Chapter 1347: The Shot That Wouldn’t Stop

Vaelor raised a hand and called for the blood swords.

Not one responded.

They were all sealed inside the golden cage, undergoing the judgment of holy light.

Just as Andona prepared to tighten the cage, a high-speed blast of compressed air shot toward them from the distance.

Namyanna was the first to sense the disturbance beneath the sea. Before the projectile even broke the surface, she raised a hand and created a massive vacuum around Andona and Ataneya.

The compressed air burst from the water and flew straight at Andona.

It slowed rapidly upon entering the vacuum, but instead of continuing along its original path, it forcibly changed direction in midair. It curved around Andona and headed for the golden cage holding the blood swords.

Bang!

The blast struck the outside of the cage.

Golden light shuddered violently, and a gap tore open at one of its joints. The blood swords seized the opportunity and escaped the holy light’s suppression.

Namyanna had spent too much energy to remain standing. She collapsed onto the ice, but kept one hand raised to maintain the vacuum around Andona and Ataneya, preventing the sniper from launching a second surprise attack.

The freed blood swords didn’t attack anyone.

The moment they escaped the golden cage, they vanished.

Then an intense red light flared inside the cage formed by Ataneya’s tails.

Vaelor had thought he was already beaten. Almost none of his power remained, and the fox tails had pinned him so tightly he couldn’t move. Then, without warning, a round hole opened in his wrist.

Blood poured from the wound.

The vanished blood swords began re-forming around it. With every inch of blade that took shape, more blood was drained from Vaelor’s body.

At last, the swords fully reappeared.

By then, Vaelor’s body had shriveled. His scales clung to his bones, and even the hand holding his sword had begun to tremble.

Just before he was drained dry, a dense cloud of blood energy surged from the depths of the ocean.

It tore through the water, erupted above the surface, and entered the cage of fox tails under everyone’s watch. The energy poured through the wound in Vaelor’s wrist, restoring his withered flesh. The fading red glow around him blazed to life again.

As power swelled inside him, confidence returned to Vaelor’s eyes.

He tightened his grip on the snow-white sword and slashed repeatedly at the tails around him. The re-formed blood swords followed his movements, cutting outward from multiple angles.

Blood-red arcs of sword energy slammed into the fox tails.

Ataneya was driven backward, her feet carving two long trails across the ice. She gritted her teeth and kept drawing her tails tighter, but the pressure inside the cage continued to rise.

At last, she could no longer hold it.

Blood-red energy erupted into the sky, blasting the interwoven tails apart. Vaelor rose from the center of the cage, his sword now completely stained red by the blood energy.

Several blood swords revolved around him.

Vaelor raised his crimson blade and swept it horizontally.

A broad arc of sword energy tore through the air and struck Namyanna’s trident head-on. The weapon flew from her hand, spinning into the distance before burying itself in the ice far away.

"I already told you!"

Suspended within the cloud of blood energy, Vaelor stared coldly at the others.

"You’re all going to die!"

Deep inside the palace on the ocean floor, Thalvyr sat upon his throne, his eyes completely white.

Several dragon orbs revolved around him. Every time Vaelor absorbed more blood energy, the light in one of the orbs dimmed.

"You’re dying again?"

Thalvyr gritted his teeth and looked toward the part of the palace where his reserves were stored.

"And now you’re draining my food supply. What a wonderful son you are!"

His gaze lingered on his "granary." As for the son who caused more trouble than he was worth, Thalvyr had already decided what kind of body to give him next.

Meanwhile, the mantis shrimp and the small shark had found another suitable position on the ocean floor.

They no longer stayed behind the same reef for long. After every shot, they relocated so no one could trace the attack back to them.

The mantis shrimp lay flat on the shark’s back and slowly raised one of its long forelimbs. Its lower segment folded downward as the power stored beneath its shell traveled through the joint and concentrated at the tip.

It locked onto Seraphina in the sky and slammed its forelimb down.

Bang!

A blast of compressed air shot from the end of its limb. It tore through the seawater and continued upward, bursting above the surface and passing through the chaotic blood energy and flying ice before striking Seraphina head-on.

Everyone had been discussing Vaelor’s transformation. No one noticed the attack from below.

Seraphina’s body dipped to one side as blood sprayed from the wound. Gritting her teeth, she spread her dragon wings and fought to keep her balance. Despite the pain, she carried everyone on her back down toward the ice.

Her four claws touched down one after another.

Only after confirming that everyone had landed safely did Seraphina lower her body. Blood continued flowing from the wound, soon leaving a vivid red stain across the ice.

Feylora rushed to her side.

Green energy poured from her palm and covered the wound. The torn flesh gradually healed, yet blood continued to spill from it.

Feylora stared at her hand in disbelief.

The wound was already healed. Why was it still bleeding?

Namyanna stopped maintaining the distant vacuum and used her trident for support as she made her way over. She crouched beside Seraphina and pressed the tip of the weapon against the wound.

A small sphere of water emerged from the trident’s tip and entered Seraphina’s body.

Namyanna closed her eyes and waited quietly for several seconds. The sphere moved through the wound and drew out the anomaly trapped inside the damaged flesh.

She opened her eyes and nodded to Feylora.

"Air was trapped inside and created a blockage. That’s why the bleeding wouldn’t stop."

Feylora only half understood, but nodded seriously anyway. She raised both hands again, covering Seraphina’s wound with green energy and repairing the damage caused by the compressed-air blast.

Ethan didn’t help with the healing.

He kept watch over their surroundings as an enormous white shield rose from beneath his feet and enclosed the entire group. A strangely shaped sphere of energy also formed above his palm. Its outer shell remained intact, but its center was hollow.

Vaelor was already growing bored of waiting in the sky.

Andona and Ataneya were still working together seamlessly. Andona used golden holy light to pass judgment on him, while Ataneya restrained his movements with Infernal Essence.

Under normal circumstances, either power would pose a grave threat to his soul.

But they were fighting over the ocean.

Ever since the blood energy entered Vaelor’s body, he no longer feared Divine Power. When holy light struck him, he simply endured it while the blood energy continuously replaced whatever had been purified.

Infernal Essence was different.

Vaelor still instinctively avoided it whenever the power of the inferno touched him. But as long as he sank into the sea, the surrounding water blocked part of its suppression, solving the problem.

Namyanna sat beside Feylora, recovering her energy. Queen Elowen, meanwhile, kept her attention fixed on the area around Vaelor, her gaze following the drifting souls.

Some of the souls left the blood energy and slipped into Andona’s body.

The next moment, Divine Power destroyed them from within.

Others tried to enter Ataneya, only to be caught by Infernal Essence and burned alive in the power of the inferno.

Neither side could gain a decisive advantage.

The stalemate was finally broken by another blast of compressed air.

Ataneya’s enormous fox tails stretched across the sky, presenting targets so large that careful aim was unnecessary. From its new position, the mantis shrimp once again lay flat on the shark’s back, raised its long forelimb, and struck its lower segment with all its strength.

Bang!

The compressed-air blast came from a new direction.

It tore through the chaotic energies above the ocean and struck one of the fox tails with perfect accuracy. The air current first pressed a deep indentation into the soft fur, then punched through the flesh beneath it.

A mist of blood scattered through the air.

The blast didn’t dissipate. Carrying its remaining force through Ataneya’s tail, it continued straight toward Andona behind her.