The two skills collided, and the powerful shockwave made all the players fighting nearby feel the ground tremble beneath them.
The ground beneath the two combatants had become the epicenter of the explosion. Not only had a massive chunk been blasted away, but shocking cracks had spread in every direction — far beyond anything their previous exchange could compare to.
As the phantom axe and the water whips dissipated, the two stood quietly in the enormous crater. Though neither had a scratch on them, their expressions were completely different — one brimming with excitement, the other frozen in disbelief.
"This assassin actually managed to block even my strongest skill?" The half-beastwoman Zhanfu scrutinized Huowu before her, her face ashen, completely devoid of her earlier ease.
The second-tier forbidden skill she had unleashed in her burst state was powerful enough to push back even a high-tier Grand Leader. She had been utterly confident in this move, certain that no player could withstand it.
Yet Huowu — a mere assassin — hadn't used Vanish to dodge. Instead, she had fought her to a standstill. That was something Zhanfu absolutely could not accept, nor tolerate.
However, Zhanfu's skill had run its course, but Huowu's Water Bind was far from over. Water whips lashed out toward Zhanfu one after another, each carrying more force than Huowu's own strength. In an instant, six water whips descended from every direction, forcing Zhanfu to swing both axes just to defend.
For a moment, Zhanfu was pushed onto the back foot — she could only defend with no room to counterattack.
"Amazing — she's actually suppressing Zhanfu all by herself?" Qinyin stared at Zhanfu, who had been completely forced onto the defensive, her heart filled with indescribable astonishment. She never imagined Huowu could reach such a level.
In the distance, Luanshi Kuangfa's eyes went wide as well, unable to believe that Zhanfu — who had been slaughtering their Dongwu Dynasty just moments ago — was now reduced to nothing but defense.
And it wasn't just Zhanfu who was losing ground. The other members of Death God Studio were now locked in desperate combat as well. Despite Zero Wing having barely more than ten people, Death God Studio's members were completely outmatched, falling one after another.
Just moments after Huowu had gained the upper hand over Zhanfu, the half-elf Bingyu — who had remained still until now — suddenly sprang into action. Activating her burst skill, she began chanting incantations, rapidly inscribing divine runes.
In an instant, more than twenty swords of ice materialized in the sky, raining down directly toward Huowu. At the same time, tall, thick earthen walls sprang up all around Huowu, sealing off every escape route with nowhere to dodge.
Under the dual chanting, over twenty ice swords plummeted down, leaving Huowu absolutely no space to evade.
"Break!"
Watching the ice swords hurtling toward her, Huowu abandoned her assault on Zhanfu, spinning the water whips around her body to form a defensive barrier that deflected every single ice sword, keeping them from getting anywhere close.
But Zhanfu wasn't idle at all. Her twin battleaxes hammered against the water barrier in relentless succession, carving a small gap in the defensive wall. The ice swords seized the opening, slipping through and striking directly at Huowu's blind spot.
But Huowu had no intention of dodging. She simply swung Thousand Changes in her hand, knocking the ice sword right back.
With Bingyu joining the fight, Huowu found herself suddenly pressed, having to constantly watch for ice swords stabbing toward her.
"Aren't you going to help?" Qinyin couldn't help but look at Banxia Qingcheng, Ziyan Liuyun, and the others who had been standing by the side all along without making the slightest move, and asked urgently.
She could understand them not intervening while Zero Wing's dozen or so members were keeping Death God Studio's forty-plus fighters in check, but now that Zhanfu and Bingyu had joined forces against Huowu, things would get dire if they didn't step in.
After all, Bingyu was a raid leader of Death God Studio — her combat power was absolutely on par with Zhanfu's. With the two of them fighting together, their strength would multiply. The slightest opening would mean an instant kill on Huowu.
But Qinyin's words only drew puzzled looks from Banxia Qingcheng, Ziyan Liuyun, and the others.
"Why would we go and ruin Huowu's rare adventure? Right now, Huowu is constantly refining her skills, completely immersed in this fight. Can't you see how much she's enjoying it?"
"But those two are both raid leaders of Death God Studio — the absolute top fighters in the entire studio, each capable of taking on a thousand. Even if Huowu is stronger than either of them individually, fighting two at once…"
Qinyin looked at the completely serious expressions on Banxia Qingcheng and Ziyan Liuyun's faces and nearly lost her ability to speak. Huowu was clearly on the defensive right now. A prolonged defense was bound to fail — the slightest mistake would mean she'd be taken out. Losing a bit of experience was one thing, but the real problem was that if the weapons and equipment she dropped were claimed by Zhanfu or Bingyu, the loss would be devastating. After all, given the terrifying power and speed Huowu possessed, her gear had to be extraordinary.
"Two raid leaders of Death God Studio?" Ziyan Liuyun couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Now, if four or five of Death God Studio's raid leaders attacked together, maybe this fight would actually get a little more interesting."
"Four or five of Death God Studio's raid leaders attacking together?" Qinyin was momentarily stunned, feeling that Ziyan Liuyun was being far too overconfident.