Chapter 507: Chapter 480: Trapping and Killing Array
"A Proud Sun Knight? So am I."
The elderly Aluba was full of confidence. He had been a Proud Sun Knight for far longer than Ronin, so theoretically, his foundation should have been much stronger.
Therefore, when faced with Roninâs attack, the thought of dodging never even crossed his mind.
The two longswords clashed in mid-air. In that instant, their Power and Fighting Qi collided and exploded, creating a violent shockwave.
Aluba never expected to suffer such a shocking defeat from the very first exchange.
He felt an unstoppable, overwhelming force crash into him, sending his longsword flying. The impact then landed on his body, blasting his clothes to tatters and violently slamming him from the sky down to the ground.
"Birdman. Nothing special."
Roninâs Knight Cultivation had already reached the Perfection stage. He was a Proud Sun Level Peak Knight, and with the boost from his Flowing Flame Sword, how could the other man possibly be his opponent, even if he was also a Proud Sun Knight?
This turn of events clearly took the besiegers by surprise. A woman among them shrieked, "Activate the array! Trap him!"
Instantly, the Storm Divine Envoyâs servants in the air erupted with intense cyan light. The lights merged, forming a massive cyan sphere that enveloped Ronin and Carlos.
Carlos opened his massive jaws and formed a gigantic Ice Arrow, launching it at the cyan sphere. But the barrier seemed indestructible; it didnât even ripple.
"Master, what do we do?"
Carlos was timid by nature, and now that he was trapped, his voice trembled slightly.
Ronin was left speechless by the dragonâs lack of fortitude. "Youâre a Giant Dragon, for crying out loud! With your size and weight, you should be able to just ram it open!"
"Okay, Iâll try!"
Carlos shot forward, his claws sharper than any steel blade, and slammed into the barrier with all his speed and Power.
The massive impact made the very air tremble. The barrier rippled, but it quickly returned to calm, having withstood the Giant Dragonâs blow.
Ronin could see that the individuals maintaining the array werenât particularly strongânone of them were Proud Sun Knights, at least. And yet, by combining their power, they had rendered Carlos helpless.
After all, even though the Giant Dragon was only Eighth-level, the power behind that strike was something an ordinary Proud Sun Knight couldnât hope to match.
And yet, they had withstood it.
âNo wonder they dared to talk about "dragon-slaying." This array is really something.â
Ronin observed for a moment. âBut if it can only trap me and has no way to attack, itâs just a waste of their effort.â
"Trapping you is enough. Those people down below, on the other hand, are going to die, you know~"
The woman who had given the order looked utterly smug. She was the leader of this Celestial God Squad, a woman named Catherine, and a favored servant of the Storm Divine Envoy, Serdil.
"And besides, who said our array doesnât have a way to attack?"
As she spoke in her rather shrill voice, a brilliant light condensed between her palms as if she were gathering Energy.
Ronin grew wary. âThis Energy fluctuation is considerable. I need to take this seriously.â
WHOOSH!
The light finished gathering and shot toward Ronin like an Arrow.
âPlenty of Energy, but itâs not fast enough. I can dodge this!â
Boosted by his Wind Shadow Skill, Ronin swiftly dodged aside. He evaded the Energy blast, letting it slam into the barrier behind him.
He had planned to use their own attack to break the barrier, but to his surprise, the beam ricocheted off the surface. After ricocheting several more times, it slammed into Carlos.
After being struck, Carlosâs massive body was knocked to the bottom of the barrier. A few of the scales on his back had cracked. While he wasnât bleeding, it was an ugly sight.
Just then, Aluba, who had crashed through a swath of houses, flew back up. His hair was disheveled, and his body was covered in dust and caked with bloody mud. He was a truly pathetic sight.
"Catherine, keep pouring Fighting Qi into the array!"
Aluba roared in fury. He splayed his palm against the barrier, and his hand seemed to merge with it, forming a new anchor point.
All the Fighting Qi the others poured into the barrier converged on Alubaâs palm, gradually condensing into a new beam of light.
Seeing this, Ronin understood. âThe key to this array is to concentrate everyoneâs power.â
Ronin sent a Soul Transmission: *Carlos, Iâll block this attack. You attack from the opposite direction.*
*Yes, Master!*
Soon, Alubaâs focused beam lanced out. The Fighting Qi in Roninâs body surged, and he unleashed it through his Flowing Flame Swordâit was the swordâs innate skill, Celestial Fire Scorched Earth!
A violent Flame devoured everything in its path, directly intercepting their combined attack. The residual power of the blast even slammed into the barrier right in front of Aluba.
However, it was stopped by the barrier, unable to harm him.
At the same time, Carlosâs claws struck the opposite side of the barrier with a piercing screech, but the result left both man and dragon disappointed.
The barrier merely rippled again; it still hadnât broken.
Meanwhile, the shockwave from the collision between Celestial Fire Scorched Earth and the focused beam reverberated inside the sphere, repeatedly battering Ronin. Even though he shielded himself with Fighting Qi and wasnât injured, it was still deeply unpleasant.
"Hahaha, hahaha!"
Aluba had been terrified and anxious after being wounded by Roninâs first strike, fearing their joint attack would fail.
But now, seeing that even Roninâs powerful Combat Skill couldnât break the Trapping and Killing Array, he couldnât help but let out a gleeful, unrestrained laugh.
"Feeling hopeless?"
Aluba gloated, "To deal with you, we brought not only me, a Proud Sun Knight, but also two Silver Moon Knights, five Meteor Knights, and seven Golden Peak Knights! You have no hope of breaking free from our grasp!"
âIt dawned on Ronin that they had assembled such an impressive lineup just to deal with him.â
âHe was also shocked at the expansion of the Holy Storm Organization.â
âIn less than two years, theyâd gathered so many servants and even recruited a Proud Sun Level expert. An expansion rate like this is a little too fast.â
"To forget your own people and bow to the tyranny of an Alien Race... you and your family will be forever nailed to the pillar of shame in the annals of history!"
Unlike the Witch Soul Knights, Aluba and the others had made this choice of their own free will.
"History is written by the victors."
Aluba was completely unconcerned. He sneered viciously, "Give up the struggle! Go to Hell with your Giant Dragon inside this Trapping and Killing Array!"
He began to condense another Energy Beam. They could still launch seven or eight more attacks like that.
Roninâs expression grew grave.
âIt seems this Trapping and Killing Array can not only concentrate power, but also disperse incoming attacks.â
âIn other words, even though Carlosâs attacks are powerful, the barrier can disperse the force across its entire surface.â
âWhen distributed among more than a dozen anchor points, the force is naturally much weaker.â
Roninâs Spiritual Power swept over the sixteen people. Although they appeared calm, he was able to detect a few tell-tale signs.
âAlthough the attack is dispersed, if itâs strong enough, the weaker Knights among them are still struggling to bear their share of the load.â
âThey might be fine after one or two hits, but what about five? Or six?â
âEventually, their bodies will give out.â
"Carlos, focus your attacks on the three Knights to the north!"
âThe Energy fluctuations from those three were weaker. Theyâre clearly the Golden Knights. Time to hit them hard and see how long they can hold out.â
At the same time, Ronin stopped holding back and began to instant-cast Magic.
After becoming a Great Mage, a Mage can instant-cast First and Second-level Magic. As their power grows, so does the Level of the Magic they can cast instantly.
Ronin was now a Ninth Level Great Mage, capable of instant-casting Sixth-level Magic.
Fire Dragon Devouring Heaven bombarded the Knights to his right.
One dragon, two dragons, three dragons...
Within a single breath, six Fire Dragons went roaring forth.
"This..."
Alubaâs eyes widened. He had no idea what Ronin was up to, but this display of power left him stunned.
"Instant-casting Sixth-level Magic... Youâre a Great Mage?"
A wave of terror washed over him.
The young man before him wasnât just a Proud Sun Knight, but a Great Mage as well.
Raising oneâs Magic Level was far more difficult than advancing oneâs Knight Cultivation.
No wonder. No wonder Flame Wings and Serdil considered Ronin such a grave threat. Now, he could see why. The man was truly terrifying.
Just then, Catherine, who had also seen what Ronin was doing, grew anxious. She could tell that Ronin had seemingly discovered the arrayâs weak point.
"Aluba, we canât drag this on any longer, kill Ronin as soon as possible!" she shouted.
"My thoughts exactly!"
The Energy Beam between Alubaâs palms finished condensing, and he unleashed his second attack.