Beyonder Battle

Solana continued to walk forward in silence.

Just then, she saw a woman in an ice-blue dress suddenly appear a short distance ahead of her.

The girl's head was still a bit foggy, and her vision was slightly unfocused from fatigue, but she still softly asked,

“Who... are you...?”

The woman remained silent for a moment. Soon, she raised her hand, and countless icicles instantly shot through the air, hurtling toward the right side of the girl's chest!

Yet, the girl remained completely still. Her eyes were numb, showing not the slightest desire to resist.

Only the ghostly flames around her began to grow active, dancing up and down incessantly around her.

Several icicles struck, but the moment they came within three inches of the girl, they were instantly devoured by those ghostly flames, leaving only tiny ice crystals to rustle down.

As soon as they hit the ground, the ice crystals began to grow rapidly, solidifying once more and blooming into bewitching crystal flowers.

At the same time, frost spread rapidly across the ground.

Before the girl could react, a chill enveloped her entire body, causing her to shiver and wrap her arms around herself.

Just then, the black mist around her began to churn, turning into a massive wave of thick smoke. Carrying a corrosive aura, it surged toward the woman.

But the moment the black smoke touched her, the woman's body shattered like a broken mirror, splintering into countless pieces.

Before the fragments could even hit the ground, the crystal flowers from earlier began to grow rapidly, instantly coalescing into a brand-new figure.

The figure lunged at the girl, wielding a short blade made of solid ice!

Still, the girl made no move to dodge or evade. She hung her head, her mouth seemingly repeating mechanically:

“...I'm sorry...”

But the black smoke around her suddenly flared, taking the shape of a hideous, gaping maw. It devoured the ice blade, then rapidly crawled up the woman's arm until it enveloped her entire body!

The woman dissolved into a pile of glittering ice fragments once more, and three identical figures reconstituted not far away.

Illusion and reality, truth and falsehood, blurred together, making it impossible to tell them apart.

Unable to distinguish the real one, the black mist began to pursue them indiscriminately. Wherever it passed, houses rapidly decayed and peeled away, ultimately crumbling to ashes.

The girl's eyes remained vacant, as if this battle had nothing to do with her.

Just then, a colossal force struck directly at her body!

Boom!

The girl was sent flying, her body crashing into a low wall made of rough stone. However, protected by her scales, she was not injured.

Clutching her head, she looked up in confusion. A massive stone golem had appeared before her, its body covered in all sorts of bizarrely shaped sigils!

The girl seemed to finally sense danger. She stood up, a flash of crimson sweeping through the depths of her eyes.

The black smoke beside her also sensed her intent, gathering around her and gently lifting her into the air.

Instinctively, the girl raised her arms. The black smoke rapidly surged toward the sky, forming a canopy of dark clouds that cast the entirety of Leytin City into shadow.

Countless black fireballs plummeted from the sky, raining down on the golem like a meteor shower!

Just as the golem was about to be swallowed by the sea of fire, one of the sigils on its body suddenly lit up, bursting with a dazzling golden light.

In an instant, a deep blue ice shield condensed around the golem!

The moment the fireballs struck, they were instantly extinguished.

Just as the fireballs dispersed, another sigil lit up. The golem's arms began to deform, turning into two massive, burning stone swords that slashed at the girl in a cross pattern.

Howing winds roared in her ears, yet the girl remained suspended in midair, quietly supported by the black smoke.

With a single thought, the golem's movements instantly ground to a halt.

With another wave of her hand, the black smoke wrapped around the golem's arms, causing them to detach instantly.

Boom! Boom!

With two loud crashes, the burning stone swords smashed onto the ground.

Seizing this opportunity, the black smoke coiled around the golem's legs. With several crisp cracks, the massive thighs shattered and snapped.

Boom!

The golem collapsed to the ground, completely immobilized.

Rumble!

At this moment, below and to the girl's right, several cannons had been set up at some point. A few people were frantically loading ammunition and aiming the cannons, firing directly at her.

The cannonballs flew toward the girl, but they were quickly swallowed by the black smoke several meters in front of her.

But just then, obscure runes suddenly flashed before the girl's eyes. In a brief daze, the cannonballs reappeared out of thin air, instantly closing in before her!

With another thought, the flames on the cannonballs instantly vanished.

Immediately after, she raised her scaled hand to block them.

The cannonballs merely slammed into her arm, producing a sharp clang without exploding.

Her arm felt slightly numb, but for some reason, she grew somewhat excited. She spun around, the bloody light in her eyes growing even more intense.

Immediately, the black smoke roared toward the people below the cannons!

Where her gaze fell, a man in blue robes seemed to be drawing a magic circle on the ground.

The person beside him immediately urged,

“Hurry up! Hurry up! Aren't you afraid of dying??”

“Shut up! Keep nagging and none of us will get out of here!”

The man also seemed to realize the urgency of the situation and accelerated his pace.

His hand continuously traced complex, obscure runes on the ground. As the final stroke was completed, a blue light flared, and the group vanished instantly.

The black smoke struck empty air.

The girl felt a surge of irritation. She scanned her surroundings, trying to find fleeing slum dwellers to feed on more despair and vent her frustration.

Beneath an abandoned carriage, several pairs of eyes—filled with terror yet forcing a fierce glare—were staring dead at her. The leader was a bald man.

The girl instantly let out a sinister grin.

The black smoke rose once more, devouring them entirely in the blink of an eye.

An immediate wave of pleasure washed over her. The smile on her face grew exaggerated, her crimson eyes flickering wildly.

A gust of wild wind swept past, blowing ice crystals behind her.

Those ice crystals rapidly gathered, and the figure of the woman in the blue dress solidified once more. Controlling the icicles, she continuously launched them toward the girl.

The girl quietly glanced back. Wisps of flame ignited on the ice crystals, quickly melting them.

However, an even more biting chill swept out from the melted ice crystals, rushing toward the girl.

Under the assault of the cold, the girl grew somewhat stiff from the freeze. She enveloped her body in flames to alleviate the chill.

Then, just as she was about to strike again, her vision suddenly began to sway and fluctuate.

Clutching her head, she felt the world spinning. The crimson glow in her eyes gradually receded, and a shred of sanity reclaimed the upper hand.