167: situation

Just as Jonnison was preparing to make a move on the others.

A new anomaly arose.

Above the royal capital, the already turbulent space became even more distorted at this moment.

Jonnison's smile froze on his face, and he suddenly looked up.

"Rumble!"

The flames covering the sky seemed to be stirred by an invisible giant hand, forming a vortex.

From the center of the vortex, two massive Dragon claws reached out. Those Dragon claws were composed entirely of flames, with every scale flickering with destructive, blood-red fire.

One claw grabbed towards Jonnison, while the other grabbed towards Kleid.

"Damn it!" Jonnison cursed inwardly, drawing back.

His speed was extremely fast, and he narrowly avoided the Dragon claw.

Kleid was not so lucky. After Jonnison's sneak attack had succeeded, Kleid had been forced to interrupt its so-called finishing blow and had already suffered a backlash. Facing this sudden attack, it had no time to dodge.

"Roar!"

The Qiongqi let out a mournful cry and struggled desperately, but in front of those flaming Dragon claws, it appeared so insignificant.

"Snap!"

The Dragon claw tightened, crushing the Qiongqi's body instantly, causing black Qi to scatter in all directions.

"Pfft!" Kleid spat out blood, as if struck by a heavy blow, and flew backward.

At the same time, the "Artemis" that had originally been falling also dissipated into firelight.

Seeing this, Jonnison's pupils constricted. He understood that the one he had successfully ambushed earlier was merely a Clone of Artemis.

"Jonnison, you really do love acting like a rat."

A playful voice came from above.

Firelight flickered, and Artemis's figure re-condensed. It hovered in mid-air, looking down at Jonnison from above with eyes full of disdain.

"Kleid, Pope, is that all?" Artemis looked at the flying Kleid, its tone laced with mockery.

"Cough, cough... Artemis..." Kleid struggled to get up, blood spilling from the corner of its mouth, its expression looking terrible to the extreme.

"Jonnison, it seems we must join forces." Kleid looked at Jonnison and said in a deep voice.

Jonnison did not respond, but his actions already indicated his attitude.

His figure flickered, appearing beside Kleid, standing shoulder to shoulder with it.

"Oh? Joining forces?" Artemis raised an eyebrow, looking at the two with amusement. "Kleid, you really aren't afraid. Even now, that guy Jonnison isn't using his true form. Aren't you afraid he'll backstab you?"

"Stop sowing discord. My Visualization Diagram dictates that I can only fight using a Clone," Jonnison said coldly.

In his hand, that pitch-black dagger appeared once more.

Kleid's gaze flickered; it took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing its injuries.

"Roar!"

The phantom of the Qiongqi appeared behind it. Although dim, it still exuded a fierce and evil aura.

"Fight!"

Jonnison gave a low shout and launched the first attack.

His figure flickered, disappearing from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already behind Artemis.

The dagger silently stabbed towards Artemis's heart.

At the same time, Kleid also moved.

It controlled the Qiongqi phantom and pounced towards Artemis.

The two attacked from front and back, beginning a pincer assault.

"Hmph, a former fence-sitter and a hopeless incompetent; how boring!"

Artemis snorted coldly. It didn't even turn around, merely waving its hand gently.

"Whoosh!"

Blood Flame appeared out of thin air, meeting Jonnison's dagger.

On the other side, Artemis turned and threw a punch.

"Boom!"

The flaming fist and the Qiongqi phantom collided fiercely.

Between heaven and earth, a deafening roar erupted.

Jonnison's dagger was blocked by the flames, unable to advance even an inch.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The dagger and the Blood Flame collided crazily, surprisingly erupting with dense, crisp sounds like physical objects striking one another.

Jonnison's expression was grim; he hadn't expected Artemis's Blood Flame to have such a property, turning the intangible into the tangible.

"Damn it, how is this guy's flame so wicked?" Jonnison cursed inwardly, but he dared not stop his movements for even a second.

His figure flickered like a ghost, constantly changing positions, attempting to find a flaw in Artemis.

On the other side, Kleid controlled the Qiongqi phantom, engaging in a crazed exchange of blows with Artemis's flaming fist.

"Boom, boom, boom!" Every collision erupted with earth-shattering roars, and the violent energy ripples caused the surrounding space to distort and deform.

Kleid's face flushed red, and blood continuously spilled from the corner of its mouth.

It was forcibly driving the Qiongqi phantom, which already consumed a massive amount of energy, and coupled with the previous sneak attack by Jonnison, its injuries were not light, making the situation even worse.

"Pfft!" After another violent collision, Kleid could no longer hold on, spat out a mouthful of blood, and flew backward.

The Qiongqi phantom also collapsed, turning into specks of black Qi that dissipated into the air.

"Trash!" Seeing this, Jonnison couldn't help but curse under his breath.

He wasn't good at head-on combat; otherwise, he wouldn't have constantly acted as a fence-sitter.

"Jonnison, you damn well better use your full power!" Kleid struggled to crawl up and roared at Jonnison.

"Can't you stop using that crappy little knife??"

Jonnison glanced coldly at Kleid and did not speak.

He naturally knew that his Clone was not very good.

But what of it? If he really had to risk his life using his true form, he wasn't willing to do that, after all, he still wanted to win the MVP.

At a location extremely far from the battlefield, two figures hidden in the Void Realm were engaging in an unusual conversation.

"You're just going to watch your son get beaten and remain indifferent?" In the void, a voice rang out, carrying a hint of mockery and a hint of probing.

"It's just a small matter," another voice responded, calm and waveless, as if discussing an insignificant thing. "It is you who are the true danger."

"Danger?" The first voice chuckled. "Since submitting to our Master's command, I have always behaved myself and have never done anything out of line. Where is this coming from?"

"Hmph, a dog that bites never barks," the second voice snorted coldly. "You and I both know clearly that those little tricks of yours might fool others, but they can't fool me."

"Sigh, you can't say it like that," the first voice sighed. "Who doesn't know that you and your son have gained the Master's favor and are unrivaled in prominence? How would a small fry like me dare to compete with you? Look, I haven't made any big moves until now; isn't that the best proof?"

"It's not that you don't want to, it's just that you haven't had the chance," the second voice mercilessly exposed. "I have been watching you the whole time; do you think you can stir up any waves?"

"Watching me?" The first voice retorted. "Are you sure you can keep watching? When you were busy with your insurance, you looked away for a while. Guess whether or not I did anything during that time."

The second voice was silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought. "Perhaps I indeed couldn't watch you the whole time. But you must remember, in this drama, no one can stay out of it. You had better pray that you won't become the next sacrifice."

"Rest assured, rest assured. I am so well-behaved, just staying in one place, playing by myself; you really don't need to be so defensive against me."

These words received no response.

The second voice also no longer appeared, and everything fell into silence.