Their power was overwhelming, even from a distance. Both of them stood at the entrance to the command center, their bodies emanating such intense heat that the air around them shimmered. These two were from a secret unit within the Endless Sun Sect.
Gaelin, with his seven-ringed halo glowing bright as if the very sun was resting above his head, locked eyes with Lassim.
Carlyle, eight rings spinning silently above his head, was the more unnerving of the two, his cold, calculating gaze fixed on Lassim as if sizing up prey.
"You’ve gone too far, Lightning Sect dog," Gaelin growled, his voice carrying across the battlefield with a heat that rose the room several degrees. "This may be a sect war, but killing our city’s leader that we so painstakingly installed and raised through the merchant associations was one mistake. Thinking you’ll survive this is another."
Lassim’s heart pounded in his chest as he contemplated the new arrivals, a change of plans was needed.
"[We can’t fight them here]," Lassim thought quickly. "[If we do, the city’s going to be wiped off the map and we still need the city for the sect.]"
Tristan and Eveline quickly appeared beside him from their previous positions, their expressions serious as they assessed the situation, ready to support each other. The tension in the air was palpable.
"We need to lead them away," Lassim said, his voice barely audible as his mind raced. "If we fight here, Amberlight won’t survive."
"Understood," Tristan replied, his eyes narrowing as he glanced toward the two approaching elites. "I’ll cover you as you lead them out."
Eveline’s hands glowed with lightning runes. "I’ll disrupt them as best I can. Just keep them focused on you."
Lassim nodded, and with a quick burst of lightning-infused speed, he launched himself into the sky, his halberd spinning in a defensive arc as he shot higher into the air. His peak activation of his cultivation began to cover the sky with a thick storm cloud that began to rain on everything in a 2 kilometer area. Thick snakes of lightning traveled through the cloud, ready to be used.
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Gaelin and Carlyle wasted no time, chasing after him with terrifying speed.
"You’re not escaping us!" Gaelin roared, the ground beneath him shattering as he leapt after Lassim.
His entire body was wreathed in an aura of burning day-elemental energy. As he ascended, the sky around him began to glow with an unnatural light. He raised both hands, summoning a massive sphere of white-hot energy above him. The sun itself seemed to dim in comparison to the radiance emanating from Gaelin’s technique.
"[Solar Scourge]!" Gaelin bellowed, hurling the massive ball of sunfire toward Lassim.
Lassim’s eyes widened as the scorching ball of energy hurtled toward him. The intense heat was unbearable, even from a distance, and it was approaching far too fast. But Lassim wasn’t about to let himself get fried.
With a grunt of effort, Lassim activated [Grand Aegis], the icy dragon soul roaring to life around him. The dragon’s azure scales shimmered with frost, and as the [Solar Scourge] drew closer, Lassim [Thrust] his halberd forward, shooting forward a lightning bolt before channeling a combination of water and lightning mana into the blade immediately after.
"[Hydroburst]!" Lassim swung his halberd, releasing a torrent of pressurized water and lightning to meet the oncoming sunfire.
The two forces collided with a deafening explosion, sending shockwaves through the sky. The impact was so powerful that the nearby clouds were vaporized, and the very air seemed to ripple from the force. Thankfully, Lassim’s natural cultivation caused the storm cloud to reform, but it was still gone from existence for a brief moment.
Below, the city trembled, buildings shaking as the remnants of the shockwave reached the ground.
Gaelin grinned savagely, seemingly unfazed by the destruction. "Impressive, but I’m just getting started."
Meanwhile, Carlyle, his face a mask of cold focus, circled around Lassim, taking advantage of the chaos. His spear, now glowing with a radiant white light, moved like a serpent through the air, leaving trails of searing heat in its wake.
"[Sunpiercer]!" Carlyle intoned, thrusting his spear with deadly precision. The spear extended unnaturally, a beam of concentrated light shooting forward, aimed directly at Lassim’s chest.
Tristan intervened at the last second, a bolt of lightning intercepting the beam and disrupting its trajectory. "[Stormfang Barrage]!" he shouted, his hands crackling with power as he unleashed a storm of lightning strikes, each bolt targeting Carlyle from multiple angles.
Carlyle dodged with remarkable speed, his movements fluid as he weaved through the barrage.
But Tristan wasn’t finished. With a swift motion, he clasped his hands together, and the scattered bolts of lightning converged into a single, massive strike, crashing down on Carlyle’s position.
Carlyle deflected the strike with a swift spin of his spear, but the sheer force of the attack sent him skidding backward in the air. His eight-ringed halo flickered, showing the strain.
Gaelin, seeing his comrade under pressure, turned his attention to Tristan, his eyes narrowing in anger. "You dare interfere?" He extended his arms, and the air around him began to heat up again. "I’ll burn you both to ash. [Solar Wrath]!"
The sky around Gaelin exploded with blinding light as multiple beams of sunfire shot out in every direction. Each beam was a concentrated blast of pure day-elemental energy, powerful enough to melt stone and incinerate anything in its path.
Eveline was already prepared as they approached her teammates.
Her disruption techniques flared to life, violet runes swirling around her as she weaved through the air, intercepting Gaelin’s beams. "[Lightning Shatter]!" she called, and the beams of sunfire fizzled out as they collided with her runes, their power destabilized and rendered harmless.
"You’ll have to do better than that Mr. Ray of Sunshine!" Eveline shouted, sending a pulse of lightning-infused disruption toward Gaelin. The energy rippled through the air, targeting his aura and causing his sunfire to flicker unsteadily.
Gaelin grunted in frustration, but before he could retaliate, Lassim charged in, his halberd crackling with water and lightning mana and his constellation gleaming with its azure light above his head, following him through the battle like a war flag.
"Your fight is with me!" Lassim roared, swinging his halberd with all his might.
The blow landed with devastating force, the combination of water and lightning mana tearing through Gaelin’s defenses.
The seven-ringed Spirit Transcendent was sent flying back, blood spraying from his mouth as he struggled to regain his footing in the air.
Carlyle, seeing his comrade wounded, lunged at Lassim with renewed ferocity. His spear blazed with a radiant light, each thrust more precise and deadly than the last.
Lassim barely managed to keep up, deflecting the strikes with a combination of halberd parries and ice infused [Aegis] shields, but Carlyle’s relentless attacks were pushing him to the limit.
"[He’s too fast. I can’t hold out much longer]," Lassim thought, his breathing ragged. He could feel his energy reserves depleting incredibly quickly, the constant use of high-level techniques wearing him down.
Lassim was currently still a newly advanced Spirit Ascension stage cultivator. Sure, every base he destroyed so far had caused his cultivation to deepen and grow as the Leviathan’s curse had absorbed the chaotic life energy that existed after he slaughtered hundreds of disciples and leaders so far in the last few weeks.
However, he had just barely advanced to Spirit Ascension level 2 at this point. This was a Spirit Transcendent 7 and 8 he was fighting against. The cultivation gap he was stretching himself to cover was remarkable and truly showed his talent and existence as a champion of the gods. Yet, this just meant his mana expenditure and natural physique were making it difficult for him to surmount.
But, thankfully, Tristan and Eveline were still in the fight.
Tristan, hovering a short distance away, raised both hands, urging his powers to take control over the massive storm cloud that had risen above Lassim’s head at the beginning of the fight.
"[Tempest’s Fury]!" he shouted, and the cloud crackled with violent energy before unleashing a torrent of lightning bolts that rained down on Carlyle.
Carlyle’s eyes widened as the storm descended on him.
He raised his spear, trying to deflect the bolts, but there were too many. The lightning strikes slammed into him one after another, each bolt sending waves of electricity coursing through his body.
Eveline, taking advantage of the opening, activated her final disruption technique. "[Thunderclap Shatter]!" she cried, sending a wave of violet energy toward Carlyle. The energy struck his eight-ringed halo, causing it to flicker and destabilize. His movements slowed, his aura wavering as Eveline’s disruption worked its way through his defenses.
Seeing Carlyle stagger, Lassim summoned the last of his strength. With a roar, he charged forward, his halberd glowing with the deadly power of [Hydroburst].
"Let’s end this!" Lassim shouted, swinging his halberd with all his might.
The blade of the halberd crackled with the plasmafied water and lightning mana as it connected with Carlyle’s chest. The impact was cataclysmic.
A massive explosion of water and lightning erupted from the point of contact, sending shockwaves rippling through the air. Carlyle let out a final, agonized cry as his defenses shattered, and his body was flung toward the ground below, smoke trailing from his scorched form.
Gaelin, his aura flickering weakly, watched in horror as Carlyle fell. "No… this isn’t how it’s supposed to end!" he roared, his body trembling with rage.
But before he could act, Lassim turned his attention to him, his halberd still glowing with residual energy from the final blow to Carlyle.
"Your turn," Lassim’s voice was cold, his eyes locked on Gaelin, who now hovered unsteadily in the sky.