Fuck

Looking at the rubble scattered across the ground and the purple flames dancing around Della, Balin finally abandoned any thought of defeating his opponent. The staff in his hand fell to the ground, and with a deathly pale face, he said:

"I... actually lost."

His proud earth magic and summons were like children's toys before the opponent. Any further resistance would only bring disgrace upon himself.

"Hmph, Balin, you really are a piece of trash. In your next life, you'd be better suited as a goblin."

A cold, enchanting female voice came from the shadows of the city wall, her tone full of disdain.

The crowd looked toward the voice and saw a slender figure slowly walking out. A dark, tight-fitting combat suit outlined her voluptuous curves, her waist so incredibly slim it could be grasped with one hand, perfectly blending feminine softness with the lethal sharpness of an assassin.

She had the signature silver-purple long hair of a dark elf and faintly purple-black skin. In her hands, she held two short daggers gleaming with a cold, ghostly blue light, their tips dripping with a deadly poison capable of corroding armor.

"Darkmoon! Why are you here?"

Seeing the newcomer, Balin's face grew even uglier, his tone carrying a mix of unwillingness and apprehension.

This was the other Tier Seven powerhouse of the Dior territory, the dark elf assassin Darkmoon. Renowned for her stealth assassinations and deadly poisons, her strength was even a notch above his own.

Darkmoon walked up to Balin and glanced down at him condescendingly, her silver-purple eyes filled with contempt:

"If I didn't come, you would have completely thrown away the face of the Dior territory. A Tier Seven summoner who can't even defeat a single one of the opponent's summons, yet you still dare to call yourself the strongest earth summoner in the Hill Empire?"

"If you're so capable, you do it!" Balin was left speechless by her rebuke and simply decided to throw caution to the wind,

"That summon is not a normal-tier existence at all. Do you really think you can beat it?"

"I don't need to defeat that pile of scrap metal." Darkmoon chuckled lightly, shifting her gaze to Ye Chuan, a flash of predatory excitement in her eyes,

"I am an assassin, and more importantly, the natural nemesis of summoners."

"A summoner's strength has always relied entirely on their summons. Themselves? They are nothing but mages with pitifully low defense and pathetically weak self-preservation skills. Even if they have a mana shield, I can easily pierce right through it."

She paused, her fingertips lightly tracing the flat of her dagger's blade, her tone brimming with absolute confidence:

"Furthermore, I can perfectly conceal myself. Not even a Tier Seven powerhouse can detect my presence. As long as I get close to him, I can shred this man to pieces in a single second."

As soon as her words fell, Darkmoon's figure abruptly faded. The shadowy aura around her instantly retracted, as if she had melted into the air itself, not leaving behind even the slightest ripple of energy.

The soldiers on the city wall and Balin widened their eyes, but they couldn't even catch a glimpse of her afterimage. They could only rely on their memory to guess where she had just been standing.

"T-Teacher! She turned invisible! Be careful!"

Elara instantly tensed up, tightly gripping Ye Chuan's sleeve. Her eyes vigilantly scanned their surroundings, terrified that Darkmoon would suddenly lunge out from some corner.

Ye Chuan remained calm. He raised his hand and gently waved it toward Elara, casting a barrier that enveloped her. It was exactly like the barrier that had blocked the magic cannons earlier:

"Don't be afraid. Just stay inside."

Meanwhile, Darkmoon was closing in on Ye Chuan like a phantom.

Her stealth technique was a secret art of the dark elves, capable of isolating her aura, light, and shadow. Even high-tier detection magic couldn't see through it.

Her footsteps were light, not making a single sound. Her gaze was locked dead onto the center of Ye Chuan's back—

That was one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body, as well as the weak point where a summoner's energy circulated during spellcasting.

One strike, and she could send him to meet the Goddess!

The distance continued to close... A smug, cold smirk curled the corners of Darkmoon's lips. The dagger in her hand gathered a dense shadowy energy, its tip gleaming with a chilling light.

She abruptly activated her Blink skill, her figure appearing behind Ye Chuan as if she had teleported. Throughout the entire process, she maintained her completely transparent state, leaving no trace whatsoever!

"Die! Death God's Sting!" Darkmoon shouted in her heart. Exerting force in her wrist, the dagger thrust viciously toward Ye Chuan's heart, accompanied by a sharp, crimson screech that seemed to tear through space!

In her mind, this strike was guaranteed to succeed. A summoner's reaction speed was inherently slow, and since he couldn't detect her position, even a mana shield wouldn't be able to block her shadow-infused dagger!

However, right at the instant the dagger was about to touch Ye Chuan's clothes, his body shifted half a meter to the left like a ghost. His movement was so fast it left behind only an afterimage.

Swish— The dagger pierced empty air and plunged deep into the ground beside him, kicking up a spray of crushed stone. The lethal poison on the tip instantly corroded a small hole in the floor.

Darkmoon's body instantly froze, her silver-purple eyes filled with unbelievable shock.

She quickly snapped back to her senses and swiftly retreated several steps, hiding herself back within the shadows as stormy waves of shock surged in her heart.

How is this possible?!

How could he have dodged it?!

Darkmoon bit her lip hard, her mind swirling with confusion.

Her Blink assault was as fast as lightning, and she was in a state of complete invisibility. Let alone a summoner, even a warrior of the same tier might not have been able to react in time.

Yet Ye Chuan had not only dodged it, but his movements were even faster than her Blink. This completely defied the combat logic of a summoner!

A summoner's strength always originated from their summons. At best, they themselves only knew some basic defensive magic; weak self-preservation was a common flaw among them.

Even a high-tier summoner could only rely on a mana shield to tank an assassin's strike. It was absolutely impossible for them to rely on speed to dodge her ambush!

The soldiers on the city wall and Balin were also dumbfounded. In that brief moment, they only saw Ye Chuan move slightly to evade that invisible attack, without even locking onto Darkmoon's position.

What kind of monster was this young man from Miral? His summon was outrageously strong, and his own personal strength was actually this terrifying as well?

Ye Chuan glanced sideways. Even though this assassin was invisible, by relying on his spiritual sense, he could still perceive all of Darkmoon's movements.

The moment their eyes met, Darkmoon knew clearly that the other party could see her.

Her figure slowly materialized, her dark, ample curves swaying slightly. "You... you can actually see me? What kind of magic is that?"

"Magic?" Ye Chuan smiled. "It's not magic. It's just that your movements are too slow."

For a summoner to say an assassin's movements were slow was the ultimate mockery and belittlement. It caused Darkmoon's eyes to turn completely freezing cold.

"Speed Boost, Goddess's Blessing, Dark Elf Forbidden Spell, Critical Strike Boost, Backstab Boost—" Darkmoon was clearly getting angry as several buffing spells appeared on her body.

The next second, she moved!

Like a gale, Darkmoon began to sprint. Under this extreme speed, she could even feel as if the time around her had slowed down. Just as she triumphantly bypassed Ye Chuan's side—Ye Chuan's eyes moved to follow her.

What?!

In the next moment, Ye Chuan vanished from his spot.

Before Darkmoon could even react, her vision went black as a fist smashed right toward her abdomen!

With a muffled thud, Darkmoon was sent flying backward, ultimately crashing brutally into the city wall!

The city wall was pierced right through, and a large swath of buildings behind it was forcibly blown away in the process!

Balin was completely dumbfounded when he saw the buildings behind him. "Is this a Summoner?"

Then, watching those houses get blasted to smithereens, he clutched his head and let out a groundhog-like shriek.

"By the fucking Goddess, I haven't even paid off the mortgage on my house yet!"