On the hard, iron-like ground that had been scorched black, the ice grenade's effect instantly turned everything white, cold air billowing outward.
The Blazing Serpent Woman's snake tail was firmly frozen to the ground, unable to move. A flash of fury crossed her enchanting face as she raised her right hand and pointed it straight at Shi Feng.
A massive surge of violent fire elements gathered beneath her delicate fingertip.
This was the Blazing Serpent Woman's Flame Burst skill—a continuous attack with a two-second cast time that dealt devastating fire damage. It could instantly wipe out even a top-tier tank at full health, and even with the Blessing of the Blazing Sun, the damage would still be severe.
Watching the flames on the Serpent Woman's fingertip grow more and more ferocious, Shi Feng immediately activated Sword Control Return to Heaven, his eyes locked on the exact moment Flame Burst would fire, while simultaneously hurling Blazing Flying Star attacks to try to interrupt or delay the ability.
Magic attacks weren't undodgeable, but the timing had to be precise—whether you dodged one second too early or one second too late, you could still get hit. Magic attacks had a lag advantage: the caster could read the enemy's movements before committing. Dodging prematurely actually made you more likely to get hit; the best window came the instant the magic was launched.
But once magic was fired, its speed was tremendous, making evasion extremely difficult.
Of course, if a player's movement speed vastly outpaced the enemy's, making it impossible to track or aim, that was a different story. But against a Lord-level Blazing Serpent Woman, it was best not to count on that.
Blazing Flying Stars struck again and again, producing a string of damage numbers—743, 1502, 751, 749. The damage looked fierce, but against a Blazing Serpent Woman with 500,000 HP, it was barely a scratch. On top of that, her terrifying combat health regeneration meant Shi Feng wasn't making any real progress. However, the knockback effect did trigger occasionally, briefly interrupting the Flame Burst channel.
"I shall sear your soul with divine fire," the Blazing Serpent Woman declared with an icy smile. Her fingertip suddenly blazed with a blinding white radiance that illuminated the entire cavern, the temperature surging several times over as though a miniature sun had appeared.
In an instant, searing white beams of flame shot from her fingertip.
One after another, they sprayed out like a heavy machine gun on full auto, a relentless stream of white fire.
The moment the beams launched, Shi Feng began dodging. But he was a fraction too late—one beam clipped him, reducing Sword Control Return to Heaven's block count by one.
Though the first beam hit him, he evaded the second and third, the searing light grazing past his clothes and slamming into the rock wall behind him.
Boom boom boom…
The iron-hard basalt wall might as well have been made of water. The beams bored clean through it, carving a tunnel roughly a meter wide and dozens of meters deep. Even more shocking, the tunnel's walls were polished smooth, gleaming and translucent with a metallic sheen.
All of this was caused by those searing white beams.
If not for Sword Control Return to Heaven's protection, Shi Feng would have been reduced to steam. And even if he'd survived that, there would have been a human-shaped tunnel bored through the iron-hard rock wall.
Though this wasn't Shi Feng's first time witnessing it, the sheer destructive power still sent chills down his spine every time.
This was the power of a High Lord.
Fighting a High Lord was no ordinary battle—it was a superhuman clash capable of reshaping the very terrain around them.
After the barrage of Flame Burst subsided, Sword Control Return to Heaven's block count had been fully depleted. But the Blazing Serpent Woman had calmed down considerably as well, and since she was still frozen by Shi Feng's ice grenades, she resorted to drawing her bow and firing flaming arrows instead.
Compared to Flame Burst, dodging these fire arrows was far easier.
Shi Feng could consistently evade the flaming arrows while returning fire with Blazing Flying Stars, gradually wearing down the Blazing Serpent Woman's HP. But she wasn't stupid—she dodged too. However, with her body locked in ice, her evasive options were severely limited.
98%