Caught off guard by the barrage, the wild beast finally regained its composure. With a flap of its wings, it stirred up a visible gale, redirecting the powerful ice spears and frozen projectiles off course. It dodged their attacks and even retaliated by shooting back ice shards toward the ground.
A black and a white figure intertwined in a dance, creating a whirlwind that spun the surrounding ice spears. The frozen projectiles exploded into ice flowers at the storm's edge, swirling into the vortex along with rubble and ice chunks.
As the storm grew in intensity, Tiran realized her meticulously placed ice spears were about to be destroyed by the very storm she had intended to control. She couldn’t engage the pair head-on in the air and decided to unleash an area-of-effect attack, sacrificing her aerial advantage.
Normally, she could retreat and regroup in a one-on-one battle, but she had strategically positioned the ice spears to protect Xiangling. While she could escape, the princess would be vulnerable.
"Gotta go all out."
Escaping was an option, but it would result in defeat. There was no turning back now. Tiran plunged her swords into the ground, not to strengthen the ice spears but to absorb the frost Chi released when she created them.
Drawing the cold from strategic locations, she infused her sword with the gathered chill. The sturdy ice spears disintegrated into ice shards, immediately devoured by the raging storm.
Seeing the cyclone increase in size, Tiran smirked at her successful ploy. As the last ice shard vanished, Tiran unfurled her ice crystal wings, each feather crystal clear and radiant.
Her increased area nearly lifted Tiran effortlessly, her speed escalating as she maneuvered along the perimeter towards the center.
Intending not to be drawn into the icy tempest, Tiran accelerated towards the storm, quickly ascending and breaking free of the centripetal force. She ascended above the cyclone.
Under normal circumstances, the creatures would take advantage of their aerial prowess and position, but Tiran had been accumulating Chi and the storm's debris impeded their perception. To take down the cyclone, disrupting its center was the direct approach.
Briefly suspended in the air, Tiran aimed her charged strike at the still twirling figures below without hesitation. A deep blue supernova formed in the cloudless sky.
Frozen Cross!
A cross-shaped structure resembling the storm materialized in the air, its sharp tip descending like a divine punishment on the creatures' heads. The ice storm they created now hindered their movements, becoming an imprisoning barrier that restricted their evasive actions.
And in that moment of delay, the Ice-sealed Cross fell heavily.
It was precisely this moment that caused Tiran to briefly entertain the thoughts of "I, Miss, took down two Holy Ranks with a single sword" and "Is it still being outplayed if you get counter-killed even after a successful gank?"
But it was only a fleeting moment.
The reality proved that Holy Ranks were not so easily taken down. Even then, Aya, who had just barely reached the edge of the Holy Rank, had to team up with Hermes to battle it out for a while.
So, as the Ice-sealed Cross landed, while it should have unquestionably pummeled the two arrogant blue beasts below, they remained unharmed, still gracefully spinning in their original positions as if nothing had happened.
The storm dissipated, leaving behind a pile of ice chips and crushed stones.
"What... is going on?"
Tiran was dumbfounded. She hadn't sensed any changes in the laws of space and time, so how did they evade the attack? And standing still in place without a scratch - wasn't that a bit too pretentious? Couldn't they at least pretend to be hurt by my blow, or else it'd be quite embarrassing for me after building up all that anticipation?
But what happened next left Tiran even more bewildered.
It wasn't that the two blue beasts made any movements, but rather that the Ice-sealed Cross, supposed to plummet straight down to the ground, exhibited something peculiar.
It was a construct of her own creation, and Tiran was well aware of its power. The heavy ice block topped with sharp icicles could easily create a deep pit on the ground even if blocked by the blue beasts.
But now, the Ice-sealed Cross… bounced on the ground?! Did I see that right?
Tiran was certain her eyes weren't playing tricks, so she refrained from rubbing them. But the gigantic ice crystal cross indeed bounced on the ground like an oversized balloon, rising several meters high, repeating the bounce a few times before finally coming to a stop and gently toppling over in one direction.
The laws of physics clearly didn't apply in this otherworldly realm.
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Princess Tiran wore a puzzled expression at that moment. While she knew it wasn't the time to make sarcastic remarks, the scene before her was so absurd that it was impossible to maintain a serious demeanor! Two cowboys in a duel walking ten steps apart back-to-back, only to turn around and one of them plays a suona - the art style is completely off, how is anyone supposed to fight like this?
But Tiran soon realized the reason behind it all.
"The laws?"
The flawless passage through the Ice-sealed Cross and this bizarrely comical scene left Tiran with only one explanation she could think of.
The crystal ice cross from earlier, along with the sudden stickiness of the surrounding air… Could the blue beasts manipulate something like density in terms of laws?
By increasing the density of the air to create a sticky effect, and decreasing the density of the ice cross to that of a gas, they could easily pass through it, hence the effortless bouncing.
While the density of both the air and the ice cross changed, their physical states remained the same, not transforming into liquid gel or steam, which wasn't something achievable through normal magic or any other power - only the power of the laws could transcend the world's inherent physics.
"Hiss..."
Even though Tiran now understood the laws the blue beasts could wield outside of time and space, their abilities seemed quite overpowered. How could one fight against this? With this revelation, most physical attacks would likely prove ineffective.
The black and white blue beasts emitted a sharp, eerie laughter, their multiple eyes fixating on Tiran, making her scalp tingle.
And just then, a sudden impact erupted from the ground below.
Xiang Ling? Guigui, it's finally getting better! Tiran, who had been somewhat annoyed by that somewhat buggy rule, felt relieved in his heart. Even without perceiving the rules, he could clearly feel the momentum of overflowing water below, at least he was about to see the dawn of victory soon.
The problem is…
"Sis, could you please be a bit quieter? Isn't it more unexpected if it attacks sneakily? Why do you have to be so blatant!"
Just when things were almost back to normal, this commotion happened again. Isn't this just a clear warning to those two reckless guys in the sky that my big move is about to be fully charged, but you still haven't come to interrupt me?!
And those reckless guys did give some face. Tiran immediately felt the air around him stagnate, clearly another change in the rules, and the rules of time changed at the same time.
A black and a white figure both disappeared from Tiran's sight, and you don't need to think hard to know that they were definitely heading straight for Xiang Ling!
"Even though we're at the end, how could I let you succeed!"
Tiran gritted his teeth, and in the end, he must stop them no matter what. The condensed focus spell engraved on his body was triggered twice in a row within a short period of time, his mental power instantly concentrated and amplified endlessly, making his perception extremely clear in an instant.
The rule of time, stagnation, the rule of space—
Space·Rupture·Slash!
