I Won't Let You Lose

The Divine Lords had not descended in their true bodies, so what form had they taken to manifest in the mortal realm? Were they truly phantoms? But if they were merely phantoms, where did they get the confidence to contest control over Yaxiu? Now Sonia understood the answer: the Divine Lords were phantoms, yet also not phantoms—they were concealed within the secret realms. They only needed to assist the angels in unleashing eternal wonders to tip the scales of victory in their favor. No wonder the Lord of the Endless Abyss had chosen to withdraw. Without Wester, he could not interfere in the battle even while sitting upon the Ancient Battlefield. Ultimately, only sorcerers could wield authority; the Divine Lords who descended to the mortal realm in the form of terrain spirits were not the masters of the world secret realms, but merely their residents. Now that Sonia was trying to seize control of the world secret realm, it was equivalent to overthrowing the dynasty of its inhabitants. In the process of taking over that authority, she naturally had to face the residents' challenges—in other words, she had to win their approval. At any other time, a mere Ancient Battlefield would not have troubled Sonia. But right now, she was like an insurgent trying to overturn an ancient empire, only to run headfirst into its most formidable, invincible champion the moment she revolted. The Lord of the Endless Abyss! The blood-tide sword light Sonia unleashed condensed into a single falling drop, splashing ripples of slaughter across the spatial fabric! Sword Wonder: Water Moon Shattered Lake! "That was the exact strike that completely annihilated Naglfar just now." The Lord of the Endless Abyss casually flicked the toe of his boot, kicking a buckler up from the ground into midair, catching it with his left hand to block. "Not bad." The moment the water-moon ripples met the buckler, their direction reversed instantly. Sonia's eyes narrowed, and she immediately slashed out Blood Moon Shattered Lake. The ripples collided with the blood moon, mutual annihilation warping space until even the light distorted, and the explosive air formed a surging shockwave that whipped the Sword Princess's flowing red hair. "Divine Might Shield Counter?" Sonia muttered. Just now, the Lord of the Endless Abyss had not merely dismantled Water Moon Shattered Lake—he had reflected it right back! In truth, she could do that too, but only against mortal miracles at best. At the tier of divine miracles, deflection was out of the question; she could only dissipate them, for the disparity in scale was simply too immense! "Why do you look so surprised?" The Lord of the Endless Abyss lowered the buckler. "Different weapons naturally possess different divine might properties. If your sword divine might can unleash Divine Might Iai, wouldn't it be rather dull if a shield warrior's divine might could do nothing more than parry attacks? Still, do you truly have the leisure to chat?" He shifted his gaze toward Sonia's rear, speaking calmly: "The Supreme Holy Grail seems to be taking quite a beating." Sonia did not look back, nor did her breathing falter in the slightest. Following a fleeting hesitation, she stamped hard against the ground. The spatial ripples that flared out swept past the Lord of the Endless Abyss, and in the next instant, she blinked through the ripples to appear behind him, tracing a blood-red, ferocious thread of concentrated sword light toward him! Divine Might Iai: Blood Moon Shattered Lake: Bladestorm! Divine might technique, the Bladestorm wonder, and the Blood Moon Shattered Lake divine miracle—the three forces coalesced into seamless unity. Unlike Sonia's customary grandeur and majesty, this strike was vicious to the extreme, reining in her profound killing intent until it left neither sound nor trace, delivering a sword of slaughter as heavy as tens of thousands of jin with the venomous stealth of a gentle breeze. Without anyone noticing, the Lord of the Endless Abyss had swapped to a charge blade. He leaned sideways in a nonchalant guard, completely converting Sonia's sword light into energy for his weapon. Slotted together, the sword and shield transformed into a buzzing chainsaw blade, crackling with turbulent arcs of lightning. His silhouette vanished into the flashes, only to reappear right above Sonia the next second, swinging the roaring, spinning blade downward with explosive force! The moment Sonia swung her sword to parry the charge blade, the mass grave beneath her feet shuddered, blasting countless corpses into the air. The shattered remains drifted high before descending slowly, like a ghastly shower of dead bodies. Amid the rain of bone and blood, the Lord of the Endless Abyss praised her: "Daring to close the distance instead of fleeing—you possess the caliber of a warrior. "Yet you are neither brave enough nor calm enough," he continued. "Refusing to look upon your lover when you know full well he is suffering is cowardice. Stubbornly persisting when you know full well you have zero chance of victory is foolishness." Acting as though she had not heard a word, Sonia triggered another ripple to blink to his flank, continuing her onslaught. Yet the Lord of the Endless Abyss, built like a tiger and a bear, moved with astonishing agility. Strolling through the blows, he easily evaded her sword light, tossed aside the charge blade, and drew two curved blades from the earth, wielding dual blades with effortless mastery to clash against her sword. "I don't particularly understand the romantic dynamics of you young people, so I will simply treat all of you as the Supreme Holy Grail's women," the Lord of the Endless Abyss remarked with ease, holding his own in the suffocatingly dense exchange. "Of the six angels, three are combat angels tasked with commanding world secret realms, while the other three are support angels. There are four on your side; three women are pinned down by the three support angels, leaving him alone to face the siege of three combat angels. "Still, their lives are in no immediate danger. The Weaver's schemes are always this brutally simple—the angels are more than happy to wage a war of attrition with you. When it comes to wonders, divine miracles, and reserves of source crystals, none of you can match them. The Weaver commanded the angels to deplete all your source power; once that happens, bringing you under control will be trivial. "The Supreme Holy Grail is being battered thoroughly by the three combat angels. In truth, he originally had more room to maneuver, but the moment a combat angel makes a motion toward entering the Ancient Battlefield, he has no choice but to engage—he must even intercept every single offensive. All because he has pinned his hopes on you; he must hold every angel at bay before the sword perimeter to clear the path for you as best he can. The angels saw through this as well, and they are using you, his glaring weakness, to continually shatter his defenses." As Sonia slashed out another tide of blood-red sword light, the Lord of the Endless Abyss whirled with his twin blades, carving a path straight through the surge using divine might techniques alone. Discarding both blades, he drew a long spear from the ground, declaring proudly: "You have assimilated seventy percent of the authority... Be careful now. The enhancement battle intent grants me is nearing the six-wing tier. If you make a single misstep, you might die." Before his words even finished fading, Sonia jerked her head sideways, yet a streak of blood already lined her cheek. Only then did she see the Lord of the Endless Abyss drawing back his spear—she had not seen his thrust at all! Just now, her sanctuary had been torn apart in an instant. Every blow from the Lord of the Endless Abyss could now pierce space itself; her sanctuary could not withstand his assault! The advantage of the demigod rank vanished completely, turning every fleeting second into a life-or-death bloodbath! "You can use eternal wonders?" Having battled until this moment, Sonia finally spoke, her voice low and slightly hoarse. "You are mistaken. This is originally the authority of the Ancient Battlefield; the eternal wonder merely magnifies its effect." The Lord of the Endless Abyss gripped the spear shaft with both hands, his body surging with vigor, his voice booming like thunder: "Battle intent originally reinforces attacks, footwork, and parries. That is why I constructed Boiling Beast Blood, Duel, and Battlefield Veil based on those three effects. "The Supreme Holy Grail seems to be nearing his limit," he said, his gaze looking past Sonia's shoulder toward the scene she could not see. "And so are you." In Sonia's eyes, the Lord of the Endless Abyss's spear vanished once more. It was not as though she had never fought spearmen before, and she knew full well their greatest strength lay in rapid thrusts. Yet she had never feared competing in speed against a spearman, because a spear moved in straight lines, allowing its trajectory to be anticipated through shoulders, arms, and sightlines. Yet the Lord of the Endless Abyss's thrust defied reason—he completed the strike before one could even read its trajectory! Only at this moment did Sonia finally discern his target... her eyes! Clang! A split second before the spear tip could touch her eyeball, a tide of sword light arrived to knock the weapon aside, striking second yet landing first. The Lord of the Endless Abyss arched his brow, a faint sneer gracing his weathered face: "A counterattack divine miracle?" Sonia had been utterly unable to react; she had barely managed to deflect his thrust by relying on the counter wonder Water Moon, and even that had hung by a hair. "You still dare to continue assimilating the Ancient Battlefield? You are almost at eighty percent authority... which means battle intent will elevate me to the six-wing tier." The Lord of the Endless Abyss gave a cold chuckle. "Do you truly believe you can wrest the Ancient Battlefield from my grasp and return to aid the Supreme Holy Grail?" The Lord of the Endless Abyss's muscles swelled, steam billowing off him, casting a golden, statue-like sacred radiance beneath the twilight of the Ancient Battlefield. He proclaimed solemnly: "If you continue to rely on counter divine miracles, you will surely die!" With a thunderous roar, the Lord of the Endless Abyss unleashed a torrential storm of thrusts. Yet this time, far from retreating, Sonia stepped forward and slashed out a tide of sword light! Offense against offense! The blood-tide sword light was shattered instantly, but the Lord of the Endless Abyss's torrential spear thrusts were halved in turn. Waves of blood rose one after another; storms of steel fell in relentless sheets. The stray shockwaves alone were enough to obliterate clusters of ancient battlefield warriors around them. Never in history had a master of the Ancient Battlefield endured a trial so frenzied, so brutal! Yet within this razor-thin struggle, Sonia never stopped assimilating the realm—eighty-three percent, eighty-five, eighty-seven, ninety! Clang! The blood tide and steel storm abruptly ceased, Sonia's blade pinning the Lord of the Endless Abyss's spear dead against the earth. Gazing at the red-haired Sword Princess, the Lord of the Endless Abyss spoke calmly: "If you dare to continue assimilating the Ancient Battlefield, I will no longer hold back." Sonia exhaled a faint breath laced with blood, raising her gaze toward the lofty Divine Lord. "Why hold back in the first place?" "You have earned my respect, warrior." The Lord of the Endless Abyss made no effort to conceal his admiration. "Our only target is the Supreme Holy Grail; this has nothing to do with you. I hope you will join my banner—you are the one who should command this Ancient Battlefield. "In this world, only two individuals have ever possessed the right to cross blades with me in close combat: Fantasy and Fanxing. I look forward to you becoming the third. "The Supreme Holy Grail is already in our grasp. Continuing to fight is nothing more than an exercise in futility. Furthermore, as long as you cannot defeat me, the Ancient Battlefield can never belong to you. "Let it end here," the Lord of the Endless Abyss said calmly. "Do not bring humiliation upon yourselves—neither you nor the Supreme Holy Grail." Sonia inhaled deeply, then slowly let it out. Her posture slumped as though she were about to collapse, yet her assimilation of the Ancient Battlefield pressed forward without hesitation—ninety-one percent authority! The phantom of the Extinction Resentful Blazing Dragon manifested behind her, letting out a venomous roar alongside the red-haired Sword Princess. Stepping along the spear shaft, she surged forward with a slash, refining her blood-tide sword light into a lethal crescent moon! Yet at that exact instant, Sonia discovered that the Lord of the Endless Abyss had already retracted his spear, even though her foot had rested upon the shaft just a moment before. The speed with which he snapped the spear back with a mere flick of his wrist had allowed him to strike second yet land first, moving far faster than her sword light. One could only imagine how terrifying his true strength truly was. *I'm going to die.* "Go die with him, then." With a booming thrust, Sonia was sent flying like a kite with a severed string, crashing onto the sand of the Ancient Battlefield. The sheer momentum of her landing plowed a trench dozens of meters long. The Lord of the Endless Abyss glanced down at his broken spear shaft. He had not anticipated that Sonia, even under those circumstances, could change her technique on the fly to sever his spear tip, downgrading a fatal wound into a severe one. A full-force blow from a six-wing Divine Lord had actually failed to slay a five-wing demigod. Still, since she possessed such peerless, transcendent talent, what harm was there in sparing her life? * Sonia was not alone. Just as she skidded dozens of meters across the earth, Yaxiu also plummeted from the sky, heavily wounded. Whether through the angels' malice or mercy, Yaxiu crashed down heavily right beside Sonia, jolting her fading consciousness back to awareness. She turned her head slowly to see a battered, bloodstained Yaxiu. He was in a truly wretched state, blood still trickling from his mouth, a gash tearing across his cheek from the corner of his lips to the base of his ear, exposing his gums. His shirt was soaked in blood, making it impossible to tell where he had been wounded. Sonia tried to say something, but choked on her breath and coughed up a clot of dark blood. Yaxiu turned to look at her, raising a hand to gently caress the cut on her cheek. "You're hurt." Sonia stared at him blankly, her eyes shimmering with moisture before tears spilled out unbidden. Wiping away her tears, Yaxiu squeezed out a fierce, distorted grin: "Don't cry. I won't leave you. "Everything will be fine," Yaxiu said, pushing himself up, his eyes ablaze with resolve. "I won't let you lose." *They have all given everything they have. It's my turn to go all out.* He opened *Aurora's Sorcerer Handbook*—Operator Recruitment. But just as he was about to press it, Yaxiu saw Sonia pushing herself up against her scabbard. "Hold the sword perimeter for me one more time." Panting with bloody breath, she locked her gaze onto the Lord of the Endless Abyss, her proud crimson ponytail fluttering in the wind. Yaxiu was slightly taken aback, but then nodded with a smile. "All right." As Yaxiu unfurled his void wings to face the angels once more, he heard Sonia speak from behind: "I won't let you lose either." * When Yaxiu touched the bloody cut on her cheek, a jumbled memory suddenly embedded itself into Sonia's mind. It was a place cloaked in a burning night; Yaxiu was resting his head in her lap, and she leaned down, her disheveled red hair falling forward to veil their faces as she whispered pleadingly into his ear: *"Yaxiu, don't leave me."* Flowing into her mind alongside that memory was an unfathomable divine miracle, one that could effortlessly annihilate three demigods with a single sword strike. Yet such a miracle was by no means something a demigod could wield; by all logic, it was impossible for Sonia to replicate it. And yet, an intense surge of inspiration struck her—she seemed to grasp the essence of this miracle, and with the god wonders she already possessed, she might truly be able to reproduce it! Even so, it would only be a five-wing tier divine miracle. Facing the Lord of the Endless Abyss, who had already been enhanced to the six-wing tier within the Ancient Battlefield, could it truly work? It could. If it could not, what right did she have to stand by Yaxiu's side! Watching Sonia charge back from a distance, the Lord of the Endless Abyss had already abandoned any intent to slay her. He casually picked up a sword, intending to crush her in the discipline she took the greatest pride in. At the same time, he sensed Sonia weaving an extraordinarily profound sword divine miracle, and an instinctual premonition of danger prompted him to take things slightly more seriously. Still, it was no grand issue—at most, it was a miracle infinitely close to the six-wing tier. Suddenly, void wings unfurled behind Sonia one after another. Silver void wings, gold void wings, iridescent void wings, sword-colored void wings, triple hell wings, and... Under the Lord of the Endless Abyss's incredulous gaze, Sonia condensed supreme tail feathers shimmering in variegated sword hues bit by bit, the momentum of her sword divine miracle surging to its zenith. She snapped her head up, her dazzling ruby eyes flaring with radiant brilliance! *Drip.* The Lord of the Endless Abyss seemed to hear the sound of crimson blood dropping into an ocean of gore, the scarlet ripples it stirred creasing the fabric of space and time. Even though he immediately triggered battle intent divine might, the thirty-three layers of divine might veils he erected in a flash were completely torn through by the ripples. Supreme Art: Vermilion Water Moon! With a single strike, Sonia shattered the Lord of the Endless Abyss's blade and pierced straight through his chest. Looking down at her, the Lord of the Endless Abyss spoke calmly: "This time... consider it your win." "Remember this," Sonia said coldly. "He is not the Supreme Holy Grail. He is my man—Yaxiu Heath!" As the phantom of the Lord of the Endless Abyss dissolved into streaming motes of light, Sonia's assimilation of the Ancient Battlefield reached one hundred percent authority! The surging battle intent of the entire realm gathered onto her, and the three eternal wonders—Boiling Beast Blood, Duel, and Battlefield Veil—roared to life once more! Next came reckoning time! Pivoting on her heel, Sonia crossed hundreds of meters in an instant, barging straight into the main battlefield between Yaxiu and the angels to shield him. Before the Cherub's horrified gaze, the Sword Princess unleashed a tide of sword light laced with battle intent and fury—everything the angels had done to Yaxiu just now, she would repay a thousandfold! Clang! As sound waves and blood tides canceled each other out, the Cherub caught Sonia's blade with her bare hands. Yet Sonia did not look at the Cherub; her eyes were locked onto the mature woman with long pink-purple hair beside her. Under Yaxiu and Sonia's watchful eyes, the figures of the Cherub and the Weaver gradually overlapped, their voices merging from two into one, light and haughty: "Tagging out."