I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

As soon as the words fell, Spine's Black Crystal Staff smashed heavily onto the ground.

The entire underground city passage suddenly trembled as the Shadow Crystal embedded at the tip of Spine's magic wand burst forth with a piercing purple glow. The intense darkness, like claws tearing through the veil of reality, swiftly surged towards the Elf Legends.

"Retreat!"

The robe of the Legendary Mage Kelly fluttered without wind, and silver-blue runes interwove into a net of light in mid-air, attempting to eliminate the suddenly emerging darkness.

However, the darkness surging around Spine was far stickier than anticipated. The Holy Light Technique, meant to dispel the gloom, was instead entirely eroded upon contact with the darkness.

The Legendary Warrior Jonathan's longsword emitted a clear dragon's cry, and the elf runes engraved on the blade burst forth in golden-red flames, resembling the sun.

He flashed to Kelly's front, slashing the darkness rushing from the right-front with his longsword.

Ding~

A crisp sound echoed as Jonathan's longsword struck a dagger that had suddenly appeared from the darkness in a flash of lightning.

"Get lost!"

Jonathan's expression turned solemn as he suddenly exerted force, repelling the unexpectedly appearing Dark Elf Assassin.

Simultaneously, the Sun Flame on Jonathan's longsword also swept toward the opponent with their move, forming a fire dragon as if it would devour the opponent directly.

However, this fire dragon, facing the dark aura emanating from Spine, was extinguished just as completely as Kelly's Holy Light Technique.

Seeing this, Jonathan and the others looked slightly grim.

With their strength, they naturally realized that this dark aura originated from the power of Spine's Legendary Domain.

It was the power combining the Legendary Domains of [Shadow] and [Darkness], mixed with the aura of [Fallen], [Lust], and other domains.

Just relying on the power of the Domain to block their attacks, although not the full strength of Kelly and the others, was already astonishing.

This meant that Spine's Legendary Domain was far stronger than the four of them.

The Legendary Hunter Wendy's Silver Moon Longbow let out a buzz, and three arrows sharp with Wind Blade shot in a triangular formation towards Spine.

But the arrows abruptly veered three feet from Spine, instead shooting back at Wendy.

The moment Wendy spun to dodge, the dagger at her waist automatically ejected, precisely deflecting two stray arrows.

"Watch out!"

Carlton's roar echoed as the heavy shield in his hand burst forth with golden light, confronting the third arrow flying towards Kelly.

Bang!

When the third arrow struck the shield, the entire passage echoed with the thunderous roar of metal clashing.

The sound of a blade piercing through space came from the darkness, as two Legendary Assassins simultaneously launched their assault.

Wendy's pupils contracted to needle points, seemingly smelling the distinctive rusty scent of death.

"Legendary Wind Skill!"

Kelly's magic wand waved urgently, and the azure whirlwind suddenly rose around Wendy, instantly boosting her evasion speed.

Yet the opponent's assault came faster than expected, and though Wendy evaded with all her might, a dagger still grazed her cheek, leaving a bleeding cut on her cheekbone.

Wendy flipped the dagger, hurling it forward. In mid-air, it split into seven chilling lights, directly piercing the darkness ahead.

A muffled groan came from the left, as an assassin staggered into view, with Wendy's dagger lodged in his right shoulder.

But another Dark Elf Assassin had already appeared behind Kelly.

Although he had become a puppet, the battle instincts of the Dark Elf Assassin had not faded.

In such a situation, defeating the opposing mage first was the most effective strategy.

"[Phantom Trio]!"

Kelly quickly chanted a spell, and a book shimmering with intense Magic Power appeared before her.

As Kelly injected her magic power, the pages of the Starlight Spellbook flipped rapidly, and then one page stood upright in mid-air.

Kelly's body shimmered, and three identical Kellys appeared on the spot.

The Dark Elf's dagger swept past the neck of the Kelly on the right, yet it felt like passing through air with no sensation of actual contact.

"Duck!"

Wendy's warning and the sound of arrows piercing through the air arrived simultaneously, as three enchanted arrows penetrated the dark mist, the Moonlight Silk Thread tied to the arrow tails abruptly tensed, weaving a silver net in mid-air to entrap a portion of the mist before them.

A figure appeared within the mist, none other than the Shadow Assassin who had just ambushed Kelly.

Feeling the tide of the battle beginning to shift, a dark purple vortex emerged in the depths of Spine's eyes, as she fiercely drove her magic wand into the ground.

Roar!!!

In an instant, darkness thicker than eternal night surged forth like a living entity, the passage reverberated with the wails of countless vengeful souls, echoing directly in the ears of Kelly and the others.

Even with the Soul Strength of Kelly and the other Legendary Strongmen, they momentarily stalled.

From within the dark currents emerged twisted runes, accompanied by ear-piercing shrieks as thirty-six cursed chains, wrapped in green phosphorescent fire, shot through the air.

Each chain's tip bore a gruesome skull, and the venom dripping from its teeth sizzled as it corroded black holes in the stone slabs.

Carlton, at the forefront of the four, paled, the heavy shield in his hand instantly expanded several times, standing like a city wall before them.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Countless impacts resounded upon Carlton's shield.

Carlton's muscles tightened and bulged as he strained to withstand Spine's terrifying attack.

Kelly and Wendy concentrated on controlling the Legendary Assassins they had restrained.

"Together, Carlton!"

Jonathan noticed the terrible pressure Carlton was enduring and quickly urged.

The Legendary Longsword in his hand suddenly erupted with blazing golden flames, and the elf runes engraved on the blade, like the awakened Sun God Bird, sprouted wings, unleashing a molten gold torrent of flames.

Simultaneously, Carlton's Sun Kite Shield burst forth with mountain-like dense golden light, the elf crest on the shield flowing like liquid gold, condensing into a ferocious lion's head relief on the shield's surface.

The two streams of golden flames intertwined to form a rotating solar storm, crashing into the Darkness Domain summoned by Spine with unstoppable force.

The collision of Light and eternal night erupted in a blinding brilliance, as the stone walls of the passage peeled away layer by layer under the energy clash, and the flying debris was vaporized into ash before hitting the ground.

...

While Spine and company battled in the underground city passage,

Lis's Life Avatar was stealthily heading towards the Forbidden Fortress Donovan.

With Eliza as a puppet, even under the influence of [Pastom's Stomach], Lis would not lose her way.

In an instant, darkness thicker than eternal night surged forth like a living entity, the passage echoed with the wails of countless vengeful souls, resonating directly in the ears of Kelly and the others.

Even with the Soul Strength of Kelly and the other Legendary Strongmen, they were momentarily stalled.

Twisting runes emerged from within the dark streams, accompanied by ear-piercing shrieks as thirty-six cursed chains, entwined with green phosphorescent fire, pierced through the air.

Each chain's tip bore a hideous skull, and the venom dripping from its jaws sizzled as it corroded black holes in the stone slabs.

Carlton, at the forefront of the four, turned pale, the heavy shield in his hand instantly expanded several times, standing like a city wall before them.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Countless impacts resonated upon Carlton's shield.

Carlton's muscles tightened, bulging as he strained to withstand Spine's horrifying assault.

Kelly and Wendy focused their efforts on controlling the Legendary Assassins they had restrained.

"Together, Carlton!"

Jonathan noticed the extreme pressure Carlton was enduring and quickly said.

The Legendary Longsword in his hand suddenly burst into blazing golden flames, and the elf runes engraved on the blade, like the awakened Sun God Bird, unfurled their wings, unleashing a molten gold torrent of flames.

Simultaneously, Carlton's Sun Kite Shield burst with mountain-like thick golden light, the elf emblem on the shield flowed like liquid gold, forming a ferocious lion head relief on the shield's surface.

The two golden flames intertwined, forming a rotating solar storm, crashing towards the Dark Domain summoned by Spine with unstoppable force.

The clash of light and eternal night erupted into blinding brilliance, while the passage's stone walls peeled away under the energy conflict, with flying debris vaporized into ash before reaching the ground.