Dual Kings Assault: The Team's True Test
Before the group could even recover from the shock of Rhea Medusa instantly subduing Thunder Wing, Radiant Tiger and Forest Bear charged forward in towering rage! Radiant Tiger's entire body erupted with blinding light, like a moving miniature sun, and opened its maw to unleash a space-melting white-hot light lance! Forest Bear roared, launching countless metallic-glinting thorn spikes like a rain of steel while its massive vine-wrapped arms smashed downward with mountain-crushing force!
"Stick to the plan! TISK, Kayla—hold Radiant Tiger! Zhamisi, Salsa—take Forest Bear! Yuyuer—counter the light lances! Celestia—guerrilla strikes! Arya—long-range suppression! Rex—control the field!" Fa's commands rang out clear and swift, like a conductor leading a battlefield symphony.
"Leave it to me!" TISK roared. The Earthshaker Warhammer blazed with dazzling red-blue light. His stocky frame exploded with strength far beyond his size as he fearlessly met Radiant Tiger's light lance head-on!
"Ice-Fire Bastion!"
The warhammer slammed into the ground. A massive wall of interwoven ice crystals and roaring flames rose instantly!
SIZZLE—BOOM!
The searing white light lance collided violently with the ice-fire barrier, erupting in blinding radiance and deafening thunder! Ice layers vaporized instantly, flames scattered, and deep cracks spiderwebbed across the wall—but it successfully deflected the lance's trajectory, sending it crashing into the ground beside them and blasting out a huge crater. TISK was driven back several steps by the massive recoil, blood bursting from his split tiger's mouth, yet he gritted his teeth and held his position directly in front of Radiant Tiger.
"ROAR!" Kayla transformed into her thunder-frost beast form and lunged from the flank!
"Thunder-Frost Cataclysm Claw!"
Her massive claws—wreathed in annihilating lightning and extreme frost—slashed with space-rending force toward Radiant Tiger's exposed side ribs after it fired the light lance!
BOOM! ZZZZZ!
Thunder claws clashed fiercely against Radiant Tiger's protective radiance, mutually annihilating! Frost spread madly, attempting to freeze the flowing light flames! Radiant Tiger roared in pain; its body radiance flickered chaotically. The struck area visibly dimmed, cracks spreading across its light armor. Kayla capitalized on the hit, using the rebound force to leap back and evade Radiant Tiger's furious counter-swipe.
On the other side, Zhamisi slithered at high speed across the thorn-covered ground. Her venom-fang scimitars carved dense emerald blade nets:
"Venomous Miasma Domain!"
Thick, strongly corrosive ink-green poison fog spewed from her mouth, rapidly enveloping Forest Bear's colossal body. The fog reacted violently with the bear's thick bark and thorns—hissing sounds filled the air as hard wood surfaces blackened and softened, thorn gleam dulled.
"Shadow Binding • Soul Freeze!" Salsa emerged from the shadow cast by Forest Bear. Her hands flashed through seals. The phantom of her Shadow Demon Dragon materialized behind her and unleashed a condensed breath infused with extreme cold and soul-freezing power straight at Forest Bear's head!
HISSS—!
The ice-dark breath struck true. Forest Bear's massive body stiffened violently! Its control over surrounding plants noticeably lagged; the vines covering its body took on a dull gray hue, vitality greatly reduced. Salsa's attack effectively disrupted its environmental dominance.
"Water-Mirror Refraction!" Yuyuer swung her staff. A massive water mirror appeared precisely in the path of Radiant Tiger's next light lance! The searing white lance plunged into the mirror and was cleverly redirected—straight back toward Radiant Tiger itself! The tiger roared in shock and fury, hastily twisting aside and interrupting its own assault.
"Wind-Thunder Leap • Root Sever!" Celestia's four wings vibrated. She became an elusive streak of purple lightning, darting at high speed around Forest Bear's enormous body. The Spear of True Sight flashed with thunder; each thrust precisely targeted the bear's relatively vulnerable massive root connections anchoring it to the earth, or the bases of its thick vines!
PUFF! PUFF! CRACK!
Thunder spears pierced in; lightning detonated inside! Roots snapped, vines withered! Forest Bear let out a deep, pained roar. Its colossal frame swayed slightly from damaged foundations, movements growing slower and clumsier.
"Light-Dark Armor-Piercing Arrows!" Arya stood in a relatively safe rear position, unleashing a rapid volley from her Storm Bow! Her arrows seemed alive—one wrapped in anti-magic radiance precisely struck the weakened spot on Radiant Tiger's protective light armor already torn by Kayla and eroded by TISK's ice-fire barrier; another wrapped in corrosive shadow flew toward the area on Forest Bear corroded by Zhamisi's venom fog, frozen by Salsa's shadow, and wounded at the roots by Celestia!
SIZZLE! PUFF!
Light arrows pierced light armor, triggering small-scale light explosions inside Radiant Tiger! Dark arrows sank deep into wooden wounds, igniting violent corrosion and structural collapse! Arya's arrows acted like the final straw, relentlessly expanding the openings created by her teammates.
"Nano-Swarm • Ice-Burst Lockdown!" Rex calmly directed the swarm. The drones split into two groups—one carrying frost energy laid slowing ice-burst traps around Radiant Tiger to restrict movement; the other dove toward Forest Bear, detonating ice bursts at its wounds to worsen mobility loss and structural damage.
The battle was extraordinarily fierce. Light and darkness annihilated each other; thunder and wood collided; poison corroded thorns; ice and fire roared. Though both Elemental Kings grew more heavily wounded, their cornered-beast fury only intensified. Fa stood at the center directing, her star eyes operating at lightning speed, constantly analyzing the battlefield and issuing the most precise commands. Under life-and-death pressure, the team's coordination was honed to perfection—every member's action became an indispensable link in the whole tactic.
Finally, after a grueling, desperate exchange, Kayla unleashed a full-power "Thunder-Frost Cataclysm Breaker" that completely shattered Radiant Tiger's protective radiance. Its massive body was blasted backward, light dimming like a candle in the wind. Forest Bear, meanwhile, was caught in an opening by Celestia—she leaped with wind-thunder speed to its head and drove the Spear of True Sight, carrying ten-thousand-ton thunder, straight into its heavily weakened, cracked head core!
BOOM! CRACK!
Two massive impacts rang out almost simultaneously. Radiant Tiger's light-shadow body shattered like broken glass, dissolving into countless light motes. Forest Bear's colossal frame froze in place; cracks from the core spread rapidly across its entire body until it collapsed with a thunderous crash, reduced to a lifeless heap of dead wood and broken thorns.
Thunder Wing's Submission
Dust settled. On the battlefield only the unconscious Thunder Wing and the utterly exhausted party remained.
Rhea Medusa walked over to the mountain-sized Thunder Wing sprawled on the ground. She gave its massive beak a casual, not-too-gentle kick, then raised her sword and lightly slapped its thunder-feather-covered cheek with the flat of the blade:
"Hey, stupid bird, wake up! Stop playing dead!"
Under Rhea Medusa's "rough" wake-up service, Thunder Wing's enormous body twitched. It laboriously opened its giant eyes formed of leaping thunder arcs. Its gaze was filled with pain, humiliation, and deep fear toward the terrifying being before it.
"Listen," Rhea Medusa pointed the sword tip at it, tone brooking no argument, "we're going somewhere to retrieve something. You're going to be our mount. Behave well, and I'll let you off. Try anything funny…"
She didn't finish—just gave a cold laugh. A faint, space-trembling chill passed along the blade.
Fierce unwillingness and rage flashed through Thunder Wing's eyes. As an Elemental King, its dignity instinctively urged rebellion. Yet the absolute, unfathomable suppression radiating from Rhea Medusa—like an abyss—and the soul-shivering edge at her sword tip completely crushed its will to resist. It let out a low, humiliated mournful cry. Its massive body began to shrink and reshape. Brilliant thunder light enveloped it until it transformed into a giant bird form with a wingspan over fifteen meters—composed entirely of leaping purple-white lightning—the Thunderstorm Bird. Though still majestic, the proud arrogance of a King had vanished completely, replaced only by submission and terror.
With complicated feelings (awe at Rhea Medusa's power, and a touch of sympathy for Thunder Wing's fate), the group mounted this unprecedented steed. Supported by Lin Ya, Kael carefully described the location where he had lost the leather pouch containing the star fragment:
"Right at the place where ice and fire meet! A huge glacier with lava rivers flowing along its edge… We were being chased by the Glacier Lord there and dropped it in panic when an ice spike tore the bag…"
"Ice-fire boundary? You heard him, stupid bird—lead the way!" Rhea Medusa rapped the top of Thunderstorm Bird's head with the scabbard. Thunder Wing let out a humiliated screech but dared not delay. Its massive thunder wings snapped open!
BOOM!
A thick bolt of lightning tore across the chaotic sky. Thunder Wing carried the group and transformed into a space-rending streak of thunder light, instantly plunging deeper into the violent currents of Starfall Abyss. Its speed was astonishing—even in the densest regions of void turbulence it maneuvered freely, demonstrating the innate prowess of a top-tier Elemental King. Every wingbeat came with deafening thunder and space-tearing lightning, effortlessly shattering obstructing energy currents and weaker magical beasts along the way. Yet deep in its lightning-formed eyes, humiliation and unwillingness burned like thick clouds—driving it to fly even faster, as if desperate to end this shameful errand quickly.
Starfall Tour: The Vastness and Peril of the Absolute Land
Riding atop Thunder Wing, the group finally gained a high-altitude view of Starfall Abyss—a realm ruled by chaotic laws whose scale and deadliness far exceeded imagination.
They soared over floating ice mountain clusters radiating absolute-zero cold. The icebergs were crystal clear yet exuded a terror that could freeze souls; deep within their depths, vague, ferocious outlines of frost magical beasts could be seen. Their icy gazes seemed to pierce space and land on the group. Thunder Wing prudently gained altitude and gave them a wide berth.
They skimmed over boundless seas of churning gold-red magma and belching black smoke. Scorching heat waves blasted their faces; deep in the inferno came muffled roars—flame magical beasts ten times stronger than lava elementals patrolled within. Thunder Wing accelerated through this region without daring to pause.
Most hair-raising was passing a bizarre zone of pure condensed pitch-black shadow. The area was like a black hole, devouring all light. At its edges, countless twisted, agonized demonic faces formed of shadow energy rose and fell, writhing in the darkness, emitting scalp-numbing, soul-deep mad whispers and murmurs. Merely approaching the boundary brought an icy, despairing, sanity-eroding aura.
Arya, riding on the bird's back, asked Rhea Medusa:
"That… what the hell is that place?"
Rhea Medusa lounged lazily against Thunderstorm Bird's neck and replied casually:
"Oh, the lair of the Darkness Elemental King. That guy's a complete moron—hates strangers, especially little light snacks like you." She shot Arya a teasing glance. "What? Interested in going down to say hello? I can introduce you."
Arya immediately shut her mouth, shook her head vigorously, and pressed her body lower, doing her best to suppress her aura. Thunder Wing seemed to understand Rhea Medusa's "suggestion"—its massive body gave an almost imperceptible shudder, and its flight speed surged again, putting rapid distance between them and that ominous darkness.
Thanks to Thunder Wing's profound "understanding" of Starfall Abyss's environment and dangers, it guided the group around countless hidden lethal traps and powerful magical beast territories. Under its high-speed flight, the strange ice-fire boundary Kael described finally appeared at the horizon!
Ice-Fire Deadland: The Awakening of an Old Enemy
This was a spectacle where clashing laws reached their extreme—a killing field of destruction and death.
To the left rose towering, steep ice cliffs radiating ghostly blue cold light; frigid air condensed into fine ice crystals. To the right roared churning, crimson-glowing lava rivers; searing heat waves warped space, constantly spitting deadly lava bombs. Ice and fire collided fiercely here! Cold winds battled scorching gales, forming visible, unstable twisted energy barriers that crackled and exploded nonstop. Space itself was extremely fragile—freezing one moment, melting the next.
"That's the place!" Kael pointed excitedly at a relatively stable narrow area of black heat-resistant rock piled at the glacier-lava river boundary, voice trembling:
"In the crevices of that rock pile! Back then… we were cornered by the Glacier Lord there, and the bag was torn open by an ice spike and dropped…"
Fear flashed intensely in his eyes—clearly reliving that terrifying flight.
Thunder Wing let out a low, wary cry and slowly descended onto the glacier's edge. Its thunder claws stepped onto the smooth, hard ice with faint cracking sounds. Though a Thunder Elemental King, it still harbored instinctive loathing toward the ruler of this glacier; its massive body remained tense.
"What are you scared of?" Rhea Medusa jumped down from the bird's back and rapped Thunder Wing's lowered head with the scabbard. "That ice-block idiot is probably still napping—or flirting with its old flame, that hot-tempered Volcano Lord down in the magma. No time to bother with us."
Her tone was as casual as if they were heading out for a picnic.
The group dismounted one after another. The ice beneath their feet radiated bone-piercing cold. Kayla took the lead; her thunder-frost beast form generated a faint energy field across her body, partially offsetting the dual extreme energies of ice and fire. They cautiously crossed the dangerous zone where ice and fire energies intertwined, approaching the black rock pile. Every step was taken with extreme care—resisting biting cold winds while avoiding sudden bursts of searing heat from ground fissures.
Yet just as they came within a dozen meters of the rock pile—
BOOM—RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!!
The glacier beneath them shook violently without warning! An ancient, ice-cold, boundless furious and destructive will erupted from deep within the glacier like a beast awakening after a thousand years of slumber! The psychic shock was so powerful it pierced straight through everyone's defenses, striking their souls with bone-chilling cold and suffocating oppression!
"Watch out! Something's underground!" Fa's star eyes blazed. Almost simultaneously with the psychic eruption, she shouted a warning and instantly spread a thick composite-element shield!
BOOM—CRACK CRACK CRACK!!
The ice in front of them exploded! Countless massive ice blocks were hurled skyward by an unstoppable force! An unimaginably colossal figure slowly rose from the glacier's fissure!
The Glacier Lord!
Over thirty meters long, its towering body was entirely composed of billion-year-unmelting, ghostly blue-glowing hard ice crystal! Its form resembled a giant, yet far more grotesque—joints bristling with razor ice spikes. Two balls of ghostly blue soulfire blazed within the ice crystals of its head like abyssal stares, locking onto the tiny intruders below—especially Kael! That gaze burned with endless fury, as if determined to erase their very existence from the world! Behind it, from the glacier fissures, countless pure-ice-element frost magical beasts surged forth like a tide—giant wolves, mammoths, and more—emitting synchronized, murderous low roars. Icy aura instantly blanketed the entire area!
"Hahaha! Looks like this ice block wasn't sleeping after all! Still holds a grudge!" Rhea Medusa showed not the slightest fear—instead she burst into excited laughter. Her long sword rested casually in front of her, blade pointed at the colossal figure, eyes blazing with wild battle intent.
Kael's face turned deathly pale; his body shook violently with extreme terror. Pointing at the glacier giant, his voice broke:
"It… it's him! The one that chased us back then… the Glacier Lord!"
Thunder Wing felt the Glacier Lord's undisguised terrifying pressure and let out a deeply wary low cry, instinctively retreating several steps. The lightning on its wings dimmed noticeably.
Rhea Medusa turned back, her gaze sweeping over the tense, battle-ready group before finally landing on Thunder Wing. A wild, provocative grin curled her lips:
"Hey, stupid bird—your old rival's here. How about it? Feel like teaming up with them to…"
She deliberately drew out the words, sword tip pointing at the world-destroying icy presence of the Glacier Lord.
"…beat the crap out of it?"
Fierce struggle flashed through Thunder Wing's thunder eyes. The Glacier Lord's icy soulfire also locked onto this "archenemy" and "accomplice of intruders." An old foe in front, a terrifying star behind. It let out a sharp screech mixing fear, humiliation, and finally ignited ferocity. Its massive thunder wings snapped open wide; raging lightning once again wreathed its entire body!
BOOM!
In answer to Rhea Medusa, a violent thunderbolt tore through the frozen sky!
A battle far surpassing all previous ones—one that would decide the fate of the star fragment and their very survival—exploded in this absolute deadland of ice and fire!