Ambushed

Fukaloss's chains danced like serpents, stretching along the black hook in an attempt to ensnare the attacker's true body. The dark-element Godlevel was decisive, immediately abandoning his Divine Artifact and transforming into a wisp of intangible shadow that vanished in an instant.

Fukaloss casually put away the dark-element Divine Artifact, but before she could turn around, a fierce blue streak of light shot through the air from afar and reached her in the blink of an eye.

Her chains swept around again to block it. A thunderous clang rang out, and the shockwave from the clash of Divine Power burst in every direction.

Only then did Barn get a clear look at the newcomer—a man wielding a blood-red spear, his entire body wrapped in a blue storm.

Two Godlevels had ambushed them!

Clearly, the enemy's dark-element Godlevel had been lying in wait to launch a surprise attack, while the Bluefire Godlevel had deliberately arrived late to avoid revealing himself too soon, forming a perfect pincer attack.

But Barn and the others had no time to pay attention to the battle between the Godlevels.

Seven powerful Sanctuary auras locked onto them at once and quickly closed in.

Four Undead Black Knights and three Sanctuary Beasts—clearly the direct subordinates of the two enemy Godlevels.

Blair narrowed his vertical eye, his voice icy. "Careful. There's most likely an Undead Holy Magus hiding nearby, too."

The eyes of the four Undead Black Knights before them were lively, and their intelligence far surpassed that of the dull undead summoned by necromancers. It was said that Evil Royal City forcibly transformed any living beings who joined its forces into undead.

As a result, aside from those who were already necromancers or magical beasts with special talents, most of Evil Royal City's Sanctuary-level members were undead.

Of course, this had its advantages. Undead no longer had to worry about hunger. Although they still needed to plunder souls to sustain themselves, their consumption was far lower than that of flesh-and-blood beings.

However, most members of Evil Royal City regained their flesh-and-blood bodies after breaking through to Godlevel.

Declan's voice rang directly in Barn's mind. "If things turn bad, we retreat immediately."

Barn didn't respond. The enemy was already upon them.

Gideon the Earth Violent Bear charged at the forefront, surrounded by the earth-yellow glow of Earth Pulse. With the newly acquired Defensive Divine Artifact bolstering him, he was practically a moving fortress. Ignoring the enemy's probing attacks, he plowed straight ahead. In a single exchange, he tore apart one Sanctuary Black Knight and sent another flying with a heavy blow from his claws.

His overwhelming strength made the remaining enemies falter for an instant.

In that brief moment of distraction, Julia had already drawn her bow and nocked an arrow. Wrapped in purple-gold lightning, it ripped through the air. Barn was only a fraction slower than the arrow, charging right behind it with his spear in hand, transformed into a streak of white light.

"Water Pool Spell!"

From within the enemy ranks, an Ice Frost Dragon spoke in human language and abruptly cast a water-element control spell.

An invisible force of water spread out, and the surrounding space seemed to turn into a muddy swamp. Everyone's movements slowed abruptly.

Water Pool Spell was a low-level spell, but even at the Sanctuary level, it remained an extremely useful opening control spell.

Julia's lightning arrow slowed sharply. A Black Knight wielding a sword seized the opportunity to slash at it. But the arrow's violent lightning-element magic erupted instantly, arcs of electricity wrapping around him and leaving him paralyzed and unable to move.

After spending so much time together, the group had grown familiar with one another. Blair had also openly shared her background: her father was a Thunder Dragon who had reached Godlevel, and her mother was human. She had inherited her father's dragon bloodline and cultivated both magic and martial arts, but unlike a Dragon Blood Warrior, she didn't need Bloodline Awakening. Her understanding of the Lightning Element's profound mysteries had already reached a considerable level.

On the other side, Barn was also caught within the Water Pool Spell, but a brilliant platinum glow suddenly surged around him.

Town Evil Gale!

The violent gale instantly dispersed the surrounding water-element magic. His speed didn't diminish—instead, it increased.

Under the horrified gaze of the human Sword Saint paralyzed by lightning, Barn's spear pierced straight through his chest.

One exchange!

Of the four human Sanctuary-level warriors transformed into Undead Black Knights, two were dead and one was gravely wounded!

The three Sanctuary Beasts remaining on either side saw what had happened and hesitated to approach.

At that moment, three strange emerald-green rays shot out from a pile of rubble behind them, targeting the group's vital points.

It was the Undead Holy Magus's level-nine spell—Wither Ray!

Barn narrowly dodged it with his extreme speed. Blair had been prepared and moved directly in front of Julia. Gideon, however, couldn't evade in time and took the blow head-on.

"Roar—!"

Gideon let out a pained howl. His soul had clearly suffered a heavy blow. Fortunately, both his body and soul had already reached the Sanctuary's limits. He lost the ability to fight for the moment, but his life wasn't in danger.

Blair, on the other hand, was completely unharmed after being hit by Wither Ray. Instead, his vertical eye fired a blue soul ray that struck the human Sanctuary-level warrior Gideon had wounded, who was trying to escape. Ice instantly covered the man's body, freezing him solid into a statue.

Every member Fukaloss had selected for her team was an outstanding Sanctuary-level warrior.

Even Gideon admitted that Barn's speed was the fastest he had ever seen among those at the Sanctuary level.

Gideon himself had a body only marginally weaker than a Sanctuary-level Dragon Blood Warrior. His Earth Pulse had reached the threshold of Godlevel, giving him powerful offense and defense. His soul was at the peak of the Sanctuary level, making him even stronger than Linley had been before entering Necropolis of the Gods in the original story.

Julia's arrows, when undisturbed, moved at a speed comparable to Dimension Blade. Their destructive power was slightly lower, but they made up for it with precision, speed, and rapid successive shots.

As for Blair, the soul-freezing ray he had just unleashed was enough to reveal how terrifying the Beholder's innate talent was.

After witnessing the group's overwhelming strength, the four remaining Sanctuary-level enemies instinctively retreated.

But the next instant, the ground split open with a boom, and dozens of Sanctuary-level undead burst out of the earth. Behind them, three pitch-black portals connected to the Underworld opened, and an endless tide of high-level undead poured out, blotting out the sky.

Looking at the sea of undead before him, Declan the Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon gave a self-deprecating smile with his dark golden eyes. "Looks like I'm the weakest fighter on the team."

As soon as he finished speaking, his body swayed, and his menacing dragon shadow split in two.

Two identical Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragons appeared at once.

He had now truly taken his first steps in the Shadow Clone profound mysteries.

High above, the battle between the Godlevels raged on. Fukaloss was clearly being pinned down by both opponents, leaving her no strength to spare for the Sanctuary-level battle below.

But Barn and his companions showed no sign of faltering.

The enemy had many undead, but their own fighting strength was equally terrifying.

Blair's body swelled in size as ice crystals and broken stones gathered around him, forming a gigantic, dragon-like body. He swung the Divine Artifact battle-axe in his hand while his vertical eye fired blue soul rays again and again. Each one froze the soul of a Sanctuary-level undead, sending it crashing to the ground.

Julia the Dragon-person drew her bow until it curved like a full moon. Her arrows moved at a speed comparable to Dimension Blade, targeting the distant undead archers and spellcasters. Every shot found its mark.

Declan's two shadows emerged together, then vanished underground without a sound. Every so often, they suddenly sprang out and dragged a Sanctuary-level undead beneath the earth, killing it instantly. With Shadow Clone strengthening him, his enemies couldn't hurt him at all.

At that moment, Gideon finally recovered from the shock to his soul. His giant bear's roar shook the wasteland. "Barn! I'll draw their fire. You go kill those three Undead Holy Magi!"

Before his words had even faded, an earth-yellow glow surged around his body. Like a meteor, he charged into the sea of undead, tearing open a path by brute force. Compared to undead transformed from human Sanctuary-level warriors, these dull-witted undead who needed an Undead Holy Magus to command them were far weaker.

Barn didn't hesitate. His body turned into a streak of pure white light as he charged toward the pile of rubble behind the enemy. Several Sanctuary-level undead tried to stop him, but Julia's lightning arrows arrived in time and blasted them out of the air one by one.

The enemy clearly hadn't expected the seven Sanctuary-level warriors and dozens of Sanctuary-level undead surrounding them to be unable to stop this group from forcing their way through. There wasn't even a single Sanctuary-level guard left beside the Undead Holy Magi.

But not one of the Sanctuary-level warriors who had survived Gobada was afraid of death. Seeing Barn coming, the three Undead Holy Magi ignored their depleted spiritual power and forcibly summoned three of their trump-card undead:

A Sanctuary Bone Dragon, a Vampire King, and a Sanctuary Corpse Demon.

The Town Evil Gale surrounding Barn burned more brightly and violently than ever.

He had already secretly consumed the Soul Gold Bead.

Just as he had expected, the Soul Mutator's capacity far exceeded that of an ordinary Sanctuary-level warrior. He had absorbed the entire Soul Gold Bead without overflowing, and he still had a great deal of room before reaching his soul's limit.

As a result, the Town Evil Gale had been massively enhanced.

The platinum light centered on the tip of the Divine Artifact Mist Hidden Spear, tracing a meteor's path. One thrust pierced straight through the Sanctuary Bone Dragon from head to tail, extinguishing its soul fire instantly.

The Vampire King following close behind spread its wings, sending countless blood-red bats surging toward him like a dark cloud. But the moment they touched Barn's Town Evil Gale, they melted away like snow in a flame. Barn didn't even pause. A thrust of his spear pierced straight through the Vampire King's throat.

Facing the last Sanctuary Corpse Demon, Barn looked slightly tired, but his gaze remained sharp.

Under the astonished gazes of the three Undead Holy Magi, his figure suddenly twisted and shifted out of place, sliding sideways with an eerie movement that defied reason. He easily bypassed the Corpse Demon's blockade and appeared right in front of them.

Fate Law—Destined Hit!

The physical strength of an Undead Holy Magus was, at most, on the level of an Eighth-level Warrior.

Even with Barn at the end of his strength, killing them was as easy as chopping vegetables.

His spear swept sideways, striking the leading Undead Holy Magus squarely in the neck. The man's head flew high into the air.

As his head spun through the air and fell, he saw the Tiger-person suddenly unleash a burst of icy blue frost around him, freezing the remaining two Undead Holy Magi solid. Before dying, his two companions released their final two Wither Rays.

The aura of a summoning from the Underworld appeared in his soul. The only thought left in the mind of this Undead Holy Magus, who had endured endless torment in Gobada, was a calm one: At last, I'm free—and thank goodness he didn't destroy my soul.