Chapter 486: Awakening

Chapter 486: Awakening

Li Wei and Gusewei stood behind the sacred dragon, launching attacks from above at those on the ground below.

Gusewei’s spell, cast at the minor forbidden level, was blocked by an absolute defense used by one of their enemies—a knight professioned warrior.

This was something neither Li Wei nor Gusewei had anticipated.

Facing a knight who wielded what was reputed to be the strongest defensive ability—absolute defense—

Li Wei employed his newly acquired power: legendary-level holy might.

He wasn’t even sure if it would work.

A golden fireball brimming with divine energy shot toward the knight upon the earth.

The knight, enveloped in the radiant glow of absolute defense, looked up at Li Wei and Gusewei.

He had already seen the two figures standing behind the great dragon.

Suddenly, he noticed a small, unremarkable golden orb falling from the sky.

In his resolute eyes flickered a trace of confusion.

What is this?

It doesn't seem particularly powerful.

But years of combat experience told him that enemies never launched meaningless attacks.

Thus, he did not let down his guard, facing the incoming assault with his strongest defense.

All he needed to do was stall these two for just a moment—the awakening ritual for the Ice Emperor would soon be complete.

That was what the knight thought.

“It's coming!”

As the golden orb drew near, seriousness and gravity appeared in the knight’s eyes.

This was an attack unlike anything he'd ever encountered before.

At the instant when the sacred fireball touched the golden light of absolute defense,

the knight’s usually composed and unwavering expression changed dramatically.

Shock filled his face as he gasped, “What... the hell is this?”

Years of accumulated battle instincts allowed him to react instinctively despite being utterly stunned.

When absolute defense proved ineffective against the sacred fireball, the knight immediately swung his longsword to strike at it.

At the moment the sixth-grade refined blade collided with the sacred fireball,

he realized his sword was about to break.

With brute force that brooked no argument, the sacred fireball pierced straight through the blade, leaving a notch behind.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the knight altered the trajectory of the fireball.

Whoosh!

Once its course shifted, the sacred fireball crashed onto the icy terrain, melting a bottomless pit into the glacier before dissipating without any remaining strength.

Looking at the sword now reduced to only two-thirds of its original length, the knight winced painfully.

At the same time, his heart trembled deeply.

What kind of power was this?

It was the first time he had ever faced such an eerie force.

From high above, Li Wei observed the battlefield, noting both the broken sword in the knight’s hand and the shock etched across his face.

He smiled slightly. “Looks like it still works.”

After all, this was a supernatural trait of legendary level.

Had the knight possessed legendary-tier absolute defense, perhaps he could have resisted.

But for a knight yet to reach the legendary realm, holy might was truly his bane.

Saint Xi had barely matured; hunger gnawed at her belly, leaving her powerless to act.

Thus, Li Wei could only rely on himself to unleash holy might against the enemy.

Using legendary-level holy might placed immense strain upon Li Wei.

He couldn’t sustain such power indefinitely.

Staring down at the completed awakening ritual formation below, Li Wei thought to himself: I must end this quickly!

Huff huff huff!

In one breath, Li Wei fired five sacred fireballs.

These projectiles soared toward the group below from every direction.

His goal was clear—to destroy the awakening ritual formation.

Realizing Li Wei’s intent, the knight shouted out warnings to the others without delay.

“Quickly block those orbs—he wants to ruin the awakening ceremony!”

“No way! We’re all tied up here—you’ll have to handle it yourself!”

“Damn it!”

Cursing inwardly, the knight dismissed the golden radiance of absolute defense.

Since it offered no protection against Li Wei’s sacred fireballs anyway, better to conserve energy and put it away.

Just as he thought so, countless sharp ice spears plummeted from the heavens.

Each spear stretched four or five meters in length—they were more like pillars than mere cones of ice.

Seeing this, the knight had no choice but to re-summon the golden shield of absolute defense once again, blocking Gusewei’s frost spells.

While defending against Gusewei’s barrage, he tried desperately to intercept Li Wei’s sacred fireballs.

“Shit, there’s no time left!”

Boom!

One of the sacred fireballs struck the ground, hitting part of the awakening formation directly.

It exploded instantly, transforming into flames that engulfed a section of the ritual array.

When the blaze finally died out, that portion of the formation had vanished entirely.

Seeing this, Li Wei smiled faintly. “Did we succeed…?”

His smile faded, replaced by a grave expression.

Though the awakening formation had been destroyed, none among them ceased their actions.

The awakening ritual itself seemed unaffected.

Li Wei swiftly realized—the so-called awakening formation was nothing but a decoy.

Their true instrument for summoning the Ice Emperor lay elsewhere entirely.

Li Wei realized this and quickly told Gusevi, "Hurry, attack them all—the awakening ritual formation was nothing but a decoy!"

Upon hearing this, Gusevi swung her Frost Staff, summoning seven or eight ice dragons that soared through the air and streaked toward the figures on the ground.

She brought everyone within range of her assault.

Even if the knights attempted to use absolute defense to withstand it, they could not possibly block so many attacks at once.

Li Wei heard a furious roar from below and instinctively turned his gaze toward the knight.

"Roar of War!"

The knight let out a mighty shout, employing a wide-range taunt skill.

All the ice dragons originally heading for others suddenly veered off course and dove straight at him.

Boom!

After an intensely violent explosion of frost, the knight stood unscathed in place.

None of those attacks had been able to penetrate his absolute defense.

To him, only Li Wei's Sacred Fireball posed any real threat.

Li Wei understood this well. He said to Gusevi, "Leave that knight to me—go after the rest."

"Sacred Xi, protect Gusevi."

"Awooo!"

Sacred Xi responded with a fierce howl.

Li Wei leapt directly from Sacred Xi’s back, diving down toward the knight below.

Seeing him actually charging forward, the knight revealed a trace of astonishment.

Wasn’t he a mage? Why choose close combat?

The reason was simple: the distance was too great. Li Wei found it difficult to fully control the Sacred Fireball composed entirely of sacred power.

Sacred power was an immensely potent force mastered only by legendary-level beings.

For Li Wei to even be capable of using it was already extraordinary.

To wield it as naturally as one's own limbs required further enhancement of his strength.

Once closer, Li Wei would have better command over the sacred energy.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Facing Li Wei, the knight could do nothing but defend—and even that proved futile.

His fate remained unchanged.

Under Li Wei’s onslaught, he was swiftly defeated and slain.

Bang!

A powerful knight collapsed lifelessly to the earth, his name unknown to Li Wei.

From above, Gusevi cried anxiously, "Li Wei, hurry up here—the Ice Emperor has awakened!"

Shock flashed across Li Wei’s face. How much time had passed? How could the Ice Emperor awaken so soon?

He looked downward but couldn't make out the full figure of the Ice Emperor.

Even atop Sacred Xi, gazing from high above, he could see just a small portion of the massive being—an icy peak among peaks.

This creature dwarfed even the colossal mountain beast Morpheus.

(End of Chapter)