"Rover, don't let this guy affect you!"
Jiyan lifted his emerald dragon spear and pointed it straight at the Crownless's head. But the opponent was, after all, a revived Crownless. Its combat ability was completely on a different level compared to before.
Dark purple wings spread out instantly behind the Crownless. It raised its lance-like weapon high, then slammed it hard against Jiyan's dragon spear.
Feeling the tremendous force coming through the spear, Jiyan gritted his teeth and forced his weapon aside, knocking the Crownless's lance away.
In terms of raw strength, Jiyan was no match for the Crownless.
And he knew this very well. Continuing to clash head-on wouldn't bring him any advantage. Instead, he might be defeated by the Crownless's overwhelming strength.
With that thought, a cyan wind field began to spread outward from Jiyan.
"Ride the wind and rise!"
A cyan azure dragon was born from the wind field. Its loud dragon's roar echoed continuously through the space as it circled around Jiyan.
"Take this!"
With a furious shout, Jiyan thrust his spear forward, and the azure dragon shot straight toward the Crownless's chest.
But the Crownless seemed to have expected this. Even facing Jiyan's fierce momentum, it remained completely unmoved…
Though, with that skull-like face, could it even make any expression?
"Stop spacing out, go help him. Jiyan can't hold on much longer."
The doctor's voice snapped Rover out of her thoughts. Looking again, Jiyan, who had just charged forward with overwhelming force, had already been knocked flying by a single wing strike.
Fortunately, the flowing wind lifted his body from below as he was sent flying, preventing him from crashing awkwardly onto the ground.
Even so, taking the full force of the Crownless's attack didn't leave Jiyan in good shape. At that moment, he felt as if all his internal organs were churning from the impact.
Yet the Crownless didn't pursue him to deal a finishing blow. Instead, it remained where it was, moving leisurely, as if taking a stroll. It didn't seem to take the people in front of it seriously at all.
Or perhaps it was waiting for something.
"Rover, it's stalling for time." Jiyan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and straightened his back again. The seriousness in his sharp eyes felt almost tangible.
"As long as it delays until the Threnodian revives, it wins."
"I understand."
Rover nodded and immediately drew her swift blade. Her slender leg, wrapped in long boots, lightly stepped on the ground, instantly releasing a force that didn't seem like it belonged to such a slim body.
At the same time, in the image above their heads, a flash of light passed over the Nexus Armament in Zane's hand. The next second, he and the two Scales completely disappeared from the scene.
No matter how the Threnodian tried to locate them, it couldn't connect to the frequencies of the Tempest Mephis and the Thundering Mephis.
But there was no time for the Threnodian to think further, because Rover's swift blade had already reached the Crownless.
The sudden change in the image was also seen by Rover and the doctor.
Although the worry in their hearts had become almost tangible, pressing down on them and making it hard to breathe.
If the Threnodian wasn't dealt with, none of this would end.
Facing Rover rushing in at high speed, the Crownless raised its lance high with both hands.
It knew very well that the Rover was the absolute core of this team. As long as it defeated her…
In the next second, the massive lance smashed down head-on.
But Rover's forward charge suddenly shifted. With a sharp zigzag turn, she nimbly avoided the Crownless's attack.
Then her swift blade stabbed diagonally into the side of its body.
Streams of energy formed from frequency flowed out from the wound on the Crownless's body, slowly drifting toward the moon hanging in midair.
In pain, the Crownless swept its lance sideways. Black dark flames burst upward from cracks beneath its feet, rushing straight toward Rover, who was closest.
Rover, who had just been forced back by the lance, focused her gaze. Her light body leapt high into the air, easily avoiding the flames.
Just as the Crownless's attention was drawn to her airborne figure, a violent explosion erupted behind it.
The Crownless had no choice but to turn and look back, only to see a small, cute girl in black rapidly retreating.
At the same time, a dark golden glow flickered continuously in her hands.
Then, the Originium crystals forming in her hands were thrown once again toward the Crownless.
Realizing the danger, the Crownless quickly raised its weapon to block, but the crystals exploded violently before even making contact.
The roaring flames instantly engulfed it. Clusters of Originium crystals formed from the explosion, completely sealing its movements.
However, this still wasn't enough to completely destroy the Crownless.
Though covered in wounds, as the dark purple wings behind it spread open, the dark flames surging from its body shattered the crystal clusters attached to it.
"It's not over yet!"
The Crownless had never seen a sword technique that descended from the sky.
But today, it did.
Earlier, Rover had leapt into the air to avoid the dark flames. Then she used an aerial grappling maneuver, stepping on the azure dragon formed by Jiyan's wind field as she descended from above.
That day, the Crownless turned into light…
"Hah…", Rover wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead. 'What a satisfying battle.'
Just as she thought everything was over and planned to go back to find Zane, the corpse of the Crownless on the ground suddenly turned into strands of black threads, gradually gathering into the moon behind it.
"Rover, be careful!"
Jiyan stepped forward and warned in a low voice.
Rover nodded. At that moment, as the remaining frequency of the Crownless continued to flow in, the moon hanging in this false sky gradually solidified, turning into a real "moon."
Rather than calling it a moon, Rover would rather call it a "cocoon."
And the Crownless had only been a sacrifice used by the Threnodian to collect their combat frequencies.
As its power recovered, the stone cocoon slowly rose into the air. Under the dim sky, it cast a deep and heavy shadow over the group.
In just a few seconds, the cocoon reached the very center of the sky. Then, the sky itself cracked open.
The floating cocoon and the fractured sky looked like the eye of some existence that should not be looked at, gazing down upon the land.
A strong sense of unease instantly enveloped the three of them.
A female human-shaped TD gradually split out from the cocoon, spreading wings like massive tentacles that covered the sky as she faced them.
Wasn't this the same TD Rover had seen before in the simulation field at the Huaxu Research Institute?
"That moon absorbed the Crownless's frequency and created another monster."
"…Do not… come closer…"
A jumble of residual sounds gathered into a sentence, suddenly appearing in their minds. Yet what they heard with their ears was only static noise.
"It's coming!"
The female TD dove down from the sky toward them, accompanied by piercing noise and the shriek of residual frequencies.
Just as it was about to reach Rover, who stood at the front, a beam of blue light shot in from afar, cutting across its path.
In that instant, an indescribable fear enveloped the female TD.
It had no doubt that if it touched that light even for a second, it would vanish on the spot.
Under the threat of death, it had no choice but to flap its wings and retreat from the beam's range.
"Sorry, I'm late."
The familiar voice made Rover's face light up instantly. She quickly turned her head, just in time to see that figure she had been so worried about walking toward her step by step.