Chapter 556 — Trump Cards Are Out

Even Rank 11 Awakeners would not dare take the Human Emperor’s attack head-on.

Although weaker than his true body, the projection’s offensive power was still significantly greater than that of an ordinary Rank 11 Awakener.

Yet Liora, who was nominally only at the Anchoring stage, dared to do exactly that.

And the result went completely against common sense.

Just as the Elder inwardly mocked Liora for overestimating herself, the same black threads as before burst out from her body.

Like a spider weaving a web around its prey, the threads quickly surrounded the sword light before pouncing on it like gluttonous demons.

Within moments, the sword light was nowhere to be seen, as though an invisible power had erased it from existence.

The entire scene was astonishing.

Just when it seemed that Liora’s hand would be severed and the rest of her body would explode, a dark light flashed, and the Human Emperor’s sword slash vanished.

Or at least, that was how it appeared from an outsider’s point of view.

Liora knew otherwise. Glancing at the rioting Cosmic Sea within her body, she saw that the sword strike had actually been transferred inside of it.

The Cosmic Sea was now her, having replaced her physical body and acting as her blood and bones.

Under normal circumstances, drawing an enemy’s attack into one’s own body was no different from seeking death.

However, as the cosmic dust swirled and continuously wrapped around the sword light, the force within it rapidly weakened.

Bit by bit, it was chipped away.

In the end, the strike disappeared completely. Although the Cosmic Sea trembled faintly, the impact had been spread evenly across its surface.

The actual damage it suffered was minimal. Within only a couple of breaths, everything had recovered to its original state.

Liora inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her gamble had paid off.

On the surface, however, she remained indifferent, staring at the Elder with an unchanged expression.

Having witnessed the scene, the Elder was naturally shocked.

Liora’s Blood Clone had crumbled almost instantly under the Human Emperor’s attacks.

Although the Elder suspected that the clone was weaker than the original body, the Human Emperor had also grown stronger in the meantime.

She had believed that the gap between the two would remain roughly the same.

Unfortunately, the final result proved otherwise.

Thinking of this, the Elder’s expression darkened even further.

She looked at the Human Emperor’s projection for a brief moment before lowering her gaze toward the land beneath her.

Then, she could not help but let out a sigh.

"I didn’t want to do this. But since things have reached this point, you leave me with no other choice...", she muttered as she waved her scepter for one final time.

This time, it was not to manipulate the Human Emperor.

Instead, it was to send out a summoning call.

As her hand moved, changes began to take place throughout the continent.

Four places—one in each of the four outer regions—erupted with oppressive auras that surged into the sky.

If anyone were to look at those four locations from above, they would immediately realize that they were the four forbidden areas where the demons’ ancestors had perished only a few days ago.

Now, those four places, which had previously been dyed in the blood of Ancient Devils, burst out with power. They seemed to resonate with the entire Blood Forest Realm.

Countless patterns emerged from their depths.

They shot into the sky, converged, and rushed straight toward the central region.

Their destination was not far from the battlefield between Liora and the Elder. To be more precise, it was the exact center of the entire continent.

As the countless symbols gathered there and drilled underground, something slumbering beneath the continent finally started to awaken.

Liora sensed a tremor race through the land.

Fractures formed and spread at an alarming speed, causing the earth below to shake violently.

At first, the impact was confined to the area around the patterns. But very quickly, it spread across the entire central region and then beyond.

Liora had no time to witness the full results.

Yet as the lights in the bloodline map within her mind dimmed one after another, representing the deaths of her bloodline descendants, she could guess how devastating this natural disaster had been.

As for the reason behind this change, Liora already had a faint suspicion.

She recalled the event from only a few days ago, when the Human Temple had once again displayed its power and established its might in the Blood Forest Realm by slaying four Ancient Devils.

At that time, their success had not come from the Human Emperor’s projection, nor from the Elders themselves.

They had relied entirely on the Divine Weapon.

Although she could guess what was happening, Liora had no time to interfere with the process.

Only a split second after that thought surfaced, the slumbering will fully awakened.

An atmosphere of humanity and righteousness enveloped the entire central region as a deafening metallic clang rang out, as though a sword had just been unsheathed.

No. This was not a mere illusion.

As the Human Emperor Sword stirred, it truly was being unsheathed.

It was just that its sheath was not an ordinary one, made of leather or metal, but the continent itself.

The Human Emperor Sword shot upward.

Unlike the last time it had appeared, it did not remain floating in place, but flew straight toward the Human Emperor’s projection.

As the projection’s hand wrapped around its hilt, the two resonated with one another.

Individually, both were Rank 11.

But as they merged, they seemed to break through a certain shackle that had been limiting them.

A trace of vitality and intelligence appeared in the Human Emperor’s eyes.

As he turned his head, his gaze clashed with Liora’s midair.

A trace of solemnity appeared in Liora’s pupils as she stared at her opponent.

The solemnity grew even stronger when she sensed the terrifying aura emanating from him, which, though weaker than the Hollow Ancestor, was far stronger than the Four Elements Devil.

But at the same time, that seriousness was accompanied by a burst of excitement.

Liora knew that the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Without giving the Human Emperor any time to move, she took action before he could display his true combat prowess.