After repelling the two, the monster slowly straightened its terrifying crystalline body.
It tilted its head, looking down at Starlight with eyes pulsing with red light. Its gaze held a bone-chilling sense of... disappointment?
“Destruction... weak... you... are unworthy...”
Broken words spilled from the monster's mouth, but to Starlight's ears, they sounded as terrifying as a death curse.
The previous impact must have bruised his waist, leaving his body numb and momentarily unable to move freely.
Fortunately, the Nature's Blessing Moen had bestowed upon him was still active, rapidly repairing his injuries.
But recovery took time, and the monster clearly had no intention of giving him a chance to catch his breath, already striding toward him.
“Stone... Trolls... strong! I... Emperor... invincible!”
The monster slammed its chest, producing a booming sound like metal striking metal.
“You? An Emperor?” Starlight forced his head up despite the pain, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Those words were like a spark in a powder keg. The crystalline face of the monster—or rather, the Stone Troll Emperor—twisted instantly, and the crystal clusters on its body began to proliferate wildly in its fury.
“Insect... seeking death!”
With a piercing roar, it raised a foot the size of a millstone and brought it crashing down toward Starlight’s head with immense force. If this strike landed, even a body of steel would be crushed into pulp!
Starlight gritted his teeth, enduring the sharp pain in his waist, and activated instant movement at the critical moment.
Boom—!
The Stone Troll Emperor’s massive foot slammed down, shattering the ancient stone flagstones of the temple like thin ice. Web-like cracks spread rapidly from the point of impact, and the entire temple shook violently under the heavy stomp.
Flying debris pelted the nearby statue of the Fire God, creating a sound like rattling rain.
A hundred meters away, Starlight stumbled into view. Having stalled for a few seconds, the injury to his waist had healed significantly, finally allowing him to stand.
“Space... runs... very fast...” The Stone Troll Emperor slowly retracted its foot and turned its head to lock onto Starlight’s position. “But how many... times can you hide?”
With that, the Stone Troll Emperor slowly raised a claw and made a clenching gesture in the air.
In an instant, a ripple of energy as red as blood radiated from its palm, quickly staining the entire space like ink dropped into clear water.
“This is...!”
Starlight looked up sharply, seeing translucent red crystals already condensing in the air above the temple.
Those crystals bore eerie, turgid patterns. He could clearly feel the surrounding spatial structure being forcibly solidified by some power, as if flowing water were being frozen into solid ice!
“Spatial... lock...” The Stone Troll Emperor’s face twisted again, forcing out a hideous grin. “You... have... no escape...”
Starlight tried to channel spatial power, only to find that the spatial elements, which had once been as easy to control as his own limbs, had now become as heavy as lead. The red crystals floating in the air not only physically blocked the temple but also modified the spatial properties of the area at the level of fundamental rules!
“Crystal pillars! Rise!”
Just as the Stone Troll Emperor prepared to step forward, a sharp cry came from behind it. Blood still stained the corner of Maela’s mouth, but her eyes burned with unyielding fury.
Under her control, dozens of crystal pillars, each as thick as a man's arm, erupted from the ground. They flashed with brilliant light as they shot toward the Stone Troll Emperor’s back!
To her shock, the tips of the crystal pillars barely pierced half an inch into the black-and-red body before they could advance no further.
This was a spell that could easily pierce the body of a Stone Troll King, yet now it felt as if it had struck the hardest metal in the world, failing to cause even a few cracks.
“Weak...”
The Stone Troll Emperor grinned. It didn't even bother to pull them out with its hands; instead, the crystal on its chest glowed slightly.
Bang, bang, bang!
Suddenly, all the crystal pillars shattered into dust at once! The exploding fragments fell like rain. Maela was struck by the backlash, coughing up blood once more as her already pale face lost all color.
“Insect... struggling... amusing...”
Hindered by Maela, the Stone Troll Emperor stopped its advance and pointed a sharp claw at her, a red light condensing at the tip.
“Oh no...” Starlight forced himself to his feet, but with space locked down, he could only watch helplessly as the Stone Troll Emperor’s claw swung toward Maela.
Just then, a rapid clicking sound echoed from the wall behind them.
Starlight turned his head slightly and saw a spider-like, multi-legged figure dart out from the large hole the Stone Troll Emperor had previously made, rushing toward the monster with lightning speed.
Looking closer, it was actually Xiao Qi, the probe that followed Stark.
A series of crisp mechanical sounds emanated from Xiao Qi as the armor on its back opened layer by layer like petals, revealing a sophisticated launch mechanism inside.
Accompanied by the hiss of compressed steam, dozens of metal spikes the size of chopsticks were fired out, propelled by bursts of flame!
Sensing the sound of whistling air behind it, a flash of impatience crossed the Stone Troll Emperor’s face.
It casually raised an arm, blocking the incoming attack without even looking. Those spikes stuck into the surface of its skin, looking as insignificant as tiny needles on a giant elephant.
But in the next second, the spikes exploded simultaneously. Each one packed considerable power, and the resulting flames and shockwaves instantly engulfed the Stone Troll Emperor’s upper body.
Boom, boom, boom!
Amidst the continuous explosions, Xiao Qi’s two front legs transformed into high-speed rotating drills. Like a real spider, it leaped onto the Stone Troll Emperor’s body, landing precisely on its lower back.
Screech—!!!
A tooth-gritting sound of metal grinding immediately rang through the temple. The moment the drills made contact with the crystalline skin, dazzling sparks flew. Those two drills, made of a special alloy, actually managed to leave fine cracks on the Stone Troll Emperor’s body.
The Stone Troll Emperor let out an enraged roar, and the crystal clusters on its body began to grow frantically, trying to shake Xiao Qi off.
But Xiao Qi’s mechanical legs were firmly hooked into the crevices of the crystals, sticking to it like a stubborn leech.
“Trash... annoying!”
Infuriated, the Stone Troll Emperor swatted away the flames in front of it and reached back to tear off the probe embedded in its body. However, Xiao Qi was positioned exactly in the blind spot of its arms, and the monster, being none too bright, actually forgot to use its innate talents and skills for a moment.
Clang, clang, clang. While the probe distracted the Stone Troll Emperor, Starlight seemed to hear heavy impact sounds coming from the rift again.
This time, the incoming target was clearly much larger; even Starlight could distinguish the sound of metal scraping against the ground.
“What else is coming?”
Starlight felt completely bewildered. Meanwhile, the Stone Troll Emperor finally remembered to use its innate ability. A sharp crystal cluster suddenly shot out from its waist, forcibly prying Xiao Qi off.
Then, it made a sudden grab, crushing the probe in its palm.
Under its immense strength, Xiao Qi’s metal casing was instantly squeezed until it cracked, and the drills on its forelimbs ground to a halt.
“Helpers... weak!”
Holding the now-deactivated Xiao Qi, the Stone Troll Emperor strode toward Starlight.
But before it could get close, an incredibly dazzling beam of pure white light suddenly shot out from the rift, hitting it squarely in the face!
This light beam had no offensive power, but its brightness rivaled the midday sun. Struck directly in the face, the Stone Troll Emperor saw only a world of white, rendered temporarily blind.
The monster let out a roar of pain and instinctively raised its palm to cover its face.
The deformed Xiao Qi slipped from its fingers, bouncing a few times on the temple floor before rolling to Starlight’s feet. After emitting one last faint beep, it went completely silent.
“Get! Lost!”
A deafening mechanical roar exploded from the rift, and a cold, gleaming steel body forcibly crushed the temple wall and leaped out.
The Stone Troll Emperor had just raised its head when it saw a fist shimmering with a metallic luster flying toward its face.
Rate on N.U.
