Fierce Battle

As Lin Luo finished channeling his magic, countless purple meteors appeared in the sky once more.

One after another, they came crashing down.

Lin Luo's target was not Rennala, but this group of malformed creatures. The meteors only sent faint ripples across Rennala's golden shield, unable to harm her at all.

The malformed creatures nearby, however, suffered considerable casualties with every meteor that fell among them.

Yet these creatures did not let out a single scream. They merely laughed to themselves, drawing upon their scant magic to control books and hurl them at Lin Luo.

Lin Luo could not even be bothered to dodge such negligible damage. He simply waved a hand and knocked the attacks aside, continuing to channel Meteorite of Astel.

The meteors howled through the air, seeming ready to destroy everything around them.

Shattering, reforming—the meteors destroyed everything they could in the surrounding area.

Before long, the malformed creatures had nearly all been wiped out...

Bang!

A crisp cracking sound rang out from above.

It was the sound of Rennala's shield breaking... With the deaths of the malformed children below, it seemed Rennala's shield could no longer be sustained.

A dazed look filled Rennala's eyes as she fell from the air and collapsed onto the ground.

Ahem. Nothing inappropriate happened here.

Lin Luo put away his staff and drew his blade instead.

"Forgive the offense."

Lin Luo spoke calmly as the red katana danced in his hand.

Two clean, decisive slashes landed squarely on Rennala.

"Mm..."

Rennala let out a muffled groan, and the intense pain gradually cleared her mind.

"Tarnished?..."

Rennala had just been about to say something when her consciousness began to blur again.

Golden light rose from her body once more. A golden shield tried to reform... and her body began to float upward.

Yet Lin Luo made no move this time. He merely watched Rennala silently.

When Rennala had only risen halfway, the shield suddenly shattered. She fell from midair at once, and the abrupt impact left her no time to hold onto the amber in her arms.

The golden oval amber fell to the ground, rolling twice before stopping at Lin Luo's feet.

Lin Luo glanced at the amber by his feet and discovered that it was flashing with an eerie light...

Golden specks covered its surface, giving off an unusual radiance.

At that moment, Rennala, lying on the ground, spoke with a faint sob in her voice...

She slowly crawled toward the amber, her eyes filled with tenderness and love.

"Ah... my beloved children..."

"Wait for me. I'll hold you again soon..."

Rennala struggled to inch herself across the ground.

"You will... forever, forever be born..."

At that moment, black mist began to churn within the amber... The strange fog gradually blanketed the entire library...

Through the black mist, Lin Luo vaguely saw Rennala slowly rise to her feet.

Lin Luo heard that long-awaited voice...

A cool, melodious voice came from within the black mist:

"I hereby declare, in the name of the witch Ranni:"

A crystalline figure emerged from the amber, standing in stark contrast to the darkness beside it.

"Do not disturb Mother's slumber, deep as mud."

"Sinner... let it be sung of for generations to come:"

Rennala—no, more accurately, Ranni—slowly walked toward Lin Luo.

Her bare feet sent ripples across the darkness-filled academy, as though she were strolling upon water...

"The last queen of Carian—"

"Full Moon Queen Rennala, the very incarnation of the elegant night..."

Only then did the full scene reveal itself before Lin Luo...

The darkness of the academy had vanished. Before him was a bright, radiant moon, and the surroundings gradually lit up as well.

It was a lake with no visible end.

Clear moonlight spilled across its surface, casting a gentle glow.

Beneath this full moon, the battle began.

This time, the enemy was not Rennala, but... Ranni.

This was practically his wife logging in to fight for him...

But Ranni did not know the Tarnished before her now...

Besides, this Ranni was nothing more than a combat consciousness.

Even if Starscourage Radahn came, Ranni would not recognize him in her current state.

Lin Luo looked at Rennala. The once obsessive look in her eyes was gone, replaced by resolve.

Lin Luo's expression turned solemn.

He understood what this meant. Since that was the case, battle was the only choice.

Rennala stood at the center of the water, holding the Carian Regal Scepter. Beneath her cool, elegant face, she softly chanted magic as though counting Lin Luo's sins.

Suddenly, Rennala moved.

She raised the Carian Regal Scepter in her hand and aimed it at Lin Luo.

Countless white glintstone crystals turned into stars filling the sky and flew toward Lin Luo.

Ancient Darkness!

Against supreme sorcerers like the Full Moon Queen and Ranni, Ancient Darkness was undoubtedly the best choice.

Ancient Darkness drew in all surrounding magic.

Lin Luo dodged the incoming glintstone, swung his staff, and a profound black sphere emerged. The magical crystals that followed were absorbed one by one.

Lin Luo tucked his staff back at his waist and used Bloodhound Step to close in on Rennala. Drawing his long blade, he slashed upward.

However, Rennala's current state was not as simple as it appeared.

Almost at the instant Lin Luo's blade was about to touch Rennala.

Her body curled up and floated in midair. Her flesh turned illusory, and her entire figure transformed into a moon.

Lin Luo could clearly feel that his slash had missed.

Perhaps because he had put too much force into the swing, Lin Luo had not expected Rennala to evade it. The missed strike threw him off balance for a moment.

Unlike the drawn-out battle in the loop, Rennala's full moon was unleashed almost instantly.

The bright moon, carrying unstoppable magic, flew toward Lin Luo.

Lin Luo, having lost his balance, had no time to react. On top of that, he was less than two feet away from Rennala.

He knew he probably could not dodge this one.

He was merely paying for his carelessness. Lin Luo forcibly steadied himself, and just as the full moon was about to hit his face, he pulled out a simple shield.

"Can't dodge? Then I'll take it head-on!"

Lin Luo snorted coldly and swung the shield fiercely.

Force Field of Topos!

A faint blue glow flickered across the shield—the light released by an utterly ordinary man...

Rennala's full moon exploded against Lin Luo's shield.

Force Field of Topos completely blocked even the aftermath of the explosion!

And Lin Luo used the blast's impact to widen the distance between himself and Rennala.

If Ranni herself had been here, she would certainly have been astonished. She would never have expected anyone to withstand the Dark Moon head-on without suffering a scratch.

Unfortunately, she would never see this scene.

Rennala showed no expression as she raised her staff once again and cast another spell.

This combat consciousness operated on the simplest of principles.

If one powerful spell could not destroy you, then use an even stronger one!

Blue-green light began gathering around the Carian Regal Scepter, and an overwhelmingly powerful force began to converge...

Lin Luo sensed a hint of danger...

It was a familiar spell, beautiful and powerful.

"Comet... Azar."