NOVPUB
Chapter 158: The Greed Devil
The Greed Devil is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, a title given to seven prominent figures serving under the Devil Lord. Their authority within the devil territory is second only to the Devil Lord, and each commands their own devil faction. True to their titles as the "Seven Deadly Sins," each possesses unique traits that are also reflected in their subordinates.
Rijk van Denberg, the Greed Devil, lives up to his name as a cultivator who channels the dark energy of greed to fuel his cultivation. This path has heightened his insatiable desire for anything that piques his interest, such as rare and high-grade artifacts. His greed for these artifacts knows no bounds, and over the years, he has amassed a considerable collection.
No matter the means, he will seize any artifact that catches his eye, often leaving devastation in his wake. Known as a relentless thief, he spares no one when he sets his sights on a target. His infamous reputation instills fear in families and factions across the continent that possess treasured artifacts. As a result, many have been forced to heighten their security to prevent this devil from stealing their valuables.
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Rijk van Denberg
Age : 60, 341 years
Race : Human
Cultivation : High Emperor
Cultivation technique : The Curse of The Devil God
Attack techniques : Sword Devil Annihilation Strike, Sword Devil’s Splitting Strike, Devil’s Space Crusher, Void Slash, 12 Movements of the Void Sword.
Defense technique : Devil form, Space Distortion
Movement technique : Void Step
Supporting technique : Devil form
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As Aldrian examined the Greed Devil’s information, he realized that this was the first space-element cultivator he had encountered on his journey—one who also possessed a high level of cultivation. He wondered if the other Seven Deadly Sins possessed this kind of cultivation level, if so, it was no surprise that the devil territory was the most feared region on the continent. At a level like this, most cultivators would have already become rulers of their own domains.
At the peak Emperor stage, they had already become ancestral figures, much like Alice, the spirit of the World Tree in Evergreen City. It was safe to assume that the Devil Lord himself was a peak Emperor, and since devils were inherently stronger than ordinary cultivators, he was likely one of the continent’s most formidable figures—perhaps even the strongest.
But that didn’t concern Aldrian for now, he would wait for the day when he would finally meet the Devil Lord. He wasn’t in a hurry. For now, his focus remained on the man before him, who wore a middle-divine-grade armor. With such high-level cultivation, the Greed Devil could unleash more of this armor’s potential. Although it was on par with the armor Vandal had worn, Aldrian could sense its unique qualities.
"The Armor of Obsidian Diamond from the Barford family in the Doria Empire, capable of negating any physical or soul attack... truly a masterpiece," Aldrian thought.
The Greed Devil grinned, addressing Aldrian.
"I have to admit, you’ve surprised me with your unknown way of manipulating space laws. To teleport without any detectable energy flow or spatial fluctuation is truly remarkable. But as you can see, with this armor, none of your attacks will harm me."
"Of course you can’t detect the energy flow; this is the teleportation ability of my domain," Aldrian thought before addressing the Greed Devil.
"Is that so? We’ll see about that." Aldrian vanished again, this time wielding a peak heaven-grade sword he had forged with Duke Valiard. He brandished the sword, infused with his own sword will, and slashed toward the Greed Devil. Yet, the devil stood unmoving.
Clang!
As expected, despite the sword being coated in his powerful sword will, it didn’t even dent the armor. Though he wasn’t using his full domain power, this strike was enough to seriously injure most high Emperor cultivators. Unfazed, Aldrian prepared for another strike, but he had to quickly dodge an incoming attack from the side.
The raspy-voiced man had finally entered the fray, drawing his peak heaven-grade spear and slashing at Aldrian. Dodging each strike, Aldrian teleported behind the man, aiming a swift strike at his head.
Clang!
His sword collided with an energy shield that formed just as his blade was about to connect, revealing that this man also wore a divine-grade armor artifact. Aldrian teleported 50 meters away, studying the raspy-voiced man.
"Oh, I almost forgot about you the right-hand man of the Greed Devil, Erik van Jaager. I was a bit too focused on your boss. My apologies."
A vein bulged on Erik’s forehead. As a low Emperor stage cultivator, he was clearly frustrated by Aldrian’s lack of regard, feeling underestimated. Without hesitation, he unleashed his spear technique. His spear seemed to grow sharper and sturdier, and Aldrian felt as though he stood before a massive spear, radiating a mountain-like pressure.
"Ah, so he’s mastered spear will and achieved high attainment as a spearman. It seems he doesn’t just collect artifacts—he trains with them," Aldrian thought as he observed Erik’s approaching strike.
Meanwhile, the Greed Devil watched from the sidelines, observing Aldrian with a calculating gaze. He, too, wanted to gauge Aldrian’s abilities. Why was this young man so relaxed? What gave him such confidence? Although he had his own trump cards, the Greed Devil didn’t want to attack recklessly without fully understanding this strange adversary.
Aldrian, aware of the Greed Devil’s thoughts, only smiled. This was a rare opportunity to test his new abilities and power, and these two would serve as his training subjects and "sparring" partners.
Erik’s spear slashed toward him repeatedly, emitting ferocious devil energy that surged at Aldrian. But Erik didn’t stop there, he dashed toward Aldrian, following his energy strikes with relentless aggression.
Aldrian effortlessly controlled the space laws, allowing Erik’s incoming attack to be swallowed by a spatial rift and returned to him with twice the power. Stunned by Aldrian’s ability, Erik barely managed to dodge his own attack. But before he could sigh in relief, Aldrian appeared right in front of him, his sword poised for a stabbing strike.
Due to the close distance, Erik didn’t have time to react, but he didn’t panic. Instead, he allowed Aldrian’s strike to make contact with his armor while sweeping at Aldrian with his spear. Confident in his low divine-grade armor, he aimed to strike Aldrian’s head; if Aldrian failed to defend against his spear sweep, his head would be crushed by its force. However, Erik’s shock widened as he felt the sword, which should have been stopped by the armor, crack and ultimately pierce through!
Instantly abandoning his spear swing, Erik stepped back to put distance between them. Watching from the sidelines, the Greed Devil’s eyes widened at the sight of the low divine-grade armor failing to withstand Aldrian’s seemingly simple stab. Though the strike appeared unremarkable, what neither Erik nor the Greed Devil knew was that Aldrian had combined his Dragon Back Mountain domain with his secret realm domain. By concentrating the power of his domain and his sword will into a single, condensed point, this seemingly simple stab was powerful enough to pierce even divine-grade armor.
Usually, a low divine-grade armor could withstand a strike from even a middle Emperor stage cultivator. But with Aldrian’s focused domain power and mastery, this attack became an unstoppable force, capable of penetrating low divine-grade armor defenses.
After retreating, Erik took a step back, he looked at the spot where the sword had stabbed and was shocked to see deep piercing damage in his armor. A little deeper, and it would have pierced his chest. He regarded Aldrian solemnly, finally recognizing this young man as a genuine threat to his life! 𝓃𝓸𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
Without hesitation, Erik dashed forward again, this time fully aware of Aldrian’s ability to penetrate divine-grade armor. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. As he closed in, Erik made a throwing motion, hurling his spear with such force that the surrounding space trembled, almost splitting apart under its power.
But he didn’t stop there. Erik also unleashed a combined elemental attack of fire and wind laws, aiming to overwhelm Aldrian with simultaneous strikes. This level of attack could easily kill even a middle Emperor stage cultivator, his spear, infused with the Mountain Splitting Throw, was designed to bypass spatial barriers, while the fire and wind laws trailing behind would roast the target on impact.
Suddenly, Aldrian felt the surrounding space grow heavier, making it difficult for him to control his environment. Glancing at the Greed Devil, he noticed him manipulating spatial energy to suppress the area around Aldrian, clearly intending to limit his spatial abilities.
"I see, you’re trying to trap me here so I can’t use teleportation," Aldrian thought, recognizing the Greed Devil’s strategy. Yet, he watched Erik’s incoming attack with a relaxed expression. Everything seemed to slow down in his mind.
"Too bad... you’re all within my domain." Aldrian shifted into a stance, preparing to unleash a powerful sword technique. The Greed Devil, noticing the sudden change in Aldrian’s posture, felt a surge of foreboding feeling and shouted to Erik.
"Erik, take a defensive position!"
Startled by the warning but reacting swiftly, Erik activated his defensive technique. But before he knew it, he saw his spear and elemental attack split down the middle, while his armor shattered. In a flash, Erik’s body reappeared next to the Greed Devil, his eyes wide with shock as he looked down at a slash wound on his abdomen. Fortunately, his escape talisman had saved him at the last moment.
"You have quite the collection of artifacts and talismans," Aldrian remarked, a smile evident on his face as he spoke.
"Let’s continue our play."
