Chapter 234: The Realm of Stagnation

The sudden turn of events caught Qian Ye off guard, and he failed to seize the perfect opportunity to deliver a follow-up blow to Roza.

The little one still stood in place, her face full of confusion. Without time for explanations, Qian Ye shouted, “Hide!” Grabbing her by the scruff of her neck, he hurled her far away.

Roza’s gaze followed her until she vanished into the distant forest, then he turned back, fixing Qian Ye with an inscrutable look.

Qian Ye stood with his sword, staring at Roza.

“Are you challenging me to a fight?” Roza asked slowly.

“Do you think you can escape?”

“You have a point.” Roza raised his battle gun and swept it through the air, sending a beam of light shooting out over a hundred meters.

But suddenly, gray mists appeared around them, weakening the formidable beam. By the time it reached Qian Ye, its power had been halved, and he managed to block it with a swing of his sword.

Roza’s expression changed abruptly. “This domain, this kind of primordial force…”

He struck his shield and axe together, and a misty golden radiance rose around them, like countless spider webs covering the sky and earth. The domain of the Grand Marshal of the Spider Demons was renowned for its ability to blot out the sun, spanning thousands of meters in an instant.

From the looks of it, even the spatial laws within this range might have shifted, meaning Qian Ye would struggle to escape the domain’s reach even with a void blink.

More and more spider webs materialized from the void, floating down and sticking to Qian Ye. As the layers of webs increased, Qian Ye felt a strange, sticky sensation, making his movements awkward. This was Roza’s domain, the Sticky Realm.

Fortunately, the stickiness wasn’t too severe, and Qian Ye found he could still move. He tried waving his arms and legs, feeling that his movements weren’t heavily impaired. Leaping up, he charged at Roza.

Roza’s expression remained unchanged, but the Secret Sword Envoys watching from afar were all stunned.

Roza’s domain was famous in the Evernight world for its restrictive power. An ordinary Duke, once entangled in the web, would be completely immobilized. Only a Grand Duke could move, though it would be like they were in slow motion. To not be freed from the domain, one would have to engage in close combat with the Grand Marshal, and the outcome was clear to imagine.

Yet, Qian Ye, who seemed to possess the aura of both a Duke and a Grand Duke, moved freely. Roza’s domain, while not having no effect, seemed to have minimal impact on him.

Qian Ye leapt at Roza, who let out a low roar, raising his battle axe high above. With a powerful downward swing, Qian Ye was sent crashing to the ground.

Neither of them held back. The clash of axe and sword created a shockwave that flattened everything within a hundred meters. The ground where they stood sank by a meter.

Roza’s brows rose. “Great strength! Let’s see if you can handle this!”

He lifted his battle gun, not to stab, but to swing like a club, aiming for Qian Ye. With his right hand holding the sword to parry Roza’s axe, and seeing the gun swinging towards him, Qian Ye punched with his left, unleashing layer upon layer of the Mountain Splitting Force, hitting the gun head-on.

Another loud boom shook the earth. A kilometer-long chasm formed in the center of the mountain, sinking rapidly before stopping after about ten meters. The shockwave swept through the surrounding ten thousand meters, toppling ancient trees and boulders.

In the middle of the large crater, Qian Ye held the axe with one hand and the gun with the other, engaging in a test of strength with Roza.

To confront the Grand Marshal of the Spider Demons with only the bloodline of a Duke, and not be instantly crushed, was already a feat worthy of fame in the Evernight. And Qian Ye had managed to take two blows. After all, Roza was no ordinary Great Lord; his sheer physical power surpassed even Sossa and many other vampiric and demon-born lords.

Though Qian Ye’s body trembled under the immense pressure, he somehow managed to hold his ground. However, he had only two hands, while Roza in his full combat form had four arms.

Roza’s heavy shield came swooping in, smashing Qian Ye hundreds of meters away.

Not letting up, Roza pursued, his weapons swirling like a storm, pummeling Qian Ye. His free hand wasn’t idle either, striking and cutting, sometimes gripping the gun to swing it with brute force.

Qian Ye stubbornly endured, standing firm against the barrage. But when Roza brought his forward limbs into play, Qian Ye couldn’t keep up and was once again swatted away by the shield.

Landing hundreds of meters away, Qian Ye smashed into the ground, creating another deep crater. Yet, he wobbled back to his feet, shaking off the daze.

Roza’s eyes narrowed, and he said coldly, “Not even a bone broken? Impressive! Now, let’s see how you handle my secret techniques…”

Suddenly, a thud resounded, and Roza’s massive body jolted, moving a hand’s width to the side. He turned to see the little Zhuji, who had appeared from nowhere, charging and ramming into his hind leg with a shield. The collision, catching Roza off guard, made him stumble.

However, the body of a Grand Lord of the Spider Demons was immensely tough. Zhuji, though she had pushed Roza, was left dizzy from the recoil. Her heavy shield, unable to withstand the force, split open, clearly beyond repair.

Despite her own unsteady stance, Zhuji discarded the heavy shield, grabbed the great axe on her back, and swung it, delivering another strike to Roza’s limb.

Roza’s eyes flickered with a myriad of emotions, ultimately settling into a faint smile. He stood there, unmoving, allowing the little one to strike.

With the axe falling, Roza’s spider body jolted, and his eyes widened. Zhuji’s strike had actually cut through the armor on his limb, burying the axe deep.

That was Roza’s armor! The armor of the Grand Marshal of the Spider Demons was the best in the world, far tougher than any ninth or tenth-grade battle armor. Even in the fierce battle with Qian Ye, the wounds inflicted by Qian Ye’s Orichalcum Blood Sword were just a bit deeper.

Zhuji’s all-out axe strike had actually wounded Roza!

She puffed out her cheeks, using all her might to yank the axe out, raising it high for another strike.

Roza, no longer daring to underestimate her, quickly lifted his limb, sidestepping. His massive body, while imposing, had limbs that weren’t too thick. If the little one continued chopping, they might actually break, turning him into a laughingstock.

Thankfully, as Zhuji raised the axe again, it shattered, the strain from her immense strength and Roza’s resilience proving too much for the weapon.

Roza breathed a sigh of relief.

Undeterred, Zhuji lunged at him, only to collide with a giant shield, bouncing back. A large hand reached out, plucking her from mid-air.

As Roza held Zhuji, his face darkened, and he raised his heavy shield.

Orichalcum primordial force flared on the shield’s surface, and a shot, entirely crimson gold with shadowy black feathers, silently struck the shield.

The shield exploded, sending fragments flying. The ferocious blast forced Roza to take a step back.

A hundred meters away, Qian Ye spread his wings, aiming the Dragon Burial at Roza. “Let her go! Or else…”

Qian Ye paused, noticing Roza’s upper half turned, his four arms cradling Zhuji protectively. The fragments bounced off him, not harming Zhuji at all.

During the earlier clash, Qian Ye barely managed to stand, his internal organs nearly displaced by the force. When he recovered, he found Zhuji had snuck back and attacked Roza, only to be captured.

Panicked, Qian Ye fired a Primordial Shot from the Dragon Burial, which Roza deflected. Now, he realized his attack had almost hit Zhuji.

Roza turned, looking at Zhuji, who was struggling fiercely. Her every move was powerful, and even Roza found it hard to hold her.

Seeing her vitality, Roza smiled, “Stay still. I’ll explain later… Hmm?”

Unable to break free, Zhuji bit down on Roza’s hand, drawing blood.

Even for a Grand Marshal, the pain almost made him drop her. Roza tried to pry her off, but Zhuji clung on, teeth sunk deep.

Laughing bitterly, Roza activated his primordial force, fearing Zhuji might bite off a chunk of flesh. Her steel-like teeth were sharper than Roza’s axe.

Carefully, Roza finally pried her off, breathing a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a sense of danger washed over him, and he looked up.

Qian Ye descended from above, surrounded by dense gray mists, holding his sword in reverse, diving from the sky!

Recognizing Howard’s Orichalcum Blood Sword, Roza sensed a more profound danger. The now-ordinary gray blade gave him a much stronger sense of unease, even more so than if Howard himself had wielded it.

Acting on instinct, Roza shifted dozens of meters, nearly as fast as teleportation, avoiding Qian Ye’s powerful strike. Realizing his hands were empty, he saw Zhuji was back in Qian Ye’s arms.

Qian Ye, holding Zhuji, began to retreat.

“Managing to snatch her from me, truly impressive,” Roza rumbled, advancing. His massive form plowed through the gray mists, closing the distance in moments.

Qian Ye looked at the golden webs stuck to him. They limited his movements, but the gray chaotic primordial force within him converted into feather-like wisps, dispelling the webs, consuming a few in the process.

Clearly, Roza’s domain had little effect on Qian Ye.

Looking up at Roza, Qian Ye said, “I wanted a good fight, but now I have this troublesome little one. Farewell.”

Qian Ye’s form blurred, vanishing with Zhuji. Pushing his limits, he used the weakened state of Roza’s domain to perform a void blink, surpassing the field’s boundaries.

But as Qian Ye emerged, Roza was still in front of him.

A unique voice, clear yet raspy, like a refreshing breeze in a sticky, humid day, spoke from above, “Leaving so soon?”

The voice, unfamiliar yet unmistakable, made Qian Ye’s face pale.