The dark, blood-red sky seemed to press down on the ground.
The entire Twelve Trees Plane was littered with remnants of trees, toxic webs, and torn spaces, making it almost a dead zone due to the fierce battle between powerful deities.
Previously, the continuous sound of demon prayers echoed throughout the Twelve Trees Plane, but now it had completely vanished. With the destruction of the twelve ancient demon trees, all the demon followers who had been captivated by the trees had perished. These demons were already like the walking dead, existing only because of the ancient demon trees.
However, the battle between the deities continued unabated.
The Heart-Eater War God's beast-like face seemed to perpetually seethe with anger and hunger. His blood-red eyes reflected the silver dragon that had just caused him to age, his breathing heavy and suppressed like a beast barely containing its bloodlust.
The recent setback didn't deter the Heart-Eater War God; instead, it fueled his battle fervor.
"Garon Aurelia."
His rough and dangerous voice seemed to squeeze through his teeth.
"I have yet to taste the heart of a dragon god. My claws will tear through your scales, reach into your chest, and pull out your heart."
The Heart-Eater War God Xaltekh was undisputedly a bloodthirsty, brutal, cruel, and evil god.
In the various worlds of the multiverse influenced by the Heart-Eater War God, horror and terror reigned supreme.
Every day, every second, in worlds dominated by the Heart-Eater War God's faith, rivers of blood flowed in unending wars, all for the sake of obtaining hearts to sacrifice to him. If they couldn't procure enough hearts, they often had to use the hearts of their own people as offerings to avoid the god's terrible wrath.
The true worshippers of the Heart-Eater War God were few and far between, mostly deranged and violent madmen. His primary source of power came from countless ages of blood sacrifices, and his divine throne was built with endless corpses and cemented with infinite blood.
"Disgusting gaze."
The silver dragon's face remained calm, looking indifferently at the Heart-Eater War God.
In the Heart-Eater War God's eyes, Garon saw an extreme hunger and greed, akin to a starving ghost seeing a delicious feast, unable to suppress the crazed desire, mixed with a predatory urge.
Throughout this battle, Garon had never considered the newly ascended, powerful deity Lolth as his true opponent.
Although both were newly ascended to the ranks of powerful deities, there were still differences in strength.
In card games popular in some worlds, where the cost of a card represented its potential and the stars represented its current power level, a high-cost card like a Time Dragon would always crush lower-cost cards, even being able to fight targets of a higher star level.
The Heart-Eater War God was a more significant opponent for Garon.
This evil god had extremely formidable combat strength. In a short time, he had almost shattered the time-space rings forged from divine cores. If it were Lolth, she would probably be running from the time-space rings, unable to contend with Garon's divine core weapon.
"The beat of your heart is strong and powerful, producing a melody I've never heard before."
"I want to taste your heart and see if it's a billion times more delicious than a regular dragon's, if it can satisfy my eternal hunger."
The Heart-Eater War God's eyes were bloodshot, revealing a tangible frenzy and hunger as he spoke in a low voice.
Thump, thump, thump... He could hear the heartbeat of the silver dragon.
In the Heart-Eater War God's vision, the silver dragon's chest housed a beating heart of time, causing subtle ripples in the river of time with each beat, as if it were the core of the river of time, possessing strange and incomprehensible power that he could hardly take his eyes off.
"I want your heart!"
He could no longer restrain himself, saliva dripping from his mouth.
As for fearing Garon's Time Reversal to take out a heart, it was not considered a serious injury for beings of their powerful divine level.
Garon's Time Reversal was well-known. As long as he wasn't pushed to the brink of death, there was no need to fear the Time Reversal.
The Heart-Eater War God raised his claws.
On his obsidian claws, blood-red light compressed and attached endlessly, making the edges of his claws appear like burning red-hot iron.
Authority of Violence: Heart-Eating Sky-Splitting Claw!
Boom!
His claws swung, bringing with them dense blood-red shadows that collided with the surrounding time-space rings. The rings bore immense pressure, trembling with each clash with the Heart-Eater War God's claws. The faint cracks on them became more pronounced, radiating outward.
"Return."
Before the time-space rings could shatter, the silver dragon moved with a thought.
Buzz, buzz, buzz... The numerous time-space rings instantly gathered together, no longer clashing fiercely with the Heart-Eater War God. They merged into the river of time, weaving through it, getting struck several times by the claws, adding more cracks before returning to Garon, disappearing into his wrist.
"If they completely shattered, reassembling and forging them into rings would take a lot of time and effort."
Garon's gaze flickered.
Meanwhile.
An overwhelming blood-red divine power erupted, enveloping the sky and earth, like a dam bursting, mountains collapsing, instilling fear and dread.
In the instant the time-space rings ceased obstructing.
The Heart-Eater War God's body erupted with surging blood-red divine light, like a blood-red comet with claw-shaped light, trailing a long tail, slicing through the sky, charging directly at the silver dragon with immense pressure and ferocity.
"This guy doesn't rely on faith but sustains roughly an eighteen divine core level through blood sacrifices. How much blood has his claws stained?"
Garon felt a sense of threat from the Heart-Eater War God.
This was expected.
Garon's current biological level, converted, was approximately equivalent to a sixteen divine core level, just a step away from seventeen, with a gap compared to the Heart-Eater War God.
At the level of powerful deities, even a one-level difference was immense and challenging to overcome.
But Garon was Garon, an infinite space-time being, a "high-cost" entity beyond the powerful deities of the finite multiverse.
He had the confidence to contend with the Heart-Eater War God across levels.
Time Stop Domain!
Buzz!
The power of time swept across the war-torn Twelve Trees Abyssal Plane like a hurricane, stopping the river of time, freezing everything.
Tear!
The Heart-Eater War God's blood-red divine light, vaguely claw-shaped, tore through the frozen Time Stop Domain, allowing him to move in the stopped time.
This evil god's combat strength was formidable. Before engaging him, Garon needed to create a favorable domain.
The silver dragon gazed at the Heart-Eater War God, raising his Time Dragon wings.
Suddenly, invisible, resilient threads extended, one after another, densely interweaving and covering the sky and earth, faintly glimmering with a dark purple light.
Myriad Spider Web.
This was the skill Lolth used earlier to seal the twelve ancient demon trees.
In addition to the Myriad Spider Web, the silver dragon exhaled, releasing a pervasive toxic mist that filled every inch of space.
Temporal Segmentation!
The silver dragon's gaze sharpened, and countless temporal rifts appeared in the surrounding space, harmful upon contact.
Slowing Time!
The rings on the silver dragon's wings began to rotate slowly, emitting a gentle, wave-like glow, ignoring the Heart-Eater War God's attempts to dodge, enveloping him.
This slowing time was pervasive, he couldn't fully evade it, slowing his movements by about ten percent.
Slowing Time was the ultimate form of the Slow spell, one of the abilities Garon gained after his abilities soared upon ascending to the ranks of powerful deities.
The sense of threat from the Heart-Eater War God diminished significantly before he even got close.
However, the blood-red comet-like form of the Heart-Eater War God remained fierce and imposing, closing in on the silver dragon despite the negative influences of the Time Stop Domain, slowing light, Myriad Spider Web, toxic mist domain, and temporal rifts. As he approached, his form grew, matching the silver dragon in size.
"Truly worthy of the title War God."
The silver dragon took a deep breath, his scales glowing brightly, dragon's might rolling like thunder.
"Let me tear through your scales!"
The Heart-Eater War God roared, raising his obsidian claws that glowed like red-hot iron.
His right claw slashed towards the silver dragon's head, while his left claw, spear-like, aimed for the silver dragon's chest, moving faster than lightning, faster than light.
Even faced with a light-speed assault, Garon, with his current reaction speed, could still think and respond adequately.
Divine Speed Time!
The rings on the silver dragon's wings spun rapidly, granting him speed beyond light, more accurately, matching light's speed, but with Divine Speed Time, his surrounding light speed increased, surpassing other locations.
Tear!
The silver dragon's head was shattered, his chest pierced.
But the Heart-Eater War God didn't feel joy; his expression changed.
There was no sensation in his claws.
Simultaneously, the silver dragon whose head and chest were torn disappeared like a phantom, just an afterimage.
Behind the Heart-Eater War God, the silver dragon's claws, enhanced by the power of time, formed an indestructible Claw of Temporal Fracture, with tips glowing red-hot like searing iron from the Heart-Eater War God's own attack.
Sizzle!
The dragon's claws pierced through the divine blood-red glow, tearing flesh and crushing bone. One claw brutally plunged into the Heart-Eater War God's divine body.
The Heart-Eater War God's reaction was swift. In a fraction of a second, he countered.
Authority of Evil: Evil Heart!
Thump!
His entire body's divine power surged, and his blood violently converged on his heart. The heart, gripped by the silver dragon, pulsed with a ferocious force.
At that moment, Garon felt as if he was holding not a heart but an expanding universe.
Even with the Claw of Temporal Fracture and the Heart-Eating Sky-Splitting Claw combined, Garon's grip was forced open.
Seizing the opportunity, the Heart-Eater War God's body transformed into a mist of blood. The divine body, impaled by the silver dragon's claws, dispersed and reformed at a distance.
"Such a pity, just a bit more."
"Your heart is truly resilient beyond belief, a marvelous and precious artifact."
The silver dragon's gaze was deep as he looked at the Heart-Eater War God. He clenched and unclenched his claws, as if reminiscing about the sensation of grasping the Heart-Eater War God's heart.
The Heart-Eater War God turned his head 180 degrees to look at his back.
Thump, thump, thump... Through the torn flesh, one could see his beating heart.
After that brief surge, the Heart-Eater War God's heartbeat had slowed significantly, and his aura had weakened considerably, indicating that the action had not been without cost.
Blood-red divine light flashed, filling the wound and regenerating it.
On the surface, the Heart-Eater War God seemed unharmed, as if unchanged from the beginning, but the divine light around him had dimmed slightly, no longer as radiant.
The damage to his body accelerated the aging effect.
As a result, he had to consume more divine power and focus more on maintaining his condition to continue fighting.
"You... deserve to die!"
The Heart-Eater War God's head snapped back, glaring at the silver dragon, growling.
A deity who reveled in ripping out the hearts of his enemies had his own heart targeted twice, the first by the Arrow of Temporal Perish, embedding the concept of aging, and the second almost being taken directly by Garon. This was a humiliation to the Heart-Eater War God.
From his bloodshot eyes, Garon could see his anger.
Garon welcomed his anger.
An angry enemy meant his attacks were effective.
If an enemy smiled with joy in response to his attacks, that would be troubling.
Garon chuckled, then exhaled a breath of Time Stealing Breath toward the Heart-Eater War God.
For a deity already afflicted by the concept of aging, enduring the passage of time, the Time Stealing Breath was even more dangerous than the Temporal Crush Breath.
The Heart-Eater War God's threatening words were cut short.
Sensing the danger of the Time Stealing Breath, the Heart-Eater War God crossed his claws and tore forward.
Boom!
A gigantic, blood-red claw materialized, tearing through the sky, clashing with the Time Stealing Breath.
The massive blood-red claw and the Time Stealing Breath pushed against each other, sometimes the claw being forced back, sometimes the breath pushing forward.
The center of the blood-red claw, under the assault of the Time Stealing Breath, seemed to endure millennia of erosion, dissipating its divine power.
The Time Stealing Breath continued its advance.
The Heart-Eater War God's pupils contracted, dodging swiftly.
His right arm grazed by the Time Stealing Breath, withered, the flesh shriveled, and the skin wrinkled, devoid of strength.
"Hmph."
The Heart-Eater War God snorted coldly, blood-red divine power surging into his right arm, revitalizing it.
Boom!
He erupted with divine power, the blood-red light blazing, forming solid claw outlines around him.
In the next instant.
The Heart-Eater War God, trailing blood-red light, appeared above the silver dragon, slashing downwards with his claw.
In the blink of an eye, the silver dragon's wings rose, stirring the river of time, striking at the Heart-Eater War God faster than him.
At that moment, the Heart-Eater War God let out a low growl, his divine power exploding, turning the sky of the Twelve Trees Plane blood-red.
Authority of War: Obsidian War Formation!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Centered on the Heart-Eater War God, countless obsidian claws appeared from the void, exuding sharpness, covering the area like blooming claw-shaped flowers, forming an all-encompassing domain.
In an instant, the countless claws swept towards the silver dragon.
Millions of claws combined into massive obsidian claws, grasping the silver dragon's wings.
Rip!
The Heart-Eater War God's main claws descended.
The silver dragon turned his head just in time but still felt a burning pain.
The Temporal Barrier was sliced open, the fine scales on his face cut, and one platinum eye was slashed, leaking time-space energy—his blood.
At close range, the Heart-Eater War God succeeded.
Simultaneously, countless obsidian claws climbed up, layering around the silver dragon.
"Garon Aurelia, I will imprison you! I will continuously feast on your heart."
The Heart-Eater War God growled.
Suddenly, the silver dragon's body shimmered, becoming intangible, merging with the river of time, transforming into a majestic time dragon, passing through the obsidian claw domain.
The Heart-Eater War God's smile froze.
Boom, boom, boom...
The massive time dragon encompassing the Twelve Trees Plane looked down at the Heart-Eater War God within its body. With a thought, the river of time surged, condensing into countless time chains, like serpents or dragons, entwining the Heart-Eater War God.
Crack, crack...
The obsidian claws contracted defensively, waving wildly, contending with the pervasive time chains.
Countless time chains were torn apart, re-merging into the river of time.
Buzz!
At this moment, the time dragon form collapsed, solidifying into the silver dragon.
The reverse flow of time healed the wound on his face. He looked coldly at the Heart-Eater War God.
The Astral Staff lifted from the dragon scales, shedding a silvery glow.
On the crown-like dragon horns, the Thorn Flower Crown—the Hero's Crown—also radiated a milky white light.
The Astral Staff and Hero's Crown, two plane weapons.
Going all out, no holding back.
The Hero's Crown released high-concentration life energy, continuously pouring into the dragon's body, making every scale shine brightly, significantly enhancing his physical attributes.
Boom!
The silver dragon's wings spread wide, crashing into the obsidian claw domain.
Around the silver dragon, an obsidian claw domain also appeared, though weaker, with countless obsidian claws clashing, roaring like a storm, like a meat grinder.
Meanwhile, the Heart-Eater War God's claws, under his control, converged again into massive claws, grasping at the silver dragon.
The Hero's Crown glowed brightly, and the silver dragon did not dodge.
Boom, boom, boom!
The giant claws shattered; they couldn't capture the silver dragon this time.
The silver dragon pressed forward, tearing through the claw-covered domain, heading straight for the Heart-Eater War God at its center.
"Infiltrating my domain, seeking death..."
Before he could finish speaking.
A silver light shot from the Astral Staff, bypassing the Heart-Eater War God's defenses, striking his head, freezing his movements.
Simultaneously, the silver dragon lunged, standing upright.
Garon twisted his waist, his spine as the axis, his dragon arm bent like a bow, drawing back, his claws joined like a spear, swirling with denser time power, breaking through the time-space continuum.
In the next moment.
The Heart-Eater War God's divine glow shone, breaking free from the Astral Staff's mental attack.
In his blood-red eyes, the cold and fierce face of Garon was reflected.
Sizzle!
The spear-like dragon claws tore through space, piercing layers of blood-red divine shields, unstoppable, breaking through the Heart-Eater War God's chest.
Evil Heart!
The Heart-Eater War God's heart pulsed violently, becoming a terrifying shockwave that would terrify even a powerful deity.
The silver dragon's wings rose, unaffected.
This time, with increased physical attributes, Garon's claws steadily pierced through the shockwave, his claws spread, grabbing the Heart-Eater War God's heart.
Sizzle! The dragon claws drew black and red divine blood, piercing through the chest, breaking out from the back, grasping a blood-red crystalline heart, still beating like a mighty drum.
At this moment, the Heart-Eater War God seemed struck by lightning.
For other deities, the heart might not be very important.
But for the Heart-Eater War God, it was crucial, the core of his power, storing the energy gained from blood sacrifices.
The dragon's other claw lifted, covering the Heart-Eater War God's head, while the claw that pierced through his chest withdrew.
"You..."
The Heart-Eater War God's aura plummeted, nearly immobilized under the influence of Time Stop, Slowing Time, and the web, watching helplessly as the silver dragon took his heart.
One claw holding the Heart-Eater War God's head, the other his heart.
The silver dragon's eyes, like a stormy ocean, said, "Xaltekh, you wounded me, earning my recognition."
"For opponents I recognize, I always go all out, leaving no room."
Initially, Garon intended to defeat the Heart-Eater War God using only his own strength.
After a brief exchange, he realized that their combat abilities were evenly matched. Successfully killing or sealing the Heart-Eater War God would result in significant injuries to himself. Therefore, he did not hesitate to utilize the plane armaments of the Plane King.
Even in a plane not his own, the plane armaments still exhibited tremendous power.
Now, with the Heart-Eater War God severely weakened, the silver dragon's cold gaze locked onto him.
"This is the end for you, Xaltekh."
The Heart-Eater War God's expression twisted with rage and desperation. Despite his power, he was now at the mercy of the silver dragon, his heart, the core of his power, held firmly in the dragon's claws.
"You think you can kill me so easily?" Xaltekh growled, his eyes blazing with defiance.
The silver dragon's grip tightened around Xaltekh's heart. "I won't just kill you," Garon said, his voice a rumble of thunder. "I will make sure you can never return."
With a final, powerful squeeze, the silver dragon crushed the Heart-Eater War God's heart. A torrent of black and red divine blood gushed out, and Xaltekh's body convulsed violently.
The Hero's Crown on Garon's head shone even brighter, and the Astral Staff in his other claw began to hum with energy. He wasn't just going to kill Xaltekh; he was going to obliterate him, ensuring that the evil god could never regenerate or return.
A surge of raw, destructive power flowed through the silver dragon. With a mighty roar, Garon unleashed this power directly into the Heart-Eater War God's body. Xaltekh's form shuddered, the divine essence within him tearing apart under the onslaught.
The Heart-Eater War God's eyes widened with shock and fear. He had never imagined such power, such utter destruction. His body began to disintegrate, the divine energy sustaining him unraveling.
"No... this cannot be..." Xaltekh's voice faded as his form dissolved into nothingness.
In a final burst of light and energy, the Heart-Eater War God was no more.
The battlefield fell silent. The toxic mists, the webs, the torn spaces—all were still. The presence of the Heart-Eater War God had vanished completely.
Garon stood tall, his massive form casting a long shadow over the desolate landscape. The Hero's Crown and the Astral Staff ceased their glowing, and the power within the silver dragon settled.
The silver dragon's gaze softened slightly as he looked around at the remnants of the battle. The destruction had been immense, but the threat of Xaltekh was finally gone.
As he surveyed the battlefield, Garon knew that while this fight was over, there were always more battles to come. In the endless expanse of the multiverse, new threats would always rise.
But for now, he had triumphed. The Heart-Eater War God was defeated, his essence scattered to the winds.
With a final, powerful flap of his wings, the silver dragon took to the sky, leaving the ruined Twelve Trees Plane behind. He soared through the cosmos, ready for whatever challenges awaited him next.
And as he flew, the silver dragon knew that he would face them with the same unwavering determination and strength that had led him to victory today.
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