201: Chapter 202 How can you play if you're invincible?

Hao Qingshan, as one of the more experienced and relatively calm cores among the thirty-one Summoners, was currently hovering at the rear of his side's formation. His gaze was locked like a hawk's onto the three girls floating above the thunder pool ahead.

The Elf Princess, Lilia, held a staff of nature, her entire body overflowing with pure life and natural energy; she was clearly a class leaning towards healing, support, or natural magic. The Succubus Elabess, with her enchanting figure and faint mental fluctuations, clearly manifested as a mage specializing in charm, illusions, and mental attacks. Hao Qingshan believed he understood the combat styles and skill sets of these two classes fairly well; after all, Priests and Mages were quite common class systems, and their variations usually followed the same core principles.

But...

His gaze finally landed solemnly on the black-haired, short-haired girl in the middle. She hovered there quietly, dressed in a well-fitted black combat suit, with a strangely shaped, shimmering dagger at her waist. Her Aura was almost completely internalized, as if she had merged with the surrounding shadows. She was like a bottomless pool of dark water—tranquil, yet instinctively unsettling.

“Yama, Gui Wanwan...” Hao Qingshan silently repeated this eerie title in his heart. He, along with all the contestants and spectators who had seen the previous matches, could not see through this girl's methods. In the last match against those strong-willed, well-trained Martial Monks, she had simply raised her hand and sent them all into a state of conscious stupor, like the walking dead, even losing responsiveness to their Summoner's forced commands. What was that ability? Mind control? A soul attack? Or some kind of never-before-seen curse? No one knew the answer, and there was no effective countermeasure. The unknown was always the most terrifying.

“We can't give her the chance to cast spells at her leisure!” Hao Qingshan took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in his heart, and issued commands in a low voice through the temporarily established mental link channel. “Everyone, listen up! According to the prearranged plan, split into three groups in a tri-point formation. Maintain distance and cover each other!”

“The moment the battle starts, all units with control skills—whether it's silence, root, stun, slow, or bind—don't hold back! Throw everything at those three targets! Especially that black-haired girl!”

“All support units, the instant the fight begins, put your strongest buffs and shield skills on our front line and core damage dealers! Pay attention to priority; protect the core tanks like the Titan Giants and the Lava Giant King!”

“Units with dispel or cleanse skills, keep a constant eye on the statuses of the opponents. Once you spot a suspicious buff, dispel it immediately! Pay special attention to that Elf Maiden; she likely possesses powerful healing and support capabilities!”

“Assassins and high-speed units, look for opportunities. Prioritize trying to dive in and disrupt that Elf and the Succubus. If we can tie them down, our chances of winning increase! But remember, do not rashly approach the black-haired girl!”

Instruction after instruction was clearly and quickly relayed. Every one of the thirty-one Summoners present was a battle-hardened genius, no stranger to this kind of team combat command and coordination. They were usually more than capable of commanding multiple summons of their own in complex maneuvers; cooperating now with teammates of equal or greater skill, though their chemistry would take time to refine, their basic tactical execution was absolutely solid.

Soon, a massive, well-layered formation with integrated offense and defense took shape in the air. A total of ninety-three summons emitting powerful Auras, like a well-trained legion, slowly closed in from three directions, surrounding Lilia, Elabess, and Gui Wanwan in the center. The majestic momentum they gathered exerted a pressure like something physical, squeezing toward the center, even causing the free-floating thunder elements in the surrounding space to be pushed aside, emitting a faint hum.

It wasn't just top Xia Country experts like Xu Ruohan and Zhou Wenyuan, or the tournament organizers, who were watching with bated breath. At the peaks of the two steepest nearby mountains, two exceptionally large beasts had crouched down at some unknown point.

Their bodies were covered in magnificent azure fur, with fine and dangerous electrical arcs dancing between the hairs. They had purple lightning-shaped patterns on their foreheads, and their massive tiger eyes were lazily half-closed, but the sharp light that occasionally flickered from them contained a heart-palpitating majesty and power. These were the masters of this place, two powerful beings from the mythic grade Thunder God Tiger pride. Their levels were likely close to or even exceeded level 300, and their strength was by no means inferior to a human Nation-Guarding Level peak expert.

They had originally been uninterested in this minor squabble among humans, coming to watch only because of an agreement with Xia Country and a hint of curiosity, treating it as a bit of entertainment in their dull lives. Initially, they were indeed quite interested in the boy, Lin Muyang, who required thirty-one people to join forces against him. However, when they saw Lin Muyang only send out three seemingly frail girls, most of that interest vanished.

However, when that legion of ninety-three summons—the lowest of which exceeded level 160 and formed an incredibly luxurious lineup—completed its encirclement and released a world-shaking Aura, a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the two Thunder God Tigers. What surprised them even more was that the three girls surrounded by such a terrifying legion, facing a pressure that would make ordinary Lord-level monsters tremble, remained as calm as a light breeze, their expressions composed, without even a flicker in their eyes. This composure was definitely not a Disguise.

“Interesting little things...” a slightly larger Thunder God Tiger with deeper purple forehead markings murmured in a soul whisper that only its companion could hear.

On the battlefield, the visual impact of size was immense. The most magnificent Titan Giant under Wang Meng's command stood over twenty-five meters tall, like an ancient idol carved from grayish-brown rock. It did not land, but relied on some flight skill to hover steadily in mid-air, like a mobile aerial fortress blocking the very front of the entire team. That incredibly thick rock body gave off a sense of absolute security just by looking at it. Behind it and on its flanks were the Titan Giants, Mountain Behemoths, and Diamond Golems of other Summoners, together forming an almost insurmountable physical barrier.

By the lakeshore, Gu Shuanglin's World Tree stood tall and majestic. Although it could not fly, its height was not at all inferior to the Titan Giants in the sky. Its incredibly thick trunk and its sun-blotting emerald canopy radiated a dense Aura of nature and life. It could not only release powerful area-of-effect control skills but also generate large-scale wind wall shields, making it an excellent support and control core for the team.

The "Thousand-Year Snake Demon" summoned by Zhao Man had a human head and a snake's body, glamorous and dangerous, coiling in the air while breathing out dark green poisonous mist. The "Ten-Thousand-Year Spider Woman" was like the most exquisite hunter, lurking on the flanks of the formation, waiting for the opportunity for a fatal strike.

Hao Qingshan's own three main demons—the Hellhound, the Slaughter Demon, and the Octopus Demon—were positioned toward the front of the main force. Their hideous appearances and the chaotic, evil Auras they emitted added a touch of frenzied aggression to the entire team.

In the sky, flying units like Storm Thunder Eagles, Flame Phoenixes, and Frost Dragons circled. At ground and mid-range, various Elementalists, Arcanists, Archers, and Gunners stood ready. In the back row, Holy Light Priests, Nature Prophets, and War Song Shamans had already begun chanting, layering flowing shields of light, strength, and defense buffs onto the giant beasts in the front...

This lineup could be called a luxurious exhibition of a Summoner's power. Its combined combat strength was enough to level the entire defensive forces of a small nation, crush several wild Overlord-level monsters of the same level in a frontal assault, and even hold its own against a true Nation-Guarding Level Expert for a short time. All the Summoners participating in the siege wore expressions of unprecedented solemnity, but the fire burning in their eyes was incredibly hot. If they could not win even by gathering such power, then they would truly be convinced and have nothing more to say!

“Prepare—start the battle!”

With a sharp cry from the temporary commander Hao Qingshan, full of magic and decisiveness, this unprecedented, lopsided three-versus-ninety-three duel officially began!

“Roar—!”

“Hiss—!”

“Screech—!”

All sorts of roars, hisses, and bellows erupted simultaneously! Ninety-three powerful summons moved almost at the same time! The giant beasts in the front row let out earth-shaking war cries, their bodies glowing brightly as various defensive skills were activated. Like moving mountains, they began to steadily advance! The mages and archers in the middle and back rows surged with magic and battle qi, as countless brilliant and dangerous lights condensed in their hands, on their staves, and on their bowstrings! The figures of the assassins and high-speed units became blurred, quietly cutting in from the flanks like ghosts!

However, at the very moment this mountain-and-ocean-like offensive was about to be launched—

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

The black-haired girl, Gui Wanwan, who had been quietly floating in the center, seemingly indifferent to everything around her, finally moved. No, to be precise, she just gently raised her fair, slender right hand, which looked completely out of place in the grim atmosphere, as if to brush off non-existent dust from her shoulder.

Her movement was so casual, so understated, that it didn't even attract much attention, except for the few who had been staring at her intently.

Her red lips parted slightly, and a cold, playful voice clearly reached the ears of every creature on the battlefield, as if it were resonating directly at the soul level: "Yamas Secret Incantation: Soul Departure."

There was no earth-shattering momentum, no dazzling burst of light. There was only a strange, invisible, and intangible ripple that caused the souls of all those with keen perception to tighten suddenly, spreading out in a ring from Gui Wanwan as the center!

What was even more heart-stopping was that this ripple was not singular. The moment it spread, as if influenced by some supreme rule, it suddenly split and replicated, turning into dozens of tiny ripples—equally strange, equally imperceptible, yet precisely locking onto their targets. Like invisible chains, they ignored spatial distance, ignored the heavy shields and buff lights in front, and precisely submerged into the forty summons charging at the front and those in relatively critical positions!

This was exactly the effect of Lin Muyang's epic-grade Aura skill—【Super Splitting】! It forcibly turned the "Yamas Secret Incantation," which was originally a single-target skill, into a small-area group skill!

Hum—! The forty summons struck by those invisible chains froze mid-charge! The burning fighting spirit, surging magic power, and overwhelming strength in their eyes stopped abruptly, like a frozen river in that instant! Immediately after, an indescribable sense of emptiness replaced all the luster in their eyes.

The ferocious expressions on the three heads of the Hellhound froze, the butcher knife raised by the Slaughter Demon stalled in mid-air, and the tentacles waved by the Octopus Demon hung down powerlessly... It wasn't just Hao Qingshan's three main demons, but also the three Titan Giants charging at the front, two Mountain Behemoths, several high-level Elementalist, and several support units preparing to release key control skills... A full forty powerful summons were, at this moment, as if collectively pressed by a pause button, or like puppets with their souls extracted, quietly hovering in the air, motionless, even maintaining their most basic levitation posture relying only on inertia or residual instinct.

Their bodies were still alive, and their magic power was still flowing slowly, but the "consciousness," or rather the "soul," that controlled their bodies had been forcibly stripped away by the strange "Yamas Secret Incantation" and banished to some unknown place. Because Gui Wanwan's mental attributes far exceeded those of these summons, this stripping was almost overwhelming; in the next few dozen minutes, or even hours, the souls of these summons would be unable to return. In other words, in the ensuing battle, they would completely become unresponsive live targets!

The side of the summon army that was originally advancing with momentum like a steel flood, near Gui Wanwan, instantly appeared a large, eerie "static" area! Forty powerful combat units had silently lost their combat effectiveness just like that! This scene, strange, thrilling, and carrying an indescribable impact, caused the entire scene to fall into a dead silence, with only the wind and the faint thunder in the distance remaining.

"It's this move again!" "Completely incomprehensible! There is no energy fluctuation at all!" "It's not a mental shock! It's not a soul imprisonment! What kind of ability is this?!"

On the mountain, Xu Ruohan, Zhou Wenyuan, and other Nation-Guarding Level Expert stared intently at Gui Wanwan, trying to see clues from her. Some experts who were good at Energy Detection pushed their perception to the limit, yet still could not sense any familiar elemental fluctuations, mental power fluctuations, or power of rules. It was a power completely independent of the existing cognitive system—dark, profound, pointing directly to the origin of the soul, as if it came from the legendary Underworld!

Hao Qingshan's heart sank to the bottom, and his face instantly turned pale. He felt that his soul link with the three demon summons was still there, but the other end of the link was a dead void; no matter how he urged his mental power or issued mandatory orders, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving no response! "Oh no!" Alarm bells rang in his heart.

"It's a control skill! The range is huge! The effect is unknown! The hit units have completely lost their ability to move!" Zhao Man's cold voice, with a trace of trembling, rang out urgently in the mental link, "Units that are still alive, immediately activate life-saving skills! Support, hurry! Group invincibility!"

Almost at the same time she shouted, two Summoners in the team who possessed powerful support summons also reacted.

"Holy Blessing: Group Holy Shield!" "Natural Protection: Group Invincibility!"

Two brilliant beams of light filled with holy and natural Aura rose from the rear almost simultaneously, then converged and spread in the air, turning into a soft yet sturdy curtain of light, rapidly enveloping all friendly summons on the battlefield that had not yet been affected by "Yamas Secret Incantation." This was an extremely rare group invincibility skill; although the duration was very short, usually only a few seconds, at this critical moment, it was enough to withstand a round of fatal bursts and buy time for the team to adjust.

The light curtain fell, protecting the remaining fifty-three summons inside, emitting a reassuring glow. Many Summoners and their summons breathed a sigh of relief; with these few seconds of invincibility, they could regroup, deal with the next wave of attacks from the strange black-haired girl, and at the same time focus fire to eliminate those three girls...

However, their relief lasted less than a second. Just as the holy light and natural radiance enveloped the battlefield, the Elf Princess Lilia, who had been standing still, finally moved. A glimmer of gentleness and pity flashed in her emerald-green eyes, as if sighing at the futility of her opponents. She gently raised the legendary-grade staff "Heart of Nature," which seemed to be carved from living wood, and the emerald-green gem at the top of the staff lit up with a soft yet firm light.

Her voice was ethereal and melodious, like a clear spring in the forest, but it carried an unquestionable majesty that resounded across the battlefield: "Virgos Protection: Holy Praise!"

Hum—! A holy radiance, purer, more solid, and more vast than the two invincibility light curtains just now, descended from the sky! No, that light did not come from the sky, but seemed to originate from Lilia herself, from the kind of supreme healing and protection rule she represented! The golden light, dotted with starlight, like the softest veil and the sturdiest barrier, gently wrapped around herself, Elabess, and Gui Wanwan.

This light shield did not look thick, but it emitted an eternal Aura that was impervious to all laws and warded off all evils. It was exactly Lilia's powerful defensive skill—Virgos Protection! It could apply an invincibility shield that lasted for a considerable time to herself and designated friendly units!

That was not all! The moment "Virgos Protection" took effect, an invisible, profound ripple came from far away (the mountain where Lin Muyang was located), quietly connecting to the skill Lilia released. That was another of Lin Muyang's epic-grade Aura—【Long Lasting】! Effect: Extends the duration of all friendly buff and shield skills by ten times!

Thus, under the stunned gaze of everyone, including the two mythic grade Thunder God Tiger, the golden invincibility light shield covering the three girls not only did not disappear after flickering a few times like ordinary invincibility skills, but on the contrary, its light became more solid and stable, and... showed no signs of weakening at all!

"This... how is this possible?!" "Invincibility status? They have invincibility too?!" "No! Their invincibility... the duration is wrong! How can it be so long?!" "Detection shows... buff duration... over ten minutes?! Are you kidding me! How are we supposed to fight this?!"

The Summoners with detection skills immediately shared the terrifying information they perceived into the mental link. In an instant, the entire remaining Summoner team fell into a dead silence of despair.

Ten minutes of invincibility? Facing three opponents whose attributes and skills were bizarre to the extreme, while they had ten minutes of invincibility?!