Chapter 1478: 1478. Losses

Noah couldn't pierce the ice. Nothing he did could make a dent in the azure walls that appeared on his path and forced him to remain on the battlefield.

It was clear that the Crystal City was targeting him. The organization didn't seem to care about the Outer Lands. All its reinforcements would fly toward him if the other troops of the hybrid army didn't force them to fight elsewhere.

Even in his solid stage form, Noah couldn't break the ice. His slashes and companions did nothing to that element. Miss Nine's words were correct. Noah had never faced such powerful cultivators.

'There must be a trick behind their power,' Noah thought as he suppressed the pain that was reaching his mind.

Noah was still suffering from the drawbacks of the cursed sword. His body and mind had improved and could withstand more harmful effects, but Noah had to rely on the blade multiple times against Felicia. His skin had continued to shatter, and the bloodlust had never stopped affecting his thoughts.

The Divine Deduction technique activated to analyze the ice. Many plans on how to kill his opponents filled his mind due to the tainted mental energy that flowed inside his ability. Still, he could quickly find the answer to his doubts even in that condition.

'They are part of the same individuality,' Noah concluded in his mind after a quick inspection of the ice.

Noah could feel two identical auras inside the ice. They merged to give birth to something that far surpassed their power. Abe and Ebe had probably resorted to some unorthodox cultivation method to reach that state.

Everything became clear to Noah once he understood that aspect of their existence. He wasn't fighting two different solid stage cultivators. His opponents were two experts who could fuse their laws perfectly and generate far more power than usual.

'No wonder I couldn't pierce the ice,' Noah thought as his expression grew cold.

The ice accumulated in the sky was creating a circular prison that slowly converged toward Noah. The two experts wanted to trap him, and there didn't seem to be a way out of that situation.

A clanging noise suddenly spread through the sky. Miss Nine threw Jordan's massive body away through an invisible technique and turned toward Noah again. Her wide smile still shone on her face, and she barely felt tired after that exchange with the hybrid.

"You should have expected this outcome," Miss Nine said. "You fools ascending from lower planes are all the same. You have been kings in your words for so long that you fail to realize your place in the Immortal Lands."

Jordan flew toward Miss Nine again, but her head slammed on another invisible wall. Blood flowed out of her massive mouth, but her gaze appeared as determined as ever.

"Look at what a large organization can do," Miss Nine continued. "These troops are a mere part of the full power of the Crystal City, and that if we consider only the cultivators in the seventh rank. My force has monsters who have lived for eras. How did you even hope to win?"

Miss Nine continued her speech even if Jordan was doing her best to pierce her defenses. Cracks began to appear in the sky after she amassed enough winds, but those openings didn't lead to the void.

"You accomplish a great feat every time you manage to kill a solid stage cultivator," Miss Nine continued. "Yet, look around you. Three among the best experts in the seventh rank have flown to the other side of the plane to hunt you."

"I count two," Noah said as black flames flowed out of his mouth.

The flames disappeared after they flew for a few centimeters. They didn't even reach his chest since they went into the Shadow Domain.

Miss Nine's smile froze at that sight. She had understood that something terrible was about to happen but couldn't see what Noah had in mind. She didn't even sense his energy spreading into the environment.

Suddenly, Abe exploded into a cloud of gray smoke, black flames, and fuming spikes. Nothing of the expert remained, and the energy contained in his body flowed toward Noah through tiny fiery specks.

Noah could finally experience some clarity of mind after the black hole purified that energy and redirected it toward his tissues. His body instantly healed, and the bloodlust started to retreat.

Miss Nine's smile disappeared. She suddenly felt worried about Noah's incredible ability. He owned something that even solid stage cultivators couldn't sense. No one was safe around him.

However, she also noticed that Noah didn't rely on that technique immediately. Felicia didn't face that attack either. There had to be restrictions to how often Noah could activate it.

Miss Nine wanted to attack immediately, but Jordan managed to break through the invisible wall at that point and forced her to diverge her attention.

Noah could remain alone with Ebe. The cultivator appeared lost without his brother, and Noah didn't hesitate to exploit that moment of weakness. He shot toward the expert with his blades pointed at his head.

"No!" Ebe shouted as he waved his hands through the smoke that had replaced his brother's body. "You can't die! We are one! We will live as long as one of us lives!"

Noah didn't care about Ebe's mental instability and thrust his blades on the cultivator's head. However, a thin layer of ice appeared above his skin, and the attack didn't manage to pierce it.

The clash flung Ebe's downward, but he didn't seem affected by that attack. He slammed on the barrier around the pagoda and straightened his position before flying back toward the gray cloud.

"No, no!" Ebe shouted. "Return to me. Come back through me. Give me your power, brother, and we will live forever."

His aura intensified as his cries continued. Something was happening, but Noah wouldn't just wait there as his opponent became stronger. Moreover, Ebe had tried to put him in a cage. Noah couldn't even begin to describe his anger.

The Demonic Sword melted to cover the white blade. Noah slashed at the cultivator's neck, backing the attack with all the power contained in his enhanced form.

The blade landed on the layer of thin ice again, but his attack only managed to fling Ebe downward again. Noah couldn't hurt him as long as that innate defense existed.

"We will rise together, Abe," Ebe said as he returned toward the smoke. "Nothing will ever separate us."

Noah never stopped attacking, but his offensive appeared to be utterly pointless. Nothing he did could pierce the ice. Killing the brother didn't make any difference in the expert's power.

When the smoke completely dispersed, Ebe could see that nothing had remained of his brother. Noah had absorbed any lingering trace of energy, so that spot lacked even ashes.

"You!" Ebe shouted as his angry gaze turned toward Noah. "You killed him! You killed my brother!"

Ebe's aura increased as he muttered those words, but Noah promptly retreated. The cultivator followed him inside an area already covered by the Shadow Domain, and Noah used it to teleport Instabilities and flames inside his opponent.

Miss Nine had managed to fend Jordan away again, but her expression turned ugly when she saw Ebe exploding. Noah had managed to activate his threatening technique again, inflicting more losses to the Crystal City.