Chapter 160: Fighting to the Bitter End (3)

The dust and smoke gradually settled, and the towering figure of the Skeleton King came clearly into view.

The ground where the two had previously stood was shattered beyond recognition. Their formidable power had easily pulverized the solid earth into dust.

The Skeleton King stared straight at Liren, who stood not far away from him. As for the others, they were completely out of commission at this moment.

Even Fan Yunshan and Moran, whose strengths were the greatest and unfathomable, had fallen defeated into his hands. Now, the only one remaining on Liren's side who posed any threat to him was Liren himself.

Fan Yunshan and Moran lay side by side on the ground, blood staining the corners of their mouths, their faces deathly pale.

In the fierce clash just moments before, the Skeleton King had used an overwhelmingly violent method to shatter their combined offensive while inflicting grievous injuries upon them. Naturally, given their mismatched capabilities, such a pure contest of raw strength could only end in their defeat. Of course, this outcome surprised no one.

The Skeleton King remained standing in place, not immediately rushing over to deal with Liren, because even within his own body, things were far from calm.

Although he had crushed both opponents within a single exchange, the seemingly glorious victory carried a toll that was barely bearable for him.

Neither of those two was ordinary; defeating them both in a single round was exceedingly difficult. The fact that the Skeleton King had pulled it off meant he had truly staked everything on one desperate gamble.

To Fan Yunshan's utter astonishment, the Skeleton King had dared to push his power beyond its absolute limits at this critical juncture. The inevitable consequence was a prolonged period of weakness, during which his offensive capability would be slashed by half.

In truth, even Fan Yunshan had miscalculated Liren's internal condition. Although they all knew how horrifyingly draining the execution of Underworld Arts was, coupled with the immense power Liren had just displayed to send the Skeleton King fleeing in panic, Fan Yunshan still believed that the depletion of Liren's energy couldn't possibly be that severe.

It was precisely because they had Liren as their ultimate trump card in reserve that Fan Yunshan had refrained from burning his soul right from the start. Of course, while Fan Yunshan thought this way, the Skeleton King undoubtedly shared the exact same thought deep down. Yet this time, the Skeleton King was undeniably taking a massive gamble.

He was betting that Liren was already utterly exhausted, and that whatever residual power remained after his own burst would be more than enough to crush him.

Without a doubt, the Skeleton King had won the gamble. At this crucial moment, Liren could no longer squeeze out even a shred of strength from within his body. It was nothing short of miraculous that he could remain standing without showing any trace of fatigue; he was relying entirely on an astonishing force of will to prop up his heavy frame.

Watching the Skeleton King's approaching footsteps, Liren smiled bitterly in his heart. He had originally hoped to force the Skeleton King away with this bluff, but it seemed that even Liren had underestimated the Skeleton King's greedy obsession with the Power of Creation.

At first, the Skeleton King paced forward cautiously, but upon seeing that Liren made no reaction whatsoever to his slow advance, his heart gradually settled.

To say he wasn't nervous at all would be a complete lie. One misstep, and this place would become his burial ground. To gain supreme power, one had to take grave risks. The Skeleton King knew this all too well. Even at this moment, when victory seemed all but certain, he remained extremely vigilant. Cunning and cautious to the core, he still harbored considerable doubts regarding Liren's true condition.

However, all those doubts vanished completely as he drew closer and closer.

Liren truly had not an ounce of strength left!

The Skeleton King was overjoyed. Although the remaining power he possessed was also very limited, not a single soul present could block his path by even an inch!

Liren smiled bitterly as he watched the Skeleton King close in. Naturally, Lantis and Rania also sensed that something was terribly wrong with Liren, and both of them charged desperately toward the Skeleton King at full speed.

Yet the Skeleton King didn't even spare them a glance. With a casual wave of his hand, jet-black, gleaming barriers locked the two women firmly in place, completely immune to any attacks they unleashed, refusing to budge by even a fraction!

Lantis watched with growing anxiety as the Skeleton King inched closer to Liren. Her repeated strikes were bounced back one after another, inflicting severe backlash and heavy internal injuries upon her. Ignoring the tumultuous pain raging within her body, she poured even greater fury into her assault.

Crack.

A faint sound echoed from the black barrier, followed by the appearance of a hairline fracture upon its surface.

A flash of hope lit up Lantis's eyes. Condensing a dark-red energy blade like a sharp dagger in her hand, she thrust forward with all her might. The crack seemed to instantly absorb infinite force, rapidly spider-webbing across the entire barrier.

"Oh?" The Skeleton King naturally sensed the anomaly in the barrier. To his surprise, although the barrier had been casually erected, it should have been more than enough to contain Lantis and Rania, especially since the two women currently seemed to be at the very end of their rope.

Curious as he was, the most important task right now was Liren. He couldn't afford to let any unpredictable variables arise if the delay dragged on.

Before the look of joy had even faded from Lantis's face, the Skeleton King pointed a single finger in her direction.

A beam of pitch-black, dazzling light shot forth from his fingertip, reaching Lantis in the blink of an eye. The tip of the beam was razor-thin, and upon closer inspection, one could see the sharp point spinning at terrifying speed.

Without even needing to touch it, just looking at the tip was enough to evoke a feeling of piercing, razor-sharp pain.

If struck by this beam of light, it was likely that nothing could escape being pierced right through.

The light moved with breathtaking speed. Just as Lantis was recovering from her final, exhausting attack before she could gather her momentum again, the beam struck.

Judging by its trajectory, the Skeleton King hadn't the slightest hesitation as he aimed straight for Lantis's heart. If this hit landed squarely, Lantis's fate would truly be grim.

"Get out of the way!" At the split second of mortal peril, Rania's voice rang out. Lantis felt a sudden jolt in her left arm, sending her flying uncontrollably to the right. As she managed to turn her head back, all she saw was that lethal beam of light driving straight into Rania's torso!

"No!!" Lantis was stunned by Rania's actions! Although both had belonged to Falling Cloud City from the beginning, the relationship between the two had always been extremely subtle.

She still remembered when Rania had first been summoned from the Death Wishing Grounds; Lantis had frequently tried to suppress Rania's ambitions. Back then, while nothing showed on the surface, they had engaged in fierce, covert struggles behind the scenes.

Not even the shadow steward who managed all the affairs of Falling Cloud City had noticed a thing.

Following Rania's eventual submission, their relationship had finally been cemented.

Though the process of establishing this bond had been far from amicable, for the newly risen Falling Cloud City, it was undoubtedly the best possible resolution.

Lantis asked herself honestly: in her heart, her relationship with Rania was truly nothing special. As long as they could stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the enemy during wartime, she would have considered that more than enough. Yet she had never imagined that a scene like this would ever play out between them!

To save her life, Rania had recklessly shoved her aside, choosing to take that fatal injury in her stead!

Lantis was consumed by fury! Casting all caution to the wind, she rushed to Rania's side and pulled the fallen woman tightly into her arms.

Blood poured endlessly from Rania's body. No matter what method Lantis tried, she could not stem the bleeding or heal the wound. The injury, pierced through by the black light, was coated with a layer of jet-black film that completely blocked the infiltration of any energy Lantis tried to channel.

"Don't... waste your time on me... Go... quickly... cough... to the Master's side... I know... your strength... is more useful here... than mine... Don't overthink it... I saved you simply because... your combat power is more valuable... Go... go!" Rania's face was deathly pale. The destructive aftermath of being struck by that black beam far exceeded anything she could have imagined, devastating her internal organs into ruin in the span of a single breath.

Though it looked like nothing more than a small bloody hole from the outside, she knew very well that her life was reaching its absolute end.

Lantis gripped Rania's blood-stained, eerily alluring hands with a desperate, crushing strength. Her trembling arms betrayed the violent turmoil raging within her soul.

"Damn it! Damn it all to hell!!!" Lantis let out a sudden, piercing roar. Her usually clear voice turned utterly hoarse, sounding like tearing silk as it ripped through the air, carrying a heart-wrenching, agonizing shriek of despair.

At that moment, Lantis's heart was completely ignited.

Her eyes gleamed with a green light, and upon closer inspection, three overlapping circular patterns seemed to pulse faintly in the depths of her pupils.

Boom!

A wisp of milky-white flame abruptly appeared on Lantis's shoulder. As that tiny flame flickered into existence, more and more of her body was gradually consumed and covered by the blazing fire.

Liren witnessed the entire scene. Watching them fall one by one beneath the Skeleton King's onslaught, yet charging forward again and again without a thought for their own lives, an irrepressible agony surged through his heart. A single voice roared endlessly within him: he needed power! The power to control everything!