Chapter 392: Chapter 391: Afterimage
In an instant, the number of ice crystal filaments growing on Anna’s body exploded, intertwining tightly like millions of writhing worms to form a blue human silhouette that would make anyone with a severe fear of clusters scream and faint.
Inside the orb of ice, the plump and cumbersome humanoid figure maintained a seated posture, slowly rising and floating up from the wheelchair as countless thin shards of ice rapidly condensed around it, whirling madly.
In most anime, comics, novels, and video games, an enemy suddenly changing their appearance almost always signifies "switching battle modes," "entering a second phase," "lifting restrictions," or a "surge in combat power." During such transformations, opponents typically stand by, motionless, admiring the entire sequence, utterly indifferent to the prospect that the enemy might pulverize them once the transformation is complete.
Unfortunately, Anna’s post-transformation appearance was horrifying, nowhere near as lovely as the transformation sequences in "Sailor Moon." Moreover, Li Ang was no delicate-hearted creature with a penchant for watching beautiful girls transform.
With a flicker of the Divine Mark on the back of his hand, the two gasoline drum-shaped Burner Worms instantly stopped spraying flames. They turned to their sides and rolled forward. Just as they were about to collide with the ice orb, their chubby bodies violently sprang, sticking to either side of the orb. The two Burner Worms rapidly inflated like balloons, swelling into spheres, and then, with a deafening roar, detonated!
Blinding flames shot into the sky. The shockwave from the explosion, visible to the naked eye, shattered the icicles hanging from the clerestory windows at the edge of the hall over ten meters away and blew away the snowflakes drifting throughout the palace. The yellow-green chlorine gas that had accumulated on the ground was completely dispersed by the blast. Before the firelight could even die down, Li Ang, in his small red form, had already plummeted from mid-air, his scythe cutting through the sky as he slashed toward the center of the smoke and dust.
The thick ice orb, having been directly hit by the Burner Worms’ sacrificial, point-blank explosion, was already severely damaged and on the verge of collapsing. Now, cleaved vertically by the scythe imbued with Ripple Energy, it shattered directly into heavy ice bricks that crashed to the ground. The scythe blade, its momentum undiminished, continued its downward arc, determined to split Anna in two.
CLANG—
Even amidst the noisy aftermath of the explosion, the sound of metal striking metal was still unmistakably clear.
Clenching the scythe’s handle, Li Ang’s expression changed dramatically. He could distinctly feel a piercing coldness traveling up the handle, penetrating his Mirage Dragon coat and chilling his body to the core. Such was the terrifying intensity of the cold that Li Ang felt as though his muscles, bones, and even his soul were about to freeze solid.
Through the haze, he caught sight of Anna’s current appearance. It was a massive, bloated, blue figure with a human outline. Its surface was covered with a dense layer of writhing, worm-like ice crystal threads. Its limbs were rudimentary half-spheres, lacking fingers or toes, and its face was extremely crude, with only three recessed holes marking the positions of its eyes and mouth.
The Frozen Monster extended a palm and firmly caught the razor-sharp edge of the scythe. Ripple Energy surged along the blade, saturating the ice, yet it only managed to slightly melt the surface of the creature’s palm.
The yellow silhouette of the Qinge Armor flashed behind the Frozen Monster as Miss Chai swung her fists, aiming straight for its head. However, as if the Frozen Monster had eyes all over its body, three ice spikes sprouted directly from its spine. They not only blocked the punch but also struck the Qinge Armor in the waist and abdomen, sending Miss Chai flying into a pillar of the Ice Crystal Palace. The pillar, as thick as a man’s embrace, snapped and collapsed, causing the entire palace to tremble.
The Frozen Monster showed no intention of looking back to assess the damage. Gripping the scythe blade with one hand, it clenched its other hand into a fist. Wreathed in howling wind and pale, cold air, the fist thundered towards Li Ang.
Princess Anna was indeed unskilled in combat; the punch, from its delivery to its angle, was clumsy and devoid of technique. But it was just too fast.
Caught off guard, Li Ang was pierced directly through the chest by the punch. A startled and confused expression remained on his face, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened.
"..."
Anna looked at Li Ang impaled on her arm, remaining silent. Becoming a Frozen Monster seemed to have significantly slowed her thinking speed. No blood spatter, no sensation of weight, nor the feeling of a true impact... The enemy I struck was a fake.
Anna was just beginning to realize this fact when Li Ang’s figure began to flicker erratically, like a black-and-white television screen losing its signal.
It was the Perfect Level Skill Scroll: "Electric Afterimage." Its Special Effect: within ten seconds of activation, if the user was attacked, an afterimage would be created at their location, and the user would enter a five-second invisibility state. Attacking or being attacked would break the invisibility. If the afterimage was attacked, it would release an Electron Vortex, creating a suction force that dragged enemies toward the vortex’s position for one second.
The last "Electric Afterimage" scroll was used up. Li Ang’s shadow flickered rapidly. A point of light as dark as ink materialized out of nowhere in its center, releasing several strands of pale blue electric current that firmly latched onto the Frozen Monster’s limbs and torso, slowly dragging her toward the point of light.
The force of the Electron Vortex was so immense that even with the Frozen Monster’s current strength, she could not break free. That brief second was enough time for Miss Chai to rise from the ruins, clutching the ice beam she had previously shattered. Activating the Petrification Special Effect of her Qinge Armor, she turned half of the beam into stone and then fiercely smashed it down onto Anna’s head!
BANG!
The stone beam hit the top of the Frozen Monster’s head and broke into two pieces again, which fell to the ground one after the other. The Ice Giant’s body wobbled, and it staggered, involuntarily dragged towards the center of the vortex.
Before the Ice Giant could regain her footing, Miss Chai, in her Qinge Armor, dived down again. This time, she was wiser, using her toes to flick up a large fragment of the stone beam from the ground. With a powerful kick, she sent the massive stone piece flying at the Ice Giant’s spine. The Frozen Monster, still struggling against the Electron Vortex and caught unprepared, was struck on the spine by the stone, sending up a shower of ice shards.
The second finally ended. The Frozen Monster was shocked to find the vortex dissipating into nothing. Meanwhile, Miss Chai, in her Qinge Armor, had stealthily approached, launching a pair of forthright assassination fists straight at the enemy’s nape.
At the same time, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed from the palace stairs. Li Ang’s teammates, having shaken off the Spellcasters on the hillside, had arrived at the Ice Crystal Palace battlefield a step ahead of the others.