Chapter 197: Looming Danger

As the Dark Sky Thunder unleashed by the Double-Headed Raven King threatened to tear the Cyclone Domain apart, the mysterious woman moved with swift precision, sweeping every loose stone from the Spring of Purity into the churning vortex. The water beneath was finally laid bare, yet what greeted her was not relief, but a sharp jolt of disbelief. The Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat was nowhere to be found.

She did not need time to reason it out. The truth struck her immediately and cleanly. The Water Moon Cult’s sacred beast had been stolen. Someone had breached the Spring of Purity, unsealed the Mist Veil Palace, and escaped with the cat. And if that was the case, then Lyanna’s belongings, the treasures of the Wyvern Saint Knight, had certainly vanished along with it.

Her gaze swept the empty spring, as her thoughts raced. Where could the thief have gone?

She had already used Zephyr, Whisper of the World, to search every corner of the palace’s inner courts. There had been no hidden presence, no lingering aura, no trace of anyone lying in wait. That left only one possibility. Whoever had taken the Soul-Mist Water Demon Cat had already escaped.

“This isn’t good!” she shouted as her composure cracked for the first time.

She immediately released Cyclone, Dance of the Raging Winds, forcing the massive vortex to expand and bind the Double-Headed Raven King in place. As the spell took hold, a memory resurfaced with sudden clarity. When she had first opened the gates to the Mist Veil Palace, she had heard it, faint but unmistakable, the sharp intake of a startled breath. At the time, it had blended into the chaos of the thunderous battle outside, the grinding of the ancient gates, and the Raven King’s relentless lightning had drowned it out, and she had dismissed it without a second thought.

Now she understood. That sound had belonged to the thief, caught off guard by her arrival. While she had been focused on the Raven King, they had slipped away under cover of the confusion.

“You crafty little rat,” she muttered, her voice tight with irritation.

Her figure melted into the shadows as she activated her stealth technique. While Cyclone, Dance of the Raging Winds continued to restrain the Raven King, she reached inward, drawing upon the spatial power sealed within her Divine Artifact, the Wind-Dance Heaven-Splitter Fan. Space rippled at her command, and in a heartbeat, she bypassed the massive energy barrier and the Dark Arch-Sorcerer guarding the exit, launching herself toward the palace exterior.

She could only hope the thief had not gained too much distance.

Behind her, the Double-Headed Raven King seethed. He had not expected the young woman to be this dangerous. Not only did she wield the legendary Wind-Dance Heaven-Splitter Fan, but her mastery over it was terrifyingly complete. To invoke Cyclone, Dance of the Raging Winds with such speed and precision was no small feat.

The technique itself was exquisitely brutal. The rotating cyclone did not merely block his Dark Sky Thunder, it devoured it, using centrifugal force to absorb and redirect the lightning back into the storm. The more power he unleashed, the more violent the vortex became, blending wind and thunder into a whirling engine of destruction. Unless he could obliterate it in a single overwhelming strike, he was only fueling his own downfall.

“Dark Thunder Armor!”

Driven into a defensive position, the Raven King abruptly ceased his assault. He snapped open his Nine-Feather Dark Thunder Fan, layers of crackling black lightning surging outward to encase his massive form in a hastily constructed barrier.

The cyclone slammed into him like a spinning drill, shredding the air and carving deep gouges into the ground as it closed the distance.

BOOM!

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

The collision shook the hall to its foundations. Wind and lightning tore into one another, sending violent shockwaves rippling outward, the raw force of the impact echoing through stone and steel alike.

The Double-Headed Raven King proved why he was counted among the Demon Lord’s Eight Guardians. Even as debris filled the air and redirected lightning raged around him with power capable of leveling mountains, he did not falter. The cyclone stripped away his lightning armor piece by piece, but it failed to land a fatal blow.

As the storm finally began to dissipate, his four eyes narrowed. Though the woman had vanished from sight, he had already locked onto the lingering trace of her wind energy. His senses flared, and realization followed swiftly.

She had slipped past him. She was already racing down the corridor toward the exit.

’Why is she running out?’

The thought puzzled him for a brief moment. He had followed her into the palace, and with his keen vision, he knew she had not secured Lyanna’s treasures. Had she abandoned her goal so easily?

Yet he trusted his instincts. She understood the Mist Veil Palace far better than he did, and that alone made her actions suspicious. Without hesitation, he surged forward in pursuit. Whether he killed her or merely forced her retreat did not matter. As long as she was gone, the treasures of the Wyvern Saint Knight would inevitably fall into his hands.

—

“Go on! Hit him harder!”

Outside the Mist Veil Palace, Marcus crouched behind a stone pillar, his eyes shining as he watched the battle unfold between the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent and the Cloud-Tusk Lion. He was enjoying himself far too much, practically cheering as the two colossal beasts clashed, completely unaware that danger was closing in with every passing second.

“Nice move, Lion!”

The Cloud-Tusk Lion had been just a fraction too slow. One of the serpent’s heads whipped around its body, coils tightening and tearing into flesh, leaving behind a jagged, blood-soaked wound. Seizing the opening, the Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent lunged again, two massive maws snapping forward with lethal intent. Marcus winced, certain the lion was about to be torn apart, but the next instant proved him wrong and nearly made him leap to his feet in excitement.

Just as the serpent’s venomous fangs were about to sink in, the Cloud-Tusk Lion unleashed a thunderous roar. Flames exploded from its body in a violent surge, engulfing it in a blazing inferno. The heat was overwhelming. Scales hissed and cracked as they burned, and the courtyard was instantly filled with the sickening stench of scorched flesh.

The Six-Headed Twin-Winged Serpent shrieked in agony, yanking back the charred head as it thrashed wildly through the air, the damage clearly severe.

Still, the lion had not emerged unscathed. The serpent was one of the Demon Lord’s Eight Guardians, and even wounded, its raw power far surpassed that of ordinary beasts.

As the injured head retreated, the serpent’s remaining four heads moved in perfect coordination, each aligned with a different elemental force. Without giving the lion time to recover, they unleashed their attacks in rapid succession. A roaring Fireball, a crackling bolt of Purple Lightning, a massive Earthen Boulder, and a razor-sharp shard of Glacial Ice.

CRASH!

The combined assault slammed into the Cloud-Tusk Lion, hurling it out of the sky and driving it into the ground with catastrophic force. The impact tore open a massive crater, stone and debris erupting in all directions.

When the dust finally settled, the lion burst back out, flames burning even hotter than before. Its steel-like tail glowed a dangerous red, radiating lethal heat, but its body was riddled with wounds, blood soaking into its fur. There was no denying it had taken the worse end of the exchange.

“Yes! That’s it!” Marcus whispered excitedly. “It’s not a real fight until someone’s bleeding.”

His heart pounded as he watched the two titans circle one another, both clearly worn down. This was exactly what he had been waiting for. Let them tear each other apart, exhaust their strength, and bleed themselves dry. When neither could move anymore, that would be his moment to strike.

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