Vol. 6 Ch. 96

"So, what you're saying is that the reason you were able to locate the Thunder Core Instrument and the Crown wasn't due to years of intelligence gathering, but because you had another way to confirm the location of these divine relics, right?"

"Previously, Carl and Talos went to the Snow Elf tribe in search of Xiaoxue. In just a few years, several groups arrived to take her in. Compared to that, Vida and Cecilia's pace in searching for relics was at least dozens of times slower."

And now, combining that with what Safina just said—'Kaiser’s target is the Key of Time'—Leon had every reason to suspect that their method of locating relics was completely different from his side’s.

Hearing Leon’s pointed question, Safina raised an eyebrow.

"Is that really where your focus is? If I’m not mistaken, that key is currently in your possession, and Kaiser’s forces are already fighting over it. But instead of worrying about the battle, you're more concerned with how we find these things?"

Leon crossed his arms and slowly exhaled. That gesture alone signified that they had no further questions for Safina. Once this conversation ended, the fight would resume.

"You don’t need to worry about that, Safina."

Leon’s response was brief.

Safina’s gaze flickered slightly, but she didn’t press the matter further. Instead, she adjusted her stance and murmured in a low voice,

"Then let’s go."

As soon as the words fell, before any of them could make a move, two colossal dragons descended on either side of Leon.

One red. One silver.

The red dragon was slightly larger, while the silver dragon was more compact, but its wings were broader and more powerful.

"Senior Vida, Senior Cecilia… the Void soldiers?"

"All taken care of, Leon."

The silver dragon spoke in a deep voice, then turned its massive head to look toward the lone Void warrior still standing.

"She’s the only one left."

"Good."

Leon raised his Thundercloud Blade but paused just before attacking, as if something had just occurred to him. Lowering his voice, he added,

"By the way, seniors, don’t kill her. We’ll need her later."

"Understood."

With that, the two dragons lunged at Safina, attacking from opposite directions.

From their maws erupted searing dragon flames, engulfing Safina in an instant.

But in the very next second, a violet blur shot out from the raging inferno, leaping into the air.

Leon watched Safina activate Sumeru Shadow and muttered,

"Even an early-stage Sumeru Shadow can withstand an attack from at least three Dragon Kings."

He wasn’t particularly surprised.

After all, when he had returned from ten years in the future, he had used an early-stage Sumeru Shadow to block a Dragon King’s full-power strike.

"But I already tricked you into revealing that. Sumeru Shadow may be impenetrable, but its fatal flaw is at the base."

Leon swung his Thundercloud Blade again, slicing toward Safina’s ankle.

"Trying that move again, Leon?"

Safina’s lips curled into a smirk, and in her violet pupils, a radiant glow swirled once more.

"This time, it won’t be so easy!"

The moment she spoke, the violet energy around her began expanding rapidly, enveloping her entire body in the blink of an eye.

The raw energy repelled Leon’s lightning blade with a single pulse.

At that moment, as Vida and Cecilia prepared to follow up with an attack, an unexpected sight unfolded—

The violet energy surrounding Safina shifted, morphing until it took on a form identical to Cecilia’s dragon body!

Scales, tail, claws, horns—every detail was an exact replica!

Seeing this, even Leon couldn’t help but mutter,

"She can replicate even a dragon’s breath and form… No wonder Talos passed the race detection. He must have disguised himself as a human."

After replicating Cecilia’s red dragon form, Safina immediately shifted her target to the physically sturdier silver dragon, Vida.

She flapped her wings, hurtling toward the massive silver beast.

In midair, the innate agility and speed of dragons made dodging nearly impossible in such an encounter.

Boom!

The two dragons collided midair, and naturally, Safina had the upper hand.

But that clash left her with a massive opening.

Behind her, Cecilia unleashed three streams of dragon fire in quick succession, aiming directly at Safina.

"Ah, too slow."

With that, Safina’s violet dragon form shifted again.

Her body shrank, while her back grew fuller, her wings expanded, enormous and feathery, generating tremendous propulsion with a single flap.

Using the speed advantage of the silver dragon’s form, Safina effortlessly evaded all three streams of dragon fire and, in an instant, closed the distance to Cecilia’s head.

But at that moment, the violet dragon form suddenly dissipated, revealing Safina hovering in midair.

"Could it be that her replication has a time limit…?"

The next second, Safina’s clenched fist shattered Leon’s speculation.

It wasn’t that replication had a time limit—she was simply chaining another move.

Raising both hands high above her head, the residual storm clouds in the sky suddenly swirled, as the heavy rumbling of thunder echoed through the clouds.

Leon’s eyes widened, and he shouted,

"Seniors! Dodge!"

Without hesitation, he activated Gate of the Fourth Speed and Sumeru Shadow, propelling himself toward Cecilia.

But Safina had already launched her attack.

Ultra S-Class Thunder Magic—Annihilation!

A violet lightning lion descended from the sky, roaring as it charged toward the red dragon below.

Annihilation—the signature dragon-slaying move created by General Leon himself back in the day.

No dragon had ever remained standing after taking this attack head-on.

And yet, back when he first developed Dragon’s Claw, he had never imagined that one day, a woman capable of replicating any technique would be using this very move against his dragon mother-in-low.

"If she gets hurt, I’ll be kneeling on a washboard when I get home."

Fortunately, with the Gate of the Nine Hells activated, Leon’s speed was just enough to intercept the Dragon Annihilation before it could strike Cecilia.

Boom!

The violet lightning dispersed as Leon landed on Cecilia’s back.

For now, both sides pulled back, ending this round of combat.

"Didn’t expect her to be able to replicate full dragon forms."

Leon leaped off Cecilia’s back and commented,

"But this kind of ability is only effective the first time. Next time, it won’t be as useful."

Cecilia and Vida returned to their human forms.

"For an opponent with this kind of copying ability, it’s best not to use magic attacks."

Vida remarked, "We should try using martial arts instead. At least if she copies those, she won’t be able to counter them as easily."

But Leon shook his head.

"She mirrors physical combat even more precisely. It’s basically synchronized with us in real time, so a direct clash won’t break through her defenses."

Hearing this, Cecilia furrowed her brows.

"Then how do we deal with her?"

Beyond her monstrous replication abilities, Safina’s combat instincts were insanely refined.

She had already slashed through multiple Sumeru Shadows, morphed into two dragon forms, and perfectly chained Dragon Annihilation into her attacks.

Anyone else would have crumbled under that sequence.

Safina’s expression was calm, almost like she was saying,

"Go ahead, show me what else you’ve got—I’ll copy it all!"

Leon pondered for a moment before speaking softly.

"I do have a way to break her replication ability."

"That’s why we have to capture her quickly. I think I’ve figured out her true objective."

Vida turned to look at Leon. "Her true objective? Isn’t it to steal the Fire Spirit Thunder Core?"

Leon shook his head.

"The Thunder Core is in our possession now, and she knows that while her replication ability is troublesome, its best use is in direct combat.

That means the longer this fight drags on, the worse it is for her. She should’ve already taken the opportunity to escape—like when she took on the form of a silver dragon. No one would have been able to catch up to her then."

"But she’s still here, engaging us in battle. That means her primary objective has changed—it’s no longer about stealing the Thunder Core."

"And just now, Safina mentioned that another group from the Void Realm is already making a move to capture Xiaoxue."

"So the only reason she’s still here is…"

"To stall us, giving her allies more time to act."

Vida followed Leon’s reasoning and continued the analysis.

"Then the fight over the ‘Key’ must also be happening right now. And in terms of importance, the Key is more valuable than the Thunder Core. That means the forces the Void Realm sent to seize the Key are much stronger than those we’re facing here."

The Thunder Core was only one-fifth of the power contained within the Five Spirit Crown. As long as it wasn’t fully assembled, it couldn’t unleash its true potential, let alone seal the Void Gate.

But if they managed to capture Xiaoxue, the Void Realm could directly weaken the power of the God of Time—a dominant force on their side.

So Vida’s deduction was correct, and Leon agreed.

"Looks like we need to wrap this up quickly and head back to reinforce them."

Vida asked, "Leon, just now you said you have a way to counter her replication ability. What is it?"

"I need you to hold back for now. With this method, I can handle her alone."

Hearing this, Vida and Cecilia exchanged a glance. As longtime partners, they needed only a single look to understand each other.

Then, they stepped back, leaving the battlefield to Leon and Safina.

"Another one-on-one fight? But Leon, you should know—no matter what move you use, I can perfectly replicate it."

Safina’s Mirror Abyss Eyes had been activated for a long time. Even if the battle continued to wear on her, all she needed to do was stall until her allies secured the Key.

"So, do you really think you can defeat me before that happens?"

She smiled—not with the arrogance of a typical villain, but with genuine pride in her unique ability. There was no contempt or disdain toward Leon in her expression.

"Let’s find out."

The moment the words left his mouth, Leon launched himself forward.

With Gate of the Nine Hells activated, his speed was as fierce as a lightning bolt.

But Safina’s Mirror Abyss Eyes still allowed her to perfectly replicate every single one of his attacks.

Fist met fist, blow for blow—neither could gain an upper hand.

"Martial arts? That won’t work either. If anything, it only makes it easier for me to replicate you."

Before long, Safina spotted a flaw in Leon’s movements.

"There! That’s your opening!"

Her right fist clenched tightly, driving straight toward Leon’s abdomen.

"Damn… at that angle and speed, Leon can’t dodge it!"

Cecilia, watching from the sidelines, felt her heart tighten.

Vida also furrowed his brow. "Can she really pull this off…? "

Safina herself was confident in her strike.

If she landed this hit, Leon would lose all mobility for several seconds—

"Take this!"

But just as Safina’s fist was about to connect with Leon’s body, at an impossible moment, his entire body shifted to a position completely outside her prediction.

Her punch only grazed the fabric of his clothes, missing him entirely.

"You can use Mirror Abyss Eyes to replicate my strikes and evade all my attacks. Then you counter with the same techniques, making them impossible for me to dodge.

Under normal circumstances, that would make it nearly impossible for me to break through."

"But—"

Leon smirked. Taking advantage of the split-second she dodged, he grabbed hold of Safina’s wrist, his shoulder brushing against hers.

Safina turned her head slightly, locking eyes with him. Her violet pupils were sharp and focused.

"Your Mirror Abyss Eyes can’t replicate what they can’t perceive. And they can’t process… overburdened evasion movements.

That—is your biggest weakness! Wha—overburdened—ugh!!"

Leon twisted around Safina’s wrist and drove his knee directly ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) into her stomach.

The force of the strike was overwhelming—Safina let out a pained grunt as agony shot through her organs.

She staggered, gripping her abdomen, slowly dropping to her knees as the world spun around her.

Leon wasted no time. Lightning surged in his palm as he looked down at her.

"That’ll take away your mobility for a few moments, but I need you incapacitated for the next few hours.

So… sorry about this."

With that, Leon swung his hand downward.

Safina’s vision was consumed by a blinding flash of lightning before everything went dark.

Once he confirmed that she was unconscious, Leon bent down, slung her over his shoulder, and turned back toward Vida and Cecilia.

"Seniors, we need to go support Rosvisser and the others."

Vida hesitated for a moment, still processing Leon’s tactics.

Then, after a brief pause, he nodded. "Alright."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the teleportation crystal given to him by Tower Lord Timothy. Just as he was about to activate it, Leon suddenly stopped him.

"What is it?" Cecilia asked.

Leon glanced at the teleportation crystal, pursing his lips.

After a moment of hesitation, he muttered,

"I think… we should time this just right."