At the same time, outside the cave that had been crushed by boulders, the massive pile of rocks seemed to be affected by a mysterious force, shattering into fine gravel that scattered across the ground.
A strange figure slowly rose from the gravel. Had Starlight and the others still been nearby, they would have surely recognized him as the leader in the black and red robe.
He was currently at the center of the steadily shrinking black zone. As his body trembled, the high-concentration dark elements flooded into him like a surging tide.
At this moment, he was a completely different person compared to a few minutes ago. The mask painted with eerie symbols had fallen off at some point.
The face he revealed could only be described as utterly hideous, as if it had completely transcended human features to resemble a legendary evil ghost.
A massive black shadow emerged behind him, radiating a terrifying aura of dark elements.
The mysterious man's body hung limply in mid-air like a manipulated marionette, moving only when the shadow behind him made a motion.
“Damned ants, to think they made me fail at the final step. This body... it is far too weak!”
An annoyed voice emanated from the black shadow floating in the air, echoing over the camp that had been turned into a white wasteland.
He slowly turned his body toward the direction where Starlight and Po Kong had retreated. After letting out a massive roar, he extended both hands forward.
Suddenly, the previously calm air began to boil again. A terrifying amount of dark magic swirled and condensed in front of him, forming a pitch-black sphere the size of a man.
“Hmph, is this really all I can manage now? Still, it should be enough to deal with those two ants. I hope the other locations don't disappoint me...”
After releasing the black sphere, the shadow behind the mysterious man seemed to thin considerably. He gave a disgruntled huff before turning into a black mist and vanishing into the air.
The black sphere hesitated in the air for a brief moment before shooting toward the forest below like a cannonball, targeting the two who had already fled several hundred meters away.
As they fled desperately through the woods, the roar from behind reached their ears, and a sense of impending doom suddenly welled up in their hearts.
Just then, Noah, who had been maintaining his vigilance, shouted loudly at them, “Stop running! Use that shield from before, facing backward!”
Starlight whipped his head around at the words and saw a black sphere flying toward him at an incredible speed. The trees it touched along the way withered instantly, turning a deathly grey.
At first glance, he knew their presences were completely locked on. There was no way to dodge it; their only chance at survival was to block it.
The terrifying aura radiating from the black sphere made his hair stand on end. He skidded to a halt, condensing ten layers of shields in front of them. A second later, the black sphere slammed into the first layer.
The shield, which had once easily blocked the combined dark magic attacks of several people, was as fragile as a cracker against the black sphere.
The first shield lasted less than half a second before shattering in mid-air, followed immediately by the second and third.
Seeing his shields being reduced to nothing one after another while the black sphere only shrank slightly without losing any speed, Starlight was forced to continue defending while retreating.
The massive gap in their levels was fully displayed at this moment. The problem before them was that even if Starlight used every drop of mana in his body, it would be difficult to bridge the divide.
As he fell into a predicament, Po Kong gritted his teeth and turned around, shouting loudly, “Layer some shields on my shield! I’ll give it a try!”
He swung the silver sword in his right hand, and it quickly transformed into a streak of silver light that merged into the shield in his left hand.
The deep grey shield was instantly rimmed with silver, expanding from its original size of a few dozen centimeters into a tower shield large enough to completely cover Po Kong’s massive frame.
Po Kong frantically channeled his battle qi, condensing it in front of him. His originally pale yellow battle qi now seemed to take on a different hue, becoming exceptionally dazzling.
Starlight understood immediately. With a wave of his hand, he attached several layers of barriers to the surface of the shield.
Seeing the shield surface swirling with three-colored light—black, yellow, and silver—Po Kong took a massive step forward, bracing himself just before the barriers shattered.
Most magical collisions are silent processes, but a crisp, thunderous bang erupted when Po Kong’s shield slammed into the black sphere.
The explosion was followed by a massive shockwave that rippled through the forest like water from the point of impact. Trees within a radius of dozens of meters fell like wheat before a scythe under the force.
Though Po Kong’s veins were bulging and his face was flushed red, he had actually managed to hold back the unstoppable black sphere with his shield.
However, this stalemate did not last long. Po Kong was soon pushed backward by the black sphere, plowing a long furrow into the ground.
Starlight wanted to step forward and share the pressure, but the battle qi radiating from Po Kong acted like an invisible wall of air, cutting everyone else off. He couldn't even get close, let alone help.
“Think of something! I can’t hold on much longer!” Po Kong managed to squeeze the words out through his teeth. Starlight could even hear the creaking of his bones.
Starlight was also sweating profusely with anxiety. Unlike the ordinary magic used by those black-robed figures, this spell formed from ultra-high-concentration dark elements was something even he couldn't analyze in a short time, making a counter-measure impossible.
The two had used almost all their strength just to hold the black sphere for ten seconds. Yet, less than half of the sphere's energy had been worn away, and its shape was becoming increasingly unstable.
Starlight was almost certain that if the black sphere exploded in front of them, everything within a hundred meters would be reduced to ash.
“Starlight, stay calm. Think about it from another angle. If you can’t face it head-on, can you change its trajectory?” Noah calmly offered his insight as he watched the anxious Starlight.
“Change the trajectory? Without an equal mass of elements to oppose it, how... wait! This spell is made of massive amounts of compressed elements. If I can make it lose stability... Po Kong! Squat down and tilt the shield!”
A flash of inspiration struck Starlight’s mind after Noah’s reminder. He shouted urgently to Po Kong while his hands rapidly condensed light elements.
Soon, a sharp light spear formed under his control. The pure white spear bypassed the two and quickly moved behind the black sphere.
Under the immense pressure from the shield, Po Kong took the opportunity to drop to one knee, using his entire shoulder to prop the tower shield at an angle against the ground.
“Will this work? Hurry! Or it’s going to explode!” Po Kong shouted anxiously.
“Dammit, no time to hesitate! I have to take a gamble!” Starlight’s gaze sharpened as he commanded the distant light spear. The white spear shot toward the black sphere like a meteor.
Although the light elements Starlight condensed still couldn't completely neutralize the dark energy in the black sphere, a reaction occurred between the two diametrically opposed forces after some of the dark elements were consumed.
The black sphere, which had already begun to deform, started shaking violently the moment the light elements touched it, like a stone being dropped into a still lake.
In an instant, the light spear shattered into basic particles and vanished. Meanwhile, that side of the black sphere could no longer maintain its shape; massive amounts of dark elements poured out like air from a punctured balloon.
Driven by this force, the black sphere immediately broke contact with the shield and flew off along the inclined plane, eventually landing in the distant forest.
Po Kong collapsed from exhaustion. Seeing this, Starlight lunged to push him down, wrapping their bodies tightly in several layers of shields.
A second later, the black sphere that had landed in the forest completely detonated. Raging dark elements spread rapidly like waves of black tide. Even from a hundred meters away, the two could feel its heart-pounding power.
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