Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Bang!

The level 38 undead knight's blade slammed down heavily, sparks exploding as Luo Bingqing raised an ice-forged wall just in time to block the strike.

Under the knight's overwhelming blow, the ice barrier shattered like fragile glass and the shockwave hurled Luo Bingqing backward, slamming him against the chamber's wall as blood sprayed from his lips.

The knight wanted to follow up, but before it could, a golden arrow streaked in from the side, exploding against its head armor in a burst of searing light.

The undead knight staggered back under the force of the arrow, its helmet glowing red-hot from Elyara's attribute—Heat—which imbued all of her attacks with blistering temperatures upon contact.

However, despite her attack, the deep-blue flames burning in the undead's hollow eyes only grew fiercer.

"Move!" Elyara shouted to Luo Bingqing, who was still dangerously close to the knight and another radiant arrow began to form on her bowstring.

But before she could release it, the undead knight reacted, sweeping its blade in a wide arc and sending a crescent of black sword energy screaming toward her.

Boom!

The slash ripped through the chamber like a storm, leaving a deep scar carved into the stone floor.

Elyara immediately aborted her shot and rolled aside and her half-formed arrow detonated prematurely, flooding the cavern with a blinding flash of golden light.

Before she could regain her footing after the roll, the undead charged at her in an instant, dragging its greatsword across the ground with a metallic screech before thrusting it toward her chest.

A deep sense of dread engulfed Elyara, freezing her for a split second. But before the blade could pierce her—

Bang!

A spear of ice hurtled toward the knight at lightning speed, striking its arm. The spear pierced through its rotting flesh and instantly froze the limb solid.

The undead was forced to halt its advance and staggered a few meters sideways from the impact.

"Now!" Luo Bingqing roared, his voice hoarse and ragged.

Elyara did not miss the opportunity and quickly drew back her bowstring.

(You have activated your class skill—Bright Flaming Arrow)

A golden light condensed around her arrow until it burned white-hot, making the air around it tremble with raw intensity.

With a low cry, she loosed the arrow, and it ripped through the chamber like a blazing comet.

BOOOOM!

The shot broke the sound barrier as if it were nothing and slammed directly into the knight's chest, erupting in a violent burst of holy light and scorching flames.

The impact blasted the undead backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming it against the chamber wall.

BOOOOOOOM!

A large area of the chamber wall collapsed and smoke poured out from the knight's armor as the sickening scent of roasted, decaying flesh filled the air.

Yet, even after such a devastating attack, the knight stayed down only for a second before it stood up, and the greatsword in its grasp began to glow with an even more intense, sinister undead energy.

"Damn it—!" Elyara's eyes widened as the knight rasied its sword and slashed it down in a vicious strike toward her.

Swish!

A pitch-black sword slash, far stronger and faster than any of its previous attacks tore through the air and reached her in the blink of an eye.

Having spent nearly fifty percent of her cosmic energy to unleash her last skill, Elyara felt a wave of dizziness wash over her and she wasn't able to dodge in time as the black slash streaked toward her like death itself.

Just as the attack was about to strike—

Clang!

Luo Bingqing rushed in front of her, crossing his arms as a crystalline armor of ice wrapped tightly around his body.

(You have activated your class skill—Frost Veil Armor)

The black slash struck him head-on and for a heartbeat, the armor held, but then it shattered into a cloud of glittering frost.

A deep, bloody wound tore across Luo Bingqing's chest, but the armor had absorbed most of the force, preventing a fatal blow.

Bang!

Before either of them could recover, the ground split with a deafening crack and the undead knight charged towards them once more.

The sound of air being sliced apart echoed like a shriek as the knight reached them in an instant and slashed down with its heavy longsword.

In that critical moment, Elyara's eyes narrowed and she raised her epic-level bow, not to fire, but to defend.

A radiant energy enveloped the weapon, and in a flash, a shield of pure light unfolded, encasing them both.

Clang!

The knight's heavy longsword slammed into the radiant barrier and the sheer force of the impact shook Elyara to her core. Her arms screamed with pain as cracks of golden light spiderwebbed across the shield.

She gritted her teeth, struggling against the crushing weight when she noticed the knight raising its sword again to slash down.

At this moment—

"Silent Garden."

A cold voice echoed from beside her.

Shhhk!!

Suddenly, a forest of ice spikes erupted violently from the ground, piercing through the knight's body and locking it in place.

Black blood spurted from its rotting flesh as its entire body was frozen solid.

Luo Bingqing staggered back because of pouring the last of his cosmic energy into the skill and nearly collapsed to his knees.

Elyara didn't miss such a good opportunity and leapt back from the Knight to gain some distance, her bow rising once more as she poured every remaining drop of her energy into a final arrow—one brighter and hotter than any she had ever fired.

(You have activated the Radiant Bow's skill—Judgement)

(The next arrow fired from the bow will have its power amplified by 100%)

The bow screamed in protest as she drew the string to full extension.

Sensing a mortal threat, the undead knight roared, shattering the ice spikes that bound it.

But before it could make another move, Elyara released the arrow.

BOOOOOOM!

The shot became a miniature sun, its radiance so intense that the cavern was bathed in pure white light.

The undead knight was engulfed completely in light, its armor melted away under the purifying blast, and within seconds its already broken body began to crumble, until it finally disintegrated into nothing.

When the blinding light at last faded and the notification of the undead's death flashed before their eyes, both Luo Bingqing and Elyara collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.