The Absolute swiftly moved through the army of Hunters, setting up formations.
He knew that John had powerful subordinates adept in formations, so this time, he deployed two formations.
The Great Formation of the Surrounding Star and the Myriad Slaughter Formation.
Both of these were deadly offensive formations; even if one of John’s subordinates managed to break one of them, they would certainly be obliterated by the other.
…
On top of the city walls, the defenders looked exhausted, while waves of Hunters continued to swarm relentlessly.
The true monster tide assault had not yet arrived, so they couldn’t afford a moment’s rest. Buzz!
At that moment, spatial power fluctuated, and Ice Talker appeared, her face filled with fatigue.
She hadn’t rested for the entire night, and relying on her World-in-Hand ability, she had slaughtered over twenty million Hunters. She refused to believe that Sini had surpassed her.
“How did that young girl do?” she asked, finding the Emperor of the Underworld, who was battling Hunters atop the city walls.
“Sigh,” the Emperor of the Underworld sighed helplessly and replied, “My lady, I think you’d better find an excuse. That young girl managed to kill more than thirty million Hunters in a single night.”
“Impossible!” Ice Talker couldn’t believe it. Even with her World-in-Hand, essentially cheating, she had only managed to kill over twenty million Hunters.
Sini was only at the demigod level; even with her mastery of the Power of the Nine Nether, it seemed impossible for her to kill that many Hunters.
The Emperor of the Underworld didn’t believe it either, but the facts spoke for themselves. “My lady, that young girl is… strange. Over the course of this night, her strength has grown significantly.”
“Fine, a loss is a loss. I’m not one to avoid admitting defeat.” Ice Talker was unwilling to lose, but she had no intention of backing out of the wager.
At that moment, Sini approached.
She looked a bit worn out, but her eyes sparkled with excitement. She looked at Ice Talker triumphantly and asked, “Do you have anything to say?”
“I’ve realized that you and that Godslayer are both monsters,” she complained, then broke into a smile and said, “I admit defeat. From now on, you’re my big sister!”
“Good girl!” Sini’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she gave Ice Talker a hearty pat on the shoulder, laughing boldly. “From now on, big sis has got your back!”
“I’ll hold you to that, big sister!” Ice Talker replied with a smile. This little girl was exactly to her liking.
Just then, John walked over, casting a glance at Sini, this young girl who never held anything back.
However, he chose not to interfere with the matters between the two women.
Turning to Ice Talker, he asked, “The monster tide assault is about to begin. Do you have any plans?”
The relentless waves of Hunters had already pushed everyone to their limits; if they had no aces up their sleeves, the natural stronghold Ice Talker had established might not survive.
She leaned tiredly against the city wall and replied with resignation, “I underestimated the power of the Shadow Clan. Let’s just resist as best we can. If we can’t hold out, then there’s nothing more we can do.”
Though she said this, there was a flicker of determination in her eyes.
Building this stronghold was only the first step in her larger plan. If it failed, she’d simply have to find another way.
John looked at her and the other Terran, then asked with curiosity, “Are there really only two Overseers in the Nature Clan?”
All the other Lord Gods had recruited several Overseers. With Nature God’s level of strength, it was impossible that they had only two Overseers.
Ice Talker explained, “The others have missions that require them to remain hidden for now.” John frowned slightly but, seeing that she didn’t want to elaborate, chose not to press further. [System Announcement: The monster tide assault will commence in five minutes. Resist the monster tide for 24 hours to establish the stronghold.]
…
At that moment, three system notifications rang out. The Hunters’ attacks gradually subsided, and they slowly pulled back, surrounding the city walls in tight formation, awaiting the start of the monster tide.
Moreover, amidst the army of Hunters, numerous brood mothers began to appear.
Not only did the defenders fail to feel any relief, but they grew even more tense.
The real challenge was about to begin.
Ice Talker’s expression grew grim as she watched the Hunters gathering endlessly in the distance, forming a vast, shadowy sea.
If they wanted to establish a foothold on Shadow Star, they would likely have to annihilate every last one of these Hunters.
She flew up, surveying the soldiers on the city wall, all of whom looked exhausted, pushed nearly to their breaking point.
She raised her voice and announced, “The monster tide assault is about to begin. Everyone, do your best, but prioritize your own safety above all. If you can’t hold on, reach out to me, Terran, or Godslayer, and retreat into World-in-Hand. We’ve already largely achieved our objective with this battle.”
John frowned deeply. Ice Talker’s words went against the usual pre-battle mentality.
Knowing they had an escape route, people might not fight with their full effort.
But it seemed Ice Talker’s goal wasn’t really to defend this stronghold, so he didn’t bother questioning her.
Roar! Roar!
Just then, furious roars filled the air as the monster tide assault began, with countless Hunters surging forward like a tidal wave.
Before the defenders could even catch their breath, they were forced to join the fray once
again.
Roar!
Suddenly, a wave of sonic energy swept through, accompanied by a terrifying soul attack that
spread over the entire stronghold.
It was the hunters’ brood mothers.
Everyone’s expressions shifted to pain as they braced themselves against the onslaught. Upper-tier gods could barely withstand the soul attack from the hunters’ brood mothers. But many of the powerful warriors John had brought were simply overwhelmed. “Godslayer, pull your people into World-in-Hand,” Ice Talker found him and said urgently. This stronghold couldn’t be defended, so there was no need for unnecessary casualties. John nodded and immediately ordered the elves, members of the Blues Family, the humans from Skyline Continent, and the Beast Clan warriors to enter World-in-Hand. “John, I’m staying,” Sini insisted stubbornly. Though she was only partially trained, she had refined a substantial amount of Soul Essence, and her Soul Technique level had reached over five hundred thousand, enough to withstand the hunters’ brood mothers’ soul attacks.
“Old man, I’m staying too. This kind of Soul Technique attack won’t affect me,” Tracy added quickly.
“Oh? Are you certain?” John asked, surprised. It didn’t shock him that Sini could withstand the soul attacks.
But that Tracy could also resist the brood mothers’ soul attacks was unexpected.
It seemed that this young girl had also had some fortuitous encounters while comprehending The Immortals’ legacy.
“John!” At that moment, Peter rushed over, fighting off the soul-piercing pain as he spoke gravely, “I sense formation energy fluctuations. Someone is setting up a formation.”
“A formation?” John’s brow furrowed, recalling the last time he was trapped in the Spirit Stone mines. He immediately activated his mental perception.
“There!” Ice Talker was the first to lock onto a Shadow Clan elite hidden within the Hunters’ army and immediately launched an attack.
If the Shadow Clan were allowed to complete their formation, everyone’s situation would become even more dangerous.
“Sir, return to World-in-Hand for now.” John acted swiftly, pulling Peter into World-in- Hand. Then he instructed Cand-Dragon to protect Sini and Tracy, and hurried to follow Ice Talker, charging toward the Shadow Clan elites within the Hunters’ army.
“Heaven and Earth Transformation!” he shouted, and a fierce wind roared around him as he transformed into a towering giant, a colossus radiating overwhelming power.
Buzz!
Sword energy hummed as John wielded three divine weapons, mercilessly slaughtering the Hunters that surged toward him while charging rapidly at the Shadow Clan soldiers. “What is this monster?” A Shadow Clan soldier, staring at the giant form of John, felt a chill
run through him.
“Quick, stop them!” shouted the village elder Kangus, his reaction swift. Two blood-red
scimitars appeared in his hands as he fixed his gaze on John.
Whoosh!
Several streaks of blood-red light slashed toward him.
John’s gaze was icy and unafraid as he swung his longsword, sending fierce, cutting sword
energy directly into the path of the blood-red slashes.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion followed as their strikes collided with equal force.
John frowned slightly. This old man’s abilities were strange, bearing some of the
characteristics of an Overseer.
“Godslayer!” Nearby, Ice Talker had been intercepted by two Shadow Clan city lords and
called out in warning, “They’ve received the Shadow Lord God’s blessing and possess part of Shadow Star’s Power of Laws. Don’t bring them into World-in-Hand!”
John’s brow creased in confusion. Could these beings actually destroy an Overseer’s World-
in-Hand? “Human, you’re the one who escaped from my starter village. Today, I’ll make sure to capture you!” Kangus snarled, sending waves of blood-red energy slashing toward him.
“Ha! This move again?” John scoffed, effortlessly cutting through the red energy with his
longsword.
Now that he had refined the Feather Race’s treasure and cultivated the Crape Myrtle Mind Technique, he was completely unafraid of the Shadow Clan’s eerie abilities.
“My powers go far beyond this!” Kangus sneered, showing no trace of fear as his form
suddenly dissolved into an endless blood mist that spread out, enveloping John’s massive
body.
Soul attack!
John felt a stabbing pain deep in his soul and immediately unleashed the Golden Lotus Hellfire, surrounding himself with the purifying flames.
“Aaargh…” A wretched scream echoed from within the blood mist as it roiled and twisted.
The Golden Lotus Hellfire was relentless against any form of soul defense or Soul Technique
-this old man was completely unable to withstand it.
The blood mist recoalesced, returning Kangus to his original form, but the Golden Lotus Hellfire continued to engulf him.
“Damn it, get off me!” he cursed, struggling frantically to shake off the flames, but it was
impossible.
The Golden Lotus Hellfire clung to him like a shadow. Similar to the Undying Flame, it only took a small trace to burn and purify the soul endlessly.
“So, old man, is this all you’ve got?” John taunted, watching Kangus writhe in agony.
“Human, I’ll see you dead!” Kangus snarled, his face twisted in pain as he roared through
gritted teeth.
Then, a fluctuation of spatial power occurred, and a hunters’ brood mother appeared, marked with golden patterns across its back.
This hunters’ brood mother seemed far stronger than ordinary ones. Additionally, this creature didn’t appear to be bonded with Kangus through a soul contract, or it would be suffering from the soul damage as well.
“Roar!” The golden hunters’ brood mother let out a furious bellow, opened its gaping jaws,
and devoured the Golden Lotus Hellfire-only to immediately collapse and die on the spot. John looked on, astonished. This hunters’ brood mother had sacrificed itself to save Kangus.