The two stood amidst the violet-red flames, still taking the time to exchange a few words.
After withstanding the strongest wave of flame impact, the Death Messenger forcefully pushed both hands outward, sending shockwaves rippling through the air.
Lu Ce also gripped his axe and slammed it heavily into the ground, causing golden waves to appear once again.
Their combined power cleared the burning flames around them, creating an open space.
All around, violet-red flames quietly burned in every visible location, even in places that contained no conventional combustible materials.
Flames sprouted from cracks in the stones, from the asphalt runway, everywhere.
The fireproof canopy above the spectator stands had already melted, dripping molten iron and melted plastic downward in droplets.
Patting his clothes, Lu Ce could feel the intense heat and destructive sensation from these flames.
This guy had grown stronger since their last encounter...
Even the color of his flames had changed.
"Hey, what are you doing? Couldn't you be more careful?"
The Death Messenger patted out the flames on his body, his eyes showing slight surprise. Within these flames, he seemed to sense a hint of death's aura.
He wondered if this person's flames could be considered upgraded to hellfire.
But having just suffered indiscriminate attack, he felt somewhat displeased and spoke upward toward the Sun.
The Sun currently floated in the air, blazing flames burning at his feet, the upward thrust of hot air allowing him to master flight capability.
"Huh?"
Hearing the Death Messenger's voice, the Sun impatiently dug at his ear and said:
"I was attacking him. You insisted on standing within my attack range, what could I do?"
"Maybe you should get lost first?"
Death Messenger: ...
He was momentarily speechless. Just from the voice, he knew exactly who this was.
Before coming, he had roughly understood "Sin's" situation, but naturally hadn't had the patience to check everyone else's circumstances individually.
What kind of creature was this "Sun"? He was really quite annoying.
The Sun's body slowly descended from the air and stood on the ground.
He never forgot the effect of his Blasphemer's Medal, so naturally he wouldn't give the Death Messenger any friendly treatment.
Although they were in the same faction, his reason for confronting "Sin" had nothing to do with faction alignment.
He purely felt that only when facing "Sin" could he properly test his combat capabilities.
That large-scale attack was just an appetizer, so to speak.
The Death Messenger didn't want to bother with him and turned to look at Xie Antong:
"You're here, oh? And you've brought some of Pleasure's aura with you?"
"He selected someone among the players? How strange."
"But it's quite fitting actually - Agony and Pleasure, natural enemies."
Xie Antong smiled with narrowed eyes, looking at the Death Messenger as she said:
"Ah, don't misunderstand, I mainly serve as atmosphere support."
"Just observing the battles between experts. I'm sure someone who governs death wouldn't dump such life-and-death moments onto someone just here for entertainment, right?"
Death Messenger: ...
Although Xie Antong's voice was quite polite, he still felt like he'd been subtly rebuffed.
Not letting any emotion show on his face, he simply looked at Xie Antong and questioned:
"Also, I thought I saw someone from the [Saint] faction disappear beside you earlier."
"Did you come together? In the game, different factions don't have time to consider personal relationships."
He was naturally referring to Chiyo Eine who had left earlier.
Xie Antong looked somewhat surprised and replied:
"Ah? Really? Who? I didn't see anyone."
The earlier Chiyo Eine had naturally been sent by her to directly head for the Demon Beacon location in Qian City!
That thing was essentially the [Demon] faction's greatest weakness, and she had Chiyo Eine go check in advance how to seal it.
Additionally, she had sent along one of her eyes, essentially splitting herself into two paths to also go check the situation.
While the group was exchanging words, the battlefield had unknowingly formed into a triangular formation!
The Death Messenger, Blank, and the Sun - the three formed a pincer position, squeezing Lu Ce into the middle, creating a siege situation.
Xie Antong's eyes continuously scanned the surroundings. In Qian City, she seemed to spot several suspicious figures, but couldn't clearly identify them or see their faces.
She didn't believe there were no other [Saint] members left in Qian City at this moment.
But the ability to freely change factions meant they wouldn't show themselves now, especially not with a teammate like "Sin"...
"So, is it three against one today?"
The Sun suddenly spoke, casually summoning a massive morning star that appeared in his hand and slammed heavily onto the ground.
The spiked head was a menacing dark red color, covered in spikes, nearly one meter in diameter!
An iron chain as thick as a forearm connected to this thing, wrapped around the Sun's arm and neck.
—Legendary grade!
After all this time in the game, it seemed he had finally found a weapon that suited him.
"To be honest, I actually wanted a one-on-one fight, but I doubt these others would just stand by and watch."
"A bit disappointing. If you think it's unfair, I could wait a bit longer."
Xie Antong had quietly lit a Soulburn Incense, something she found so useful that she had specifically enhanced it using her own abilities.
"Heh, don't flatter yourself too much. If you tried to fight one-on-one now, he might not even consider you worthy."
"No." Pride suddenly interrupted, "Actually, all three of you are equally unworthy!"
But you can try!
After speaking, the golden giant axe lifted, and the surrounded Pride suddenly took the initiative to strike first.
Golden axe radiance rippled outward, enveloping everyone in its expanding range!
This game had started with little buildup, directly entering the highest-level battlefield from the beginning.
Lu Ce pivoted on one foot, and in the next instant, the Extreme Path Battle Axe's blade was already at the Death Messenger's face!
His first target was still the Divine Messenger!
The Death Messenger's figure flashed, avoiding direct confrontation, instantly shifting position, unwilling to face this terrifying Broken Divine Weapon head-on!
Boom!
The ground's sand and stones were instantly split apart, flying bricks carrying terrifying recoil force shot into the sky, even shattering several windows in nearby blocks.
Simultaneously, Lu Ce tilted his head and swung the axe horizontally, deflecting the incoming morning star.
Nearby, the black Giant Egg slowly extended, revealing blood-red eyes.
This battle wasn't just one against three...