Kafka no longer held back.
Her body swelled, transforming into a colossal spider queen hundreds of meters tall. Her purple-black carapace gleamed eerily beneath the moonlight, and her eight thick legs sank deep into the ground, shaking the entire field until it cracked.
Terrifying spiritual power swept across the battlefield like a tsunami. Even Silver Wolf, far away, could not help glancing over.
"Finality: All Hope Abandoned!"
The Heartmare Spider Emperor let out a piercing screech.
The stacks of fear accumulated on Yan Shaozhe and Cai Yue'er detonated simultaneously.
"Boom-!!!"
Two purple-black pillars of spiritual light erupted from within them, engulfing their bodies.
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Yue'er screamed in agony as their spiritual seas suffered devastating blows.
Their martial souls were shattered outright, and all their soul rings dimmed. Like kites with severed strings, they flew backward and slammed into the distant rubble, their fate unknown.
As the dust cleared, Kafka dispelled her Martial Soul Avatar and returned to human form.
She brushed nonexistent dust off her hands, a trace of disappointment flashing through her purple eyes.
"That's it?"
"The dean of Shrek Academy only has this much strength?"
"We thought Shrek was powerful and came fully prepared, but this is all you've got?"
She had not even entered her release state.
Without even using Heartmare Descent, she had finished off two Super Douluos.
It had been an utterly overwhelming rout.
In her eyes, the two were simply far too weak.
While Kafka fought Yan Shaozhe and Cai Yue'er, fierce battles erupted in three other locations as well.
Hanabi alone intercepted all of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion Elders.
Yet she showed no sign of panic.
After all, she had nine clones in total.
Every time she absorbed a soul ring, she gained a clone mask that could summon a clone.
Each clone possessed her full strength. She alone was ten people.
But there were only four Elders currently at Shrek, and one of them was a support-type.
Elder Zhuang, Elder Zhao, Elder Lin, and Elder Song.
Four people against Hanabi.
For Hanabi, it was a ten-on-four fight.
"Humm-"
Hanabi stood in the center of the plaza before the Sea God Pavilion, her pink twin tails fluttering in the wind and the fox mask on her face gleaming eerily.
After her Martial Soul Possession, nine masks of different colors flew out from behind her, circled once in the air, and landed.
Red, white, black, azure, purple, gold, blue, brown, and silver.
Nine figures appeared simultaneously, each wearing a mask of the corresponding color, their auras identical to Hanabi's original body.
"Nine clones?!"
Elder Zhuang's expression changed.
He was the Sea God Pavilion's only support-type Super Douluo. His Tree of Life martial soul appeared behind him, its emerald radiance enveloping everything within a hundred-meter radius in a life domain.
"Be careful, everyone. These nine clones are no ordinary clones!"
Elder Zhuang warned in a grave voice.
"First soul skill, Herbal Rejuvenation!"
He swept both hands outward, scattering emerald motes of life that restored Elder Song, Elder Lin, and Elder Zhao's soul power to its peak.
At the same time, he remained ready to support them at any moment.
"First soul skill, Moon Blade!"
Elder Zhao attacked first.
With his Moonlight Dragon martial soul possessing him, the phantom of a silver-white dragon appeared behind him, cool moonlight pouring from its head.
Nine soul rings rose-yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, and red. He flung out his arms, unleashing countless moon blades that rained down on the nine clones like a torrential storm.
Wherever the moon blades passed, they sliced through the air with sizzling sounds and carved silver-white furrows into the ground.
"First soul skill, Azure Shadow Storm!"
Elder Song attacked at the same time.
Her Azure Shadow Divine Eagle martial soul possessed her, turning her arms into eagle wings as azure light and shadow flowed across the feathers.
Nine soul rings rose-yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, and red. She swept her hands outward, launching dozens of azure feather blades imbued with an illusion-breaking aura, forming a crossfire with Elder Zhao's moon blades.
Wherever the moonlight slashes passed, even the shadows on the ground were purified completely.
"Hmph, mere illusion clones dare run wild before us!"
Elder Lin snorted coldly.
She was the master of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion. Her fire-attribute martial soul burned behind her, enveloping her entire body in orange-red flames.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, and red-nine soul rings rose in succession.
At the same time, she took three Class 6 soul cannon shells from her Storage Soul Tool and hurled them at the clones.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The three soul cannon shells exploded among the clones. Orange-red flames soared into the sky, bathing the entire plaza in fiery red.
Lightning, moonlight, and flames-the threefold assault struck simultaneously, completely engulfing the nine clones' positions.
When the dust cleared, all nine clones were completely unscathed.
The white-masked clone [Guard] stood at the front, a white shield formed from pure illusion blocking every attack.
Ripples spread across the shield as 30% of the damage was transferred to the other eight clones, divided evenly among them.
"Is that all you've got?"
Hanabi's original body stood in the distance, her clear laughter sending chills down their spines.
"Black mask, go."
At her command, the black-masked clone [Stab] abruptly vanished.
Short-range spatial teleportation!
The next instant, she appeared behind Elder Zhao, a black dagger condensing in her hand as she thrust it toward his back, aiming for his heart.
The dagger carried a spirit-rending effect. If it landed, Elder Zhao's soul power circulation would be completely disrupted.
"Fourth soul skill, Moonlight Guardian!"
Elder Zhao reacted with incredible speed. The Moonlight Dragon phantom behind him whipped around, unfolding a shield of moonlight at his back.
"Clang-"
The black dagger struck Moonlight Guardian with the sharp ring of clashing metal, and silver-white moonlight surged back along the blade.
But the black-masked clone paid it no mind. The moment her strike failed, she teleported away, vanishing from the spot.
"Azure mask, trap them."
Hanabi issued another order.
The azure-masked clone [Bind] formed hand seals, sending countless azure illusion threads shooting from his hands to coil around the four Elders.
Once the threads struck their targets, they would stack "playbinding" marks on them.
"Third soul skill, Azure Shadow Breath!"
The Azure Shadow Divine Eagle phantom behind Elder Song opened its beak and expelled a sweeping wave of azure shadow blades, cutting every azure thread to pieces.
The Azure Shadow Divine Eagle's illusion-breaking ability was precisely the bane of illusions.
"Red mask, show them something good."
The red-masked clone [Bewitch] curled her lips into an eerie smile and swept both hands before her.
A red screen of illusory light unfurled, invading the four Elders' spiritual memories directly.
Within the screen, they saw the sights they feared most.
Elder Zhuang saw the Tree of Life wither, Elder Song saw the Azure Shadow Divine Eagle swallowed by darkness, Elder Lin saw the Treasure Gathering Pavilion reduced to ashes, and Elder Zhao saw the Moonlight Dragon's horns snapped off.
"This is bad! It's a spiritual illusion!"
Elder Zhuang's expression changed. After breaking free first, he immediately activated the Tree of Life.
"Life Domain, Purification!"