Published: February 10, 2025
"Happy 2017 Again!"
The nature staff, now upgraded to a green level and paired with a mid-level water-type natural gemstone, has greatly enhanced the defensive power of the Shield of the Water Bottle.
The light beam emitted by the iron lock prisoner is incredibly powerful. In just a few seconds of sweeping attacks, many people were left horrified; all evolvers struck by the beam met their demise without exception.
Moreover, the beam travels quickly—so fast that, at the current level of human evolution, there's no way to evade it unless one possesses teleportation-like abilities or equipment.
This is why Ye Zhongming had to remain steadfast, holding up the nature staff.
The beam collided violently with the Shield of the Water Bottle, creating a dazzling light that pierced the sky. Everyone felt a fierce and extremely unstable energy rippling between heaven and earth nearby, as if it could erupt at any moment.
A strong sense of crisis prompted many to flee towards the outskirts of the battlefield, even if they could barely see the path in the intense light.
“Let’s go!”
The surviving attackers began to retreat under Ye Zhongming's orders. If the Shield of the Water Bottle could no longer hold, this would reduce their losses.
The members from Cloud Summit Villa, Ying City Alliance, and districts S and T began to withdraw, leaving Ye Zhongming standing alone at the forefront.
Many people's faces turned pale, deeply terrified by the counterattack from the iron lock prisoner.
This was a kind of power they could hardly imagine at the moment.
Ye Zhongming fixed his gaze on the mid-level water gemstone on the nature staff, knowing that if it shattered, he would need to instantly replace it. Otherwise, he too would meet a grim fate.
But Ye Zhongming's concerns didn't stop there; he had already noticed the abnormality in the sky and realized that the iron lock prisoner's next innate skill was about to be unleashed.
Considering that this giant had already displayed skills from Horn of Life to carnivorous plant sea, and now this beam of light and dark thunderclouds—each one is a top-tier skill on its own—Ye Zhongming couldn't help but admire Mu Xinfey and the other three nine-star evolvers from his previous life who managed to defeat it.
The dark clouds in the sky expanded rapidly, covering the nearby area in just a few seconds, showing no signs of stopping. Aside from a few individuals who sprinted away as if racing against the clouds, everyone else had come to a halt.
Running was futile; no one could outrun the expanding clouds, so it was better to defend in place. After all, with such large-scale attacks, the power couldn't be overwhelmingly strong at every single point.
With a thunderous roar, the first lightning bolt snaked down, striking directly at the battlefield in area C. The lightning descended almost instantaneously from the sky to the ground, and when the thunder sounded, the people in that region fell to the ground simultaneously.
Those at the center were utterly unrecognizable, reduced to charred remains, while some of those nearby convulsed uncontrollably, foam escaping their mouths, their equipment smoking and completely destroyed, slipping into a state of unconscious spasms, unsure if they would survive.
This single bolt of lightning caused over twenty casualties!
Following the explosive sound of the first thunder, lightning began to pour down from the sky. Anyone within the area had no chance of escaping the baptism of lightning.
The lightning varied in thickness and length, causing varying degrees of harm to the evolvers, all depending on luck. Some thin bolts merely caused temporary paralysis, while others, like the first bolt, could pierce even the strongest defensive gear or skills, resulting in instant death.
The cloud summit warriors, who had already begun to retreat, returned. They independently defended themselves, lacking the strength of the Shield of the Water Bottle’s protection. Although the combination of lightning and the beam had caused the Shield’s brilliance to quickly diminish, it had not shattered yet and continued to hold.