Chapter 155: Chapter155-The Original Story’s First Female Protagonist!
The brutal deaths of the three master-tier Protectors felt like a heavy hammer, striking the very spines of Henry and the other Middle Earth elites, shattering their pride and confidence without mercy.
All that remained was endless shock and fear, leaving them frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
“No! Owen has exhausted himself by killing the three master-tier Protectors. We still have Kaldan’s grandmaster-tier Protector!”
“Owen is already at the end of his strength, there’s no need to panic!”
Henry quickly spoke out, his voice loud and clear, attempting to stabilize the rapidly crumbling morale of the group.
The gathered prodigies from noble families and empires quickly pulled themselves together, turning their attention to Joseph, who was currently defending against the reflected attacks from the Guardian Shield.
If the deaths of the three master-tier Protectors had shaken them to their core, making them feel as if the world was collapsing, then Joseph was like a pillar holding up the sky, keeping their wavering hearts steady.
As they focused their gazes on him, Joseph’s face was filled with a mixture of shock and fury.
When Owen had suddenly launched a sneak attack on him, Joseph, like the others, had believed that Owen was desperately trying to eliminate him first.
But Owen had tricked them all, using a feint to distract them.
Now, as Joseph struggled to fend off the rebounding attacks from the Guardian Shield, he felt a strong sense of familiarity.
The reflected attacks were clearly the long-range spells unleashed by the three master-tier mages, but Owen had somehow absorbed them and turned them into even more formidable attacks.
This left Joseph feeling a deep sense of danger, forcing him to focus all his energy on defending himself.
Even though he realized Owen’s true intention was to kill the other three Protectors, he found himself unable to intervene and save them.
Seeing the three master-tier Protectors fall before his eyes filled Joseph with a profound sense of humiliation.
The feeling of being played like this was even worse than the humiliation he had felt earlier from the kitsune.
After all, the kitsune’s strength far exceeded his own; being outmatched by such a powerful being was embarrassing, but not something others would mock him for.
But to be outmaneuvered by Owen, a mere diamond-tier mage, while he, a grandmaster-tier mage, led the battle—it was a disgrace of the highest order.
If this news were to spread, I would undoubtedly become the laughingstock of all the major powers in Middle Earth!
“The Supreme Order is indeed powerful, but it’s not a divine skill that someone at your level can fully master. You’ve reached your limit, haven’t you?”
In the next moment, after successfully fending off all the attacks reflected by the Guardian Shield, Joseph glared at Owen with a piercing gaze, as if he could see right through him.
Although Joseph had been unable to save the three master-tier mages earlier, he had clearly witnessed Owen’s shadows in action.
He knew that Owen had nearly exhausted all the mana granted by the Supreme Order.
Now, Owen might appear unscathed, but in reality, he was little more than an empty shell, with almost no mana left within him.
He was merely putting up a facade.
As Joseph’s eyes bore into him, Owen took a deep breath and coldly met his gaze.
Despite being wary of facing a grandmaster-tier mage like Joseph, especially after dealing with the other three master-tier mages, Owen’s sense of urgency and apprehension had significantly lessened.
Facing a grandmaster-tier mage who had been wounded by the kitsune, Owen believed that if Joseph were careless, there might still be a chance for him.
Their eyes locked, both seeing in the other a deep, unyielding intent to kill.
This was a battle to the death—no surrender, no retreat!
Although Joseph looked down on Owen’s level, the power Owen had demonstrated earlier was something even he couldn’t underestimate.
So, Joseph had no intention of giving Owen any opportunity to play tricks.
Joseph instantly charged forward, and Owen immediately activated his Basic Healing Skill to recover the mana that was nearly depleted.
His body then melded into the shadows of the void behind him, disappearing from sight as he once again employed Shadow Step.
In his current state, Owen knew he wasn’t in a position to engage Joseph head-on.
Seeing Owen vanish right before his eyes, Joseph quickly activated the silver ring on his wrist, which emitted a crisp, metallic sound.
As the sound reverberated through the surroundings and returned to his ears, Joseph was able to swiftly pinpoint Owen’s location, even though Owen’s presence and form were otherwise undetectable.
“Little mouse, all your tricks are nothing but futile struggles!”
With a flash, Joseph had already caught up to Owen from behind!
Owen’s heart skipped a beat. He knew that a grandmaster-tier mage, having partially merged with the world, could move with a thought, far swifter than traversing the void.
Although Shadow Step enhanced Owen’s speed, it was no match for Joseph’s abilities, not by a long shot.
However, there was no trace of fear on Owen’s face.
Just as Joseph raised his hand to strike at Owen’s back, the shadows that had eliminated the three master-tier mages earlier suddenly formed a triangular formation, surrounding Joseph.
In an instant, the hunter became the hunted. Joseph’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he felt a sudden sense of unease.
Yet, whether it was Owen’s main body or these shadows, none of them seemed capable of launching an attack that could threaten him…
As this thought crossed his mind, Joseph clenched his large hand tightly.
Immediately, an invisible force of spatial pressure bound the bodies of Owen and his shadows, rendering them immobile.
The pressure continued to increase, like two tightening walls, crushing Owen’s shadows until they exploded.
Under this terrifying spatial suppression, Owen and his shadows were like insignificant creatures being judged and oppressed by the heavens.
This sense of absolute domination made resistance seem almost impossible.
Seeing this, Henry and the others watching the battle finally let out a sigh of relief.
A grandmaster-tier mage was ultimately far stronger than Owen.
Boom, boom, boom!
The sound of three consecutive explosions echoed as Owen’s three shadows were crushed and exploded like bombs, dispersing into pure mana that gradually faded away.
Joseph smiled, confident in his victory. Owen had tried to break his strength into many smaller parts, relying on numbers to overwhelm him, but in doing so, he had revealed the inherent weakness of his strategy—the more shadows, the weaker they each became.
This flaw wasn’t deadly when facing master-tier mages, but Joseph was no master-tier mage.
He was a legend in Middle Earth, a grandmaster-tier mage, the Protector of Crown Prince Kaldan, and a veteran mage with over a century of experience!
However, just as Owen’s shadows exploded, Joseph sensed something amiss, and his expression suddenly grew serious.
In the places where Owen’s shadows had burst, magical artifacts began to glow ominously!
At that moment, the artifacts that Owen had previously merged into his shadows using Armament Merge—the Dragonslayer Dagger, the Godslayer Staff, and the Fallen Angel armor set—simultaneously shot toward Joseph with lethal intent.
The most powerful of these, the Godslayer Staff, shot forward like an arrow, its spiked tip tearing through space, leaving behind a trail of black, twisted cracks.
The ancient aura of the dark god king emanating from the staff acted like an invisible hand, momentarily pinning Joseph in place.
Next, the legendary Dragonslayer Dagger transformed into a charging, blood-red dragon, roaring as it flew toward Joseph. It trailed a scorching tail of fire that lit up half the sky.
Even the relatively weaker Fallen Angel armor set surged forward like a dark tide, swallowing darkness and eroding light, relentlessly following the other two.
These three magical artifacts, unleashed at the moment of Owen’s shadows’ explosion, had been driven to their peak power by the burst of mana.
Joseph clearly hadn’t expected Owen to have such a formidable backup plan, and each of these artifacts was stronger than the last.
The chilling aura emanating from the Godslayer Staff in particular made Joseph shudder—his grandmaster-tier power was momentarily suppressed!
Bang, bang, bang!
The attacks of the three magical artifacts struck Joseph in quick succession, landing blow after blow on his body.
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