No one expected the enemy to pull such a move.
Caught off guard, they were buried under the falling boulders before they could escape the cavern!
The ground shook violently, and dust filled the air.
Sunan felt darkness envelop him as the ground beneath his feet gave way, causing him to plummet.
Reacting swiftly, Sunan activated the magic core to envelop his entire body. With the protection of the Ring of Extreme Protection and a shield spell, the falling rocks couldn't harm him in the slightest.
He then activated the levitation spell from his invisibility robe, stabilizing his descent and hovering in mid-air.
Gradually, the roaring noise subsided.
No more rocks fell from above.
Only then did Sunan have the chance to assess his surroundings.
He found himself in another massive cavern, differing from the previous one by the large, irregular opening above, about seven to eight meters in diameter, leading upward into darkness.
This was where he had fallen from.
The underground world was complex, like an enormous, intricate beehive.
One cavern led to another, which was no surprise to Sunan.
What astonished him was Stone Scorpion's ability to launch such a massive area attack, collapsing the entire cavern and altering the surrounding terrain!
This wasn't something achievable by a wizard apprentice's spell or magical item!
"Bloodline ability, perhaps."
Sunan contemplated.
This was likely a directional ability to manipulate earth and stone to change the environment.
Otherwise, if Stone Scorpion's true power could easily cause such large-scale environmental changes, he would rival a formal wizard and could have defeated them all directly, rendering such tactics unnecessary.
However, this meant their encirclement was broken.
If the Immortals took the opportunity to escape, their operation would be deemed a failure.
"But those maniacs probably won't just leave," Sunan thought.
As if to confirm Sunan's suspicion, a section of the rock wall about forty to fifty meters ahead began to bulge, quickly forming into Stone Scorpion's shape.
".As expected."
Sunan chuckled, scrutinizing Stone Scorpion.
"Choosing a place like this to fight is a grave mistake you'll regret."
Stone Scorpion detached from the rock wall, hovering mid-air, looking down at Sunan with eyes that gleamed as if seeing prey caught in a trap.
"This is my domain!"
"No one can defeat me in a place surrounded by earth and stone!"
Sunan's gaze shifted to the scorpion tail behind Stone Scorpion, and he snickered.
"Stop pretending. It's just the Shattering Scream, isn't it? It's clearly the Stone Singer bloodline, yet you're putting on an earth elemental facade."
Stone Scorpion's expression froze, pupils constricting.
How did this guy know?
Stone Singer was extremely rare. If not for his own fusion with the Stone Singer bloodline, he wouldn't have known of such an ancient bloodline.
And he had never disclosed his bloodline to anyone, not even his companions in the Immortals.
How did this person discern his secret so quickly?
Seeing Stone Scorpion's bewildered look, Sunan laughed inwardly.
In his past life, he had encountered a wizard who had fused with the Stone Singer bloodline, though the external characteristics slightly differed from Stone Scorpion's, which initially threw him off.
However, when Stone Scorpion used the Shattering Scream, a signature ability of the Stone Singer bloodline, Sunan made the connection.
Stone Singers were terrifying and peculiar creatures made of flexible, morphing stone, resembling scorpions at first glance.
They used their songs to manipulate earth and stone, creating effects similar to earth elemental spells.
Of course, the Stone Singer's "song" was an ear-piercing noise to humans.
Their ability to manipulate earth and stone wasn't as strong as earth elementals, but they possessed petrifying capabilities.
Creatures stung by a Stone Singer's tail would become petrified.
Afterward, the Stone Singer would take the petrified prey back to its lair, forcing them to listen to its song, consuming them when hungry for nourishment.
Sunan recalled that Stone Singers no longer existed on the Starlight Continent.
Even in the later era of elemental resurgence, wizards had to capture Stone Singers from other realms.
Stone Scorpion was lucky to have fused with the Stone Singer bloodline.
In today's Starlight Continent, it's one of the few ancient bloodlines with significant power that doesn't adversely affect temperament and has negligible bloodline rejection reactions.
".Your knowledge surprises me."
Stone Scorpion snapped back to reality, sneering.
"Too bad it won't change your fate."
"Now that you're alone, I'll kill you first, then deal with the others!"
His icy tone dripped with murderous intent.
Sunan remained unfazed, smiling slightly, "It's you who's alone."
As he spoke, countless gray mists suddenly appeared around Stone Scorpion, quickly forming into giant gray spectral claws that lunged at him with a piercing whistle!
"Doom Claws!"
Stone Scorpion's face changed instantly.
Wasn't this the ability of the Twilight Ring, a dim-level magical item?
But he remembered the Twilight Ring could only summon a single Doom Claw!
Sunan was a bit surprised that Stone Scorpion recognized the Doom Claws, suggesting he had read about them in some wizard tome.
Knowing the power of dim-level magical items, Stone Scorpion didn't plan to resist, dodging immediately, but the four Doom Claws relentlessly pursued him.
With no choice, Stone Scorpion opened his mouth to howl. Immediately, cracking sounds echoed as the surrounding rock walls split, countless stones converging to form a thick barrier before him.
Crack!
The four Doom Claws shattered the barrier, but Stone Scorpion used the opportunity to prepare a spell, unleashing a piercing screech.
Shattering Sonic Wave!
Enhanced by the Stone Singer bloodline, the Shattering Sonic Wave's power multiplied several times, the visible distortion smashing the Doom Claws into gray mist, dissipating in the air.
Yet before Stone Scorpion could rejoice, more gray mist appeared in the void, reforming into four Doom Claws that lunged at him again!
Stone Scorpion's face twisted in shock, his peripheral vision catching Sunan removing four rings from his left hand and replacing them with four new ones.
The next moment, another four Doom Claws appeared!
Seeing this, Stone Scorpion realized, his face contorting with fear and envy.
This guy possessed over a dozen Twilight Rings!
Was he dealing in dim-level magical items?
How could he have so many dim-level magical items?!
This time, Stone Scorpion couldn't dodge. After exhausting himself to destroy four Doom Claws, the remaining four tore through his body.
With a sinister sizzle, corrosive energy wrapped around Stone Scorpion, paralyzing him in mid-air and eliciting a harrowing scream.
And then the most terrifying thing happened to Stone Scorpion.
Another four Doom Claws emerged from the void.
Wait, another four?
Again!
Seeing the dozen or so gray spectral claws before him, Stone Scorpion was filled with sheer terror and disbelief.
How many Twilight Rings did Sunan actually have?
Whoosh!
Over ten Doom Claws simultaneously pierced Stone Scorpion's body, draining his life force and heavily damaging his soul.
In Sunan's perception, Stone Scorpion's soul aura weakened to the point of a flickering candle.
Critically injured, Stone Scorpion plummeted from the air, crashing to the ground.
A streak of lightning shot from afar, piercing his forehead with a hiss.
Before his consciousness faded into eternal darkness, a thought flashed in Stone Scorpion's mind.
He was indeed the one who was alone!
Though Sunan was by himself, the sheer number of dim-level magical items he possessed was absurd!
Facing multiple third-level wizard apprentices might have been better!
A hundred meters away, Sunan slowly retracted his hand, glancing at the four rings on his left hand.
The underground cavern environment indeed suited the Stone Singer bloodline's abilities. If Stone Scorpion had seized the initiative, subduing him would have been extremely challenging.
Thus, Sunan decisively used over twenty Twilight Rings, swiftly dispatching Stone Scorpion.
It's unfortunate for this third-level wizard apprentice, whose strength rivaled Black Hand and Bloodmouth, that he couldn't fully utilize his abilities and was overwhelmed by Sunan's superior equipment.
Had Stone Scorpion known Sunan had another twenty Twilight Rings in his spatial ring, he might have despaired enough to kill himself.
Replacing the Twilight Rings with new ones, Sunan extended his mental perception around him.
Unfortunately, the underground world's natural magnetic fields and geological environment significantly limited perception techniques.
Failing to sense anything after a moment, Sunan shook his head and chose a random direction to fly.
A blazing wave slammed into the rock wall, leaving a charred, cracked surface in its wake.
Ember's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the cavern.
He had transformed into a sixty-meter-tall flaming giant with a demonic appearance, twin horns on his head, and his head nearly touched the cavern's ceiling. He swung his massive fists repeatedly at the Staff, the Traveler, and Puwedo.
The intense flames raised the air temperature, causing the air to warp.
The once vast cavern had become a scorching hell.
In a corner lay several charred corpses.
They belonged to the Holy Fist members.
At the battle's onset, several first-circle legendary knights were swiftly killed by Ember, unable to contribute much.
"A bunch of sewer rats!"
"All you do is hide and dodge?"
Ember taunted, trying to provoke the Staff and others into a direct confrontation.
However, they remained unfazed.
A faint golden light enveloped the Staff, rendering him immune to the surrounding heat and granting him great speed, allowing him to deftly evade Ember's fists.
The golden light originated from his staff.
Moments earlier, before everyone's eyes, the Staff had drawn a golden staff from within himself, brilliantly shining, with its tip encrusted with countless precious gems.
Meanwhile, the Traveler relied on the protection of the Green Tree Branch, making him immune to the heat and flames.
Ember's attacks on the Traveler were all deflected by the green glow around him.
Compared to the Traveler and the Staff, Puwedo and Moss were in a much more precarious situation.
Relying solely on elemental power to withstand the heat, fatigue quickly set in, evident on their faces.
The Staff noticed, frowning.
Raising the golden staff, he fired a beam of golden light like an arrow into the void, creating ripples.
The next moment, a beast-like hoof stepped out of the ripple.
Then another foot, a torso, arms, and a head.
Soon, a creature with a canine head and human body appeared in the void.
At first glance, it resembled a kobold.
But a closer look revealed stark differences.
Unlike the filthy, scrawny kobolds, this canine-headed creature was burly and robust, exuding an aura of valor and prowess. Its armor was clearly of high quality, and it wielded a broad greatsword.
"A Mastiff Spirit!"
The Traveler was shocked, glancing at the Staff in disbelief.
This was a rare and powerful otherworldly creature, and the Staff had summoned it.
Was it random, or had he signed a contract for a designated summons?
Surveying the scene, the Mastiff Spirit quickly locked onto its target, charging at Ember like an arrow.
Ember swung his massive fist, but the Mastiff Spirit easily dodged, delivering a powerful sword strike.
Despite being only two meters long, the broad greatsword cut through Ember's four to five-meter-wide flaming arm.
"Ah!!"
Ember let out an ear-piercing shriek, clutching his arm as he stumbled back.
The Traveler's eyes lit up.
So that's it—the Mastiff Spirit's attacks carried potent positive energy, while Ember, fused with the Magma Ogre bloodline, had transformed into a fire giant, a fusion of fire elements and negative energy. The Mastiff Spirit was a natural counter to him.
But before the Traveler could relish the moment, the sound of rushing water echoed in his ears.
Looking up, a torrent cascaded from nowhere, filling his entire view!
Boom!
The massive wave crashed down on the Traveler, nearly knocking him from the air with its weight.
Alarmed, the Traveler's body erupted in green light, and in the next instant, the water vanished without a trace.
Glancing around, the ground and rock walls were dry, with no sign of moisture.
Nearby, the Staff's face darkened.
In that brief moment, the Mastiff Spirit had been caught in an illusion and was killed by Ember and Ira.
"Again!"
The Staff cursed inwardly.
Since the battle began, similar scenarios had occurred multiple times.
Whenever they gained the upper hand, Ira, hidden in the shadows, would strike with illusions, turning the tide.
Her illusion prowess was surprisingly strong. Even with the Hunter's intel and having taken clarity potions to boost illusion resistance, they couldn't fully counter her.
Without Ira's interference, he and the Traveler would have defeated Ember by now!
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