Chapter 1155: The Final Counterattack
Though reality made the Eyepatch Woman’s heart difficult to accept for a moment, she did not feel that she was powerless against Yang Haoran. Thus, there was no fear in her heart, only fury.
As for whether she should seize the remaining power to swiftly flee this place, such a thought was utterly absent from her mind.
This assault on Tongyou City had been long prepared by their Spirit Masters, and they had already paid a considerable price even before the war began. If they failed to capture Tongyou City in this great battle and couldn't eradicate its Underworld Office, their losses as Spirit Masters would be immense. Especially after Yang Haoran’s appearance, their side had not only lost the Grand Spirit Master, that Guardian Spirit, but also a Ghost King. Even without counting the peak Evil Spirit that served as the Guardian Spirit, the losses were still significant. Therefore, this was a battle they could only win, not lose. She would absolutely not choose to flee before the very last moment.
As things stood, apart from the issues they faced against Yang Haoran, their Spirit Masters held the absolute upper hand in virtually all the large and small battles across Tongyou City. In such a favorable situation, how could she possibly flee? As long as Yang Haoran was dealt with, this great war would likewise conclude.
Moreover, she hadn't yet utilized her full strength, nor had Yang Haoran pushed her to the point where fleeing was the only way to save her life. Although their side was down one Guardian Spirit, she didn't believe she had no way to deal with Yang Haoran, as they were both at the same realm.
Carrying her inner fury, the Eyepatch Woman looked up. The dark clouds formed by Black Lightning still lingered, electric serpents still slithered within them, and the rumble of thunder continued incessantly. However, one detail was different from before: these dark clouds no longer continuously unleashed black lightning as they had.
This scene seemed to trigger a realization within the Eyepatch Woman, and her single eye couldn't help but gleam with a sharp light.
The Eyepatch Woman took only a fleeting glance at the dark clouds above before retracting her gaze, refocusing on Yang Haoran. She saw that Remnant Moon had also returned to Yang Haoran’s side, slowly revolving around his body.
"Hmph, I thought you could keep attacking endlessly, but it seems you can't do that at all. What, not much Spirit Power left in your body? Want to catch your breath?"
The Eyepatch Woman sneered coldly, posing the question to Yang Haoran. She, too, now believed that Yang Haoran had little Spirit Power remaining in his body, which was why he had ceased the frenzied bombardment of black lightning and the fierce attacks of Remnant Moon. After all, Yang Haoran’s previous relentless onslaught had required no small amount of Spirit Power. Given how he had continuously pressed his attack until now, suppressing them with no room to retaliate, one could imagine how much Spirit Power he had consumed.
The Guardian Spirit had just had this very thought, but he was already dead. The Eyepatch Woman now entertained the same idea, but unlike the Guardian Spirit, she was still alive.
In truth, it was no wonder the Eyepatch Woman thought this way; most others would have similar ideas. For apart from Xu Meijing, no one knew Yang Haoran’s true realm. Setting aside a few cautious individuals, who would consider that Yang Haoran still hadn’t unleashed his full strength? They would simply assume his Spirit Power was mostly depleted. Such a thought was indeed perfectly normal.
"Heh heh, I do indeed want to catch my breath, but even if I want to, it doesn’t mean my offensive will stop because of it."
Yang Haoran spoke with a faint smile. As his words left his lips, the Bone Dragon above let out another roar, then spewed forth surging green flames towards the location of the Eyepatch Woman and her Guardian Spirit.
"This trick again!"
The Eyepatch Woman spoke coldly. She stood her ground without taking action, and from her demeanor, it seemed she had no intention of striking. However, the Ghost King beside her made a move at that moment.
The Ghost King, instead of retreating, advanced. From below, he swiftly moved to meet the surging green flames descending from above. Along the way, a dense, visible surge of Yin Qi rose from his body, and powerful energy fluctuations emanated from him.
As the Ghost King actively approached the green flames, his hands were not idle. His fingers rapidly changed, forming seals. In the blink of an eye, the Ghost King collided with the green flames.
Boom! ! !
With a tremendous roar, the Ghost King used his body as a weapon, slicing the green flames in half and rapidly approaching the Bone Dragon behind. However, he stopped halfway through his advance.
The Ghost King’s counterattack aimed not only to break through the green flames spewed by the Bone Dragon but also to heavily wound the Bone Dragon lurking behind the green flames.
However, despite his formidable power, the green flames spewed by the Bone Dragon were likewise not weak, and even held a certain degree of suppression over him. Thus, he stopped halfway through his charge. Let alone wounding the Bone Dragon behind, he couldn't even completely break through the green flames. His body came to a halt, unable to advance another inch, as if mired in a swamp.
Although he could not continue to advance, the Ghost King was not forced to retreat by the Bone Dragon’s relentless green flames. He endured the green flames with his powerful strength, suffering no harm even when deep within the fiery sea, for this time he was prepared, completely unlike the previous situation. Not only was he unharmed, he didn't even cease the motions of his hands forming seals.
The instant the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Remnant Moon, hovering around Yang Haoran’s body, suddenly hummed. It then transformed into a black streak of light, shooting rapidly towards the Ghost King’s location.
When the Ghost King proactively moved to meet the green flames, Yang Haoran did not intervene to stop him, but he kept a close eye on the Ghost King's every move. He saw the scene of the Ghost King rapidly forming seals with his hands clearly, and he knew exactly what the Ghost King intended. Therefore, when the Ghost King and the green flames reached a stalemate, he judged it a good opportunity to strike, immediately controlling Remnant Moon with his thoughts to launch an attack on the Ghost King.
Just now, Yang Haoran hadn't acted, and neither had the Eyepatch Woman. Yang Haoran watched the Ghost King’s every move, while the Eyepatch Woman observed Yang Haoran’s every action, secretly mobilizing the Communication Power within her body. When Yang Haoran controlled Remnant Moon to attack the Ghost King, she knew Yang Haoran intended to interrupt the Ghost King’s seal formation. Thus, she immediately unleashed the Communication Power she had prepared in advance.
Communication Power roared out from her body, forming a large black hand in the air, which accurately snatched Remnant Moon. The black hand was instantly sliced open with a considerable gash by Remnant Moon’s sharpness, but Remnant Moon did not escape the black hand because of this. It remained firmly grasped by the black hand, and its attack on the Ghost King was thus intercepted by the appearance of the black hand.
Given Remnant Moon's speed, if the Eyepatch Woman hadn't been prepared in advance, it would have been impossible to block Remnant Moon in time. It was precisely because she had continuously mobilized her Communication Power in secret, constantly remaining in a state of readiness, and most importantly, because she acted decisively and timed her move perfectly. Otherwise, her attempt to intercept Remnant Moon would have been utterly unrealistic.
"I knew you’d try a sneak attack, so I’ve been watching you the whole time. Some tactics only work once in a battle; don't think you can achieve unexpected results every time you use them!"
While fully controlling the large black hand to prevent Remnant Moon from breaking free, the Eyepatch Woman taunted Yang Haoran.
No sooner had the Eyepatch Woman’s words fallen than, before Yang Haoran could even reply, the Ghost King’s seal formation concluded. Had it not been for the Eyepatch Woman’s obstruction of Remnant Moon, the Ghost King would never have succeeded in completing his seals. After all, while contending with the Bone Dragon, it would have been difficult for him to divert his attention to deal with the Soul Armament, Remnant Moon. If he had forced it, he would either have been harmed by Remnant Moon or injured by the Bone Dragon's green flames; only these two possibilities existed.
But the Eyepatch Woman’s intervention spared him from the threat of Remnant Moon, allowing him to successfully complete his seal formation!
As the seal formation concluded, a roar of fury erupted from the Ghost King’s mouth.
"Spirit Art! Spirit Aspect! ! !"
This roar expressed not even a fraction of the fury in the Ghost King’s heart. From the very beginning of this battle, their side had been completely suppressed by Yang Haoran. Not only had they failed to injure Yang Haoran, but their own losses were devastating. This left him feeling both aggrieved and enraged, yet utterly helpless.
Now, finally having successfully unleashed the strongest Spirit Art he knew, it gave his pent-up grievance and fury an outlet. Thus, he poured all his strength into this roar, letting out a truly hysterical bellow!
The Ghost King chose to summon the Spirit Aspect because he was already injured. Continuing to expend energy would do him no good, and combined with the anger and frustration in his heart, he was single-mindedly determined to kill Yang Haoran. To achieve this, he absolutely had to use powerful means; given Yang Haoran’s formidable strength, ordinary methods would hardly cause him harm.
Therefore, the Ghost King directly chose his strongest means: summoning the Spirit Aspect. His idea bore some similarities to that of the Guardian Spirit before him, though naturally, there were also differences. The greatest difference, however, lay in the fact that the Guardian Spirit had not yet successfully manifested his Spirit Aspect before Yang Haoran beheaded him, taking his life.
Conversely, the Ghost King did not suffer the same tragic fate as the Guardian Spirit. His Spirit Aspect was successfully condensed by him at the fastest possible speed.
Yang Haoran had originally intended to prevent the Spirit Aspect from successfully manifesting, just as he had dealt with the Guardian Spirit before. As long as he eliminated the Ghost King before the Spirit Aspect could fully condense, the Spirit Aspect would not form successfully and would quickly dissipate into Yin Qi.
However, the Eyepatch Woman did not give him this opportunity. Remnant Moon was firmly held by the large hand the Eyepatch Woman had conjured using a vast amount of Communication Power. Although the hand trembled incessantly, appearing on the verge of collapsing, it had indeed temporarily trapped Remnant Moon.
Seeing that Remnant Moon was ineffective, Yang Haoran immediately controlled Black Lightning with his thoughts to unleash black lightning bolts again, targeting only one objective: the Ghost King, who was fully resisting the green flames.
The Eyepatch Woman seemed to have anticipated Yang Haoran’s move. So, just before Yang Haoran commanded Black Lightning to unleash black lightning bolts, she unleashed a considerable number of Black Talismans towards the Ghost King’s area.
Without exception, all these Black Talismans were top-tier Black Talismans, and all were defensive talismans.
Black Talismans were absolutely no match for the black lightning unleashed by Yang Haoran’s Soul Armament, Black Lightning; even top-tier Black Talismans were no exception.
However, due to the considerable number of top-tier Black Talismans unleashed by the Eyepatch Woman, the power released by these talismans still managed to block one black lightning bolt. But it was only one. After that single black lightning bolt, not only was the power released by these top-tier Black Talismans shattered by the black lightning, but the top-tier Black Talismans themselves also turned to ash.
After the first black lightning bolt, the second followed swiftly. The time interval between the two black lightning bolts was extremely short. In such a situation, even if the Eyepatch Woman wanted to help, she couldn't, because she had already unleashed all the defensive top-tier Black Talismans in her possession. Thus, she had no more defensive top-tier Black Talismans left. As for the even stronger Gold Talisman, there was no need to mention it; she originally had only one defensive Gold Talisman, which had already been wasted earlier due to her misjudgment.
If she were a Talisman Master, she would not only be able to fully unleash the power of that Gold Talisman, but perhaps also possess a method to seal its power, using it again when needed. But she was not a Talisman Master. She understood neither the means to temporarily seal talismans nor how to fully unleash their power, and she even knew nothing about how to maximize their duration of use. Therefore, she could only watch as a precious Gold Talisman swiftly exhausted its power in a short time.
With no defensive Gold Talismans or defensive top-tier Black Talismans left, and still needing to trap Yang Haoran’s Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, the Eyepatch Woman naturally had no way to further intervene and shield the Ghost King from the descending black lightning.
Meanwhile, the Ghost King had to simultaneously resist the green flames spewed by the Bone Dragon and hasten the condensation of his Spirit Aspect. Coupled with the sheer speed of the black lightning, he consequently failed to evade the second black lightning bolt. This bolt struck his body with unerring accuracy.
Boom! ! !
His physical body struck by the black lightning, the Ghost King’s body was directly knocked down. Without the Ghost King’s resistance, the green flames continuously spewing from the Bone Dragon’s mouth surged forth like a broken dam, overwhelming and pursuing the falling Ghost King.
Seeing this, the Eyepatch Woman’s face changed dramatically. Since the Ghost King had been struck by the black lightning, it was clear without a doubt that his injuries were now even more severe. If the Ghost King were to be engulfed by the pursuing green flames at this moment, his injuries would certainly worsen considerably.
The Eyepatch Woman naturally understood the stakes. Without hesitation, she immediately abandoned her efforts to block Remnant Moon. Her body flickered, appearing beneath the Ghost King. A surge of Yin Qi coiled around him, directly transferring the Ghost King out of the green flames’ striking range.
Boom! ! !
With a tremendous roar, the immensely powerful green flames blasted a large crater into the ground below. Under the violent tremor of the earth, numerous ruined buildings consequently collapsed.
The ground below was already a sea of fire, as the previously burning flames had not yet extinguished. Now, with more fuel added, the fiery expanse below not only increased in covered area but also burned with greater intensity.
Pfft!
No sooner had the Eyepatch Woman and the Ghost King stabilized themselves than the Ghost King spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His expression became noticeably listless, and the energy fluctuations emanating from his body were much weaker than before. In his current state, if he had truly been struck by the green flames, his injuries would certainly have worsened considerably.
Although the Ghost King had suffered injury upon injury, a smile appeared on his face, though it looked somewhat pained.
The Ghost King could still smile despite such severe injuries, entirely because through his efforts, he had finally succeeded in condensing the Spirit Aspect. Even if he sustained no minor injuries because of it, he still deemed it worthwhile.
The Spirit Aspect sat cross-legged above Yang Haoran and the two others. Due to its colossal size, the Aspect’s head even pierced through the dark clouds above the three, which were the clouds formed by Black Lightning.
Seeing the Spirit Aspect successfully condense, the Eyepatch Woman also breathed a sigh of relief. The Spirit Aspect was different from other Spirit Arts; this Aspect possessed astonishing combat power. With it successfully summoned, they would at least no longer be suppressed by Yang Haoran with no ability to retaliate, as they had been before. In the Eyepatch Woman’s view, with the existence of this Spirit Aspect, it was simply impossible for Yang Haoran to completely suppress them, master and servant, as he had previously!
"Protect me, just buy me a little time!"
Although she had secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the Eyepatch Woman did not completely lower her guard because of it. Nor did she naively believe that a single Spirit Aspect, especially one summoned by her Guardian Spirit, would definitely be able to slay Yang Haoran. Therefore, she had to seize this opportunity to employ powerful means. Only by combining her tactics with the Ghost King’s could they have a greater chance of killing Yang Haoran.
The Ghost King understood the Eyepatch Woman’s intention. He knew what the Eyepatch Woman wanted to do by asking him to buy some time. Thus, he did not hesitate and immediately gave an affirmative reply.
"Leave it to me!"
The Eyepatch Woman seemed to have absolute trust in her Guardian Spirit. Before she even received the Ghost King’s affirmative reply to her command, she had already begun forming seals.
As her words fell, the Ghost King, without pausing to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, controlled the colossal Spirit Aspect to launch an attack. However, his initial target was not Yang Haoran, but the Bone Dragon, the very Bone Dragon that had made him suffer greatly today!
As the Spirit Aspect’s palm descended, a surge of power immediately locked onto and bound the Bone Dragon. The Bone Dragon seemed to sense the terror of this palm strike from the Spirit Aspect, so it tried to break free and evade. But like a creature mired deep in a swamp, it had not fully escaped the restraints when the Spirit Aspect’s palm struck its dragon body.
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