Chapter 72: Fierce Battle in the Rain

The shadow warrior's figure froze, the shadow‑stealth effect was broken, and its whole body was exposed.

From its build it appears to be male, wearing black leather armor.

Dozens of small projectiles hammered his body; some were stopped by the leather armor, but the densest barrage hit the chest and abdomen, piercing the armor, blurring flesh and blood, and fresh blood immediately seeped out.

"Fifth‑rank shadow warrior!"

Lei En's Soul Eye instantly gauged the opponent's rank and also discovered that this shadow warrior possessed many Elements; in his haste he couldn't count them, but there were at least six.

Among Fifth‑rank Transcendants, having so many Elements is not common.

Viola's reaction was equally swift; the instant the shadow warrior materialized under the barrage, she didn't even turn to watch the enemy, lifted a foot, and a surge of icy aura erupted beneath her, forming a blue ring that spread outward at high speed.

It is the Second Ring Spell "Frost Nova", commonly called Ice Ring, an ice‑type control spell frequently used by Wizards.

Any target touched by the ring is frozen in place.

Viola does not know Frost Nova herself nor can she cast so quickly; the five‑ring "Ice Domain Art" scroll temporarily granted her the casting ability, including accelerated casting and four ice spells.

The Ice Ring flashed by, sweeping the entire deck with Viola at its center.

At the same time, the Frost Giant guarding her received orders, ignored its frozen feet, sidestepped, raised a massive icy axe, and slashed wildly at the shadow warrior.

As long as the shadow warrior is frozen by the Ice Ring, even for a single second, he is doomed.

However, the shadow warrior's reaction was unbelievably fast.

The instant the Ice Ring touched, he leapt up, and the icy energy skimmed past his feet by a hair's breadth!

While jumping, he performed a rapid backward flip in mid‑air.

With a booming crash, the Frost Giant's massive axe grazed the shadow warrior's body, cleaving the spot where he had stood, tearing through the deck; the yacht shuddered, and splintered wood flew everywhere.

Instead of retreating, the shadow warrior surged forward, moving like a nimble cat, stepping on the axe, climbing up the Frost Giant's massive arm in a few strides to its shoulder, where a pair of oddly shaped blades in his hands glinted coldly, thrust toward the Giant's eyes.

All of this unfolded within three seconds.

The shadow warrior leapt, flipped, landed, surged forward, thrust, his movements seamless and continuous, as if rehearsed hundreds of times, with no mistake whatsoever.

The Frost Giant and Viola had no time to react.

The shadow warrior's blades were clearly enchanted weapons; if they pierced the eyes, the Frost Giant would be gravely wounded, if not killed, losing combat ability. They are external souls summoned by Viola; once destroyed, they become discarded cards that can no longer be summoned.

At the critical moment, a gunshot rang.

Bang!

The shadow warrior abruptly halted his form, stepped heavily onto the Frost Giant's shoulder, used the momentum to leap into mid‑air, his body cloaked in shadow, activating shadow‑stealth to vanish.

On the opposite side of the deck, Lei En thrust a spear to repel the shadow warrior, yet dared not relax.

His feet were encased in thick solid ice, as if welded to the deck, unable to move.

Spells do not discriminate; Viola's Ice Ring failed to freeze the shadow warrior, and Lei En was hit instead, a wave of icy aura climbing up his calves, chilling his entire body.

If he cannot break free in time, his whole body will freeze solid into an ice statue, to be manipulated at will.

Viola was about to dispel the spell for Lei En, but saw Lei En strike the ice beneath his feet with a war hammer; the ice shattered instantly, and he broke through by sheer force.

"Be careful, he hasn't gone far."

Lei En hurried to the other side of Viola, staying close to protect her.

This shadow warrior's strength is extreme, far surpassing peers of the same rank; he appears without a trace, vanishes if his strike misses, then lurks at the side awaiting an opening—very troublesome.

Lei En's skin is rough and thick, his defense high, making him the shadow warrior's nemesis, but Viola cannot match that.

Casters fear this kind of enemy most; a momentary lapse can lead to a fatal ambush.

If not for Lei En's acute hearing, which caught the shadow warrior's heartbeat at close range, Viola might already have met a disastrous fate.

He spared no energy, simultaneously fully activating his Soul Eye and the Voice of All Things, scanning everywhere for the shadow warrior's trace.

His gaze swept the surroundings several times, yet he could not locate the enemy.

"If the Soul Eye could see through invisibility, that would be great."

Lei En thought helplessly.

The Voice of All Things also heard nothing abnormal.

The shadow warrior's footsteps are extremely light, almost silent on the ground; he likely carries alchemical items that provide sound insulation, so only at very close range can his heartbeat be heard.

On the nearby frozen lake surface, four fire crows had already caught up with the female gunner, engaging her, while an Ice‑armored Bear charged close.

She retreated while firing, her soul‑cannon continuously discharging; various effect bullets shattered the Ice‑armored Bear's armor, punching blood‑filled holes in its body, eliciting painful roars.

But that only delayed it slightly.

If no one intervenes, she will soon be torn to pieces by the Ice‑armored Bear.

Lei En and Viola made no rash moves, staying vigilant against the shadow warrior's ambush; once the female gunner dies and the Ice‑armored Bear and fire crows return, the shadow warrior will have little chance.

Because of the Ice Domain Art scroll, flakes of flying snow drifted before their eyes.

Lei En immediately thought of an idea and whispered, "Can you make it rain? Preferably a downpour, a storm would be even better."

"Yes," Viola understood instantly, having guessed Lei En's thought.

Her soul‑power surged in her mind, her gaze focused, and she began to cast the spell.

In fact, Lei En didn't need to ask; he already knew Viola possessed the ability to summon rain.

Her second Main Soul, the Lake Spirit, is a lake‑born aberration that naturally controls currents, clouds, rain, and several water‑type spells.

In many regions of Ai Lun E Si, folklore abounds about them, with various names: some call them "Water Sprite", others "Lake Siren", "Mist Soul", "Water Ghost", and so on.

The most famous legend about the Lake Spirit comes from the Brantania Knight Kingdom in the Empire's north. There lies the world's largest lake, called Bato'gar Lake, and the kingdom's people worship the "God of Knights and Glory" Wei Wei An, commonly referred to as the "Lake Fairy".

It is said that before ascension, the Lake Fairy's true form was the Lake Spirit itself!

Waves of soul‑power radiated from Viola, rose into the sky, gathering clouds; atmospheric moisture quickly condensed, the drifting snow melted, and in the blink of an eye, within several hundred meters of the yacht, a torrential downpour began.

Viola, sparing no soul‑power, sustained the spell; rain poured down, and as the water hit the ground it instantly refroze into a thin sheet of ice shards.

Lei En let the rain soak him, his gaze scanning rapidly.

Finally, a figure emerged from the rain.

The shadow warrior was close, crouching on the rail at the other end of the deck, just beyond the distance where Lei En could not hear his heartbeat.

The moment his presence was exposed, he moved, rose onto the rail as if walking on flat ground, breaking through the rain curtain and lunging straight at Viola.

Lei En did not hesitate to fire at the shadow warrior.

Bang bang…

Amid the gunfire, an invisible figure flipped up and down the rail like the most agile cat, never falling off no matter how it dodged, and drawing ever closer to Viola.

Lei En felt a chill; the shadow warrior's reaction was too fast—when the opponent was on guard, his shotgun could not hit, only able to slow the warrior's speed a little.

Even if it hit, it could not kill with a single shot.

With a click, the shotgun ran out of shells.

At that moment there was no time to reload, so Lei En tossed the gun aside, swung his war hammer, and slammed it onto the nearby rail.

The majority of the rail was blown away at once; the shadow warrior leapt up half a step ahead, and a series of sharp iron shards shaped like triangular arrows flew from his hand, breaking the water shield and shooting forward.

"Darts? Or throwing knives?"

A thought flashed through Lei En's mind; he decided to ignore them, neither dodging nor evading, letting them strike his body.

With a few puffing sounds, the darts hit Lei En, astonishingly all at the same spot; the first three were blocked by the water shield, the fourth finally pierced it, and the last two struck Lei En's chest directly.

Two crisp "ding" sounds rang, sparks flew, and the darts were deflected.

"Huh?"

The shadow warrior let out a surprised sound; he had not seen Lei En harden his body against the female gunner's bullets, and at this moment he was slightly taken aback, hesitating for a moment.

Lei En had long known this outcome; the war hammer cut through the air with a fierce whoosh, timing perfectly, and struck the shadow warrior in midair.

Bang!

Floating in midair with nowhere to brace, the shadow warrior's agility was useless as the war hammer smashed his shoulder.

A muffled thud, mixed with the shadow warrior's pained cry, sent him flying like a baseball dozens of meters, landing toward the ice beyond the yacht.

Before his body touched the ground, the shadow warrior adjusted his posture in midair and slipped back into the shadows.

"Strange…"

Lei En's hammer landed effectively, yet he was not satisfied.

With his strength, this hammer was unleashed at full power; few Mid-stage superhumans could endure it, even the Iron Guard famed for defense could not.

But striking this shadow warrior, it failed to kill him on the spot.

Lei En sensed that at the instant the war hammer hit, the opponent seemed to deliberately use the force, employing an exquisite sense of balance to disperse the hammer's power throughout his body, lessening the impact.

Even Lei En had to admit respect for such reaction and technique.

"Cat's agility, balance, lightning reflex, force release—these four agility Elements combined produce such a powerful effect, with defense stronger than the Iron Guard!"

Lei En saw several Elements in the shadow warrior's soul, plus 'Piercing Blade', 'Shadow Step', 'Water Walking'—a total of seven Elements, making the shadow warrior's strength formidable, far surpassing that of ordinary fifth‑rank superhumans.

If it weren't for his own 'Steel Body' super‑Element and combat skills superior to the shadow warrior's, seizing a small mistake, he would truly have no match!

Amid the rain curtain, the wounded shadow warrior moved away from the yacht, seemingly preparing to withdraw.

Lei En exhaled slightly, turned his head toward the female gunner, when suddenly the ice beneath the Ice Armor Bear glowed red, growing brighter, and with a rumble a burst of flame shot skyward, blasting the Ice Armor Bear into the air!

The ice was blown a huge hole, the lake water boiled inside, and a figure rose up from the water.

Lei En's eyelids flickered wildly, thinking, "How does another one appear…?"

(PS: Thank you all for the support; the first print run reached 360, several times higher than I expected, truly a miracle, I'm very satisfied, thank you! There's another chapter tonight!)

(End of chapter)