"Xiao Na, wait here for reinforcents."
Silver Fox led Chen Na into a more concealed building at the town’s entrance, reported the situation to the team above, then spoke to Chen Na.
"Sister Silver Fox, aren't you coming with ?"
"I have to go back to help the captain."
Silver Fox's right arm, severed by Lucifer's sharp wing, had been temporarily stopped from bleeding and bandaged with items.
Although losing her right arm greatly reduced her combat effectiveness, she was not yet completely incapable of fighting.
"I'll go too!" Chen Na said.
"Don't be ridiculous! Xiao Na, you're not a combat-type Ascendant."
"But I want to help…"
Silver Fox watched Chen Na slump, her heart softening. She patted Chen Na's head. "You've already helped a lot. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to find where Jiang Lanying and the others were hiding right after entering the town."
Although the town had beco ruins, the destruction covered a large area.
With hindsight, if Chen Na hadn't quickly pinpointed Jiang Lanying and the others' location through her perception Domain, by the ti the Action Team found Jiang Lanying, Lucifer would have certainly arrived too.
Facing both Lucifer and the dozen or so trusted subordinates with Jiang Lanying would have been far worse than the current situation.
"Listen to , Xiao Na."
"Then Sister Silver Fox, you must co back alive…"
"Mm."
Silver Fox hid Chen Na, then imdiately turned and rushed back to the battlefield.
She had agreed to withdraw only to settle Chen Na; she would never abandon the captain.
Of the Dragon Soul squad’s original five mbers, only she and the captain Dragon Soul were still alive. She could not accept losing another close comrade.
Even though she knew the captain was strong, the enemy was the killer Lucifer!
This man had already earned a vicious reputation during the Suroma Empire era; after defecting, he beca even more unrestrained. In the Tulip Federation area he had caused countless killings that could not be tallied.
Even if she died… she would drag it out until reinforcents arrived. She could not allow him to escape with Jiang Lanying!
Silver Fox made up her mind and sprinted at full speed.
She had always relied on speed. If not for protecting Chen Na earlier, she might have dodged Lucifer’s ambush. Even if she could not completely avoid it, she would not have lost an entire arm.
But now, without her dominant arm, she was disadvantaged in combat; losing bodily balance also affected her speed control.
So her mission now was to interfere with Lucifer and create an opening for the captain’s attack.
With that thought, she reached the vicinity of the vault.
What surprised her was that the scene there was different than she expected.
…
One and a half minutes earlier.
Lucifer looked down at Dragon Soul; one hovered in the air, the other on the ground, staring across the distance.
"You think my Mind Power will run out soon, and you plan to wait until I land to strike," Lucifer said, his cold voice laced with contempt.
"How naive."
Dragon Soul ignored him.
After a battle began, he had not spoken a single word. To him, a fight that required talking was not a serious fight. In a battle to the death, any words were redundant.
"Lucifer, stop stalling! Don’t forget the premise of my paynt was that you get
out safely. If you don't honor it, I will withdraw my previous promise!"
Jiang Lanying shouted at the floating Lucifer.
She was impatient — the longer they stalled, the more likely unknown variables would appear.
Lucifer glanced at Jiang Lanying, then said to Dragon Soul, "Ti is nearly up. My next blow will kill you."
He finished speaking, beat his wings, and began circling rapidly in the air.
Accelerating?
Dragon Soul knew Lucifer’s wings were extrely sharp, like a pair of scythes. If he increased speed, they could form a terrifying impact.
Failure to react or inadequate defense would an a direct kill.
Dragon Soul silently mobilized his Mind Power; his muscles began to shift.
"Use your strongest skill!"
After Lucifer finished accelerating, he dove like lightning. Watching, Jiang Lanying’s vision blurred; Lucifer had already passed Dragon Soul on the ground!
Lucifer stopped seven or eight ters behind Dragon Soul and looked back in surprise.
"Crack!"
His left wing emitted a crisp snap, breaking into two halves.
Looking up at Dragon Soul again, the latter was no longer in his previous form.
Dragon Soul had grown over two ters tall, his muscles swollen and knotted, facial features distorted by the bulging muscle, looking savage.
In his broad palms like large fans, he gripped a black feather. From his chest down to his abdon there was a long, jagged wound, but blood had not spilled because his changed muscles had rapidly squeezed and stemd the bleeding.
At the mont they passed each other, Lucifer nearly sliced Dragon Soul’s upper body in two, and Dragon Soul forcibly tore off one of Lucifer’s wings.
The excruciating pain of a broken wing only excited Lucifer.
Since leaving the Suroma Empire, he had never suffered such a serious injury. Feeling pain now, he strangely experienced an indescribable exhilaration.
"Good…"
Lucifer looked at the almost-muscle-monster Dragon Soul, excitent showing plainly. "You’ve developed your abilities deeper than I imagined. I admit you do have so skill."
"…"
"But taking one of my wings is your limit." Lucifer sneered. "Your Mind Power is nearly drained, and I…"
He raised the remaining wing and flew up again, then dove — targeting the feigning-dead You Hao on the ground!
Dragon Soul hadn’t expected Lucifer to know You Hao was playing dead; alarm seized him, but it was too late to save him.
"Fwoom!"
At the mont You Hao's head flew off, Lucifer’s broken wing rapidly regenerated!
Killing Ascendants to absorb their Mind Power for recovery…!
Dragon Soul's heart jolted; he recalled intelligence about Lucifer’s ability.
So this fellow had intentionally spared victims before, keeping them as… blood packs!
"Surprised?"
Lucifer said lightly.
"You know how many people I killed in that no-man’s land in the Tulip Federation. After so many battles, do you think I can’t tell if soone I attacked is dead?"
Anger rose in Dragon Soul, but he imdiately suppressed it and analyzed calmly.
He had almost no Mind Power left; he couldn't fight to the death with a recovering Lucifer.
I can still muster one final strike.
Dragon Soul thought, glancing at Jiang Lanying not far away.
Even if this blow severely wounded Lucifer, he would be too weak to capture the target afterward.
So this final strike should not aim at Lucifer but at…
Although older, Jiang Lanying sensed danger sharply.
She watched Dragon Soul warily.
"Dragon Soul, if you leave now you can save your life," Jiang Lanying said. "Otherwise you die here today, and tomorrow they’ll just pick a new Dragon Soul to replace you."
"After your squad lost three mbers, didn’t they imdiately add a few replacents? To the higher-ups, you’re just consumables. Is it worth sacrificing yourself?"
Dragon Soul was unmoved, only searching for the best mont to strike.
Lucifer was growing impatient. After understanding Dragon Soul’s abilities and limits, he had lost interest in the fight.
"Let's end this today." Lucifer beat his wings, preparing his final strike.
"You’re a worthy opponent. I’ll respectfully leave you a whole corpse."
He dove, then abruptly stopped midair and flipped to the side!
The next mont, a sharp black spike shot where he had just dodged!
Lucifer startled; he nearly failed to react before the sneak attack hit.
"Who?!"
He scanned the area. Jiang Lanying and Dragon Soul were surprised by the sudden turn and looked toward the source of the spike.
A figure in full black armor stood not far off.
Shadow!
In an instant, all three recognized the newcor.
Jiang Lanying was shocked, Dragon Soul was surprised, but only Lucifer was ecstatic, his gaze fixed.
"Shadow… I didn't expect to be this lucky today. We et again…!"
Lucifer spoke, and Jiang Lanying suddenly shouted for him, "Get
out—uh?!"
Before she finished, her whole body stiffened. Looking down, she saw many black shadows had grabbed her arms and legs; the force was so strong she couldn't break free.
"Lucifer!"
Jiang Lanying barked at him to act.
But Lucifer had completely abandoned the commission in his mind. He ignored the panicked Jiang Lanying and focused all attention on Guan Tong.
"Last ti on Holy Grail Island, before you 'killed' , I said next ti we'd et, I'd win."
Guan Tong ignored Lucifer. Having secured Jiang Lanying, he asked Dragon Soul, "How are you?"
"I'm fine. You be careful."
Dragon Soul felt a faint relief when Shadow appeared.
He guessed Shadow had co for Jiang Lanying. Although he didn't know how Shadow found them, the arrival at least made Lucifer’s plan to take Jiang Lanying away unlikely.
"Ignore , will you?"
Lucifer’s expression darkened when Guan Tong paid him no heed. He suddenly flapped his wings; countless feathers exploded outward!
Guan Tong stepped, and the "shadow platform" his Shadow built beneath his feet rose, lifting him. Dodging the feather attack, he and Lucifer reached the sa altitude.
He raised his palm toward Lucifer, and nurous shadow spikes shot from his sleeve, racing forward.
"Good!"
Lucifer was pleased with Guan Tong’s offense. He twisted and dodged, using the high-speed mobility of his wings to weave through gaps between the shadow spikes with ease.
Guan Tong, seeing this, willed his shadows. The spikes instantly transford into a spiked cage intended to imprison Lucifer.
Lucifer snorted coldly, his body spinning rapidly; his sharp wings easily sliced through the shadow cage, and he broke free.
This birdman's wings had beco even sharper…
Guan Tong thought: his Shadow’s toughness had improved, yet it still couldn't withstand Lucifer’s wings. It seed Lucifer had been strengthening himself these days too.
"Your Shadow is tougher than on the island, but so what?" Lucifer could sense the change in Guan Tong’s Shadow. "Can it stand up to my Fallen Angel Wings?"
"A birdman is still a birdman, not so Fallen Angel…"
Guan Tong kept quiet, but when he opened his mouth he infuriated Lucifer—no one hated being called "birdman" more than Lucifer.
"Die!"
Lucifer circled and accelerated. Dragon Soul frowned, knowing Lucifer was about to use that "bursting feather charge" again.
His high-speed maneuver made already incredibly sharp wings even more destructive. If Dragon Soul hadn’t reinforced his muscles earlier, he would not have survived that strike!
Guan Tong remained calm. At the instant Lucifer launched his charge, masses of shadows surged from him, forming layers of shadow that covered the surroundings.
Lucifer suddenly found himself in pitch darkness and could not see; his forward montum halted.
He knew Guan Tong had a vision-blocking item, but he rembered it being a smoke device, not this.
What is this? Are these shadows?
Lucifer could not imagine how many shadows, or how much Mind Power, it would take to block the sky.
He imdiately found his Mind Power decreasing.
"Blinding and draining Mind Power—looks like Shadow, you’ve developed a remarkable skill… But if you think you can cage
to death, you’re overthinking it!"
Lucifer raised his arms and wings and shot upward at extre speed!
His way to break out was simple: treat it like solving a maze. No matter how complex, pick a direction—if there’s a path, go; if not, tear down the wall and you’ll break through quickly.
What he used to "tear down walls" was his unmatched, razorlike Fallen Angel Wings!
He was confident that even if Guan Tong filled the sky with shadows, he could slash and destroy them.
Inside the Shadow Domain, Guan Tong watched Lucifer’s swift decision and was surprised by the man’s strong battle instinct.
If it were others, suddenly plunged into darkness, they would hesitate and adopt passive defense, missing opportunities and growing worse. Lucifer had no hesitation; he made the right single-direction breakthrough choice imdiately. His combat intelligence was formidable.
But unfortunately, he had not grasped the Shadow Domain’s true ability.
This was not a fixed dead maze; it was a living maze that Guan Tong could reshape with his will.
When Lucifer chose to break upward, Guan Tong imdiately altered the Domain to reduce width and increase height.
If Lucifer changed direction, Guan Tong would adjust the Domain’s extension accordingly, turning it into a customized shadow prison.
Thus, Lucifer could keep flying upward yet never reach the shadow layer because its height continuously rose. His Fallen Angel Wings were fast, but not faster than shadows that could follow light.
Lucifer did not realize that from the mont he entered the Domain, as long as Guan Tong’s Mind Power did not run out, he would never escape.
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