The deeds of Thor quickly spread throughout the Sun Never Sets Empire.
"He took down Henry, the Empress's third-strongest general, in a single exchange? You're not joking, are you?"
"There's video evidence. Do you think Henry would help someone cheat?"
"Such strength truly earns him the title of Thor!"
"King Qin An also possesses astonishing lightning techniques. If we now call Locke Thor, will we anger King Qin An?"
"This... Locke is the Thor of our Sun Never Sets Empire. What business does King Qin An have with him?"
The evolved humans of the Sun Never Sets Empire viewed Locke, the alias of Qin Shilei, as their empire's hope. They believed that as long as Locke grew rapidly, he could become a being capable of rivaling King Qin An. In the future, he might even become a great hero, alongside Her Majesty the Empress, to save the Sun Never Sets Empire.
...
The Sun Never Sets Empire had almost completed its unification. Its ruler was Her Majesty Empress Mary. As they flew towards Calvia, the capital of the Sun Never Sets Empire, Qin Shilei had already extracted much information about the empire from Henry. Among this was the matter of flying pets, which he cared about most. Mary commanded a griffon army of three hundred thousand. These griffons were neither native beasts of the Sun Never Sets Empire nor alien races that had invaded Blue Star, but rather magical beasts from another world.
"Brother Locke, what do you think of my pet? It not only carries us for long-distance flights but is also our most loyal comrade." Henry commanded his golden griffon beneath him to perform several difficult maneuvers, showing off. Although he couldn't defeat Qin Shilei, he owned a golden pet, a flying golden griffon. Being able to surpass Qin Shilei in this regard finally eased some of his frustration from his defeat.
Qin Shilei scanned the griffon a few times and nodded in response, "It is indeed good, very suitable as a replacement for vehicles like trucks."
Henry retorted with displeasure, "This is far more than just a mode of transportation; it's a powerful comrade. Countless golden beasts and evolved humans have become food for my pet." As he spoke, he was about to compare himself to Qin Shilei when he suddenly remembered the latter's formidable strength and paused. If he had fought with his griffon, he wouldn't have fared any better. Showing off the griffon's combat prowess before Qin Shilei was simply asking for embarrassment.
Qin Shilei interjected, "Henry, can you tell me how you contract these griffons?"
"That's a secret," Henry said mysteriously. "Only if you swear allegiance to Her Majesty the Empress will you have a chance to obtain your own griffon."
Seeing Henry's smug expression, Qin Shilei almost wanted to use his Purple Eyes of Enlightenment to control him and extract the information he desired. However, fearing he might alert the enemy, he quickly suppressed the thought.
Henry continued to persuade, "Brother Locke, pledging allegiance to the Empress is an extremely wise choice. Look at you, struggling to fly yourself, while I can leisurely sit on my griffon's back and do whatever I please. Owning such a magnificent griffon makes you the center of attention wherever you go, and it's incredibly advantageous when it comes to wooing women."
Qin Shilei said with a hint of eagerness, "I wonder how many lightning strikes this griffon can withstand?"
Henry immediately shut his mouth. He was enthusiastically boasting about his pet, and Qin Shilei wanted to know how many lightning bolts it could take to kill it. The conversation was impossible. He didn't know that Qin Shilei merely wanted to understand the griffon's strength and gauge how much combat power it could add to his people in the future if they were equipped with these flying pets.
A little over two hours later, they finally arrived at Calvia, the capital city. Henry let his griffon army go for rest on its own, while he escorted Qin Shilei towards the Empress's palace in the city center. After passing through the front courtyard, corridors, and a training ground, they reached the entrance of the main hall. After a guard went in to announce their arrival, Qin Shilei and Henry were permitted to enter the hall.
The spacious hall had only a throne on a raised platform in the center. Upon it sat a stunning golden-haired beauty. The woman appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. She wore a phoenix feather crown and a purple battle dress. Her fair and delicate face, coupled with her alluring figure, which was accentuated by the battle dress, made her appear even more sexy and captivating. Her eyes were bright and expressive.
"Reporting to Her Majesty the Empress, your subordinate arrived at Stenson and found that the beast tide had already been repelled by Brother Locke. As Brother Locke admires Your Majesty, I have brought him here to meet you," Henry stepped forward and bowed. He had already sent someone ahead to report the situation, so this was merely a formality.
Qin Shilei also stepped forward and offered a customary greeting to the Empress seated high above. He then stood straight and looked at the Empress again.
"May I ask, Locke, are you willing to pledge your loyalty to me?" Empress Mary's voice was ethereal and pleasant.
"Your Majesty, if you can defeat me, then Locke will pledge his loyalty to you," Qin Shilei said calmly.
Mary looked down at Qin Shilei and replied crisply, "Very well, let us go outside the city now." With that, she led the way out. Henry and the others wanted to follow, but a stern voice from ahead stopped them, "You do not need to follow." Qin Shilei turned into a blur and chased after her.
Soon, they were dozens of kilometers away from Calvia. The two stood in mid-air, separated by over a hundred meters.
"You go first," Mary said, adopting the stance of a peerless master. Qin Shilei raised his staff and pointed forward. A lightning bolt as thick as an arm appeared out of thin air above Mary's head and struck down violently. Despite the sudden appearance of the lightning, Mary showed no panic. She moved her body and dodged it. After evading the lightning strike, Mary showed no intention of attacking immediately, seemingly wanting to gauge Qin Shilei's strength.
"Since that is the case, allow me to show you the power of my lightning abilities." Qin Shilei moved his wrist and aimed his staff at Mary. One after another, dazzling bolts of light shot towards her. The arrow-like attacks enveloped an area of about ten meters around Mary. Judging by her speed displayed earlier, she likely had no choice but to withstand this barrage. Just as the lightning bolts were about to hit Mary, Qin Shilei suddenly lost sight of her.
"Heh, trying to teleport in front of me." Qin Shilei's lips curved into a smile. He casually sent another lightning bolt to the right.
Crack! As Mary teleported over, the shield in front of her was struck by this lightning bolt. The transparent shield rippled, nearly shattering.
"Ah!" Mary looked at Qin Shilei's staff with surprise as it unleashed another series of lightning bolts. She hadn't expected the lightning's attack power to be so strong, nor had she anticipated that Qin Shilei could accurately track her teleporting figure. Facing the imminent attack, Mary had no choice but to throw out three scrolls, buying herself time to teleport away again.