From the shadows, someone emerged and attacked Robert from behind. Before the attack could reach Robert, he sidestepped and grabbed the hand that was trying to strike him, twisting the arm behind the assassin's back. Robert captured the attacker and then looked at the face of the person who had just tried to assassinate him.
It was none other than Roxanne, Robert's first wife. Robert sighed, shook his head, and said, "I knew you would come, and I knew you would attack me. It disappoints me that I had married you. I have kept one of Diana's personal guards to spy on you all the time."
Roxanne looked back and screamed out, "Let me go!"
Robert didn't stop there. He really didn't want to kill her, but given the circumstances and the betrayal, he truly wanted to. So when Robert brought out a sword from his storage ring, he was fully prepared to end Roxanne's life.
He was about to swing his sword toward Roxanne, his face filled with pain, but before he could deliver the blow, Daymond, who was standing in front, said, "I wouldn't kill her if I were you."
Robert halted his sword and asked back, "And why shouldn't I kill her? She tried to kill me."
Daymond replied, "Actually, you know what? Kill her."
Roxanne shouted, "Jack! What do you think you're trying to do?"
Then she looked back at Robert and said, "Don't kill your wife! I am not Roxanne. I am Nina. I just possessed Roxanne's body. Her soul is still inside this body—she is still trying to fight to take back control. But if you kill me, you will kill your wife!"
Robert was shocked to hear that. This was insane. How could someone possess another's body? He couldn't believe it and asked, "How is that possible? How can someone possess another's body?"
Nina replied, "It's Jack. Jack has created a soul technique. Although he hadn't invented anything important before, he managed to create a soul possession technique."
Jack, who was watching from afar, chuckled and said, "You're boring, Nina. You could've let him kill Roxanne. You could've pulled your soul out at the last moment before she was killed."
Nina became scared and shook her head. "That's impossible. Robert is a peak golden-stage fighter. It's impossible to dodge that attack in time and survive. Now get me out of this situation!"
Seeing Nina like this, Jack chuckled and said, "Alright, here I come."
Jack dashed toward Robert and started attacking. Robert now had to grab Roxanne with one hand and fight Jack with his sword using the other. It became difficult, as he couldn't fight properly while holding her to prevent her from attacking again.
Jack then drew his sword from his waist and launched a fierce attack at Robert. Robert began falling into a disadvantage, forced to defend against Jack's strikes while tightly holding Roxanne.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Clash! Clash! Clash! Clash!
Their swords clashed fiercely, creating sparks with every hit, and the speed of their movements caused sharp wind-like sounds to echo through the hall. Neither of them gave the other an opening to land a decisive blow.
Clang!
At that moment, Elizabeth appeared from Robert's blind side and drew her sword, aiming to strike at Robert's stomach. But before her attack could land, Alicia arrived and blocked the blow.
Daymond saw the scene and asked, "What are you doing, Alicia? Why are you supporting my enemy?"
Alicia replied, tears in her eyes, "You are not my husband. You possessed my husband—I know who you are. And you, Elizabeth... I'm going to kill you. You tried to take down my husband with Jack!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Alicia went into full-aggressive mode, attacking with all her strength using her thin sword. Elizabeth, caught off guard by the sudden assault, was thrown to the ground, groaning in pain. But Alicia didn't give her the chance to recover and continued her relentless attack.
Elizabeth tried desperately to defend, struggling under the force of Alicia's strikes.
Seeing this, Jack became furious and roared, "How did she find out?! And why is she even here?!"
On the other hand, Robert sighed in relief. If Elizabeth's attack had landed, it would have been fatal.
…..
Meanwhile, outside the hall...
Diana had been constructing a formation to prevent anyone from disturbing the battle inside. She also planned to use the formation to assist once it was complete. Ray, on the other hand, was helping Diana by placing the formation disks. Though he had great knowledge of formations, he lacked experience with golden-rank ones.
So Diana was guiding him using a wristwatch, instructing him on where to place each disk: "Go to C5... now to D4..." Ray followed her instructions precisely.
The formation Diana was constructing was a monumental task, but having Ray as an assistant was saving her time. She still had to connect the runes herself, but Ray's help with disk placement cut down on her workload.
Ray had never known that Diana had given a wristwatch to Robert—until now. They were currently using a new function Ray had created: the conference call feature. Through this, Robert had been listening to everything Ray said about Jack and Daymond's past. Diana had secretly added Robert to the call so he could hear everything Ray knew.
Now, six people were on the call: Robert, Ray, Diana, and three of Diana's personal guards.
One of the guards was not present in the palace, but the other two were keeping watch and reporting any movements or threats approaching the hall.
One of those guards had informed Robert that Roxanne was approaching the hall, which had allowed Robert to prepare and save himself. He'd had no idea there would be a sneak attack. When he heard that Roxanne was coming to kill him, his heart nearly sank in disappointment.
Diana told Robert to hold on just a little longer—she was almost done with the formation and would join the fight soon.
….
Inside the hall,
Jack became really angry and didn't want to delay things any further. So, he unleashed his sword force and began attacking with full power. For some reason, he felt a sense of unease. His instincts were warning him to hurry.
Robert, on the other hand, also didn't hold back. He, too, unleashed his sword force and focused on defending to buy time. He was waiting for his wife, Diana, to join the fight.
Both of them had now released their full cultivation at the peak golden stage with grandmaster-level sword force. One was attacking, and the other was defending.