Chapter 328: Section 116: Freeze the Young to Death?
Zhao Ya had suffered a harsh setback and no longer planned to approach Man Zhuang. Nor did he intend to intercept and disrupt the two divine avatars. Instead, he raised his Truth Divine Pupil high, pouring his fighting energy into it, in place of the depleted Divine Power.
The Truth Divine Pupil was thus driven with full force, and the Divine Light radiated without end.
Zhao Ya changed his tactics, shifting from defense to offense, allowing the Divine Light to continuously strike the mural door.
It had to be said, his move was extremely wise.
Man Zhuang’s attack, though fierce, was not very efficient. As for the Divine Light, while it was effective against deceit in the Divine Domain, it wasn’t on a large scale.
Now, with the Divine Light leading like a sharp needle, it pierced through the defenses of Divine Power. After that, came the onslaught from Man Zhuang, expanding their success, tearing the breach even wider.
...
Together, their combined attack sharply increased in effectiveness.
The gap in the mural door quickly widened.
“Divine Son!” High Priest Mei Lan looked pleadingly towards the Fishman youth.
The Fishman youth, driven into a corner, could only continuously beat his chest, coughing up fresh blood.
The divine avatars returned behind the door to replenish, not only with Divine Power but also with the spent Pearl Bubble.
The quantity of Pearl Bubble hidden in the Fishman youth’s mouth sharply decreased.
Yet, even as he gave his all to support the two divine avatars, he could hardly change the tide of battle.
The door gaped open wide enough, not just for one person, but for two elephants to walk through side by side.
However, the power of the Mei Lan Divine Domain hadn’t been completely shattered.
Those outside could only see a hazy mist of water, unable to discern the Fishman youth and priests with their eyes wide open.
Just a little more and the door would be fully open.
Neither the Fishman youth nor the High Priest fell into despair.
Because this fierce war of attrition not only wore them out but also pushed the Barbarians to their limit.
The Cold Sky Splitter fared better, but the most threatening, Man Zhuang, was covered in wounds and bloodied.
His body was filled with boundless Divine Power, but it was like a torn sack, leaking from everywhere, making it difficult to bring his true combat ability to bear.
Huff, huff!
Man Zhuang gasped for breath, his roars evidently much weaker.
His movements had also slowed, previously his punches were so fast that they cast shadows, and the wind from them howled. But now, his fists were visibly slow and heavy.
One punch, two punches…
It was apparent to everyone that Man Zhuang was struggling to throw his fist.
“This Barbarian is reaching his limit!” This thought crossed almost everyone’s mind.
“Just a bit more and the Divine Gate will be completely blown open!” Zhao Ya’s gaze intensified.
After a long fight, the two divine avatars were still full of vigor, thanks largely to the constant contribution of Pearl Bubble by the Fishman youth.
Zhao Ya’s attention was focused on Man Zhuang.
Once Man Zhuang reached his limit, he would lose strength and fall into a severe state of weakness.
Zhao Ya wanted to save Man Zhuang, who was not only significant to the Barbarian Holy Domain but also a fanatic of the Barbarian God.
The latter reason was even more essential.
Sure, the Barbarians had more than one with a Holy Domain, but Man Zhuang was the believer with the highest degree of faith in the Barbarian God among the Barbarian warriors.
But saving Man Zhuang was challenging.
Even for a Legend like Zhao Ya.
Because Zhao Ya had to act at the right moment, during which he was certain to face strong opposition from the two divine avatars.
And he could not act too early.
If he acted prematurely and got too close to Man Zhuang, he might be treated as an enemy by the berserking Barbarian.
“I must seize the moment!” Zhao Ya continued to fight while consciously starting to rein in his offensive moves.
He had to conserve strength to make an explosive move.
The situation of Man Zhuang and Zhao Ya’s intentions were all too clear to the Fishman youth and the High Priest. Naturally, the two divine avatars were also well aware.
Worried about Man Zhuang’s potential death, the two divine avatars also began to hold back, not attacking at full strength, leaving some reserve.
For a time, the intensity of the battle between both sides dramatically dropped, but the mental struggle behind the scenes escalated.
As both sides calculated their own positions, Man Zhuang suddenly stopped attacking and drew back his fists.
He abruptly turned his head, his white-rolled eyes fixed on Zhao Ya.
The next moment, he charged fiercely at Zhao Ya.
“You, what are you doing?!” Zhao Ya was startled, sensing the full malice from the other.
Zhao Ya immediately retreated.
The situation was unclear!
He began to suspect whether Man Zhuang, given his deteriorating state, had been deceived by the Mei Lan God, as Man Zhuang had always been in a state of frenzy.
Zhao Ya tried to distance himself to eliminate Man Zhuang’s hostility toward him.
After all, in terms of distance, the two divine avatars were closer to Man Zhuang.
But Man Zhuang firmly locked on to Zhao Ya, roaring incessantly with a relentless attitude.
Zhao Ya was speechless to the extreme.
The ones to stop Man Zhuang were the two divine avatars.
They were more concerned that Man Zhuang’s action might be a feint.
Indeed, there were a select few Barbarians with exceptional talent who could remain lucid while in a frenzy.
If it was a feint, then allowing Man Zhuang and Zhao Ya to join forces would be highly disadvantageous for the Mei Lan God’s side.
As Man Zhuang was a key figure affecting the battle, for safety’s sake, they needed to eliminate him first!
Thus, the two divine avatars exerted their full strength and brutally struck Man Zhuang.
“Ah, ah, ah, ah!” Man Zhuang howled in pain, stubbornly weathering the heavy assault and charged in front of Zhao Ya.
“I…” Zhao Ya was incredibly frustrated, left with no choice but to defend.
The spectators were dumbfounded.
What was happening?
The two Barbarians had started fighting each other.
Seeing this scene, the faction of Mei Lan was naturally overjoyed.
The two avatar deities unleashed Magic and Divine Arts one after another, moves piling upon moves, enveloping the two Barbarians.
Zhao Ya could only parry Man Zhuang while resisting the onslaught of the avatar deities, and often he had to help Man Zhuang defend as well.
Fortunately, he had the Truth Divine Pupil in hand. Under the illumination of the Truth Divine Light, he was able to reduce a lot of the offensive pressure.
“Wait a minute, could it be that his target isn’t me, but…” After a dozen exchanges, Zhao Ya’s eyes gleamed as he began to see the pattern.
Initially hesitant, Zhao Ya thought of how Man Zhuang, who now had the Barbarian God’s Divine Power coursing through him, would surely draw the attention of the Barbarian God to this place.
“It’s a gamble! If you want this, I’ll give it to you!” Suddenly, Zhao Ya let go and threw the Truth Divine Pupil to Man Zhuang.
Man Zhuang caught the Divine Pupil and instantly halted his attack on Zhao Ya.
He turned and charged again at the mural gate, his body covered in blood, but his momentum grew stronger, like a blood-soaked berserk Dragon.
“Stop him!” the High Priest Mei Lan cried out in alarm.
The two avatar deities acted faster than her command, simultaneously intercepting Man Zhuang’s path.
“Ah—!”
Man Zhuang roared, his voice thunderous.
He clenched the Divine Pupil tightly in the palm of his right fist, swinging his right fist without regard for defense, attacking the avatar deities directly.
Targeting the critical points of his enemies, the avatar deities could no longer use ranged attacks to stop him; they had to engage in close-quarters combat with gritted teeth.
Boom! Boom!
A few exchanges later, two thunderous booms resounded, and Man Zhuang had astonishingly obliterated both avatar deities!
“It’s over!” The High Priest was despondent, feeling all was lost.
“In the end, it’s still a victory for the Barbarians.” The watchers had mixed emotions.
The Barbarians, however, let out deafening cheers.
“Who would have thought that on this expedition, I’d accomplish the feat of slaying gods!” Zhao Ya’s heart surged with passion, fighting spirit soaring.
He had bet correctly!
Man Zhuang, with the Divine Pupil in hand and under the cover of the Truth Divine Light on his fist, had his attack power surge and successfully destroyed both avatar deities.
“Ah ah ah ah!” Man Zhuang’s eyes rolled back white as he continued to roar.
“This guy, seems there’s still strength in him. I underestimated him a bit,” Zhao Ya smiled to himself, thinking, “Alright, just charge through like that.”
Now with the Truth Divine Pupil in Man Zhuang’s hand, he was the more suitable one to completely blast open the Divine Gate.
If Zhao Ya tried himself, it would be a strenuous and thankless task with low efficiency.
“Ah ah ah ah!” Man Zhuang kept roaring.
Zhao Ya: …
“Ah ah ah ah!” Man Zhuang began to pound his chest like a great ape.
Pluh, pluh.
He spat blood while hammering his chest.
Zhao Ya: “I…”
“Enough, stop hammering.”
“Hurry up and attack, Lord Man Zhuang.”
“Lord Man Zhuang, you need to charge!”
The Barbarians, anxious, began to voice their concerns.
After pounding for a while and vomiting several liters of blood, Man Zhuang finally felt satisfied.
He directed his white-rolled eyes toward the Divine Gate, lowered his head, and like a raging bull, he began his charge.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the Divine Gate was completely burst open.
Everyone cried out in shock.
What was once obscured by mist became clear, and everyone outside could now see the Fishman youth, the High Priest, and the great shell throne.
As for the true body of Mei Lan, still trapped within the shell, had yet to be revealed.
Seemingly aware that it was on the brink of life and death, the slumbering Mei Lan’s brows furrowed even deeper.
Another surge of Divine Power erupted, instantly condensing into another avatar deity.
This time it was a Fishman avatar.
But this avatar was nothing compared to the previous two, obviously conjured in haste, its figure blurred, almost ethereal.
And after expending this Divine Power, the complexion of Mei Lan’s true body noticeably paled.
“Divine Son!” The High Priest looked expectantly toward the Fishman youth.
The youth gritted his teeth and spit out a drop of fresh blood, offering one of the few remaining Pearl Bubbles to the divine avatar.
The avatar received the essence and immediately solidified, producing a strong and fierce aura.
It charged at Man Zhuang, locking into a deathly struggle; their fists met flesh, causing water waves to surge and flames of battle to skyrocket.
Zhao Ya snorted coldly and immediately moved to kill.
Combat Skill—Cold Sky Splitter!
His entire body surged with Fighting Energy, and the Fighting Energy, like water, spawned numerous icy birds.
A large flock of icy birds circled around the divine avatar and Man Zhuang, heading straight for the giant shell throne.
Mei Lan, the High Priest, once again unleashed the Holy Domain, putting up a strong defense.
The icy birds flew into the Holy Domain, each being obliterated by the Holy Domain, but they still transformed into a piercing cold that spread and penetrated everywhere.
Soon, the High Priest Mei Lan was shivering from the cold, ice crystals forming between her brows.
With all the icy birds annihilated, she neared her limit; her entire body turned a frosty purple.
Suddenly, the residual cold unwittingly condensed again, creating a dozen more birds that flew out from between the three pillars, scouting for enemies.
This turn of events was truly sudden and unexpected. The Fishman youth reacted quickly, but when he tried to retreat, his movements stiffened.
Though the icy birds were still a dozen steps away, the cold they emitted had already begun to freeze him.
This level of cold was not of the elemental sort but instead transcended materiality, reaching the conceptual level.
Even though the surrounding temperature hadn’t changed, the Fishman youth felt an endless chill. At that moment, he was like a newborn left in the frigid tundra.
Before the icy birds could physically reach him, the Fishman youth was already close to being frozen to death!