Global Demon King: Starting as the Abyssal Dragon

Chapter 347: Forest of World Trees

"It's the seventh-ranked Hero, Lucas!" Han Kexin immediately recognized him. As a demigod Hero, Lucas's strength was comparable to the other two. In her current state, Han Kexin knew she stood no chance against him in a fair fight unless she broke through to Level 7.

However, what truly concerned Han Kexin wasn't just Lucas's strength, but the Heart of Holy Light in his possession. This artifact was one of the few divine relics on the continent, making Lucas even more dangerous than the other two demigod Heroes combined.

The Level 6 Giant King, Jin Kui, roared in anger, "What arrogance! Let's join forces and show him what we're made of!"

Jin Kui, now Level 6, was among the elite of the Level 6 monarchs. His strength was nearly at the pseudo-mythic level. He had been itching for a chance to prove himself and believed that with his several thousand Golden Giants, even a Level 7 entity would find them troublesome. Besides, it wasn't just the giants present, but countless other forces. If all these minor annoyances were combined, even a Level 7 would have to think twice.

However, Han Kexin quickly stopped the Giant King's reckless action.

"Do not be rash!" she warned. "Avoid his attacks at all costs! This man is extremely dangerous. Whatever attack he launches, evade it with all your might. Do not try to withstand his offensive head-on!"

Only a few, including Nancilia, understood Han Kexin's caution. Most others did not grasp why the vice city lord was so apprehensive about Lucas. After all, the enemy's numbers were limited. All of the elite forces of the Dark City were present. Even if several Level 7 entities led the attack, the geographical advantage should give them a decisive upper hand, right?

It was understandable that the forces had such confidence. The Darkness City had just completed the upgrade of the Level 6 special building, "World Tree," to the Level 7 special building, "Forest of the World Trees."

The "Forest of the World Trees" was essentially a forest composed of multiple World Trees. The dramatic transformation of the Chaos Forest, with World Trees sprouting everywhere across tens of thousands of miles, was due to this. These countless World Trees were not mere copies or replicas. They were genuine World Trees yet not entirely so. The Level 7 special building "Forest of the World Trees" featured one Mother World Tree, with the rest being Offspring World Trees.

The primary difference between the Mother Tree and the Offspring Trees was that the Offspring Trees' functions were not fully developed. As long as the Mother Tree remained intact, the Offspring Trees could not be destroyed. Although the Offspring Trees lacked the full range of the Mother Tree's powers, they still had significant abilities such as transforming spiritual soil, healing injuries, enhancing stats, serving as teleportation nodes, generating barriers, and repelling invaders.

At this moment, the Chaos Forest was filled with innumerable World Trees. Their combined power created a formidable defense, which, theoretically, even Level 7 demigods would find difficult to breach.

However, there was no time for anyone to ponder further. Lucas had already begun his attack. As billions of beams of light converged into a small, fist-sized orb in his palm, the sky seemed to darken, and the once bright sun grew dim.

Lucas, like a deity, commanded, "Have your subordinates retreat. I will breach this barrier!"

Wang Badao and Mandell observed the glowing orb. They realized that this seemingly small energy ball was, in fact, a powerful artifact. This artifact had been activated, and even beings as strong as themselves felt a deep sense of dread upon sensing its power.

"What is this? Why does it possess such formidable energy?" they wondered.

They had never encountered such a terrifying artifact. The only term that came to mind was divine artifact. Given the ancient and powerful history of the church, it wasn't surprising that such an organization could possess a divine artifact.

The two exchanged glances. Despite their esteemed status, the reason they accepted the Church's invitation wasn't for something as trivial as world peace. Their sole purpose was to seize the opportunity to defeat the number one Demon King. However, seeing Lucas wield this artifact made them feel their chances dwindling. Were they really just here to act as free henchmen?

The thoughts of the two Heroes were ignored by Lucas. "Ignorant insects! Feel the true power of the Judgment of Holy Light!"

With his immense mana, Lucas harnessed the vast energy of the Heart of Holy Light, extracting just a fraction of its power. However, even this fraction, composed of the faith of millions, was enough to unleash catastrophic power capable of creating miracles.

In the next moment, a thread of energy from the Heart of Holy Light summoned thousands of light wyrms. Each wyrm, with a body as large as a mountain and lengths exceeding a thousand meters, was composed entirely of holy light. Despite being formed of light, each wyrm scale shimmered with a golden, lifelike texture.

"Roar!"

The energy-filled wyrms collided with the barrier, emitting immense light and heat, like red-hot swords piercing ice. This attack was not only overwhelmingly destructive but also covered a terrifyingly vast area. Lucas targeted a radius of hundreds of miles within the barrier.

As the energy clashed and emitted melting sounds, it took only a moment to create numerous breaches. If the barrier of the Chaos Forest was like a massive fruit, then these wyrms were like voracious worms eating away at it. Their efficiency was astounding. Under their relentless assault, the grand barrier became riddled with holes. This process was ongoing, with more and more breaches continuously being created.

Nancilia's eyes widened in shock. "By the goddess, what kind of power is this..."

The Holy Dragon Wang Badao, after absorbing the power of thousands of holy dragons, had managed only to create a single breach in the grand barrier. But Lucas, wielding the power of his artifact, had unleashed an attack surpassing Badao's, causing large-scale damage to the barrier over hundreds of miles. Lucas hadn't even used his full strength. He had merely activated a sliver of the Heart of Holy Light's power, yet this tiny fraction was enough to alter the very fabric of reality.

Finally, the people of Darkness City understood why Han Kexin had warned them against facing Lucas head-on. The power of a divine artifact was akin to the power of a god, rendering ordinary beings insignificant like ants before such greatness.

While the inhabitants of Darkness City were thoroughly shocked, Lucas did not revel in his apparent success. On the contrary, he frowned slightly. There was no doubt about the power of the Heart of Holy Light. Even in a world where other divine artifacts existed, matching the Heart of Holy Light was nearly impossible.

The reason for this was simple: the Heart of Holy Light's strength lay not only in its divine quality but also in the accumulated faith of countless believers over tens of thousands of years. This accumulation, this sedimentation, was something no other artifact possessed. This was why wielding the Heart of Holy Light meant being invincible. However, this divine artifact had two inherent flaws.

Firstly, the power of the Heart of Holy Light was finite. Every bit used diminished the total reserve. Lucas had just expended at least 500 years' worth of accumulated energy from the artifact. To replenish this, the church would need to develop for another 500 years.

Secondly, activating the Heart of Holy Light required an immense amount of MP. Even with Lucas's considerable abilities, he couldn't unleash all its power in one go without risking fatal backlash.

Thus, while the Heart of Holy Light made Lucas nearly invincible, its usage required extreme caution. Lucas noticed that despite the barrier of the Chaos Forest being riddled with holes, it had not been entirely destroyed as expected. This indicated that the barrier's strength and resilience were beyond his initial estimation. At this moment, the perforated barrier was slowly healing. Lucas had realized that the barrier also possessed powerful regenerative and self-repair capabilities, surpassing even the defenses of the Holy City's forbidden grounds.

'I can't afford to waste any more of the Heart of Holy Light's power,' Lucas thought.

Lucas halted his attack and announced, "The Demon King's barrier is now useless. Attack immediately!"

He didn't need to say it twice. The two Heroes had already issued their commands. Holy Dragons in their white draconian forms and Demon Flame Legion's angels with burning wings surged forward like piranhas smelling blood, launching their assault at breakneck speed.

With the barrier's defensive capabilities neutralized, Han Kexin, as the supreme commander, swiftly issued orders: "Nancilia, Ophelia, Shui Lan... you will follow my lead."

"Ent and elven units, engage the Holy Dragon Emperor Wang Badao! The Three Dragon Emperors and the Darkness City Dragon Legion will take on the Fallen Angel Mandell!"

"Remember, no one is to advance recklessly. All combat must take place within the range of the sacred trees!"

Han Kexin quickly organized her forces, dividing them into several groups to handle the invading enemies. Despite the intimidating power of the Heart of Holy Light, Han Kexin was confident in her preparations and abilities to withstand the onslaught.

Seeing this, Lucas sneered, "Foolish!"

With those words, the Heart of Holy Light in Lucas's hand transformed into a holy sword, which he then gripped firmly. "You must be Han Kexin, ranked tenth among Demon Kings. It's laughable that Zhang Nu sends a woman to die in his stead."

With a slight wave of the holy sword, a surge of energy slashed through the barrier and shot toward Han Kexin.

"Fine, then. I'll start with you as an appetizer before the main course," Lucas taunted.