Chapter 167 - Infernal Providence (Part 2)

Kicking Harun aside, Xerzan summoned his Devil Armament, coating his badly bruised body with the demonic armor. Senses, speed, strength, resilience. As soon as he donned that armor, Xerzan's battle-power rose exponentially. But if it only came with perks, why not use it till now?

The Devil Armament was proof that Xerzan's mastery of Devil Essence had reached the traditional peak. But without the matching Devil Heart, this armor would quickly make him spiral out of control. Three minutes was all it would take for him to turn into a barbarous beast. Even with the armor, unless he somehow destroyed Harun's hold over his erratic heart, Xerzan didn't believe that he could defeat the plague god in three minutes. And with the threat of 1.5 million mutants eying him from below, how could he afford to lose his sanity? But now, he couldn't care for such details.

Turning into a purple shooting star, Xerzan raced past Harun's defenses, grabbed him by the collar, and hurled him at the Dark Stone City underneath them both. The two's fight took them to terrifying altitudes. But as Harun crashed down hundreds of meters, Xerzan soared upward, reached a full 10 kilometers of elevation, then stretched out his hands. 

Nine splendid gates appeared at the Heavenly God's back. Each of intimidating height, the gates opened in a slow grating pattern that, despite the distance, alarmed the First Range's citizens. Thanks to Harun's Emotion Severing, those mortals no longer experienced grief, misery or despair. But that didn't stop them from spotting danger where it lay. And as the gates opened, danger bared its fangs in the form of nine World Devouring Serpents, each at quasi-Heavenly God-level strength: Xerzan's Door Gods and leading officials of his Heavenly Court. 

"Buy me time," he ordered and, after nodding to acknowledge their master's orders, the colossal serpents rushed out of the divine gates, leading a host of 100,000 God-level beast each. As a fifth-level Heavenly God, Xerzan's divine host members were naturally at Ascending God level. Unfortunately, Door Gods couldn't learn formations, preventing most deities from abusing their Divine Hosts' numbers. 

Still, the conjoined efforts of 900,000 Gods led by 9 quasi-Heavenly Gods wasn't something a run-of-the-mill Heavenly God could survive. Thus, while Xerzan didn't count on them to take down the all-resourceful Lord Revelation, he didn't doubt that they could buy him the time he needed for his strongest strike. 

The amber double pupils in the stronghold master's right eye gleamed like an adularescent gemstone. Xerzan's androgynous features twisted, and as his armies descended on the Dark Stone City, the stronghold master assumed his true form, expanding to a full 300 meters as he morphed into a dark-green serpent. With two clawed hands and massive spikes protruding from his back, Xerzan bared his fangs at the First Range. The diabolic armor adjusted to fit the stronghold master's serpentine form, only leaving his eyes exposed. 

Double Pupils didn't always grant utility skills. Sometimes, the wielder received a unique destructive power instead. Xerzan's amber eye was one such case, enabling him to pool and fuse the entirety of his abilities and skills in one strike—with twenty times the might. That strike required half-a-minute of charge time, but ensured Xerzan could obliterate any mid-stage Monarch that barred his path—and send late-stage Monarchs packing with severe injuries. To this day, he'd never used it in public—reserving for hopeless circ.u.mstances.

Little did he know that Harun had glimpsed into fate and saw the move coming. But even if he did, how could he stop it? 

BOOM!

With over 900,000 Gods casting it in perfect sync, the World Devouring Serpents' Divine Power reached ruinous proportions. For the first time since its creation, the Dharma Sheltering Array trembled, and if not for the shelter of its impregnable defenses, all countries across the First Range would have been swallowed—minus those mystical inheritance grounds that enjoyed unknown protection. 

The Soul Refining Hall's ruins, forests, trees and hills, those unprotected few places and the ordinary beasts inhabiting them couldn't resist the devouring call, and flew toward the divine host. With an appetite that put Harun's gluttony to shame, the serpents gobbled all that fell in their vicinity—not even sparing weed and rocks. 

Shrouded by an Incense Barrier, Harun resisted the pull and raised his club at the sky. 

To the divine host's surprise, the cudgel expanded to a full kilometer. Wielding it like a baseball bat, Harun took aim, "Home..." and smashed "...run!"

Powered by the Mysteries of Truth, Fate, Life and Death, Harun's Law Enforcing Dao Pillar projected an aura of invincibility. As if wherever it struck, all lives could only surrender and accept their inevitable destruction.

This was no misconception, for in ancient times, Mastery over Truth, Fate, Life and Death was enough to call oneself Supreme. And while Harun was still far from that level, his accomplishments in Life and Death plus Birandar's Karmic Wheel enabled him to merge those mysteries in a series of devastating blows. 

With the first swing, Harun sent 400 serpents flying across the sky and crash into the Second Range—where they burst into blood fog. With the second swing, 600 more serpents collapsed in the distance. Breaking into a maniacal dance, Harun clubbed the descending serpents with reckless abandon, dropping hundreds with each swing. 

At the same time, from within a courtyard of the Dark Stone City's royal palace, Jiyan made her move, driving the Abyssal River to drown the nine leading Door Gods in corrosive sea waves. For ages to come, this day would mark the First Range's formal split from any non-Birusk influence. But as all focused on Jiyan's tsunami strikes and Harun's legendary home runs, none noticed that in the Dark Stone City, the mutants aligned in a specific formation. Sitting on a flying disc, Mehran floated above them. 

Nine dark-purple great-swords appeared in the sky, surrounded by unique time alterations that enabled them to move at quasi-teleportation speed. Orbiting a vortex of diabolic energies, the swords gleamed with a myriad of sigils, each representing one of Xerzan's abilities. 

"Infernal Providence!" Xerzan thus unleashed his strongest skill, merged with the move, and dropped on Harun. Without a hint of fear, Harun coated himself in a Spiritual Incense Barrier. Jiyan's Abyssal River formed a double protection layer around him, and Mehran's hands flashed in incantation gestures.

Golden chains took form, binding the mutant horde to one another before setting them all ablaze. Over 1.5 million jets of radiant flames shot toward Mehran's hands—blending there to form a mini golden sun. Without delay, Mehran hurled the miniature sun at the sky and resumed his arcane gestures. The mutants followed suit, and the golden sun expanded to become a dazzling cauldron that rushed past the barrier, past Harun, and confronted Xerzan's final move.

"The Divine Soul Formation? F..." Xerzan couldn't finish his thoughts. The Divine Soul Cauldron met his Infernal Providence with absolute confidence, and in an explosion of cataclysmic forces, the two collided. 

The Mountain Edge World shook, leading the higher ranges' top experts to track down the source of this seism. All witnessed the number one expert of the junior generation shooting toward the stars.

Seizing the long-awaited opportunity, Harun hurled the Law Enforcing Dao Pillar at Xerzan, who watched helpless as a song of eternal doom echoed from the club—latching on his wretched soul. By the time Xerzan had passed the stratosphere, Harun had appeared above him and pressed his palm right against the stronghold master's heart.

"Divine Power: Devouring."

Harun, Birandar and the Serpent Totem executed the move as one, making Xerzan face the most sublime expression of his clan's bloodline skill. And as realization dawned onto the stronghold master, his Blood Origin stormed out of his heart to hover before Harun!