Lin Huang and the others looked dismayed.
Nine Gloom was a peak heavenly god-level powerhouse who was not that far from elevating to the status of a half-step Lord.
The three of them were able to defeat him in the previous battle because Nine Gloom’s Divine Power and spirit had suffered severe depletion after fighting Silver Armor. Moreover, Nine Gloom had been utterly unsuspecting of their scheme, and Virtuoso had managed to pull Nine Gloom into their illusion as soon as they appeared on the scene. The three of them had successfully managed to kill off Nine Gloom only because of these factors.
However, the Nine Gloom currently standing before them had not only completed reincarnation with the help of the Nirvana Trees but was also in possession of Silver Armor’s physical body.
Nine Gloom’s combat strength post-reincarnation had not immediately elevated to its former peak standard, merely crossing the threshold of ninth-rank heavenly god-level. However, judging by the aura emanating from his body, his abilities in this reincarnation were definitely no weaker than when he had been at his peak previously.
Earlier, Lin Huang and the others had not staged a direct confrontation with Nine Gloom even when he had not been in peak condition. Instead, they had used various techniques and schemes to battle him. If they had a choice, the three of them would certainly not wish to fight the current Nine Gloom.
However, they had no choice but to face their enemy now.
Their most powerful moves had been easily countered by Nine Gloom. Under his mask, Lin Huang’s brow creased slightly.
A quick glance showed that Saber9 was also frowning at the moment.
Although he could not see Virtuoso’s expression under their mask, he knew that they would most certainly not be relaxed.
Unlike in the previous battle, the three of them had lost the upper hand entirely now that they were facing Nine Gloom’s successful reincarnation.
Moreover, having had the chance to test his ability via their first round of attacks, the three of them knew that Nine Gloom’s abilities were in no way less than when he had been in prime condition previously.
“Do we fight or retreat?” Saber9 asked Lin Huang and Virtuoso through voice transmission.
He asked this because the chances of them winning were extremely low.
Lin Huang made no reply; he was also waiting for Virtuoso’s answer.
After all, this trip to the Abyss had been at Virtuoso’s invitation.
They could not call the shots on whether to fight or retreat; it depended on what Virtuoso wanted.
Virtuoso only hesitated for a brief moment and rapidly came to a decision.
“Fight!”
Lin Huang and Saber9 were not at all surprised by Virtuoso’s decision. After all, they were only a step away from obtaining the last fragment of the castellan’s seal. They could completely understand Virtuoso’s current state of mind.
Even though on the face of it, victory seemed highly unlikely for the three of them, Lin Huang was very certain that their chances of winning were not as low as they appeared to be.
He had a trump card. He also knew that as clones of Almighty reincarnations, Virtuoso and Saber9 definitely would have powerful trump cards as well.
Moreover, Virtuoso was a meticulous individual. No matter how much they wanted the castellan’s seal fragment, if they were truly unable to obtain it, they would definitely not force the issue. Given their character, they would choose to retreat immediately and look for the next target.
Since Virtuoso had chosen to fight, it showed that there was a definite chance of them winning this battle.
Lin Huang felt considerably relieved as he considered this.
“I’ll be responsible for stalling Nine Gloom; both of you focus on attacking him!” Virtuoso instructed Lin Huang and Saber9 via voice transmission.
When Lin Huang heard that, he did not hesitate at all, taking the lead to charge at Nine Gloom with his sword.
His close-range attack ability was the strongest among the three of them. Naturally, he had to shoulder part of the burden of drawing Nine Gloom’s fire.
Although Saber9 was highly skilled at attacks, his forte was Sword Manipulation. He was best at mid-range and long-range combat; close-quarter combat, conversely, did not allow him to showcase his skills.
As for Virtuoso, they could only serve as reinforcements for now. They would certainly die if they had to engage in close-quarter combat.
Noticing Lin Huang coming at him with his sword, Nine Gloom knew they had decided to fight to the death. His rage knew no bounds, and he laughed in their faces mockingly. “All of you are a mere raggle-taggle group of brats with exaggerated opinions of your own abilities. Do you really think you can defeat me a second time just because you defeated me before?!”
“Whether we can defeat you or not, we’re still going to try.” As Lin Huang spoke, he had already sliced apart numerous vines, crossing the vine barrier and emerging not too far from the silver-armored figure of Nine Gloom.
When Nine Gloom saw this, he did not bother using vines to obstruct Lin Huang. Instead, he extended his arm and lightly grasped at the air. A black battle spear rapidly consolidated in his hand.
If Lin Huang and the other two had seen Silver Armor previously, they would have immediately recognized that this weapon was the Black Dragon Spear Silver Armor had used when he was still alive.
Spear in hand, Nine Gloom launched himself off the ground with a sudden burst of strength in both legs, using the air as a stepping stone. He charged straight at Lin Huang.
Wherever the head of the spear passed through, even the air itself was torn into jagged rifts.
Simultaneously, as Nine Gloom charged with his spear, a red arc lit up in the void.
In an instant, the red and black gleams abruptly collided, releasing multiple energy shockwaves in the aftermath. The shockwaves spread out over thousands of kilometers, crushing everything to dust.
However, this evenly-matched battle lasted only for the time it took for a few breaths before the red gleam began to disintegrate…
Right at that moment, countless golden gleams shot through the air like a torrential storm, completely deluging the area where Nine Gloom was.
Impressively enough, the attacker was Saber9.
He had once more consolidated the nine massive saber formations, accumulating millions of golden saber gleams that hurtled toward Nine Gloom with murderous intent.
Nine Gloom glanced at the golden saber gleams that were coming at him from all directions. A smirk of disdain curled the corners of his lips.
He did not withdraw his spear defense. Instead, his gaze locked onto Lin Huang. Once more, Nine Gloom increased his Divine Power output.
The red gleam that had already begun to disintegrate was instantly obliterated to nothing.
The black gleam turned into a terrifying shockwave and swallowed up Lin Huang’s blood-red sword gleam in a blink of an eye. It then charged straight at Lin Huang.
Nine Gloom completely ignored Saber9’s attack this time. The spear was directed at Lin Huang with the intention of finishing him off.
Saber9’s expression was indescribable. Clearly, he had not expected that he would fail to contain Nine Gloom.
On one hand, he was rather worried that Lin Huang would be killed by the spear. On the other hand, he was also somewhat angry that Nine Gloom had utterly ignored his own attack.
Meanwhile, Virtuoso continued performing complicated hand seals off to one side. They did not stop at all.
Nobody knew what expression they harbored at the moment under their mask.
Under his mask, Lin Huang’s lips quirked up slightly as he watched the black shockwave surging toward him.
Just as the attack was about to reach him, a black mirror suddenly appeared before him.
The seemingly invincible black shockwave merely formed water-like ripples as it collided with the mirror. It could not bypass the mirror at all, nor was it able to harm even a hair of Lin Huang’s head.
Nine Gloom could not help feeling rather stunned when he saw what happened.
He had initially thought that his attack would be fatal. Even if it did not kill Lin Huang, it should have been enough to make him lose his combat effectiveness and retreat from the battle.
Never had he thought that Lin Huang would so easily counter an attack that contained almost every ounce of Nine Gloom’s strength.
The instant Nine Gloom stood stunned, Saber9 seized the momentary distraction that this afforded. The millions of saber gleams in the air accelerated, pouring down like rain and swallowing Nine Gloom up completely.
At the same time, the black mirror in front of Lin Huang lit up with a piercingly bright red beam of light.
The next second, an alternating red-and-black shockwave—almost identical to the one Nine Gloom had released just now—shot forth. It was aimed straight at where Nine Gloom had been standing earlier…