Edited by Aelryinth

The Dark Swordmaster was in a rush to set up its defense. It assumed Mo Fan was going to back away, so its ruthless sword shadows were aimed in the direction Mo Fan was supposed to escape to. Mo Fan's flame sword took it by complete surprise!

The Dark Swordmaster was forced to back away from Mo Fan's raging flames. Mo Fan made use of the chance to distance himself from the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordmaster quickly recovered. It was greatly ashamed by Mo Fan managing to land a hit on it. It held the sword in a different stance as both it and its horse turned around while they were skidding away!

"Moonback Slash!"

The Dark Swordmaster was a master of sword arts, and still managed to attack even when Mo Fan forced it to back away. A sharp flicker of light swept at Mo Fan. Luckily, Mo Fan did not impatiently follow up with another attack, mainly because he had fought a Dark Swordmaster before. It gave him more space to dodge the Moonblack Slash.

"Blink!"

A silver Star Constellation encapsulated Mo Fan before the slash arrived. He instantly moved two hundred meters away, escaping from the Moonback Slash's range.

"Phew..." Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

He had to be focused at all times while fighting the Dark Swordmaster. He had a feeling that he would die horribly if he lowered his guard even the slightest.

"Mo Fan, let us help you!" Mu Bai said.

"Damn it, how dare it ambush me? I swear I'm going to make it pay!" Zhao Manyan said.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan remained well back. They clearly knew that the rest of them would be killed instantly if the Dark Swordmaster attacked them with its full strength. They had no choice but to keep their distance from the Dark Swordmaster and let Mo Fan fight it head-on.

"Old Zhao, can you block its attacks?" Mo Fan glanced at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan's belly was still bleeding, and he still looked feeble. Mu Bai's treatment was obviously not as efficient as the Healing Magic. Zhao Manyan was forcing himself to lend Mo Fan a hand, as he knew Mo Fan was struggling in the fight.

Zhao Manyan had almost died just a moment ago, yet he was already forcing himself to lend Mo Fan a hand. He was a true brother, indeed!

"Don't forget that my Primary Element is actually the Light Element!" Zhao Manyan yelled back.

Light was strong against darkness. The Dark Swordmaster was obviously vulnerable to the Light Element, but Mo Fan did not have access to any Light Magic. Otherwise, the single-target Light Super Spell, the Demon Judgment Sword, would be enough to inflict serious damage on the Dark Swordmaster!

"Sure!" Mo Fan nodded.

"I'll get rid of its armor first!" Zhao Manyan's Channeling speed did not slow down much, despite his injuries.

The spell was only meant to buy some time. If the Dark Swordmaster kept attacking them, they would have no chance to Channel their spells!

The Brilliant Light was surprisingly effective, managing to confuse the Dark Swordmaster for a moment. When the Dark Swordmaster realized the spell was not really doing much to it, it began to prepare its next wave of attacks.

The Dark Swordmaster glanced at Mo Fan and the others, its eyes emitting an evil red glow. As it raised its huge sword into the air, a cloudy black wind wrapped around it like a python.

The presence of Dark Magic was stronger inside the Pyramid. As a Shadow Mage, Mo Fan could sense the dark substance flowing toward the Dark Swordmaster, as if it was being drawn into a vortex.

"Don't let it accumulate the dark energy!" Mo Fan shouted to the others when he realized the creature was trying to execute a terrifying sword art.

The others were uneasy too, and immediately unleashed their attacks. Heidi used her specialty, the Will Cannon. Mu Bai tossed his Ice Daggers at the Dark Swordmaster. Meos, Shreev, and Sayed used their other Elements, too. Even though their other Elements were not as impressive as their Undead Element, they still had some reliable spells up in their sleeves!

Magic of different Elements surged in the Dark Swordmaster's direction. To their surprise, the black tornado circling around the Dark Swordmaster turned out to be some kind of protection while it was busy accumulating its strength. The black tornado greatly weakened the spells aimed at it.

The leftovers of the Ice Dagger, Will Cannon, and lightning bolts barely left any scratches on the Dark Swordmaster's armor. As the vortex containing the dark energy gradually enlarged, the Dark Swordmaster began to resemble a terrifying volcano that was going to erupt at any second!

"We can't break through its defense. It feels like it's going to wipe us out with a single move!" Mu Bai shouted.

They had failed to break through the protection of the black tornado even when they all attacked at the same time. The outstanding strength of the Ruler-level creature once again generated a strong sense of defeat in the group.

"Come to me; I won't let it kill anyone as long as I'm still standing!" Zhao Manyan declared.

They had no reason to preserve their strength any longer. A brilliant golden light burst out of Zhao Manyan's body. It felt like the light had turned his body into some sturdy golden metal. His skin had a metallic sheen. In Mo Fan's eyes, he had transformed into an iron monk!

"Hug of the Sacred Bear!"

The light that Zhao Manyan was emitting grew rapidly, now having the faint outline of an enormous bear. The sacred golden bear seemed like another powerful soul formerly concealed inside Zhao Manyan's body. As he released it, the silhouette of the sacred bear extended its arms and roared provokingly at the Dark Swordmaster!

The light shone brilliantly in the place, weakening the strong presence of the dark magic. Zhao Manyan stood in front of the group, the golden silhouette of a majestic sacred bear above him, the others hiding behind him. They could clearly feel the pressure from the Dark Swordmaster weakening significantly!

"Dark Ultimate: Sword Vortex!"

The Dark Swordmaster finished accumulating its strength. It waved its sword with extraordinary might.

It was treating the sword as a medium to unleash the dark energy it had accumulated. The huge sword rapidly transformed the huge amount of dark energy into a destructive force: a vortex covering a distance of around two hundred meters!

The vortex was made up of thousands of black swords spinning at insane speed, continuously firing sword shadows in all directions.

The sword shadows were not that much of a threat, but the terrifying sword vortex was moving straight toward the group. Even though it was moving slowly, it was dragging the group toward it with its vacuum!

A Dark Sword Vortex could easily slaughter an entire army if it was used on a battlefield. It would instantly kill any Advanced Mage caught inside it!

"Old Zhao!" Mo Fan was a little worried after seeing how unusual the attack was.

"I can hold my ground, just kill it with everything you have!" Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan rarely used the Hug of Sacred Bear. It was a piece of magic Equipment that his father had given him. He normally commemorated his father with it.

However, it was no longer about remembering his late father if he did not use it at a time like this. His father was clearly going to beat him to death in the afterlife if he died before having any children abnd ensured the continuity of his family!

"Old man, it's all you now." Zhao Manyan closed his eyes. He had never used this magic Equipment in combat before, so he was unsure of its strength.

What if the magic Equipment was the kind that would grow after fulfilling certain requirements? What if the thing was not impressive out of the box? He was going to die for sure! How could a Ruler-level creature's attack possibly allow some defensive Equipment that had yet to reach its full potential challenge it?

The swords struck the golden bear heavily, generating a series of piercing clanks. The noise grew even louder when the center of the sword vortex closed in on the group.

The noise alone was deafening. They could easily imagine how horribly they would die if they were caught by the sword vortex!

The Hug of the Sacred Bear was surprisingly sturdy. It did not show any sign of collapsing, even after it was completely inside the sword vortex. Even Zhao Manyan himself was quite surprised!

They all realized how deadly the Dark Sword Vortex was. It felt like they had been dragged into a sea of swords, where countless deadly swords kept slashing at them like a storm. However, the group standing behind the Hug of the Sacred Bear was completely unharmed. It even separated the icy aura of the darkness from them! They were not afraid at all...

"Old Zhao, you f**king awesome!" Even Mu Bai, who normally despised Zhao Manyan, had a totally different view of him now!

The strongest attack of a Ruler-level creature was deadly even to Super Mages. It would kill anyone without the protection of a Super Spell in an instant, let alone a bunch of Advanced Mages like them!

However, Zhao Manyan had perfectly protected them all from the attack. Even the Dark Swordmaster did not expect it!

This...this..." Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded.

He never realized he had such an impressive defensive item. He always thought his father had given it to him so he could mess around. Putting aside his excuse of not using it because it was a gift from his father, he had always assumed the Wooden Clapper was stronger than this item, which required half his energy each time he used it!

To his surprise, the defense of the thing was insanely strong. It was like his father was standing in front of him, protecting him from all harm!

A protection that perfectly nullified the attack of a Ruler-level creature! Zhao Manyan could not imagine it. It was truly a gift from his father. The insignificant-looking gift turned out to be a life-guaranteeing sacred artifact! Why did he only realize it now? Why did he have to keep it back as a token of remembering his father, like an idiot? He could have used it on many occasions!