Lucy and Arthur knew that the Dark Blaze Sect did not participate in the competition just to gain fame or to showcase their talented youngsters. They were after Cristina and Bora and their special weapons, which had previously belonged to the sect.

Rasnod Ak Dark Blaze, the Patriarch of the sect, was the guardian participating in the last two trials. In comparison to his other peers, he was relatively weaker, both in terms of cultivation and overall magical and physical prowess.

Still, when the timer had hit zero, no one chased after Rasnod, which allowed him to safely catch one of the flying flags and swiftly take it to its respective circle. Now, all he had to do was defend it for a short amount of time.

It has only been two minutes since the trial had started and, excluding Veia, who had been overpowered and knocked unconscious, the rest of the guardians were still either fighting each other or defending their flags.

Xavier Landres and Halone did not budge from their spots, the rest, however, were determined to qualify for the last trial to uphold their reputation and increase their prestige. The rewards, albeit lucrative, were of no interest to wealthy and distinguished individuals such as them.

Buolong, the armored and thick-bearded dwarf belonging to the Blossom Merchant Company, was currently defending his flag from the relentlessly attacking Lakandro.

The Patriarch of the Eternal Rouge Sect had the unique ability to transform into a massive black-scaled and five-headed serpent. He stood at a towering thirty meters and emitted a dangerous poison mist.

Buolong was a minuscule, barely noticeable in front of the humongous figure of Lakandro, however, he was still able to hold his ground and defend the circle and the flag with the sole use of his expensive and flashy gear.

Though not the head of the Blossom Merchant Company, Buolong still had a high status and was well-respected, both for his prowess and intelligent economical decision.

Lakandro Serpentine and Buolong were evenly matched so the other guardians did not interfere in their explosive fight and just watched from the sidelines.

There were only five circles and five flying flags, Bulong was defending one, and so was Rasnod Ak Dark Blaze. As for the other three remaining flags, one was caught by Celina, Mother of all Mermaids, and one by Dan, the loyal protector of Isadore Malfront, King of the Green-Leaf Realm.

Lakandro could have retreated and caught the last flag but, instead, he opted to fight Buolong, to not lose face and also prove that he was stronger.

After thoroughly inspecting the other seven guardians, Lucy finally picked her next target. She did not take the same approach as before, meaning that she did not recklessly get close to her target.

Instead, she summoned her Godspirit along with the rotating ice lotuses then channeled her pure Mana, which caused a chain of actions to burst forth from her body and affect her vicinity.

A half-blue half-white mist covered her and her surroundings, then there was a soft explosive sound followed right after by a bone-chilling aura which froze the grass and cracked the space.

[Absolute Zero] was a high-leveled Ice-aspected spell used by the strong mortal mages on Astria and other similar worlds. Such a spell would not normally work on powerful cultivators, however, thanks to Lucy's Godspirit and her vast quantities of Mana, the spell was empowered to an unimaginable degree.

The freezing ice and the mist spread at a fast pace, creeping closer to Halone, the Ageless Elven Maiden.

Xavier Landres chuckled and jumped to the back, however, Halone did the opposite. She took out two gauntlets made from what looked like emerald, then shot straight into the incoming ice and mist.

Only when she got close enough did the elf realize how effective Lucy's mist and ice were. Her movements significantly decreased and, for a split second, she was even rooted to the icy ground.

She did manage to break free and continue her charge, though she was soon met with dozens of massive icicles shooting at her.

One would expect a graceful elven maiden to rely on Nature Magic or archery, like most of her race. Halone, however, didn't follow the orthodox route, she was a melee-fighter, and a very strong one, at that.

She crushed the icicles and soon appeared before Lucy, who was more than ready to meet her. Fists and legs clashed with each other, resulting in devastating shockwaves and craters to riddle the frozen grassy ground.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Lucy."

Halone somersaulted to the back and sweetly smiled at the White Specter. Contrary to her soothing voice and bright expression, her actions were intense and savage; She violently banged her left foot on the ground and changed her stance, swiftly crouched down and punched the ground, obliteration it and causing countless miniature plants with creepy laughs to jump from below, exploding left and right.

This attempt forced Lucy to retreat and use the ice lotuses to block the incoming damage, meanwhile her GodSpirit, which had taken its time in blooming, released a thick and massive snowstorm.

It resembled a tornado more than a snowstorm; A chilling and unstoppable gale, needle-shaped snowflakes, and a threatening pressure encompassed the area, grazing Halone's clothes and piercing her skin.

The elf was fast to respond, but it was still not enough to defend against everything the snowstorm launched at her.

Thirsty seconds, Lucy was startled to see a glowing silhouette surge from the ground and strike her rear. She spun her body and tried to defend with the ice lotuses but she wasn't fast enough, unfortunately.

Thus she was blown away like a cannonball, her body crashing into the icy ground and rolling several times. Still, she quickly stood up and regained her balance, her clothes slightly shredded but no wounds, light or severe, were sustained, much to the elf's surprise.

"I had heard that you and yours trained your body beyond the limit but… this is just ridiculous."

Halone expected her attack to deal some substantial damage, but it didn't seem to be the case. Even when she had caught Lucy off-guard and hit her with the gauntlets, the latter wasn't the least bit injured, which goes to show how resilient and absurdly strong her body actually was.

As the two women were facing each other, the Demon Duke drifted closer to Celina. He had already retracted his crimson aura and was defenselessly approaching the mermaid.

"Mother of Mermaids, please do not take this personally."

He stared back at the cautious mermaid and apologetically bowed, a soft smile plastered on his face.

"..."

Celina did not reply, she glared at him and invoked her magic. First there was a forty-meter long tsunami that appeared out of nowhere, from which flying sharks burst from within and crashed into the motionless demon.

Xavier had stopped dozens of meters away from the circle and did not resist the incoming sharks or the massive tsunami.

"Hmpf!"

Upon noticing that her attacks did practically nothing, Celina mumbled an inaudible chant then pulled a unique-blue spear from a black circle-shaped hole. Although he was not attacking or retaliating, Celina still did not give him the time to react to her attacks.

A dangerous amount of energy revolved around her, soon concentrating on the spear and elevating its already impressive aura. The preparation took but a couple of breaths, and when they were done, the mermaid raised the spear and threw it at the Duke.

The second it left her hand, the spear became distorted… It was so strong that the space around it was not able to withstand the pressure. It was accompanied by a pillar of azure light, causing the gentle weather to turn into a disastrous storm.