After Lina's squad had eliminated several patrolling Midgods, the group advanced toward the core area of the fortress.
As they cautiously moved forward, a volley of arrows suddenly flew from the far end of the corridor.
"Careful! Those are Godslayer Arrows!" Lina warned. These arrows contained terrifying soul toxins. Without divine artifacts that protected the soul, even a God-level expert would find it nearly impossible to defend against their attacks.
Naturally, Lina and her close allies were unafraid. Her warning was for the Highgod companions behind them.
Immediately, Lina and the others advanced, unleashing attacks to intercept each incoming Godslayer Arrow.
Thanks to their intervention, none of the arrows inflicted any harm on the group.
"Hmph. Looks like I underestimated you. You even have full sets of defensive artifacts," a voice echoed from the distance as a figure emerged.
It was a woman—a Highgod attuned to the Edict of Death.
"I, Lirmons, truly didn't want to make a move. But you've disrupted my plans and now seek to oppose me. I suppose bad luck is all that awaits you."
If Sadius were here and heard her introduce herself as "Lirmons," he would certainly recall the six-star Fiend of Imperial Wing City from the original work—an elite soul-mutated powerhouse wielding both the Laws of Destruction and Fire.
But why was such a powerful six-star Fiend appearing here?
By all rights, Lirmons should still be in Imperial Wing City, located in the city of Emberdark.
However, not long ago, she had accepted a mission that took her from Imperial Wing City to the Amethyst Mountains. After completing that mission, she didn't return. Instead, she began cultivating in the southern part of the mountains, at a place called Ziyang Residence.
Her original plan had been to strengthen her abilities and then challenge a nearby seven-star Fiend in one of the cities. If she succeeded, she would become the city lord and be automatically promoted to a seven-star Fiend.
But for reasons unknown, while cultivating in Ziyang Residence, she constructed a fortress far from any city and recruited guards—only to provoke an attack from a Fiend fortress.
In truth, Fiend fortress missions are all released by other individuals. After approval, they're published for Fiends to accept. The Fiend fortress itself has no stake in the task's content.
Lina stared at Lirmons, noting the fluctuations of both destructive and fire-based divine power surrounding her. Clearly, this woman possessed another divine clone.
That meant there were six Highgods stationed within this fortress, making the situation far more difficult.
"Reyna, get ready. If things go south, we may have to retreat," Lina said. Though she carried a small amount of Sovereign's power for protection, she didn't want to rely on it unless absolutely necessary. After all, they took on these missions to temper themselves through real battle. If they simply crushed enemies with sovereign might, what would be the point?
With that, Lina launched an attack. A ghostly red blossom—the Flower of the Other Shore—appeared out of thin air. She manipulated it to release a terrifying soul assault aimed at Lirmons.
Seeing this, Lirmons gripped her divine sword and charged forward to meet the blow.
The Midgod guards following behind Lirmons also rushed in.
Reyna and the others didn't hesitate—they launched attacks against the incoming guards.
If they could eliminate the enemy reinforcements, they could then support Lina in battle, increasing the chances of victory.
A full-scale battle erupted instantly.
Lirmons swung her divine sword downward, but a pair of bat wings unfurled from Lina's back, shielding her. The claws on the wings clashed directly with the enemy's blade.
Simultaneously, Lina's soul attack struck.
Lirmons hadn't expected Lina to execute such a powerful soul technique while engaging in physical combat.
Still, she remained calm. Her strength far surpassed Lina's.
Within her fused divine power lay profound soul-related mysteries of the fire laws, which allowed her to neutralize Lina's soul attack.
"Your strength is far too weak," Lirmons scoffed, full of contempt. "Still, with that full set of defensive artifacts, killing you won't be easy. But when I, Lirmons, decide to kill someone, I always succeed."
Just then, another Lirmons stepped out from within her body—a second divine clone, also a Highgod.
"Both of my clones surpass you in strength. Let's see how long you can last."
Both Lirmons clones charged at Lina with divine swords in hand.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Lina had no choice but to unleash all her abilities.
"Mother, I'm coming!" Linley shouted. Seeing that his mother couldn't hold her own against Lirmons, he swiftly cut down several Midgods and turned toward the enemy.
Though still only a Midgod himself, Linley had mastered three law fusions, making him more powerful than the average Highgod.
He swung his sword at Lirmons.
Initially, Lirmons dismissed the incoming youth. Her fire clone responded with a terrifying attack, intending to repel him.
But Linley advanced fearlessly, brandishing his divine sword with fierce precision. His strikes fell upon Lirmons like a relentless tide.
Lirmons immediately sensed something wrong. This Midgod wasn't weak at all—and he even wielded dual Highgod-level defensive artifacts.
But more importantly, his divine sword could change its effects depending on the type of divine power infused into it. This was no ordinary divine weapon—it was bizarrely powerful and mysterious.
"Kid, that divine sword of yours isn't bad. Sever your bond with it and hand it over, and I might spare your life!" Lirmons demanded. She desperately coveted Linley's sword. If she could inject her fused divine power into it, the weapon's potential would be unimaginable.
Unbeknownst to her, the sword had been custom-made for Linley by Sadius himself at great cost.
Lirmons had a sharp eye. Though the weapon was currently only a Midgod artifact, if nurtured with Highgod-level divine power, it could become a top-tier Highgod artifact.
"You're not worthy of my sword," Linley responded coldly.
Though his attacks were weaker than Lirmons's, his dual Highgod defensive artifacts rendered her temporarily helpless.
For a time, the battle devolved into a stalemate.
It wasn't that Linley and Lina were stronger—it was just that their defenses were absurdly high. Lirmons felt as though she were fighting two tanks, and it frustrated her deeply.
"Damn it!" she cursed. Her constant suppression of the two achieved nothing.
Meanwhile, on the Midgod battlefield, Luoshen, Reyna, and the blue-haired Eunice tore through the enemy like wolves among sheep, leading other Midgod Fiends to slaughter the guards.
Soon, more than half the enemy forces were dead or gravely injured. The remaining guards broke ranks, abandoned resistance, and began fleeing.
After all, they had only been hired by Lirmons as guards. None of them had any intention of dying for her.
Seeing this, the remaining Midgod Fiends immediately gave chase, hoping to claim more of the guard badges—each one increased their mission rewards.
Reyna and the other two, however, did not pursue. Instead, they stayed behind to help Lina and Linley.
"Eunice, stand guard. Luoshen, go help your brother. I'll assist Aunt Lina," Reyna said.
"Understood," the two replied.
Without delay, Reyna and Luoshen flew to the battlefield, joining the fray.
Reyna had cultivated the Edicts of Life and Light, giving her powerful support and healing abilities—perfect for assisting Lina.
Luoshen and Linley, as brothers, shared excellent synergy. Once united, Lirmons found herself even more at a disadvantage—she could do nothing against the two of them.
"A Midgod with mastery of Destruction, and that pair of gauntlets must be top-grade divine artifacts as well. My luck is unbelievable—two top-tier divine weapons in one fight! If I kill you both, they'll be mine!"
Lirmons's greed only intensified as the battle raged on.