With Donnie and the others appearing, Pat and the others were momentarily stunned.
They accepted that Xiao Lin had ambushed them—after all, he had indeed eliminated one of their companions.
But the remaining four were only Soul Ancestors. Were they really daring enough to step forward?
Pat brought Xiao Lin and his team fully into his field of vision. After careful thought, he decided to deal with Donnie first.
He had no intention of confronting Xiao Lin's Ultimate Ice. Although he had initially devised a method to counter Xiao Lin's Ultimate Ice, facing it in action was another matter.
Turning, Pat sprinted at Donnie with incredible speed, while Bet fixed his gaze on Xiao Lin.
In general, in team battles, control-type soul masters counter strong-attack types.
As long as a control-type soul master temporarily restrains the enemy's offensive-type soul masters, their teammates can focus on dealing damage to the backline.
Bet followed this same idea.
Of course, another reason was that Bet considered himself immune to ice and fire attacks due to his martial soul.
Having never directly faced the attacks of Xiao Lin's Qiu Dragon Staff, Bet was supremely confident.
The last officer, Angsh, could only passively target Ye Lingling's small team.
Originally, Angsh had hidden on the battlefield, intending to ambush Xiao Lin.
But who would have thought that the moment Ye Lingling's small team appeared, Angsh immediately set his sights on her?
A support-type healer appearing so boldly was, to him, utterly disrespectful.
Given his speed and stealth techniques, eliminating a backliner should have been effortless.
Yet, before Angsh could even approach Ye Lingling, a strange halo of light shone on him.
Even while he was hidden, this light immediately revealed him.
Uncontrollably, he rushed straight toward Ye Lingling's three-person team.
Within less than a second of Ye Lingling's team appearing, the battlefield instantly shifted from a potential team fight to individual duels.
What would happen next depended entirely on how the remaining fighters responded.
Xiao Lin's Battlefield
With Donnie and the others joining him, Xiao Lin's confidence in defeating a Soul Emperor solo only increased.
Staring at Bet, golden flames ignited in his eyes.
The next second, Xiao Lin broke conventional rules, unleashing four soul skills simultaneously.
After flashing his first yellow, two purple, and one black soul rings, he erupted in dazzling blue lightning once more.
"Hmph. The same move won't work on me."
A smirk lifted Bet's lips, twisting his gray-and-white beard.
He closed his eyes, raised his right hand, and his martial soul, the Serpent Vine Guardian, coiled around him.
The next moment, the green Serpent Vine Guardian glowed with two yellow, three purple, and one black soul rings.
Before Xiao Lin could approach, the serpent guardian's size instantly multiplied several times.
It became a colossal, coiled serpent tens of meters long.
A dangerous purple gleam appeared in its eyes. Out of curiosity, Xiao Lin glanced at the serpent—and soon felt his body slow, his movements becoming sluggish.
His heavy body drastically reduced his speed.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Death Gaze."
Seeing Xiao Lin slow, Bet delightedly shouted the name of his fifth soul skill.
This Death Gaze didn't literally kill opponents. Instead, it slowed their reflexes and heightened pain sensations.
For other soul masters, not Xiao Lin, being hit by this would render them immobile. Every slight movement would feel like piercing needles. If injured, it would feel akin to being punished in hell.
Seeing Xiao Lin hit, Bet casually swung his hand.
The massive green Serpent Vine Guardian detached from his body and surged toward Xiao Lin.
Its speed was so fast that Xiao Lin barely had time to defend. The giant serpent wrapped tightly around him.
The crushing force made it nearly impossible for Xiao Lin to breathe. Soon, he lost grip of his Qiu Dragon Staff.
"Hmph. A mere Soul Ancestral, ambushing and killing Brock, thinking you're invincible?"
Bet sneered coldly.
"Control-type soul masters naturally counter offensive types. And my Serpent Vine Guardian perfectly counters your attribute."
Soon, Bet's aged face flushed slightly. He had thought the boss gave him a high-difficulty mission—turns out, it was just this?
Yet in the next instant, his face turned bright red.
Not just his face—every corner of his body was engulfed in immense pain, coursing through every cell.
His previously cloudy eyes cleared, showing sheer agony. Bloodshot veins filled his eyes.
"Ahhhh!"
"This can't be!"
Bet's face twisted in disbelief, then quickly contorted into pain.
He couldn't comprehend it—this extreme northern land had become his grave?
His martial soul inflicted unparalleled backlash, excruciating pain.
As Bet tried to observe more closely, he noticed a golden light shining from gaps where the Serpent Vine Guardian hadn't tightly wrapped Xiao Lin.
It was that guy's golden flames.
Bet, writhing in pain, immediately realized what was happening.
Ultimate Fire!?
Shock overtook his face. Ultimate Fire had hunted a soul ring in the extreme northern lands!?
For a moment, his mind was filled with curses aimed at Xiao Lin.
Soon, he even lacked the energy to curse, collapsing to the ground, his body curling up.
His Serpent Vine Guardian had instantaneously ignited in golden flames.
It was as if oil had been poured on fire.
The Serpent Vine Guardian turned to ash immediately, the flames brighter than the aurora in the sky.
Meanwhile, the martial soul backlash caused Bet's body to feel as if thrown into boiling oil.
Extreme heat left an ordinary control-type soul master completely defenseless.
After a final, unwilling exhale, Bet had no strength left to breathe.
"I've never seen a soul master choose soul rings like this… A disciple of Yu Xiaogang?"
Xiao Lin emerged slowly from the flames, picking up his Qiu Dragon Staff and commenting.
Quickly, he shook his head, denying his earlier remark.
Even Yu Xiaogang wouldn't be that foolish—seeing golden flames and wrapping a plant-type martial soul around it?
Looking at the Soul Emperor before him, dying miserably in agony, Xiao Lin once again understood why Yu Xiaogang was called a master.
The old generation's soul skills were truly trash!
Were they all just lucky choices?
With that thought dismissed, Xiao Lin turned toward Donnie and the others' battlefield.
(End of Chapter 177)