Bauer said indignantly, "Henry, I did not bring false intelligence. If this Lord of Thunder had not appeared in time, what you would have seen before you would have been a scene of countless corpses."
"Lord of Thunder?"
Henry glanced dismissively at Qin Shilei and sneered, "What a grand title, what a boastful claim!"
Bauer quickly explained, "Because we do not yet know this lord's name, and he possesses astonishing thunder-elemental abilities, we respectfully call him the Lord of Thunder."
Qin Shilei, however, interjected, "On Blue Star, when it comes to thunder-elemental abilities, if I say I'm second, no one would dare claim first. It's not wrong for you to call me the Lord of Thunder."
"Pfft!"
Henry taunted, "I've heard that King Qin An also possesses remarkable thunder techniques. I wonder how you compare to him?"
"Ah!"
Qin Shilei suddenly felt awkward.
He had intended to show off to quickly gain the attention of the Sun Never Sets Empire's authorities, but he hadn't expected them to compare him to someone else.
This display of bravado had become rather embarrassing.
Bauer, however, with keen insight, eased the tension. "We have had no chance to witness Qin Shilei's thunder techniques, but we are truly impressed by this lord's.
With his own power, he annihilated over ten thousand Silver-tier Ice Falcons in less than five minutes. A few bolts of lightning casually unleashed from his hand electrocuted a Golden Four-star Shadow Moon Demonic Wolf to death.
Such prowess is likely not much weaker than Empress Mary's."
"Hmm!"
Upon hearing this, Henry immediately dropped his contemptuous expression and scrutinized Qin Shilei from head to toe.
Qin Shilei's current displayed cultivation was only Golden Four-star, neither high nor low.
Henry observed for a long time but could see no particular distinction in Qin Shilei, other than his good looks.
He said coldly, "Bauer has praised you to be comparable to Her Majesty the Empress. Do you dare to spar with me?"
Qin Shilei replied indifferently, "As you wish."
"Follow me."
Henry turned and flew out of the city.
Qin Shilei also rose and pursued him.
Soon, the two stopped in mid-air, separated by a hundred meters.
Surrounding them were tens of thousands of Griffin cavalry.
"Is that person going to spar with our legion?"
"The Legion Commander is one of the foremost experts in our Sun Never Sets Empire, the Empress's third-ranked general, renowned far and wide. For some unknown pretty boy to dare challenge the Legion Commander, he's just asking for humiliation!"
"How many moves do you think that person will last?"
"Three moves. Once the Legion Commander gets close, I bet he can't withstand three moves."
Soon, a betting pool was established. However, it was solely for how many moves Qin Shilei would last, with no option for Qin Shilei winning or losing.
"Let's begin!"
Henry said, then rapidly flew towards Qin Shilei.
Once on the battlefield, he would fight with all his might; this was his principle in life.
In contrast, Qin Shilei stood with his arms crossed, watching Henry's approach with a relaxed demeanor.
As an ability user, one should ideally maintain distance and win with ranged attacks.
Now, Qin Shilei was allowing his opponent to close in. Such an inexperienced approach caused everyone around to shake their heads.
"Has that person been scared stiff?"
"Or perhaps he's an untrained novice with no experience at all?"
"He's not going to raise his hand in surrender when the Legion Commander reaches him, is he?"
While the crowd was discussing, Henry had already flown within ten meters of Qin Shilei.
The long saber in his hand was raised high, likely to cleave Qin Shilei in two the next second.
Qin Shilei calmly raised his staff and pointed forward.
A lightning bolt as thick as an arm instantly shot from the tip of the staff towards Henry.
A scroll was instantly activated, forming an earth shield in front of Henry.
He had slain countless ability users and naturally possessed means to deal with them.
For this reason, he had already taken out three defensive scrolls from his spatial ring.
At a distance, he could perfectly dodge the opponent's ability attacks with his speed; up close, he could use scrolls to block attacks and then quickly close the distance.
Now, at less than ten meters, after the earth shield blocked the lightning bolt, he could close in with a flash.
At that point, hehe!
What could an ability user do once a swordsman got close? Wouldn't he be at the mercy of his blade?
However, just as this thought arose, the earth shield in front of him instantly exploded, and the lightning bolt continued towards him with undiminished power.
What was happening? Why was the power so great?
Another invisible shield materialized before him.
But the shield, as expected, was shattered once more.
Despite Henry's desperate efforts to channel energy to his chest, the lightning bolt still sent him staggering back several meters.
Furthermore, the paralyzing effect accompanying the lightning left his entire body numb, almost causing him to drop his saber.
Just as Henry was about to dispel the lightning within him and counterattack, a flash of silver light before his eyes caused his pupils to contract sharply.
Bolt after bolt of lightning, like a machine gun, shot towards him.
"Ah!"
Henry only managed to utter a scream before he uncontrollably plummeted towards the ground.
"Legion Commander!"
The few Golden-tier experts surrounding them cried out in alarm and flew forward, intending to rescue their superior.
However, one person was faster than them.
They merely saw a blur before their eyes and found Henry being held aloft in Qin Shilei's left hand.
"Release our Legion Commander at once!"
The evolved beings around them shouted sternly.
The attacks in their hands were already poised, as if they were about to tear Qin Shilei to pieces.
"Here you go!"
With a squeeze of his left hand, Qin Shilei casually tossed Henry towards the nearest Golden-tier evolved being.
The leadership of the Griffin Legion immediately flew to Henry's side, their faces etched with concern as they examined him.
The evolved beings around them glared at Qin Shilei with unfriendly expressions, yet they still dared not launch their attacks.
After a few minutes, Henry finally regained his senses, though he still needed his subordinates to support him to stand in mid-air.
He looked up at Qin Shilei, his expression fluctuating.
Defeated by his opponent in a single exchange, under the gaze of so many onlookers.
Such a profound humiliation would likely spread throughout the Sun Never Sets Empire within a day.
If there had been the slightest chance, Henry would have ordered his subordinates to swarm Qin Shilei and hack him into pieces.
But the speed the opponent had just displayed completely crushed this thought in his mind.
Henry took a deep breath, then laughed heartily, "Esteemed sir, you are indeed worthy of the title Lord of Thunder. I see you are no less than King Qin An.
For our Sun Never Sets Empire to have such a master is truly the Empress's great fortune, and our honor."
"You flatter me!" Qin Shilei replied indifferently.
Henry continued, "May I know your name, sir, and would you be willing to serve under Her Majesty the Empress?"
"Locke."
A hint of yearning suddenly appeared in Qin Shilei's eyes. "I have long heard that Her Majesty the Empress is a woman of unparalleled beauty. I would trouble you to introduce us."
"It is my honor."
Henry extended his right hand in a beckoning gesture, inviting Qin Shilei to fly back towards the southwest.
Although Qin Shilei had departed, the title of Lord of Thunder quickly spread throughout the city.