The toxin from the wound on his right leg was spreading.
The numbness grew stronger, and his Spirit Power was being consumed violently.
The Shield flickered uncertainly…
The shadow of death had never been so clear.
This can’t go on!
Toxic Mist!
The Toxic Mist is the key to this Death Cage!
It must be torn apart!
The thought flashed like lightning.
“Toxic Mist is a gaseous flow… Instantly create a super-strong negative pressure zone, forcibly extract!”
A concept from modern physics lit up the darkness like a bolt of lightning!
“Open–for me!”
A reckless, deadly light exploded in Lin En’s eyes!
The twin crystal cores spun madly!
Vast Spirit Power surged out, no longer seeking delicate control, but instead driving the wind laws in the most violent way!
Vmm–!
Above his and Wei’er’s heads, the air groaned under unbearable strain!
A massive, transparent Wind Eye formed in an instant, visible to the naked eye!
At the Wind Eye’s core, a terrifying ultra-strong negative pressure was born!
Whoosh–!!!!
It was like a vacuum cleaner opening in the sky!
The thick, dark green miasma covering dozens of meters was sucked upward by this wild, overwhelming force, rushing toward the Wind Eye in the sky!
Vision cleared at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The suffocating Spirit Screen feeling receded like a tide!
In just a few seconds, the Toxic Mist was completely sucked away.
“Found you!”
The moment the Toxic Mist dispersed, Lin En’s Spirit Power Radar locked on!
The Alchemist was cowering in terror behind a charred tree, clutching an Alchemical Bottle that glowed with dangerous light!
Killing intent boiled over!
Lin En didn’t waste a single motion.
His remaining right hand rose like a Blazing Spear of Judgment, pointing directly at the target!
A blazing white sphere, harboring a highly unstable, oxygen-rich fuel core, condensed and shot out!
Its trajectory was straight, carrying the will to burn everything to ash!
[Thermobaric Spell: Micro Core]!
BOOM–!!!
This micro Thermobaric Spell fired faster, with an explosion more contained, focused, and violent!
Extremely high temperatures, high pressure, and instant vacuumed oxygen erupted at the base of the charred tree where the Alchemist hid!
Tree and human alike twisted, vaporized, and vanished as if thrown into the heart of the sun!
All that remained was a scorched shallow pit, a wisp of smoke, and flickering sparks!
The world fell silent!
Yet, just as the Toxic Mist cleared, and the blinding flash and roar of the thermobaric explosion masked everything…
“BOOM!!!”
A heavy, unique thunder like a giant siege hammer smashing down exploded from the dense woods to Lin En’s left!
The sound was so heavy, so distinct, it pierced through the dying echoes of the blast!
Lin En’s Spirit Power Radar instantly locked on!
A clear image flashed in his Spirit Vision: a slender figure, half as tall as a man, holding a massive Giant Crossbow, skin dark, ears long and slender—a Dark Elf, crouched with the monstrous bow still quivering in her hands!
Position exposed!
The scream of death tore through the air!
A giant arrow, thick as a child’s arm, its head wreathed in tangible, dark Demonbreaking energy, with an Alchemical Explosive tied to its shaft, shot straight toward him with devastating force!
Its speed far surpassed any previous arrows!
Lin En’s eyes widened in horror!
His strength was exhausted, his body so weak it was on the verge of collapse!
But the crystal core detected the threat—and the enemy’s position!
Counterattack!
He must counterattack, or death was certain!
He no longer cared for precise control!
Ignoring the agony from his right leg, wounded to the bone, he brutally fused chaotic wind magic and searing fire magic, compressing them together!
“Explode–for me!!!”
His battered right arm, like a broken flag, whipped backward with desperate fury!
Vmm–!
Three walnut-sized Miniature Energy Cores, their structures wildly unstable, their glow flickering fiercely, were hurled with his last ounce of strength toward the area where the Dark Elf crossbow wielder stood!
Their paths flickered like dying candles in the wind, threatening to unravel at any moment!
This was no proper Thermobaric Spell, but a forcibly stripped and compressed Explosion Core!
He abandoned the precise Oxygen-Enriched Field, abandoned perfect energy structure, only seeking detonation near the enemy!
To create chaos!
Not for damage—but to disrupt!
Just a single instant!
Lin En gathered his Spirit Power without reservation, compressing and focusing it madly!
Only one goal—to build the final two lines of defense before destruction arrived!
First layer!
[Reactive Explosive Armor]!
Scarlet fire magic was forcibly compressed and solidified, instantly condensing into a Reactive Shield made of countless high-speed spinning, interlocked hexagonal fire crystals!
It was designed specifically to counter Magic-Breaking Arrows!
Second layer!
[Extreme Frost Shield]!
Almost the instant the Reactive Explosive Armor took form, ice magic followed!
A thick, dense diamond-shaped ice shield, hard as ancient black ice, froze solid right against the inside of the explosive armor!
Frost condensed on its surface, not to absorb energy, but as a physical barrier, prepared to block the physical fragments and shockwaves after the Magic-Breaking Arrow struck the reactive armor!
Having done all this, Lin En’s mind roared, his vision darkening!
But at this moment, the strength in his left arm exploded to its limit!
Like the strongest shackle, he locked the unconscious Wei’er tightly in his embrace, pressing her small body completely between himself and the charred tree trunk!
He arched his back, bowed his head, using his entire back and those two hastily-formed magical walls to become the last, and only, barrier protecting Wei’er!
Whoosh–!
The Explosive Demonbreaking Bolt, shrouded in destructive dark light, tore through the air like Death’s sigh, aiming straight at Lin En’s back!
BOOM–!!!!
The destructive impact struck in an instant!
The Magic-Breaking Arrow slammed into the core node of the [Reactive Explosive Armor]!
Instant detonation!
The arrowhead and the swollen Alchemical Explosive erupted, forming a miniature storm of energy annihilation!
A blinding flash and a terrifying shockwave exploded outward!
BOOM!!
The massive force and shockwave smashed through the shattered Shield, hammering hard into the second layer—the [Extreme Frost Shield]!
CRACK!!
The heavy ice shield quaked violently!
Its surface was instantly webbed with cracks!
Frost surged, striving to freeze and slow the destructive force breaking through!
Ice shards fell like an avalanche!
After absorbing the brunt of the blast, the shield collapsed.
The unstoppable shockwave smashed through both broken shields and slammed brutally into Lin En’s back!
“Urgh–!”
His vision went black, hot blood spurting from his mouth!
His back and flesh were torn and scorched in an instant!
His bones screamed in agony!
His organs felt as if a giant invisible hand had seized and crushed them!
Blood and fragments of flesh spewed out!
The violent blast ravaged his body, sending both him and the tightly-held Wei’er flying like leaves in a storm!
His battered form could no longer withstand the overwhelming force!
His clenched fingers were pried open by an irresistible power!
Wei’er!
The faint, unconscious figure slipped from his stiff arms, swept forward by the explosion’s blast!
In that fatal moment of imbalance—he and Wei’er were flung, suspended in the smoky, fiery air of death.
SHHH––!
A small, fierce figure, like a viper’s fang tearing from the shadows, suddenly sprang up from the path cleared by the blast!
He had clearly calculated the direction of the explosion and their trajectories, lying in wait for this moment!
The Assassin!
But the eyes now burned not with cold killing intent, but with a twisted, frenzied mixture of pleasure and hatred!
All his strength, all his speed, all his skill, focused on the Soul-Freezing Dagger wreathed in dark light!
The dagger cut the air with a soul-chilling screech, aimed straight for Lin En’s vulnerable throat!
Too fast for the eye to follow!
The cold breath of death froze Lin En’s blood in an instant!
Time seemed to stretch and freeze!
In his left vision, Wei’er’s tiny body was tumbling out of control.
Below were jagged rocks and burning wood!
With her frail body and defenseless posture, falling would mean certain death!
To his right, the lethal dagger, radiating destruction, enlarged in his vision, less than an arm’s length from his throat!
On the Assassin’s face, a mix of hatred and triumphant madness twisted in a hellish grin!
Suspended in the air, in a moment shorter than a heartbeat!
Two lines of death!
Choice one—save Wei’er!
Throw himself forward, shield her with his body, and absorb the full impact of the fall!
Perhaps…he could keep Wei’er alive?
But the cost—he would abandon all defense, exposing his back and neck entirely to the Assassin’s dagger!
Only one outcome—instant death!
He wouldn’t even feel pain!
Choice two—save himself!
Gather the last flicker of Spirit Power in his mind, force his battered body to twist mid-air, and maybe—just maybe—dodge the fatal blow to his throat?
But the cost—he would watch as Wei’er, his only sister, crashed onto the rocks below like a broken fledgling, her body shattered!
What…should he choose?
But this isn’t a choice!
This is Fate’s Poisoned Chalice, offered with a cruel smile, forcing him to drink one cup or the other!