However, he could ponder it no more. The pulses of Magical Energy that Elizabeth unconsciously gave off were enough to knock him unconscious through his Magical Perception. Magical Perception was almost like a sixth sense, allowing an Arcanist to sense the energy around them. Although he had yet to extend it outward, Elizabeth's power was no laughing matter. Much like how Tengon and Nassandra felt sick from sensing New Havens's spell, this was no different. The other Arcanists were feeling the same as they started dropping to the ground. To knock people out by merely feeing her aura, it was basically unheard of!
Elizabeth was unaware of what she was doing. Although she was barely conscious, she moved her arms. As if her actions were guided, she pulled her bow up and aimed it at Emperor Lianghu. The emperor's expression was twisted and ugly. He was not an Arcanist, so he lacked Magical Perception. He had no idea what was happening, but he was a Perception Realm! Every one of his senses were screaming out in danger! This was not something he could contest! Once Elizabeth's bow locked onto the emperor, another strange surge of energy emanated out, brushing the snow away from her. The powerful rainbow-colored aura settled for a second before violently thrashing. If it was a calm stream before, it was a raging river now! The ferocity of her aura increased by more than ten times!
No, this is bad! Every Cardinal, Imperial Sentinel, and soldier thought simultaneously!
All the color drained from the emperor's face. He wanted to move his body, but he could not. That energy seemed to trap him in position! Cardinal Hui did not hesitate in launching several arrows in Elizabeth's direction. Every arrow contained his full power! Furthermore, they blended together seamlessly, such that they appeared as one. When they neared Elizabeth, every arrow had their penetrative power focused to a single point! This was the same technique that Sir Winstin had once faced! It rivalled Shaolong's flying strike in terms of difficulty, but Hui had clearly mastered it to a far greater level. Not to mention, he used his specially crafted arrows which boosted his lethality more. Even Sir Winstin would have to be wary! This was the power of Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing, the Leader of the Imperial Sentinels!
The arrows sliced through the air and arrived in front of Elizabeth in an instant. The four arrows merged into one as they slammed into her liquid barrier. When the arrows hit the barrier, they sliced through like butter. Despite Emperor Lianghu's attack making zero headway, Cardinal Hui actually succeeded! This highlighted the qualitative difference between the two! After all, Cardinal Hui was at the peak of Perception Realm, while Emperor Lianghu had barely scratched the surface. The former was nearly unrivalled in the entire Xingyuu Empire! However, that success was short-lived. The arrows did not even make it a fifth of the way before they were repelled!
How strong! Cardinal Hui was in disbelief. As the Leader of the Imperial Sentinels, he was extremely knowledgeable. He also knew of an Arcanist's barrier, but they had limited durability. They were not indestructible. Although he was unwilling, he could accept Elizabeth making a barrier. However, making one strong enough to repel his strongest attack? That was unthinkable! He looked down on Arcanists previously, yet this completely overturned his worldview!
There was no more time for thinking as an arrow materialized between Elizabeth's fingertips. It was an arrow of pure Magical Energy! An elegant magical circle formed in front of the bow. Small and unimposing, its appearance was easily ignorable. And yet, no one dared to breath as a horrific power gushed forth from it. Princess Xiuying and Ming cried out as Cardinal Loujin and Shaolong charged in. Shaolong was the closest and managed to push the emperor out of the way. A second later… Elizabeth attacked!
There was no sight nor sound. There was nothing. It was as if the spell never existed. But as people turned to look, their jaws fell, and their eyes were wide open. Everyone sucked in a deep breath. A shallow trench was carved out in front of Elizabeth, trailing into the mountains. It was not a wide area of attack like Torrential Blizzard. If one was to measure, the width of the attack was about a typical person's arm span and the height about a normal person's height. Compared to Torrential Blizzard which trudged up a massive storm of snow, ice, and wind, it did seem weaker. Despite that, between Elizabeth and the far mountains, everything in the middle was erased from existence. Not a single speck of dust existed in that space any longer!
One term lingered on everyone's mind: complete annihilation! There was nothing flashy about it, whether about its execution or its aftereffects. There was no heat nor cold and no wind nor movement. Be it rocks, dirt, grass, trees, humans, or even air, there was simply nothing left. That was why it was so shocking and so scary! Elizabeth had deleted things so perfectly and so utterly! Against absolute power, all was futile. Ultimately though, it was not a power that Elizabeth could control. As soon as the spell ended, her aura dissipated into nothingness taking the rainbow-colored phenomenon with it. Her bow reverted to its original, inert state as the oppression on everyone lifted and she collapsed unconsciously.
Yet, no one dared move. It was deathly silent. No one even dared to give Elizabeth a second glance, on the off chance that she would awake and attack them! The scene was that frightening to them! Princess Xiuying and Ming were the first to recover their wits as they searched for their father. Everything happened so fast that they had no idea if he was alive or dead. Ming gasped and pointed. Her face was pale as white. Unlike some unfortunate people who were killed without any remains, Emperor Lianghu was still alive!
Well, that was an overstatement. His body was a grisly and gory semblance of what it once was. The right side of his body was cleanly obliterated. Like a circular hole was carved from his flesh, his right thigh, part of his intestines and ribs, as well as his right arm were all gone. As if draining all his blood, it poured out like a faucet into a mangled mess. Anyone could tell, if he was not dead now, he would be dead soon. There was no saving him. Despite everything, he was strangely calm. His eyes showed neither panic, sadness, nor anger, but simple acceptance.