Opportunity for a Counterattack

Communication within the soul link was far swifter than spoken word; in a mere heartbeat, Starlight and his companions had finalized their strategy.

They were only managing to remain standing thanks to Moen’s nearly exhausted nature power, which she used to support them.

For Moen, who had already expended so much, maintaining even a minimal blessing for the group was her absolute limit.

Starlight slowly closed his eyes as the mana within him surged like an awakened flood. The various attributes of mana began to merge along a strange path, their original colors fading into the deathly white of the prototype Power of Destruction.

His current actions were akin to dancing on the edge of a blade. You had once warned him solemnly never to rely too heavily on this power before reaching the Saint Rank.

Furthermore, he had to hide this energy carefully, compressing it within his body so that Yuta would not detect it.

However, Starlight could think of no better alternative. To break through Yuta’s power of life and death, he—who was already at a disadvantage in terms of raw strength—had to surpass his opponent in the quality of his energy.

As he continued to compress and fuse his mana, the prototype of the Power of Destruction was extracted once more.

By now, the meridians that were once filled with mana had been stained a deathly white by this sliver of destructive force. He had to commit every ounce of his mental power to control this dangerous energy that threatened to spiral out of control at any moment.

Starlight could feel that every tiny movement was accompanied by agonizing pain, as if countless blades were wandering through his body, slicing through his flesh and soul.

“Now, Moen! Move!”

The moment his energy reached its peak, Starlight snapped his eyes open. A flash of grim determination crossed his black pupils as he issued the command through the mental link.

In the next second, Moen withdrew all the power she was using to support the others and funneled it entirely into Starlight.

As Xia Duo, Po Kong, and Lira collapsed under the sudden return of the crushing pressure, Starlight erupted with a dazzling green radiance.

Standing at the center of this light, Starlight felt an unprecedented surge of strength.

“Thump... Thump...”

He could feel his heart pounding like a war drum, each beat threatening to tear his chest open. The torrent of blood even dyed his eyes a shade of crimson, like a burning flame.

This excessive reinforcement caused his normally sleek muscles to bulge, even tearing small holes in his clothing.

At this moment, Starlight’s power had reached the absolute limit of what his body could endure, and Yuta’s suppression shattered instantly.

Yuta, who was busy controlling the energy torrent, naturally noticed the anomaly below. When he looked down at Starlight, he found a power that made even him feel a chill in his heart.

It was a magic arrow emitting a soft, milky-white light. Although it was only as thick as a finger and barely a few dozen centimeters long, its unassuming appearance hid a terrifying energy capable of shaking the heavens and earth.

“This... this is the Power of Destruction?! No, it’s only a prototype... but how is that possible?!” Following Po Kong’s display of a Divine Artifact’s power, Yuta’s aged face was once again overtaken by shock.

In that momentary lapse of focus, Starlight gathered all his strength and hurled the white light arrow at Yuta.

The moment the white light left his hand, the terrible recoil sliced countless tiny gashes into his arm, and a large cloud of blood mist erupted from it.

Seeing this, Moen instinctively moved to stop the bleeding, but she was halted by a firm, resolute gaze.

Meanwhile, the white arrow sped toward Yuta like a meteor streaking across the night sky. Its terrifying aura turned the entire space a deathly white.

Faced with such world-shaking power, Yuta did not dare to be careless. He immediately deployed his strongest defense.

A thick grey mist surged from his body, rapidly condensing into an indestructible grey shield that stood before him.

“Even a prototype of Transcendent Power cannot threaten me given such a vast difference in our ranks!” Yuta declared confidently, believing he had everything under control.

Yet, just as Yuta had prepared himself fully, the white arrow did not explode as he expected. Instead, it stopped just inches in front of him.

“What is this?”

Yuta frowned slightly. Even he couldn’t figure out what Starlight was trying to do. As he puzzled over it, his peripheral vision caught a change on the ground.

Starlight, who had been standing, was now slumped on the ground in a wretched state. In his place stood Xia Duo, holding her longbow.

Then, a seemingly ordinary arrow pierced the air, silently tracing a graceful arc as it flew straight for Yuta’s vitals.

“How ridiculous! Number Sixteen, are you really foolish enough to attack like this? You underestimate me far too much!” Yuta roared. Without even turning his head, he caught the arrow firmly, relying on instinct alone.

“One should never underestimate an opponent; that is what you once taught me. But this time, it is you who has underestimated us,” Xia Duo said, looking up at the sky with a fierce glint in her eyes.

“Hmm? What do you mean?” A premonition of danger suddenly welled up in Yuta’s heart.

Only then did Yuta realize the weight of the arrow in his hand felt wrong. When he looked back, he saw a nearly invisible thin thread attached to the end of the arrow, with the other end tied to an old, thick book.

“Old man, surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you? Take this!”

Just as Yuta moved to discard the arrow, Noah’s voice rang out in his ear like a ghost.

The unassuming old book suddenly seemed to come alive. Its pages fluttered wildly like wings as it lunged through the air, flying straight into Yuta’s face.

Immediately after, a powerful Soul Impact exploded right against his head.

“Aaaargh!!!”

Yuta let out a blood-curdling scream, clutching his head as his body doubled over in agony. Even a being as powerful as he was powerless to resist such a direct attack on the depths of his soul.