Freon was not one to fall behind either. He raised his wand and activated his Bloodline Ability, Thousand Core Resonance! He was going to use everything he had! His Channels attuned to the spell in his mind as he conjured a large Magic Circle in front of him. Orange flames erupted out of thin air into the shape of an oversized sword! The oppressive heat and light that it gave off were impressive already, but when his Bloodline Ability strengthened it, it made a qualitative transformation. The wild orange flames compressed into a tame blue fire, making the fire sword ten times more tangible. It looked like a true sword forged of fire now! Originally, Freon was a High Gaseous Fog Arcanist and he should be inferior to Elizabeth, a Peak Gaseous Fog Arcanist. Yet, who could imagine how tyrannical the Arcellius Family's Bloodline Ability could be? The Magic Aura he gave off was equivalent, if not superior, to Elizabeth! He 'grabbed' the sword hilt and swung, sending a massive dragon made of fire towards his enemies. This was the Peak Gaseous Fog fire-type spell, Infernal Dragon!
The two spells, Eclipsing Theatre and Infernal Dragon, spiralled towards their enemies with frightening ferocity! Halfway through, Elizabeth's crescent moon swelled in size again and encompassed the entire battlefield. It was humongous! Like an executioner's blade, it mercilessly crashed into her enemies. Boom! An explosion rocked the battlefield again, obscuring everything in a cloud of dust. No one could tell what happened! Freon's Infernal Dragon followed right behind using the wind draft created to strengthen it further. Even without saying anything, he coordinated with Elizabeth seamlessly! His dragon doubled in size and power, becoming a spell on par with the Ten Dawns! It swept horizontal, as if sweeping garbage from a table, and cut through the Imperial Council's forces. Another explosion, many times larger than the previous one, shook Liguang! Everything was engulfed in flames!
The archers drew their bows, the crossbowmen took aim, while the Arcanists activated their spells. The captains shouted, letting loose a rain of arrows, crossbow bolts, and spells onto the thick dust cloud. Elizabeth and Freon's combined destructive power was already close to the level of the Ten Dawns' large-scale tactical spells. When it was followed up by this brutal three-pronged attack, then no matter who their opponents were, it should be a one-sided massacre! No forces should be able to withstand it! It would be great if things ended like this, but alas, that was wishful thinking. Reality was not that convenient!
Hundreds of people emerged from the smoke with sky-high auras. Their presence immediately dominated the entire battlefield and submerged the town in a sea of bloodlust. As expected, the ones who survived would not be simple. They were all extremely talented and powerful figures known throughout the Xingyuu Empire! Aside from the Perception Realms from the Phoenix Division which grasped Martial Energy, there were also numerous Imperial Sentinels, the strongest soldiers under the direct command of the Imperial Council. Leading the charge were Cardinal Yongyu and Loujin, the Four Cardinals. As Perception Realm Masters, their auras were especially intimidating. Although Cardinal Shaolong was dead and Cardinal Hui was absent, no one dared to underestimate them!
In addition, there were famous experts from the Shui, Jian, and Jun Families, such as Reverent Monk, Thousand Storms, and Poisoned Widow. Reverent Monk was a famous monk that strayed from the path of divinity and onto the path of heretics. His upright appearance and twisted mentality were a source of terror for many. Thousand Storms had allegedly cut a storm using his unparalleled sword skills. Although dubious, his skills were the real thing and many called him a sword fiend instead. Poisoned Widow was a seductress and an expert in assassination. Rumors had it that she had an assassination record exceeding three hundred! Everyone was a remarkable expert standing firmly in the Perception Realm! The sight of all these formidable opponents left the Alzar Kingdom and the Li Family's forces breathless. What a fearsome lineup!
Elizabeth and Freon clicked their tongues. The interference strength had already restricted their power by three-tenths, which drastically reduced their spells' destructive potential. It certainly looked flashy, but they could sense their spells losing form before impact. They no longer possessed the power to deal a decisive blow! However, it was the best option. Because of the interference, the longer they held onto their cards, the more their value would degrade. It was wiser to use their strongest trump card right at the beginning. The interference strength had grown to restrict up to half of their power now, but this was also a good thing. As interference continues to grow, their enemies would find it harder and harder to use Martial Energy. It would be depriving their enemies of their greatest strength! Not to mention, the barrier around Liguang would also weaken. All that was left was surviving until they broke out!
The two sides finally collided! The Phoenix Division used a spearhead formation to drive a wedge right through the Alzar Kingdom and the Li Family's forces. At the front were the empire's strongest forces. Several hundred Perception Realms raised their weapons, circulated their Martial Energy, strengthened their bodies, and attacked! Hundreds of flying strikes flew out! Unlike what Benedict or Cardinal Shaolong could do, these were true flying strikes using Martial Energy. Their destructive potential was on another level! When they met the first line of defense, the soldiers were cut to pieces. They were slaughtered! The battlefield shook from the combined attacks as corpses flew everywhere. The formation had broken through!
"Knights, protect Her Highness!" Sir Winstin roared.
"Understood!"
"Protect the patriarch!" the Four Dragons of the Loon Family shouted.
"Yes!"
"Our objective is Princess Elizabeth, Imperian Qiang, and the Imperial Princesses. Kill everyone else!" Cardinal Yongyu declared.
"Understood!"
Cardinal Loujin leapt off his horse and pounced on Sir Winstin. He was an absolute behemoth of a man, and when he was fully equipped with his armor and shield, he resembled a meteor crashing down! Even Sir Winstin did not dare to meet the attack head-on. The man hurriedly retreated as Cardinal Loujin landed with earthshattering momentum! A shockwave rippled out and a small crater appeared where he landed, hinting at his ridiculous power. Anyone caught underneath him would have been reduced to a bloody corpse! Sir Winstin's expression remained calm while he raised his glaive to meet his next opponent. Cardinal Yongyu threw five knives in a loose pattern. Despite the intense situation, she still timed and arranged her knives perfectly to exploit Sir Winstin's bulky weapon. She followed up with her two swords in direct combat. Anyone could tell she was a combat genius, one of the greatest multi-weapon users in the empire!
Sir Winstin's fighting spirit and presence erupted to monstrous levels, enough to drown out almost everyone else on the battlefield! Even the other famed experts from around the world felt stifled by his tremendous aura. Perception Realm Master! His senses swept through the battlefield and scrutinized every detail before him. In a flash, he made the decision to pull his glaive back and dodge the knives thrown by Cardinal Yongyu instead. The woman narrowed her eyes coldly. She intended to ensnare Sir Winstin's glaive and thus rob him of his only weapon, but the man saw through her plans. Although the strings attached to her knives were almost invisible, Sir Winstin noticed them regardless! Cardinal Yongyu snorted, jerked her arm back suddenly, and pulled the strings taut, which caused the knives to abruptly change directions mid-air.
Sir Winstin stomped on the ground and charged towards Cardinal Yongyu. Her little trick with the strings was irrelevant if he closed the distance! Furthermore, he wanted to wrap this up quickly because Elizabeth needed him. There was no time to waste here! His glaive swung down with tremendous force. Cardinal Yongyu parried with one sword and lashed out with her second sword. She aimed to pierce his arms! The movements were as smooth as water, and as deadly as a viper. Sir Winstin followed up by pulling his glaive back and swinging it at high speeds, using the other end of his weapon to intercept the woman. She raised both her swords to block the heavy blow, but the force pushed her back anyways. With her stance broken, Sir Winstin dove in to kill! It was over! Yet, Cardinal Yongyu grinned. Who said that this was a fair fight?
Three crossbow bolts closed in on Sir Winstin from different angles. It was far faster than Cardinal Yongyu's throwing knives, but it was uncoordinated. The man clicked his tongue, rotated his body, dodged two of them, and blocked the last. Just when he thought it was over, a powerful attack struck him from behind, cut through his armor, and wounded him! It was a flying strike with Martial Energy! He had no room to breath when three figures jumped on him. The first was an unarmed martial artist, the second was a woman with a chain whip, and the third was a man wielding a three-section staff. All of them were Perception Realms with Martial Energy! The pressure on Sir Winstin intensified by ten-fold as he engaged in a fierce battle. If they were normal Perception Realms, he could hold his ground better. Unfortunately, with the variable known as Martial Energy, he needed to reserve his strength in case anything unexpected happened. He was kicked in the shin, the chain whip slashed his chest, and the staff battered his back. His wounds mounted rapidly! And when Cardinal Loujin and Yongyu joined in, his situation went from bad to worse. He was in trouble!