That smile was a far cry from her previous terror in the camp, and completely different from her ethereal, high-and-mighty posture from just moments ago.
The curve of her wide grin carried a sense of pure, reckless madness.
“Submit?” Her voice drifted down from midair, sharp and ear-piercing. “I would rather die!”
She raised both hands toward the sky, fingers splayed as if trying to embrace something invisible.
“Mother Goddess! I beg of you!”
As her words fell, a layer of emerald-green light surfaced around Roly.
The light welled up from within her, seeping out from every pore and every inch of her skin.
Her pale green skin became nearly transparent in the light, revealing the dense network of blood vessels beneath, where emerald-green light surged wildly.
Ethan swung his right hand down.
Hundreds of Seed Bombs shot out simultaneously.
The dark green seeds dragged trails of light behind them, shooting toward Roly from all directions.
The air was filled with sharp, whistling shrieks, the runic patterns on the seeds' surfaces flaring blindingly bright during their high-speed flight.
The Seed Bombs flew to a position two meters in front of Roly.
Then, they stopped.
Hundreds of Seed Bombs halted in midair at the same time, as if they had crashed into an invisible wall.
Dark green light flickered wildly on the seeds' surfaces, and their runic patterns continuously pulsed, yet they could no longer advance even half a fraction of an inch.
The layer of emerald-green light around Roly shuddered slightly.
All of the Seed Bombs vanished simultaneously.
There was no explosion, no wood spikes, and not a single sound.
Hundreds of Seed Bombs shattered into countless tiny specks of light at the exact same instant, drifting down from the sky like a silent green snowfall.
Ethan's pupils contracted slightly.
He did not have the habit of watching his opponents transform.
Mana surged wildly within his body as he raised both hands at the same time.
The ground exploded.
Wood pillars burst through the sandy soil, as dozens of dark brown wood pillars, each as thick as an adult's waist, thrust toward Roly from different angles.
Flying Leaves poured from his palms, with hundreds of emerald-green leaves blanketing Roly like a torrential rain.
Vines crawled out from the ground, the thick, dark brown vines weaving into a giant net that scooped toward Roly from below.
Thorn Pierces shot out from the cracks in the rubble of the ruins, their sharp, woody spikes sealing off the space above Roly's head.
The four-pronged attack arrived at the exact same instant.
Roly did not dodge.
She simply cast a downward glance.
The moment those wood pillars touched the emerald-green light, they stopped.
The thick wood trunks collapsed silently within the light, crumbling from their tips, their fragments turning to powder before they even hit the ground.
The Flying Leaves crashed into the light like snowflakes falling into a furnace, failing to stir even a single ripple.
The giant net woven from vines froze at the edge of the light, its dark brown woody fibers turning grayish-white at a visible rate before disintegrating.
The Thorn Pierces stopped three feet above Roly's head, their sharp tips melting in the light and turning into drops of emerald-green liquid that dripped from the sky.
Ethan continuously unleashed his attacks.
Giant Wood Spikes bombarded her in turns from different directions.
Seed Bombs condensed once more, with dozens thrown out simultaneously.
Thousand Leaf Daggers poured down like an unending storm.
However,
It was useless.
Every cantrip dissolved the moment it touched that layer of emerald-green light.
Wood pillars shattered, seeds vanished, Flying Leaves disintegrated, and vines withered.
That layer of light did not even ripple. It was like a pool of stagnant water; no matter how many stones were thrown in, there would be no reaction.
Roly hovered in the center of the light, her amber eyes staring at Ethan.
“Heh.” Her voice echoed from within the light, carrying a patronizing mockery. “The Mother Goddess has answered me.”
She raised her left hand, pointing her bone-white short staff at Ethan.
“Outsider, obediently become my slave.”
At the tip of the short staff, the emerald-green crystal lit up.
Countless beams of light, each as thick as a thumb, shot out from the crystal.
The beams were as thin as pens, entirely emerald-green, and so fast they left only afterimages.
The sheer number of beams was countless, pouring from the tip of the short staff like a bursting flood, surging toward Ethan.
Ethan's Combat Instinct screamed a warning immediately.
His body was already moving to evade, his toes stomping hard on the gravel as he shifted sideways to the left.
But the light was too fast.
So fast that just as his body reacted, the first wave of light had already struck him.
Dense ripples spread across the surface of his Wood Armor.
Emerald-green light fragments exploded at the points of impact, the force pushing Ethan's body backward.
His feet plowed two deep ruts into the gravel, piling the sand up to his knees.
The second wave of light struck immediately after.
Then came the third, fourth, and fifth waves.
The light poured continuously from Roly's short staff, with no sign of stopping.
Every beam that struck his Wood Armor exploded into a ball of emerald-green flame on the armor's surface.
The flames merged into a single sheet, swallowing Ethan entirely in the light of the explosions.
The Wood Armor creaked.
The runic patterns flickered wildly under the relentless barrage, and fine cracks began to appear on the armor's surface. The cracks spread from his chest to his shoulders, and from his shoulders to his arms.
The shield conjured by his Wood Shield stood before him, its surface covered in even more cracks, its edges already beginning to crumble as tiny wood fragments constantly fell from it.
Ethan's mana surged wildly.
As soon as cracks appeared, mana rushed to repair them, reweaving the wood fibers and relighting the runic patterns.
The speed of repair barely kept pace with the rate of destruction.
But only barely.
Ethan's feet were pushed backward continuously by the force of the impact.
He maintained a defensive posture, arms crossed before him, the Wood Shield blocking the very front.
The light slammed into the shield, the exploding flames obscuring his vision.
The sand beneath his feet had piled up to his shins, and the ground behind him was dragged into two long ruts.
Roly continued her barrage. Her short staff seemed to be connected to an endless source of energy, the density of the light showing no signs of diminishing.
Ethan raised his head, looking at Roly through the gaps at the edge of his Wood Shield.
She hovered in midair, enveloped in emerald-green light. Her amber eyes reflected the constantly shooting beams, and her lips still held that mocking curve.
The cracks on the Wood Shield spread once more. Mana rushed in, and the cracks healed again.
Only to crack once more.
And heal again.
Ethan stood there, withstanding the endless onslaught of light.
The Wood Armor creaked.
The Wood Shield creaked.
The sand beneath his feet slid backward continuously under the relentless impact.
Boom!
The light exploded on the surface of the Wood Armor.
Emerald-green flames swallowed Ethan's figure.
The shockwave blew away the gravel beneath his feet, kicking up a dark red curtain of dust in the surroundings.
Roly hovered in midair, her short staff pointing forward, the crystal at its tip continuously pouring out light.
The constantly exploding emerald-green flames were reflected in her eyes, her lips still holding that mocking curve.
Crack.
The Wood Shield shattered.
Fragments splattered in all directions, spinning in the air and reflecting the emerald-green light.
Without the shield's protection, the light struck Ethan's chest directly.
The cracks on the surface of the Wood Armor abruptly widened, spreading from his chest to his shoulders, and from his shoulders to his arms.
Then, the Wood Armor shattered as well.
Ethan's body was exposed to the light.
Under the searing emerald-green light, his skin blackened and disintegrated at a visible rate.
His flesh was stripped away layer by layer, and his bones fractured in the intense heat.
Boom!
His body exploded.
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