Ever since their battle had begun, Enmerkar and Ganzer had been unable to get the upper hand. The latter had not only lost a significant portion of his combat power due to the loss of a limb, but he was also completely countered by Xie Mei's moonlight.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even engage in a direct confrontation, instead ambushing his foes. But he was not just unable to do so, but he also couldn't utilize his shadows to either hide in or distract her, as every place was thoroughly illuminated. Coupled with his current crippled state, it was no wonder that he couldn't put up a proper fight. If all was as normal, then he would have likely killed her in a single strike!
Enmerkar, on the other hand, had a lot of untapped potential, yet he simply hadn't had enough time to capitalize on it. His experience and training were lacking, despite his best efforts–after all, he was merely in his early twenties! No matter how hard he had worked, not too much could be achieved over those few years.
Still, in a direct clash, his pure technique and understanding vastly surpassed those of Xie Mei, therefore he should have been able to trounce her easily. But due to her having considerably higher Standard Attributes than him–as well as the home field advantage here on the moon–it was already difficult for him to avoid losing.
It was in this situation that she focused completely on taking down Ganzer, who had successfully managed to pester her a few times. Logically speaking, under the current circumstances, Enmerkar's optimal course of action would be to rush the 'node', brining hope to his father, and to his civilization.
But when he realized how determined Xie Mei was to rid herself of his best friend once and for all–not aware that he would 'only' be fully crippled, of course–all of these rational thoughts took a backseat. Before he knew it, he found himself directly between the two, blocking a ruthless thrust and being catapulted backwards, blood spraying from his mouth.
'Why didn't I just deflect it a little? I'm such an idiot!'
Mentally cursing his impulsive self, his eyes narrowed. During the short window that he had bought for Ganzer, the assassin had managed to strike back at their foe, yet she easily resolved his weak attack.
'... what are we supposed to do?! If the defences here at a single one of the nodes are this tough, then they likely will be similar at the others, too. So... is there anyone who could possibly destroy one of them?'
When his thoughts reached this point, his already somewhat pale face grew a little bit more white. He had figured out the biggest problem: That other than his uncle and father, there was likely nobody else who could help them escape from the cage that they had been put in. But... Shara's current status was unknown.
'I hope Father will be able to rescue him. Then, the two of them can spread out and take care of all of these nodes. For now, it would be ideal if we can defeat this maiden as quickly as possible, but buying time and attempting to get her to drain all of her Energy reserves is also a valid option. After all, it's two versus one.'
Understanding this, he exchanged a quick glance with Ganzer, signalling to him that they would be playing the long game. Fortunately, they had trained together frequently enough to enable such nigh-imperceptible communication on the battlefield.
Although he felt like he had made the optimal choice, the small smirk that had played across the enemy beauty's face when she had figured out what they were attempting to do had given him a bad feeling. Yet seeing how they had been unable to overwhelm her when they had tried their hardest, this was clearly the best thing that they could do.
Ten minutes later, he deeply regretted his decision. Despite having reduced their own Energy expenditure to a minimum, exchanging thousands of attacks every few seconds eventually added up, leading them further and further towards utter exhaustion. To the two of them, every mistake could prove fatal, whereas their foe had far more room to manoeuvre and slip up.
To their horror, the two found that due to Xie Mei having vaster Dantians than them, as well as the ability to utilize the ambient Energy via her resonance with the moon, they simply couldn't wear her out! Instead, it was the two of them who slowly but surely lost their ability to resist.
More and more wounds had accumulated on their bodies, and by now, it was difficult for them to even think of escaping. Breathing heavily, the two glared at Xie Mei with bloodshot eyes, trying to counter her moves to the best of their ability.
It was at this time that Enmerkar got a little bit light-headed for a split second–but that was all that his foe had required. When he came to again, he felt a searing pain at his right shoulder and staggered, tilting a little towards the left. A considerable weight was missing, and a significant amount of blood was bursting out of him–he had lost his right arm!
"Dammit!"
Cursing through gritted teeth, he hastily avoided another slash, but this point marked the beginning of his downfall. Despite cauterizing the wound as usual, the blood loss was adding up, and his strength waning. Soon after, his left arm was lost, then his legs followed.
By the time that he found himself helplessly rolling around on the floor, trying to get up, Ganzer had also joined him down there, presently consisting of merely a torso and a head. Hopelessness and gloom warped their features, yet they were more so confused.
'Why hasn't she killed us? What is she planning to do!?'
Distraught, Enmerkar and Ganzer eyed the dangerous beauty, not sure whether to anticipate a swift end, or to yearn for continued survival. But Xie Mei didn't give them much time to wallow in their misery.
Not leaving them hanging, she went up and knocked them out, then tightly wrapped them up in specifically prepared ropes until they couldn't move a single muscle any longer. Making them swallow a few alchemical concoctions which Theodore had casually made, she caused them to enter a deep state of slumber.
"Phew, that should allow me to rest for a little while."
Wiping the sweat off of her forehead, she showed a radiant smile and admired her work. Naturally, the confrontation with these two had been anything but a cakewalk for her, especially mentally. With minutes–or possibly hours–of well-earned quiet to look forward to, she was obviously in a great mood.
Having been forced to put a lot of her training into practice had allowed her to grow by leaps and bounds. If the current her were to go back in time to before the beginning of this clash, then she would easily bring a far swifter end to it all. But even more importantly...
'I haven't failed my mission!'
Giggling happily, she told everyone the great news, then eagerly anticipated her lover wrapping up everything on his end.
-----
Staring at the white-haired young man in front of him, Shara remained silent for a while, then he heaved an extremely pained, despairing sigh. Within moments, it felt as if he had aged by two decades, the previously abundant life force which he had been exuding now withering away.
Over the course of many hours, he had played a game of whack-a-mole with his enemy, charging from one scene of slaughter to the next. All the while, his troops and military fortifications had been constantly and rapidly eliminated. Then, when he had finally 'caught up' with this young man, he had been trapped and encased in some sort of indestructible ice!
From this point onwards, all that he could do was to spread out his perception and witness the fall of every single one of his soldiers, Generals and Grand Generals whilst being utterly incapable of intervening.
"Did you do all of this to deliberately torture me?"
Tilting his head a little, Theodore had a serene smile on his lips. The eradication of so many lives hadn't disturbed him in the slightest. Feeling a bit generous and currently not particularly pressed for time, he chose to clear up the 'old' man's doubts.
"Of course not, I simply wanted to leave the best until the very end. Any last words?"
A bit stunned by this answer, Shara's eyes widened. Only now did he realize that this youngster couldn't even be bothered to deliberately psychologically torture him. Maybe he had left him with the capability to speak and observe simply on a whim.
"... Please, spare the civilians. They've got nothing to do with our feud."
Trying to avoid a complete annihilation of his people, Shara uttered these words after careful contemplation, then closed his eyes. While it couldn't be said that he was at peace and willing to meet his end, he knew that he had done all that he could. Now, it was time to await his death.
"Sure. I never planned to involve them anyway, as you've no doubt noticed. After all, they're of use to me. May you rest in peace, and better luck next time."
Nodding slightly, Theodore waited until a relieved smile had spread on Shara's face, then he instantly froze his body and soul, obliterating them on the spot. Looking at him in silence for a while and paying an ounce of respect to this considerably proficient, accomplished figure, he eventually shattered the 'ice sculpture', annihilating his fallen enemy completely.
He wasn't one to needlessly trample on others, as he didn't rejoice in it. Obviously, he could appreciate individuals who had grown to impressive heights despite their fetters, whether those be a low Energy concentration or lesser Talents–or both, like in this case.
'I'll look at the notifications later. It's about time for the main course to arrive!'
Staring into the Lesser True Void, he analysed the very vague impressions that he could gather from the Sealing Array which he had laid out. It wasn't exactly made for surveilling the void, therefore he could merely get a rough idea. But that alone already enabled him to estimate the Imperator's movements pretty well.
The location that he was currently at had been carefully arranged by him. It was the furthest away from any and all regular mortals and should allow for a more unrestricted exchange of blows. Naturally, he had evacuated most of the area himself, as doing so didn't take him long–after all, he had a certain ace up his sleeve.
His Intraworld Teleportation Talent could technically be activated by any part of him, and he didn't have to transport his whole being. All of the Energy under his control could also be considered to be a fragment of himself, allowing him to use it to teleport others around.
The sole caveat to it all was that the ones who he wanted to move to a different place had to be 'willing'. Well, swaying the minds of regular people could easily be achieved by manipulating them with his Energy, his soul, or even his will. In the face of a strong cultivator, 'free will' was nothing but a joke–at least to beings far weaker than them.
Should most of the world be teetering on the brink of collapse, then he could still relocate all people to the remaining safe havens, allowing him to not worry about 'wasting their lives' too much.
'There he is.'
His smile widening, he finally caught a glimpse of the regal figure hurrying towards his location. Before the man could collide with his miniature Lesser Void Sealing Array, he casually dispelled it completely, allowing for free passage.
This caused his prey's expression to change drastically, as the ruler instantly realized what this meant: He was too late to save anybody. Now, it was up to the two of them to decide the final victor.
'Not that there is much suspense.'