The massive creature lumbered forward, its footsteps causing the earth to tremble with its power.
Its eyes gleamed with a scarlet light, and from deep within its throat came a thunderous roar, filled with undeniable dread.
On the other side, slender shadow creatures drifted silently, dispersing like smoke, almost blending into the dust of the battlefield.
Suddenly, one of the shadow creatures shot towards Jin An with incredible speed, its sharp, knife-like arm aimed straight at his chest!
“Hiss—!”
The sound of air being sliced apart echoed as the shadow's attack was as swift as the wind, carrying an icy killing intent.
Jin An's pupils narrowed slightly, but he didn't panic. He gently raised his long saber, and the instant the shadow neared, the blade flashed with a chilling light!
“Clang—!”
The blade collided with the shadow's sharp edge, producing a grating, ear-splitting sound.
The shadow's movements momentarily froze, but Jin An keenly seized this opportunity.
His body moved forward, and the saber flashed again like lightning, accurately slicing into the core of the shadow creature!
“Pfft—!”
The shadow let out a low wail, its body beginning to crumble and dissipate like smoke, vanishing into the air.
However, Jin An's expression didn't relax in the slightest, for he sensed more shadows silently approaching.
“These guys are too fast.”
Loki's voice came from nearby as he swung his warhammer down, smashing a shadow creature that lunged at him into black fragments.
But just as he caught his breath, he discovered that the fragments were reforming into a new shape in the air.
“They… can revive?”
Loki's eyes widened as he raised his warhammer again, slamming it down with great force.
“Damn it, this is troublesome!”
“These things are more than just reviving.”
Whitebeard said in a deep voice as his long blade pierced the chest of a crustacean monster, the shockwave instantly shattering its body.
But he found that the scattered pieces of shell were quickly wriggling and reassembling. In just a few seconds, the monster was standing again!
“They… are practically immortal.”
Whitebeard's expression became even more solemn as he snorted coldly.
“Now this is getting interesting.”
At the same time, in the distant ruins, Issho sensed the movements of these creatures, and slowly drew half of his sword again.
He raised his head slightly, a cold glint flashing in his white pupils:
“This aura is beyond simple manipulation.
Im… has indeed made a deeper move.”
The air grew heavier, and everyone could feel the silent pressure constantly increasing, while the creatures advanced towards the battlefield seemingly without end.
Jin An's gaze was stern as he gripped his long saber, saying in a low voice:
“Don't panic, they may not be truly invincible.”
“Then tell me, how do we win against these things?”
Loki brandished his warhammer, his tone tinged with impatience.
His attacks were powerful, but the creatures' ability to reassemble was truly a headache.
Jin An's gaze narrowed slightly as he quickly scanned the battlefield, rapidly analyzing the characteristics of these creatures in his mind:
“They're not immortal; it's that their cores haven't been destroyed.
Their shells and shadows are distractions; their real weakness might be hidden where we can't see it.”
“Core?”
Whitebeard chuckled coldly, sweeping his long blade and forcing back a group of crustacean monsters.
“Then we'll smash them until they can't revive anymore!”
Jin An nodded, his feet moving as he instantly darted towards the shadow creatures.
His blade flashed with extreme speed, the saber energy like a rainbow, scattering the shadows in front of him.
But his gaze was fixed on the scattered fragments, searching—searching for the source of their revival!
“I see it…”
Jin An's eyes suddenly sharpened as he caught a glimpse of an extremely faint light flashing across the ground the instant the shadows scattered.
“That's their core!”
Jin An roared, his body shooting towards the light like an arrow, his blade raised high, and then slamming down!
“Boom—!”
Accompanied by a loud bang, the light was struck by the blade, followed by a shrill scream from the shadow creatures on the entire battlefield.
Their bodies began to crumble and dissipate like shattered mirrors.
“Just as I thought!”
Jin An's eyes were sharp as he quickly turned around, locking onto the next target.
“Find the core, and we can completely eliminate them!”
Loki and Whitebeard, upon hearing this, immediately adjusted their fighting styles and began to search with all their might for the cores of those crustacean monsters and shadow creatures.
As one core after another was destroyed, those once-invincible killing machines gradually weakened, and the tide of battle slowly began to turn.
But at this moment, Im's low laughter came from deep within Pangaea Castle:
“You are quite clever… but the real show hasn't even begun yet.”
Her voice was soft, but it was like an icy blade piercing everyone's heart.
Above the battlefield, the storm gathered again, as if an even greater crisis was descending!
In the depths of Pangaea Castle, in that space shrouded in shadow, Im sat alone on the throne, the mirror reflecting the scene of the battlefield.
Flames and smoke intertwined as Jin An and the others fought fiercely with the newly released monsters, the ground already scarred and desolate.
And all of this, in her eyes, was nothing more than a highly entertaining drama, a farce performed solely for her amusement.
Suddenly, the corners of her mouth curled slightly, revealing an almost imperceptible smile.
This smile was faint and strange, and seemed extremely out of place with her cold face.
Even when this smile appeared on her face, she herself did not realize it.
How long had it been since she had last smiled?
Even she herself could not remember.
It seemed that from the moment she ascended to this throne, time had lost its meaning to her, and smiles, as a "useless emotional expression" of humans, had long been buried deep in her memory.
Yet at this moment, watching Jin An and the others desperately fighting, watching those creatures being destroyed one by one, reassembled, and then destroyed again, she actually smiled for the first time in ages.
The smile started as a gentle twitch at the corners of her mouth, then slowly widened, and finally turned into genuine laughter.
In that laughter there was irony, contempt, and a hint of imperceptible appreciation.
“How amusing…”
Im said softly, her voice low and gentle, with a casual playfulness.
“These people, they've actually managed to hold out until now.”
She stood up and slowly strolled to the huge mirror, her fingers gently gliding over the edge of the mirror surface, as if touching a rare treasure.
Her eyes were fixed on Jin An's stern face in the mirror, Whitebeard's wild laughter, and Loki's fearless roar.
She tilted her head slightly, a hint of deeper meaning in her smile.
“What lovely struggles, what tenacious performances.”
She sighed softly, her voice filled with an unspeakable delight.
“It's been too long since I've been this happy, I should really thank you.”
This was not sarcasm.
She was genuinely happy—a long-lost emotion that even she herself found unfamiliar.
Those false smiles and ceremonial expressions were meaningless in her world.
And now, this heartfelt smile surfaced uncontrollably on her face.
...
