From Lord Locke's actions, it was clear that he had already locked onto Evi's direction of flight.
Locke paid no attention whatsoever to the shock on the faces of the Rockpeak City Lord and Vice City Lord Ryan.
At this moment, he was already piloting the metal lifeform, pursuing Evi in the direction of his escape.
Evi was a Highgod.
Even if his strength fell short of Vice City Lord Ryan's, a Highgod's flying speed was no joke.
At 4,000 meters per second, fifteen minutes was enough to cover 3,600 kilometers.
The metal lifeform Locke had seized from the six God-ranked city guards was only an ordinary model, but its speed reached 5,100 meters per second.
A little over an hour later, Locke's metal lifeform came to a halt in front of Vice City Lord Evi.
Stepping out of the metal lifeform, Locke saw Evi standing there, his face twisted with fury as he glared at the vessel.
"What? Not running anymore?"
Locke raised an eyebrow as he approached.
"I was hoping to play with you a bit longer."
"After all, hunting down a Highgod is something even I haven't done many times…"
"Damn it!"
Evi ground his teeth.
"If I hadn't lent that metal lifeform to those useless bums, how could you possibly have caught up to me?!"
"I won't deny that," Locke replied calmly.
"But whose fault is it that you personally handed me the very thing that would let me kill you?"
"And just so happens—your flying speed is slower than that metal lifeform's."
"With so many coincidences lining up like this… if I didn't kill you, wouldn't I be disappointing fate itself?"
As he spoke, Locke suddenly fell into a brief daze.
Indeed—everything was far too coincidental.
It was as though the fate between himself and Vice City Lord Evi had already been decided.
If Locke hadn't revealed his massive wealth in Rockpeak City—wealth enough to purchase a metal lifeform—Evi would never have targeted him.
If Evi hadn't been in such a hurry to seize Locke's fortune, he wouldn't have lent his metal lifeform to those six Gods to ambush him.
Without that metal lifeform, even if Locke had identified Evi as the mastermind, he would never have been able to catch him.
And there was another point.
From what Locke knew, Highgods who specialized in speed—especially wind- or light-aspected ones—could fly at over 9,000 meters per second, far beyond the limits of ordinary metal lifeforms.
In that case, even with a metal lifeform, Locke would still be unable to pursue them.
Yet Evi was neither a wind-aspected nor a light-aspected Highgod.
One drink, one peck—cause and effect, perfectly balanced.
At that moment, a concept flashed through Locke's mind:
"A being of predetermined fate."
Corresponding to "those with indeterminate fate," almost all beings in the Hongmeng universe had their destinies fixed before birth.
This was the Heavenly Dao—predetermined fate.
Unavoidable. Inescapable.
Of course, if every being's fate in a universe were fixed, that universe would have no "past," "present," or "future," and could not be considered truly complete.
Thus, within the Hongmeng universe, there existed rare individuals known as "those with indeterminate fate."
Their destinies could not be predicted.
Not even Hongmeng itself—the creator of the universe—could see through their future.
Such people were exceedingly rare.
In an entire era, there might be only one or two.
Whenever someone's fate intersected with a being of indeterminate fate, their own destiny would subtly shift.
These tiny deviations accumulated, driving infinite evolutions in the universe's fate—granting all beings a fixed past, a mutable present, and an unknown future.
As the ideas of "predetermined fate" and "indeterminate fate" surfaced in Locke's mind, he suddenly realized—
He had touched upon a rule of heaven and earth.
And when he reexamined his recent experiences with Vice City Lord Evi from a higher perspective, he discovered something astonishing:
His Fate Laws had entered the introductory stage.
In other words, Locke's Saint-domain true body was no longer solely water-aspected—
It was now dual-aspected: Water and Fate.
Coming out of his epiphany, Locke looked at Evi with a complicated expression.
With Fate Laws at the entry level, Locke could now vaguely sense that Evi's fate was already sealed.
Even if Evi did not die by Locke's hand, he would eventually provoke a catastrophe by robbing others—and be hunted down and slain by elders of his own clan.
Then what about himself?
Was his fate predetermined… or indeterminate?
"…Sigh."
With a quiet sigh, Locke no longer felt like wasting words.
He raised his hand and struck down with a palm.
"Boom!"
"Fire Essence Shield!"
Evi's expression changed drastically.
From his subordinates' reports, he already knew that Locke was stronger than even Ryan.
If Locke truly intended to pursue him, neither Ryan nor the Rockpeak City Lord could protect him.
That was why Evi had fled the city the moment he realized Locke was heading to the City Lord's mansion.
What he never expected—
Was that Locke would chase him down using his own metal lifeform.
Facing Locke's attack, Evi dared not underestimate him in the slightest.
With a wave of his hand, a fiery red shield appeared in front of him.
"Oh?"
Locke was mildly surprised.
Most people chose full-body armor as defensive artifacts. Very few opted for shields.
After all, Highgod-level offensive artifacts varied greatly depending on combat experience.
But defensive artifacts? Their protective power barely differed.
Offensive artifacts could grow—absorbing killing intent and baleful aura from slain gods.
Defensive artifacts had no such luxury.
If they blocked the attack, all was well.
If they didn't, both artifact and owner would be shattered. There was no room for growth.
Still, Locke showed no mercy.
"Boom!"
The palm-sized handprint collided with the two-meter-tall flaming shield.
Water and fire laws intertwined, erupting in a deafening explosion.
Without the slightest suspense, the Highgod defensive artifact shattered on the spot.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The fragments of the destroyed artifact streaked across the sky like meteors, smashing into the ground and blasting deep craters.
Flames erupted through the forest, sending magical beasts fleeing in panic.
After destroying Evi's shield, Locke's attack weakened slightly—but did not stop.
It slammed straight into Evi.
"Bang!"
To Locke's surprise, another Highgod-level physical defense armor surfaced on Evi's body.
This palm strike merely cracked the armor, leaving fissures spiderwebbing across it, as though it might break at any moment.
Yet in the end, the armor barely held.
"Pfft—"
Though two defensive artifacts had saved his life, the residual force still penetrated the cracks.
Evi spat out a mouthful of blood.
"So strong…"
Evi stared at Locke in shock.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago, he had been utterly crushed by Ryan.
If not for the Rockpeak City Lord intervening, he would have died back then.
Since that day, Evi had pondered endlessly—what should he do if he faced someone like Ryan again?
After countless years, he finally came up with a solution.
Your attacks are strong?
Then I'll stack defenses.
One artifact can't block you? Then two.
Three.
As long as I have enough defensive artifacts, you can't kill me.
Thus, after becoming Vice City Lord, Evi used every method possible to amass inkstones—then spent them solely on Highgod defensive artifacts.
He never expected that this strategy wouldn't be used against Ryan—
But against Locke.
Yet Locke's attacks were far more terrifying than Ryan's.
Ryan needed two or three strikes to break a Highgod defense.
Locke shattered one outright—and severely damaged another in a single blow.
"Is this monster really just a God?"
Though Evi could tell from the attack that Locke was indeed using God-level divine power, the sheer strength was unbelievable.
What kind of God could unleash attacks of this magnitude?
"Not a bad idea," Locke said calmly.
"But how many defensive artifacts do you think you have left for me to break?"
Even Locke had to admire Evi's thinking.
Wearing a Highgod armor, wielding no offensive artifact, and instead controlling another defensive one—
That alone doubled his survivability compared to ordinary Highgods.
It worked against most opponents.
But against someone who could shatter Highgod defenses in a single strike, it merely delayed death.
And every artifact bound to one's soul—
When it shattered, it inflicted backlash upon the owner's mind.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Locke struck casually.
Each palm destroyed one defensive artifact and crippled another.
In just three strikes—
Six Highgod defensive artifacts were annihilated.
"Heh…"
Staring at his shattered armor, Evi let out a self-mocking laugh.
How ironic.
Hundreds of thousands of years of accumulation—
Reduced to nothing in just a few seconds.
(End of Chapter)
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