“Rain of Light!”
Standing at the edge of the deep pit, Starlight raised both hands, and a massive magic formation dozens of meters in diameter suddenly unfurled above the Stone Troll King’s head.
Hundreds of brilliant light blades condensed within the formation, pouring down like divine swords of judgment descending from the heavens.
The blades of light slammed into the bottom of the pit like a torrential downpour, each strike exploding with blinding radiance against the Stone Troll King. Moen seized the opportunity to continue wrapping her vines around it.
Under their perfect coordination, they actually managed to pin the monster firmly to the ground.
Even for the Stone Troll King, renowned for its defense, cobweb-like cracks began to appear across its hardened body, and purple-red energy continuously leaked from its wounds.
This monster, which even an ordinary Saint Rank expert would find impossible to contend with, was now like a trapped beast in a pit, letting out earth-shaking wails under the bombardment of composite magic.
Seeing that it couldn't escape the assault, the Stone Troll King suddenly made an unexpected move. Enduring the agonizing pain of the light blades piercing its body, it began to frantically dig into the ground with its two massive claws.
Those claws, as large as door panels, acted like drills to shatter the rock beneath its feet, excavating a deep hole in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t even think about escaping!”
Maela slammed her staff heavily onto the ground. The earth and stone beneath the Stone Troll King’s feet instantly transformed into hard crystal blocks. Its claws scraped against the crystalline surface, sending sparks flying in all directions, but it could no longer dig any deeper.
Po Kong seized this fleeting opportunity. The Sacred Wood Phantom, wreathed in golden battle qi, descended from the sky: “Take this!”
Seeing this, Starlight quickly opened a gap in the Rain of Light. Po Kong’s blade followed this opening, accurately cleaving into a wound on the Stone Troll King’s back.
Purple-black blood erupted like a volcanic explosion, instantly staining Po Kong’s clothes a bizarre color. The corrosive blood clashed violently with his War God Battle Qi, emitting a tooth-gritting sizzling sound.
But Po Kong’s movements didn't stop for a second. The muscles in his arms bulged as he yanked the giant scythe’s blade upward along the cracks in the monster's spine!
“Open up for me!”
With a thunderous roar, the sharp blade tore through everything in its path, slicing straight from the back toward the Stone Troll King’s nape.
Crack—!
Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, the Sacred Wood Phantom finally severed the Stone Troll King’s last bit of resistance.
The head, as large as a grown man, flew high into the air, tracing a purple-red parabola against the surrounding light.
The headless, massive body stiffened for a moment before crashing to the ground like a collapsing mountain, kicking up a cloud of dust that filled the air.
“Phew... finally dealt with this big guy. It didn't seem like that much of a big deal!”
Po Kong panted as he leaped out of the pit, the battle qi on his giant scythe gradually fading away.
Xia Duo leaped lightly down from the wall, her brown hair fluttering behind her.
She landed gracefully beside the group, scanning the surroundings warily. “It seems to be over, and there’s no movement nearby. But was this guy really that weak? Wasn't it claimed that even several Saint Rank experts working together couldn't suppress it?”
Facing her question, Starlight gave a small chuckle. “This guy is indeed a bit weak compared to Dragon Kings and Half-Gods. Is it possible that we’ve seen too many powerful beings on this journey, and it’s messed up our perspective?”
“That explanation doesn't exactly make me feel better.” Xia Duo shrugged, noncommittal. The combat power of their team was indeed somewhat beyond the norm.
“By the way, Maela, where are your dwarven Saint Rank experts? Why haven't they shown up? If we hadn't dealt with the Stone Troll King here, who knows how much damage the city defense force would have suffered. Something isn't right,” Starlight turned to ask Maela.
It was only now, after the dust of battle had settled, that everyone realized this issue.
Although Cinder City was large, with the speed of Saint Rank experts, even if they were rushing back from the northern defense line, they should have had enough time to arrive. Yet the siege outside was still ongoing, and the expected reinforcements had never come.
“You’re right, it is strange. Could they be pinned down by something on their end? Is the Stone Troll offensive happening in more than just this location?” Maela frowned, clearly unsure.
“Could it be... that King-level Stone Trolls have appeared in other sectors too?” Moen said hesitantly, as if realizing something.
“No way! In the thousands of years of Cinder City’s history, there’s never been more than one Stone Troll King at a time. If there were more than one of those things, Cinder City would have fallen long ago...”
Before Maela could finish, a series of eerie cracking sounds suddenly came from the pit behind them, like the sound of ice crystals growing.
Everyone turned around quickly to see the headless corpse at the bottom of the pit transforming into a hideous, blood-colored crystal cluster statue. Its surface was covered in bizarre patterns, flickering with an eerie light.
“What does this mean? Does the Stone Troll King turn into elements after it dies? Is that right?” Po Kong looked at the blood-red crystal cluster, his face full of confusion.
“It shouldn't. Although they look like elemental creatures, they are supposed to have physical bodies. What’s the logic here?”
Just as everyone was puzzled, Noah’s voice suddenly rang in their ears.
“If I’m not mistaken, the one you just killed was likely some kind of special clone. The real Stone Troll King is still very much alive.”
“What?! Senior, what did you say? After all that effort, we only killed a clone?” Xia Duo blurted out, her face filled with shock.
“No, no! I beheaded it myself just now. I’m certain of the sensation of the blade striking. How could it be a clone?” Po Kong shook his head repeatedly.
“Perhaps...” Moen looked up. “Is this clone like Cantia’s elemental clones? Has it become an independent entity?”
The group fell silent at her words. Moen’s hypothesis wasn't impossible. While it wouldn't be strange for someone like the Frost-Glow Dragon King, a peak powerhouse, it was hard to believe an individual like a Stone Troll, with its limited intelligence, possessed such an ability.
Starlight suddenly narrowed his eyes and stepped slowly toward the Stone Troll King’s head, which lay to the side.
Like the body in the pit, the head had also turned into a massive crystal, frozen in its final roar from before its defeat, looking lifelike.
Under the reflection of the surrounding lights, he keenly noticed an unnatural depression on the Stone Troll King’s forehead—exactly where that blood-red crystal stone had been. If one didn't look closely, this missing piece was almost imperceptible.
“Xia Duo,” he beckoned his companion over. “You have the best eyesight; look here.” He pointed to the forehead of the crystal statue. “Is that glowing blood-red gemstone gone?”
Xia Duo immediately followed his guidance and indeed saw the depression.
She carefully approached, drew her short blade from her thigh, and gently poked at the head.
“It really is gone!” Xia Duo whispered.
The tactile sensation from the tip of her blade clearly indicated that the edges of the gap were smooth and even. It wasn't damage caused by combat; rather, it looked more like a mark left after a gemstone had been deliberately removed.
Seeing this, Maela also rushed up and inspected it closely.
She soon gasped, her voice becoming solemn. “There are traces of residual energy inside the gap. It looks like it was... summoned away by something.”
“Little Star, I’ll share my soul power with you. Use it to investigate.”
As Noah’s voice faded, Starlight felt a coolness in his mind, a familiar sensation that instantly bolstered his mental power.
His previously blurred senses were amplified several times over. In his elemental vision, he could see an almost imperceptible red silk thread remaining inside the gap, extending into the distance like a spider’s web.
And connected to that thread were three other faint lines, pointing toward the East, North, and South respectively.
“This is bad! There might be more than one clone of the Stone Troll King—there are four!” Starlight’s face darkened immediately as he spoke to the group. “Its attack here at the West Gate might just be a distraction. The real target is somewhere else!”
Just then, the ground beneath their feet began to vibrate, and the crystal cluster that the Stone Troll King had turned into suddenly erupted with a blinding light.
Rate on N.U.
