The Shadow Warrior's silhouette flickered, the Shadow Slip effect dispelled, exposing his entire body.
By his build, it was a man in black leather armor.
Dozens of tiny pellets hammered him. Some were stopped by the leather armor, but the chest and abdomen, where most hit, were pierced. Flesh tore to shreds, blood gushing immediately.
"Fifth-level Shadow Warrior!"
Reyn's Soul Eye instantly identified the foe's level. At the same time, he noted the Shadow Warrior had numerous elements—he couldn't count them in haste, but at least six!
Few fifth-level superhumans had so many elements.
Viola reacted like lightning. The instant the Shadow Warrior emerged from the shadows, she didn't even turn to look. Stomping her foot, she unleashed a powerful surge of icy energy that spread from her feet in a blue ring, expanding rapidly.
This was the second-circle spell "Ice Ring," widely known as the "icy ring"—a favorite mage control technique using ice elements.
Any target touching the ring froze in place.
Viola herself couldn't cast Ice Ring so quickly. These were temporary abilities granted by the fifth-circle "Ice Domain Art" scroll, including faster spellcasting and four ice spells.
The icy ring swept across the deck, with Viola at the center.
Simultaneously, the guarding Ice Giant received the order. Ignoring his ice-bound legs, it spun and brought its ice axe crashing down on the Shadow Warrior.
If the Shadow Warrior froze even for a second from the Ice Ring, it would be over for him.
But the Shadow Warrior's reaction was incredibly swift.
The moment the icy ring touched him, he leaped up, the icy energy passing millimeters beneath his feet!
Mid-leap, he flipped backward in a somersault.
Boom! The Ice Giant's axe nearly grazed the Shadow Warrior, smashing where he had stood. The deck was punched through, the yacht shuddering, splinters flying everywhere.
Instead of retreating, the Shadow Warrior charged forward. Like a nimble, light cat, he stepped on the axe, dashed up the massive arm of the Ice Giant, and in two steps reached its shoulder. The pair of bizarre blades in his hands gleamed coldly, aiming for the giant's eyes.
All this happened in moments.
The Shadow Warrior leaped, somersaulted, landed, attacked, struck—movements fluid and seamless, as if rehearsed hundreds of times, flawless.
Neither the Ice Giant nor Viola could react.
The Shadow Warrior's blades were clearly enchanted. If they hit, the Ice Giant—though not killed—would suffer severe wounds and lose combat ability. As an external soul summoned by Viola, its card would become useless upon death, impossible to resummon.
In the critical moment, a shot rang out.
Bang!
The Shadow Warrior halted abruptly, shoved off the Ice Giant's shoulder powerfully, soared into the air, cloaked in shadow, and vanished with Shadow Slip.
On the other side of the deck, Reyn's shot disrupted the Shadow Warrior's assault, but he dared not relax.
His legs were encased in thick ice, as if welded to the deck. He couldn't move.
Spells didn't distinguish friend from foe. Viola's Ice Ring missed the Shadow Warrior but caught Reyn. Icy chill crept up his shins, making his body shiver.
If he didn't free himself immediately, he'd fully freeze into an ice statue, easy prey.
Viola was about to dispel the spell on Reyn but saw him smash his hammer at the ice on his legs. The ice shattered into pieces, and he burst free with raw strength.
"Be careful, he hasn't gone far."
Reyn hurried to Viola's other side, shielding her.
This Shadow Warrior was extraordinarily strong, far surpassing average superhumans of his level. He appeared and vanished tracelessly, retreating instantly from failed attacks to lurk and wait. Dealing with him was extremely difficult.
Reyn, with his thick skin and high defense, was a nightmare for Shadow Warriors, but Viola was not.
Spellcasters feared such foes most: the slightest lapse in vigilance could mean death from a sudden strike.
Without Reyn's astonishing hearing detecting the Shadow Warrior's heartbeat at close range, Viola might already be dead.
Sparing no energy, he maxed out Soul Eye and Voice of All Things, searching for traces of the Shadow Warrior.
He scanned around several times but found no sign of the enemy.
"If Soul Eye could see through invisibility, it'd be easier," Reyn thought with frustration.
Voice of All Things detected nothing unusual either.
The Shadow Warrior moved very lightly, almost silently. Likely, he wore alchemical items absorbing sound. Only at very close range could his heartbeat be heard.
On the frozen lake nearby, the four Fire Ravens had caught the female gunner and engaged her. The Armored Ice Bear arrived too.
She retreated, firing back. The spirit rifle blazed nonstop, bullets with various effects piercing the Armored Ice Bear's armor, leaving bloody wounds. The bear roared in agony.
But it only slowed him slightly.
If no one intervened, the Armored Ice Bear would soon tear her apart.
Reyn and Viola took no rash actions, warily awaiting the Shadow Warrior's sudden attack. Once the female gunner died, the Ice Bear and Fire Ravens would return, leaving the Shadow Warrior no chance.
Snowflakes swirled before their eyes due to the Ice Domain Art scroll.
An idea struck Reyn. He whispered:
"Can you summon rain? Heavy rain, or a downpour even better."
"Yes," Viola grasped his intent.
Her spiritual power stirred, gaze focused, and she began chanting.
Reyn hadn't needed to ask. He knew Viola could summon rain.
Her second main spirit, the "Lake Spirit," was a lake-born beast that naturally controlled water flows, clouds, mist, and rain, plus numerous water spells.
In many Ellunes regions, common folk legends called them differently: "water fairies," "lake undines," "mist spirits," "water ones," and so on.
One famous Lake Spirit legend came from the Knight Kingdom of Britantania in the northern Empire. There lay the world's largest lake—Batogar. All kingdom folk worshipped "Goddess of Knighthood and Glory" Vivienne, commonly "Lady of the Lake."
Legend said the Lady of the Lake was a Lake Spirit before deification!
Waves of spiritual power emanated from Viola, surging skyward. Clouds thickened, air moisture condensed rapidly, flying snow melted, and in an instant, a torrential downpour unleashed within hundreds of meters around the yacht.
Viola spared no spiritual power, sustaining the spell. Reyn bucketed down, water freezing instantly on the deck into a thin icy crust.
Reyn let the rain lash him, eyes swiftly scanning the deck.
Finally, a silhouette emerged in the rain curtain.
The Shadow Warrior lurked nearby, perched on the railings at the deck's far end, just beyond Reyn's heartbeat detection range.
The instant his position was exposed, he moved. Leaping onto the railings, he dashed through the rain wall toward Viola as if on flat ground.
Reyn fired at the Shadow Warrior without hesitation.
Bang-bang...
Under the barrage, the barely visible figure darted along the railings like the nimblest cat. Dodge as he might, he didn't fall and drew closer to Viola.
Reyn's heart chilled. The Shadow Warrior's reactions were too fast. When alert, the shotgun was useless, only slowing him slightly.
Even hits wouldn't kill him in one shot.
Click! Shotgun empty.
No time to reload. Reyn discarded the gun and swung his hammer at the nearby railings.
Most of the railings flew off. Fractions of a second earlier, the Shadow Warrior leaped, hurling a series of sharp metal plates like triangular darts from his hands. Slicing the rain, they flew at Reyn.
"Darts? Or shuriken?"
The thought flashed in Reyn's mind. He ignored them, neither dodging nor defending, letting them strike.
Thuds. The darts hit Reyn with uncanny precision—all in one spot. The first three were repelled by the water shield, the fourth pierced it, and the last two stabbed into his chest.
Two sharp metallic clangs, sparks flying. The darts ricocheted off.
"Hm?"
The Shadow Warrior uttered a surprised grunt. He hadn't seen Reyn endure the female gunner's shots earlier and hesitated momentarily, movements faltering.
Reyn anticipated this. His hammer whistled through the air. Seizing the perfect moment, he smashed it into the airborne Shadow Warrior.
Bang!
Mid-air without footing, no matter how nimble, the Shadow Warrior was helpless. The hammer struck his shoulder.
A dull thud mixed with the Shadow Warrior's pained cry. He was hurled like a baseball dozens of meters, crashing onto the ice beyond the yacht's side.
Before hitting the ice, the Shadow Warrior grouped mid-air and melted back into shadow.
"Strange..."
Reyn landed a solid hit but wasn't satisfied.
With his strength at full power, few mid-level superhumans could withstand it, not even famed Iron Guards.
Yet this Shadow Warrior survived the blow unscathed.
Reyn noticed the foe had deliberately leaned into the strike, distributing the force across his body with uncanny balance, minimizing damage.
Such reaction and skill earned Reyn's unwilling respect.
"Feline Grace, Balance, Lightning Reflexes, Force Dissipation—these four agility elements combine for such an incredible effect! Defense tougher than an Iron Guard's!"
Reyn spotted several elements in the Shadow Warrior's soul beyond those: "Piercing Blade," "Shadow Slip," "Walking on water"—seven total, making this Shadow Warrior extraordinarily powerful, far beyond average fifth-level superhumans.
Without his Steel Body, this supreme element, and combat skills surpassing the Shadow Warrior's—exploiting a tiny error—he likely couldn't win!
Under the rain veil, the wounded Shadow Warrior retreated from the yacht, seemingly intent on fleeing.
Reyn relaxed slightly and turned toward the female gunner. Suddenly, the ice beneath the Armored Ice Bear glowed red, intensifying. A deafening explosion erupted, hurling the Ice Bear skyward!
The ice shattered, a massive hole forming with boiling water. A figure rose from the depths.
Reyn's eyelids twitched.
"Another one?" he thought.