Zhao Manyan stood at the center of the storm of white sand, his figure nearly swallowed by the towering silhouettes surrounding him. From every direction, the White Sand Giants closed in, their massive sabers raised in synchronized precision, like an execution formation tightening around its target. Anyone else might have frozen at the sight, but Zhao Manyan merely let out a quiet breath, his eyes steady as he took in the situation.
"So it's me, huh…" he muttered, more amused than concerned.
A deep azure glow slowly spread from his body, not explosive, not flashy, but dense and controlled. The dryness of the environment tried to strip it away immediately, yet the water did not disperse. Instead, it condensed further, gathering tightly around him as if drawn by an unseen force. It felt heavier than ordinary water, almost as though it carried a will of its own.
With a simple motion of his hand, the first layer formed around him, followed by a second, then a third. But unlike before, these layers did not simply stack. They circulated, intertwined, reinforcing one another in a stable flow, turning what would normally be a defensive shell into something far more resilient.
The first wave of sand sabers came crashing down with overwhelming force, their impact sending explosions of sand in every direction. The water barrier trembled violently, ripples surging across its surface, yet it did not collapse immediately. It absorbed, redirected, endured.
Zhao Manyan didn't even move.
Golden light began to seep through the currents, subtle at first, then growing clearer as it wrapped around his body. The Light Element did not clash with the water, but fused with it, stabilizing its form and strengthening its resistance.
"Light Protection: Sacred Shield."
The golden radiance settled into place, reinforcing the circulating layers of water, turning his defense into a unified whole. The second wave struck, then the third, each impact heavier than the last, the ground beneath him collapsing into a deep pit under the relentless assault. Sand surged upward, swallowing his figure from view for a brief moment.
And yet, when the dust cleared, he was still standing.
The water around him churned more intensely now, reacting to each strike, adapting with each impact. His expression remained calm, though a faint tension had finally appeared in his brow. The pressure was undeniable. These creatures were not mindless; their attacks came in rotation, coordinated like seasoned soldiers, leaving no gaps to exploit.
"Persistent…" he murmured, shifting his stance slightly.
The water pulsed again, denser this time, its movement smoother, more refined, as if it had begun to understand the rhythm of the attacks. Still, the number of White Sand Giants surrounding him continued to grow, their towering forms closing in layer by layer.
Zhao Manyan clicked his tongue softly, the calm in his demeanor unbroken.
"Alright… now this is getting interesting."
He tapped his communicator, voice steady despite the chaos around him. "Mo Fan, you better not be sightseeing over there."
Even as another wave of attacks descended, his figure remained anchored in place, like a fixed point in the middle of a collapsing battlefield, unmoved, unshaken, holding the line not out of desperation, but control.
As Lingling had predicted, Zhao Manyan's situation stabilized far quicker than expected. The initial pressure from the White Sand Giants had been overwhelming, but once he adjusted to the rhythm of their attacks, his defense no longer showed signs of collapsing. The massive creatures were packed too tightly together, their own numbers working against them. With no ranged attacks and limited space to maneuver, only the outer layers could actually strike him at any given time.
Zhao Manyan stood firmly within the center of the encirclement, his expression composed as waves of attacks continued to crash against him. The circulating layers of water around his body no longer resembled simple defensive shells. They moved with structure, flowing and reinforcing each other continuously, absorbing impact after impact while the faint glow of Light Element energy stabilized the entire formation. As long as the White Sand Giants could not break through in a single overwhelming strike, he had no intention of giving ground.
He wasn't trying to kill them.
He didn't need to.
Holding them in place was more than enough.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou found himself in a far more manageable situation. With the majority of the White Sand Giants drawn toward Zhao Manyan, the pressure on his side was noticeably lighter. Instead of forcing an unnecessary confrontation, he focused entirely on mobility, weaving through the battlefield while keeping the creatures occupied.
The white sand terrain worked in his favor. Each step he took could trigger an Earth Wave, subtly altering the ground beneath him, while his Soul Seed enhanced the effects of his Earth Element, making his control even more fluid. The White Sand Giants were powerful, but slow. Even raising their massive sand sabers required a moment, and that brief delay was more than enough for Zhang Xiaohou to evade.
The sabers came crashing down one after another, heavy and destructive, yet they struck nothing but the fading traces of his movement. With multiple movement Spells at his disposal, combined with his Magical Boots, Zhang Xiaohou moved like a blur across the battlefield, constantly repositioning, never allowing himself to be locked down.
For a moment, it seemed like he had completely outpaced them.
But the battlefield shifted without warning.
Ahead of him, the sand suddenly erupted, ten White Sand Giants rising at once to form a solid wall, cutting off his path entirely. Their coordination was immediate, their sabers already descending toward him before he could fully adjust.
Zhang Xiaohou reacted instantly.
A Star Pattern formed beneath his feet as he slid forward, his hands thrusting out.
"Rock Barrier!"
The ground surged upward, forming a defensive wall infused with his Soul Seed's Flowing Mud. The barrier rose just in time to meet the incoming strikes, but the sheer force behind the sabers shattered it almost instantly, fragments of earth scattering under the impact.
His heart tightened for a brief moment, but his reaction did not falter.
A blue swirl wrapped around his feet as his Magical Boots activated, launching him forward in a burst of speed. Sand trailed behind him as he slipped past the collapsing barrier, the pursuing White Sand Giants crashing violently into the ones ahead in their attempt to crush him.
The impact behind him echoed like a massive collision, sending vibrations through the ground.
Zhang Xiaohou exhaled sharply, a cold sweat running down his back, but his momentum never slowed. Only after creating distance did he allow himself a brief glance toward Mo Fan's position.
—
Mo Fan's approach was completely different.
While Zhao Manyan held the line and Zhang Xiaohou controlled movement, Mo Fan was doing what he did best—killing.
There was no hesitation in his actions. Lightning and fire surged around him as he moved, his attacks precise and relentless. The thick sand armor of the White Sand Giants offered little resistance under the destructive force of his elements, especially when they were clustered together.
Each strike of Fiery Fist tore through multiple enemies at once, flames erupting through their formations and breaking their coordination. Though the spell required time to cast, Mo Fan seamlessly alternated between elements, using his Shadow Element to reposition and buy himself the space needed to complete his Star Patterns.
This kind of battlefield wasn't unfamiliar to him.
Being surrounded didn't slow him down.
It only made things more efficient.
The Lightning Element, while still effective, lacked its usual dominance. Without flesh and blood, the paralyzing effects were weakened, forcing him to use lightning more for penetration than control. Fire, however, remained devastating. Each explosion disrupted the tightly packed formations, and with a few consecutive attacks, entire groups of White Sand Giants would collapse into scattered sand.
At the same time, the Little Loach Pendant worked silently.
With every fallen White Sand Giant, fragments of their souls were absorbed, gathering within the pendant. Mo Fan quickly realized the quality of these soul remnants far exceeded the norm. After only ten kills, the pendant had already refined a complete Servant-class Soul Essence.
A faint grin appeared on his face.
This place wasn't just dangerous.
It was profitable.
He could already feel his Shadow Element approaching another breakthrough. One more Soul Essence, and his Fleeing Shadow would reach the next tier, giving him a critical advantage in a battlefield like this.
Mo Fan glanced at the remaining White Sand Giants around him, his eyes sharpening slightly.
"Looks like I'll need a few more."