Chapter 780: Take It, You

Mirror Image lowered the Magic Burst Force Field to six rings to seize the combat timing, then cast instantly, but it was still too slow.

Banrimu's figure merged into the darkness and vanished instantly.

Only after she disappeared did the magic shockwave and the dragon's roar sound wave reach, and Lei En's electric light ray shot across, striking empty air. Several Mirror Images immediately turned back, facing the enemy's shadow clones pursuing them; each of them looked exactly like Banrimu. If they were others, it would be hard to tell, but to Lei En it was almost obvious.

Shadow clones are the core Element that a Shadow Warrior can master only at Mid-stage legend level; once fused with the corresponding magic soul, power surges.

In fact, Shadow Warriors share many similarities with Zhuo'er Warriors, said to originate from the same source.

There are two ways to improve shadow clones.

One is to increase the number of shadow clones; the other keeps the number unchanged but each clone's power gets closer to the original. Banrimu clearly chose the latter.

She has five shadow clones, only two more than a Mid-stage legendary Shadow Warrior, yet her clones possess over seventy percent of the original's power. A Sword Saint above th Level, even at seventy percent strength, is not inferior to an ordinary Sword Saint.

Lei En, seeing Banrimu's great power, immediately ordered those four Mirror Images to abandon Maluos and flash over to assist.

Ten Mirror Images versus five shadow clones, all 2v1.

Yet it had little effect.

All the Mirror Images' attacks missed entirely; not a single hit landed, and they were counter‑slashed by the shadow clones, their bodies riddled with wounds. Fortunately, their Level-2 titanium-ultimate golden body defense was strong enough that the clones could only barely break through, unable to cause serious injury.

Activated metal regeneration instantly healed the Mirror Images' wounds, and they were struck again.

Seeing this, Lei En felt immediately troubled.

It was his first encounter with an enemy of Saint Rank agility, and Banrimu's power exceeded expectations; her Agility was at least Level-14!

Agility differs from Strength; it is the hardest basic Element to raise. Even at the same Level-14, increasing Agility is far harder than Strength, and the two conflict. Though he had fused many magic souls and poured in much electric charge, his Agility was only Level-9.

An old saying goes: In all martial arts, only speed is unbreakable.

The same holds in Ai Lun E Si; this pure super‑movement speed can sometimes be harder to counter than teleportation spells.

Lei En was extremely vigilant.

Soul Eye, Key of Doors, and Willpower operated at full power, his gaze piercing the void plane, finally locating Banrimu's figure as she slipped into the shadow plane.

He caught only a glimpse of her silhouette before it vanished again in an instant.

At this moment Lei En had already deactivated the anti‑magic field, centered on himself, releasing a mental force field. Amplified by psychic hypersensitivity, the radius of the Eight-ring mental force field rose to thirty meters; everything moving within this spherical field was reflected in his mind.

Almost as the mental field expanded, Lei En sensed danger—a figure leapt from behind, swinging a curved blade toward his neck.

It was Banrimu.

The mental force field's predictive ability gave Lei En warning; he instantly performed a spiritual leap to dodge, the blade flash missing by a hair.

Simultaneously, a powerful invisible force formed near his previous position, binding the ambushing Banrimu at a distance; the psychic pressure surged like unseen tide, accompanied by wave after wave of psychic shock.

Banrimu's figure stalled.

In the next instant, Lei En appeared behind her; his spiritual leap had intentionally chosen that landing spot.

A war hammer crashed down from above.

Boom!

At the hair's breadth, Banrimu vanished again.

This time she did not retreat into shadow but, with unimaginable reaction and speed, evaded the war hammer. Immediately after, a flash of black light flickered on her, and in the blink she moved ten steps behind Lei En; in the process her right hand, holding a blade, powered up and swung as soon as she appeared.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh…

A sharp whistling sound.

A massive sweep of dark‑white light surged forward, formed from countless fine sword qi, faster than lightning, fan‑shaped, instantly engulfing Lei En still under the hammer and also the nearby Kestajin.

"Blade dance? Or what…?"

The thought flashed in Lei En's mind, but he could not react, watching the dark‑white light slash his body like countless blades, slicing his mithril light armor into nail‑size fragments, carving chaotic fine cuts into his skin, yet no blood spilled.

He was knocked back two steps, and that was all.

"Hm?"

The killing power of this move seemed weak, almost like self‑scraping.

Lei En was still puzzled when Kestajin beside him let out a painful cry; King of the Hills showed an expression of extreme agony, his storm rune heavy armor shattered into fragments, exposing a bloody, flesh‑muddied body, as if being torn apart.

Heart of the Earth quickly healed the wounds, but black blood oozed, greatly slowing the recovery.

"Poisoned!"

Lei En's heart jumped, then he felt his limbs numb, a slight weakness spread through his body, and breathing became difficult. He realized his Level-9 Toxin Resistance nullified most of the deadly effect, so he only felt it now, without impacting combat ability.

If it were merely poison, it wouldn't cause such pain to a being with iron will like Kestajin.

This condition seemed to indicate the soul had been wounded.

"You actually resisted the Soul‑Eating Slash!"

Banrimu stared at Lei En's restored chest, eyes filled with disbelief; the great shock made her pause her attack for a moment, but only briefly, and she immediately swung her Snake-Head Whip with her left hand, a whistling sound as the long whip snapped like a poisonous lightning.

Crack!

The Snake-Head Whip's strike was merely a feint; its true effect was to draw a Divine Technique, the tip flinging a dark‑green orb that expanded with the wind, instantly ballooning to basket size, its color bizarrely chaotic, trailing a several‑meter‑long tail flame, resembling a massive dark‑green meteor, hurling toward Lei En.

This was the Eight-ring Divine Technique of Spider Queen Ros—Chaos Touch!

Banrimu's Snake-Head Whip may appear for close combat, but it actually serves as her casting medium, functioning like a staff.

She instantly cast Chaos Touch, then stepped again with Shadow Step, her body flickering three times in the shadow plane, yet always locked onto Lei En, preparing to backstab him as he dealt with Chaos Touch.

Chaos Touch can auto‑track; once locked onto a target it never stops.

Moreover, the distance between caster and target was only ten steps, almost face‑to‑face.

In an instant, Chaos Touch struck the unprepared Lei En; Banrimu immediately leapt from the shadows, thrusting her blade straight into Lei En's back.

Suddenly, Lei En turned to face Banrimu, allowing Chaos Touch to hit his back. At some point his hand had formed a titanium‑gold holy sword, its blade blazing with thunder, and at top speed he slashed a Thunder Slash at Banrimu.

"Ah!"

Banrimu screamed, the sound mingling with the clash of metal.

In the flash of lightning, even at her speed she could only retreat half a step, avoiding the titanium‑gold holy sword, while she blocked the Thunder Slash with her curved blade.

Clang—.

The titanium‑gold Holy Sword snapped into two pieces, while Banrimu's curved blade remained intact, but the terrifying force transmitted through the blade shattered her palm, and the bones of her entire arm fractured piece by piece; the curved blade was flung away.

Lei En, holding the half‑blade, pressed on, thrusting toward the enemy's chest.

"This can't be!"

Banrimu fled far amid her screams, and Lei En, struck by Chaos Touch, emerged completely unscathed.

When she was solely focused on escaping, even Lei En was helpless; not even the psychic field's binding could keep up. In the blink of an eye, she vanished hundreds of meters away. Then, as if recalling something, she turned back and fled in another direction.

"Her curved blade."

Lei En instantly saw through her intention and shouted.

The two shadow clones also abandoned the attack on the Mirror Image, flying toward the landing spot of the curved blade; the Mirror Image naturally could not let the clones succeed, flashing to intercept their path.

"Storm Hammer!"

At that moment, Kestajin, having shaken off the soul‑shattering pain, promptly hurled his war hammer.

The war hammer, like a flash of lightning, whistled straight toward the curved blade in mid‑air. Banrimu just materialized to catch her weapon when the Storm Hammer slammed head‑on. The King of the Hills' Storm Hammer can even blast open city gates; if it struck her, death would be certain.

Banrimu could only use Shadow Step again, dodging the Storm Hammer.

That flash sealed her fate—she could never retrieve the weapon.

Lei En performed a mind leap, landing with pinpoint precision exactly on the curved blade's trajectory, and reached out to catch the hilt. Almost simultaneously, Banrimu lunged forward, drawing the Snake‑Head Whip, coiling it around the blade's shaft, and shouted, "Let go of your filthy hand!"

"Heh…" Lei En sneered, giving a hard tug with his hand.

Banrimu was swift, but her strength was mediocre—only ninth level—and Lei En simply pulled her away, as if she had walked into a trap.

Lei En's eyes widened, and he unleashed another Mind Blast.

Immediately after, he also hurled the Thunder Hammer.

However, both the Mind Blast and the Thunder Hammer missed; Banrimu let go in time, abandoning the struggle for the curved blade, and her body merged into the shadows.

Lightning shot from Lei En's wrist, pulling the war hammer back for him to catch, while he sensed the curved blade in his hand.

"Legend Weapon!"

No wonder Banrimu was desperate to reclaim it.

Zhuo'er warriors excel at wielding curved blades, but this one is unique. Its edge curvature is less pronounced than a typical curved blade, only slightly bent, resembling about ninety percent of the famed katana from the prosperous little nation of a past life. Yet the blade is broader—about three fingers wide—and the overall length is around one meter, making it ideal for the short‑statured Zhuo'er.

The snow‑bright blade glimmered with a cold sheen, exceedingly sharp; fine dark‑red runes formed enchantments along it. The hilt was ornate, its tip carved into a snarling demonic spider, from which black spider legs extended to coil around the hilt as anti‑slip patterns. Both sides were set with eight crimson rubies, resembling the spider's eyes, giving the whole weapon an eerie aura.

"My Soul‑Eating Blade!"

Banrimu materialized at a distance, shouting in fury, her eyes filled with venomous resentment as she looked at Lei En: "Despicable human, you'd better return it to me, or you will face the wrath of the Spider Queen's servants."

Lei En gave her a smile and replied, "It's mine now."

Mid‑sentence, he flashed to Banrimu's side, gesturing a Lightning Slash. But this time, the Lightning Slash was not released with the titanium‑gold Holy Sword; it came from the Soul‑Eating Blade.

This Legend Grade curved blade boasts numerous enchantments.

As long as one grasps it, agility increases by one level; the blade bears four layers of 'Sharpness' enchantment, nearly indestructible, cutting iron like mud—something even titanium‑gold armor can withstand, while Kestajin's fourth‑grade steel body is easily sliced. The blade also carries spider‑demon blood toxin, inflicting paralysis, weakness, and suffocation as three poison effects.

It also carries four spells: Two‑Ring Blindness Technique, Four‑Ring Spider Web Technique, Six‑Ring Advanced Acceleration Technique, and an Eight‑Ring Fear Emblem.

However, its most powerful enchantment is the Soul‑Eating Slash.

One swing, consuming stamina, produces an effect akin to a blade dance, with the direction freely controllable; it can be a straight line, a fan shape, or an all‑around sweep with no blind spots. The smaller the attack area, the farther the reach, and the greater the lethality.

Anyone struck by the Soul‑Eating Slash experiences a blade‑dance effect; the sword aura, imbued with the Spider Queen Ros's soul‑eating power, pierces the body and gnaws at the soul.

Even the slightest wound can trigger the Soul‑Eating Slash.

For those whose souls lack strength and resilience, being hit by the Soul‑Eating Slash may cause instant death; even if they endure, they suffer soul‑rending agony, lose resistance, and fall into weakness.

Earlier, Lei En was struck by the Soul‑Eating Slash, but his Willpower of Truth rendered him immune to soul attacks, so it had little effect. Kestajin possesses a steel will and an extremely resilient soul; although not killed by the Soul‑Eating Slash, he suffered great pain and temporarily lost combat ability.

Now it is Lei En's turn to use the Soul‑Eating Slash.

As he swung the Lightning Slash, he also activated the Soul‑Eating Slash; lightning and sword aura merged, forming a vast, dazzling electric blade that cut toward Banrimu.

Boom!

Banrimu, fully aware of the Soul‑Eating Slash's power, dared not stand her ground and dodged in time.

The sword aura struck the house at her feet, instantly scattering stone and wood chips; the entire building collapsed amid a rumble.

From a distance, Banrimu witnessed the scene, her pupils contracting with both hatred and fury, her teeth nearly grinding. The Soul‑Eating Blade in Lei En's hand dealt far greater damage than in hers; a casual Soul‑Eating Slash was far more terrifying than she could muster with all her strength.

This is a power‑amplifying effect, and Lei En need not conserve stamina; he can expend it freely.

Lei En himself realized this, not looking back, his mind leapt to catch up with Banrimu; before his body arrived, he unleashed the Lightning Slash combined with the Soul‑Eating Slash.

With that strike, he held nothing back and went all out.

"Ho!"

With a roar, lightning‑sword aura danced across the sky, sweeping every inch within dozens of meters, a deluge denser than raindrops.

A troupe of gray lizard cavalry rushed into the area, emitting a wail; both riders and mounts were sliced into chunks of flesh, scattering across the ground.

Banrimu fled in disarray, nearly swept away by the Soul‑Eating Slash's sword aura.

Deprived of the Soul‑Eating Blade, she was like a toothless beast; her power plummeted by more than half, and her speed waned. Especially against Lei En, whose defense was exceedingly strong—no Eight‑Ring Spell could pierce his magical resistance—she had little chance to retaliate, merely being pursued.

The shadow clones, synchronized with their original, instantly found only the Snake‑Head Whip in hand, their combat effectiveness sharply reduced.

The Mirror Image seized the advantage, eliminating the two shadow clones.

Meanwhile, the Holy Spear Knight Corps had vaulted over the city wall from mid‑air, charging into Mosuobulai, colliding head‑on with the gray lizard cavalry and the Zhuo'er Warrior Corps; above, Zhuo'er riders on demonic bats swooped down.

Clack clack clack clack…

Rumble…

Gunfire and explosions erupted; dark elves fell in sheets like wheat being reaped, their screams mingling with spattering blood. A rain of blood fell from the sky, and corpses piled up on the ground in an instant.

That day, Mosuobulai ran red with blood.

(End of Chapter)