Apocalypse Gachapon

Xiao Xuan’s blade lit up in his hand, and his movement speed suddenly increased. The originally bright blade light took on a pale blue hue.

As his body surged forward, his movement trajectory carved out a shallow arc. He rose from the icy plain’s surface, the blade light descending toward the oncoming ice bear knights.

Upon closer observation, one would realize Xiao Xuan’s actions weren’t without reason – this approach allowed him to avoid direct frontal confrontation with the knights, instead cutting diagonally toward their flanks.

While it might not completely evade the cavalry’s assault, it at least created an opportunity for single combat against them.

The blue blade light fell into the orderly ranks of the ice bear cavalry, immediately cutting down two knights and cleaving their mounts in half.

As a Seven-Star Evolved, combined with his Cold Warrior job skills and blue-grade combat blade, Xiao Xuan made an impressive first strike.

The other Seven-Star Evolved acted much slower than Xiao Xuan. First, waving his hand, he deployed a scroll across the ice bear cavalry’s charge path, where several meter-high, half-meter-wide stone blocks instantly appeared. Given the cavalry’s speed, these immediately served as obstacles, causing the lead ice bears to stumble when their thick legs collided with them.

Even minor obstacles create significant impact for high-speed charging creatures, let alone these particularly sturdy stone blocks.

As the front bears slowed abruptly, those behind crashed into them. Despite training for such situations, substantial chaos ensued when it actually occurred.

Next, the young Seven-Star Evolved produced a long horn, holding it with one end’s slender metal tube in his mouth as he blew forcefully.

From the horn’s mouth emerged multicolored musical notes that swarmed toward the ice bear cavalry, each note expanding as it traveled until reaching adult human size upon contact.

When one ice bear knight lowered his lance to deflect a strange note, his body convulsed violently upon contact, becoming disoriented and tumbling from his mount, only to be trampled by following cavalry.

With their opening moves, these two Seven-Star youths delivered a stunning blow to the infamous ice bear cavalry of the Stink Nest region.

These domineering Stink Nest ice bear cavalry weren’t like the Roaring Ice Bears unit – to them, that group disgraced the “ice bear” name.

Their long-cultivated pride meant even this initial setback didn’t daunt them.

Under orders, they quickly divided – the vanguard engaging Xiao Xuan and his companion with lances, while the rear guard used various skills and ranged attacks to cut off retreat routes.

Notably, no one bothered with the musical notes.

This alone revealed the hundred-man unit’s exceptional discipline, their actions embodying the iron resolve expected of elite forces.

Xiao Xuan’s longsword severed two lances while his free hand launched flames that ignited a knight before he retreated.

Upon landing, visible armor damage marked his sides.

After the horn attack, his companion stored the weapon and assumed a reverent pose to summon another scroll.

Tossing it at the approaching cavalry, he withstood a ranged attack using his sturdy armor while retreating.

The unfurled scroll created a meter-thick firewall that the charging cavalry entered headlong.

The hundred-man unit’s captain disliked fire intensely.

Accustomed to the icy plains, he found fire-based attacks particularly jarring due to their elemental opposition to ice bears.

Still, he remained unconcerned – the tundra naturally weakened all fire abilities.

Two bears entering the firewall exhaled frost mist, a common icy plain ability.

As the flames faltered, the bears emerged relatively unscathed, but their riders fared worse – severely burned, they dropped weapons to clutch their faces and wail.

Before they could recover, hundreds of wind blades sliced through riders and mounts alike without mercy.

Xiao Xuan, already maneuvering sideways, cheered at the sight.

He felt a pang of envy.

His companion possessed the extremely rare “Prismatic Magician” job – the most precious among Ye Zhonngming’s rewards for the Youth Army.

During a mission against attackers of Black Dragon City evolved, their outstanding performance earned them this and another (his Cold Warrior) job scroll.

Faced with the choice, Xiao Xuan had selected Cold Warrior over Prismatic Magician – the latter prohibited learning other job, conflicting with his desire for versatile development.

But he knew such restrictive jobs held extraordinary power.

The Prismatic Magician’s attacks manifested two ways: sonic waves (via the auto-generated horn weapon producing various sound-based attacks, currently only the disorienting musical notes) and “magic attacks” – actually indirect magic via scrolls generated through sacrificed mental energy.

Earlier earth spikes, the firewall, and subsequent attacks all stemmed from this.

While seemingly cumbersome, this ability to generate any elemental magic scrolls, with increasing potency as the job leveled, potentially up to forbidden spells, justified its exclusivity.

After the wind blades, the fleeing magician generated another scroll, summoning a lightning bolt that struck down three more knights.

Xiao Xuan continued flanking maneuvers.

He understood Prismatic Magicians could neither share scrolls nor stockpile them (current limit: one stored for 24 hours).

With single-job restrictions limiting mental energy, his companion could only generate four scrolls beyond the pre-stored earth spike; one – three already used meant one attack remained.

During this window, Xiao Xuan had to occupy the cavalry.

“Go!” he shouted, rolling beneath lances to slash at bear legs.

The youths’ divergent retreats split the cavalry – forty pursuing Xiao Xuan, thirty-five (now diminished by magic attacks) chasing his companion.

After the lightning scroll came icy spears raining diagonally upon the bears.

Even now, the youth remembered their primary mission: delaying the cavalry so Old Man could safely reach their leader.

With the lead bears wounded and slowed, having done all he could, the Prismatic Magician shouted a warning before sprinting toward their origin point.

His Seven-Star status ensured a temporary escape from the slower cavalry.

His burst-damage job left him nearly useless after expending scrolls, whereas Xiao Xuan’s sustained combat ability could handle the remaining fight.

Facing the cavalry, Xiao Xuan remained utterly calm – having witnessed level nine battles made these lower-level foes incapable of unsettling him.

His only concern was whether his companion could escape.

Leveraging Cold Warrior’s melee advantages, he fought through encircling knights whose lost charge momentum made them inferior opponents.

Still, as a non-Eight-Star fighter, injuries accumulated until he calculated an opening to break out.

While capable of potentially eliminating all knights, doing so risked leaving him too wounded for subsequent threats.

But then, distant combat sounds revealed their six-star escort returning to aid the wounded Prismatic Magician – now with a spear fragment protruding from his thigh.

Cursing, Xiao Xuan gritted his teeth and charged toward them.