Chapter 209: Ten Thousand Enemies: I...
At that very moment, across the three other battlefields in Hanging Edge City, a series of sudden and bizarre anomalies occurred.
In the Hall of Strife, the Old Barracks, and the Quarry, the three Nikador statues that had been locked in fierce combat with the teams led by Lumine, Dan Heng, and March 7th all froze without warning.
Immediately after, their massive bodies rapidly turned a lifeless, ashen gray. The vibrant, malevolent energy that animated them vanished, and in the blink of an eye, they reverted to cold, inert stone.
The next instant, the powerful seals that had been painstakingly laid upon them—Lumine's Starfell Sword, March's glacial ice, and Zhongli's Stone Stele—lost the internal resistance they had been pushing against. Their full, accumulated power was unleashed directly onto the statues themselves.
CRACK! BOOM!
Almost simultaneously, the three statues were obliterated by the overwhelming force. They shattered into massive piles of rubble, leaving behind no trace of life or lingering energy fluctuations.
This abrupt turn of events caught everyone in the three teams completely off guard, leaving them stunned into silence.
The battle… just ended? Like that?
[Zenless Zone Zero - Ling]: "??? What's going on? It just stopped moving, and then it got crushed by the formation Mr. Zhongli left behind?"
[Honkai: Star Rail - March 7th]: "Eh, eh, eh?! It's the same on my side! I had it frozen solid, and then it suddenly turned back to stone and shattered!"
[Genshin Impact - Paimon]: "It's the same for us, too! You scared Paimon to death! What's happening? @Honkai: Star Rail - Stelle! Stelle! Did you guys do something over there?! Why did they all suddenly break apart?"
[Zenless Zone Zero - Ling]: "That's right! Stelle! Come out and tell us! Did you succeed?"
The group chat instantly erupted with questions and exclamations, everyone tagging Stelle.
Stelle, who had just witnessed Gnaeus admit his identity and was bracing herself to face the complete form of Nikador, was also taken aback by the sudden explosion of messages. She immediately pieced it together—the soul reforging must have severed the connections to the other clones, causing them to be annihilated.
She quickly divided her attention, tapping out a reply in the chat.
[Honkai: Star Rail - Stelle]: "Sort of… but not really! It's a bit complicated!"
[Honkai: Star Rail - Stelle]: "We found the fragmented soul pieces of Nikador and are piecing them back together! The others shattering just now was probably because their souls were reforged and absorbed. Without a soul to support them, those stone bodies naturally couldn't withstand your seals."
[Honkai: Star Rail - Stelle]: "But! Here's the important part! Gnaeus said that once the reforging ritual is complete, this guy might become even stronger than before! You guys hurry up and recover, then prepare to rendezvous and fight the final BOSS!"
Meanwhile, back in the Suspended Edge Colosseum, the battle escalated with terrifying speed.
Just as Mydei condensed the power of the blood crystal and met Nikador's heavy punch head-on once again, he felt it—a sudden, unheralded surge in the opponent's power. It was an order of magnitude greater than before.
'What?!' An alarm blared in Mydei's heart, but it was far too late to alter his attack.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening roar, far louder than any of their previous clashes, tore through the arena. Mydei felt an irresistible, immense force frantically surge up his arm and into his body. His blood and qi churned violently as he was sent flying backward like a stone launched from a trebuchet, slamming heavily into the Stone Stele barrier behind him.
But that was only the beginning.
The Nikador statue, its power now surging, glowed with a brighter, more malevolent scarlet light in its eyes. The sudden increase in strength seemed to have provoked it into an even deeper frenzy. It didn't pause for a single moment, thrusting its arms forward with vicious intent.
Dozens of extremely condensed, dark golden energy spears—miniature versions of the devastating Heaven's Punishment Spear—materialized in an instant. Exuding a terrifying, destructive aura, they shot toward the still-airborne Mydei like a torrential storm. Each spear locked onto his aura, sealing off all space for evasion.
It all happened too quickly. So fast that even Phainon, who had been watching the battle with his full, undivided attention, couldn't react in time. He could only watch in horror as the deadly rain of spears engulfed his dear friend's figure.
"Mydei!!!" Phainon cried out, his voice cracking with shock, his heart seizing in his chest.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The energy spears continuously bombarded the area where Mydei had fallen, triggering a chain of violent explosions. A thick cloud of smoke and turbulent energy instantly spread, obscuring all vision.
Phainon's eyes were bloodshot as he prepared to rush in recklessly.
Just then, Zhongli, who had been standing quietly beside him, spoke, his voice as steady as ever. "Calm down."
Before his words had even faded, a warm, heavy amber glow suddenly ignited within the swirling smoke. The light quickly sharpened, coalescing into a translucent Jade Shield. Mysterious, ancient rock patterns flowed across its surface as it firmly protected Mydei within its embrace.
Violent ripples undulated across the shield's surface, a clear sign that the previous furious onslaught had been entirely blocked. However, the shield's own light had visibly dimmed, and its form seemed to have thinned slightly. Despite this, it remained stable, exuding a reassuringly steadfast aura.
The smoke slowly dissipated, revealing Mydei inside, kneeling on one knee. He was breathing heavily, but he was clearly unharmed. He looked up at the ground outside the shield, now a chaotic mess of craters from the spear explosions, then felt the life-saving barrier around him. A flicker of lingering fear and deep gratitude flashed in his eyes.
He gave a slight nod toward Zhongli, a silent gesture of respect and thanks.
Seeing this, Phainon finally let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief. His taut nerves relaxed, and he realized a cold sweat had broken out across his back. He looked at Zhongli, his eyes filled with gratitude and awe. "Mr. Zhongli, this..."
Zhongli's gaze remained fixed on the battlefield as he calmly explained, "Stelle and the others have made a crucial discovery. Nikador's fragmented soul is regrouping. The sudden increase in power just now was because the soul fragments scattered in the other three locations have returned and merged into the divine body here."
Phainon's eyes widened in understanding. "So that's it! It seems the time to completely end Nikador is truly not far!" His spirits lifted, his resolve hardening.
Without another moment of hesitation, a flash of light in his hand summoned his weapon. His figure flickered as he rushed into the Stone Stele formation, arriving beside Mydei.
"Mydei! You heard him, right? Nikador's soul is returning, and he's only going to get stronger! Now is not the time for single combat!" Phainon said quickly, his gaze locked on the Nikador opposite them, which appeared even more frenzied with its newfound power.
Mydei pushed himself to his feet, wiping a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. The fighting spirit in his crimson eyes, far from diminishing, burned even more intensely.
"Understood, Deliverer! I'm not some fool who can't adapt! Less talk, let's go!" He knew what was most important at this moment.
The two exchanged a look, a silent, tacit understanding passing between them. Then, they simultaneously exerted their strength, launching another fierce assault toward Nikador.
However, having now fused with four soul fragments, Nikador's strength had already been elevated to a whole new level.
Even with the powerful defense provided by Zhongli's Jade Shield, Phainon and Mydei, fighting in tandem, still found themselves hard-pressed and in constant danger. The opponent's attacks were heavier and more powerful, its movements were faster, and its combat instincts seemed to have become terrifyingly acute.
But for these two, who stood among Okhema's top combatants, this was both immense pressure and a valuable, tempering trial. To engage in a direct confrontation with a Titan whose power was continuously recovering—such an experience was incomparable to any ordinary battle.
also, they were fighting to save all of Amphoreus. Both of them gave their all, holding nothing back.
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