Hilda, shielded by the God Warriors, still couldn't escape the power of the Twelve Zodiac Exclamation, collapsing instantly and spitting up fresh blood.
Thanks to the clash and obstruction from the God Warriors' ultimate techniques, and primarily due to Shin holding back, Hilda was injured but managed to remain standing.
"How... is this possible?! A Gold Saint is actually this powerful?!" Hilda's eyes were wide with shock. Hadn't she been told that the God Warriors were equal to, or even superior to, the Gold Saints?
To this claim, Shin would say: First, I am not an ordinary Gold Saint. Second, these God Warriors, Sea Generals, and Specters all claim they are not inferior to the Gold Saints. That claim is, in itself, an acknowledgment of the Gold Saints' power.
Otherwise, why does no one claim they are not inferior to the God Warriors, Sea Generals, or the elite Celestial Star Specters? It's simply because the Gold Saints have campaigned far and wide over the years, forging an illustrious reputation.
If you were some other Sea General or God Warrior, who would even know where you came from?
The facts proved that their claim of not being inferior to Gold Saints simply meant they had reached the bare minimum threshold of a Gold Saint. For the true freaks among the Gold Saints, knocking them out was still a simple matter.
Moreover, strictly speaking, Shin had already transcended the level of a 'Gold Saint freak.' If you brought out the twelve main Olympian Gods, Shin could still beat them until they were covered in bruises!
Hilda didn't grasp these nuances, but she knew one thing: her supposed ambition was nothing but a joke in the presence of this Sagittarius Gold Saint.
Shin sneered, touching down, and slowly walked towards Hilda: "You want the Arctic glaciers to melt? Take my advice: make those glaciers freeze again right now, and I might spare the lives of your Asgard. Otherwise..."
*Crack.* Shin paused slightly. Looking down, he saw Siegfried, the God Warrior of Dubhe Alpha, slowly pushing himself up, hands braced on the ground.
"I am the God Warrior Siegfried, possessor of the immortal twin-dragon body! If you wish to harm Princess Hilda, you will have to step over my corpse!"
His words were defiant, but judging by the blood covering his face and the cracks running across his God Robe, he hardly looked like he possessed an immortal body.
Even an immortal body has limitations. Just like Superman, who boasts the Man of Steel physique—didn't he still get beaten until he coughed up blood by Doomsday? Let alone this God Warrior; the mere fact that he hadn't fallen into a deep coma like the others after taking that punch from Shin was a testament to his powerful defense.
Given his condition, Shin didn't need the Twelve Zodiac Exclamation; a casual Light Speed Punch would likely be enough to make him collapse entirely.
However, the Cosmo, renowned as the most noble and passionate method of cultivation, was truly formidable. At that moment, the twin-dragon warrior disregarded his own life, igniting his Cosmo to its absolute limit instantly, transforming into a streak of light, and wrapping his arms around Shin from the back.
"Let's take each other out!"
Siegfried was essentially an enhanced version of the Dragon Saint: his immortal body was an enhanced version of the Dragon Shield, his heart weakness was an enhanced version of the Rozan Rising Dragon's flaw, and even his self-sacrificing technique was almost identical to Shiryu's Rozan Dragon Flight.
Despite his loud cry, Siegfried's continuous Cosmo explosion failed to budge Shin even an inch. He felt as if he were embracing not flesh and blood, but an iron divine mountain that had stood since antiquity; no amount of force could lift Shin's feet from the earth.
Shin simply altered his bio-magnetic field slightly, easily nullifying Siegfried's ultimate technique, and didn't even break his stride, continuing his slow walk forward.
"The gap... it's actually this vast." The continuous eruption of Cosmo is not something to trifle with—strength wanes after the first rush. Even Siegfried, despite his so-called immortal body and resilient physique, began bleeding from all seven orifices within moments, his bones seemingly groaning and cracking throughout his body.
After losing his final burst of willpower, his Cosmo instantly dropped to its lowest point. Shin merely tapped his elbow backward, and Siegfried completely slumped to the ground.
"Forgive me... Princess Hilda. I have... done my best."
Siegfried went completely limp. Had Shin not casually infused him with a thread of Yang Release Chakra, the man would have perished instantly.
Perhaps stirred by Siegfried's Cosmo, several other unconscious God Warriors also regained consciousness. They struggled to stand or crawl towards Shin. For a moment, Shin felt an odd sense of déjà vu, as if he were watching the Bronze Saints.
"Stay back, stay back!" Hilda's eyes were filled with panic, and the black spear in her hand continuously discharged lightning, though it inflicted no harm whatsoever on Shin.
However, looking at the scene, Shin couldn't help but feel like he was playing the role of the great demon lord villain!
Unwilling to prolong this melodrama, Shin's figure blurred. Moving at super light speed, he easily stepped over the crawling God Warriors. He appeared before Hilda, casually snapped the black spear in her hand, and then pointed a finger at the Nibelungen Ring she wore.
"Waaah!" Hilda shrieked. As the ring was struck, it released countless black lightning bolts, electrocuting Hilda until her eyes rolled back and she collapsed onto the ground.
"This is proving difficult. Can only Odin's Sword truly deal with this ring?" Shin muttered to himself.
Taking a slight breath, Hilda sneered: "It's useless. Unless I die, this ring cannot be removed by any means. And without my prayers, the melting of the Arctic glaciers is only a matter of time! Regardless, this world will ultimately fall under the dominion of Poseidon, the Sea God!"
Shin scoffed. While his super vision had already located the Odin Robe and Odin's Sword hidden within the statue, Hilda's final declaration sparked his competitive nature.
"Heh heh, how laughable—do you truly think that can stop me? If you were wearing a collar instead of a ring, I might actually be troubled!"
A collar?! Hilda froze for a moment, then seemed to understand his implication: "You... what are you doing? No, stop!"
"Stop it, you despicable Gold Saint!" The God Warriors who were struggling to stand shouted, but it was already far too late. A faint golden flash streaked from Shin's hand; the ultimate technique, Capricorn's Excalibur, had already been instantly brought down.
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Now available - Chapter 698: Finale (ENDING)