Battling Scar

"All right, I'd better finish you off quickly. Rover's still waiting for me outside."

Scar's suggestive tone sent goosebumps crawling over Ling An.

With a flick of his palm, cards shot out like blades.

Yangyang held her Swiftblade across her body, blocking every card.

"Oh? You've got some skill, I see." A subtle smile appeared on Scar's face as he flicked his hand, launching another card.

"Then how about this!"

Yangyang's expression tightened, her thoughts racing.

She was no match for Scar. All she could do now was buy as much time as possible and hope Tide Sis found a way inside.

As far as Ling An was concerned, Yangyang was being far too optimistic.

When it came to killing Tacet Discords, Tide Sis charged in more recklessly than anyone.

But finding a way into an illusion required brains.

Who knew how long that brute would take?

Scar's card reached Yangyang in the blink of an eye. She raised her sword again to block it.

The instant the card touched her Swiftblade, Scar's lips curled into a smile of triumph.

He whispered, "Boom!"

"Not good!" Yangyang's expression changed abruptly.

The next second, the dark red card exploded.

The powerful blast sent her flying. Unable to control her body, she slammed heavily into the ground.

She drove her Swiftblade into the ground and barely managed to pull herself up. "Despicable!"

"Despicable? Hahahaha! Hidden plots, open schemes-they're all just means to an end-"

Scar let out a long cry and fired several cards in succession.

Explosion after explosion rang out.

Yangyang barely managed to dodge, but the shock waves still caught her.

When the final card struck her blade head-on, the explosion sent her flying once more.

"Ling An, run. Tell Rover..." she called weakly.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, a sign that her strength had run out.

The world before her began to blur. Dimly, she saw-

Ling An's feline body slowly move in front of her before he padded toward Scar.

"Ling An, what are you doing? How can we fight Scar without Rover...?" Yangyang asked anxiously, her voice faint.

"Simple. I'll handle him myself." Ling An spoke coolly without looking back.

But Yangyang could no longer hear those words.

Her eyes slowly closed, and she lost consciousness completely.

Having spoken, Ling An finally stopped concealing his aura and let it surge forth.

Overlord-class power!

Across from him, Scar couldn't help clapping. "Just as I thought. You're no ordinary creature... little thing!"

The moment he finished speaking, he lunged at Ling An.

Killing intent flared.

Clearly, he had been holding back against Yangyang.

Just as he was about to close in-

Ling An's body shuddered, and purple flames wreathed him.

From within the surging Purple Flame, he revealed his true form-

The Crownless!

A fierce wind suddenly swept through the illusion.

Purple flames circled him, transforming into a black cape that snapped in the wind!

Ling An stood silently upon the platform, firmly planted before Yangyang, as immovable as a mountain.

His body was utterly flawless, every inch of it exuding the beauty of raw strength.

The aura hidden within that body struck terror into the heart.

Simply standing there, Ling An exerted an immense pressure.

From the moment he appeared, violent winds buffeted the illusion, making it ripple and sway.

Yet fierce as those winds were, they merely brushed the stray hairs off Yangyang's forehead when they reached her.

"The Crownless!?"

For the first time, Scar felt shocked.

His expression changed drastically, and he demanded over and over, "Impossible! This is impossible! Rover should have absorbed you already!"

"Why is it impossible?" Ling An smiled calmly. "The Fractsidus aren't the only ones watching Rover. Did you see my death with your own eyes?"

Scar looked as though he'd been struck by a bullet. Ling An's appearance had thrown the entire board into disarray.

He glared furiously. "Fine, fine, fine! So that's how it is, Crownless! You're determined to interfere with me. In that case, you're not leaving!"

In an instant, his aura surged, and his madness finally showed itself.

The walls of the illusion began to twist and shift, and Tacet Discords emerged from within them.

From Lightwave Class to Overlord Class, a full hundred Tacet Discords abruptly opened their eyes, malice gleaming within them.

"Hahahahaha!" Scar tilted his face toward the sky, his body hunched unnaturally low, then flung his arms wide.

"Tear! Devour! Destroy! Slaughter!"

Amid his horrifying howls, a gigantic black sheep monster shattered the void and emerged.

Faced with Ling An's true Crownless form, Scar immediately chose to reveal his own black sheep form.

At that moment-

Only a single platform separated them.

Their Overlord-class auras soared skyward, confronting one another.

The two auras met in the middle like one mountain crashing into another.

Before either had struck, cracks were already spreading across the platform.

As though acting on the same impulse, the two collided where their auras met.

The platform groaned under the unbearable strain and shattered in the void.

Even the illusion trembled ceaselessly beneath their power.

The black sheep roared, bearing down with overwhelming strength.

He thrust his massive hand into the shattered platform, formed a broad blade, and brought it down on Ling An.

"How ugly."

Ling An flicked a finger, and the purple flames surged.

He, too, reached into the Purple Flame and drew out a spear.

With an elegant flourish and a light thrust, he neutralized the black sheep's attack.

Every movement was utterly composed.

The black sheep threw back his head and howled, crazed as a demon.

He stayed close behind Ling An, trying to crush him with his enormous bulk.

From every direction, a hundred Tacet Discords lunged at once.

Ling An spread his wings and wove through the Tacet Discord Tide.

The pressure on him multiplied in an instant.

The illusion was already suppressing his strength, and Scar was no weakling.

In his current form, he would probably only be able to hold out for a while.

His figure flashed back and forth as he repeatedly clashed with the black sheep.

"Hehehe." Scar let out a cruel chuckle.

"So what if you're the Crownless? This illusion suppresses your strength. Today, I'm taking your Echo!"

Ling An's expression remained unchanged, but his thoughts raced.

Did he really have to wait for Tide Sis to come to his aid before he could break this deadlock?

Frustration knotted in his chest.

Indeed, the Crownless was not an invincible Tacet Discord.

His Overlord-class strength meant that plenty of others were stronger than him.

He had understood that from the very moment he arrived in this world.

But-

What made a Tacet Discord a Tacet Discord was its inherent nature!

A dazzling light flashed in Ling An's eyes.

He stood in the air and declared, "Scar, you think yourself the player moving the pieces, the judge passing sentence. Unfortunately, there's one thing you overlooked!"

"Heh. Trying to scare me?" Scar's expression was disdainful.

He drove his broad blade into the ground, his black sheep face hideously twisted, every inch of him looking like a victor.

"The Fractsidus manipulate Tacet Discords. That's your strength. But to me, it's also your weakness!"

With that said, Ling An hesitated no longer.

Like a sharp arrow, he plunged from above into the Tacet Discord Tide.

A king descended from the heavens, his aura shaking the world.

Countless Tacet Discords were hurled away by the impact, with him at its center.

Where he stood was a pristine domain that lesser beings had no right to enter.

Resonators defeated Tacet Discords and absorbed their Echoes.

But Tacet Discords had a far simpler way to grow stronger.

Ling An stood where he had landed, a smile curling his lips. Before him was an Elite-class Tacet Discord, pinned helplessly beneath his aura.

"What makes Tacet Discords what they are is that we can devour one another!"

He reached out and seized the Tacet Discord before him.

In an instant, he refined it.