Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2967 Dire Battle

The masked man's aura exploded outward, causing the entire tunnel to shake violently.Klea's expression changed immediately. She had suspected the mysterious figure was powerful, perhaps even stronger than Hendrik, but the pressure descending upon the battlefield far exceeded her expectations.

Three Cosmos.

The realization struck her instantly.

This was not an opponent she could defeat.

Fortunately, victory had never been her objective.

Without the slightest hesitation, silver feathers erupted behind her as she activated the Icarus Wings.

Rather than charging toward the masked man, she accelerated toward the nearest tunnel exit, her figure becoming a streak of silver light.

"Trying to run?"

The masked man raised both hands as flaming circle gathered around his fingers. Moments later, dozens of blazing stones erupted forward like a meteor shower, tearing through the corridor in pursuit.

Klea never looked back.

Three defensive talismans appeared between her fingers before being thrown behind her.

The Tier-Six artifacts unfolded into translucent barriers capable of blocking tremendous force without reducing her speed.

BAM! BAM BAM

One after another, the flaming stones collided against the shields and exploded harmlessly, allowing her to continue forward uninterrupted.

Seconds later she burst out of the mountain.

Cold night air greeted her as the open sky finally appeared overhead.

Behind her, the masked man emerged through the collapsing tunnel entrance like a comet. Stone exploded around him while his body became a streak of burning light cutting through the darkness. Even with the Icarus Wings, Klea could feel him rapidly closing the distance.

Rather than continuing to flee, she suddenly descended toward the mountainside below.

The two landed roughly twenty meters apart upon a broken slope littered with shattered stone and sparse vegetation.

"You can't outrun me," the masked man said calmly. "Not even with that flying artifact."

Klea answered with a small smile and raised her wrist.

"I know," she said calmly. "That was never my purpose."

The masked man's eyes narrowed as green runes ignited across her skin. He immediately recognized the formation.

The Cosmic Palace.

Now that she had escaped the mountain's restrictions, the communication channel had finally connected. Whatever message she had prepared was already on its way.

A cold smile appeared beneath the silver mask.

"Huh.. By the time any reinforcement arrives, they will only find your corpse, and I would be long gone already"

"We'll see."

Klea's answer remained infuriatingly casual.

Then she reached into her storage ring.

Five silver figures emerged around her.

Randhall Silver Golems.

Ancient constructs recovered by Emery from the tombs beneath Randhall. Each possessed strength comparable to a peak Full Moon cultivator, and Klea had took five of them for emergencies.

The moment they appeared, all five charged simultaneously.

The masked man merely raised a hand.

Multiple crimson circles forms and a rain of flaming stones erupted outward.

The battle lasted only several seconds.

Explosions echoed across the mountainside as the silver constructs were smashed apart one after another. Metal limbs flew through the air while shattered fragments rolled down the slope. By the time the final explosion faded, all five golems had been reduced to piles of twisted scrap.

Only then did the masked man's expression shift slightly.

He finally understood.

The golems had never been intended to defeat him.

They had merely been buying time.

While his attention remained occupied, Klea had quietly completed a large-scale summoning formation beneath her feet. Countless glowing runes now covered the mountainside, their interconnected patterns stretching dozens of meters across the battlefield.

The final chant left her lips.

Immediately, the temperature plummeted.

Frost spread across the ground.

Snow began falling from a clear night sky.

Then a blizzard erupted.

At its center appeared a towering figure formed from pale azure light, with flowing hair resembling frozen waterfalls and eyes that glowed like cracked sapphires.

Shiva.

One of the Nephilim Aeons entrusted to Klea after inheriting their lineage.

For the first time since the battle began, the masked man's expression visibly changed.

The freezing pressure alone was terrifying.

Ice rapidly spread across his body, forcing him to burn his own flesh and spiritual energy merely to keep moving. Blood mixed with steam as he forcibly shattered the layers of frost forming around him.

Unfortunately, Shiva was only the beginning.

As soon as the frozen restraints weakened, another enormous presence descended from the heavens.

Garuda.

The wind aeon's colossal wings unfolded across the night sky, generating a powerful cyclone. Before the masked man could stabilize himself, the storm caught him and violently dragged him upward.

The battlefield disappeared beneath him.

The sky became his prison.

Yet Klea's assault still wasn't finished.

Thunder rolled across the heavens.

An elderly figure materialized above the cyclone, his white beard flowing in the storm while countless bolts of lightning danced around his body.

Ramuh.

The thunder elder slowly raised his staff.

The heavens answered.

Lightning descended.

One bolt.

Then another.

The cyclone transformed into a cage of wind, frost, and divine thunder as wave after wave of lightning crashed down upon the trapped cultivator.

The mountains shook.

The sky flashed continuously.

For several moments, the Three Cosmos expert disappeared completely beneath the overwhelming assault.

Then an enraged roar erupted from within the storm. The masked man finally lost his patience.

"ENOUGH!!"

Cosmic power erupted from his body.

Molten stone covered his skin while rivers of magma flowed across his limbs. The cyclone shattered apart beneath the sudden explosion of power as the surrounding mountain trembled violently.

Then,

A thirty meters tall colossal crimson giant slowly materialized above the battlefield, its body forged from magma and condensed cosmic energy. Rivers of molten rock flowed through cracks in its armor while a gigantic sword rested within its hands.

A Cosmic Projection.

The signature ability of a Three Cosmos Grand Magus.

The giant moved.

The resulting battle shook the entire mountainside.

Its sword clashed against Shiva's ice.

Garuda's storms collided against waves of fire.

Ramuh's lightning illuminated the battlefield while molten rock rained from above.

For several minutes the Aeons managed to hold.

Then Klea began reaching her limit.

Maintaining three legendary summons simultaneously placed a tremendous burden upon her spirit sea, and she could feel her control slipping with every passing second. The giant immediately sensed the weakness.

Its sword descended.

Shiva shattered into countless frozen fragments.

The second swing tore through Garuda before the wind aeon could recover.

The third strike shattered Ramuh into fading particles of golden light.

The backlash struck Klea immediately.

Blood erupted from her lips as she staggered to one knee.

The masked man began walking toward her.

This time the creatures emerging from his flaming circle were much smaller.

Magma birds.

Several of them.

Each possessed wings spanning several meters and eyes burning with golden fire. Molten feathers scattered behind them as they charged directly toward Klea.

She immediately took flight once more.

The Icarus Wings carried her through the night sky as she desperately evaded the relentless pursuit. However, her wounds were accumulating rapidly and her spiritual reserves were nearly exhausted.

Several defensive talismans appeared between her fingers and exploded into shimmering barriers behind her.

One after another the magma birds crashed into the protections, filling the night sky with fire and shockwaves. Yet there were simply too many of them. Every destroyed construct was replaced by another, and every moment she bought only delayed the inevitable.

Gradually the flock herded her higher and higher into the air.

Then they surrounded her.

Klea's heart sank.

The magma birds closed from every direction while the masked man watched calmly from below. There was nowhere left to evade.

Then the night sky suddenly bloomed with color.

A brilliant rainbow barrier appeared between her and the incoming attack.

Two tiny figures flew before her.

One wrapped in wind.

The other cloaked in flame.

Kayelin's fairy companions.

Their small hands remained clasped together while streams of rainbow light poured from their bodies, creating a barrier powerful enough to stop the charging magma bird head-on. The creature slammed into the rainbow wall and instantly dissolved into fragments of molten energy.

Klea immediately looked downward.

What she saw surprised her.

Hendrik was already lying motionless among the shattered ruins below.

The commander of the Red Dawn Royal Guards, a genuine Two Cosmos experts, had been defeated.

Kayelin had finished her battle far faster than Klea believed possible.

Yet Hendrik's defeat was not the most shocking sight.

Kayelin herself had changed.

Her apothecary robes had torn across one shoulder, exposing skin covered in intricate silver-and-gold runes that glowed with blinding intensity. The patterns spread throughout her body like a second skeleton forged from living light. Her silver hair floated around her despite the absence of wind, while her eyes had become two molten golden suns.

The Fey Lion transformation.

A power she had rarely used.

The moment Kayelin entered the battlefield, the atmosphere changed.

She moved with terrifying speed.

One instant she stood upon the mountainside.

The next she was already in front of the masked man.

Golden claws swept forward.

The attack struck the colossal Cosmic Projection directly.

A thunderous explosion erupted across the battlefield.

The projection actually staggered.

Cracks spread across its burning armor while fragments of cosmic energy scattered into the night.

Even the masked man appeared surprised.

Her movements possessed an almost predatory elegance. Every strike flowed into the next while silver and golden light followed her claws. Several attacks even slipped through the projection's defenses and nearly reached the masked man's true body, forcing him to retreat for the first time since the battle began.

Seeing the opportunity, Klea quickly swallowed one of Merlin Apothecary's highest-grade recovery pills.

Warm energy immediately spread through her damaged pathways.

The effect was far from enough to restore her fully, but it stabilized her condition and allowed her to continue fighting.

Moments later she rejoined the battle.

The rhythm quickly settled into an uneasy balance.