NOVPUB
Chapter 324: Beating Grand Duke Larson
Grand Duke Larson was stunned, but with his quick wit, he countered with his own technique. A purple flame burst from his palm, colliding with the flame that emerged from the spatial crack.
Clap, clap!
"Well, it’s better for you to act yourself and show your true self," Aldrian said while clapping beside Carol. From the start, he had been with Carol, acting as her guardian. None of the Duclan family members knew his identity, but Carol insisted that he would protect her. Many doubted that a marquess-stage cultivator could keep Carol safe, yet she stood firm in her belief in Aldrian.
If she doesn’t believe in the person who saved her and destroyed Boraz Fortress, then who is she supposed to believe?
Right now, Grand Duke Larson was blocking the fire from the spatial crack with his own flame. However, from his flame, everyone could sense an energy that was all too familiar to the populace of the continent.
The devil energy
Grand Duke Larson had already turned into a devil! His purple flame was so intense that it caused the spatial crack to wobble slightly, the heat distorting the space itself. After successfully blocking the attack, Grand Duke Larson decided to target Aldrian personally. Joined by the Grand Elder, they unleashed another powerful technique together.
The Grand Duke unleashed his purple flame while the Grand Elder summoned his original dark red flame. The combination of red and purple flames formed a terrifying vortex, surging toward Aldrian and Carol.
However, Aldrian calmly unsheathed his peak heaven-grade sword—a sword he had forged back when he was in the Forgeheart Kingdom—and slashed it toward the flaming vortex.
Unknown to his opponents, Aldrian had already established his domain within the mansion earlier, allowing him to stand against these emperor-stage cultivators.
Within his slash, Aldrian infused the combined power of several domains he had created inside this empire. The force was overwhelming, powerful enough to cut the flame vortex that holding the strength of a high emperor stage cleanly in half.
Grand Duke Larson and the Grand Elder were stunned by Aldrian’s sheer strength. They then prepared to follow up with another strike, but Aldrian had no intention of letting the battle drag on. He decided to unleash the greater power of his domain.
Channeling the Forgeheart Kingdom’s domain into his body, Aldrian sheathed his sword. If he combined this attack with the power of his artifact, it would be far too much for Grand Duke Larson to withstand. He couldn’t risk killing the Grand Duke unintentionally. He needed the Grand Duke alive, after all.
Sparks of heavenly lightning erupted from Aldrian’s body, growing larger in an instant before he unleashed them toward Grand Duke Larson and the Grand Elder.
Grand Duke Larson, who was combining wind and fire in his attack, widened his eyes in shock as he sensed the heavenly lightning approaching. He never expected such lightning to come from a human! The lightning tore through his technique effortlessly, rendering it useless.
The Grand Elder, reacting quickly, summoned an earth wall to shield himself as the lightning spread in their direction. He could feel the overwhelming power of the heavenly lightning—it carried the strength of a peak emperor stage! If he didn’t defend with everything he had, he knew he wouldn’t survive.
Realizing his own technique wasn’t enough, the Grand Elder decided to use a one-time talisman capable of blocking a full-power strike from a high emperor stage cultivator. Though he knew it wouldn’t fully stop the heavenly lightning, it could at least weaken its force.
The overwhelming heavenly lightning struck the earth wall directly, shattering it with little effort. It then collided with the defensive talisman, breaking it just as effortlessly. Finally, the lightning hit the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder had already equipped himself with a defensive artifact, a protective armor, it was directly struck by the heavenly lightning.
The Grand Elder felt as though he had been electrocuted, but the sensation didn’t end there—it was as if his body had been struck by a giant boulder weighing a hundred tons. He was instantly thrown out of the building, his peak heaven-grade defensive artifact instantly shattered. However, the artifact had saved his life, though his organs were severely injured, leaving him coughing up blood.
As for Grand Duke Larson, he unleashed his overwhelming devil energy and hastily retrieved a sword from his storage ring. Combining his devil energy with his blade, he executed a desperate sword dance to fend off the relentless lightning bolts. Moving with the fastest speed he could muster, he skillfully deflected each bolt, preventing them from reaching him at the very last moment.
The lightning relentlessly struck every part of the Grand Duke’s body. It was as if the lightning itself had become a massive net, tearing through the entire room and spreading outward.
Outside the mansion, where the battle was already raging, everyone was stunned by the sudden appearance of the heavenly lightning and the man thrown from the building.
"Shit!"
"Evade!"
Mercenaries, Duclan family members, and Larson family cultivators alike scrambled to put distance between themselves and the lightning. They knew that once the lightning touched them, it would be the end.
The lightning didn’t travel far from the mansion before it vanished, but the devastation it caused was immense. Half of the vast mansion collapsed to one side. People were horrified by the sheer power of the heavenly lightning, thinking that emperor-stage cultivators must have been fighting inside.
Where Aldrian stood, the room was completely destroyed, the roof gone. Though he had controlled his strength to prevent killing Grand Duke Larson, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the Duke’s resilience.
Despite the futility of his efforts, Grand Duke Larson had managed to block the heavenly lightning, but the result was devastating. His body was covered in wounds and burn marks. His bloodied appearance and disheveled hair served as grim testimony to the hellish assault he had just endured.
Grand Duke Larson remained standing, gripping his sword, but then the blade shattered into pieces. Its durability was no match for the overwhelming lightning that had struck it repeatedly. He didn’t even have the chance to enter his devil form to boost his power.
After standing motionless for a few seconds, his body finally gave way and collapsed.
Seeing this, Aldrian turned to Carol.
"You can bring this man out first. I’ll follow you later," he said.
"Do you still have something to do here, young master?" Carol asked.
"Yes, and this is something you’d better not get involved with. It’s beyond what you can handle," Aldrian said as he walked toward Grand Duke Larson’s body. He then sealed his cultivation, ensuring the Grand Duke wouldn’t resist when Carol took him.
Upon hearing Aldrian’s answer, Carol didn’t ask any further questions. She immediately lifted the Grand Duke’s body using her energy and activated the teleportation talisman. However, before retreating, she instructed all her forces.
"Mission success, retreat!"
As soon as her voice echoed through their minds, every member of her force crushed their teleportation talismans to escape the mansion complex. There was no point in staying and prolonging the battle—it would only lead to more harm if it continued.
"Wait!"
"Fuck, they’re escaping! Pursue them! Don’t let them get away! Seal off the entire city!"
Larson family cultivators scrambled, desperately trying to track down the fleeing forces. Their losses were significant, especially due to the surprise attack by the group they had believed to be responsible for their recent misfortunes.
What stung even more was the humiliation—despite their efforts, they had only managed to kill a few of the intruders, and the number wasn’t even enough to be considered a true loss. They had only killed a handful of low-level cultivators, fewer than 20. The attack had been so well-coordinated that, despite their far larger numbers, they struggled to eliminate many more of the invaders.
All the guards stationed at the city walls received the order to seal off the city. They moved swiftly to close the massive city gates and activate a large formation designed to protect key areas within the city.
The people who had heard about the sudden chaos at the Larson family mansion began to wonder if the family was finally facing their retribution. Many believed a war was unfolding within the mansion complex, as the battle’s aura could be felt for kilometers. The concentrated presence of high-level cultivators and their techniques in one place was undeniable.
While the Larson family cultivators were in hot pursuit of Carol’s forces, Aldrian remained inside the mansion complex, walking in one direction. He had locked onto another presence earlier that piqued his interest.
There were three figures in the room with Grand Duke Larson earlier. One had escaped when the battle reached its peak.
As Aldrian moved through the mansion, he encountered a few of the Larson family’s cultivators. With a mere flick of his will, he put them to sleep using his illusion. He continued onward until he reached a separate building behind the back garden.
There were still many people gathered there, recovering after the attack. But as soon as they saw Aldrian’s attire, they immediately attacked him.
However, Aldrian merely ignored them as they suddenly fainted. Even a King Stage cultivator dropped to his knees and fainted after Aldrian punched him in the dantian using his lightning energy.
This King Stage cultivator was much weaker than some of the others Aldrian had faced in the past. He thought it must be because this king stage cultivator lacked battle experience and had relied too heavily on pills or other methods to boost their cultivation.
When Aldrian arrived at the isolated building, he sensed a thick, ominous aura emanating from it. Without hesitation, he destroyed the entire structure with a slash of his sword. The building instantly collapsed, revealing what lay inside.
Aldrian saw a large, dark red glowing formation, with the person he had been looking for standing atop it.
That person grinned at Aldrian.
"You’re late!"
