“Water Spirit Hainowei, bind yourself immediately and submit to the judgment of the Holy See, and you may spare yourself physical suffering!” the golden-armored knight shouted loudly, his voice echoing deafeningly across the sky.
“The Holy See is not worthy to judge anyone,” Hainowei said, looking at him calmly without a trace of fear in her eyes.
Hearing this, anger flushed across the knight's helmet-covered face.
As a most loyal apostle of the Holy See, he would not allow anyone to hold the Holy See in contempt!
“Then prepare yourself!” With that, he spread his arms wide, and a colossal golden magic circle condensed in the sky.
The golden magic circle spanned a full thousand meters wide, covering the area directly above Hainowei. It was composed of countless smaller magic circles linked together.
Light surged from the magic circle, and at its center, an orb of golden light coalesced. At the same time, Hainowei felt a powerful aura lock firmly onto her.
Hainowei looked up at the terrifying power emanating from the golden magic circle. Taking a deep breath, she parted her lips, and a graceful melody flowed from her mouth.
It sounded like the song of a Siren.
As she chanted, the surrounding water elements began to surge restlessly. Swirling around her, they ultimately formed a giant water spirit behind her back.
The water spirit was vivid and lifelike—a magnified version of Hainowei herself.
Immediately after, Hainowei stepped back into the water element entity, merging completely with it.
The giant water spirit opened its eyes—pupilless, brimming only with the vibrant blue mana of water.
The mana in the sky's magic circle reached its peak. After expanding to several meters in diameter, the massive orb of light transformed into a beam of light that plunged instantly toward the ground. At such light-like speed, Hainowei had no chance to dodge and had to take it head-on.
Yet Hainowei did not simply stand by and await her doom. Before the orb transformed into a beam, a layer of bubble shield condensed around her.
Reflecting the light, the surface of the bubble glowed with iridescent colors.
It looked like a paper-thin layer that would pop at a single poke.
However, when the terrifying pillar of light slammed into it, the bubble did not pop. Instead, ripples spread across its surface as it completely blocked the attack.
When the light pillar vanished, the bubble was still there, showing not the slightest sign of breaking.
Seeing this, a flicker of astonishment flashed through the golden-armored knight's eyes before he quickly regained his composure.
Because he knew that this was an Ancient Water Spirit.
Even if she possessed only the power of a One-star Saint-tier at the moment, she could still contend with a Three-star Saint-tier Peak like him.
Furthermore, as a Water Spirit, Hainowei possessed a body of mana as vast as the ocean; an ordinary opponent could never win a battle of attrition against her.
If they were in the same rank, even ten of him would be no match for the Water Spirit!
Fortunately, he currently carried the empowered strength from his squad members, granting him enough mana to play this game of chess against Hainowei.
By now, Hainowei seemed to have adopted a purely defensive posture, channeling all her mana toward defense.
In the knight's eyes, Hainowei's behavior was completely naive.
Knowing that escape was impossible and victory out of reach, why cling to defense so stubbornly?
What was the point?
Little did he know that deep in Hainowei's heart, a single ray of hope lingered.
Even though she knew the possibility was miniscule and the hope paper-thin, she refused to give up just like that.
She could actually pay a heavy price to commune with her main body, unleashing power comparable to a Nine-star Saint-tier to instantly obliterate the golden-armored knight. But doing so would demand a tragic toll—namely, the annihilation of this clone. If that happened, her cherished hope would be shattered forever.
And so, she waited.
She kept waiting...
...
Zhang Ye had already reached Claude Canyon. Upon entering the canyon, he flew straight toward Water Spirit Lake.
However, as he drew within twenty kilometers of Water Spirit Lake, his heart sank.
At this distance, Hainowei should have already sensed his arrival.
Given her personality, she would have eagerly rushed out to greet him.
Yet there was no movement whatsoever.
Zhang Ye instantly expanded his Divine Sense. The moment Water Spirit Lake entered his range of perception, his heart skipped a beat.
Within his perception, there was not a trace of Hainowei's presence.
Water Spirit Lake was eerily quiet, and the altar at the center of the lake... its mana fluctuations had completely dissipated.
Zhang Ye immediately realized what this meant—the teleportation magic circle had been activated!
His heart pounding, Zhang Ye brought his skiff to a halt. Blue flames erupted beneath his feet, propelling him toward Water Spirit Lake at breakneck speed.
The closer he got, the clearer his perception became.
Hainowei's presence remained absent. Instead, he detected other mana signatures.
Zhang Ye's heart sank deeper and deeper, and his speed grew faster and faster.
The moment he arrived at Water Spirit Lake, he couldn't help shouting, “Hainowei!”
No one answered.
He landed on the altar and stared at the collapsed stone pillar, his expression darkening to the extreme.
And then there was the lingering mana lingering in the air.
It was... light-attribute mana!
Light-attribute... Light... The Light Holy See?!
Without a moment's hesitation, the mana inside Zhang Ye surged wildly. The fierce flames erupting from beneath his feet turned from blue directly to white, and his speed skyrocketed!
Mach 1! Mach 2! Mach 3!
Faster! Faster! FASTER!
Ignoring his mana consumption entirely, he frantically cast buffs onto himself and poured mana into 【Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Bursting Flame】.
Among those of the same rank, only his massive mana reserves and purity could sustain such speed.
Zhang Ye streaked through the sky like a white meteor.
Hurry up!!!
He roared inwardly.
Finally, he reached the location of the second teleportation magic circle. What met his eyes were twelve knights in gold-trimmed armor sitting in a circle. Their aura appeared somewhat weakened. Through analysis, Zhang Ye determined that all of them were Saint-tiers, four of whom were Two-star Saint-tiers!
It really was the Light Holy See!
However, at this moment, their internal mana reserves were depleted, leaving them extremely weak.
Zhang Ye's pupils contracted.
It truly was the Light Holy See!
However, Zhang Ye noticed that the teleportation magic circle hidden at the bottom of the river had also been triggered, meaning Hainowei must have successfully escaped through it.
Yet the sense of foreboding in Zhang Ye's heart lingered unabated.
Ignoring the recovering Holy See knights on the ground, he sped past through the air.
The twelve Saint-tier knights also noticed Zhang Ye's presence.
“A Tier Nine mid stage moving at such speed?” one knight gasped in astonishment.
At this point, Zhang Ye's speed was no lower than that of a Two-star Saint-tier, approaching a Three-star Saint-tier, and he was still accelerating!
“Looking at the uniform on him, he must be a student from All Souls Magic Academy. Tsk, what a monster.”
“A talent like that should be recruited into the Holy See!”
“Agreed!”
The others nodded in agreement, but Zhang Ye's speed was too fast, and with their mana depleted, they had no power to pursue. They could only watch as he sped away into the distance.
As for Zhang Ye's purpose?
Who knew? Besides, in their eyes, what could a Tier Nine possibly achieve?
When it came to Tier Nines, anyone present could take on a hundred at once. Even a genius could not stand against a Saint-tier as a Tier Nine.
All beneath Demigods were ants, but wasn't Saint-tier an equally monumental chasm?
Seeing that those knights merely swept their perception over him without caring or pursuing, Zhang Ye breathed a sigh of relief as his speed exploded once more.
By now, he had to layer defensive spells on his body; otherwise, his physical frame would be unable to withstand such high-speed flight.
Mach 4... and still rising!
Spatial Gates, Blink—he made use of every tool at his disposal.
He had to be faster!
FASTER!
...
Under the golden-armored knight's wild bombardment, the bubble shuddered violently with intense ripples under his terrifying Combat Techniques and slashes. Light-like fissures began to appear on the bubble, growing wider and wider.
Seeing this, the golden-armored knight holding the golden Saint Sword was delighted. He immediately gathered mana, focusing it at the tip of his sword, and pointed it straight at the crack.
“【Holy Light Thrust】!”
With a loud roar, the golden-armored knight's figure blurred, leaving a golden trail in the sky. The instantaneously bursting sword tip ripped through the air, sending waves across space before stabbing directly into the crack on the bubble.
Clang... A metallic ring resounded across heaven and earth.
Under the point of the sword, the cracks instantly spread across the entire bubble like shattered spherical glass. Shards flew in every direction, resolving back into water elements in the air.
Without pausing, the longsword continued its thrust, aiming straight for the giant water spirit.
Seeing this, the water spirit immediately condensed streams of water to block it.
However, her power was ultimately only at One-star Saint-tier. Even though her battle prowess allowed her to fight above her level, the gap was too immense for her to withstand.
The sword tip pierced through layer after layer of water streams, finally thrusting into the water spirit's chest.
A beam of light blasted through the water spirit's back. Her body flew backward and crashed into a snowy mountain, causing the thousand-meter-tall mountain to tremble violently as vast sheets of snow tumbled down in an avalanche.
A massive hole gaped in the giant water spirit's chest, entwined with the power of laws that severely slowed her self-healing.
Rising from the crater, the giant water spirit gradually shrank in size, returning once more to the normal-sized Hainowei. Only then did the huge hole in her chest finally seal back up.
However, Hainowei's beautiful face was now deathly pale.
She was... completely outmatched...
Standing sword in hand, the golden-armored knight floated slowly toward the Water Spirit, looking down at her from above.
“Surrender.” His voice carried the power of laws, surging forward like a mountain torrent, inflicting further injury upon the already weakened Hainowei.
Hainowei looked at him, suddenly sneered, and slowly spat out three words: “Not... a... chance.”
Hearing her response, the golden-armored knight sighed softly, as though expressing pity, or perhaps irony.
He slowly raised his longsword. “Then prepare to face judgment.”
“This strike will severely wound you, reducing you to an unconscious elemental form. Prepare yourself; this is the final mercy of the Holy Light.”
With those words, the longsword radiated a dazzling golden glow.
By now, the knight had exhausted all the gathered mana transferred to him by the other Saint-tiers. Even so, he could still unleash the power of a Three-star Saint-tier mid stage, which was more than enough to subdue the helpless Hainowei.
A World Elemental Spirit could not die—at least, not by his hands—so killing Hainowei's clone was impossible. However, if heavily injured, Hainowei would turn into an unconscious lump of water elemental matter enveloping her Origin, allowing him to capture her effortlessly.
That was his goal.
In the next instant, the golden Saint Sword descended, its tip tapping gently toward Hainowei.
A sword of light materialized and shot toward her, wrapped in blinding golden light.
Gazing at the scene, the light in Hainowei's eyes slowly dimmed.
In the end, it was...
Before her thought could finish, a blinding white light appeared on the distant horizon.
Hainowei caught it in the corner of her eye. At that moment, brilliance surged back into her beautiful eyes. The dimness vanished, replaced by an incomparable luster.
The white meteor far on the horizon suddenly blinked, crossing tens of kilometers in an instant to appear right before the Saint Sword phantom. Then, it underwent a radical transformation!
White turned to black!
It was a massive black arrow emitting an aura that sent tremors through the soul.
Demonic aura!
The black arrow collided with the golden light sword, and in an instant, heaven and earth changed color.
Though it was pitch-black as ink, the moment of impact burst forth with a white light even more dazzling than the sun!
Looking at the white radiance, tears welled up uncontrollably in Hainowei's eyes.
A smile broke across her face.
Now, I am completely certain.
You are the light of hope!
...
...
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