Just as Talulah was feeling a slight sense of pride for gracefully fending off Rhodes Island's attack, she noticed the people opposite her all taking two steps back.
At this, she frowned. Retreating… she looked back and saw a giant Fuma Shuriken cutting through the wall behind her, which was made of a single piece of glass, like a chainsaw. The next second, the north wind, carrying rain, tore open the shattered opening and blew into the room, which was almost completely filled with flames.
"A mere trick, how dare you be so presumptuous here!" The moment the rain came in, Talulah felt her flames significantly weaken. However, at this moment, she had no energy to consider this, because the Rhodes Island group had attacked again, taking advantage of her momentary distraction.
Especially Frostnova, who, with her petite body, jumped to the side of the opening, allowing the cold wind from outside to strengthen her Originium Arts by a third.
The flames that had been steadily suppressing Frostnova, after being weakened by Kanna's Pray for Rain, no longer held an advantage over Frostnova. The two sides were once again evenly matched in the middle of the room.
But with the incoming north wind, Frostnova expended very little effort when casting her Originium Arts. Coupled with the fact that she no longer had to worry about her Oripathy worsening when casting, Talulah was instead suppressed after a while of stalemate.
Talulah did consider dealing with Frostnova, currently her most threatening opponent, first. However, every time she made a move, a sword qi would descend from the sky, blocking her path.
She didn't even need to look. The only person who could be so familiar with her fighting style was Captain Vodrakastos, who had fought countless battles with her in the past to become stronger.
Patriot's combat experience was extremely seasoned. Realizing that Talulah couldn't escape, he didn't choose to clash head-on. Instead, he maintained a high vantage point, observing the battlefield. Whenever Talulah showed any intention of attacking her surroundings, he would unleash a Sacred Sword strike.
The move Sacred Sword was also named by Kanna, who said it was one of Aegislash's two signature skills. The offensive Sacred Sword, combined with the defensive King's Shield, formed Aegislash's powerful offense and defense.
He still had no clue about the other skill, King's Shield, but he found Sacred Sword much more effective than his previous spear throws.
Patriot's intervention made things very difficult for Talulah. After all, her fighting style was derived from two aspects: fire and martial arts. The fire aspect was completely suppressed by Frostnova, who exploited the weather. As for martial arts, many of her combat techniques were developed in collaboration with Patriot. It could be said that no one in this world understood her intentions on the battlefield better than Patriot. Thus, after Frostnova and Patriot both sided with Rhodes Island, she was suppressed by her two former teammates before Rhodes Island even officially made a move.
Chen had been somewhat dazed since Hoshiguma rescued her, only slowly coming to her senses when the cold wind blew across her face.
Looking at Talulah, who was surrounded, a determined expression appeared in her eyes. If she had previously thought about pulling Talulah back, now, after confirming that Talulah had transformed into someone she no longer recognized, she decided to sever this bond with her Chixiao, which had been stirring restlessly since arriving here.
After several attacks were blocked, Talulah's eyes grew darker. When Patriot unleashed another sword strike, she didn't dodge but instead raised her sword to block it.
Just as everyone was surprised by Talulah's actions, thinking she was going for a desperate, all-or-nothing move, a dark figure rose from behind Talulah. Although its face was indistinct, it was identical to Talulah.
It also held a longsword. While Patriot's attack was blocked by Talulah, the dark figure swung its longsword, accompanied by scorching flames, and charged towards Frostnova.
Because she understood that if she defeated Frostnova, without the suppression of ice and snow, she could completely regain the initiative with her flames.
At this moment, a series of blocks appeared between the dark figure and Frostnova. Saria, the toughest woman on Rhodes Island, successfully positioned herself between Talulah and Frostnova.
With the powerful defense of Calcification, she successfully withstood the dark figure's attack.
Frostnova, having reacted, leaped into the air. Patriot, who had drifted over, used his shield to catch Frostnova.
The dark figure, finding its attack obstructed, did not continue to stalemate with Saria. Instead, it used the force of Saria's punch to leap backward, charging directly into Rhodes Island's formation.
Its target was the Doctor, who, despite appearing to have no combat ability, had been calmly directing the encirclement from the back.
Seeing the dark figure suddenly appear before him, the Doctor showed no panic. After all, he had felt something was amiss when the dark figure first appeared, so he had retreated a few steps. The stairs leading down were now less than three meters away from him, and Kanna was at the stairwell. He believed she could save him.
Just as Amiya and Ace saw the dark figure charging towards the Doctor, both showing expressions of despair, the Doctor calmly uttered, "Checkmate! It seems I've won this round..."
The next second, the descending longsword struck the ground with a loud bang in front of the Doctor.
Kanna, just as the Doctor had predicted, kicked off the wall from the stairwell and rushed in at that crucial moment.
Without relying on any weapons or armor, she blocked the dark figure's fatal blow with her bare hands.
The dark figure, which had expected to succeed, couldn't help but show a shocked expression. It knew its own strength was no less than Talulah's, and with the flame arts derived from Talulah, it had initially believed that this sword strike would undoubtedly kill the Rhodes Island commander known as the Doctor.
But it hadn't expected its attack to be blocked. And when it clearly saw the person who had blocked its attack, it couldn't help but gasp.
However, Kanna didn't give it a chance to react.
After blocking the dark figure's attack, she landed and immediately leaped again, sending a flying kick that sent the dark figure back into the center of the battlefield.
"This aura, where did this rural god come from, daring to disrupt Ursus's plan?" After Kanna made her move, the dark figure sensed the unique aura of a Long-lived being on her, and couldn't help but roar angrily.
"Heh heh! You old bug, don't try to scare me with Ursus's name. Not only do you not represent Ursus, but even if you did, so what? I'm hitting bastards like you who are obsessed with dragging the world into the quagmire of war."
After just one exchange, Kanna recognized him. This was the mastermind who had influenced Talulah's consciousness, the Long-lived being active in Ursus's high society and nobility under the name of Duke Kashchey. He was also known as the "Undying Black Snake."
Note:
Dear readers,
The Lunar New Year is approaching, and I wish you all a new year filled with success, good fortune, and prosperity!
Holiday Announcement:
I'm writing this to announce that I will be taking a short break from posting to celebrate the holiday from February 15th to February 22nd, 2026. I will officially return to work on February 23rd.
Don't worry though! During this break, I'll be busy prepping a bunch of new chapters so I can post them consistently once I'm back. I promise the upcoming parts will be even more exciting, so please stay tuned!
Thank you so much for your understanding and for always being such a supportive community.
Happy Lunar New Year!