Chapter 132 - The Fisherwoman (Part 1)

"Wait, wait, I'm innocent. Well no but, I have no control over the tribulation lightning's scope. Damn it, it's supposed to scale to the target's cultivation or strength, that's how tribulations work—remember? If even you can't understand what just happened, how could I?" Mukri, who didn't doubt that the wrong words could cost him his head, replied, full of grievances. Granted, his Devil Essence enabled him to summon Heavenly Tribulation, but Mukri didn't decide its range or might. Though always reasonable, the tribulation scaled to the opponent's abilities, making it a game-changing skill regardless of who Mukri faced. However, Harun carried a burden no one besides the System knew of: Scourge. 

With scourge values that multiplied the might of all his tribulations by 257.6, even the average Heavenly Tribulation turned into a disastrous calamity for the Plague Overlord. As for the Landgraves who "accidentally" interfered with his tribulation, it's no exaggeration to say that they faced a world-tearing calamity. 

"Don't let fear cloud your judgment. Master is an all-resourceful talent. If he didn't predict this, he wouldn't use Mukri to cleanup the Landgraves," Birandar chimed in. Through their Karmic Links, all three could feel that Harun still breathed. However, they couldn't estimate his precise condition. Overwhelmed by surprise and emotions, Jiyan no longer approached the problem from a rational angle—leading to her almost gutting our poor bull. Realizing her mistake, the Empyrean princess closed her eyes and steadied her mood. "Sorry," she said. Heaving a sigh of relief, Mukri strutted to Birandar's side and hid behind the herculean youth. Clearly, until the boss' return, Birandar would be his shield. 

Spreading her senses to the battlefield, Jiyan looked past the red smoke clouds, attempting to appraise Harun and the Landgraves' condition. For several minutes, none stood up. The temperature across the ruined mine made a joke of the sun's surface, and even the tiniest contact with the spreading smoke could sear the average cultivator's flesh. Again, Jiyan grew restless, but believing that Harun would never resort to a suicidal plan, she restrained herself—a dreary silence settled in. 

At last, one figure stood up, eyes gleaming red. Another one followed, with faint lightning marks flashing on their c.h.e.s.ts. Nine for the first, ten for the second. Recognizing the 25th and 26th Landgraves, Jiyan's heart skipped a beat. Grasping her sword, the Empyrean princess was about to rush in when the unthinkable occurred. Two slender hands pierced through the 25th and 26th Landgraves' skulls, grabbing their crystals. Eleven dim lightning bolts flashed at their back, and though they would never see their murderer's face, they recognized that aura without fail. Never in their wildest dreams could the 25th and 26th Landgraves imagine that after surviving this calamitous strike, they'd lose their lives at their leader's hands. 

The charred corpses of the six other Landgraves surrounded them, but ignoring their fallen brothers, both remembered Weeping Soul's words. The 25th went a step further and combined the previous inconsistencies with Weeping Soul's actions to figure out the truth—his bloodshot eyes widened in disbelief. "You…" he would never get the chance to finish his words. The 27th Landgrave's hands tightened on the crystals—shattering them alongside his surviving brothers' lives. Like lifeless puppets, they both tumbled—never to rise again. 

"Sometimes, it pays to be stupid. Though I always planned to butcher you all, you could have lived for a bit longer." Alone amidst charred corpses, the 27th said and raised his hand, dispersing the smoke clouds. Just like Jiyan, from a distance Weeping Soul observed the changes and was delighted to see the 27th rise from the rubble. Still, his heart ached at the 27th Landgrave's appearance.

Like his fallen brothers, the 27th Landgrave's Anasrava body was burned beyond repair, making his face utterly unrecognizable. His charred legs trembled, struggling to keep him standing while blood dripped from the dozens of holes the tribulation lightning poked in his c.h.e.s.t and abdomen. To end his two brothers before they could end him, the 27th used up much of his remaining strength and could now not even display two percent of his past prowess. 

Knowing that his plans wouldn't survive this mess, the 27th planned to use his last bit of strength to escape. Anticipating his thoughts, Weeping Soul hurtled at the 27th Landgrave. The blood bubble trapping the Reverend didn't survive the explosion, but even if it did—as the 27th had rigged it already—it couldn't have stopped him. Alas, some are destined to always arrive late.

A brutal knee strike bashed the 27th Landgrave's skull, ruptured his spinal cord, and slammed him into the ground. A pool of blight and decay so familiar to Harun's opponents formed underneath, becoming a large swamp that trapped the 27th Landgrave in its murderous cradle. Better, red and golden lightning flashed across the expert's form, releasing a suppression force that worsened the 27th Landgrave's predicament. 

"I sure as hell didn't expect that you'd take that lightning storm so well. Golden Crow, why do you have to keep making my job a chore? Oh well…" Standing on the back of the 27th Landgrave's skull, Harun leisurely said. Through Sangar and the fifth elder of the Soul Refining Hall, Harun had learned all he needed to on the relationship between Nakula, Xerzan, Sangar and Weeping Soul. Therefore, though he couldn't see through the 27th's act, Weeping Souls' words and deeds convinced him that the one pinned underneath his knee was none other than the master of the Golden Crows: Nakula. 

Harun couldn't begin to comprehend how the crow hunted by all became the 27th Landgrave. But at the same time, he didn't believe that he had the real Nakula under control. An avatar, a clone, both? Either way, this was no Emperor-level expert. And as Weeping Soul raced across the Abyssal River, a blood-red arrow beam shot upward, piercing through he Reverend's skull. His eyes went bloodshot, and his corpse plummeted into the Abyssal River.

All along, Harun and the Landgraves vied for dominance, forgetting the Abyssal River, that sentient entity overlooking the whole confrontation. Since the moment she didn't intervene to suppress the tribulation, Nakula realized that the Abyssal River's mistress had seen through him. 

"Impressive, you're even using the tribulation lightning to condense your first bolt mark. I didn't foresee that you'd have already figured out the way to become a Refiner. As expected of Your Highness, you can turn even such a disastrous situation into victory. A pity that killing me is pointless. If you don't cooperate with Weeping Soul and I, get ready to spend the rest of eternity as a dual cauldron. Moreover…" the eleven dim lightning marks flashed, releasing a tyrannical suppression force that blasted away Harun alongside the blight and decay. Pressuring his trembling legs, Nakula stood up, and while locking his eyes on the Abyssal River, added, "1% of a Heavenly-God-level expert's strength is still leagues above what you can measure up to," Nakula declared and stretched out his quivering, right hand. 

Though his body barely hanged on its feet, the pressure of those bolt marks was enough to make most Gods escape at maximum speed. But before Harun could make sense of the words, a blood-colored vines shot from the ground, piercing through Nakula's battered skull to wrap and crush his crystal. "But it's nowhere near enough to contend with me," a mellifluous voice rang in Nakula's mind—marking his defeat.