The moment the shadowy figure shattered the shadow, the hairs on the back of Lin Yi's neck stood on end.
It was a sense of oppression far greater than that of a mythical being, like standing at the edge of the universe looking up at a collapsing galaxy—but when the dark figure turned his face, his pupils suddenly contracted.
That face... no, that wasn't a "face" at all.
The silhouette of the dark figure twisted and contorted in the void, sometimes transforming into an old man with chains piercing his chest, sometimes into a boy corroded by black liquid, and finally settling into a pair of eyes streaming with blood and tears: "Lin Yi, I have come as promised."
"Who...who are you?" Su Qing's hand, gripping Lin Yi's wrist, trembled. She could feel that the aura emanating from the shadowy figure was exactly the same as that of Night Owl, yet it also carried a certain scorch mark.
"He was once the oldest guardian of the Shadow Realm," Xuan Mingzi suddenly spoke, his voice unusually warm. "Three hundred years ago, when Night Owl usurped power in the Shadow Realm, he nailed his soul to the Origin Altar, draining his power over countless eons."
The shadowy figure's blood and tears suddenly condensed into ice crystals and fell: "Night Owl used my blood and bones to nurture the Shadow Erosion Legion, and used my memories to forge the Devouring Origin."
Today, I will make him pay with his life.
Lin Yi's silver pupils narrowed slightly.
He could feel the murderous intent in the shadowy figure's words, like tangible ice spikes piercing his skin.
But what bothered him even more was why this being believed in him.
"I heard what you said in the spacetime rift that day." The silhouette of the shadowy figure suddenly became clearer, revealing a black hole piercing through its heart. "You said, 'There are no absolute enemies, only shared hatred.'"
My hatred for the night owl is older than the entire universe.
Long Wu's dragon tail slammed heavily onto the ground, golden flames rising from between his scales: "I don't care who you are, as long as you can kill Night Owl!"
"But let's get this straight—" He narrowed his dragon eyes, staring at the black hole in the shadowy figure's chest, "If you dare to play any tricks, my dragon flames will burn you back to your mother's womb."
"How dare you!" Su Qing tried to stop him, but Lin Yi gently pressed her shoulder down.
The boy stared at the wound on the shadowy figure's chest, then suddenly pressed his hand to his own chest: "I believe you."
This sentence is like a pebble thrown into a deep pool.
The silhouette of the dark figure trembled violently, and the blood-tear ice crystals suddenly transformed into a sky full of starlight. One of them gently landed in Lin Yi's palm: "These are the coordinates of the Shadow Realm's origin. With this, I can tear through Night Owl's defensive net."
"Lin boy!" Chu Yao's mechanical voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears. A holographic projection popped out from the spacetime emblem on Lin Yi's wrist, with countless data streams dancing in the pale blue light: "Night Owl's main cannon is 93% charged, but his use of primal power has caused a vulnerability in the defense matrix—there is an energy gap lasting 0.3 seconds at the junction of the Third, Seventh, and Twelfth Fleets!"
The starlight at Lin Yi's fingertips suddenly lit up.
He gazed at the blue light gathering in the center of the battlefield, his silver eyes reflecting a precise timeline: "Long Wu, lead the Time-Space Legion to cut in from the left flank, using the True Dragon's Might to disrupt their repair system; Su Qing, your Spatial Imprisonment Technique covers the fault line area, delaying the main cannon's firing; Black Shadow, I need you to use the Origin Coordinates to create a rift beneath the Night Owl flagship and absorb its backup energy."
"Understood." A faint purple glow suddenly appeared on Su Qing's hair. She reached out to straighten Lin Yi's collar, which had been ruffled by the gust of wind, and gently traced her fingertips across his Adam's apple. "Be careful."
These words brushed against my heart like a feather.
Lin Yi looked at the blush on the girl's ears and suddenly remembered that three days ago in the space-time rift, when Su Qing shielded him from the Shadow Devouring Insects, she had spoken in the same warm tone.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he was about to speak when Chu Yao's alarm sounded again: "Charging complete!"
"Let's do it!"
Long Wu's dragon roar shattered the clouds.
His massive dragon body transformed into a golden stream of light, and wherever his dragon claws passed, the armor of the extradimensional soldiers shattered like paper. Su Qing's purple light net spread out, precisely covering the connection points of the Night Owl fleet. The cruisers that were being repaired suddenly jammed, and strange dark green smoke seeped from the gaps in their armor. The black shadow's palm pressed against the void, and the starlight in Lin Yi's palm resonated with the black hole in his heart. A pitch-black vortex cracked open below the Night Owl flagship, and several spare main cannons emitted desperate screams as they were sucked in.
"Insects!" Night Owl's voice was like fingernails scraping against metal. Countless black snakes crawled out from beneath his cracked skin, each spitting out corrosive light. "Even if you destroy the fleet, this main cannon is enough to plow the entire battlefield to pieces—including your souls!"
The blue light from the main gun had solidified into a tangible form.
Lin Yi could see in the timeline that in three seconds the beam of light would pierce through everyone's chests, and in five seconds it would evaporate the land within a ten-mile radius.
He bit his tongue, and the silver light of the Time-Space Emblem surged instantly, pulling Su Qing, Long Wu, and Chu Yao into his time domain.
"Chu Yao, calculate the optimal avoidance route!"
"Locked!" The holographic projection traced a silver path in the beam of light. "Shift 27 degrees northwest, maintaining Mach 0.8—"
\"puff!\"
A sudden change occurred.
Suddenly, the owl's black snake coiled around the shadowy figure's ankle, its tongue piercing through his phantom and biting deeper wounds around the black hole in his heart.
The shadowy figure grunted, and the tearing spatial rift suddenly closed. The spare main cannon, which had been sucked away, instead ejected a stream of energy in reverse, which accurately struck Long Wu's dragon wing.
"Awooo—!" Long Wu's roar was filled with pain as large scales on his left wing fell off, revealing the bleeding dragon flesh underneath.
"A dark shadow!" Lin Yi's pupils contracted sharply.
He saw the blood-tear ice crystals of the dark figure falling rapidly, and what overflowed from the black hole in his heart was not starlight, but black liquid like that of a night owl.
"I'm sorry..." The shadowy figure's voice became hoarse, "Night Owl placed a soul-locking spell on my soul, and the attack just now triggered a backlash."
"But don't worry—" He suddenly opened his arms, drawing all the black liquid towards himself, "This remnant soul can hold on for another three seconds!"
Three seconds.
Su Qing's Space Imprisonment Technique was sufficient to complete its final amplification.
Enough for Long Wu to swallow the Dragon Pill and use his innate flame to burn off the energy flow wrapped around his wings.
This was enough for Lin Yi to seize the moment and speed up everyone's actions by 0.5 seconds.
As the main cannon beam fell, everyone's figures disappeared from their original positions.
The blue light grazed Lin Yi's hair, carving deep furrows in the ground, and the shockwaves from the evaporating soil capsized the three remaining extradimensional cruisers.
"Huff..." Su Qing gasped for breath, supporting herself on her knees. Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead and down her chin. "This... this counts as... making it through?"
"Not yet." Lin Yi looked at Night Owl.
The monster's body had disintegrated down to its head, but its mouth stretched to its ears, revealing sharp fangs. "It's laughing."
Everyone followed his gaze.
The owl's head hovered in mid-air, black liquid dripping onto the ground, corroding and emitting sizzling white smoke: "You think you've won?"
No, this is just the beginning—
\"boom!\"
A muffled thud interrupted him.
Everyone turned their heads at the same time, only to see that Xuan Mingzi, who had been standing at the edge of the battlefield, had somehow walked up to the black figure.
He touched the black hole in the shadowy figure's heart with his fingertip, and some kind of golden rune spread along the point of contact. The shadowy figure's blood tears and ice crystals suddenly stopped falling, and its outline became clear again.
"You..." The shadowy figure stared at Xuan Mingzi in shock.
"What must be repaid must be repaid." Xuan Mingzi withdrew his hand, his gaze lingering on Lin Yi before pausing. "Lin boy, do you really think I've betrayed you?"
In some situations, someone has to be a pawn.
As soon as he finished speaking, Night Owl's laughter suddenly rose, tinged with a hint of madness: "Good, good!"
Since you want to play, then continue—
\"bite!\"
Chu Yao's alarm sounded again, but this time it wasn't a crisis, but ecstasy: "Detected that the faith link completion rate of all job changers is 100%!"
Mythical buff activated—All attributes +300%, skill cooldown reduced by 80%, damage against interdimensional units increased by an additional 500%!
At the edge of the battlefield, the job changers who had been observing suddenly erupted into a deafening cheer.
Their bodies were enveloped in golden flames, and the weapons in their hands shone with a light ten times stronger than before—the power of the combined beliefs of millions.
"All those who have changed jobs, charge with me!" Someone shouted, instantly igniting the entire battlefield.
As Lin Yi watched this scene, the bloodshot in his silver eyes gradually faded, replaced by a blazing inferno.
He turned to look at Su Qing, who was using her spiritual power to heal Long Wu's wounds. When they looked up, their eyes met, and the blush on her ear tips was more vibrant than the sunset.
"Next," Lin Yi gripped the Time-Space Emblem tightly, "it's our turn to fight back."
At the very edge of the battlefield, Xuan Mingzi watched as Ye Xiao's smile gradually froze and said softly, "You think I'm helping Lin Yi?"
No, I'm helping... that child from three hundred years ago who cried out on the altar, 'I want revenge!'
His voice was soft, yet it made the silhouette of the dark figure tremble once more.
The owl's laughter stopped abruptly.
He finally realized that his meticulously planned "Shadow Erosion Project" had fallen into a much larger trap from the very beginning.
In this game, there is more than one player on the chessboard.
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