Wesker roared above the wilderness, his voice full of grim resolve as he prepared to fight to the death. "You may be a Midgod, but the five of us are willing to die fighting you. The outcome is still uncertain!"
There was no escaping.
Lowgods were inherently at a disadvantage against Midgods in the quality of their Divine Power. Wesker and his sister both focused on the Laws of Light. If either of them were alone, the speed and purifying properties of the Laws of Light might give them a sliver of hope.
But they had younger siblings from their family behind them. If they tried to take the other Sanctuary fighters along, there was no way they'd get away.
What's more, there were also those thirty-seven precious Ghost-faced Spiders. They weren't like Tiebo, a resource that could be replaced. Ghost-faced Spider silk was a rare treasure even in the Supreme Plane. If they lost it, Ice Prison Royal City's punishment would be more than any of them could bear.
So Wesker had to make his position clear. Only by standing together as five did they have any chance of survival.
Barn gripped his Mist Hidden spear, its tip wreathed in pale blue Water Element Divine Power, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Fukaloss and Gideon, ready to fight to the death. He appeared calm, but secretly sent a Soul Transmission to Declan: "If any of you get the chance, run immediately."
Declan's voice came through, almost in tears. "I want to run too! But why are all these Sanctuary fighters so strong?"
On the ground, the battle among the Sanctuary fighters had already reached a fever pitch.
At first, Declan and the others had tried to protect the Ghost-faced Spiders while fending off their enemies. But after only a few exchanges, they realized in despair that their opponents were nothing like the rabble they'd faced while fighting over the orchard resource point.
Some of the Sanctuary fighters under Blackwood had served him for years. The rest were former elite Godlevel fighters from Azure Fire Royal City, controlled by his Soul Seeds. Both groups were outstanding among the ten-man squads. Every one of them stood on the threshold of the Sanctuary limit, and their understanding of the Laws' mysteries far surpassed that of ordinary Sanctuary fighters.
Declan himself had only just touched the edge of the Sanctuary limit. He was no match for them head-on. Even worse, his opponents' stealth and concealment skills were more refined than his own, despite the fact that he specialized in them as a Spine-backed Iron-armored Dragon. The hiding techniques he'd once prided himself on were useless against these enemies, who kept him suppressed from start to finish.
The other Sanctuary fighters on Ice Prison's side were in just as bad a position. Their two squads had only eleven Sanctuary fighters between them, yet they were up against eighteen equally powerful enemies. They were immediately forced onto the defensive. The enemy side even had a magical beast whose innate talent was almost as good as Blair's. It charged through their ranks and tore open their defenses.
For a time, neither side had any chance to watch over the Ghost-faced Spiders. They were completely caught up in a frenzied fight to the death.
High above, the battle between the Godlevel fighters was just as perilous.
Blackwood, a Midgod, wielded a Bone Blade. Every swing scattered a wide swathe of eerie, ghost-green flames. The flames were strange beyond belief: they didn't burn souls, but devoured Divine Power. Once they touched someone, they clung like a leech, feeding on Divine Power as fuel and growing stronger with every passing moment.
Fortunately, all five of them were fast—faster, even, than Blackwood, who had only recently broken through. Their nimble footwork had barely kept them going, and none had fallen at the start.
But even the most careful person could make a mistake.
Gideon failed to dodge in time, and a wisp of ghost flame grazed his left leg. The fire instantly clung to it and began to blaze fiercely. His gaze hardened. Without the slightest hesitation, he followed the example of Wesker's sister and swung his Earth Divine Power, severing his burning leg! He grunted from the pain, withdrew his damaged Earth Divine Clone into his body, and brought out his true form—a raging Earth Violent Bear. Then he roared and rejoined the battle.
"Gideon, are you all right?" Fukaloss cried.
Gideon swept his huge paw through the air, batting away the incoming flames. "I'm fine! What's strange is that the fire didn't hurt my soul. It seems to target only the body and Divine Power."
Everyone's hearts tightened. They had assumed that Blackwood, who focused on the Laws of Death, would be skilled at Soul Attacks. They hadn't expected his deadly technique to be these bizarre flames that targeted Divine Power.
Wesker had the most combat experience, and quickly assessed the situation. "This guy only just broke through to Midgod. His soul was strengthened by the Laws of Heaven and Earth when he broke through, but not by much. His reserves of Midgod Divine Power and the total size of his soul are both far below those of an established Midgod."
A glimmer of hope flickered in Fukaloss's eyes. "So if we can hold out until his Divine Power and mental energy run out, we'll have a chance to kill him?"
Barn furrowed his brow, his voice grave. "I don't think it'll be that easy."
His premonition soon came true.
Just as they thought they could wear their opponent down by keeping him at bay, the Bone Blade in Blackwood's hand suddenly erupted with several times its previous power! The ghost-green flames burst forth like a volcanic eruption, spreading into a vast curtain that blotted out the sky. Before Wesker's sister could react, it completely engulfed her.
"Ahhh—!!"
Her scream was even more despairing than before. The flames were far more violent this time. Wesker's sister didn't even have time to sever a limb and save herself. The fire swallowed her whole, turning her into a burning torch.
"Second Sister!" Wesker's eyes bulged with rage, his heart torn apart.
"Kehehehe!" Blackwood's laughter was full of mockery and cruelty. "Before, I was just playing with you using the Lowgod Divine Power I'd stored up. I have to admit, you're not bad. Now, let me show you the true power of a Midgod!"
Just as Wesker had surmised, Blackwood had only recently broken through, and his reserves of Midgod Divine Power were indeed limited. So at first, he'd used only a Midgod's domain, understanding of the Laws, and mental energy. He'd fought with the Lowgod Divine Power he'd stored up before, hoping to kill one or two of them quickly and scare off the rest.
But the five of them had been more tenacious than he'd expected. Fukaloss, in particular, who cultivated both the Water Element and the Laws of Death, had been so powerful that she'd been no weaker than he was before breaking through.
As Blackwood finished speaking, his aura surged. Pure, powerful Midgod Divine Power pressed down on them as if it were tangible. The air warped, and space trembled faintly. This was the true strength of a Midgod—the absolute power to crush Lowgods!
Wesker stared desperately at the burning figure, hoping for a miracle.
At last, a snow-white White Doe struggled free of the flames. It was Wesker's sister's true form. At the final moment, she'd decisively abandoned her damaged Light God Clone and escaped in her true form, saving her life. But the destruction of her Divine Clone had dealt a huge blow to both her soul and her strength. Her aura was now weak, and she was swaying unsteadily.
But the bad news kept coming.
A furious roar suddenly came from the Sanctuary battlefield below.
Barn and the others looked down. The Sanctuary fighters on Ice Prison's side had been completely surrounded. Among Blackwood's subordinates were several Undead Holy Magi, who endlessly summoned skeletons, ghosts, and other undead creatures. Like a rising tide, they flooded the entire battlefield, giving their side an overwhelming advantage in numbers.
The roar they'd just heard had come from one of Wesker's younger brothers. Surrounded and on the verge of death, he had roared just before choosing to blow himself up!
"No!" Wesker gritted his teeth until they nearly cracked, but he couldn't save his brother.
With a boom, the self-detonation of a Sanctuary-limit magical beast unleashed a terrifying force, killing both it and two nearby enemies.
But the enemies controlled by Soul Seeds didn't stop just because one of their companions had died. Taking advantage of the brief chaos, a beastman assassin skilled in stealth slipped past Blair's blockade and appeared behind Julia like a ghost.
Stab!
The sharp dagger plunged into the back of Julia's head without resistance and pierced through her eye socket. Even the Defensive Divine Artifact protecting her couldn't stop the fatal strike. She didn't even have time to make a sound.
"Bastard!"
Blair, who had been closest to Julia, was overcome with rage and let out a roar that shook the heavens. The cold around him surged, and the terrifying Soul Freeze spread over the beastman assassin as a gray glow, freezing him alive into an ice sculpture. But that still wasn't enough to quench Blair's fury. He swung his great axe down, smashing the sculpture—and the assassin inside—into countless fragments.
A member of the Wesker family immediately cast a Light Element healing spell. Gentle Light Divine Power enveloped Julia's mangled body as they tried to save her.
Barn and the others temporarily turned away from their enemies, looking on with hope.
But no miracle came.
The dagger had destroyed Julia's brain. Guided by the Laws of Death, her soul had already fallen into the Underworld. Light magic could repair the wounds to her body, but it couldn't summon back a soul that had already departed.
"Second Sister, go help them on the ground! Protect our younger brothers and sisters!" Wesker shouted at his sister, who had just escaped, his eyes bloodshot.
Though Wesker's sister was dazed by the destruction of her Divine Clone, the sight of their family's young ones trapped in a desperate situation forced her to pull herself together. Her family couldn't afford to lose anyone else.
The White Doe let out a mournful cry, turned into a streak of white light, and dived toward the ground to join the Sanctuary fighters' battle. The arrival of a Godlevel fighter's true form immediately eased the immense pressure on Ice Prison's side.
Barn, Fukaloss, Gideon, and Wesker forced down their grief and rage, and tightened their grips on their weapons once more.
They had no time to mourn.
Blackwood, now radiating the full pressure of a Midgod, was approaching them step by step like the god of death.
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