Chapter 104: Spirit Runes Battle (Part 3)

Chapter 104: Spirit Runes Battle (Part 3)

In the Canglan Star Region, people watching the live broadcast let out exclamation after exclamation.

"Wow!"

"What kind of Spirit Runes are these?"

"And what are these Spirit Runes?"

"The Spirit Runes I learned seem completely different from the ones Prince Cang Cheng is using."

In an instant, a drizzle extinguished the fire, an elegantly sinister sea demon appeared, and breathtaking icy crystal mountains rose up...

One after another, previously unseen Spirit Runes appeared, challenging everyone's understanding.

And because of these Spirit Runes, the once-formidable Element Star Region was utterly defeated.

This method of creating miracles, these unprecedented Spirit Runes, and such a confident, effortless posture...

A hypothesis was confirmed.

Prince Cang Cheng, who had long been underestimated, was indeed the mysterious Spirit Runes Master ANKEN!

The two blizzards during the Exchange Competition were both used by Prince Cang Cheng.

The collaboration between the General and Prince Cang Cheng was probably because the General had learned of the Prince's abilities through some source.

The discovery of Cang Stones and the development of new energy weapons in the Luo Ri Star were due to Prince Cang Cheng's forward-thinking.

Prince Cang Cheng was selected for the Spirit Runes battle because of his sufficient strength.

And the strategy used against the Ster Star Region yesterday was most likely also proposed by Prince Cang Cheng.

……

Once all the clues were laid out before them, people realized that Prince Cang Cheng had hardly hidden anything.

It was just that everyone had turned a blind eye to it.

How could they have doubted Prince Cang Cheng's abilities before?

They thought the Prince was just so-so and that his participation in the Spirit Runes Competition was a waste of a spot?

This is ANKEN we're talking about!

The pinnacle of Spirit Runes Masters in the Canglan Star Region, ANKEN!

If he doesn't qualify for the Spirit Runes Competition, then who does?

Didn't they see that once ANKEN appeared, the difficulty of the Spirit Runes Competition decreased?

Didn't they see that ANKEN easily decimated the opposing forces?

Recalling when the Spirit Runes Competition list was announced, many people had followed the trend on the Star Net, bashing Prince Cang Cheng as a deadbeat occupying the seat without contributing. Now… they really wanted to go back in time and slap themselves.

How dare you look down on ANKEN? You should be afraid he'll freeze you into an ice sculpture with a flick of his hand!

"I apologize for my past ignorance, Prince Cang Cheng."

"Prince Cang Cheng is actually ANKEN, how could I have insulted the prince while admiring ANKEN? My feelings are mixed."

"Someone chosen to collaborate with the general can't be weak. Only someone as foolish as you would think Prince Cang Cheng is useless."

"I've been completely humiliated by Prince Cang Cheng."

"Is this what it means to be a master of Spirit Runes?"

……

People marveled at the immense power of the Spirit Runes, their own ignorance and insignificance, and their respect for Prince Cang Cheng grew exponentially.

Prince Cang Cheng was someone they had to admire from afar, and he was the guiding light for the Canglan Star Region.

*

In the floating fortress of the Spirit Runes battlefield, Sol, whose half-face was strikingly handsome, let out an admiring sigh. "So you were the wildcard in this Spirit Runes battle, Cang Cheng.

When we received the list, we thought you were just a decoy. It seems we were all deceived."

As he spoke, the other half of Sol's skull-like face became even more terrifying and grotesque.

"Since that's the case, your soul and your skull are mine."

The Sol people were known for their capricious nature.

He had originally been attracted to the powerful and fascinating Hilmeth, but now, Sol's interest in Cang Cheng was greater.

Cang Cheng would soon merge with him.

In the room behind Sol, the elemental cores were gathering surrounding energy to prepare for rebirth after the complete annihilation of the Element Star Region.

However, at that moment, spirits full of resentment mixed into the energy of the elemental cores, contaminating the pure elemental power.

The reborn elemental core gradually turned dark.

*

On the Spirit Runes battlefield, some soldiers could hardly believe the reality before them.

"Are they really all gone?"

"The Element Star Region doesn't seem that strong, does it?"

"Don't flatter yourselves. Without the prince's Spirit Runes, facing the Element Star Region would have been a death match."

……

At that moment, due to the breath of the mountains, the area was blanketed in silver, and the cold was bone-chilling.

Despite their combat suits, the soldiers felt the bone-chilling cold.

Yet, smiles were on their faces, and if not for military discipline, the soldiers might have jumped up to celebrate.

The Element Star Region, which had been a huge challenge for the Canglan Star Region, was taken care of by three Spirit Runes from Prince Cang Cheng?

The Element Star Region could withstand most physical damage, and every time they faced them, it resulted in numerous casualties from weapon self-detonations.

This time, the Canglan Star Region came out unscathed.

This time, it was all thanks to the prince.

The prince was truly unstoppable.

Cang Cheng confirmed that there were no other elemental energies present before retracting his magic output.

The rain stopped, and the massive glacier mountains disappeared as well.

However, the icy landscape and the dense water elements testified to Cang Cheng's immense power.

The clear ice mirrored Cang Cheng's face, accentuating his pure aura and piercing gaze.

"No sign of the Element Star Region's core; it likely dispersed before the battle," Cang Cheng said after scanning the battlefield.

Cang Cheng surveyed the battlefield and said, "We need to finish this quickly. If we let the Element Star Region reshape itself, we’ll be facing another battle."

Cang Cheng didn’t waste any more time.

He raised his hand and granted Hilmeth a "Blessing of Nature" buff, then pointed at the floating fortress and said, "Mo, take it down!"

Hilmeth saluted. "As you command, Your Highness."

Hilmeth floated up.

The silver-white mechanical wings behind him emitted a light blue energy flow, and the outer ring of the massive furnace on his back lit up one segment at a time.

Brighter than sunlight.

His silver hair stirred slightly, his blue eyes cold.

An aura of inviolability surrounded him.

"Heavy cannons, prepare."

"Spirit Runes amplification, prepare."

Following Hilmeth’s orders, the army swiftly formed into a combat formation.

The Spirit Rune Masters quickly cast a basic version of the "Blessing of Nature" on the troops, granting them a 25% damage boost for 3 minutes.

With the help of Cang Stones, a massive amount of energy was instantly charged.

A blinding, searing attack rained down on the fortress.

The army’s heavy cannons opened fire first, each shot striking the fortress’s defensive barrier and sending out ripple-like bursts of light.

Snipers and wind and fire Spirit Runes provided support from behind.

The new energy weapons significantly boosted the Canglan Star Region’s combat capabilities.

Before long, the floating fortress was shrouded in smoke.

Inside the fortress, alarms continued to sound.

"Defense damaged 0.01%"

"Defense damaged 0.008%"

"Defense damaged 0.006%"

……

Even though the damage was minimal at first, under the sustained assault of tens of thousands of heavy cannons, the fortress's defensive barrier was quickly reduced to below 50%.

"Damn it! When did the weapons of the Canglan Star Region get this powerful?!"

Sol, who had been handling things with ease moments ago, now realized the situation was far from simple.

Originally, with the destructive power of the weapons from the Canglan Star Region, even an hour of bombardment wouldn't necessarily drop the shield by 10 points. Yet now, in less than 5 minutes, the shield had been reduced by half.

Didn’t the Canglan Star Region’s weapons used to be weak?

Didn’t the heavy cannons need over 3 seconds to charge?

What’s happening now?

"All troops, gather! Your objective is..."

Before Sol could finish his command, the fortress alarm blared.

"Attention! The shield is about to be breached."

"How is this possible? They’re moving way too fast!"

Sol was astonished.

He looked out the window and saw a blindingly bright white light heading towards him, magnificent and deadly.

"Oh no!"

Realizing something was terribly wrong, the spiritual forms stored within him surged out and formed a "Wall of Spirits" in front of him—devouring energy and flesh to use for himself.

The scorching white light engulfed Sol in an instant, covering the floating fortress as well.

In the Wall of Spirits, tens of thousands of souls opened their mouths and began to feed on the energy.

At first, Sol felt a rush of satisfaction; who wouldn’t enjoy absorbing so much energy at once?

However, within seconds, he realized something was wrong.

The energy was overwhelming; he couldn’t process it!

One by one, the spirits exploded, and Sol’s face swelled grotesquely from the surge of energy.

He was hit with an energy overload, slowing his movement and thought processes by 20%.

At the same time, with a loud boom, the floating fortress trembled violently and then rapidly began to descend.

The fortress, which had been hovering in mid-air, had been pierced through by a massive hole from the massive energy attack just moments ago.

And the one who delivered that blow was Hilmeth, who was firing at full power!

Hilmeth's energy fluctuations had not yet subsided, his silver hair flying, and the giant furnace behind him emitting a fiery glow.

He was enveloped in an aura of deadly intent.

By merging the power of the Spirit Warriors with the mental energy of the Spirit Rune Masters and the enhancement from the Blessing of Nature, he made the power of this attack comparable to that of a warship's main cannon.

With that single devastating shot, Hilmeth brought down the floating fortress.

The fortress fell.

Cang Cheng took the opportunity to command, "Spirit Rune Masters, activate the gravity runes!"

Pre-prepared Spirit Runes were used by the Spirit Rune Masters. With a sharp crack, the Spirit Rune plates shattered, and the fortress was enveloped within the vast range of the gravity rune.

The weight of the fortress itself was tripled by the gravity rune, and with the added acceleration of gravity, this metal falling cage caused every creature inside to suffer a heavy impact.

With a 'boom,' the fortress crashed into the ground, creating a 50-meter deep crater.

The earth trembled slightly, as if letting out a mournful cry.

Real-time comments:

"The air fortress was actually hit by the admiral's cannon?"

"So dazzling!"

"The admiral pushed the exoskeleton energy cannon to its limits."

"Look, the admiral has charged in!"

……

After using the exoskeleton furnace cannon, Hilmeth exchanged a glance with Cang Cheng and then charged into the enemy lines alone.

With sharp and fierce momentum, Hilmeth quickly located his target for this mission—Sol, the elder of the Xila Star Region.

At this moment, Sol had become a spherical figure, completely lacking his usual elegance and handsomeness, looking rather foolish.

Upon seeing Hilmeth, Sol struggled to his feet, revealing a playful smile. "Did you come here to throw yourself into my trap?"

Hilmeth's eight metal wings behind him transformed into flying wing machine guns, aiming at Sol.

Without saying a word, he fired at Sol.

Despite the rapid attacks, Sol remained unharmed.

Through the thick smoke, Sol's playful voice echoed, "Such a small attack is useless against me. As you know, we Xila exotic beings, like the elemental exotics, can discard our corporeal form and turn into spiritual forms.

Physical damage is useless against us."

Hilmeth lowered his eyes and silently activated his mental energy, connecting with the spent bullet casings he had just fired.

Indeed, the Xila exotic beings could turn into spiritual forms, but according to the data... each time they did so, they would enter a weakened state, unlike the elemental exotics who could use this ability at will.

What Hilmeth needed to do now was to force the other into the spiritual form state.

"Then by all means, give it a try."

Hilmeth said, completing the mental energy connection on the bullet casing.

A brilliant light shone.

The S-rank Spirit Rune: Elemental Judgment Sanctuary was activated!

Sixteen multi-colored floating great swords materialized, forming a closed domain with themselves as the boundary. All enemies within the domain were immobilized.

Within the domain, 99 judgment swords rained down every second, lasting for 10 seconds.

This Spirit Rune dealt double damage to non-human races.

This was a rune Cang Cheng had specifically designed for the Xila Star Region.

He engraved the Spirit Runes onto Hilmeth's bullets, allowing Hilmeth to use them in the form of bullets to make the enemy lower their guard and prevent them from escaping.

"What in the world is this?!"

As the mixed-element greatsword appeared, Sol immediately felt a fear that originated from his soul.

How could *he*, the revered elder of the Shira clan, feel fear from a mere Spirit Rune?

It was ridiculous.

However, when the rune fully formed and he was enveloped in a beautiful sea of chaotic swords, pressed down by a detestable aura that rendered him immobile, Sol suddenly felt panic.

If he took this attack head-on, he would either die or suffer severe injuries.

In the first second, 99 swords descended, and Sol felt like he had been riddled with holes.

The pain of his soul being torn apart overwhelmed him.

The pain was so intense that even this alien, who took pleasure in torturing others, now felt like the victim.

His health instantly dropped by 33%.

Sol could heal 6% of his health per second by drawing on his stored spiritual energy, but this regeneration speed was far from enough.

In another 4 seconds, he would die.

As he thought this, another volley of 99 swords descended.

Biting through the pain, Sol gritted his teeth, "You think this can defeat me? How naive, Canglan Star person."

Though he couldn't move, he could still use his skills.

The right side of Sol's face swelled as the stored souls surged out, forming a spectral cloak that separated his soul from his body.

A semi-transparent, enormous spiritual body appeared before Hilmeth's eyes.

The Shira Star Region's skill — Spiritual Body

Consuming half of the stored souls to create a formidable spiritual body. The more souls consumed, the greater the damage.

The spiritual body dealt 850% soul damage to wherever it passed, and randomly inflicted debuffs such as fear, chaos, and tearing.

The skill lasted for 5 minutes, and after it disappeared, the body would be reconstructed, entering a 72-hour weakened state where all attributes were reduced by 99%.

Hilmeth had been wounded by this skill during a Spirit Runes battle six months ago.

He had endured the opponent's 5-minute dominance period before barely managing to win.

"Hilmeth, this time, I will finish you off!"

As Sol spoke, he charged towards Hilmeth with his body in tow.

The enormous spiritual body passed through Hilmeth.

But Hilmeth only felt a mild discomfort, barely registering any pain.

The Spirit Runes contract with Cang Cheng, combined with the defensive patterns engraved on his body the previous night, and the current "Blessing of Nature" full attribute enhancement... all made Hilmeth's soul defense extremely solid at this moment.

If not for the fact that physical weapons were useless against Sol in his spiritual form, Hilmeth could have just stood there and let him attack.

At this moment, the Canglan Star Region needs to finish the battle quickly.

Sol: "How are you still standing?"

To Sol's surprise, Hilmeth snatched up the body Sol had left behind.

Using the space-transfer Spirit Runes crafted by Cang Cheng, Hilmeth teleported twice, each time covering a hundred meters in an instant.

At the same time, the Xila Star Region individuals inside the fortress received Sol's command and began to transform into spiritual forms, floating out from the fortress.

Eerie, bodiless spiritual forms drifted through the air, their terrifying appearances and cold aura sending chills down the spine.

Real-time comments:

"I'm afraid of ghosts..."

"This is too creepy... but we have to stay rational."

"How are these alien abilities so eerie?"

"Our star region hasn't studied souls much. What do we do?"

"Trust in ANKEN, trust in the Admiral, trust in the Canglan Star Region!"

...

"It's truly spectacular... like something out of a necromancer's playbook."

On the battlefield, Cang Cheng looked up at the dense horde of spirits in the sky and couldn't help but sigh.

"But they’re nowhere near as powerful as a true necromancer."

Hilmeth, who had just teleported, handed Sol's body to Cang Cheng. "Here, as you asked."

"Thanks, Mo."

Cang Cheng immediately set to work on Sol’s body, preparing for what was to come.

Hilmeth ordered Ming Bai to create a distraction for Cang Cheng. "M, prepare the electromagnetic interference."

Just moments ago, Ming Bai had taken the opportunity to bury electromagnetic disruptors underground.

As soon as Hilmeth gave the order, Ming Bai pressed the button.

An invisible electromagnetic field flooded the battlefield, causing the ground to tremble.

The sand on the ground rippled as if an unseen force was pushing it along.

The spiritual forms that had all poured out were incredibly arrogant, their full capabilities enhanced, making them believe that the Canglan Star Region was insignificant.

However, as soon as they entered the frontline battlefield, it was as if an unseen force had seized them, twisting their faces into grotesque masks of pain.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

"Help!"

"Don't come closer!"

All the spiritual forms within Ming Bai's electromagnetic field began to exhibit abnormal behavior.

They were currently suffering continuous electric shocks and searing burns, despite being 100% immune to physical attacks.

What had the Canglan Star Region done to them?

Ming Bai, while recording the effects, reported to Cang Cheng and Hilmeth, "The magnetic field against spiritual forms has taken effect. Spiritual forms below A-class are being automatically disintegrated."

Since learning of their involvement in the Spirit Runes combat scenarios, the Canglan Star Region had been preparing diligently.

Ming Bai's special magnetic field was specifically designed for wave-based attacks targeting spiritual forms.

With Ming Bai's assistance, the Xila Star Region's warriors were nearly all eliminated.

Meanwhile, Cang Cheng extracted a mountain of skulls from Sol's head.

Among them were human skulls and those of exotic beings.

Sol had lived for 2000 years, storing the skulls of his defeated enemies in a dimensional pocket, accumulating countless skulls over time.

Cang Cheng found Cang Yan's skull, carefully preserving it before turning his attention to the pile of bones filled with resentment.

"These bones and the resentment they carry can be awakened without using necromancy. Let's see if it works!"

Cang Cheng concentrated his magic and injected it into the pile of bones.

The grudges absorbed the energy and gained the power to materialize.

Fueled by hatred and anger, the resentful souls formed a massive energy body that let out a tremendous roar in the direction of the Xila Star Region.

At the same time, broken skulls on the ground reassembled, suddenly forming a gigantic creature—a massive dragon composed entirely of skeletons!

Its body stretched over 300 meters, with sharp and ferocious front limbs, a strong and powerful tail, and expansive back wings that blotted out the sky.

S-grade Elemental Magic—Elemental Spirit.

The condensed energy summoned an Elemental Spirit, which possessed 800% of the summoner's attack power.

If other energy forms were present, the Elemental Spirit would merge with them for a power boost.

The current boost was... 798711%.

And S-grade Shaping Magic—Magic Fantasy Poem.

This spell created controllable life forms from the same material, with the appearance defined by the caster.

The stronger the material, the greater the abilities of the life form.

For the shaping, Cang Cheng used the skulls of powerful warriors defeated by Sol over the years.

As a result, the skeletal dragon before him, resembling a necromantic creature, possessed destructive power comparable to forbidden spells.

Two never-before-seen gigantic creatures now stood beside Cang Cheng, and their mere presence exuded an oppressive weight that made it hard to breathe.

The moment they spotted the Xila Star Region's spirits, they unleashed their full killing intent.

Cang Cheng raised his hand and pointed at the enemy's spiritual forms. "Take this chance for revenge—go!"

The Elemental Spirit and the skeletal dragon charged forward with all their might.