Chapter 105: The Fusion and Mutation of the Evil God

“I have already seen your fate...” A hoarse female voice echoed from within the transparent crystal. The girl, now transformed into a dark deity inside the crystal, slowly rose to her feet. As she moved, the surrounding crystal contracted, molding itself into a suit of crystal armor that clung tightly to her body.

“Pretentious tricks.” Seeing the crystal on the girl’s body transform into armor and no longer blocking attacks, Wen Hui was the first to lose patience and launched an assault. However, despite her impulsiveness, she was wise enough not to get close; instead, she unleashed a hurricane spiral spear from a distance—a violent miniature whirlwind aimed at the dark deity girl.

Silently and without a trace, Wen Hui’s attack caused no disturbance. The fierce whirlwind strangely vanished as it neared the girl—no, it wasn’t disappearing but being absorbed by her.

“Ice Lance Pierce.” Seeing Wen Hui’s attack fail, Zhuang Xiaoyuan summoned several ice spears aimed at the dark deity girl. If it was just wind being absorbed, that was one thing. But when facing Zhuang Xiaoyuan’s assault, the girl showed no reaction at all. The moment the ice spears touched her crystal armor, they too vanished mysteriously, absorbed like the wind.

“Eagle Scythe.” Wind blades shaped like sickles struck the girl from the side—Man Yu Tong had joined the fight. This time, Man Yu Tong’s attack did not go in vain. Zhuang Xiaoyuan and the others watched as the wind blades shot by Man Yu Tong gradually shrank upon hitting the crystal armor. After leaving faint scratches on the armor, the blades were ultimately absorbed.

“Futile struggle.” The dark deity girl, previously indifferent to the attacks from Zhuang Xiaoyuan and Wen Hui, finally moved. In an instant, she vanished from her spot, leaving only a deep footprint behind. She reappeared behind Man Yu Tong, her praying mantis forelimbs curling like the scythe of death toward her.

“Steel Wings.” Man Yu Tong’s pupils constricted slightly, shocked by the girl’s speed. She had no time to evade and instantaneously reinforced the massive eagle feather wings on her back, enveloping all exposed skin in their protective embrace.

“Boom.” A fierce roar erupted as a shallow crater formed beneath them, feathers scattered about. Man Yu Tong lay wounded in the pit, a trickle of bright red seeping from the corner of her mouth. Though her wings had shielded her body, the dark deity’s strike still dealt heavy damage. Not only was internal injury caused by the shock, but one of her once whole wings was now broken in half.

“Senior Yu Tong.” The close-quarters battle was brief but decisive. Zhuang Xiaoyuan and Wen Hui barely reacted before Man Yu Tong collapsed, battered and bleeding.

“The first one.” The cold, hoarse voice issued from the dark deity girl’s lips. Having just felled Man Yu Tong, she vanished into the air again, reappearing before Zhuang Xiaoyuan.

“Spiral Ice Shield.” Zhuang Xiaoyuan instinctively chose defense, summoning a clockwise-spinning ice shield to block in front of her.

“Heh.” A mocking grin crossed the girl’s black-and-red face. She disappeared once more before Zhuang Xiaoyuan and appeared behind Wen Hui. Her praying mantis forelimbs slashed horizontally toward Wen Hui’s waist, aiming to cleave her in two.

“Ring of the East Wind.” Just as the dark deity girl appeared behind Wen Hui, as if anticipating it, a gentle breeze around Wen Hui suddenly turned fierce, swirling and coiling to form a flowing armor of wind around her.

“Take this—Ice Shield Spiral!” At the same moment Wen Hui activated the Ring of the East Wind armor, Zhuang Xiaoyuan hurled her ice shield—once a defensive barrier—spinning toward the dark deity girl.

This was the tacit understanding forged through years of rivalry and banter, a testament to their growing battle experience. Without a word, Zhuang Xiaoyuan and Wen Hui executed a seamless, silent coordination. Yet...

“Naïve.” The praying mantis forelimb that had been aimed at Wen Hui twisted mid-swing and struck the spinning ice shield instead. Upon contact, the shield rapidly shrank and vanished, absorbed into the dark deity’s energy. While redirecting her forelimb’s strike, the girl’s powerful right leg kicked toward Wen Hui, who was still protected by the Ring of the East Wind.

Though the kick did not breach the wind shield, the impact, like a force traveling through a mountain, surged through the breeze and struck Wen Hui herself. With a sharp crack, Wen Hui was flung far away, crashing into a distant tavern. The already battered building collapsed with a thunderous roar, burying Wen Hui beneath the rubble.

“Wen Hui.” The shock was palpable—no one expected a king-class dark deity, after merging with an earth-digging demon, to become so formidable, possessing its own battle intelligence. In a blink, Man Yu Tong was grievously wounded and fell, Wen Hui was sent flying, and the girl’s speed far surpassed that of all others. Now, she attacked the last remaining one in the air, Zhuang Xiaoyuan.

“Brilliant blue crystal, reflective white crystal.” A warm yet worried voice suddenly sounded. A blue, square crystal barrier appeared beside Zhuang Xiaoyuan, shielding her within. Then, a white crystal barrier rose within the blue one, forming a second layer of protection.

“Crack, boom.” The dark deity’s scythe-like forelimb struck the blue crystal, briefly pausing before shattering it and continuing to strike the white crystal barrier. The force reflected within the white crystal resisted, interacting to finally halt the girl’s attack and repel her.

“Blazing Slash.” A red flame blade materialized, slashing toward the dark deity. Simultaneously, a black figure suddenly appeared on the other side of the girl, plunging a dagger into her back: “Fatal strike.”

After painfully holding off the newborn dark deity for several seconds, though at the cost of one injured and one knocked away, the rest of the Guardian squad finally arrived. Previously hidden within the south city gate, waiting to ambush the earth-digging demon, they had been too far from Zhuang Xiaoyuan and the others to provide timely support. Now, all the Guardians had assembled.

“Hahaha, come on, all of you! Let’s go to hell together!” Facing the encirclement, the dark deity girl suddenly erupted into manic laughter. Her praying mantis forelimbs swung rapidly, shattering the fiery blade launched by Huaze into tiny sparks that she absorbed into herself. At the same time, a black shadow extended from her own, slender and sinuous—the unmistakable tail of the earth-digging demon—whipping toward Wang Mingyue, who stood behind her.