Corrupted Treant Tina clearly had no intention of giving anyone time to think.
She abruptly raised her arm, covered in eerie patterns, and made a grasping motion toward the sky.
Instantly, the sky was saturated with boundless malice. The once clear, bright expanse darkened at a visible rate.
Thick, dark clouds materialized from thin air, churning with heart-stopping purple-black lightning.
The next second, a devastating storm rained down from the clouds!
Dozens of human-head-sized Shadow Energy Orbs, wreathed in ominous black mist, shrieked through the air, hurtling toward everyone on the battlefield!
This indiscriminate area-of-effect attack instantly pushed the battlefield's pressure to its absolute peak!
"Defend!"
Zhou Yi and his teammates roared, but their movements remained orderly and precise.
The Paladin's shield and the Mage's barrier sprang up instantly.
City Lord Punk's Elite Guard, equally well-trained, swiftly formed a battle formation. Rune-etched tower shields locked together, and a shimmering membrane of light appeared.
However, these struggles were as fragile as thin paper before the overwhelming power of a Lord-level BOSS.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Shadow Energy Orbs slammed into the shields and shield wall, erupting in muffled explosions.
With each impact, the light shields trembled violently, cracks instantly spiderwebbing across their surfaces, bringing them to the brink of shattering.
Under the relentless bombardment, Zhou Yi's Team's Mage shield shattered, and the members immediately rolled in different directions.
Their movements looked clumsy, but they always managed to narrowly stabilize themselves at the very edge of the explosions' shockwaves.
Zhou Yi even stumbled, using the flat of his great axe to knock down a guard about to be caught in the blast, then smoothly dragging him behind cover.
The entire sequence was so fast it was impossible to tell if it was an accident or intentional.
Meanwhile, the City Lord's Guard's shield wall was blasted open, sending several guards flying. Their hands split open, and their blood surged violently.
Several energy orbs also precisely locked onto Lin Qingyue's group of four, shrieking straight toward them.
"I'll take it!"
Lin Xiyue reacted almost on pure muscle memory. With a clean, decisive sidestep, she positioned herself in front of her teammates.
She raised her left arm, assuming a perfectly practiced shield-blocking stance.
The moment the motion was complete, she froze.
Oh no!
Immovable Mountain was already shattered!
Her left hand now wore only a gauntlet—there was no shield!
The energy orb, radiating an aura of decay, rapidly expanded in her vision. Lin Xiyue's heart sank.
But the arrow was already loosed; there was no turning back.
Can't dodge it!
Her sister's Power Word: Shield was already active, enveloping her in a warm, reassuring glow that bolstered her confidence.
A surge of fierce determination welled up within her.
Gritting her teeth, she furiously channeled the surging Power of Holy Light within her into the gauntlet on her left arm and swung viciously at the incoming energy orb!
I'll risk it all!
The motion was identical to the one she had used to swing her shield countless times before!
A familiar golden arc of light unexpectedly materialized out of thin air, tracing the path of her gauntlet's swing!
The moment the menacing shadow energy orbs touched the golden arc, they were silently disintegrated, twisted, and erased.
They dissolved into pure energy particles and vanished into the air.
"This..."
Lin Xiyue's eyes widened in delighted surprise. She looked down at her unharmed left arm and the undamaged shield protecting her, her heart ablaze.
So that's how it works!
The core of Golden Parry wasn't the shield at all!
It was the runic magic circle engraved upon her soul and the force-dispersing techniques honed through countless repetitions!
The shield was merely a medium for channeling power.
And now, her arm—her gauntlet—could serve as that medium too!
Although she had lost the shield's physical rebound property and could no longer reflect damage, it was more than enough to "erase" projectile energy attacks like these!
Just as Lin Xiyue was reveling in her new discovery, the defensive line on the other side of the battlefield collapsed.
Zhou Yi's Team's Mage barrier shattered, and he himself fell, "gravely wounded," relying on his teammates to prop him up.
The City Lord's Guard's shield wall was also breached, and several guards were sent flying, their fates unknown.
As a massacre loomed, City Lord Punk, his face grim, finally stopped holding back.
He let out a heaven-shaking roar, raised his warhammer high, and began chanting a prayer in an ancient, solemn tone.
"In the name of the Contract, I shall protect my city-state!"
A brilliant golden light shot up from the head of the warhammer, instantly unfurling in the overcast sky to form the massive phantom image of a golden scale!
The scale swayed gently, casting down a soft yet resilient golden radiance that formed a translucent, colossal dome, enveloping the entire battlefield.
All remaining shadow energy orbs crashed against the golden shield, merely creating ripples before being completely neutralized.
Within the shield, everyone felt a wave of relief, as if they had narrowly escaped death.
Lin Qingyue looked up at the giant phantom scale in the sky, her pink lips curling into a slight smile.
The God of Contracts? This divine spell's special effects are actually quite impressive.
If I pulled out the Zhongli Trial Card right now and unleashed "I will have order!" on the spot, showing them what a true Rex Lapis, a true God of Contracts, looks like... would I instantly gain a horde of beast-eared followers?
But the Zhongli Trial Card is my ultimate trump card. Using it on a situation like this would be a complete waste.
Better save it.
Within the shield, everyone finally had a moment to breathe.
But the Corrupted Treant Tina, seeing her attack blocked, showed no anger. Instead, she let out an even more piercing shriek of laughter.
She writhed her grotesque half-human, half-deer body, her purple-black pupils fixed mockingly on City Lord Punk as she cackled, "Punk, my dear City Lord! Seeing you now, pathetically begging the gods for protection... it truly... excites me!"
Her voice was sharp and venomous. Under the effect of the [Truth] rule, every word became a razor-sharp blade, stabbing straight into Punk's heart.
"But I much preferred the feeling of you beneath me!"
This explosive declaration detonated like a thunderclap across the entire plaza
Tina's face flushed with a sickly crimson as she continued to shriek, "I never loved you, but the thought of having the high and mighty City Lord of Blackrock Stronghold beneath me... that thrill of conquest... Ah, I just can't resist it!"
Pfft—
Xia Lian choked, her cheeks instantly turning beet red. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into right then and there.
"See no evil, hear no evil... This is way too much information! I can't remember it, I really can't..."
Having his most humiliating scar ripped open in public, City Lord Punk's dignified cat-man face turned the color of liver, his entire body trembling with rage.
His cat ears twitched so violently they became a blur.
He pointed a shaking finger at Tina, his lips quivering as he roared back, also under the effect of the [Truth] rule:
"Shut up, you whore!"
"I should never have been soft-hearted! I should never have listened to your begging! I should have kept you in bed for three days and three nights straight!"
This equally revealing retort made the eyes of Lin Qingyue and Lin Xiyue, who had been struggling to maintain their composure, instantly light up.
They exchanged a glance, and in each other's eyes, they saw one large word: Juicy!
Just as the passionate argument between the "City Lord and Wife" made the atmosphere incredibly bizarre, Marcus, who had been protected by Tina's vines, recovered from his pathetic state.
He shot a venomous glare at Lin Xiyue, who had humiliated him in front of everyone, and immediately began chanting a malevolent spell.
A Dark Divine Art, identical to Tina's, gradually took shape in his hands.
Simultaneously, the Treants scattered across the ground, their bodies hacked to pieces, suddenly gushed copious amounts of purplish-black slime from their wounds.
Their bodies rapidly reassembled within the slime, their surfaces now covered in a shadowy hard shell that shimmered with an eerie glow. They moved with greater speed, and their attacks became even more ferocious.
Non-fatal injuries now healed in the blink of an eye!
The battlefield's stalemate was shattered in an instant.
The attacks from Zhou Yi's Team and the City Lord's Guard had drastically reduced effect against these enhanced Treants. Their formations were thrown into disarray.
Having just caught their breath under the Golden Shield, they were now forced into a steady retreat by the relentless advance of the enhanced Treants. Soon, they were overwhelmed by the fearless tide of the Treant horde.
"These things have gotten tougher!" Lin Xiyue cleaved a Treant with her sword, only to find the blade of [Dawn's Light] bogged down by a viscous shadow energy, unable to slice it clean in two as before.
The Treant roared, its severed body spewing slime as it tried to fuse back together. Su Wan flicked her wrist, and an ice crystal flashed, precisely freezing the wound and finally halting its regeneration.
"This is getting annoying." Xia Lian was also forced to pull back, using arrows with piercing effects to specifically target their Cores. Her clearing efficiency had dropped significantly.
Tina scanned the battlefield with satisfaction, her victory all but assured. Her gaze swept past the clashing crowds and locked onto Lin Qingyue, who was picking off Treants from the rear with her staff.
She licked her lips greedily, her purplish-black eyes shimmering with undisguised possessiveness.
"That beautiful lady..."
A seductive whisper bypassed physical distance and drilled directly into Lin Qingyue's mind.
"Your soul... is the purest, most powerful treasure I have ever seen."
"Come here. Come to my side."
"Become the first God-Chosen Apostle to herald my Lord's arrival in this world!"
The voice carried a strange magical power, attempting to corrupt her will and twist her thoughts.
"I will... grant you eternal life and supreme glory!"
Hearing this seductive offer, Lin Qingyue not only remained unshaken but almost burst out laughing.
Eternal life? Supreme glory?
Only one thought crossed her mind.
Given your uniquely hideous appearance looking like an Abomination of Abundance, I'd rather pass on that eternal life.