Escaping the Council Chambers

“You brat...! How dare you toy with me! Damn it!”

When Ming Ye finally recovered from the dizziness and confusion and forced his eyes open, all that remained before him was the empty hall and the blurred light and shadows in the distance.

He roared, his voice filled with fury, and prepared to give chase in the direction the three had fled.

However, Ryan utilized this fleeting window to suddenly lunge out from the shadows. Even though he was gravely wounded, he used the last of his strength to wrap his arms tightly around Ming Ye from behind.

In an instant, a layer of crystal-clear ice crystals spread over both of them with alarming speed, like a living thing.

“Old man, it seems you’ve grown tired of living! In that case, I’ll send you on your way first!”

Faced with this zero-distance magic release, how could Ming Ye just sit and wait for death?

With a flick of his wrist, his sharp scythe instantly sliced through the air, accurately severing Ryan’s arms. The severed limbs fell to the ground, and using that momentum, Ming Ye forcefully broke free from the ice prison.

However, when Ming Ye’s gaze fell upon Ryan again, he saw only a smile of relief on the other man’s face, and a sudden chill rose from the depths of his heart.

Ryan’s short staff had floated to his side at some unknown point, shining with a dangerous light that matched the glow coming from its master’s chest.

“This is bad! This old guy is going to self-destruct!”

Alarm bells rang in Ming Ye’s mind. He realized that Ryan had long since abandoned any hope of escape, choosing instead to take Ming Ye down with him.

Not far away, the figure shrouded in the eerie shadow also keenly sensed Ryan’s intentions.

He let out a cold snort and reached out into the void. As if responding to his call, the surrounding mist surged toward him and Ming Ye, quickly weaving into a thick, greyish-grey barrier that isolated the two of them from the outside world.

The moment the barrier formed, Ryan and the short staff in his hand became the ignition point, and an unprecedentedly terrifying cold wave erupted.

The intensity of this cold wave surpassed everyone’s imagination. It brought not only a sudden drop in temperature but also a horrific power capable of freezing and destroying everything in its path.

The magnificent architecture of the Council Chambers was instantly swallowed by the impact of this cold wave, turning into a world of pure white.

Even the heart-pounding mist that had been churning in the air was quickly condensed into ice mist by this power, slowly settling onto the ground.

By this time, Starlight had already rushed hundreds of meters away, stepping onto the small path over the lake that led to the outside.

As he advanced at full speed, a strange sensation from behind caused his pace to involuntarily slow for a beat.

He whipped his head back, and the scene before him was staggering—the once towering Council Chambers had been transformed into an immensely large white ice flower. Its petals were crystal clear and incredibly beautiful, yet they radiated a heart-stopping chill.

More terrifyingly, that fearsome cold was spreading behind him like an invisible giant beast, pursuing them relentlessly.

Everywhere the cold passed, even the flowing water of the lake lost its temperature instantly, freezing into sheets of hard ice that shimmered with a ghostly light under the barrier’s glow.

“This power... it has already surpassed the scope of ordinary water elements. How did Senior Ryan manage this? Could this be the Ultimate Power of the water element?!”

Amidst his shock, a sense of urgency welled up in Starlight’s heart. Although he desperately wanted to study the Ultimate Power he sought, he knew this was no time to be immersed in contemplation and exploration.

The relentless cold following them was like the scythe of a reaper, ready to swallow them at any moment.

“Moen, we have to be faster!” Starlight retracted his gaze and spoke urgently to Moen beside him.

The two of them accelerated again, practically flying across the surface of the lake. They finally reached the entrance of the barrier just before the cold could swallow the entire space.

Drawing on his experience from entering, Starlight reached out and took Moen’s hand in a practiced motion, quickly covering the three of them with a special mana fluctuation.

Their figures flashed through the barrier, finally isolating the pursuing chill behind them.

Once they stopped and looked back toward the Council Chambers, they saw that the entire structure had been covered by Ryan’s magic, turning into a giant crystal ball—crystal clear, yet permeated by an indescribable eeriness.

White ice mist swirled within it like the purest dream of winter, yet under the confinement of the massive barrier, it could not spread outward even an inch.

“Senior Ryan... I never thought Elder Ming Ye would be the enemy...” Moen, having escaped death, felt a surge of complex emotions. Her gaze was locked onto the giant white hemisphere on the lake, her words filled with confusion and helplessness.

“There was no other way, but we need to leave here quickly.”

Starlight glanced at Lian, who was still unconscious in his arms, and spoke solemnly.

“You mean, Elder Ming... he and that freak aren’t dead yet?” Moen caught the underlying meaning in Starlight’s words, her face filled with shock.

“Right. I don’t believe this magic can take them out in one go. At most, it will only trap them for a while. Now that the entire Council Chambers is frozen, it’s unrealistic to try and use the equipment inside to send a message to the entire Elf Race. Do you have any other way to notify everyone?”

Starlight analyzed the situation calmly. He looked at Moen, hoping she could think of more countermeasures.

“A more effective way... no. I just don’t know how my sister and the others are doing. If the beacon fires can be successfully lit, reinforcements from various places should arrive quickly.”

Moen thought carefully and finally shook her head helplessly.

“In that case, we’ll find Xia Duo and the others first. While we’re at it, we’ll find out where the Night Elf guard is. We can only fully commit to the battle once Lian is in a safe place.” As Starlight spoke, he gently adjusted Lian’s position in his arms to ensure she was lying comfortably.

“Alright... let’s go.” Moen nodded, a glimmer of light returning to her eyes.

Not long after the two left, a crisp and ear-piercing cracking sound suddenly echoed at the entrance of the indestructible barrier outside the Council Chambers, sounding particularly jarring by the silent lakeside.

...

After leaving the Council Chambers, Starlight and Moen quickly returned to the city.

In the time they had been gone, the monsters rampaging through the city seemed to have been suppressed to some extent. However, the sounds of small-scale intense combat still occasionally drifted from various corners of the city, reminding them that the crisis was far from over.

The two moved swiftly through the streets and alleys, trying to find Po Kong and Xia Duo amidst the chaos.

Starlight gazed toward the edge of the city and could see several beacon fires already lit on the outskirts, columns of black beacon smoke soaring into the sky. However, he had no way of determining where Po Kong and the others might be.

Without a special way to contact them, searching for two people in this massive city was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After a period of fruitless searching, the two wisely changed their strategy. They decided to head toward the administrative offices in the city center, as that was not only the core of the city’s defenses but also near the guesthouse where Lian’s group had been staying. Perhaps it would bring a turn of events.

Fortunately, their judgment was correct this time. On a street near the City Hall, they happened to encounter a Night Elf squad engaged in a fierce battle with monsters.

At this moment, Lira was in full military gear, leading Lian’s guard detail in combat alongside the rangers. They had successfully repelled several waves of monster attacks and were using the City Hall as a base to clear the surrounding roads one by one.

Clearly, the monsters were indeed aware of the distribution of the elves’ personnel across various locations and had conducted precise deployments. Particularly for vital areas like the City Hall, the number of monsters appearing was several times higher than in other places.

If it weren't for the elite squad led by Lira happening to be on standby nearby, the ranger squad responsible for the City Hall would have been absolutely unable to withstand the tide of monsters.

Even so, every warrior present was wounded, and the situation remained uncertain.

What was even more worrying was the dense death energy carried by the monsters. Through their fangs and claws, it was constantly corroding the warriors’ wounds, causing their injuries to gradually worsen in the absence of effective medical treatment.