Chapter 1162: YUNYUE VS MOZU (XIX)

To do that, he had to shift into his Xie Long form, even if it meant becoming a huge, visible target. He flapped his wings at full speed, racing to escape Yunyue's headquarters. As long as he could put some distance between them, White Marsh and the gnome wouldn't be able to follow him, since the dragon they relied on for transportation had already been eliminated.

Once he was out of their reach, there would no longer be any obstacles to him reaching Selene Palace.

He continued to surge forward, the wind rushing past him as he gained speed. But just as he thought he was in the clear, the sky above darkened. Without warning, sharp shards of ice started slicing through the surrounding air, glinting like blades as they cut through the clouds. Moments later, small, dense meteors the size of bullets began to rain down, striking the ground with force.

He twisted and turned in midair, dodging as best he could, but the hail and meteors kept coming, relentless and precise.

He Zhi Long cursed to himself. The hailstorms and meteor showers—these were clearly AoE attacks. White Marsh was a Berserker, so it couldn't have been from him. That only left the gnome. But wasn't that little guy a Gunslinger? Since when did a Gunslinger have such powerful AoE attacks?

And not just one, but two at the same time!

The first wave of ice blades and meteor bullets struck him before he could react, cutting into his wings and body. His large form became an easy target, and the unexpected force of the attacks made him falter. Ice shards slashed through his scales, and the meteor bullets pounded him relentlessly. Realizing he couldn't keep up in this form, he was forced to shift back into his humanoid state.

Smaller now, he had more agility, but the attacks kept coming. He deflected the ice blades with quick strikes, narrowly dodging the meteor bullets as they rained down. His mind was focused on one thing—getting out of Yunyue's territory. The storm of ice and fire didn't let up, forcing him to stay on the defensive, yet he moved forward, step by step, toward the edge of their headquarters.

Every dodge and counterattack bought him a little more distance, but the barrage of AoE skills showed no sign of stopping.

With the relentless barrage of ice blades and meteor bullets closing in, He Zhi Long had no choice but to activate one of his strongest AoE skills. Dark-green flames erupted around him in a swirling storm of fire, melting the ice shards and incinerating the bullets before they could land another hit.

The flames roared and twisted, clearing a path through the attacks and giving him a brief moment to act.

Seeing his opening, he prepared to shift back into his Xie Long form, knowing he needed to escape quickly. But just as he was about to start the transformation, a sudden, sharp impact struck the back of his head. At first, it didn't register. Then, as he watched his body slowly dissolving into light particles, the reality hit him—he had been shot.

That damn gnome...!

It was his final thought before completely disappearing.

----------

Meanwhile, on the side of Luo Yan and the others...

After securing the clue for the fourth checkpoint, they headed straight for team Mozu's headquarters. As expected, the members of team Mozu there couldn't stop them and could only watch in frustration, gritting their teeth, as they searched for the clue. Your source is m-vl|emp,yr

With all five of them searching, it didn't take long to find the clue. Su Yuqi was the one who discovered it, near the edge of the pit, buried under a thin layer of ash and cooled lava. She brushed it aside and revealed the clue hidden beneath. Calling the rest of the team over, they confirmed it was the clue to the final checkpoint.

[To reach your final destination, follow the moon's silver light, where the ruler's domain is hidden in plain sight. Seek the grand hall where the monarch resides, a palace named for the goddess who rules the night.]

Luo Yan, Shen Ji Yun, and Su Yuqi quickly realized the clue's meaning—it was pointing straight to Selene Palace. Without wasting a moment, they took off and flew directly toward the Selene Palace, the residence of the King of Arcadia.

Selene Palace was located on a floating island. With Dusk's help, they were able to fly there, but it took some time. The island was far, and without the option to use a portal, they had no choice but to travel the distance manually.

As they saw the palace made of crystals, a notification suddenly appeared in front of them.

[The last member of team Mozu has been eliminated!]

[Team Yunyue won!]

That notification all made them pause. Even Dusk stopped flying. They won? What happened to Bai Ze and Luo Jin's side? A notification appeared earlier, telling them that Rowan could no longer fight. But now, they had won?

"So, are we still going to the palace?" Su Yuqi asked.

Before anyone could respond to her question, a sudden burst of bright light enveloped them. When the light faded and they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing in what appeared to be a grand hall.

Luo Yan was familiar with this place. Because he had been here twice already. First was during the birthday of the King of Arcadia, and the second one was the Rookie Carnival after-party.

They're at the grand hall of Selene Palace.

They weren't alone. Bai Ze and Luo Jin had been teleported alongside them. As Luo Yan scanned the room, he also spotted team Celestials and team Fenghuang. It became clear that the final checkpoint for all four matches was this palace. Since team Yunyue had won against team Mozu, they had been automatically transported here.