Lin En and Capitano stood back to back near the portal. When the first wave of monsters rushed up, he instinctively took a half step back with his sword in preparation for battle, but his shoulder bumped into Capitano's back.
"Don't panic."
Capitano's voice came from behind, giving me a sense of security.
"You to the left, I to the right, keep them away."
Lin En took a deep breath, fixed his gaze ahead, pointed his sword forward, and responded.
"Good!"
Five or six nearly transparent monsters, almost like ghosts, emerged from the darkness on the left. They were very fast and had eyes that glowed with a dark red light.
Lin En waved his left hand, sending a row of Stone Stele sweeping across, knocking the first few away. He then rushed forward, sweeping his longsword with his right hand, and the ghosts vanished instantly.
These ghosts are weak in combat, but numerous, and there are countless more ghosts in the distance.
Several more rushed over, and the wind blades flew out along the horizontal slash of the sword. The ghosts let out a whimper and disappeared again.
Capitano was much more decisive. The sword in his hand emitted a white light, and each strike left a trail of silver-gray light. The ghosts that were struck simply vanished into the darkness, without even a chance to struggle.
Lin En glanced at it briefly and found that Capitano's swordsmanship was extremely practical. There were no fancy moves; every strike precisely cut into the most vulnerable parts of the ghosts, making it frighteningly efficient.
"You're to your upper left."
"Capitano suddenly said."
Lin En looked up, and a ghost swooped down from above. Before he could react, the Capitano sword whistled past Lin En, annihilating the ghost.
"Focus on the battle, don't get distracted!"
Lin En nodded, raised his left hand to the upper left, and a Geo shield materialized. A hound that pounced from the side crashed into the shield and bounced off. Lin En swung his sword back and pinned it to the ground.
Capitano simultaneously stepped forward, slicing the two hounds that were trying to bypass Lin En and attack from behind into pieces.
The two fought back and forth for more than a dozen rounds, and the number of ghosts visibly decreased.
After fighting for a long time, the ghosts finally retreated, and the two breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good teamwork."
Capitano said.
"The same to you."
Lin En took a breath and replied.
He looked up at Ronava, whose spear had already pierced the barrier patterns surrounding the Celestial Nail, its dark golden light flashing intensely, causing the entire Night Kingdom to tremble.
But at the same moment, the darkness above suddenly cracked open, and dark red light poured down from the crack, like a ripped wound.
A portal opened from the rift, and dark red mist surged out from behind it. A figure emerged from the mist.
It was Asmoday.
She glanced around the Night Kingdom, her gaze sweeping over the dissipating ghosts and the shattered ground. She clicked her tongue, her face revealing undisguised impatience.
Then she saw Ronava.
" Ronava."
Asmoday's voice descended from above, carrying an air of arrogance.
"This is not something you can touch."
Ronava's spear was still stuck in the barrier's patterns. She looked up at Asmoday, a slight smile playing on her lips, a hint of coldness in the curve.
"You set up this device because you wanted to..."
Before he could finish speaking, Asmoday had already moved.
She raised her hand and unleashed a gray blade of light that slashed down with incredible speed. It was a purely physical attack, without using any special abilities.
Ronava dodged to the side, the light blade grazing her cheek, severing a few strands of her silver hair and leaving a shallow scratch.
"This is a warning to you."
Asmoday landed on a protruding rock next to the Celestial Nail, looking down at Ronava.
If you remain stubborn and refuse to see the truth, don't blame me for being heartless and unforgiving.
Ronava gently wiped the wound on her face with the back of her hand, then looked down at the bloodstains on the back of her hand. The wound wasn't deep; she hadn't really tried to kill her.
She looked up at Asmoday and agreed.
"Fine, but aren't you afraid that Phanes will punish you for doing this?"
Asmoday chuckled, completely disregarding Ronava's warning.
"She's barely able to take care of herself, how can she possibly care about me?"
Lin En paused for a moment, stunned. "Phanes is preoccupied with his own problems? What does that mean?"
Ronava clearly grasped the information in that sentence, and her brows furrowed slightly.
"What happened to Phanes?"
Asmoday didn't answer, but glanced at the device on the Celestial Nail, then at Lin En and Capitano behind Ronava.
Her gaze lingered on Lin En for a moment, longer than when they last met, as if scrutinizing her.
You'd better take him somewhere far away.
Asmoday said to Ronava.
"Once this device is activated, you and your little boyfriend won't be able to stop it."
"Okay, I won't interfere in your affairs anymore."
Ronava nodded. She already knew what Asmoday was doing with the device; it didn't affect them, so they could ignore it. Only Natlan...
Asmoday waved her hand, and the portal reappeared behind her. She walked in, leaving only one sentence behind.
"Good to know."
Lin En's head was spinning as he listened below. What was Asmoday up to? Was Phanes too busy to handle his own problems? What was all this about?
Ronava was clearly also processing this information.
"Too busy to take care of themselves?"
She repeated it, her tone clearly doubtful. Although Phanes was indeed seriously injured, he still retained 60% of his strength. How could he possibly...?
After Asmoday left, the Night Kingdom remained quiet for a long time.
Ronava stood beneath the Celestial Nail, her spear still in her hand. Her silver hair was disheveled by the shockwave, and blood flowed from the abrasions on her face.
She looked up in the direction Asmoday disappeared, lost in thought.
Lin En ran over from the portal, with Capitano following behind him.
Lin En ran to Ronava's side, looked at the injury on her face, and said...
"Are you injured? Let me treat you first."
Lin En placed her hand on Ronava's face, and a warm breath lingered around her wound, which healed considerably in no time.
When will you receive treatment?
Ronava felt the warmth on her face and a warm feeling spread through her heart. She even had the thought of being held in someone's arms forever.
"I discovered earlier that I have an affinity for Hydro. Although I can't use it for attacks, it's fine for healing minor injuries."
Lin En withdrew his hand, thinking to himself how soft Ronava's face was.
At this point, Capitano interrupted the two.
"What exactly does the Ruler of Space want to do? Is this device that important to her?"
"Have no idea."
Ronava glanced at Lin En and said to Capitano.
"Thank you so much for your help today, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to handle it all by himself."
"Polite."
Capitano sheathed his sword, his translucent body shimmering slightly in the dim light.
Where are you going next?
"Go back."
Ronava said.
"Now that Phanes is in trouble, we need to figure out what happened as soon as possible."