Chapter 255: Narrow Escape
"You little shits!!"
The whole ground shook like several violent earthquakes were striking all at once as an enraged voice loudly echoed out. Tiny shards of ice sprayed into the air at lightning speed, disappearing far into the horizon.
Over at the Shadow Rogue Squadron, the Captain floated several feet in the air, completely free from his previous ice prison. Frostbite was all around his face and, combined with his current enraged expression, gave him a frightening appearance.
Even as he had escaped the ice prison, the Shadow Rouge Captain body was still continually shaking.
Because he was entirely unprepared, he had to use over half of his Heavenly Qi reserve just to break out of that Ice Qi.
But no matter how quickly he had broken out, the Ice Qi had already caused severe damage to him. Inside his Martial Veins Ice Qi rampage about, heavily weakening his full prowess.
Furthermore, the ice-cold energy had also penetrated deep within his body, putting his body in a continuous state of never-ending cold.
Since even a sixth-level Heavenly King had trouble breaking out of that Ice talisman, of course, the other fifth-level Heavenly King were all still trapped.
The others indeed weren't dead, but all of their combat prowess would be severely limited until they could recover.
And to think, the cause of all of this pain was because of one dirty trick from a weak youth.
Even as it was a lapse of judgment on all of their parts, the Captain absolutely couldn't accept being put in such a desperate situation because of a mere True Soul Core youth!
In that instance, the Captain's Killing Intent exploded into an aura that surged and crushed down on Darcel, Aniela, and Masami. The resentment in the Captain's heart wouldn't be resolved until he personally sliced these youths apart.
"Shit! Just keep on charging!"
Darcel roared to the girls as his own bloodline arm surged a Darkness glow around it.
Aniela and Masami didn't respond as they continued to frantically charge up their respective attacks. On both girls' faces, their expressions were the most severe than it ever was.
Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's bodies were warped by indomitable pressure, and they had to pour every single drop of power they had to keep on moving.
At this point, Darcel could only hope his defense can at least somewhat hold out against the Captain's ensuring attack.
And like Darcel expected, the Shadow Rouge Captina strut his palm forward, surging it with an immense wave of Heavenly Qi power.
Just the mere shockwaves of the Captain's power caused even more pressure upon Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's bodies. At this point, their Soul's Cores began instinctively pumping them full of soul energy just so they can stay on their feet.
Seeing the trio somehow still standing up even after he burst forth a wave of Heavenly Qi power did cause the Captain to crease his brows.
He did sense the trio's unleashing their bloodline state, but the prowess they exuded was simply nothing compared to the might of his sixth level Heavenly King prowess.
Still, the fact they could stand ignited even more feral Killing Intent within the Captain. In an instant, his palm got coated in Shadow Essence energy which took on the appearance of a Darkness glow.
For a six feet radius around the Captain, everything was shrouded in a chilling Darkness aura. And in a nanosecond, the Captain blasted out three Shadow Essence energy chains from his palm!
Darcel, Aniela, and Masami nearly went rigid in complete terror.
Terrifying dread exploded in their minds as they sensed the immense power radiating from the Captain's three Shadow Essence energy chains.
This was an attack none of them could easily tank even if they were at full power. And Darcel had only managed to gain back seventy percent of his own energy reserves.
The only lucky thing they had going was the fact that Captain Heavenly Aura and Heavenly Qi weren't immobilizing their bodies.
Even though they were fifteen feet apart, the Captain's Shadow energy chains reached the trio in just a mere second.
Right before each Shadow energy chain pierced into their bodies, Darcel erected a large Darkness Essence wall right in front of them.
The Shadow energy chains were but a foot away from reaching his Darkness Essence wall, and Darcel could feel the chills of death crawling up his spines.
Even though he poured his heart into this attack, he could just sense this will do very little in actually defending.
And Darcel's hopeless thoughts came true, much to his dismay.
'Ka-Cha!'
The Shadow energy chains easily shattered Darcel's Darkness Essence wall into tiny wisps of energy.
And without stopping, the Shadow energy chains brutally tore right into Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's shoulders and came right out the other end.
"Damn!!" Darcel, Aniela, and Masami couldn't stop shrieking in anguish as their blood and guts flew out their pierced shoulder.
The Shadow energy chains ruthlessly tore apart their flesh and sturdy bones like it was made of paper mache. Tremendous pain wracked the trio's bodies, nearly putting them on the verge of unconsciousness.
And inside their bodies, the Captain's Heavenly Qi energy attempted to destroy everything inside.
But, instantaneously, a small stream of green energy tore apart the Captain's energy like it was nothing.
On a protective instinct, a faint green glow shrouded Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's entire bodies even while the Shadow energy chains were still in their shoulders.
Immediately when the faint green glow covered their bodies, the Shadow energy chains had suddenly erupted!
'BANG!'
A tremendous blast of Heavenly Qi exploded from right within Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's shoulders! This should've decimated their bodies to mere dust.
However, while they were in the Heavenly Qi blast, the trio's faint green glow shrouding their bodies turned into a harsher, darker light.
An indescribable amount of power shrouded Darcel, Aniela, and Masami's bodies which protected them from getting blown to smithereens.
"Geeh!!"
Although, Darcel, Aniela, and Masami were still sent flying back like broken leaves in the wind because of the Heavenly Qi blast tremendous knockback.
Blood sprayed from their mouths like a geyser, and their bodies tumbled along the snowy ground for over fifteen feet.
"....How? The hell?" Even though the Shadow Rouge Captain was in an absolute superior position, he couldn't understand what just happened.
In fact, his mental state was in absolute bewilderment!
No matter what tricks, talisman, or Spirit Artifact they could possibly have, there's just no way anything could save their bodies from tanking a powerful attack from him.
After all, he's at the sixth level of the Heavenly Transformation realm!
Masami was merely a peak Innate Core brat. While Darcel and Aniela were even worse, being mere True Soul Core brats!
Never in the Shadow Rogue Captain's life did he feel so much shock over seemingly winning an easy battle.
For a brief moment, the Captain contemplated on what he should do with these youths. His Spirit Sense could still pick up on their tenacious lifeforce, though it was dwindling by the second.
Right then, a cold glint sparked within the Captain's eyes as he decided his next course of action. Since their bodies are so tough, he'll simply kill the trio off for good and inspect whatever treasure they have on them.
A chilling smirk curved the Captain's face, and he raised his palm, preparing to end this charade once and for all.
However, whatever attack he was getting ready to unleash wouldn't be able to come out.
Not when Aniela's voice had suddenly shrieked out into the wind.
"Flash!!"
A radiant white glow burst out from where Aniela laid in the snow and quickly covered everything in a one-hundred-foot radius!
In a surprising twist of an event, she had managed to finally unleash her soul stunning flashbang. What primally helped achieve this was a familiar energy coursing out from her soulscape space.
The Shadow Rouge Captain was caught entirely off guard once again. Just like last time, he didn't even sense the attack before it went off.
But the Captain found something else even more shocking. It was the facet he had immensely trouble moving his body! Inside his soulscape space, the Captain also felt a powerful force invade all around there.
If Aniela still had her original prowess, then the Shadow Rouge Captain simply wouldn't be able to move at all, and his entire body would be left completely defenseless.
However, now, the Captain could still move his body, just every so slightly. And he could still gather up his energy. Albeit, his speed in gathering energy was immensely slowed down.
Plus, he had to pour all of his energy into destroying the invading force in his soulscape space.
It was taking the Shadow Rouge Captain a whole few seconds to get close to breaking free from Aniela's soul flashbang.
And those few seconds were all that the trio needed.
Even as she laid face down on the ground, Masami still tightly held on to the escaping talisman, never stopping for a single second of pouring her power into it. Though her body was in tremendous pain, an familiar energy from within her soulscape space kept her consciousness afloat.
And right then, Masami sensed the talisman was finished charging.
Almost instinctively, Masami crushed the escaping talisman, causing a green lightning glow to instantly wrap around her, Darcel, and Aniela's bodies.
In that instance, the trio shot off far into the distant skies, becoming a faint green blur in the far-off horizon.
Just as the trio had escaped, the Shadow Rouge Captain broke through Aniela's soul flashbang.
The radiant white glow had disappeared, and the Captain whipped his eyes towards the sky. He was only able to catch the faint afterimage of the trio's trail.
In just a couple of seconds, the trio was long gone, going even beyond the Shadow Rogue Captain's Spirit Sense range.
"Tch! Dammit! Just how did they survive my attack!"
The Shadow Rouge Captain was still fervent disbelief. His eyes still lingered in the sky as a ruthless thought swirled in his mind. The next time he meets those youths, they won't even know how they will die!