Phantylia stared in disbelief at the small flame still burning on her right chest. It looked ordinary, but no matter what she did, it refused to go out. Meanwhile, Pei Guang could feel the strain of maintaining the Savory Truefire.
True to her title as an Emanator of Destruction, Phantylia's body burned through Pei Guang's energy reserves like a black hole devouring light. Every second he kept the flame alive felt like his stamina bar had been cut in half.
Of course, he couldn't actually see any "mana or stamina bar" nor numerical stat—just a steadily growing sense of exhaustion. But he wasn't worried. He'd stocked up on plenty of consumables and he was fully prepared for a war of attrition.
On the other side, Phantylia tried channeling Destruction's power to snuff out the fire, only to find it surprisingly stubborn. The flames seemed to draw strength from some inexhaustible source.
Eventually, by pushing her destructive energy to the limit, Phantylia managed to extinguish the flames. Yet, in the process, a chunk of her scorched flesh fell off. Her body, crafted from the Abundant Ebon Fruit of the Arbor, regenerated almost instantly under the influence of its divine energy.
Phantylia smirked. "Interesting. You've managed to anger me, insect."
She had no doubt Pei Guang was behind this. Her first instinct was to crush him immediately—but there was one problem. Pei Guang was standing too far away, outside her effective attack range. While she did have some long-range attacks, using them risked exposing an opening that Jing Yuan could exploit with his devastating skill.
For now, she decided to play along, letting Pei Guang poke and prod her while she adjusted to her new body. Once the time was right, she would finish him in a single strike.
Meanwhile, Pei Guang was already strategizing. He knew this was likely a scripted "cutscene boss" moment, but that didn't mean he couldn't test her limits beforehand. And if he could, he wanted to see just how much damage he could deal before the fight hit its second phase.
Jing Yuan, for his part, stood ready but calm. He only had one shot—one opening to land a decisive blow and bring Phantylia down. Until then, he was more than happy to let Pei Guang handle the probing phase.
And Pei Guang? True to form, his methods were as underhanded as they were effective.
The moment Phantylia snuffed out the flames, March 7th had already nocked another set of arrows. She let six ice arrows fly, each one tipped with Pei Guang's Savory Truefire.
Phantylia wasn't about to let herself get burned again. This time, she raised her fan—a weapon forged from the Arbor's divine energy—and swept it through the air. Waves of destructive force radiated outward, shattering the arrows mid-flight before they could touch her.
Her movements were fluid and precise, backed by both experience and instinct. She even accounted for the possibility of March 7th adjusting the arrows' trajectories.
But then—
"Is that the best you've got? So slow!"
Silver Wolf's voice cut through the battlefield like a knife, her mocking tone dripping with disdain. She gave Phantylia a thumbs-down, her expression practically begging to be punched.
Phantylia scowled at the insult, her focus momentarily breaking. And in that split second, the six arrows vanished.
Not destroyed—teleported.
Silver Wolf had been working in tandem with March 7th the entire time. Using her hacking abilities, she had embedded coordinates into each arrow, allowing them to jump through space mid-flight.
The result? Arrows that blinked unpredictably around Phantylia, appearing from every angle—left, right, above, below—before closing in on her body from point-blank range.
The six arrows struck Phantylia in her hair, under both arms, her right chest, and the back of her head.
As an energy-based being, her perception covered all directions. She detected the arrows' positions the moment they teleported. However, her newly-formed body, still adjusting to the fusion of destruction and abundance, failed to react in time.
Due to the incomplete synchronization between her powers, she took all six arrows head-on.
When the arrows hit, flames ignited on her body once more. This time, Pei Guang increased the intensity of the fire. Meanwhile, he kept shoving energy-restoring consumables into his mouth like candy. Fortunately, the abundant materials gathered from the Abundant Ebon Deer had provided ample resources to craft these consumables. Without them, this kind of reckless stamina drain would've been impossible to sustain.
But it didn't matter. Between the stockpile of consumables and Bailu pouring elixirs into him like a walking pharmacy, he was holding steady.
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Phantylia screamed as the flames seared her flesh. The sensation wasn't lethal, but it was sharp and relentless. Furious, she forcefully snuffed out the flames, but once again, the scorched parts of her body fell off like cooked meat. Her form rapidly regenerated under the Arbor's power, but the frustration showed on her face.
"Damnable ants! How dare you repeatedly defile my perfect body! I'll bring destruction upon you!"
Pei Guang didn't even flinch. "Destruction? Pfft. How many star systems have you actually destroyed?"
Phantylia smirked at the question and declared proudly, "Thousands—no, tens of thousands!"
Pei Guang nodded as if impressed. "Wow, not bad. And how about today?"
That one line silenced everyone, Phantylia included. Even the others on Pei Guang's team were left speechless, marveling at his brutal efficiency. Jing Yuan, in particular, couldn't help but suspect Pei Guang had experienced something similar in the past—otherwise, how could he deliver such devastating lines so casually?
Meanwhile, Phantylia was having second thoughts about her approach. For the first time, the idea of offering Pei Guang to Nanook crossed her mind. If Pei Guang were handed over to the Aeon of Destruction, the annihilation of the universe would surely be within reach.
However, before she could pursue that thought further, another sharp burst of pain brought her back to reality. The flames had reignited, spreading even faster than before.
"Vile insects! Why won't you come closer and face me directly?"
Pei Guang grinned. "Do I look stupid? Why would we walk into punching range when we can roast you from over here? We'll just keep chipping away at you."
Phantylia let out a menacing laugh. "You really think I don't have a way to deal with you?"
Raising her arm, she summoned strange lotus-shaped plants from the ground—Undying Lotuses.