The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 399: Lightning Storm

"That is Madam Charoline!"

"Yes!"

"Uooohhhh!"

The soldiers guarding the walls cheered loudly. They truly saw her as the one who could stabilize the battlefield. Although they continued to lose territory but without her presence, their losses would have been much greater. She could fight on par with a low Emperor-stage warrior, even though she was "only" at the peak King stage.

With her arrival, they could at least breathe a sigh of relief—Su Long no longer had to sacrifice himself to hold off Vasco. Now, they could fight without the fear of their higher-ups being slaughtered by an Emperor-stage cultivator like Vasco.

With their renewed spirit, the troops of Weilmar City turned to face the advancing enemy army, which moved swiftly while maintaining its battle formation. They knew that in mere seconds, their forces would clash, and they were ready. Each soldier had already begun circulating their energy, preparing to unleash their techniques the moment the battle commenced.

While the morale of the ground troops soared, high above the battlefield, Vasco and his King-stage subordinates were filled with confusion. How was Baroness Weilmar here when she was supposed to be in Caritas, facing a massive force from their faction? Had she escaped from Caritas and returned?

He suppressed his confusion and grinned at her. No matter the reason, it was already futile. Even if she had come back now, the city walls had already been breached, the city’s barrier could not be activated because his spy had killed the formation operators, and his troops were advancing rapidly. There was no way she or her forces could withstand the might of his army.

"You’re here? I thought you had already died in Caritas. But this is fortunate for me. If you had simply perished there, it would have been a shame. It would be better if you became my woman after this, a woman of your caliber is rare, and it would be a pity for our empire to lose you," Vasco said, his lustful gaze lingering on Baroness Weilmar, making no effort to hide his desires.

"I can’t wait to make you scream in ecstasy beneath me."

Rage burned inside Su Long’s heart, and he was about to dash toward Vasco.

"You—"

But he stopped abruptly when the baroness suddenly raised her hand, blocking him. He looked at her, wanting to say something, but the words stopped in his throat when he saw her—smiling?

She didn’t seem to take Vasco’s words to heart. He could understand if she simply ignored him—but why was she smiling?

Vasco also found it strange. Although he had said all of that to taunt her, he did have a slight desire for her. If given the chance, he truly would take her back to his home. However, he knew that a woman like her, one with such high pride would rather die than become his.

What made her smile? Why was she smiling?

"You said I would die. I’d like to see you make that a reality." He brushed aside his curiosity and pointed his sword at her.

Baroness Weilmar continued to smile before finally speaking.

"Before we fight, why don’t you take care of your troops first? If you don’t pull them back now, you’ll lose many of them."

Vasco frowned at her words and looked at his troops. They were advancing at high speed, with nothing hindering them. He then turned his gaze to the city walls, but no one there caught his attention.

Spreading his senses to detect anything suspicious, he kept expanding his reach, he could extend his sense for more than a thousand kilometers after all.

After a few seconds, he finally detected someone floating above the mayor’s mansion inside the city. He focused on that direction, and although the figure was far from his current position, he could clearly see them hovering over the mansion.

He was astonished to sense that the figure was only at the low Duke stage!

Was this the person Baroness Weilmar was relying on? Was that it?

He wanted to grin in ridicule, but he stopped himself when he suddenly felt something from that figure’s body.

Crackling lightning began to appear around the figure, growing stronger and larger with each passing moment. When Vasco finally sensed the nature of the lightning emanating from him, his eyes widened in shock.

Even Baroness Weilmar was stunned when she recognized the lightning surrounding Aldrian. She turned her head toward the sky above the mayor’s mansion, her expression filled with disbelief.

By now, Aldrian’s body was completely engulfed in crackling heavenly lightning, making it nearly impossible for those below to see him clearly.

A deafening thunderclap echoed through the entire city, resonating in every corner for all to hear.

Everyone in the city finally noticed the figure floating above the mayor’s mansion, and a shudder ran through their hearts. They could feel the overwhelming pressure of the heavens radiating from the lightning.

They could feel the might of the heavenly lightning, as if a heavenly tribulation was about to descend upon them. Panic spread among the citizens, and those who had yet to find shelter scrambled to hide, seeking protection wherever they could.

Many began to pray, pleading for the heavens not to unleash their wrath. After all, a heavenly tribulation possessed the power to obliterate everything in its path.

The advancing army also came to an abrupt halt. Their eyes widened in shock as they beheld the crackling heavenly lightning above. Why had a heavenly tribulation suddenly appeared here?

They wondered why a heavenly tribulation had suddenly appeared here. None of them dared to move or act recklessly, fearing that any misstep might provoke the heavens to strike them down.

Aldrian resembled a thunder god as crackling lightning surged from his body, reaching into the sky and spreading across a kilometer around him.

He looked at the advancing troops of the Second Prince’s forces and estimated their numbers to be around forty thousand. They were arranged in a neat formation, making any attack against them difficult, as they could defend effectively.

However, that same disciplined formation created a fatal weakness— if he unleashed a wide-area technique far more powerful than their defenses, the damage would be devastating.

Vasco had no idea what Aldrian was planning, but an ominous feeling gripped him. His instincts screamed danger, and without hesitation, he shouted to his troops.

"All troops, retreat! Retreat!" he roared, infusing his voice with energy so that it could be heard by every soldier on the battlefield.

Hearing their commander’s order, the troops, who had paused due to the appearance of the heavenly lightning, began to retreat in an orderly manner. As they withdrew, they kept their eyes on the city walls, wary of the heavenly lightning.

However, before they could get far, the sky above the battlefield suddenly tore open with countless spatial cracks. The sheer number of them made it seem as though the sky itself was riddled with holes. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

From within those cracks, they felt an overwhelming power—the same terrifying sensation as the heavenly lightning.

Baroness Weilmar and her knights wasted no time, immediately retreating to the safety of the city walls the moment they saw the holes in the sky.

Vasco’s instincts screamed at him, and without hesitation, he turned and tried to escape, flying in the opposite direction. But before he could flee lightning erupted from the many spatial cracks!

Rumble! Rumble! Boom!

The heavenly lightning stormed down upon the Second Prince’s faction like a torrential downpour. Each strike that hit the ground instantly created a deep crater, obliterating everything in its vicinity. The sheer power was overwhelming, nothing could withstand the might of the lightning.

And what of the living beings?

The once-neat formation of the mighty troops of the Second Prince’s faction, a force that had stood like an impenetrable fortress. The same army that had spread fear and deterred every enemy they encountered, the same battle-hardened warriors who had emerged victorious from countless battles.

But now, they were nothing more than ants—scattered, trampled, and powerless against the wrath of heavens.

Each strike of heavenly lightning reduced them to nothingness—their bodies instantly evaporated, leaving no remains, only scorched and shattered land. Their once-disciplined formations became meaningless. There was nothing they could do.

Every bolt of lightning claimed dozens of lives at once, and the storm showed no signs of stopping. It was an unrelenting catastrophe, an endless downpour of destruction upon the battlefield.

"Arghhh!"

"Help!"

"Run! Scatter! Don’t gather betwe—"

Boom! Rumble!

The deafening roar of thunder drowned out the screams of terror from the soldiers caught within the merciless lightning storm. The battlefield had become a storm-ravaged wasteland, where as far as the eye could see, bolts of lightning rained down without mercy.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands—more and more fell, their bodies erased as the troops were relentlessly obliterated by the heavenly lightning.

Vasco, trapped within the storm of heavenly lightning, desperately tried to evade the relentless strikes, maneuvering around the spatial cracks in the sky. The lightning poured from those rifts, and he knew it was because of that figure.

Terror gripped his heart, if even a single bolt touched him, he would be instantly obliterated. The sheer power of this lightning had reached the high emperor stage! It was absurd and unbelievable that such a force could come from someone who was only at the low duke stage.

He continued dodging, narrowly avoiding bolt after bolt, weaving through the storm with every ounce of his skill. But he failed to notice a new spatial crack forming just behind him.

The moment he felt the cold grip of death creeping up his spine, his instincts screamed, and goosebumps ran across his skin. He spun around only to see a blinding flash of light.

And then—darkness.

The heavenly lightning struck Vasco directly, shocking him to death in an instant. Due to his artifact armor and the powerful physique of an emperor-stage cultivator, his body wasn’t completely destroyed right away, only charred, with some of his limbs crumbling like charcoal.

But before his remains could even fall, another bolt of lightning struck him. This time, his body was completely obliterated, leaving not a single trace behind.

The relentless lightning storm continued for another thirty seconds before the spatial cracks in the sky slowly closed on their own.

The soldiers on the city walls, who had witnessed this destruction, felt a deep chill run down their spines. It was as if the wrath of the heavens had descended upon the battlefield and struck the enemy troops.

As the final echoes of thunder faded, all eyes turned toward the lone figure hovering above the mayor’s mansion. The one who had unleashed such devastation.

Who was he, really?