this infinite world

Although the battle between Yang Yun and Jieyin could only be described as "earth-shattering," it's unclear whether it was due to their exceptional control over energy, resulting in no aftershocks leaking out, or whether Ilúvatar, the creator god of the Lord of the Rings world, had prepared in advance, separating their space from the real world. In any case, their "god-like battle" had no impact on the real world whatsoever, while in the Goblin Kingdom, the battle between the Arctic team and the Celestial team continued...

"...Chu Hao, your actual strength doesn't match the grand claims you make."

As he spoke, the metal mask on Ling Xin's face gleamed coldly in the firelight. Facing the oncoming crimson fireball, he slightly twisted his wrist, and the two-and-a-half-meter-long silver-white sword drew a perfect arc—

"Uh-huh!"

As the blade passed, the blazing fireball froze in mid-air as if paused. The next instant, the raging flames neatly split in two along the trajectory of the slash, like red silk cut by an invisible blade. The split fireballs exploded on either side of Ling Xin, the scorching air waves lifting the hem of his trench coat, but failing to harm his body in the slightest.

"Actually, I'm a little curious, Chu Hao... what happened to the several thousand dwarfs you brought all the way from Blue Mountain and spent a great deal of effort and resources to train them?"

"In your plan, they should be excellent cannon fodder to conquer this goblin kingdom and bridge the gap in strength between the Arctic team and the Celestial team, right? After all, you even taught them your proud 'Eight Trigrams Formation'..."

Ling Xin casually twirled the two-and-a-half-meter-long sword, which looked somewhat similar to Sephiroth's weapon "Masamune" from Final Fantasy VII, and faced Chu Hao, who had once again conjured a fireball behind him, saying calmly, "Making the most of what you have is your style, but a wise man will never change his way of doing things unless absolutely necessary..."

"So, Chu Hao, my brother, why did you make this decision?"

In response to Ling Xin, a dense rain of arrows rained down.

Zhang Heng knelt beside Chu Hao, his arms already blurred into a series of afterimages. The Windrunner's Bow seemed to come alive in his hands, the vibrating hum of the bowstring forming a piercing sonic wave. Each +3 enchanted arrow, enhanced by the Windrunner's Bow, was accelerated a second time by the invisible power of the wind spirits the moment it left the bowstring, the blue trails left by the arrows weaving a web of death in the air!
At this moment, Zhang Heng was making the most of the longbow, which was blessed by the wind spirit and could greatly reduce the archer's strength consumption... to the point that Zhang Heng's bow-drawing action almost became a blur, and he actually achieved the effect of "firepower suppression" with his own strength!
"Shhhhh-"

The sound of arrows piercing the air was like the whisper of death, as a rain of arrows covered every angle from which Ling Xin could dodge. Even more terrifying was that these arrows weren't fired blindly—each one precisely targeted Ling Xin's vital joints, and later arrows would even collide with earlier ones, altering their trajectory and creating a three-dimensional crossfire network!

Unfortunately, these arrows didn't cause Ling Xin much trouble. The captain of the Celestial Team simply moved his feet, and with the help of "Instant Step," most of the arrows fell into empty air. The few remaining arrows were deflected by his longsword, having no effect whatsoever...

Ling Xin, the captain of the Celestial Team, is too strong...

If Ling Xin were at his peak, Chu Hao and Zhang Heng probably wouldn't last even five seconds before being instantly killed.

Even though he was severely injured due to the previous undeserved calamity, and his strength was less than 30% of his peak, Ling Xin's oppressive aura was still suffocating. The current situation resembled a cat-and-mouse game, the only difference being when Ling Xin, as the "cat," would choose to end it...

"Why don't you answer my question? Is it because you don't want to, or because you can't?"

As he spoke, Ling Xin took another step forward, and at that moment, his longsword slammed into the ground. The blade trembled, and a visible shockwave spread out in a ring. Instantly, the solid earth rippled like waves, and the cracking of rocks was mixed with the muffled sound of bones breaking!
"Well!"

At that moment, Tom, who was lurking in the shadows, was struck as if by lightning. He was blasted out by an invisible force and fell into the pile of rubble like a rag doll, blood gushing from his mouth... The Arctic team member who had exchanged for the Shadow Walker skill twitched twice and then lay motionless on the ground.

"Tom!"

"Don't worry, I didn't use any force; I just made him pass out."

Ignoring Zhang Heng's worried shouts, Ling Xin looked at Chu Hao, who remained silent and began preparing the rune model again, generating a large fireball behind him, and said, "But it's easy to guess that your change is definitely related to that saint who suddenly appeared before."

"Speaking of which, Chu Hao, you really are lucky. No matter what kind of crisis you are in, there is always someone willing to lend you a hand; even when you are on the verge of death, you are still able to turn danger into safety in the end."

"In this situation, you are practically like the so-called 'master'..."

"Stop fucking showing off! I can't take it anymore!"

Just as Ling Xin was talking incessantly to Chu Hao, Niao Ren's strange cry suddenly came from the other side of the battlefield.

Despite being relentlessly pursued by Nian Xikong's Jidu Sword, the young man could always dodge the chilling blade with an incredibly unpredictable rolling motion whenever it was about to strike. Sometimes it was as if he were being pulled by an invisible hand, and other times he would flash by like a video lag, managing to avoid a fatal blow from an impossible angle. It was as if that rolling motion possessed the will of the universe and had some kind of "invincible frame."

In contrast, Nian Xikong's expression grew increasingly cold, and each sword strike became more and more murderous...

"...It seems I've wasted too much time."

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the other battlefield. When he saw that Xiao Niaoren, though disheveled, was holding onto Nian Xikong's hatred and was clearly able to persevere, Ling Xin smiled behind his mask and turned his gaze back to Chu Hao, who had remained silent until now: "Well then, Chu Hao, although you don't seem to intend to answer, I'll give you one last choice..."

"If you join the Celestial Team, I will spare your teammates..."

The fireball behind Chu Hao was so dazzling that it illuminated the dark space clearly, allowing Ling Xin and Chu Hao to see each other's every move.

"How was it?" (End of Chapter)