Chapter 2700: Chapter 2700: One Person Short
Sebert and Satchel had higher cultivation bases compared to the weapon refiners from Su Clan and Oneness Sky Palace.
The weapon refiners were as strong as a one-star or two-star Oneness Guard, while their enemy was a powerful nonhuman creature that came from the Divine Lair of the Sun Crow race, and she was more powerful than a five-star Oneness Guard!
It was apparent that none of Cailen's group was a match for the woman. It would be like a bunch of babies fighting against a full-grown woman.
The woman's body was enveloped with golden flames that burned all in their path but left her unharmed. Her wings quivered behind her and touched a weapon refiner, and almost immediately, the man burst into flames.
Puff!
The weapon refiner's shrill screams of pain dissolved into groans until there was nothing left of him but ashes.
The other members of the Su Clan were terrified and helpless, but Sebert and Satchel were entangled in other battles. How were they going to fight against this powerful woman by themselves?
The woman sneered at their pitiful looks and said, “You are just weak weapon refiners. Do you want to run away from me? Dream on!”
She watched them shiver in terror and grinned wider.
"Hand the Shade Stone over, and I might still spare your lives.
Otherwise, you will die a miserable death."
Her voice sounded like the ringing of tiny bells, haunting and beautiful. “Gather around me! Form the array!”
shouted Cailen with urgency, and his companions hurried to do as he said.
He knew well that they wouldn't be able to escape, so he gave up that option quickly.
Every member of the Su Clan was a weapon refiner. Besides the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array, they had also mastered another array — the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array.
This array could maximize the power of the weapons, similar to the Imperial Sword Seal in some way. The power of the array depended on the weapons used by the people who were forming the array, and it was well-known that every weapon refiner possessed excellent weapons themselves, so the power of their array was nothing to be trifled with.
Whoosh!
Cailen turned his hand over, and an array plate emerged in his palm out of nowhere.
He threw it into the air, and nine huge beams of light charged into the sky where countless densely arranged runes began to appear among the beams of light.
“Take your positions! Draw your swords!”
Cailen's orders resounded on the battlefield like a beacon for his clanmates, who rallied around him.
The weapon refiners of the Oneness Sky Palace had been in charge of the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array before, which was similar to the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array. Each of them quickly entered a beam of light too and pulled out their swords. The beams of light immediately shone brilliantly, as they responded to the power of the swords, and the power of the array increased greatly.
“You want to fight me with a sword array?”
The woman glanced at them disdainfully.
Every creature that came from their Divine Lair thought of themselves as superior to the human race. This woman belonged to the Sun Crow race, and they regarded themselves as the most perfect creatures.
When it came to talents and strength, they were stronger than humans with the same cultivation level, not to mention that these weapon refiners' cultivation levels were much lower than hers.
She flapped her wings, and her flame-covered feathers spat out globules of fire that surged towards the sword array like a volley of burning arrows.
Cailen did not back down, even in the face of a powerful nonhuman creature far stronger than himself. He remained steadfast and calculated his every move, which showed that he was a far better leader than most. ꭆάNȫᛒƐ𝙎
He suddenly turned the array plate in his hand, and green beams of light gathered together.
The swords in the hands of the weapon refiners from the Su Clan were at least premium Profound Blood Treasures, while Cailen and the weapon refiners from the Oneness Sky Palace each owned an Other Shore Treasure. The power of these treasures activated by the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array was truly remarkable.
“Rise!”
Under Cailen's control, the beams of light converged and instantly turned into a large green shield that floated above everyone's head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The golden feathers hit the large green shield, and muffled thuds resounded above them like a rough storm on a quiet night. Despite the powerful attack, all of them remained safe under the green shield's protection.
The golden flames lingered on the surface of the shield for a while but soon fizzled out.
“How is this possible?”
The woman narrowed her eyes at them suspiciously. She expected them to buckle under her power, and she expected them to die in agony until there was nothing left of them but ashes.
What she didn't expect was that the group of weapon refiners would be able to resist the divine flames of the Sun Crow race. The array was more powerful than she had imagined.
The weapon refiners collectively let out a sigh of relief, for their brush with death. If they didn't form the Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array in time, they would have died.
However, as the woman gazed closely, a hint of amusement appeared on her face. She said, “Nine warriors are needed to form this array. Am I correct? However, there are only eight of you! Ha-ha! The flaws of your array are obvious!”
Cailen's expression darkened as she spoke.
Earlier, they had six weapon refiners from the Su Clan and three from the Oneness Sky Palace. They had the exact number of people to form the Nine Edges Weapon Refining Array, and they also had just enough people to refine the Shade Stone.
But during the course of their escape, one weapon refiner had been killed. As he looked at his men, the reality that they lacked one person sunk fully.
It would be difficult to form the array if they were one person short, and the array would have more flaws too. The woman was truly a formidable enemy, in that she had discovered the problem in just a glance.
“Let me see how long you will be able to hold on. Ha-ha!”
The woman raised her hand, and a strange stream of light suddenly appeared in the sky. One after another, countless golden flames fell from the sky like heavy rain.
Each of the divine flames was fatal enough. If they touched even a little bit of the flames, they would be burned to ashes.
Cailen didn't have time to think up another plan. Now, the only thing they could do was persevere. At the back of his mind, he prayed that Satchel and Sebert would defeat their opponents soon so that they could come to their rescue.
However, the strength and status of the powerful nonhuman creatures from the Divine Lair surpassed that of the Oneness Guards greatly. The twins might not even be able to protect themselves!
Buzz!
The large green shield spread wider, and if the people below looked up, all they would see was the green-tinged sky.
Just as they did earlier, the golden divine flames struck the shield and kept burning, but they gradually went out after a while. They left the people beneath shivering, as they watched the flames that would have been their deaths stop right over their heads.
Soon, the array plate in Cailen's hand emitted a faint red light. With one person short to form the array, the array consumed divine crystals several times more than normal!
Cailen gritted his teeth in frustration and put over a thousand divine crystals into the array plate.
“Hey, where is Raphael?” “He is always missing when you need him!”
“I haven't seen him since the beginning!”
The members of the Su Clan knew that they couldn't hold on for long, so they had started looking for Raphael.
His reputation in the Su Clan was ruined, but he could still help now if he could just fill the gap for them. Unfortunately, they had lost track of him after they went out of Blue Cloud City.
Cailen chose not to answer his men. Instead, he focused on the shield and abruptly flipped the array plate when they had defended for a while. As the green shield turned, numerous green swords emerged and shot towards the woman.
But the great array they formed lacked one person, and thus, both its defenses and attacks were weaker.
The woman seemed to know this as well, as she waited calmly for the attack that she didn't even bother to dodge. She just wrapped her golden wings around her body, which were strong enough to block the green swords with ease.
When the attack was over, she shook off her wings as if the attack just tickled her, and not even a single scratch graced her skin. Her wings were barely damaged as well.
Zen and Gant had been hiding in a bush some distance away because the divine flames had burned almost all stones and trees that were near the place. A large area of black earth was left, and only the small patch of bush survived from the catastrophe.
“The Nine Edges Heaven Slaughtering Array should be formed by nine people, but they are one person short. Its power is greatly weakened. Let me go and help them!”
Gant pleaded.
He knew that he was as weak as an ant in front of the powerful woman, but he was still a member of the Su Clan. He was familiar with this array, and he would be able to fill in the gap.
If he could join them, the power of the array would be doubled!
He knew Eira was still unconscious somewhere under the array, and his father and his uncles were also there.
He and his father Cailen might be at odds at the moment, but they were still family. It was impossible for Gant not to worry about him, especially now, when his help could make the difference between life and death.