360: Chapter 36 Attack!!

The ancestral lands of the Elf Clan were the core heartland of their race, teeming with masters and governed by strict laws; no matter how crazed an enemy was, they would not dare to act recklessly there.

In the Royal City, there was Her Highness Anya and the Royal City Guards standing watch, more than enough to deter the vast majority of lowlifes.

At this moment, they were in Xiguang Forest. Although it was still Anya's territory, the defensive forces were relatively scattered, and they were far from the deterrent centers of the ancestral lands and the Royal City.

For those enemies harboring ill intent, seeking revenge, or looking to plunder, this was perhaps the last and best opportunity to strike!

“I wonder who the hidden helper the Dean invited is? Are they already lurking nearby?”

Thoughts raced through Qin Yan's mind. Since Su Zhiming had anticipated this, he couldn't possibly rely solely on Lord Star Dew and these Elven Warriors for protection.

There had to be a trump card.

To be safe, Qin Yan quietly reached into his Storage Ring. With a thought, the crystal ball he had received from Envoy An Miao slid into his palm.

He gripped the crystal ball in his hand.

This was his final life-saving trump card. Once an irresistible crisis appeared, he would not hesitate to crush it and summon the unfathomable Envoy An Miao!

Beside him, Liu Ruyan, Li Mu, and the others noticed the crystal ball that had suddenly appeared in Qin Yan's hand, and a flash of doubt crossed their eyes.

But seeing Qin Yan's incredibly solemn expression, they tacitly refrained from asking questions. They simply raised their vigilance to the maximum, their weapons quietly gripped tight.

The group continued to move through the forest. The deeper they went, the more eerie the surrounding silence became.

The bird calls and insect chirps that should have been there had completely vanished at some point.

Even the wind seemed to have stopped flowing; the air was so heavy it was suffocating.

Only the sound of the group's progress remained, amplified in this excessive silence, drumming against everyone's hearts.

“Something's wrong!”

Walking at the very front of the group alongside Star Dew of Dawnlight, Su Zhiming suddenly halted and barked in a low voice.

His brow was furrowed; his powerful perception as a Great Grandmaster allowed him to detect the anomaly earlier than the others.

“Something is indeed wrong.”

Star Dew of Dawnlight spoke almost simultaneously. Her emerald eyes sharply scanned the terrifyingly quiet forest, her expression turning extremely grim. “There should have been three of my hidden outposts and two patrol teams here, but now... they've all disappeared!

No traces of battle, no warning signals—they just vanished into thin air!”

The words of the two leaders were like ice water poured over their heads, making everyone's hair stand on end instantly!

“Everyone be careful! Maintain maximum alert!”

Su Zhiming ordered without hesitation, a faint golden light appearing around him as a powerful aura began to rise.

Star Dew of Dawnlight reacted extremely quickly. With a wave of her staff, a hemispherical protective shield shimmering with emerald light—woven from countless faint vine phantoms—instantly formed, enveloping Qin Yan and the other young geniuses within.

The Elven Warriors quickly drew together, blades unsheathed and arrows notched, forming a solid battle formation as they tensely watched every inch of the surrounding shadows.

Qin Yan's heartbeat accelerated slightly. He pushed his spirit perception to the limit, and a trace of sweat even seeped from his palm as he gripped the crystal ball.

The crisis had indeed come!

At the very moment everyone's nerves were strained to the breaking point—

“BOOM—!!!”

Without any warning, the originally clear sky high above them seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand!

Space distorted violently as an incredibly massive, sky-blotting greenish-gray energy claw print, carrying a destructive aura and a piercing sonic boom, fell fiercely from the heavens!

The claw print was not physical, yet it was as condensed as cast bronze. Its five fingers curved like hooks, and their tips flickered with a cold light that tore through space!

Wherever the claw print passed, the air let out an unbearable explosive roar, and fine, pitch-black spatial cracks spread out like spiderwebs!

The moment the attacker struck, it was a merciless killing blow!

“Vile creature! How dare you?!”

Su Zhiming's hair danced wildly, and the golden light in his eyes surged!

Facing this sudden and terrifying attack, he took a step forward, and the golden light that had been faintly visible around him suddenly erupted like a volcanic explosion!

The blinding golden radiance made him look like a golden god of war!

His right fist was clenched tight, the muscles in his arm bulging, as streaks of golden true qi, condensed to the limit like liquid gold, wound around it.

With no fancy moves, he simply threw a punch upward with all his might!

A golden giant fist phantom, dozens of feet in diameter and solid as if cast in gold, rose against the sky with an indomitable, all-crushing domineering intent, slamming hard into the falling greenish-gray giant claw!

“CLANG—!!!!!!”

The fist print and the claw print collided violently in mid-air with zero finesse!

The point of impact instantly erupted with unimaginable destructive energy!

Ripples of visible true qi shockwaves, a mixture of gold and greenish-gray, swept and spread outward like a crazed tsunami!

“Crack! Crack! BOOM—!”

Wherever the shockwaves passed, the forest below looked as if it had been brutally plowed by an invisible giant plow!

Dozens of towering ancient trees that would take several people to encircle were uprooted or directly shattered into a flurry of wood chips!

A thick layer of the ground was scraped away; turf, moss, and rocks were all pulverized and sent flying!

The violent air currents swept up dust and wood fragments, forming terrifying tornadoes!

The emerald vine shield supported by Star Dew of Dawnlight shook violently in the face of these terrifying impact aftershocks, its surface covered in dense ripples as its light flickered uncertainly.

Qin Yan was protected inside the shield, but the earth-shattering sound of the collision and the suffocating energy pressure transmitted through the shield still made his blood churn and his eardrums ring.

He stared fixedly at the golden fist print and the greenish-gray claw print locked in a stalemate high in the sky, his pupils shrinking!

“The enemy... is at least an Eighth-Rank Grandmaster!”

He made a judgment instantly.

Only power at the Great Grandmaster level could tear space and trigger spatial cracks!

And only a Great Grandmaster could take or even match Dean Su's wrathful blow head-on!

Just as Dean Su Zhiming was locked in a stalemate with that greenish-gray giant claw high in the sky, and the terrifying energy turbulence ravaged the forest—

Another change occurred!

Deep within the dark shadows of the trees to the left, without any warning, came a pitch-black sword light condensed to the extreme!

This sword light was only about ten feet long, yet it was as black as ink, and its speed exceeded the limits of the naked eye's capture.

As soon as it appeared, it had already crossed dozens of feet, carrying a sharpness that could sever anything and a cold, deathly killing intent, striking straight at Qin Yan's group protected within Star Dew's shield!

Star Dew did not hesitate for a second. Her hands formed seals with lightning speed as she quickly chanted ancient Elven incantations.

Light and shadow distorted behind her as majestic natural energy surged and gathered.

In an instant, a massive ancient tree phantom, a hundred feet tall and as translucent and green as emerald, rose from the ground!