Ian’s heart jolted, but he didn’t respond.
The mont the storm of Bone Spikes descended, the stone-like patterns on his skin flared, and three layers of Shields instantly compressed and stacked together.
They condensed before him into an imnsely thick, diamond-shaped greatshield, its edges swirling with dark red Spirit Devourer patterns.
"You think you can stop this?" the black-robed man on the left sneered.
The storm of Bone Spikes accelerated, each spike wrapped in a wailing Resentful Spirit, specifically designed to pierce Energy defenses.
But the mont the Bone Spikes struck the diamond-shaped greatshield...
The dark red patterns swirled madly as the [Spirit Devourer] trait activated at full capacity.
Almost at the sa ti, Ian moved like a flash of lightning, surging forward instead of retreating.
He slamd his left foot into the ground, unleashing an explosive burst of physical power that sent a shockwave ripping through the fungal carpet.
Like an arrow loosed from its bow, he shot forward, pushing through the remaining Bone Spike fragnts to charge the black-robed man on the left!
The Bone Spike fragnts, now stripped of their Resentful Spirit enhancents, struck his Shield and jade-like body with a series of sharp clinks.
Yet they only left faint white scratches, failing to breach his defenses!
"What?!" The left black-robed man’s pupils shrank.
He had never expected Ian’s body to be so tough, much less that he would dare to charge him while under attack.
But his reaction was lightning-fast. His hands ford a Sealing Technique, and countless pale arms once again shot up from the ground, clawing at Ian’s legs in an attempt to stop him.
Ian’s gaze was glacial. Without slowing his charge, he swung his right leg like a battle-ax.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The pale arms shattered on impact, exploding into clouds of gray-white bone dust.
His movents didn’t falter for a second, and he was already within five ters of the black-robed man.
Just then, the ambush from the right black-robed man struck.
The pitch-black Soul Dagger slithered out from the Shadow behind Ian like a venomous snake, aiming straight for his heart!
It was as if Ian had eyes in the back of his head.
Maintaining his forward charge, his right arm twisted back at an unnatural angle.
The liquefied silver light covering his palm was so dense it seed solid, and he accurately snatched the blade of the incoming dagger!
"How is that possible?!" The right black-robed man was aghast.
His Soul Dagger was a Witchcraft Artifact designed specifically to attack spiritual bodies. It should have passed straight through any physical contact.
But Ian’s highly liquefied Spiritual Power, combined with his formidable physique, had managed to physically "grip" the ethereal Witchcraft Artifact in his palm!
"You... know nothing of Power."
Ian’s voice was calm as his right hand, still gripping the dagger, suddenly twisted with imnse force.
CRACK!
The pitch-black blade let out a sharp crack, like shattering glass, before disintegrating into countless motes of black light.
As if dealt a heavy blow, the right black-robed man scread and tumbled out of the shadows, blood trickling from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
His Witchcraft Artifact destroyed, the backlash struck his Soul directly.
anwhile, Ian’s charge had brought him right in front of the left black-robed man.
His left hand splayed open, a pale violet light pulsing in his palm. The [Frost Ash Beam] was charged and ready!
The left black-robed man’s second wave of attack had already been launched.
His hands ford another Sealing Technique, and the fungal carpet animated into a series of pale corpses that shrieked and lunged at Ian.
Each corpse emanated an aura no weaker than the Level One Initial Tier, and there were over a dozen of them!
’A sea of corpses tactic.’
"I don’t have ti to play with you anymore."
A harsh glint appeared in Ian’s eyes as he raised both hands simultaneously.
He held nothing back with his [Frost Ash Beam]. The pale violet beams shot out in a crisscross pattern, transforming into two half-ter-wide columns of destruction that swept across the area.
Everywhere they passed, the corpses were frozen solid and then incinerated. The left black-robed man frantically summoned a Triple Bone Shield, but it was like paper before the columns of light, shattering layer by layer.
"No!"
A column of light pierced his chest. Extre cold and heat erupted at once, reducing his entire body to a wisp of ash.
In the span of ten breaths, two of the three black-robed n were dead, and one was gravely wounded.
Ian’s expression remained unchanged, though his aura was slightly unstable.
That burst of power had been imnsely draining, especially casting two [Frost Ash Beam]s at his limit, which was a great test of both his Spiritual Power and his Control Power.
But he didn’t rest, instead striding quickly toward the severely wounded black-robed man.
"Talk. Who sent you?" Ian planted his foot on the man’s chest, his voice like ice.
The black-robed man gave a wretched laugh, the Soul Fire in his eye sockets as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.
"You... won’t escape!"
Ian frowned. "What organization are you?"
"Heh... you’ll never find out..." The black-robed man’s presence was fading.
"We’re just... the outermost cleanup crew. You... are so dead..."
Before he could finish, the Soul Fire in his sockets suddenly blazed and then violently exploded.
’Self-destruction!’
Ian shot backward, but the aftershock still caught him, making his Shield tremble violently.
When the dust settled, the black-robed man’s body had been reduced to Ashes, leaving not a single trace behind.
’Specializing in hunting Lone Wanderers...’
Ian’s expression grew grim.
They were clearly a well-organized faction, specifically targeting high-ranking Lone Wanderers on the rit board.
’Why?’
’Is it because Lone Wanderers have no backing, so killing them won’t provoke retaliation from large organizations?’
’If it was for rit Points, why not kill those Wizards from organizations? Although Lone Wanderers are easy targets, their total rit Points are far less than mbers of large organizations.’
’Unless... their goal isn’t rit Points.’
Ian recalled the signal the black-robed man had released before dying, and a chill went down his spine.
’I have to leave imdiately!’
He quickly swept the battlefield and found a pitch-black, bone-carved Token among one of the black-robed n’s remains.
The front of the Token was engraved with a distorted symbol that looked like a pupil-less eye.
Aside from that, there was nothing else of value.
After stowing the Token, Ian glanced at the remains of Blood Hand but ultimately decided against touching them.
’Who knows if there’s a tracking or Curse marker on it.’
"Gaga! Ian! A lot of presences are getting closer!"
Gaga cried out urgently. "From at least five directions, and they’re fast!"
"Let’s go!"
Without hesitation, Ian chose a tunnel leading in the exact opposite direction from which he’d co.
Less than a minute after his departure, five black-robed figures appeared in the cavern like phantoms.
They stared at the three piles of Ashes on the ground and the remains of Blood Hand, falling silent for a mont.
"Number Three, Number Five, and Number Seven are dead," the leader of the black-robed group said in a low voice.
"The strength assessnt for the target was incorrect. He’s at least Level One Late Stage in combat power, possesses a soul-devouring type ability, and is suspected of mastering a high-destruction, composite-attribute Witchcraft."
"Should we pursue?" another person asked.
"Pursue. The marker has been sent. He won’t escape our grasp. Notify Hunting Team Three to set an ambush at the seventh intersection."
"Yes, sir."
The five figures dispersed, chasing in the direction Ian had fled.
anwhile, Ian was frantically racing through the maze-like tunnels.
The tunnels beca increasingly contorted, and the vein-like patterns on the rock walls had turned a bizarre purplish-black.
The concentration of Demonic Qi in the air was rising. Even with his [Spirit Devourer] trait filtering it, Ian was beginning to feel the strain.
’I have to find a relatively safe area as soon as possible.’
He quickened his pace, but the labyrinth seed to have co to life, its passages constantly shifting and reorganizing.
Sotis, what appeared to be a straight path would beco a dead end once he entered.
Other tis, what seed to be a solid wall would dissolve into an illusory projection upon contact, revealing a bottomless pit behind it.
"Ian, left! The tunnel on the left has faint traces of Order Energy!" Gaga suddenly cried out.
Ian turned left without hesitation.
This tunnel was even narrower than before, only wide enough for one person to pass through.
The vein-like patterns on the walls were a lighter shade, their pulsing calr.
Most importantly, the concentration of Demonic Qi in the air had dropped significantly, and the insidious whispers of spiritual corruption had faded.
’This place... seems to have been ’cleansed’.’
Ian crouched down and touched the ground.
The fungal carpet bore scorched black marks that retained the faint scent of the Light Elent—the aftereffect of a Purification-type Witchcraft.
A squad of Wizards passed through here, and they weren’t weak.
He hesitated for a mont. Should he continue to travel alone, or should he try to rendezvous with potential ’allies’?
’This place is too dangerous. I should try to et up with them.’
Ian made his decision and continued deeper into the tunnel.
However, just as he rounded the next bend...
At the end of the tunnel ahead, a familiar figure, with their back to him, slowly turned around.
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