Chapter 610: Breaking the Net, Crushing the Skull, Vanquished

Chapter 610 -524: Breaking the Net, Crushing the Skull, Vanquished

SHATTER!

A crisp shattering sound echoed.

The Dagger had just channeled an immense amount of Holy Light, shining as brilliantly as a golden Thunderbolt.

But after its Energy dissipated, it finally succumbed to a load beyond its limits, shattering inch by inch from the center of the blade.

It turned into several dull, lightless metal fragments that clattered onto the slag-covered ground.

‘It seems the soul-level trauma hasn’t affected abilities like Dragonification, which stem from bloodline instinct, or the use of techniques like Supreme Slash that directly draw upon Faith Source Power. What’s mainly been weakened are the magic-based Traits that rely on intense concentration and precise control…’

The thoughts flashed through Roland’s mind in an instant.

But his movements didn’t falter in the slightest.

The instant he discarded the broken hilt, his massive body—enlarged by the Giant Transformation Technique—was already like a powerful bow drawn taut once more. Rubble exploded beneath his feet as he again became a blurry gray shadow.

Carrying a lingering gale and chilling killing intent, he charged ferociously at the two remaining High Tier Heartstealers!

He knew full well that his thunderous strike had only been effective thanks in large part to Shadow Veil concealing his true aura, and to his opponents’ gross underestimation born from their arrogance.

Now that his true power level and fighting style were exposed, the two remaining Heartstealers would certainly not make the same mistake.

He had to end this quickly, before they could adjust their tactics.

As he charged, his thoughts raced, and his voice rang out like clashing metal, reaching Holland and Ellis’s ears with perfect clarity.

“Holland! Ellis!”

There were no lengthy commands, no complex tactical arrangements.

But their excellent combat instincts allowed the two, who had never even worked together before, to instantly grasp his intent and react instinctively.

The astonishment on Holland’s face was instantly replaced by ferocity, and his brown eyes flashed with a sharp light that hadn’t been seen in a long time.

He didn’t opt for a passive defense. Instead, he made an unexpected move.

With a low roar, he slammed his Oak Shield heavily into the ground in front of him, but he did not kneel behind it.

Instead, his free left hand quickly reached into an inconspicuous pouch at his waist, pulling out a handful of a mixture of silver dust and some unknown powder. His right hand clenched into a fist, a faint, almost imperceptible golden Sacred Power seeping from between his knuckles.

“By the name of Lodestar, I purge this vile corruption!”

He uttered a short, ancient prayer, then violently flung the powder in his left hand forward while simultaneously smashing his right fist onto the top edge of the Shield planted in the ground.

VMMMM!

A pure, pale golden halo, warm as the morning sun, suddenly radiated out from the Shield, sweeping over the area ahead like a ripple on water.

The halo had no offensive power, but it possessed a natural repelling and purifying effect against Negative Energy and alien Spiritual Energy.

Almost at the exact moment the halo spread, the Heartstealer on the other side—the one that wasn’t “feeding”—was pointing its short staff at Roland, who was in mid-charge and appeared to be the greatest threat.

However, as the pale golden halo swept through its position, the eerie blue light of Spiritual Energy gathering at the tip of its staff wavered and grew chaotic for an instant, like the surface of water disturbed by a pebble.

It was only a moment’s disruption.

Ellis’s pupils constricted as he instantly seized the fleeting opportunity.

His fingers were already poised in the air, and the Spell burst from his lips at nearly a shout.

“Force Field Wave!”

A translucent, cone-shaped Force Field shot with precision toward the Heartstealer, which was still trying to stabilize its Casting after Holland had disrupted its Spiritual Energy.

BANG!

The Force Field slammed into the Heartstealer’s hastily conjured Spiritual Shield, erupting in a swirl of turbulent air.

Although it failed to break the Shield, it successfully forced the creature back half a step, completely thwarting its attempt to snipe Roland from afar.

And by now, Roland, like a raging flood bursting through a dam, had reached the Heartstealer that had just finished “feeding” and was retracting its slimy tentacles from Grom’s shriveled skull.

This Heartstealer had clearly learned a lesson from its companion’s fate.

Facing Roland’s advance, it didn’t attempt a head-on confrontation with a blast of Spiritual Energy. Instead, it emitted a series of rapid, sharp pulses that only a Spiritual Ability User could perceive.

On the other side, the Heartstealer that had been forced back by Holland and Ellis’s joint effort was a beat slow to react, its attention having been diverted. Still, it responded to its companion’s psionic call, attempting to turn its staff and coordinate a Spiritual Energy attack.

However, Holland’s interference wasn’t over.

“Holy Light, Bind!”

He grunted again, lifting his right hand from the Shield and spreading his five fingers to aim at the Heartstealer that was trying to establish a Spiritual Energy link with its companion.

Several extremely thin but concentrated filaments of golden light shot from his palm. They weren’t an attack, but rather wrapped themselves around the Heartstealer’s short staff and tentacles like living things.

The Spiritual Shield on the Heartstealer’s body automatically resisted the filaments’ encroachment, emitting a hissing sound.

The filaments couldn’t truly harm it, but they clung to it like a persistent disease, greatly interfering with the concentration and transmission of its Spiritual Energy. This prevented it from immediately establishing a high-intensity psionic resonance with its companion.

This critical delay caused a fatal lag and desynchronization in the two Heartstealers’ Spiritual Energy coordination.

The eerie blue glow of Spiritual Energy they barely managed to unleash from their staves appeared chaotic and uncoordinated as it intertwined in mid-air. The resulting purplish-black Spiritual Spider Web not only expanded a beat too slow, but its binding and corrosive aura was also noticeably weaker than intended.

Facing this Spiritual Energy web—its power greatly diminished and its structure unstable due to Holland’s interference—Roland’s Charge did not slow in the slightest.

He crossed his Dragon Scale-covered arms in front of him, his body—reinforced by the Stone Skin Technique—hunching slightly. He was going to smash through with brute force.