Ancient Battlefield

"Now do you see how wise it was of me to share the knowledge essence with you?" Having just had his head blown off, Yaxiu showed not the slightest trace of tension, even finding himself in the mood to joke. Felix, who was clutching tightly to his Supreme Tail Feather, felt her heart plummet from ten thousand li up, only to land softly upon a cloud of cotton candy the moment she heard him speak normally. Overwhelmed by the emotional whiplash, it was as if her spine had been pulled out; all strength drained from her body as she began slipping downward. The swaying, dancing Supreme Tail Feather suddenly lengthened, wrapping around her and passing her to Daedalose nearby to look after. "Refraction Guardian, Source Sanctuary, and Barrier of Delusion all failed to take effect," Yaxiu sighed. "The foundations of a divine kingdom's angel truly defy estimation." Yaxiu was no fool. Since source power naturally recovered over time and defensive wonders were a waste not to use, he always layered multiple defensive barriers on himself whenever traveling through the wilderness. Refraction Guardian and Source Sanctuary were kept active almost continuously, even in his sleep. As for Barrier of Delusion, it was a defensive miracle Diya had constructed with the Gospel God as its core. Its effect was simple—the moment someone locked onto him, Barrier of Delusion would confuse the enemy's senses. In truth, confounding an enemy's senses was only marginally better than nothing. Because Barrier of Delusion was a trigger-based miracle—remaining active until triggered, after which it would dispel—it could only disorient an enemy's perception for a fleeting split second. Yet what Yaxiu and the others needed was not to mislead the foe, but to detect an ambush the moment Barrier of Delusion was triggered! Whenever the group moved together, Diya would cast Barrier of Delusion over everyone; as long as it went untriggered, it could last for a long time without consuming much source power. And yet, with those three layers of defensive barriers, compounded by his status as a demigod sword sorcerer possessing the keenest senses, Yaxiu had not even been given room to react. Like a silly Lalafell, his head had been blown clean off—not merely pierced, but obliterated entirely. This meant the winged-helmet archer's arrow possessed at least three effects: counter-prophetic perception, ignoring all defenses, and instantaneous annihilation. Any one of these effects was at the level of a high-tier wonder, not to mention Yaxiu was certain there were far more than just three. Even if he had possessed other means of defense, he likely could neither block nor dodge that arrow; after all, for an archery demigod to voluntarily reveal himself and strike, it meant he had absolute certainty of victory! In fact, had Silver Lantern not used the Square-Round Cicada to leap through time in the nick of time, Yaxiu would inevitably have been knocked out of this battle. Demigods were nothing like mortals. If a mortal suffered a headshot, plenty of sorcery spirits could restore them instantly, such as the Sun-Reversing sorcery spirit; but when it came to instantly repairing a demigod's soul body, only a god could do it. Unless one happened to possess a time-element god, no matter how fast the healing, it would take several minutes—plenty of time to conclude a divine war! Did the winged-helmet archer possess a Unique Wonder? A Celestial Wonder? Or perhaps an Eternal Wonder? The answer arrived swiftly. At the spot where the winged-helmet archer fell, a grand palace materialized from illusion into reality. Stone reliefs and murals, pillared vaulted ceilings, floors carved with thousands of dragons and beasts, and warrior statues lining both sides exuded an ancient, weathered aura. Such an architectural style could never emerge in a civilized society; only an era of brutal savagery fighting against nature could foster such untamed martial valor. There were three wonders within the palace. The most striking among them was undoubtedly the ivory tower rising in the center. Atop the tower stood a six-eyed god drawing a bow and notching an arrow. Gleaming motes of brilliance gathered on the bowstring, and surging air currents focused into the arrow shaft. Its six eyes held the sun, moon, wind, clouds, mountains, and seas respectively. In the minds of all the sorcerers who laid eyes on this wonder, the exact same name surfaced: "Sky Arrow." Shooting on Heaven's behalf; once released, it became law, twisting the world itself! A Celestial Wonder, and a Unique Wonder, unleashing the power of Truth through marksmanship! Apart from the Sky Arrow wonder, the other two wonders were astonishingly also Celestial Wonders housing permanent gods. This archer angel, instantly slain by Sword Princess and the Witch, was by no means weak; he might have been an even deadlier demigod slayer than the Sword Law angel! Had he known the true strength of Sword Princess and the Witch, had he been just a bit more cautious, the situation might well be reversed right now! It was unlikely these wonders were his personal property; they were probably divine kingdom wonders loaned to him by the Infinite Abyss Lord for this mission. In truth, the palace was not very large, accommodating three Celestial Wonders being its utmost limit. Yet the Sky Arrow wonder alone was enough to make the winged-helmet archer invincible. Yet now that the winged-helmet archer had fallen, and even his divine palace of sorcery had plunged into the earth, his divine wonders had become unowned treasures— Suddenly, a black cavity opened within each of the three Celestial Wonders' gods simultaneously. Swallowing the gods whole, the cavities vanished. Deprived of their gods, the Celestial Wonders completely disintegrated. The sorcery spirits were left scattered inside the divine palace with bewildered expressions, but before long, they rapidly dissolved into the air, returning to the Void Realm. A god retrieval mechanism... None of them were surprised. Vichy had mentioned before that even if they managed to kill the Sword Law angel, looting his gods would be impossible. As the most vital strategic resources, an angel's gods were the private property of the Kingdom of Heaven, each marked with a heavenly brand. Once an angel died, the brand would activate and whisk the gods back to the Kingdom of Heaven, ensuring they would never fall into enemy hands. "Ancient Battlefield, manifest!" With a ferocious shout from the werewolf angel, the roar of slaughter and screams of countless thousands rang in Yaxiu and the others' ears. A blood-red twilight illuminated their eyes as the barren, decayed land of Senluo was replaced by an ancient battlefield steeped in murderous aura and littered with corpses. They, along with the distant pillar of silver light, were all trapped within! In a mass grave at the center, the werewolf angel stood atop a mound of corpses, clad in heavy plate armor with a buckler in his left hand and a keen battleaxe in his right. He looked nothing like an angel or demigod, but rather a blood-drenched werewolf warrior straight from the battlefield. "Naglfar is dead. I have no face to bear the Abyss Lord's punishment," the werewolf's voice boomed, deep and heavy like war drums. "Only your blood can wash away my disgrace. When Naglfar wears the olive wreath and enters Valhalla, I shall take your skulls as goblets to drink with him!" Battered war drums rumbled thunderously as the ancient battlefield seemed to come alive. Humans, dwarves, elves, orcs, ogres, goblins... giants, dragonkin, winged folk, lizardfolk... races that still existed today, as well as ancient races long lost to the river of history, all appeared on this ancient battlefield at this very moment. With no purpose, no reason, and no gain, they donned battered armor, took up rusted blades, spears, and bows, raised muskets, and enacted a scene that had replayed millions of times across this land—raising their weapons against one another, fighting to the bitter end, until victory! As flesh and blood sprayed across the battlefield, the werewolf crossed an impossible distance in a single stride, appearing directly before Yaxiu as his battleaxe cleaved down— The instant the werewolf lunged, the four women—Sword Princess and the others—unleashed their most lethal Celestial Wonders. A tide of swords, threads of frost, silver radiance, and soul locks erupted simultaneously. Under their concentrated fire, even mountains and oceans would melt away. Yet the werewolf was completely unscathed. Whether physical or soul attacks, light interference or sound vibrations, everything that struck him merely caused his shield to flicker, failing to slow his charge toward Yaxiu by even a fraction! A flawless, absolute defense! Yaxiu's eyes narrowed. Shaking twin swords from his sleeves, he charged forward to meet him, silently activating Heart Hunter Throne as rings of ink-like traces coiled toward the werewolf! Thump! Yaxiu plunged toward the ground like an arrow released from a bowstring, sending up a plume of dust upon impact and crushing an unfortunate dwarf archer underneath him into meat paste. Seeing Sword Princess and the others trying to come over, Yaxiu immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's useless! You can't help me! Hurry and do what you need to do!" Even as he spoke, the werewolf teleported before him again, ramming forward with his shield raised! Yaxiu instantly activated Divine Might, crossing twin swords to block the bash, but the concussive force still rattled his soul body so violently that he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Before he could recover, the werewolf's axe slashed from behind the shield. Unable to dodge, Yaxiu could only parry, sending him flying dozens of meters away once more, carving a bloody furrow across the battlefield! By the time Yaxiu got to his feet, the werewolf had teleported in front of him again. This time, Yaxiu finally grasped the rhythm of the werewolf's combat. His left sword parried the axe with Divine Might, while his right sword thrust toward the only exposed area left unprotected by armor—the throat! Yet when the sword struck the werewolf's furred neck, the shield flickered once more, nullifying Yaxiu's attack entirely. This is absurd... Yaxiu was growing numb. He had thought ordinary attacks might bypass the werewolf's absolute defense. From their brief clash, Yaxiu summarized three abilities possessed by the werewolf: Absolute defense—any effect could be negated by a flash of the shield, and he was immune to all crowd control. Teleportation—no matter where Yaxiu was, the werewolf could instantly teleport right in front of him, and into his optimal striking distance at that. Ignoring defenses—Yaxiu had maintained Refraction Guardian throughout the exchange while continuously assailing him with Heart Hunter Throne. While the latter failing could be attributed to absolute defense, the former had not triggered even once, meaning the werewolf bypassed Yaxiu's authority entirely and could strike directly at his soul body at any moment! These three abilities were undeniably monstrous, yet there was one puzzling aspect about the werewolf: aside from defense, he had not used a single wonder, relying solely on basic physical attacks. Naturally, Yaxiu arrived at a hypothesis: could there be a rule of fairness governing the werewolf's abilities? That he could deflect all supernatural arts with his shield, but was likewise barred from using other supernatural arts, meaning only pure martial prowess could harm him? As it turned out, that was not the case at all; ordinary attacks were blocked by the shield just the same. Sure enough, there were no cheat sheets or walkthroughs in this world. The enemy was no fool—why would he leave behind a loophole for someone to exploit? There was simply no fighting this. The werewolf ignored all distance and defense when attacking, while attacking him was entirely futile... Yaxiu's mood right now was bleaker than that of an ordinary mob facing a player with a god-mode trainer enabled. He could only stall for time. Taking a deep breath, Yaxiu gripped his twin swords tightly and met the werewolf head-on, their clash ringing out across the battlefield like a symphony! Yet after mere tens of seconds, Yaxiu felt his arms growing too heavy to lift. His arm bones were fractured, the webbing between his thumbs and forefingers throbbed with excruciating pain, and his swords nearly flew from his hands several times. Even though the werewolf relied only on martial combat, weaving axe and shield in seamless coordination, his strength bordered on the level of a miracle. With every clash, Yaxiu felt as though he were being struck by a high-speed train—one he could neither cut through nor stop! Had it not been for Divine Might coming off cooldown every five seconds to absorb the heaviest blows, alongside his healing miracles still functioning to mend his injuries, Yaxiu would have been beaten to the ground long ago! Finally, as Yaxiu crossed his swords once more to brace against a shield bash, having just expended Divine Might, he could not unleash the pinnacle technique of swordsmanship twice in succession. Bereft of extraordinary technique, both blades reached their breaking point and shattered with a sharp snap. The overwhelming, crushing impact threatened to pulverize Yaxiu's soul body completely! Unique Wonder: Vain Promise! In this life-or-death crisis, Yaxiu dared not hold back in the slightest, immediately invoking his strongest destiny wonder! As source power surged and vaporized violently, destiny quietly made him a vain promise! Thump! The werewolf's shield slammed heavily into him. Air compressed to its absolute limit by horrific strength erupted into billowing rings of cloud. The ground around Yaxiu cracked and blew apart instantly; every warrior on the ancient battlefield within five meters was blasted into mincemeat. Yet Yaxiu alone stood firmly where he was, completely unaffected! Seeing this, the battle-hardened werewolf immediately retreated ten paces back, giving Yaxiu no opening to pursue in the chaos. Yaxiu had no intention of exploiting Vain Promise's unstoppable state to counterattack either; he had no way of breaking through the werewolf's absolute defense anyway. Instead, he activated Vain Promise's secondary effect, "Keep," sacrificing a small parcel of land from his soul heaven in exchange for rapid regeneration and a barrier of life— "Your strength has been increasing substantially over time." Yaxiu glanced at the warriors of various races fighting to the death beside them, his eyes lingering on the flesh and blood soaking the soil and the rising crimson mist. "Is it because of this bloody fog?" The Ancient Battlefield was a secret realm laid down by the werewolf; its function certainly wasn't limited to trapping them. Yaxiu had initially assumed these corpses would attack them, but to his surprise, they had been slaughtering each other all along. Even when Yaxiu stood right beside them, they did not spare him a single glance, as though this battlefield was merely a grand theater meant for admiring the carnage. "I like how you think," the werewolf rumbled, sounding as though he were suppressing a roar. "But it isn't something so superficial. The bloody mist is merely a common natural phenomenon of this scorched earth... It's battle intent." "Battle intent?" "Your only chance to flee was when I first opened the Ancient Battlefield. At that point, the battle intent had not yet pervaded the air, and the Ancient Battlefield was not yet stable. If you had poured everything into breaking out in one direction, you might have made it out. Or if you had quickly slaughtered the battlefield warriors here, you could have slightly slowed the rate of my growth." Circling with axe in hand, the werewolf kept his savage eyes glued to Yaxiu. "But it's too late now. Battle intent permeates everywhere, and the world has gone mad. Slaughter is the only melody here. Until victory and defeat, life and death are decided, no one can leave this secret realm!" "I don't mind letting you die knowing the truth," the werewolf sneered. "You probably thought my failure to use other wonders or miracles was due to some restriction imposed by the Ancient Battlefield... In truth, it's simply that I brought no offensive wonders with me. I don't need them." "This Ancient Battlefield possesses three Eternal Wonders. The first is 'Beast Blood Boiling,' which links all my attributes—strength, health recovery, source power recovery, and more—directly to the density of battle intent. More importantly, attacks imbued with my battle intent strike directly at the soul body, bypassing all defenses. At the current concentration, I won't feel fatigued no matter how long I fight you. But how long can that destiny barrier of yours last?" Yaxiu raised an eyebrow. He had only used it once, yet this werewolf who looked so crude and reckless had immediately deduced it was a destiny wonder. Indeed, to demigods who had lived for thousands of years, race was nothing more than a dull outer skin. Even if they were Lalafells, thousands of years of accumulation would be enough to transform them into learned and discerning scholars. "'Duel' is simple: I can appear before the target of my duel at any time." The werewolf openly revealed his own weakness. "Its flaw is just as obvious—in a one-on-one duel, I cannot use this ability to flee." That was hardly a flaw at all. In this Ancient Battlefield, his absolute home domain, who could force the werewolf to take even a single step back? What was more, that limitation applied only in a strict one-on-one duel; in a chaotic melee, the werewolf could teleport freely between multiple enemies. "And finally, there is this shield of mine: 'Battlefield Curtain.'" The werewolf tapped the surface of his shield with his axe. "It doesn't just protect me; it protects the Ancient Battlefield. Before the battle intent spread, I had to expend source power to maintain the Battlefield Curtain to shield myself and seal the battlefield. That's why you had a chance to escape back then. If you were fast enough, my source power might not have sustained the Battlefield Curtain." "But once battle intent pervades the air, I no longer need to spend extra source power. The battle intent automatically props up the Battlefield Curtain, enclosing the battlefield while granting me absolute defense." "So, if you're hoping they can shatter the Ancient Battlefield's seal..." The werewolf cast a glance toward the operators at the edge of the battlefield. "I'm afraid you will be sorely disappointed." "Your destiny barrier is gone." The werewolf's gaze was razor-sharp. "Seeing as you are a warrior, I'll give you a chance to surrender. The Abyss Lord does not seek your life; he only requires your Supreme Holy Grail. However, your crime of killing Naglfar cannot be undone. When the time comes, I will give you a fair and just duel—we will discard all sorcerer auras and fight purely with martial skill. Win, and I shall let you go!" "Thank you," Yaxiu said in all sincerity. "You are a true warrior as well. Though your blows hurt like hell, it was thoroughly exhilarating." "However..." Yaxiu drew another pair of swords from his spatial ring. "I don't make deals with dead men." "Hahahaha..." The werewolf's eyes lit up with wild excitement—one peach blossom eye, one phoenix eye—as he gave a savage grin. "You really are... a hell of a man!"