126: Chapter 127: Failed to break through our defenses

Hearing Su Qingyue's reminder again, Lin Muyang couldn't help but chuckle.

Even someone like her, who had some understanding of his strength, gave such a solemn warning. It seemed others generally believed that once an opponent stacked high Light Element resistance, Lilia's threat would be greatly diminished, or might even fizzle out.

"It's fine, don't worry." Lin Muyang shook his head, his tone remaining relaxed, without offering further explanation.

Some things were far more convincing when seen with one's own eyes than through words.

At this moment, at the other end of the contestant area, Long Aotian was observing the movements on Lin Muyang's side out of the corner of his eye almost every second.

When he saw Su Qingyue, the "daughter of a big shot," chatting happily with Lin Muyang, with a natural intimacy in her demeanor, his expression darkened a few shades.

He naturally recognized Su Qingyue, the talented swordswoman with a profound background who had recently been teaching at First High School in Zhongnan City.

The fact that she could freely enter the contestant area and talk so intimately with Lin Muyang sent a clear signal—this youth named Lin Muyang had officially entered the view of the highest levels of the Xia Kingdom and was very likely receiving special attention and favor from the authorities!

This left him with mixed feelings; envy and jealousy gnawed at his heart like vipers.

He viewed Xu Ruohan, the cold and immortal-like figure on the stage, as a deity—an idol he would pursue for his entire life. Even being able to speak a single word to her would be a great honor, he felt.

But now, the idol had arrived in person, not for him, Long Aotian, but for this teenage genius who had appeared out of nowhere with terrifying potential that was enough to cause despair!

A strong sense of unwillingness and resentment rose and condensed in his chest.

"I must defeat him today, right here!" Long Aotian clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms. "Otherwise, there will never be another chance! My name must never become an insignificant stepping stone on his path to legend!"

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down and turning his attention back to the upcoming match.

"Fortunately, I prepared a set of top-tier equipment with 85% base Light resistance, almost emptying the guild warehouse." Long Aotian thought to himself, regaining a bit of confidence. "I also temporarily learned a 'Refractive Light Prism' skill specifically for Light-type damage, which can create a short-duration barrier that deflects a large amount of Light-attribute attacks. Let's see in a moment if he's still stubborn enough to continue sending that Elf Priest onto the field..."

In his estimation, Lin Muyang likely only had this one summon with an SSS-Rank Talent.

After all, such a terrifyingly talented summon was a stroke of immense luck; the probability of a second one appearing in a short time was negligible.

Moreover, the short-haired girl with shocking speed from the day before hadn't come along, and the Night Elf Maiden who followed quietly by Lin Muyang's side, while mysterious in temperament, looked more like a "mascot" or non-combatant.

"Most importantly," a cold glint flashed in Long Aotian's eyes, "that Elf Priest's damage is ridiculously high; her talent is definitely oriented toward extreme output. A priest with a top-tier output talent... sounds powerful, but the flaws are just as obvious! She must be squishy; her defense and HP won't be high! As long as I can rely on my equipment and skills to tank her first wave of burst damage, then seize the opportunity to counterattack, a single combo will take her out! The battle will end in an instant!"

He looked at a young mage beside him, who had a cold temperament and was surrounded by a faint chill.

This was one of his core summons, an SS-Rank Talent Frost Chantress.

For this match, he decided to send him out.

The Mage class possessed decent control, burst, and a certain degree of self-preservation, making him the perfect candidate to execute his "tank a wave, counter-kill" tactic.

At this time, since the drawing of lots was already completed, at Xu Ruohan's signal, the organizers adjusted the schedule, directly arranging the third group, where Lin Muyang was, as the first match of the second round.

Clearly, this Nation-Guarding Level Expert, along with Su Zongming beside her, wanted to witness firsthand how this youth, who had caused such an uproar, would respond when faced with targeted preparations.

Thus, under the focus of countless gazes, Lilia again held the [Sancai Chant] staff, and like a holy moonlight elf, flew lightly down onto the arena.

She really had come out again!

On the organizer's platform, the always expressionless Xu Ruohan saw that Lin Muyang had still sent out the Elf Priest. In her eyes, clear as cold pools, a subtle ripple passed almost imperceptibly, and her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"Your daughter should have already told him about the opponents preparing high Light-resistance equipment, right?" Xu Ruohan parted her red lips slightly, her voice cold and clear like ice beads falling on a jade plate, and asked Su Zongming beside her in a low voice.

"Rest assured, that girl Yueyao definitely said it." Su Zongming, draped in a trench coat, adjusted his sunglasses, his tone also somewhat puzzled. "As for why he still insists on sending the Elf Priest out... perhaps he really has absolute confidence."

Although he said that, his eyes also held a sense of inquiry.

This behavior of knowing there were tigers on the mountain and walking towards it anyway was either extreme self-confidence or a lack of tactical flexibility.

"Perhaps." Xu Ruohan replied indifferently and didn't say anything else.

It was just that deep in her eyes, the trace of curiosity and expectation that had originally risen due to Lin Muyang's potential was quietly covered by a layer of faint disappointment.

In her view, failing to make any adjustments when facing a clearly countering tactic meant either a lack of summon reserves or that the Summoner himself was stubborn and lacked on-the-spot adaptability.

Regardless of which it was, for a Summoner aiming to reach the pinnacle, these were not excellent traits.

Of course, as a Nation-Guarding Level Expert, she would not easily come to a conclusion about someone based on a single detail.

The true judgment would depend on how this Elf Priest would respond next.

On the arena, the summoned creatures of the ten Summoners had all appeared.

Having had the terrifying precedent of the "central bloom, instant clear" from the day before, this time, the other eight Summoners in the same group had clearly learned their lesson.

As soon as their summons stepped onto the arena, without needing their masters to command them, they very tacitly and scrambled to strategically retreat to the various edge corners of the arena, wishing they could stick themselves onto the protective barrier.

Two hulking Orc warriors even squeezed into the same narrow corner, making the scene look somewhat comical for a moment.

Their tactic was clear: stay as far away as possible from that "humanoid self-propelled artillery" in the center, let Long Aotian be the sitting duck, and they would wait for an opportunity to strike, or simply hide until the end to pick up the leftovers.

In the end, in the large central area of the arena, only Lilia remained once again, holding her staff and standing quietly.

And confronting her, on the other side of the arena, was the cold-faced young Ice-clan mage who had changed into a shimmering robe of Sovereign-rank, clearly targeted against Light-attribute attacks, and was holding an Emperor Level staff inlaid with ice-blue gemstones.

The chill around him grew stronger, his eyes sharp as knives, locking firmly onto Lilia; he was clearly the only opponent in the entire arena who dared to stand directly within her firing range.

"Hmph, a bunch of spineless cowards." The Ice-clan mage, "Frost Chantress," glanced at those "peers" huddled in the corners, a sneer curling the corner of his mouth without any concealment.

He had exceptional talent and held a high status under Long Aotian, which had fostered an arrogant personality.

However, he was not a brainless brute; while he could despise his opponent strategically, he highly valued them tactically.

From the moment he stepped onto the arena, all his mental focus had tightened, all preparations for defense and counterattack were ready, treating the seemingly delicate Elf Priest before him as a formidable enemy rarely seen in his life.

Next second—

"The match begins!"

The referee's command, like a spark igniting a powder keg, instantly detonated the killing intent on the arena!

"Light Energy Penetration!"

Lilia acted first, her movements as light as a dance.

She tapped her staff lightly, and a soft, holy halo containing a strange penetrating power flashed and vanished around her.

This was a Sovereign-rank buff skill, with the effect of allowing her own and allied units' Light-attribute attacks to ignore 40% of the target's Light Element resistance!

This meant that the opponent's seemingly solid 87% Light-resistance barrier would be greatly diminished in effectiveness before Lilia!

This wasn't over yet.

[Super Splitting]! — Lin Muyang's thoughts stirred, and the God-Tier Aura was quietly activated.

Following that, Lilia raised her staff high, and crisp, holy syllables spilled from her mouth: "Bright Light Holy Arrow!"

Hum!

The gemstone at the top of the staff erupted with a brilliant yet non-blinding light!

In an instant, nine arrows of light, purely condensed from highly compressed holy light energy, with golden runes flowing along the arrow shafts and tail flames trailing like meteor trajectories, appeared out of thin air!

They were not shot at a single target, but under the effect of the [Super Splitting] Aura, they automatically locked onto all eight targets on the arena, excluding Lilia and the Ice-clan mage!

"Bright Light Holy Arrow," a King-level skill, whose single-shot damage was even slightly higher than "Holy Light Punishment," was an extremely powerful single-target sniping skill.

Now, nine arrows fired at once, like nine beams of judgment cutting through the night sky, carrying the sharpness to tear everything apart and the holiness to purify evil, shooting toward the eight panicked summons at the edge of the arena at supersonic speed!

Almost at the same time, the Ice-clan mage on the other side of the arena moved too!

"Refractive Light Prism!" He shouted sharply, waving his staff, and a prismatic barrier composed of countless fine ice crystals, constantly refracting colorful brilliance, instantly unfolded before him!

This was a defensive skill he had specifically prepared for this moment, having an extremely strong deflection and weakening effect on Light-attribute attacks.

"Ice Crystal Armor!" A second layer of thick armor condensed from cold ice covered his entire body, increasing spell defense.

"Extreme Cold Will!" Blue light flashed in his eyes, and a buff state was applied to himself, increasing casting speed and mental resistance.

Following that, his staff completed several complex trajectories at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and he rapidly chanted a short, obscure syllable—this was his trump card, the instant-cast technique "Ice Language: Instant," which had the effect of making the next powerful skill that required chanting become instant-cast!

"Ice Prison Descent!"

He slammed his staff toward Lilia in the center of the arena, and the last syllable was spat out!

Boom!!!

Centered on Lilia's position, the void dozens of meters above suddenly collapsed and distorted!

Endless, terrifying cold air gushed out, forming a destruction domain with a diameter of over thirty meters, composed entirely of blizzards, ice shards, and extreme freezing air, as if the sky had broken open a hole leading to an icy hell, crashing down toward the Elf Priest below!

The momentum was so grand, the range so vast, that it completely sealed off all of Lilia's space for evasion!

This was the killer move he had prepared, a large-scale, ultra-high-damage Ice-type magic that originally required several seconds of chanting!

What he wanted was to trade life for life, or at least severely injure the opponent!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye!

Bright Light Holy Arrow vs Ice Prison Descent!

Attack and defense, burst and counter-burst, collided violently at this moment!

Light and shadow intertwined on the arena, the powers of ice and light raged madly, and the terrifying magic fluctuations caused the surrounding protective barrier to ripple violently!

In the audience, countless people held their breath, their hearts in their throats.

Those who originally supported Long Aotian or remained neutral were also extremely nervous at this moment.

They saw the Ice-clan mage's textbook-like connection of defense and counterattack, saw the world-destroying "Ice Prison Descent," and couldn't help but feel a sliver of expectation—perhaps, could it really be blocked?

Perhaps, was the Elf Priest going to pay the price for her "underestimation of the enemy"?

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff...

A series of slight, bubble-popping sounds rang out.

That was the sound of "Bright Light Holy Arrow" hitting targets.

At the eight corners of the arena, those eight summons that had been waiting in battle formation, having activated various shields and damage-reduction skills, whether they were thick-skinned Orcs, agile and strange assassins, or powerful mages, all their defenses were like snow under the sun before the holy light arrows containing terrifying penetrating power and damage, instantly melting away.

The arrows pierced through their bodies without hindrance, taking away all their vitality.

Eight figures froze almost simultaneously, then, like punctured phantoms, dissipated silently into the air.

One-shot kill! Still a one-shot kill! Even if they had hidden in the corners, even if they had been prepared!

And in the center of the arena, the "Ice Prison Descent," which seemed to want to freeze and crush everything, had completely swallowed Lilia's petite figure!

Raging frost and freezing air formed a huge ice and snow vortex, spinning, cutting, and freezing madly; even the special alloy floor of the arena was covered with a thick layer of ice, shimmering with a ghostly blue cold light.

"Success?!" Long Aotian stood up abruptly from his seat, an unnatural flush rising on his face due to excitement.

Although his Ice-clan mage was also pierced by a "Bright Light Holy Arrow" at the same time and dissipated into ice crystals, as long as he could trade for the opponent's Elf Priest, this wave was absolutely not a loss!

According to the rules, if there were fewer than two survivors on the field, a rematch was required! He still had a chance!

The entire venue was in an uproar! Everyone was stretching their necks, staring fixedly at the ice and snow storm that had not yet dissipated.

However, in the next second.

The raging ice and snow storm was, without warning, forcibly pushed open, smoothed out, and dispersed from within by a soft yet incredibly resilient golden light!

In the center of the light, Lilia was still standing there quietly, her holy priest robe spotless, her long golden hair not even slightly messy.

Around her body, a thin, nearly transparent, yet pale golden spherical barrier flowing with holy runes and vast energy, slowly flickered once, then quietly faded away.

The "Ice Prison Descent," which was enough to crack steel and shatter rocks, hadn't even been able to break this seemingly fragile barrier, nor had it even been able to make her take half a step back!

Silence.

A silence, longer and more dead than any time before, enveloped the entire venue.

Then came Long Aotian's scream, which was almost breaking pitch, filled with breakdown and incomprehension:

"No—!!! This is impossible!!! What kind of defense is that?!!!"

His face turned deathly pale, his whole body trembling, and he slumped into his chair, his eyes unfocused, as if he had seen the most incredible, most cognitive-shattering scene in the world.

Everything he had meticulously prepared, the tactics he had bet everything on, appeared so laughable and so vulnerable before the opponent's nonchalant posture, who hadn't even taken a single step.