Yan Chaoyue's current intention was not to drive the Phoenix Thorn deeper into the Destroyer's chest wound, but rather to pull it out from his body. Her aim was to ensure that more energy from within the Destroyer's body could gush out through his wound, allowing Yan Chaoyue to convert more of the lost energy into replenishment for herself.
The Destroyer naturally understood this logic. Thus, as Yan Chaoyue attempted to extract the Phoenix Thorn, he turned his attack towards her once again. Under the control of the Destroyer, several tentacles swiftly broke free from the suppression of King Earl and his two companions, rushing towards Yan Chaoyue. However, these tentacles' objective was not to continue attacking Yan Chaoyue's shield but to entangle her entirely and bind her tightly to the Destroyer.
The reason for the Destroyer's actions was simple. Since the incident at the Aelphida Grand Hotel, the Destroyer had learned that Yan Chaoyue could convert all negative energies, including the Maeling energy, into replenishment for herself. Therefore, allowing Yan Chaoyue to succeed now would not only cause the Destroyer to lose more power but also increase the risk of her inflicting greater harm. Hence, while continuing to endure against King Earl and his group, the Destroyer must find a way to eliminate Yan Chaoyue, the greatest potential threat.
"Die! Just die!" the Destroyer snarled viciously. Despite enduring intense pain in his chest, he gathered his strength and locked the dagger within his chest muscles, while controlling several tentacles to pierce through the cracks in Yan Chaoyue's shield and embed deeply into her back.
Unfazed by the wounds inflicted upon her body, Yan Chaoyue ignored the tentacles attempting to penetrate her back and focused entirely on pulling the Phoenix Thorn out of the Destroyer's chest. Simultaneously, she concentrated all her energy on converting the energy overflowing from the Destroyer's chest into usable power for herself.
However, Yan Chaoyue soon encountered another issue. Her current severe injuries prevented the absorbed energy from healing her or boosting her strength effectively. Instead, it burdened her already weakened body further. Worse still, her inability to stabilize the absorbed energy led to its leakage from her wounds, causing secondary damage.
Consequently, Yan Chaoyue had to temporarily halt her plan of extensive energy absorption. Instead, she focused on consolidating her body with a small amount of absorbed energy while combating the tentacles that were burrowing deeper into her. She planned to gradually increase her energy absorption afterward. However, before doing so, Yan Chaoyue transferred all forcibly extracted energy into the Yin Spirit Realm Battle Armor to ensure it continued to provide her with strong protection. This would enable her to withstand direct confrontation with the Destroyer for a while longer.
With Yan Chaoyue tightly entangled by the Destroyer's tentacles, both engaged in a close combat where each inflicted injuries upon the other. As the Destroyer exerted more force, the Phoenix Thorn stuck in his chest became increasingly difficult to remove. Therefore, Yan Chaoyue simply gripped the Phoenix Thorn tighter, charging her armor with the dagger while trying to rotate it to inflict greater damage upon the Destroyer.
Despite enduring excruciating pain from his chest wound, the Destroyer refused to relent. He continued to resist the pressure exerted by King Earl and his companions while countering Yan Chaoyue's attacks, commanding as many tentacles as possible to retaliate against her, aiming to leave her riddled with wounds as a form of vengeance.
"Annie, hold on! I'll find a way to rescue you! Damn this Destroyer! I'll make him pay!" Watching tentacles converge from all directions onto Yan Chaoyue's shield and those that had already deeply embedded into her body, King Earl anxiously reassured her.
"Earl, you must hang in there too! If something happens to me, you'll have to take care of our child!" Yan Chaoyue replied with a painful smile to King Earl, her voice weakened.
"No! Annie, don't say such pessimistic things! You're the most powerful priestess I've ever known! You'll be fine! We will defeat the Destroyer and wipe out those damned Mastanians! After winning this battle, we'll take the children for a walk by the seaside! Oh yes! We'll also bring them to meet their grandparents!" King Earl encouraged Yan Chaoyue. However, anyone could hear the lack of confidence in his voice as he expressed these aspirations in the face of their dire circumstances.
King Earl naturally understood that making optimistic promises in such critical moments was ill-advised, as it often led to unfulfilled outcomes according to mystical principles. Yet, he also knew that facing their current bleak situation, if he did not articulate his hopeful visions for the future now, they might forever lose this opportunity.
"Chaoyue! We're here!" Just as Yan Chaoyue and King Earl III were contemplating the current situation and thinking about communicating their last wishes to each other, the voice of Dao Lao suddenly rang in Yan Chaoyue's ears.
Yan Chaoyue strained to turn her head towards the sound and saw a flying shuttle speeding towards her amidst the torrential rain of destruction. However, what caught Yan Chaoyue's attention the most at this moment was not Dao Lao standing at the bow of the shuttle, gracefully forming an impenetrable shield with his magnificent staff, but Dream Jia at the stern, skillfully maneuvering the shuttle to evade the rain of destruction. In the middle of the shuttle, half kneeling, was Haoyun, aiming her Life Equality at Yan Chaoyue.
In fact, just as Yan Chaoyue and the Destroyer were engaged in a fierce close-quarters battle, Haoyun finally convinced Dao Lao and Dream Jia to agree to her plan to mobilize the Mold Spirit energy within her body to launch the Hunting Bullet. Together, they helped Haoyun strengthen her mental power as much as possible, ensuring that nothing unexpected would happen when she forcefully used the Mold Spirit energy. Then, the three immediately requisitioned the swiftest shuttle of the Yongmu people and sped towards Yan Chaoyue entangled in combat with the Destroyer. They prepared to find a perfect angle and accurately deliver the Hunting Bullet into the wound in the Destroyer's chest.
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"Sister Chaoyue, move aside!" After the shuttle flew a considerable distance forward at high speed, Haoyun suddenly signaled loudly. Yan Chaoyue understood Haoyun's intent in an instant and immediately prepared to expose the Destroyer's wound.
However, the Destroyer had already suffered twice from the pain of the Hunting Bullet before, which made him constantly vigilant against Haoyun and the others. Therefore, how could the Destroyer not notice the obvious actions of Haoyun and her companions? Moreover, the Destroyer was also afraid of any unexpected events that might be triggered if he was hit by the Hunting Bullet again. Even if the Hunting Bullet couldn't cause any harm to the Destroyer, he was determined not to endure such an attack again.
Therefore, the Destroyer quickly moved to bind Yan Chaoyue tightly with his tentacles before she could move aside, constantly adjusting his position to ensure that Yan Chaoyue remained in front of him.
"That despicable bastard of a Destroyer! By doing this, I can't aim at his vitals!" Haoyun exclaimed in frustration upon seeing the situation.
"Dream Jia! Can you find a better angle?" Dao Lao asked hastily upon seeing the situation.
"Unless we can circle around to his back or side, and then wait for an opportunity to open fire!" Dream Jia replied somewhat helplessly.
Obviously, the Destroyer would never voluntarily expose his own weaknesses. With things as they were, Haoyun and her companions had no choice but to find another opportunity to launch the Hunting Bullet. But to do so, they would have to fly outside the canopy shield. However, with the battle armor protection almost lost, once Haoyun and her companions left the canopy shield, they would be completely exposed to the attacks of the three-tier array. In such a situation, even Haoyun couldn't guarantee that she could withstand the attacks of the out-of-control array with just her own divine shield, while also withstanding the Destroyer's attacks.
"Uncle Dao! Please don't come over! You can't withstand the double attack of the Rain of Destruction and the Crimson Poison Mist Array! Doing so is no different from suicide!" Yan Chaoyue shouted sharply, stopping Haoyun and the others who were eager to fly out of the canopy shield.
"But I promised your father that even at the cost of my life, I would take you back to the City of Spirits!" Dao Lao insisted.
While Yan Chaoyue continued to struggle to free herself from the Destroyer's restraint so that she could give Haoyun the opportunity to launch the Hunting Bullet, she said firmly, "It's useless, Uncle Dao. It's too late. The way things are going now, my time limit will come soon. I have no chance to go back. The only thing I can do now is to find a way to take the Destroyer on the road!"
Upon hearing Yan Chaoyue's words, Haoyun and the other two were shaken to their cores and immediately shouted in unison, "Chaoyue, don't do something foolish! Find a way to move aside! Let us deal with the Destroyer! You'll be fine!"
In truth, Haoyun and her companions were well aware that if Yan Chaoyue hadn't just absorbed some energy from the Destroyer's wound to suppress her injuries, she might have been critically endangered with her body pierced by over a dozen tentacles. Furthermore, with no support from the Spirit Realm available to them now, even if Haoyun and the others managed to save Yan Chaoyue at this moment, given her current injuries, they could do nothing more than watch as she succumbed step by step due to the severity of her wounds. Despite this grim reality, Haoyun and her companions couldn't simply watch Yan Chaoyue perish. They had to find some way to summon a bit of luck that had favored them slightly in critical moments before.
Thinking this, Dao Lao gritted his teeth once again and said stubbornly, "Chaoyue, trust me! You'll be fine! We will find a way to bring you back to the City of Spirits!"
"Ah, Uncle Dao! If you still want me to acknowledge you as my uncle, please listen to your niece's advice! Do you really want to risk Dream Jia and Haoyun's lives as well just to rescue a dying person like me? Our current mission is to save the Yongmu people, and everyone is sacrificing their lives for it. But Uncle Dao, why do you only consider personal emotions and not the bigger picture? Your selfish behavior is shameful, almost like a dereliction of duty as a high priest!" Seeing Dao Lao still recklessly charging towards the Destroyer despite her admonition, Yan Chaoyue, helpless, had to criticize him severely from the perspective of the responsibilities that a high priest must bear.
Of course, Yan Chaoyue was well aware that her uncle Dao Lao was not a selfish person and placed great importance on his own feelings. Therefore, Yan Chaoyue's strong words of self-blame towards Dao Lao were not meant as a true criticism, but rather as a way to make him calmly reevaluate the current situation and make the most rational decision.
At the same time, Yan Chaoyue didn't forget to remind Dao Lao of the admonitions he had given her. As a priest of the Spirit Realm, especially as Judge Yan's child, one must always remember the responsibilities they bear. When facing the greater good of all beings, one must learn to set aside personal desires for the greater good. Even if it means going through fire and water, as long as it ensures peace and tranquility in the Spirit Realm, one should not hesitate. Her brother had already upheld this commitment, fulfilling the honor of being Judge Yan's child and safeguarding the honor of the City of Spirits and the entire Spirit Realm. Therefore, as Judge Yan's daughter, she must follow in her brother's footsteps, defending her family's honor and fulfilling her role as a priest, as well as the promise she made as the Queen of Yongmu.
It must be said that Yan Chaoyue's reasoning left Dao Lao with no counterarguments. Dao Lao clearly understood that Yan Chaoyue's next actions were not out of coercion but out of duty. Since the beginning of the Divine War, how many priests had shed blood and sacrificed their lives on the battlefield to defeat the Mouldling Energy? They made these choices to maintain peace and tranquility in the Spirit Realm while living up to their own identities and not disappointing others' expectations.
Thinking of these things, Dao Lao fell silent. Instead of speaking, he looked reluctantly at Yan Chaoyue and made a gesture to Dream Jia to stop advancing. Similarly determined, Haoyun gritted her teeth and continued to aim at the Destroyer with the Equalizing Staff, searching for the perfect opportunity to open fire.