Chapter 159: Elton attacks
The battlefield roared with chaos.
The combined might of the four invading forces and the horde of demonic beasts pressed relentlessly against Christy, Shayleaf, and Tongsheng. Despite their brilliance, numbers were beginning to weigh them down. Christy's movements grew slightly stiff, her old unhealed injuries dragging at her body, but her eyes burned with defiance as she continued to strike without pause.
The man with the gold-plated staff grimaced while fending off a wave of vine monsters.
"Why are these women so powerful even though we're all Golden Lords?!" he spat, sweat dripping down his face as his subordinates tightened their defensive formation.
On the opposite side, the priest's condition was worse than anyone's. His robes were torn, blood leaked from his mouth, and his aura was dangerously unstable. But instead of retreating, his eyes gleamed with a feverish madness.
"Hehahaha… Enough! For the glory of the Dark Lord of the Heavens, this place shall be devoured!"
He slammed his staff into the ground and began chanting in a vile tongue. Dark energy surged into the skies like a heavy storm, twisting the very air. A sticky, humid residue of magic poured across the battlefield, making even seasoned warriors pale.
"ROOOOOOAR! What the hell are you doing?!" bellowed a massive Gold-tier 4 bear beast, backing away in fury.
The grey-skinned woman reacted instantly, throwing up a claw-marked barrier of shadow around herself and the armored man. The armored warrior stomped his shield into the earth, summoning a quake of earthen energy that bolstered their defense into a fortress-like dome.
Meanwhile, the weaker Leopard demi-human roared in outrage.
"You bastards! Why didn't you include me in your defense?!"
"Hmph! Just because we move together doesn't mean I owe you protection," the grey-skinned woman sneered coldly.
The Leopard demi-human leader only cast a quick glance back, his golden eyes glinting. With a low growl, he suddenly dashed straight into the foliage barrier, his Gold-tier 4 subordinate following close behind. Their target was obvious: Christy.
At that same moment, the lion demonic beast leapt from the head of the winged serpent. His body burned like molten gold as he descended, smashing through half of Shayleaf's layered defenses in one crushing blow. Overhead, the serpent whipped its colossal wings, unleashing hurricanes of black wind slashes that tore through friend and foe alike.
Shayleaf's expression hardened. Red sigils of vampiric script overlapped her natural green arrays as she unleashed a barrage of crimson-edged leaf blades, each spinning like a guillotine. The clash turned into a storm of colliding magics.
Not far away, Tongsheng steadied her breathing. One of her special arrows—an obsidian shaft glowing faintly with starlight—was notched. With a resonant thrum, she released it.
The arrow screamed through the air like a comet, piercing the serpent's reinforced wind barrier as though it were paper. The projectile drilled into its flesh and detonated.
"GRAAAAAAAGHHH!!!"
The serpent's pained bellow shook the heavens as its colossal body plummeted. In desperation, it flailed its wings wildly, hurling wind bombs in every direction. Explosions and howling blades of air tore across the battlefield indiscriminately, shredding allies and enemies alike.
At the same time, the grey-skinned woman slashed out with her claws. A projection the size of a house ripped through every tree and barrier between her and Tongsheng. The arrow prodigy was caught off guard, coughing blood as she stumbled back from the impact, her arms shaking.
Meanwhile, Christy was barely holding on against the two Leopard demi-humans. Sweat soaked her brow, and her vision flickered as her injuries screamed in protest. In a fleeting instant, she turned her head toward Elton's resting spot—only to freeze.
Empty.
Her heart lurched. He's gone?!
"DIE!"
The Gold-tier 4 leopard pounced, his claw tearing through the air with lethal intent. Christy grit her teeth, too slow to defend without risking a crippling injury. She braced herself—
Only for the attacker to scream in agony.
"AAAGHHHHHHHH!!!"
A burning palm strike smashed into his arm, searing flesh with white-hot brilliance. He reeled back, horror etched across his face.
The Gold-tier 4 leopard demi-human lunged, claws extended, his strike perfectly timed to catch Christy's lapse in focus.
But before it could land—
A burning palm struck his arm, searing flesh with white-hot brilliance.
"ARGHHHHHH!!!" he howled, jerking back in shock.
-1st Sword: First Light Pierce-
Two fingers, sharp as a blade, thrust forward. The strike pierced directly through his chest with blinding precision, light exploding from the wound.
Before he could even scream—
-Vine Binding Imprisonment-
Massive vines erupted from the ground, coiling around his limbs and torso, locking him in place no matter how he thrashed.
-White Lightning Integration-
Arcs of crackling electricity poured across the bindings, converging into a burning conflagration of white lightning and fire. The demi-human shrieked, body convulsing violently as blood sprayed from his mouth.
"NOOO! AAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
His agonized wails echoed across the battlefield, drowned out only by the sizzle of his own flesh being scorched alive.
Christy's eyes widened.
"Gege…"
The youth stood before her, cloaked in shadow, mask concealing his face—but unmistakable. His aura was calm, terrifyingly restrained, yet his strikes carved through the battlefield like divine judgment.
The Leopard leader charged with the powerful momentum of a Golden Lord. Elton met him head-on, barehanded sword techniques flowing like water. Sparks flew as claw met palm, each strike thundering with lethal force. Yet even without his blade, Elton's martial arts held the advantage. Every exchange forced the Leopard back.
With a sudden kick, Elton sent him skidding across the ground.
But before the clash could continue—
BOOOOOOM!!!
The priest's incantation reached its peak. A tidal wave of black energy erupted outward, swallowing the land in a choking miasma. The ground cracked, the skies darkened, and every living being was caught in its suffocating embrace.
"DAMN IT ALL!!!" warriors screamed as the black tide surged toward them.
And then—light.
From two places around the battlefield, six luminous branches appeared, glowing blue, gold, and red. Three manifested before Shayleaf, three before Tongsheng, forming radiant swords that shone like suns.
Elton's voice rang like thunder across the chaos:
-8th Sword: Eternal Dawn Annihilation-
The branches fused with his Ki and swung down as radiant sword-light. Each stroke tore rifts through the consuming dark, carving out patches of light that scattered the priest's destructive storm. Cracking sounds boomed as the shadow magic fractured under the luminous weight.
The Golden Lord leopard demi-human, still reeling from earlier wounds, froze wide-eyed as Elton's final swing descended upon him. His body blurred as he tried to retreat, but not fast enough—
The strike carved through him, severing his entire left arm and ripping across his side in a burning flash. Blood mist sprayed into the air as the ground beneath him split.
"GGRRRAAAAAGHHH!"
Half-crippled, his aura trembling in disarray, the demi-human didn't dare stay another instant. With a hateful glare twisted by lingering fear, he turned and fled into the distant battlefield haze, leaving only a trail of blood and torn Ki in his wake.
The storm of black magic continued to collapse in fragments, its oppressive weight lifting only in the streaks Elton's light had carved open. Wails and explosions echoed faintly through the darkness as the battle pushed into a new deadlock.