Chapter 183: Flower of the Void

“Composite Barrier · Holy Shield!”

With a flourish of her staff, a myriad of flowing lights transformed into layers of golden shields before the Priestess, colliding dramatically with a massive sword that, while appearing heavy and slow, was actually swift and deadly, creating a grand explosion of intertwined gold and black!

At first contact, the outcome was clear; the splendid combination of the Holy Shield stood firm, while the ominous great sword shattered into countless black particles ascending skyward, returning to the array that engulfed the arena. Vilyric, having gained the upper hand, frowned slightly, not allowing herself to relax.

In the next moment, without looking back, the golden spirit behind her raised its halberd in a flash, throwing it into the air!

“Whoosh!”

The holy spear trailed dazzling flames and smashed through a dark arrow flying from the Priestess’s blind spot, colliding head-on with one of the external light pillars, piercing through it and vanishing quickly into the distance beyond the arena.

“Now this is getting interesting.”

Without a doubt, under the blessing of this Twelve Zodiac Guardian Array, the opposing team could unleash power akin to that of true gods, just like that earlier sword strike and the subsequent ambush.

Perhaps they didn’t match the sheer destructive force of that fiery God outside, but they compensated with their cunning agility, even giving Vilyric the impression she was under simultaneous assault from twelve god-level foes.

Just like… just like…

Yes! The Grim Reaper’s Scythe!

It was very much like the situation with those adventurers, clearly not that strong on their own, but once linked together through some special means, they collectively escalated to a whole new level, possessing unique cooperative abilities.

“Twelve Zodiac · Brutal Axe!”

Thoughts fleeting, before the Priestess could even ponder thoroughly, another rough voice arose different from the previous armored knight, as five or six dark battle axes crashed down from the sky like immense guillotines, bypassing the still-standing Composite Barrier · Holy Shield to simultaneously strike at Vilyric from the sides and behind!

“Twelve Zodiac · Barrage of Arrows!”

Countless black arrows rained down like a storm, arriving later but striking first, crashing head-on against the golden Holy Shield before the girl, creating a thunderous roar. While they still failed to breach the rock-solid defense, their intent was evident—to restrain Vilyric, drawing her focus away from the attacks coming from behind.

From the initial blow of that seemingly fierce yet merely probing great sword to subsequently discerning the relationship between the Avatar of Light and Vilyric through just a few exchanges, it was easy to see the substantial combat experience and teamwork possessed by these guardians.

Surely in the mythological era, they were proficient subordinates under a god; no wonder they were assigned to guard the last remnants of his wealth.

What a pity.

The girl closed her eyes.

“I say, darkness must be purified.”

And thus, pure light flowers rained down from the sky.

Fluttering.

Apart from the brilliance and its master, all things lost the claws of devastation beneath the downpour of light flowers.

The sharp, heavy great axes stilled, enveloped by a sea of flowers, assimilated; the storm of arrows transformed into golden petals drifting to the ground, obscuring the array covering the sky and earth as it emitted a mournful cry under the overwhelming burden. Twelve beams of light flickered, seemingly resisting the terrifying pressure from without.

The girl strolled through the golden sea of flowers, the falling flower rain sparkled like lively spirits dancing around her, her snow-white wings extending gracefully behind her, endless light radiating outward, turning everything not belonging to the light into part of its essence.

Holy Light Tier 10 Magic — “Flower of the Void”

“What a shame, when it comes to a head-on attribute clash, I still have the upper hand. Even though it’s also a Tier 10 forbidden spell, the power displayed by different individuals varies, doesn’t it?”

With a gentle smile, the girl waved her hand lightly as if brushing a soft breeze, the petals of light falling from the sky arcing playfully, and at that moment, the enormous array shrouding the arena finally reached its limit, shattering with a thunderous roar!

“Bang!!!”

Twelve beams of light erupted simultaneously, and the figures floating within fell scattered to the ground, the clatter of armor striking the earth echoing forth. This time, they did not reconstitute into nothingness but merely lay on the ground, trembling as though they desperately wanted to rise yet could summon not even a morsel of strength.

That was only natural because the Tier 10 Magic “Flower of the Void” was a Holy Light skill Vilyric had obtained after soloing a thousand dark elemental lords. Its purpose was to suppress and weaken anything outside the user within a certain range, which naturally included magic, barriers, and most forms of skills. The greater the difference in level and attributes, the more pronounced the effect.

It was a semi-domain skill with extremely strong suppressive power. Although it would simultaneously weaken allies, making it less useful in certain scenarios, in a one-on-one fight against a group, the true power of “Flower of the Void” could be fully unleashed.

Vilyric approached the similarly fallen armored knight, who was propping himself on his great sword to maintain a half-kneeling position, clearly not faring much better than the others, and smiled as she looked up at the still much taller figure.

“So? Can this count as me passing the trial? Because I’m not particularly fond of violence, I’ll let you off lightly this time. It’s not as if the standard for passing the trial means I have to defeat all of you, right?”

“You… what on earth…”

The knight, with his face obscured by armor, struggled to lift his head, startlingly empty eyes peering through the gaps at the spotlessly clean girl in the white robe, a strange light flickering momentarily within.

“Hm? Thinking of asking my name at a time like this? Oh well, I’m Vilyric. Let’s skip the self-introductions as they’re too much of a hassle. By the way… I don’t sense any life from you. You, you guys, aren’t exactly the kind of living beings, are you?”

This was quite evident.

After all, ordinary beings, even mythological ones, couldn’t just live for over a thousand years without any impact. Moreover, earlier, when this guy had been struck down by the Avatar of Light, that sudden ability to dematerialize and then reform clearly detached him from the concept of the physical body.

“…I am the god’s Twelve Zodiac Guardian — “Sword”.”

Seemingly wanting to explain something, the armored knight finally trembled and removed his helmet.

“Oh…”

The White Robed Girl gasped in surprise, that reaction caught her off guard yet was entirely expected.

Inside that black armor, there was nothing at all.

“You are… Wiveling, aren’t you?”

She never expected the ethereal spiritual entities could manifest in such a form, making them indeed one of the most suitable choices to guard this kind of place.

   

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