A long time later, in this patch of land that had been ravaged beyond recognition, a burly figure clad in heavy armor slowly stepped into the core area of the explosion, surrounded by several attendants.
Sima Red’s voice came through his tightly fitted visor as he issued orders to those around him: “Spread out and search! Scour every inch of this ground. Neither the Saint weapon nor that item will be so easily destroyed!” His tone carried a hint of regret. “It’s a pity that for the sake of safety, we had to sacrifice two death slaves. If we could have captured those two elves alive, it would have been a perfect ending...”
The moment they received the order, Sima Red’s attendants scattered like arrows from a bow, conducting a carpet search around the epicenter of the blast.
A few minutes later, an attendant rushed back, his steps hurried. He lowered his voice and reported to Sima Red, “Lord Red, we have thoroughly searched within a five-hundred-meter radius. There are no signs of life. Furthermore... we failed to find any trace of that item.”
“How is that possible? Could they have escaped using space magic... Did the mages in the team search? Are there any traces of teleportation?” Sima asked quickly, looking surprised.
“The mages have already searched carefully twice. Within this hundred-meter radius, no residual spatial fluctuations were detected. It seems they did not flee using space magic,” the attendant replied.
“A bunch of useless trash!” Sima growled under his breath, though his heart was filled with confusion.
He was certain that there were no Saint Rank powerhouses in the adventurer group they encountered today, and the Saint weapon they held was not known for its defensive capabilities.
Even if the magic crystal cannons they brought were only portable models, it wasn’t something just a few people could withstand.
“Keep searching! No one stops until they are found!” Sima issued another stern command.
“Yes, my lord!” The attendant took the order and left, leaving Sima standing alone, lost in deep thought.
After losing two assassins, Sima’s squad had only nine members left besides himself. With their strength, searching this mere hundred-meter area should have been easy.
This time, the squad members conducted an even more detailed search, even sifting through the soil overturned by the magic crystal cannons. However, they still failed to find any valuable clues.
Ultimately, they returned empty-handed and gathered around Sima again, their faces filled with helplessness.
“Does that thing have some other effect? ...Otherwise, it makes no sense!” Sima muttered to himself, his brow furrowed as his gaze swept over the returning attendants. “Under such a destructive strike, it’s nearly impossible to escape via space magic. Could they be hiding underground?”
“Correct! You’re quite slow on the uptake, aren’t you?”
Just as Sima relaxed his guard slightly and let out a long breath, a male voice suddenly rang in his ear.
“What!?”
Sima and the others looked at the ground in shock. The earth beneath their feet surged like ocean waves, causing their bodies to sink abruptly. In the blink of an eye, their calves were completely submerged in the soil.
Immediately after, countless giant hands formed from sandstone erupted from the earth, clenching tightly around the ten people present like a cage.
As the team leader, Sima was not only the strongest but also the fastest to react. The moment the ground shook, he broke free from the restraints around his feet and leaped up.
However, he failed to notice that a slender figure had darted out from the churning stone waves the moment they fell into chaos, silently circling behind him.
By the time he sensed something was wrong and turned around, Xia Duo was already diving down from mid-air, delivering a fierce flying kick straight to his face.
Sima hurriedly raised his arms, relying on his armor’s defense to barely block Xia Duo’s kick. But the massive impact caused him to lose balance in mid-air, falling toward the ground like a kite with a broken string.
Waiting for him below was a heavy punch that sliced through the air, glowing with golden light.
“Bang!”
Po Kong’s fist, imbued with War God battle qi, struck Sima’s head like a burning meteor.
The powerful force instantly shattered his helmet, and his burly body was slammed into the ground not far away like a leaf swept up by a gale. If not for the helmet’s protection, that punch likely would have killed him.
Witnessing this, several mages in Sima’s squad ignored their predicament of being trapped by the giant stones and hurriedly began chanting complex spells, attempting to provide support.
But as soon as they opened their mouths, countless vines sprouted from the giant stone hands holding them, stuffing their mouths shut.
Not only that, but the edges of the vines were covered in tiny barbs. Any skin lightly grazed by these barbs would immediately feel a surge of intense numbness, followed by a total loss of sensation.
Under the terrified gazes of the group, the once-surging stone waves gradually calmed. Starlight, Moen, and Little Gold rose leisurely from the ground.
“Well done, Little Gold! We owe it to you this time!” After a quick assessment of the situation, Starlight cast a look of approval at Little Gold.
It turned out that just moments ago, at the critical juncture between life and death, Little Gold—who had been hiding behind Moen—resolutely stepped forward and pulled out a scale-like necklace from his chest.
The scale seemed to be made of pure gold, radiating a dazzling light even in the dark night.
As the light flared, a golden aura gushed out from it, quickly enveloping Starlight and the others.
This power felt exceptionally familiar to both Starlight and Po Kong. In Starlight’s perception, the nature of this power was quite similar to the Power of Destruction he had previously mastered, yet it felt more natural and fluid.
In Po Kong’s eyes, the aura emanating from Little Gold’s necklace shared commonalities with his own War God battle qi. This reminded him of the Dragon Tongue magic Seranox used to break the Spiritual Arts Academy’s barrier.
With the assistance of this power, the first wave of magic crystal cannon explosions was completely neutralized. At the same time, Starlight finally broke free from the negative state caused by the black water and used earth magic to pull his companions deep underground.
Normally, such an action would inevitably leave traces, but the subsequent waves of cannon fire that rained down like a tempest swept over the entire area, erasing all traces and providing the perfect cover for their concealment.
Furthermore, Noah used his soul power to tightly wrap around everyone’s bodies. As a result, even though the mages in Sima’s squad conducted several rounds of meticulous searching, they failed to detect that the group was actually hidden just a few meters beneath their feet.
Over time, as the search party gradually lowered their guard, Starlight and the others took the opportunity to fully recover their state.
After some discussion, they decided to take the initiative to attack, leading to the scene that just unfolded.
“Cough, cough... I actually... I was actually fooled by you commoners!” Sima, who had been knocked down, spat out a large mouthful of blood and struggled to his feet, swaying.
His helmet was now completely shattered, revealing a face covered in hideous scars. He glared fiercely at the people before him and roared.
“Oh? I didn’t expect you to be able to stand up after taking that punch. I thought it would at least knock you out for a while!” Seeing Sima rise again, Po Kong couldn’t help but look surprised.
One had to know that the punch just now was a perfect strike delivered through the combined efforts of him and Xia Duo. Moreover, he wasn’t in the habit of holding back against an opponent with clear killing intent.
Even a Saint Rank expert like Ming Ye would be injured if struck directly in a vital spot like that, and Sima was clearly not at that level yet.
“Don’t move! You’ve already lost!”
Just as Sima reached out to draw the weapon at his waist, a sharp short blade was already silently pressed against the back of his neck. The cold edge left a shallow white mark on his skin.
Rate on N.U.
