One hour later, Ian Song and Tessa Heavenreach reappeared inside the formation, side by side.
"Pfft!"
A peerless blade light, carrying the force to split heaven and earth, crashed toward Tessa Heavenreach.
Caught off guard, Tessa Heavenreach raised her sword to meet the attack. Her sword light, dense as mercury, spread in layers, but it couldn't withstand the sharpness of that blade.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
The layers of sword light shattered one after another.
In the end...
The blade light struck Tessa Heavenreach's body with a dazzling flash. She was sent flying, face pale, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
It all happened so fast that even Ian Song couldn't react in time. But as Osric Oblivion's blade sent Tessa flying, Ian's fist was already smashing down from above.
Son of Heaven Dragon Fist!
ROAR ROAR ROAR!!!
Dragon roars echoed as thousands of colossal dragons surged toward Osric Oblivion, blanketing the sky.
"Get lost!"
Osric Oblivion roared, his divine saber slashing hundreds of times in an instant. The air was filled with constant "pfft pfft pfft" sounds as the thousand golden dragons were shredded. Then, a sharp blade light shot straight at Ian Song.
Instinctively, Ian dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the blade light. He was deeply shocked—Osric Oblivion's explosive power far surpassed Marcus Mistveil's, no wonder he was the strongest of the Three Martial Gods.
His strength was simply unimaginable!
With a single blow, Osric Oblivion forced Ian Song back.
Osric Oblivion stepped forward, his long saber aiming at Tessa Heavenreach as he slashed again...
"Die, bitch!"
A blood-red blade light shot out, instantly reaching Tessa Heavenreach.
Pfft!
Tessa Heavenreach raised her sword to block, but a spray of blood burst from her lips as she was forced back again, her aura growing even weaker.
So strong!
Witnessing this, Ian Song was even more shaken. Even teaming up with Tessa Heavenreach, Osric Oblivion could seriously injure her in just two moves. If either of them faced him alone, they wouldn’t last ten exchanges.
Die!
Osric Oblivion’s eyes blazed as he gripped his saber in both hands and slashed out again.
The blood-red blade light radiated a terrifying aura, as if it could slice through a river of stars with a single stroke.
Mystic Star Divine Sword!!!
Faced with the incoming blood-red blade, Tessa Heavenreach had nowhere to dodge. She could only fight with everything she had. Transparent divine flames erupted over her body, and her chipped longsword glimmered with threads of cyan light as she swung it out.
Clang clang clang clang clang!
Thousands upon thousands of impacts erupted in an instant. Then, Tessa Heavenreach’s longsword shattered into countless fragments, and the blood-red blade came crashing down.
For a moment, time and space seemed to freeze. Tessa Heavenreach stopped dodging and closed her eyes in despair.
Osric Oblivion watched with a smug, savage grin.
It looked like Tessa Heavenreach was about to die under that blood-red blade.
Whoosh!
A shadow flashed past—someone appeared in front of Tessa Heavenreach and shoved her thousands of meters away.
Pfft!
The blade light fell, and that figure was instantly torn apart, dissolving into a cloud of blood mist.
What...?
Tessa Heavenreach was still sliding through the air, but as she stared at the dissipating blood mist, her eyes went blank. The awe-inspiring Great Martial Emperor had sacrificed his own life to save her.
Why?
Why would he do that?
A surge of tangled emotions flooded her heart—an overwhelming mix of bitterness and complexity.
Sadness?
Relief?
But she knew, from this day forward, she would never be able to forget the man who pushed her out of the path of death.
Osric Oblivion stood with his saber, a trace of surprise flickering across his face. He’d never imagined Ian Song would throw his life away to save Tessa Heavenreach. He couldn’t help but mutter, "What a fool!"
Then excitement replaced his shock—now that the boy was dead and Tessa Heavenreach was badly wounded, killing her would be a cinch.
Thinking this, he threw his head back and laughed wildly: "This world is mine! The Human Race’s qi-luck is mine! Hahaha!"
But that reckless, arrogant laughter grated on Tessa Heavenreach’s ears. In the next instant, her gaze sharpened, a flush spread over her pale cheeks, and the dying transparent flames around her body suddenly roared back to life.
"Osric, I’ll make you pay with your life!"
Her voice was icy and abyssal, as if it came from the deepest Nine Hells—chilling to the bone.
The next moment, she summoned another longsword and shot forward to attack.
"Are you going all out?"
Facing Tessa Heavenreach burning her Godhead power, Osric Oblivion showed no fear. He swung his saber to meet her: "Even if you burn your Godhead, you’re still no match for me!"
Boom boom boom boom!
Blade and sword collided again and again, explosions of force erupting with every clash. The surrounding void shattered in great swathes, and even the array’s barriers shook violently.
Their speed was pushed to the extreme—if a Martial Saint were present, all they’d see would be two blurs, one red and one white, and the devastation left in their wake.
"Ah, Tessa, you actually managed to wound me! I’ll tear you into eight pieces to vent my rage!"
The blood-red figure was blasted backward, a bloody gash torn across his chest.