Short blades and daggers clashed fiercely, sparks flying in every direction. Xia Duo was forced back by her opponent's overwhelming strength, but she had managed to resolve the immediate crisis for Starlight.
“Another elf! Tsk, if I weren't in a hurry, you'd make an excellent experimental subject!” the assassin’s cold voice hissed in Xia Duo's ear, his tone filled with a chilling mockery.
Those words acted like a fuse, instantly igniting Xia Duo's long-suppressed rage.
“You bastards! Go to hell!” she roared. The battle qi within her erupted like a volcano, and even her flaxen hair turned a brilliant crimson under the intense pressure of her power.
Violent flame battle qi swirled around her short blade. With a full-force swing, a searing arc of light flew straight toward the assassin.
However, he nimbly stepped aside. The arc of light grazed the edge of his clothes and slammed into the corridor ceiling with a thunderous boom.
The massive impact tore a huge rift in the ceiling, sending rubble and dust raining down upon them.
“Don't let him lead you! He's baiting you into overextending!” Starlight shouted urgently as he saw the Saint Rank assassin effortlessly retract his blade and spin to lunge at Xia Duo's chest.
He waved his hand, raising a wall of ice in front of Xia Duo.
But the ice wall had barely formed when the assassin's dagger reached it.
The silver blade carved a crack through the ice. Though its path was deflected by the magic, it still pierced Xia Duo's shoulder, blood instantly staining her clothes crimson.
“Little Shadow!” Po Kong cried out, frantic at the sight. But the Sword Saint he was facing seized the opening and delivered a brutal kick to his chest. The force sent Po Kong flying back until he slammed heavily into a corner.
“Humph. Without the threat of the Dragon King, you're nothing but ants!” The assassin snorted with contempt, preparing to strike again.
But as he tried to retract the dagger from Xia Duo's shoulder, he suddenly realized the blade was firmly locked in place.
Looking down, he saw that Xia Duo's shoulder had been encased in a layer of solid ice at some point. The frost was spreading along the dagger, freezing the blade fast.
A fierce light flared in Xia Duo's eyes. Gritting her teeth, she took advantage of his momentary shock and hurled the short sword in her hand.
The blade whistled through the air, heading straight for the assassin's heart.
“Trading a wound for a wound? Naive!” The assassin sneered. He instinctively let go of his trapped weapon and raised a hand to swat away the incoming sword.
It was at this exact moment that Starlight, who had been gathering his power, finally found his opening.
His hands moved in rapid seals as spatial power erupted. Invisible forces wrapped around the assassin's arm like chains, causing his movements to falter for a split second.
“What?!” The assassin's pupils shrank. Before he could break free, the tip of the short sword pierced through his protective battle qi.
However, the physical resilience of a Saint Rank powerhouse was far beyond that of an ordinary person. The short sword only penetrated an inch of skin before being ground to a halt by his dense muscle.
The assassin was about to mock him when Starlight's figure appeared before him like a ghost.
His fist, wrapped in frigid mana, slammed violently against the hilt of the short sword.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, the sword was driven deep by the massive force, and blood erupted from the assassin's chest.
His sneer froze on his face. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he stumbled back several steps before steadying himself.
He never imagined that this seemingly young mage could possess such staggering physical power.
But Starlight didn't stop. As the assassin retreated, a glow of pure white magic coalesced in his other hand.
The light wasn't blinding, yet it radiated a heart-palpitating pressure, as if the very air around it was trembling.
The moment the Saint Rank assassin saw that white light, the hair on his body stood on end. A primal sense of danger swept over him. He felt clearly that the power within that spell was enough to threaten his life!
“What... what on earth is that!?”
Terror filled the assassin's heart. Though he didn't want to believe a young mage could cast such a terrifying spell, his body instinctively bolted backward, the thought of retrieving his weapon completely forgotten.
Just as he retreated, the wounded Saint Archmage in the distance launched a fresh assault.
He swung his staff, and several flame serpents appeared out of thin air, filling the entire corridor in the blink of an eye.
The intense heat instantly melted the ice wall Starlight had raised earlier. Steam filled the air, blurring everyone's vision.
The flame serpents hissed as they lunged at the trio. As they closed in, Starlight merely frowned and shouted, “Po Kong, Xia Duo, get back!”
Xia Duo and Po Kong quickly scrambled back. Starlight, facing the flame serpents, thrust the Power of Destruction forward.
The pale white light shot out like a meteor, cutting through the searing air to meet the flame serpents head-on.
When the Power of Destruction collided with the flame serpents, there was no massive explosion. Instead, it intertwined with the searing flames, forming a gargantuan energy vortex.
The overflowing energy was like a violent torrent, completely swallowing the corridor.
Under the energy's impact, the walls, floor, and ceiling began to crack before eerily decomposing into basic particles, as if being erased by some invisible force.
As the blinding light faded, the sight was breathtaking—a massive circular void had been carved out of the corridor. The surface was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been swallowed by some supreme power.
A heart-palpitating silence filled the air; it was as if time itself had frozen in that moment.
“Is this... the Power of Destruction?! Impossible! How could you possibly have mastered the Power of Destruction?!” The wounded Saint Archmage's eyes bulged, his face a mask of disbelief.
He stared at Starlight, his voice trembling as if he were looking at something that defied all logic.
His fire spell, which had been charged for so long, should have been enough to turn everything in the corridor to ash. Yet, against Starlight’s white magic, it was as flimsy as paper and easily nullified.
He had only ever seen descriptions of this power in ancient texts—the legendary Power of Destruction that could annihilate everything and return all existence to nothingness!
The other two Saint Rank powerhouses had managed to retreat from the blast radius at the last second. Now standing at the edge of the severed corridor, they stared at the void where the hallway used to be, their hearts racing with shock.
Beads of cold sweat broke out on their foreheads as fear gripped them. They knew all too well that if they had been a second slower to escape, they would have fared no better than the corridor.
Rate on N.U.
