In the empty circle, the original Lord Ren, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
He was united with Makoto Ito of the Soul Realm, so his original body was fully aware of what had transpired in the Soul Realm.
"The clone can reach five points of spiritual power, and the spiritual pressure of the original body is more than five times that of the clone. According to the spiritual pressure in the corpse soul world, my spiritual pressure at this time seems to be able to touch the edge of the third-class spiritual power."
In other words, the total amount of spiritual pressure in Ren's body at this moment appeared to have reached the threshold of the captain level, though his attacking methods were still weaker than those of ordinary captains.
In terms of comprehensive combat power, Ren's body could be considered at the quasi-captain level. But at this moment, he was just a Gillian who had not yet broken his face.
He had not yet reached the limit of weakness, so it was too soon to break the face.
However, improving his skills—such as refining his slashing techniques—could significantly boost his strength in a short period. After all, while other Adjuchas still relied on their claws and teeth to attack and consume raw blood, Ren had already started wielding swords.
This was precisely why he had decided to let his clone join the 11th Team. What could refine his slashing skills better than endless, bloody battles?
"Roar!"
As he gazed at the Gillian group roaring at the sky before him, Ren simply nodded slightly. In that moment, all the spiritual pressure in his body was unleashed.
His aura reached its peak. While his base strength was on the same level as the others, his current spiritual pressure far surpassed that of even an Adjuchas.
The only reason these mindless Gillians were not fleeing in terror at his overwhelming spiritual pressure was that someone was controlling them from behind the scenes.
"You're not coming out, are you?"
Ren casually waved his right hand, summoning a thunder whip nearly 100 meters long. With a sudden downward swing, the whip twisted through the air multiple times before tearing through numerous Gillians, reducing them to debris.
Immediately, the ghoul soul began absorbing the remains of the fallen Gillians. As Ren felt the rush of spiritual power flooding into his body, his expression suddenly shifted as if he had sensed something.
"Found you!"
Ren sneered, then dashed into the dense forest. Upon reaching a certain point, he slashed his blade directly into empty space.
"Crazy!"
A faint sensation of resistance traveled through the blade, as though he had struck the surface of water. The once-calm space rippled, the disturbance starting subtly but quickly growing more intense.
Suddenly, a strange fish-like creature with a black-green body covered in bone spurs emerged from the rippling space.
"Bang!"
Without a doubt, this Adjuchas had been the one controlling the Gillians.
It was not large but appeared incredibly agile. The moment it appeared, it lashed out at Ren with its tail. Though Ren evaded the strike with a swift motion, he noticed that the strange fish had already disappeared into another set of water-like ripples.
"Interesting."
This strange fish did not possess immense spiritual power. It was even weaker than the centaur-like Adjuchas that Ren had previously used to create his clone. However, its attack method was particularly intriguing.
"Wow!"
Water ripples reappeared behind Ren. Just as the creature was about to lunge out, intending to pierce through Ren's back with its bone-covered head, Ren reacted instantly, sweeping his long blade backward.
"Clang!"
A sharp interception rang out as Ren neutralized the ambush at the perfect moment.
After several exchanges, Ren assessed that this strange fish-like Adjuchas could not remain hidden behind the water ripples indefinitely. It had to periodically re-emerge to launch attacks.
"The interval between each attack is five seconds! And it always reappears in the same position as the last attack."
Through calm and careful analysis, Ren had completely grasped the strange fish's attack pattern. He then decided to remain still, waiting to counter the next move with precision.
"Wow!"
The water ripples manifested again—this time above Ren's head.
"Sky Thunder!"
Ren didn't raise his head directly. After a quick lightning-infused sniff, his entire body erupted in an electric shock, stunning the strange fish just as it was about to strike.
Since he had already determined that it could only stay for five seconds after emerging from the water ripples, Ren merely needed to time his attacks and release flash thunder every five seconds. This ensured that no matter where the creature appeared, it would suffer a lightning-inflicted injury.
From this moment, Ren's battle with the strange fish shifted in style.
Like a game of whack-a-mole, each time the strange fish emerged, it was struck by lightning before it could attack. After several cycles, the creature was visibly burned and charred.
Suddenly, the water ripples began retreating, signaling the strange fish's decision to flee. It was clear that it no longer wished to engage with Ren and intended to escape.
"Trying to leave? Not that easy!"
Ren grinned wickedly, his thunder whip crackling with energy as he lashed forward at the perfect moment.
Just as the strange fish attempted to retreat, it was ensnared by the thunder whip and yanked back forcefully.
Ren wasted no time. He prepared to draw his sword and finish off the Adjuchas, who had already wasted enough of his time.
"My king, please spare me! Chiva Barnes is willing to surrender—don't kill me!"
A youthful voice came from the strange fish, a stark contrast to its grotesque appearance.
"Oh? You can talk. Give me one good reason not to kill you."
Holding the thunder whip in his left hand, Ren watched the trembling creature before him, gripping his sword with intrigue.
Chiva Barnes looked utterly miserable. The figure before him, towering at over two meters with a dark, imposing presence, seemed absurdly powerful. Internally, he couldn't help but complain:
"You're a Vasto Lorde, and yet you stoop to bullying an Adjuchas like me? Why don't you go challenge Beligang in the Palace instead?!"
Clearly, Chiva Barnes had mistaken Ren for a Vast Lorde. If he realized the so-called "Vast Lorde" in front of him was actually just a Gillian, his jaw would probably hit the ground.
Despite his internal frustration, Chiva Barnes maintained a respectful tone:
"Great Vasto Lorde, I know of a gathering place where at least five Adjuchas reside. I can lead you there—just promise you won't eat me."
"Huh? Are you sure about this?"
Ren narrowed his eyes skeptically.
Since his promotion, he had only encountered three Adjuchas, including Chiva Barnes. The sudden claim of five Adjuchas lurking nearby seemed too convenient to believe.
"Of course! How could a lowly being like me dare to deceive a mighty Vasto Lorde?"
The strange fish had completely humbled himself, clearly terrified that Ren would turn him into a meal at any moment.
"Fine, I'll trust you… for now. But…"
Ren raised his right hand, allowing spiritual energy to condense within his palm. Soon, it formed into a pulsating sphere of electricity.
Without warning, Ren pried open Chiva Barnes' mouth and stuffed the lightning orb inside.
This was a new variation of his flash thunder technique—compressing lightning into a compact energy ball that could be implanted inside a target. No matter how far they ran, even if they were millions of miles away, Ren could detonate it at will.
If Chiva Barnes betrayed him, the thunderball would instantly reduce him to ashes.
After securing his insurance policy, Ren finally released the thunder whip and let Chiva Barnes go.
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