"Wah!"
As the magic shield shattered into pieces, expressions of joy briefly flickered across the faces of Zero, Peshilian, and Succulent. Victory felt at their fingertips.
However, in the next instant, what appeared before their eyes was the silhouette of Lakyus, her entire body now enveloped in a dazzling aura of magical light. A drastic, unexpected change.
Summon!
Lakyus lunged. Her movements were lightning fast, closing in on Thousand Killer Malmvist, who appeared to be the most fragile among them. The magic sword Kilineiram was raised, slicing through the air with lethal force.
Malmvist didn't even have time to react. A flash of cold light reflected in his wide, terrified eyes, just before an immense pain radiated from his shoulder.
"Aaaah!"
Malmvist's howl of agony pierced the silence. He stumbled back two steps, his body trembling violently. A deep, long sword wound stretched from his left shoulder to his right rib cage. His flesh was split open, vaguely revealing internal organs, and fresh blood gushed profusely. The sword had truly cut through his sternum with horrifying precision.
Seeing Malmvist's pathetic condition, Zero hurriedly retreated, maintaining a safe distance between himself and Lakyus. A danger alarm blared in his head.
Succulent, who had initially planned to use his illusory clone to confuse the enemy and launch a sneak attack, was instantly horrified. His face turned ashen, and he abandoned his intention, choosing to retreat to maintain distance.
It wasn't just them. Even Lakyus, who had just launched that deadly attack, was surprised by the result of her own strike.
Is that right?
She remembered sparring with Gagaran and other Church of Destiny members. Back then, they could handle this [Holy Sword Slash] attack with relative ease. How could its impact be so great on Malmvist?
No, now's not the time to think about that!
Lakyus immediately snapped out of it. This was no time for contemplation. Without hesitation, she launched another attack towards Zero and the others.
Since the four enemies were now keeping their distance, Lakyus switched to using long-range magic attacks.
Her attack target was already chosen.
Lakyus's eyes were fixed on Edstrom, who was surrounded by his short swords. He was the only one among the four enemies with certain long-range attack capabilities.
And unlike Space Slasher Peshilian, who was protected by heavy magical armor, Edstrom had no conspicuous magical defenses. This meant his defensive capabilities were likely very weak.
"[Fifth Tier: Lightning Dragon]!"
With full vigilance towards the enemy, Lakyus immediately cast the strongest magic attack she controlled. Mana surged around her.
Thunder rumbled violently, echoing through the narrow corridor. Although Edstrom was highly vigilant and desperately tried to evade, the lightning dragon snake created by the magic seemed alive. It veered, following the direction Edstrom was heading, relentlessly closing in.
Finally, under Edstrom's fixed gaze, the raging lightning flash instantly enveloped his entire body.
Crack!
Lightning struck, electric sparks filling the air. Edstrom fell to the ground with a faint groan. His entire body was charred black, and wisps of white smoke curled from his burning clothes. The smell of scorched flesh filled the corridor.
Gulp!
The three remaining Six Arms members—Zero, Peshilian, and Succulent—couldn't help but swallow hard, seeing Edstrom's pitiful condition. Fear began to creep in.
Lakyus also stared at Edstrom lying on the ground. In her heart, there was a mix of emotions.
The elite members of the Six Arms, who were said to be able to rival Steel-tier or even Adamantite-tier adventurers, weren't that weak. This situation... might be due to the fact that I've become stronger.
When did this happen?
Lakyus raised her hand, her fingers clenched. The question swirled in her mind.
Perhaps it's because I've been continuously fighting those monsters over there... and I've always been at a disadvantage. So, I didn't notice my own changes at all.
Come to think of it, when she suggested sparring with Gagaran and the others, their expressions were indeed quite strange. They must have noticed something different.
This feeling... felt quite good.
After realizing her strength had greatly increased, Lakyus couldn't help but feel an overflowing joy. A new confidence.
"Alright... alright, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra," Zero broke the silence, his smile appearing somewhat forced, a thin mask over the unease that was starting to emerge. "If you're willing to let us go, I can give you 20,000 gold coins as a reward. What do you say?"
Hearing the offer, Lakyus's answer was, of course, firm, without hesitation. "I refuse! If you surrender obediently, I can consider sparing your lives."
As she spoke, Lakyus raised her magic sword, pointing its dark tip towards Zero, as if ready to attack at any moment. A warning.
The fake smile on Zero's face instantly froze. His expression slowly darkened, radiating anger and despair. He returned to his fighting stance, his muscles tensing. "In that case, I have no choice but to fight to the death!"
As if in response to his declaration, the animal tattoos across Zero's body began to glow one by one, shimmering with energy.
[Leopard's Foot]!
[Falcon's Return]!
[Rhinoceros' Wrist]!
As all the tattoos activated, Zero's right hand emitted strong energy fluctuations, concentrated in his fist.
Lakyus dared not be reckless. She held her magic sword tightly with both hands and observed Zero's every move, ready to defend against a lethal attack at any moment.
"Watch this!"
Zero shouted loudly and threw a punch forward. A horrifying shockwave burst from his fist, hurtling like a deadly cannonball.
After unleashing the attack, Zero didn't even turn to look at the result. He turned and ran like lightning towards the adjacent corridor. A cowardly escape.
Peshilian and Succulent, stunned by Zero's powerful attack, initially didn't notice his escape. When they finally came to their senses, they cursed Zero's betrayal in their hearts, anger mixed with fear.
Lakyus paused for a moment, seeing Zero's actions, but then the corner of her mouth curved slightly upwards. A faint smile, full of understanding.
The shockwave Zero launched shot past and violently slammed into the waiting room wall, creating a large, deep crack on its surface.
Amidst the deafening roar, Zero was about to rush into the corridor, a relieved smile spreading across his face.
However, at that moment, he felt a flash before his eyes. Lakyus, who should have been far from him, suddenly appeared before him.
"[Teleportation Magic]!?"
Zero immediately thought of the possibility, incredibly shocked. In his moment of surprise, the shining magic sword had already slashed at him.
In those critical seconds, Zero was forced to raise his arm to block the slash.
The sword glowed brightly, and a piercing pain shot from his hand. He gritted his teeth, enduring the agony, and stumbled back several steps.
When he looked down, his eyes widened. The muscles of his forearm had been easily severed, even the ulna bone was broken. His entire arm was almost detached from his shoulder, hanging by a mere thread of flesh.
"Don't resist anymore. You have no chance of winning."
Lakyus flicked the blood off her magic sword, making its blade gleam clean again. She issued an ultimatum to Zero, Peshilian, and Succulent, her voice calm but absolute.
"Hateful!"
Zero's facial muscles twitched slightly, and it was unclear whether it was from the injury to his hand or the rage in his heart.
But after three seconds, he clearly saw the situation and bowed his head to Lakyus, "Alright, I surrender."
"That's good."
Lakyus was satisfied with Zero's appearance, and looked at Peshilian and Succulent beside him, "What about you?"
The two men were very wise. After seeing Zero surrender, they dropped their weapons and said, "We surrender too."
"In that case, just stand still and wait until the guards arrive."
Lakyus pointed her sword at the wall, signaling Zero and the others to gather together.
Since they had already surrendered, Zero and the other two dared not defy her command and all retreated to another wall, away from the corridor.
At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded in the waiting room, and the faces of Zero and the other two suddenly changed as they heard it.
"You are truly disappointing."
Lakyus was startled.
But before she could locate the person, a burst of blazing fire swept through, and Zero along with the other two were instantly engulfed in [Black Flame].
They danced within the flames a few times like puppets, then fell to the ground with a thud, and died instantly!