"In that case... is there truly no way at all?"
Ritsuka couldn't believe it, and Amber's brow was tightly furrowed.
She had long expected Tiamat to be formidable, but never to this absurd degree... Compared to Tiamat, even Quetzalcoatl seemed almost pleasant. At least with Quetzalcoatl, she had a way to deal with her, but Tiamat...
Amber's gaze shifted to the Herrscher of Sentience, who had already reached Tiamat's side, silently praying that imaginary energy would prove effective.
But she quickly realized—even if it worked, so what?
How do you kill an enemy that fundamentally cannot die?
Unaware of these concerns, the Herrscher of Sentience looked up at the colossal being before her, a defiant smirk spreading across her face.
Vast amounts of imaginary energy surged into her hands in the blink of an eye.
Unlike other Herrschers, she lacked means to directly affect the physical world. Her power lay in attacking the enemy's mind and consciousness, making them believe in their own death on a conceptual level to achieve victory.
But... that was under normal circumstances.
Having mastered all of Fu Hua's combat techniques, she had also perfected the Taixu Swordsmanship.
While she hadn't made much progress in cultivating the Sword Heart, she didn't need it anyway.
'What use is your Sword Heart compared to a Herrscher like me?'
Dark purple flames ignited around the Herrscher of Sentience, converging densely at her brow. A Garuda manifestation, starkly different from Fu Hua's in color, materialized behind her, its immense form blotting out half the sky. It was clear she was going all out.
The Taixu Sword God's consumption wasn't measured in 'uses,' but in quantity.
A wisp of true qi could unleash a Sword God of that scale, and all her true qi could unleash a Sword God of corresponding power.
If she wished, she could imbue every strike with the Sword God—the only difference lay in the magnitude of its force.
With the Sword Heart constantly absorbing ambient true qi for her use, one could say the Taixu Sword God had virtually no cost in terms of true qi.
So what did it consume?
The answer was mental energy.
To invoke the Sword God, one must guide true qi with their spirit. The amount of true qi directed simply depended on how much 'effort' one expended.
For someone like Li Sushang, channeling all the true qi accessible through a single use of Sword Heart demanded tremendous mental focus.
Therefore, it wasn't that the Sword God could be spammed freely. Rather, it was Fu Hua—enhanced by Garuda factors, her body and spirit perpetually replenished to peak condition—who could treat the Sword God as a basic attack.
The same held true for the Herrscher of Sentience.
As a Herrscher who commanded consciousness, her mental faculties were similarly superhuman, allowing her to lead with the Sword God without restraint.
Yet even for her, this single moment drained an enormous amount of energy.
A colossal black bird took flight from the manifestation, its size rivaling several Mount Ebih. Intense heat radiated from it, so potent that the distant observers felt the sea level might drop from the mere anticipation of its descent.
"Take this!"
Each wielder's Taixu Sword God bore a distinct manifestation and form.
Fu Hua's was a Garuda with a crimson giant sword; Amber's manifestation hadn't yet appeared, her attack form a golden giant sword; Li Sushang's was a swallow and the Xuanyuan Sword; and the Herrscher of Sentience's was a black Garuda and a black bird shaped like Garuda.
Scorching heat capable of scouring everything in its path plummeted from the sky to the sea.
The boundary between heaven and earth blurred instantly, the blistering temperature evaporating the entire expanse of black mud completely.
Amber stepped forward to shield the others from the residual shockwave. When their vision cleared, they saw Tiamat's body kneeling on the ground.
"I see! Her enormous weight is disproportionate to her slender legs. So, if not for the black mud, Tiamat wouldn't even be able to move freely!" Roman exclaimed, having uncovered another weakness of the enemy.
"Did she hit her...?" Ushiwakamaru was nearly dumbstruck by the sheer power of the attack.
"No... she didn't." Amber squinted. Tiamat's body showed not a single scratch; clearly, she hadn't fallen due to the attack.
The Herrscher of Sentience's expression also darkened.
She, too, realized her attack hadn't given her that 'strike to the vitals' sensation.
However, to say it was completely ineffective wouldn't be accurate.
She could sense Tiamat's consciousness had completely stalled. Though not dead, her condition was far from good.
"Not bad! To withstand a blow from the great Herrscher of Sentience herself, you're not just all talk!"
After a brief moment to regulate her breathing, the Herrscher of Sentience summoned her manifestation once more, intending to follow up with another Sword God. But just then, several chains shot forth from within Tiamat's body.
"What the—?!"
A sudden sense of danger made the Herrscher of Sentience instinctively dodge to the side.
"Such quick reflexes...!" A voice rang out—Kingu's—as he appeared before her in a flash of blue-white light.
His expression was grim, his gaze hateful as he stared at the Herrscher. "To possess strength on par with that Celestial? But as a deity, your defeat is inevitable."
"Well, well. Last time, Am— that old fossil kindly let you go, and yet you come seeking me out yourself? What, you think I'm as merciful as she was?" The Herrscher of Sentience couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him.
"You couldn't even beat her; what makes you think you can face me?"
Though she said this, she was well aware of Enkidu's binding effect on Divinity.
As much as she disliked acknowledging her own Divine attribute, she couldn't simply rid herself of it.
But still...
"Restraints only matter within the same weight class. You're a bottle of water trying to put out a forest fire?" The Herrscher of Sentience flashed a vibrant grin and thrust a defiant thumbs-down toward Kingu.
"Heh. You'll soon learn where my confidence comes from." Kingu smirked back. Contrary to the caution he'd learned from Amber, which should have made him keep his distance, he flew straight toward the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Haha, close-quarters combat with me? Fine, I'll play along. But how do you stack up against Quetzalcoatl?" Knowing Kingu's track record of losses, the Herrscher of Sentience showed no fear.
She drew her sword and met his charge. In their first clash of blades, she sent him flying back dozens of meters.
Kingu frowned. The Holy Grail Chaldea was searching for was actually in his possession.
To enhance his Mother's magical energy, he had attached himself to Tiamat as a mana core after her awakening.
Now, worried about his Mother's unstable condition, he hadn't brought the Grail with him, leaving it with Tiamat instead.
The diminished physical capabilities from lacking the Grail immediately soured his mood and expression.
He had initially hoped to exploit his attribute advantage to eliminate one powerful foe quickly... but now it seemed he had to resort to a mutual destruction approach...
The choice between life and death didn't linger in his mind for even a moment—he had already decided long before the question arose.
Yes, for Mother's sake, this life of his was utterly insignificant.
Golden lightning erupted across Kingu's body, turning him almost entirely gold. Countless chains burst from the ground, sealing off every possible escape route around the Herrscher of Sentience.
"O humanity, let these bonds restrain the gods—!"
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.