Lord of the Endless Abyss

This was originally a perfect death trap. The Weaver, the contemporary and perhaps history's strongest prophecy sorcerer, had cast a divine miracle to veil their senses. Four world secret realms served as their cage, and eight war angels had descended in true body. Let alone Yaxiu, even an evil sorcerer like Vichy, whose ability to flee the Void Realm was unmatched, could only stumble headfirst into the trap. Their sole hope had been to sow discord among the four factions, fishing in troubled waters to snatch victory from chaos. But that possibility dwindled into pure despair once the Divine Lords took over the negotiations—even if the four Divine Lords harbored their own schemes, they would inevitably secure Yaxiu first. The angels had been bluffed by Yaxiu not because they were foolish, but because Yaxiu's importance far exceeded their decision-making authority. It was only because they dared not make choices on behalf of the Divine Lords that Yaxiu could exploit the gaps. What interfered with them was not Yaxiu's deceit, but the Divine Lords' absolute authority. Therefore, once Yaxiu saw the four Divine Lords descend, he abandoned all thought of deceit. Bluffs were meaningless before absolute authority, just as a Lalafell might scare off a thieving kitten, but could never intimidate a chef sharpening his knives. A bargaining chip had no right to haggle with a gambler. Yet because Naglfar and West had prematurely gambled away all of the Lord of the Endless Abyss's chips, a tiny crack had opened in this otherwise flawless death trap—as long as Yaxiu and his companions could seize the chips of the Ancient Battlefield, they would have the right to keep fighting for their lives against the three factions! Pitting a world secret realm against world secret realms, using an eternal wonder to clash head-on with eternal wonders! This sword perimeter that severed the world was Yaxiu's wager with Sonia: he bet they could hold the perimeter, and he bet the Sword Princess could command the Ancient Battlefield! It took Sonia only a second to steady her heart and accept the wager, yet unease lingered within her. Her anxiety was not born from being trapped in a hopeless situation, but from Yaxiu's gaze... It was not the gaze of a gambler. There was no desperate madness in it, only trust and encouragement. It was as if... even if Sonia failed, he still had other means to overturn this gamble. *Just do your best, and I will give my all.* Only, how much of a price would he have to pay for them this time? Sonia disliked that look. In bed or on dates, she could indulge in his myriad gentle affections, but on the battlefield, she never wanted his coddling... *I am your sharpest blade, your sturdiest armor. I have never been your weakness—I am the protagonist of your life!* *Entrust your fate to me, rely on me from the bottom of your heart. Since you already believe I can do it, there is no need to prepare other options.* *Because I will always be your only correct choice!* The Sword Princess ran faster and faster, yet her aura grew ever more restrained. Her left hand pressed against the scabbard while her right hand gripped the hilt, unmistakably poising for an iai draw. She had no iai sorcery spirits, but two months of Divine Might training had allowed her to vaguely grasp a derivative technique: using Divine Might to suppress an active sword divine miracle inside the scabbard, releasing the full brunt of the assault the instant the blade was drawn! Divine Might Iai: Blood Moon Shattered Lake! At unfathomable speed, Sonia's sword vanished mid-slash, tracing only a slender arc of sword light. Like a crimson crescent moon, it cut into the vast expanse of the Ancient Battlefield, forcefully tearing an open wound across the curtain of the battlefield! Boiling source energy rapidly seeped into the Ancient Battlefield along the wound. Deprived of the werewolf angel West's control, the Ancient Battlefield was now virtually defenseless, and the Sword Princess effortlessly seized one percent of the secret realm's authority— *Boom!* A ferocious gale surged from behind like a tidal wave, tossing the red ponytail Yaxiu had tied for Sonia that very morning. Without looking back, she knew the battle between Yaxiu's group and the angels had already reached a fever pitch. Yet compared to the thunder and earthfire behind her, the Ancient Battlefield before her abruptly fell quiet. Whether during the overlapping of the world secret realms or the descent of the Divine Lords, the warriors of the Ancient Battlefield had paid no heed to the outside world. They seemed frozen in the most glorious moment of their lives, brimming with the pride of battling heaven and earth, fighting to the death on a gory battlefield where flesh and bone flew. Every second, they burst with life's heaviest passion, their battle cries and clashing weapons forming poems honoring valor... They were the very embodiment of war: endless, eternal, unchanging! Yet as if the poem had turned a new page, the warriors of the Ancient Battlefield halted this war that was never meant to end until the close of the epoch. Millions of heads, bristling with murderous intent, turned to look toward Sonia, like a field of sunflowers following the sun. The one closest to Sonia was a cyclops. Raising a spiked greatclub high, it bared its teeth and unleashed a battle cry from the distant past! Its roar was like a spark falling into dark oil. Tens of thousands of warriors responded in unison, a roaring tsunami of battle cries crashing toward Sonia. It dyed her eyes deep red, and the ferocious feline phantom of the Extinction Resentful Blazing Dragon emerged behind her. As she charged toward the warriors of the Ancient Battlefield, she and the dragon roared together. The red-haired song maiden's divine voice swept like a tempest through the roar of ten thousand warriors, purging all trepidation and fear from her heart, leaving only an unstoppable, surging will to fight! With a single slash, she cleaved the cyclops in two and leapt through the scattering spray of blood, facing countless enemies before her. Sonia sang aloud without restraint alongside the Extinction Resentful Blazing Dragon, unleashing a storm of blood across the Ancient Battlefield. Every step trod on bone and gore; every stroke of her blade divided life from death! As the battle intensified, the fruits of Yaxiu's two months of sparring with her showed their full worth. Compared to a tough nut like Yaxiu, these warriors of the Ancient Battlefield were far too fragile and soft. When Sonia slashed through them, she even felt a smooth, fluid exhilaration. Her sword path remained utterly unhindered, her sword light raged without restraint, and lives were reaped at her pleasure! She was a razor piercing enemy formations, a war chariot crushing all in its path. With a crisp clash, discord finally broke the crushing rhythm. Sonia's Blood Moon Shattered Lake failed to tear apart the dragonman warrior before her. Raising a tower shield, he had withstood the miracle that severed all things. It was battle intent. Sonia had noticed earlier that as her penetration of the Ancient Battlefield deepened, the warriors grew increasingly formidable. Or rather, they had always been this strong, but only as Sonia seized more authority over the secret realm could they unlock greater power to fight her with all their might. Now that Sonia held thirty percent of the Ancient Battlefield's authority, the warriors seemed to ascend to a new tier. They began using battle intent to empower their techniques. The dragonman warrior had blocked her miracle precisely by using battle intent to enhance his guard, forcefully elevating legendary shield-fighting arts to the level of Divine Might! Not only that, but the warriors' attack strength and speed dramatically increased. The red-haired Sword Princess, who had just been dancing freely through the fray, instantly sank into a quagmire of war. She understood these warriors were the Ancient Battlefield's trial for her, but the trial had only just begun. The deeper she permeated the Ancient Battlefield, the stronger the warriors would become. Battle intent elevated their skills to the level of gods. Sonia was effectively fighting tens of thousands of demigods. Even a fully armed angel plunged into such a vast ocean would eventually be worn down and killed; losing a single exchange would spell irreversible defeat. Then, before she burned out, and before she conquered the Ancient Battlefield, all she had to do was keep winning! Facing this suffocating, terrifying pressure, Sonia felt no trace of fear. Instead, she grew all the more exhilarated. The hand holding her sword felt lighter and lighter, her body grew hotter, and her surging blood brimmed with heroic vigor. Various sword divine miracles and wonders blossomed in her hands, flowing ever more effortlessly and at her command. The surging tempest of war acted like a hammer, striking again and again upon her still-imperfect sword blank until she integrated every ounce of her power without the slightest impediment. Sonia stood like an unyielding reef, remaining steadfast before the raging tide, rapidly adapting to and even surpassing the current intensity of battle at a terrifying speed. When she surged forward once more, the warriors of the Ancient Battlefield could no longer impede her progress. *It's working!* Sonia's heart beat like a war drum, her proud red ponytail swaying high. She could master the Ancient Battlefield! Secret realm authority: forty percent! Forty-five percent! Fifty percent! Blood Moon Shattered Lake shredded the warriors ahead into pieces. Sonia drew a deep breath and followed the crimson sword light straight forward, carving a crimson line of death through the surging sea of people like a hot knife slicing through butter! *Clang!* Sonia's charge ground to an abrupt halt. Looking up, she saw her blade had already decapitated the elven warrior before her, but a vigorous, powerful hand reached from behind to catch the elf's spear. With an exquisite Divine Might thrust, it shattered Sonia's miracle. She had encountered the toughest reef in the Ancient Battlefield. "Fifty percent authority. You are qualified to be my opponent." The Lord of the Endless Abyss pushed aside the elven warrior. The aged appearance did not detract from his majesty in the slightest. His knotted, powerful arm swung the spear with tremendous force; a sweep empowered by battle intent struck precisely at the weak point in Sonia's sword path, forcing her half a step backward. In all her fierce fighting so far, this was the first time she had been forced to retreat. "As I said, only a sorcerer acknowledged by all the valiant warriors of the Ancient Battlefield is qualified to become its master." The Lord of the Endless Abyss slammed his spear heavily into the ground, sending a massive shockwave rippling across the earth that drove back every other warrior, carving out a gladiator arena amid the sea of soldiers! "Now, I too am a member of the Ancient Battlefield." The Lord of the Endless Abyss gestured toward Sonia. "Defeat me, and you will be the Ancient Battlefield's new master."