Damien always had his suspicions, especially after seeing Ruthren get involved in things like turning the central lands into a death zone and even controlling the Lancaster Emperor's corpse.
He knew Ruthren was the strongest cultivator in this continent all this while, but that didn't mean that he would be capable of such feats on his own.
Ruthren manically laughed with his bloody teeth showing, "You really don't know, huh…How surprising, and I was sure you were not from around here, especially since you were an orphan. Guess what…If you really don't know, then you and your people are doomed. Everyone is doomed. The Old World is not a place for you weaklings or the unworthy ones. It's a pity…Reva made such a foolish decision of choosing you."
"Shut…"
"Ugh!"
"..your…"
"Ungh!"
"...fucking…"
"Agh!"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"...mouth!" Damien heavily kicked him in the face four times till half of Ruthren's face was badly bruised and swollen.
"You don't deserve to say her name with your filthy mouth. Your days as an emperor and as a living filth are over," Damien said as he raised his feet high to deal a heavy blow to his chest. He felt ashamed that he let someone like him trigger a Heart Devil in him.
Ruthren's expression became frantic as he gathered whatever ethereal energy he could to blast Damien away by a few feet.
"Tsk. Stay down, you piece of shit!" Damien brushed off Ruthren's attack as if it was nothing and raised both his hands as he shouted in his mind, "Divine Shackles of Lightning!"
His eyes crackled with jet black lightning streaks as multiple jet black lightning chains in the shape of bolts shot out of his palm. All of these lightning 'chains' wrapped around an injured Ruthren, who was shocked to feel all the ethereal energy he had gathered being dispersed away, making him fall on his knees as he grimaced in pain.
It was like hundreds of thunderbolts were wreaking havoc on his body, scorching him, especially his ethereal energy from within, making it impossible for him to use it. It felt no different than having his ethereal core shackled by these chains of spine-chilling lightning.
He was feeling angrier and angrier that Damien somehow got his hands on such powerful ethereal arts while his were trash compared to it. Even after serving Yohr loyally for all these centuries, that cunning god never taught him any divine arts.
Damien activated the formation to the island as he sent a talisman into it. He also absorbed whatever Anti-God energy was left in the air near the formation, which not only rejuvenated some of his energy reserves but also made it safe for any ethereal cultivators to stand in this spot.
But he was feeling very exhausted as the side effects of his Undying Wrath and his fatigue from expending his soul energy and his exhaustion from using so many ethereal and nethereal arts back to back began to settle in. All this time, it was the adrenaline and his burning determination to take down Ruthren that had been keeping him up. Otherwise, he doubted if he could fight like this always.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Still, he didn't have to worry about Ruthren any longer since he wouldn't be able to gather any ethereal energy as long as the lightning shackles were on him.
And within a few moments, multiple figures stepped out of the formation with firm expressions.
And when they saw Damien, their expressions turned into relief, but at the same time, they also saw Ruthren on his knees, making their expressions turn quite dark but astonished, especially after looking at the state of Ruthren's army.
They had to blink again to make sure they never thought Damien could bring Ruthren and his army to their knees all on his own. How powerful was he really to achieve such a shocking feat?
Even Leon had a baffled look since he didn't see this coming. He really thought Damien's plan was to buy some time for them to escape and then regroup with armies strong enough to defeat Ruthren.
Still, he didn't forget to instruct the other survivors who were still able to walk to take away those unconscious to safety.
Elor and Irene had their eyes quivering with a vehement light in their eyes. They were seeing something they had dreamed of for all these centuries, especially when looking at his bashed-up face.
Reva's cold azure eyes also were looking at Ruthren with an intense, fevered stare as various emotions lashed about in her heart, especially when she remembered her mother and all her Zirian people he had killed.
Yuria was gnashing her teeth in anger, thinking about how her father might never be whole again. As a King and as a respected cultivator, he would surely be devastated to lose an arm.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Losing an arm was like half a death sentence for cultivators due to how important it was.
Lily had an empty stare as she looked at the kneeling Ruthren. Her eyes were still red while her chin was trembling. It was as if she was trying to calm herself down since she never expected to see the person she hated the most in such a weakened state so suddenly.
"I know I said we may not be able to kill him today, but someone like him doesn't deserve to breathe a day longer. He's all yours," Damien said with his hands behind his back as the others gave a look of gratitude to him, especially his wives, who were moved that he did this for them instead of finishing Ruthren off himself.
Damien really had the urge to torture Ruthren himself, but he felt that Elor, Irene, and his wives deserved to be the ones to end Ruthren since they were the ones who suffered the most at his hands for a long time.
This would at least bring some peace to them, considering the things that happened.
"Save the emperor!!" A hoarse cry echoed in the air.
Damien frowned when he saw a Supreme Elder who was part of the army Ruthren brought with him, rushing towards Ruthren to save him. His elegant robes were tattered, and there were several injuries here and there. It seemed that the Supreme Elder had gone through a lot to escape the rain of death and even the lightning tornadoes. But the rest of the army…not so much.
But right before he could reach Ruthren, a lightning bolt struck his chest, leaving behind a huge gaping hole in his chest as he fell to the ground with lifeless eyes.
"How useless," Ruthren scoffed in disappointment and contempt as he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Ruthren then coldly smirked as his gaze passed over Reva and the others, looking at him like wolves looking to butcher their prey.
