Pan Ming had just employed a technique akin to pressure point strikes, instantly targeting Jones's joints across his entire body. By channeling his qi, he neutralized Jones's combat ability without endangering his life.
However, his movements were so swift that most onlookers failed to grasp what had transpired. They only saw Jones's attack fall short, Pan Ming seemingly teleporting behind him, and Jones collapsing to the ground after a three-second daze.
Could this guy's strength be even greater than I initially estimated? Cipher, who had witnessed every detail, watched her tail sway gently. She stroked her smooth chin, her mind racing.
Previously, she had speculated that Pan Ming possessed Legendary-grade strength. But now, he had incapacitated Jones, a fellow Legendary-level fighter, with a single strike. This proved his power far surpassed the Legendary realm—was he operating at a level beyond Legendary, perhaps akin to the legendary Seven Heroes of old?
Yet this conclusion only deepened Cipher's perplexity. Such formidable warriors were exceedingly rare. To put it bluntly, across the entire Western world—including the All Nations Alliance, the Dragon Ember Empire, and the Arcane Federation—fewer than three individuals could possibly possess such power.
In theory, such power should be exceedingly rare even in the poverty-stricken Eastern Ancient Kingdom. Yet here was Pan Ming, venturing to the West alone?
According to Pan Ming himself, he was here to deliver something. Cipher couldn't help but glance at the prayer beads around his wrist. What could be so important that it required a Beyond Legendary-level expert to personally escort it?
Then again, if Pan Ming's strength truly surpassed Legendary-level, wouldn't he have starved to death on the Ice Plains if Hysilens hadn't happened to pass by and find him? That's just absurd.
Back to the present: as Cipher's mind wandered, Jones, who had been lying prone on the ground, surprisingly began to slowly rise on his own after only three or four seconds. Even Pan Ming was momentarily stunned.
It was as if someone whose limbs had been shattered, after lying motionless for a few seconds, had suddenly regrown and fully healed.
This utterly absurd regenerative ability allowed Jones to swiftly recover his combat prowess. However, it came at a price. He felt as if the very life force within him was being drained away.
Instantly, Jones turned to a subordinate standing a dozen meters away, gripped his axe tightly, and hurled it with brutal force!
Thwack!
The axe cleaved the Barbarian in half, blood erupting in a crimson spray that splattered everywhere. Jones felt his condition suddenly improve dramatically. He glared at Pan Ming through gritted teeth and roared, "Don't just stand there! Attack! Awaken the Wolf God!"
As Jones's command sank in, the surrounding Barbarians belatedly roared to life, each entering a special 'Bloodthirsty Rage' state. But this was not the end. Crimson markings flared across their bodies, and phantom images of blood wolves materialized around them.
These spectral wolves seemed to coalesce, despite the fact that they were on the Ice Plains. The entire battlefield now appeared shrouded in a thin, crimson mist. Even Hysilens, watching from afar, sensed that a powerful entity—a unique 'presence'—had turned its gaze upon them.
Pan Ming 'looked' at Jones before him and sighed. "Why must it come to this...?"
He stepped forward with his right leg, his left hand forming a palm aimed at Jones, while his right hand clenched into a fist at his side. This was the first time he had assumed an offensive stance since the battle began. Pan Ming murmured, "If I don't enter Hell, who will? My apologies..."
Though his words carried a sense of self-sacrifice, they revealed Pan Ming's murderous intent. According to Eastern beliefs, killing creates karmic debt that leads to Hell after death. But if Jones continued his manipulations, a full-scale war might erupt, resulting in countless more deaths.
Therefore, if killing Jones could end the war, Pan Ming would do it without hesitation. He would shoulder the necessary karmic debt alone to save countless lives.
Bang—!
In an instant, Pan Ming vanished from his spot, leaving behind two five-centimeter-deep footprints spiderwebbed with cracks on the ice. The next moment, he stood before Jones, throwing a punch!
Thud—!
Another muffled crash echoed, but this time it wasn't the sound of Pan Ming's fist striking Jones. Instead, it was the impact of his sudden appearance and landing. His force had pulverized the ice into a shallow crater at least five meters in diameter, with hairline cracks spiderwebbing outward for dozens of meters.
Yet, in stark contrast, when Pan Ming's fist struck Jones, there was no sound, and Jones didn't fly backward or anything. He remained standing in place, visually appearing as if Pan Ming had simply materialized beside him and lightly tapped his shoulder.
But the very next second, Jones violently coughed up a mouthful of blood, collapsed to his knees with a thud, and then fell flat on his back. Unlike before, his powerful regenerative abilities could heal his limbs, but they couldn't repair his completely pulverized internal organs.
Without exaggeration, the moment Pan Ming's fist connected, Jones had already become an empty shell.
Pan Ming then shouted, "Your boss is dead! Drop your weapons immediately and cease this pointless fighting!"
But the only response he received was a chorus of savage roars from the Barbarians. These berserked warriors showed no intention of surrendering. Seeing this, Hysilens wore an expression that said, "Just as I expected."
She had warned Pan Ming from the start that she was merely letting him try. Subduing the entire Falcon Clan without a single death or drop of blood remained a highly improbable outcome.
She took a step forward, her high heel clicking crisply on the ice. She didn't know how many Barbarians were before her, but for her, defeating them required only a single move.
And that move would be far simpler than anyone could imagine.
Crack, crack, crack—
A massive fissure erupted beneath Hysilens' right foot, spreading rapidly forward until it engulfed the entire battlefield in mere moments, covering an area spanning at least thirty kilometers in all directions.
Boom!
In the next instant, the ice melted completely. Every Barbarian of the Falcon Clan, no matter what they were doing at the time, plunged into the sea like dumplings dropping into boiling water—plop, plop, plop.
After that, what more needed to be said? The battle was effectively over before it even began.
The Barbarians trapped in the middle of the battlefield would have to swim at least thirty kilometers to reach shore. Let them swim—they could think about surrendering if they ever made it.
Hysilens waved Dirk over from behind. Her next command was for the ten thousand troops dispatched by the Northern Territory Empire to begin rescuing the drowning Barbarians. For each one brought ashore, they would ask, "Your Boss is dead. Will you surrender?" Those who surrendered would be taken captive; those who refused would be executed.
After issuing these orders, Hysilens couldn't help but glance at Aria and the others. Actually, ambushing the Falcon Clan Boss and killing Jones should have been their mission. But Pan Ming, being so overwhelmingly powerful, had single-handedly completed everything, leaving Aria and her group feeling like they'd come on a leisurely picnic, accomplishing nothing.
Well, not entirely useless. Aria had already spread the Nameless Holy Sword's buff to all allied teammates, accelerating the rescue efforts of the ten thousand Barbarians.
With the battlefield cleanup instructions issued, Hysilens strode forward, plunged into the sea, and swam rapidly away in a specific direction, her speed accelerating.
When she leaped out of the water again, she had reached the northernmost edge of the Northern Territory—the Ice Mountain Region. Towering, endless glaciers covered the land, and even she felt a chill standing here.
"This is it," Cipher said, her voice cutting through the icy air. She wasn't speaking for Hysilens's benefit; Cipher had been here since the Falcon Clan's mass use of Bloodthirsty Rage. Sensing a powerful gaze focused on the battlefield, Cipher had immediately tracked its origin, leading her to this desolate peak.
Two figures—or rather, a cat and a fish—looked up to see a colossal red wolf, over ten meters tall, towering over them from halfway up the ice mountain.
The Northern Wolf God!
In that instant, Hysilens understood everything. Half had abandoned the people's faith in him, but that faith hadn't simply vanished. As long as Half remained alive and his Divinity intact, that faith had festered like an ever-growing tumor, a ticking time bomb destined to explode sooner or later.
But Half had shattered his Divinity. Normally, a god who made such a decision would have died completely, beyond revival. Half, however, was unique. As the world's primordial ice, one of its very origins, he hadn't truly died but had instead begun to gestate anew.
This meant that even after three centuries, Half remained a small wolf pup who could only whimper and mew. In terms of divine rank, Half was currently the Cryo Archon, but no longer the Wolf God.
The term "Wolf God" was originally coined by the Northerners to refer to Half.
In short, this left the position of Wolf God vacant, an unclaimed entity! The Northerners' faith in the Wolf God had persisted for millennia—at least several thousand years. Half had never drawn upon this faith, so when his Divinity shattered, this misguided faith coalesced spontaneously, birthing a flawed god.
A being born entirely from faith, bloodthirsty, savage, and the "true" Northern Wolf God.
"Awoo~!"
From atop the Ice Mountain, the Northern Wolf God let out its signature piercing howl. Without the slightest hint of communication, it leaped down, lunging toward Hysilens and Cipher.
Seeing this, Cipher immediately turned and fled, transforming into a golden streak as she swiftly departed the battlefield. This Wolf God possessed no trace of reason, existing purely as an embodiment of instinct. For Cipher, this was the worst possible enemy matchup.
Thus, she left the battle entirely to her other self, to Hysilens. Cipher's role had been merely to guide the way; now, she was slipping away without a second thought.
Just as Hysilens drew her blood-red longsword, bracing herself to face the charging Northern Wolf God, she watched in astonishment as the colossal beast vanished mid-air.
She froze for a moment, startled, before realizing: That thing... it's chasing Cipher now?!
Perhaps Cipher's sudden flight had triggered the hunting instincts of the canine beast. It was like encountering a dog on the street—if you walk past calmly, nothing might happen, but if you turn and run, the dog might instinctively give chase.
Driven purely by instinct, the Northern Wolf God had seen Cipher flee and immediately given chase.
Kuang!
The sound of the Northern Wolf God's jaws snapping shut echoed through the air. Its razor-sharp teeth narrowly missed the tip of Cipher's tail, sending a shiver down her spine as every hair on her tail stood on end.
Cipher instinctively quickened her pace, but a split-second later, another strike came—again, a near miss. This time, she could have sworn a few hairs had been bitten off her tail.
Desperate, she curled her tail around her chest, wrapping it tightly several times around her waist. Without her tail for balance, running felt awkward, and her speed slowed slightly.
The Northern Wolf God had actually managed to keep up with Cipher in her Divine Speed State, nearly biting her twice. It seemed incredibly fast, but in reality, no—the creature could teleport!
It was like playing a video game where you'd run out of the Boss's attack range, only for the Boss to suddenly reappear right in your face. Cipher's situation was similar.
This Northern Wolf God undoubtedly possessed Authority over hunting and tracking. Having marked Cipher as prey, it would teleport directly in front of her after she gained some distance, snapping its jaws.
Cipher only avoided being bitten by relying entirely on her Divine Speed, dodging out of the creature's attack range before its jaws could close.
"Ugh~! This is so annoying!" Cipher clutched her tail, forced to turn back and sprint toward Hysilens. It seemed she couldn't disengage from this battle.
With her tail curled up, Cipher's speed slowed, but her target profile shrank dramatically, making it much easier to evade the Northern Wolf God's attacks. (After all, when running at full speed, her tail stretched out straight, making her an easier target.) Within moments, Cipher had rejoined Hysilens in the Ice Mountain Region.
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PS: Meow~!
Spy- ദ്ദി ˉ꒳ˉ )✧