Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Chapter 1148: Small Fist Pump

While everyone looked on in shock, still processing what just happened, Seth couldnʼt help a small fist pump when nobody was looking. Python not only epically stopped Yoma Ma, but she also did so outside the city. Whether this was sensible consideration or coincidence, didnʼt matter.

Despite seeming slow because of her size, Python was moving at an incredible speed. By the time Yoma Maʼs ship crossed the city boundaries, Python had also reached the edge of the Pythian Village. She wasnʼt too far away when she cast the rock spire that brought the ship down.

Dim lights of the city below illuminated her massive figure, towering over even the highest high riser in the satellite settlement, as she closed in on the crash site. There were no signs of Yoma Ma. Was he hiding?

In the meantime, the cultivators that had held on all this time, even when they were surrounded and slowly whittled away, finally fell into a panic. Their own Alliance Leader, an immortal, didnʼt simply try to run away, but also completely abandoned them in the face of danger.

The elders understood that choosing escape didnʼt mean that Yoma Ma would definitely lose in a fight against the guardian beast. Evading an unprofitable fight was the intelligent thing to do, but completely abandoning them definitely meant the end of this alliance.

It didnʼt take an elder to realize that they stood no chance when even the immortal decided to run.

“Flee!” the various group leaders in the air screamed.

“Vermillion Autumn Sect to me! The barrier is gone! We have to leave!”

“Grass Viper Temple, to me!”

“Adorable Frog Lake, to me!”
“This is a lost cause! We have to get out of here!”

Various sects tried to assemble what was left of their people while facing the continued attacks from Minas Mar and its allies. Chaos ensued in the wake of Yoma Maʼs escape. Especially the Silk River sect was in dire straits, as their core vessel had just vanished in a cinematic explosion.

Not just the flagship, their whole plan was suddenly coming down in flames. What would they do if they found out about the worst part? All of their failure and humiliation was broadcast live to a myriad of worlds. Their failure became legendary.

...

“I guess we wonʼt get a chance to step in today, old friend,” Xiong Peng mentioned to Master Mountain. The two allied cultivators stayed back, to only interfere if things were dire.

“You? What about us?” Jess grumbled. The members that had gone on field trips across the Pathworks to gain levels had all been on standby in the VIP Lounge, forced to watch the others go out to fight. Monique sighed.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“You know why-” she spoke up, but Jess interrupted her. “ Yeah, yeah, same reason why his people werenʼt allowed to join,” she said and pointed at Xiong Peng. The strategy was to only reveal as much power as was needed and as little as possible.

This battle was the time for everyone else to gain some fame and levels. Although they all agreed on this strategy they couldnʼt help but grumble. Who could blame them? They had to watch their friends go into battle and werenʼt allowed to help.

On the other hand, they all understood Lufʼs explanation. They couldnʼt always be there to help if something happened. On the contrary, if those who were strong always stepped forward to protect the others out of concern, then they didnʼt just protect them, but they took away their chance to grow.

Of course, there was always danger involved, but this was still the closest to a controlled environment. It was better for everyone to fight here, where they could watch and intervene, than facing the regret when something unforeseen happened and they lost someone because they couldnʼt be there in time.

...

The burning pile suddenly burst apart, spraying flaming debris and embers everywhere. The alliance leader broke out from the remnants of his flagship. His robes were ripped and bloodied from the shipʼs explosion, giving him the aura of a warrior putting up a last stand, not a leader who tried to abandon his men.

The orange glow of the spray of fire and cold moonlight from above illuminated the scene of the two very different opponents.

“Fine then, beast! If you insist on this battle, I will fight you to the death!”, he cried out with fervor, as he rose to the skies. His eyes burned with wrath, facing the moving massif before him. He swung his frosty saber, gushing with growing icicles.

“Glacial Strike!” he shouted the name of his technique and a giant crescent of dark blue ice blocked out the moon and stars. The broadcast had to change to a wide-angle view to show the whole extent of the attack. The crescent of ice grew further as it flew, hitting the giant snake mountain in the neck.

Like a glacier but with the speed of a bullet, the ice ground against the mountainous rock snake. Python was bathed in viscous floods of ice. But for a moment, she didnʼt move an inch. When the surge of ice passed, all it left was a shallow mark, ground in the shell of the guardian god.

In the scene, showing the giant snake, facing the immortal, this attack seemed mighty but with little effect. However, the audience broke out in cries of astounding and panic, seeing the pictures of the attackʼs aftermath. Without the barrier, there was nothing protecting the Pythian Village.

Python suffered just a scratch, but the outskirts of the Pythian village were flooded by a tsunami of ice! Inns, restaurants, shops, and high risers no matter what style were ripped away like models made of matchsticks. Even the sparse house trees placed in the Pythian village froze at the base and broke away.

The one attack had completely devastated the southern edge of the city. Whatever was still on the streets in this place, was covered in tens of meters of ice. Only the barriers of temporary shelters set up by Minas Mar in a hurry, barely held out against the peripheral damage of the attack, albeit flickering dangerously.

This was the attack of a legend specialized in combat! Everyone who saw this scene, immediately understood why legends were only used with caution. It was also the first time for Seth to see this directly.

It wasnʼt the extent of the damage that shocked him, but the ease with which it was brought. For Yoma Ma, this seemed like an ordinary attack, as if he only got serious now and had held back in the fight with Pythonʼs stand-in.

The giant snake head looked over the several square kilometers of the city that were drowned in heavy ice and snorted disapprovingly.

“How dare you look away in our battle!” the immortal shouted. He used a technique and appeared directly beside Pythonʼs head. Compared to the snake, the alliance leader was not even the size of an ant, but when he struck her with the saber she was thrown back, and half her head was covered in a clump of ice. However-

“Letʼs change location,” her voice echoed calmly through the whole city. It was spoken calmly but so loud, that even the immortal covered his ears. The voice of god was harsh to the ears of mortals. Adding the bonus because she was the Guardian God of Little Gamma, it was even hard for the immortal to withstand.

“As if I would follow the suggestion of-” the alliance leader cried out, but he was interrupted. Pythonʼs head snapped back with speed unimaginable for her size, and he once against found himself in the maw of the giant snake. Fluidly, she followed the snap with a dive into the ground.

The incredibly big snake dove into the ground, as if it was water, but without a single splash and simply vanished together with her opponent. Seth was about to let out a sigh of relief, when the whole stadium shook.

No, not just the stadium. the whole city shook as if it suffered an earthquake. What was going on?!