignificant compared to Lei Dong's?

…… (To be continued)