Chapter 1206: Chapter 101 Absolute Defense
During a time of intense anxiety for Zong Yue and the others, suddenly, a gentle white light brightened in the center of the forest ruins. From a pile of ashes, the light shone radiantly; poof—a sky full of ashes burst into the air, and amidst the white light, two figures floated out. It was Ah Dai and Xuan Yue, unharmed, their clothes merely a bit disheveled.
Just moments before the collision of thunder and the interaction of the four elements had reached a critical point, Ah Dai had used Instant Teleportation to reach Xuan Yue and spoken four words to her, "Absolute Defense." Amid such massive shockwaves, even Ah Dai and Xuan Yue would have been hard-pressed to emerge unscathed. Thus, as they prepared to unleash the thunder, Ah Dai had already devised a plan to counter the final reverberating force. Xuan Yue reacted extraordinarily quickly; upon hearing "Absolute Defense" from Ah Dai, she instantly realized what to do and activated the strongest defense of the Ring of Guardian. A pristine white light enveloped them just in time, preserving them through a tremendous explosion. Although the blast caused significant tremors to the Protection Barrier, it ultimately failed to break through their ultimate defense. Xuan Yue and Ah Dai saw everything happening outside—the forest vanished beneath the rampant energy, while vast amounts of smoke and ash enclosed the barrier of Absolute Defense, blocking their view.
Xuan Yue continuously channeled her Divine Energy into the Absolute Defense, managing its intensity, until the shield faded, and only then did she and Ah Dai use their own energy to create another layer of the Defense Shield around themselves. As the tremors gradually subsided, the Ring of Guardian, with its ability to block every shock, had successfully protected Ah Dai and Xuan Yue from any injury.
Feeling the energy fluctuations steadying, Ah Dai and Xuan Yue burst out from the ashes. Seeing the immense ash that was once a forest, both fell silent. Ah Dai had always harbored special feelings for the forest—seeing its devastation now pained his heart, filling him with guilt for the destruction of nature, though nothing could be done to rectify it.
Upon seeing Ah Dai and Xuan Yue, Zong Yue hurriedly ran up to them, anxiously asking, "The captains of our group, where are they? What happened here?"
Xuan Yue snorted angrily, replying, "Those despicable skeletons provoked us without reason, destroying this forest. Who knows where they are now? Perhaps they turned to ash like the trees."
Zong Yue panicked, exclaiming, "What? The captains are..." The deputy captains accompanying Zong Yue drew their weapons, glaring at Ah Dai and Xuan Yue with fury, ready to strike. The four skeletons weren’t just their leaders; over the years, almost every member of the Skeleton Mercenary Group had been guided by them, significantly boosting their strengths. To them, the four skeletons were both leaders and mentors, and the profound bond formed over the years caused their eyes to redden at the news of their demise.
Ah Dai frowned slightly and, summoning his True Qi, let out a burst of white light that protected him and Xuan Yue as he calmly stated, "This was brought upon themselves. However, your four captains might not be dead. Hurry and search; they should be nearby." Despite the lack of a super defensive Divine Artifact like the Ring of Guardian, the four skeletons’ mastery of their skills did contain immense energy. Relying on the force of the shockwave, he presumed that they had managed to negate much of the explosion’s force, leading to his belief that they hadn’t perished.
At that moment, Zong Yue had no desire for revenge. He knew well that if even the four skeletons couldn’t handle Ah Dai and Xuan Yue, nor could they. To him, the immediate priority was to locate the four captains of the Skeleton Mercenary Corps. He and the other deputy captains began an urgent search. Seeing their frantic efforts, Ah Dai’s earlier anger slowly subsided. He sighed and asked Xuan Yue, "Brother, how are you? Severely injured?"
Xuan Yue shook his head, responding, "Just a bit shaken by the blast. That Wind Skeleton’s arrows are formidable; I couldn’t see them coming before they hit me. It’s a good thing I had the Ring of Guardian and the Phoenix’s Blood, otherwise... those skeletons are too domineering. If we were any weaker, we might have died at their hands. It would be better if they were dead, fewer calamities."
Ah Dai shook his head and sighed, "Let it be. They were just too competitive. The Absolute Defense of the Ring of Guardian is truly strong; it protected us at the most critical moment. Otherwise, under such a strong impact, we too might have been injured." Recalling the seemingly not-so-powerful white light, Ah Dai subconsciously glanced at the Ring of Guardian on Xuan Yue’s hand.
"Aha! They’re here," shouted Zong Yue. The members of the Skeleton Mercenary Group immediately gathered around. Amidst the ashes, the bodies of the four skeletons were found one by one. Ah Dai, holding onto Xuan Yue, leapt up and landed behind Zong Yue. The four skeletons looked incredibly wretched—though Ah Dai could still sense a faint spark of life within them, all four had sustained severe injuries and were in a pitiable state. The Blood Skull’s gray outfit was completely scorched, much of his golden hair gone, and even the remaining strands had turned black and stood up as if struck by lightning. The Wind Skeleton appeared similarly, and since the two had the strongest skills among the four, they had borne the brunt of the explosion to protect the Ice Skeleton and the Iron Skull. The Iron Skull was also in a sorry state, his Heavy Armor shattered in several places, his Helmet fallen aside revealing his resolute face, his hair, beard, and eyebrows all turned to a scorched black. The Ice Skeleton, the youngest and only female among them, had sustained the lightest injuries as most of the attack had been blocked by her brothers. Nonetheless, she had been knocked out by the aftershocks. Her Helmet had fallen off, her Silver Armor severely damaged, more than half of her golden hair scorched black, hanging over her face and concealing her features. Only the pale skin of her neck was visible, her body twitching slightly, seeming to endure endless pain even in unconsciousness.
