“Bitch! All you do is attack from the shadows!” Narcissa shouted. Her anger boiled over as she directed her guards to attack in the direction Blanche had appeared.
Blanche fought as she fell back, seeming to be driven deeper into the valley. In reality, she was leading Narcissa and the others straight into the heart of the formation, right into the trap she had set.
Just as Narcissa’s frustration peaked and she was ready to use her strongest divine artifacts to break through the formation, something unexpected happened. Several beams of light suddenly appeared along the cliffs on both sides of the valley.
Moments later, five figures streaked downward, landing in a part of the formation where the mist was thinner. They had subtly surrounded Narcissa and her three guards.
All five were dressed in white, their sleeves decorated with faint cloud patterns. There were three men and two women, all in the mid to late-stage Adept realm. Leading them was a middle-aged woman whose presence was calm and commanding, at the peak-stage Adept realm.
“Aunt Aveline!” Blanche’s eyes finally flickered with emotion when she saw her. She quickly retreated to the middle-aged woman’s side. The middle-aged woman, Aveline Frost, had striking features and eyes that blended determination with the weight of experience.
She quickly assessed Blanche-noting that though her injuries were serious, she wasn’t in immediate danger-and gave a slight nod. Then, her cold gaze settled on Narcissa, who looked slightly flustered in the mist.
“The Jornells of Amethysius, you have some nerve! Not only did you hunt down the last heir of my family, but you even carried out a massacre in the mortal world. Do you really think this entire world answers to you?”
Her voice was low, yet it carried clearly to everyone, sharp with unwavering righteous authority. Narcissa finally realized she’d walked into a trap.
It turned out Blanche hadn’t been fleeing in panic. Instead, she’d deliberately revealed her location to lure them here. She had set the ambush with the formation and the reinforcements that had appeared out of nowhere.
“You… You’re the remnants of the Frost family!” Narcissa shouted. Her shock turned to anger, but she quickly sized up the situation. There were only five of them, and the strongest was barely at the peak-stage Adept realm.
Even with the formation weakening their power, four were at the Adept realm, while she was in the late-stage Adept realm with her divine artifact in hand. So, they could still put up a fight. Besides, Elder Sevran would arrive soon.
“So what if we are?” Aveline retorted coldly. “Today, we’ll start collecting the blood debt for the dozens of innocent lives from the Weston family.”
“You think you stand a chance?” Narcissa forced herself to stay composed, letting out a sharp laugh.
“You’re nothing but a bunch of fugitives barking empty threats. Once our Elder arrives, every last one of you is dead, wiped out without a trace. Hand over Blanche and the item right now, and I might be generous enough to let you die quickly.”
“Stubborn fool!”
Aveline was done talking to Narcissa, then she waved her hand.
“Forin the Lesser Five Elements Sword Formation! Blanche, get some rest and don’t push yourself. Leave this to us.”
“Got it!” the other four Frost family members responded in unison. They quickly took their positions. Sword light flashed as their energy waves linked, forming a compact formation in an instant.
Sharp energy crackled, locking onto Narcissa and her guards. They were clearly well-trained with seamless coordination. Narcissa knew she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to end this quickly before the sword formation fully deployed.
“Attack!” she shouted. “Kill their leader first!”
She activated the Violebolt Orb that transformed into a thick bolt of purple lightning that shot straight toward Aveline.
The battle erupted in an instant. Sword light and lightning flashed together as spells and divine artifacts clashed with thunderous booms that echoed through the valley.
The five-person sword formation led by Aveline combined offense and defense seamlessly. Sword aura crisscrossed the battlefield, splitting Narcissa’s group of four apart.
The Mistbinding Trap continued to operate, disrupting Narcissa’s side by impeding their spiritual energy flow and slowing their coordination.
Blanche withdrew to the side, taking healing pills to recover while keeping her eyes locked on the battle. She knew Aveline and the others had rushed here after receiving her message and taken great risks to come.
Though their strength was considerable, Narcissa had a spiritual artifact, and her guards were no pushovers either. A prolonged battle wouldn’t favor the Frosts, so they had to end this battle quickly.
As expected, Narcissa relied on the Violebolt Orb’s power to barely hold off Aveline’s attacks. But her three guards struggled desperately under the sword formation maintained by the four Frost family members. One wrong move and it could be their last.
In less than 30 minutes, one guard was pierced through the chest by a cunningly angled sword aura and died screaming.
“Damn it!”
Seeing that, Narcissa panicked. She bit her tongue hard and sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the Violebolt Orb. The orb blazed with intensified purple light, its power surging as it transformed into countless lightning serpents that furiously bombarded the sword formation.
The formation shook violently. Aveline’s face paled slightly, but she gritted her teeth and held on, directing the formation’s transformation. The sword light contracted into a defensive posture while waiting for opportunities to counterattack.
A few moments later, the second guard was killed by two intersecting sword auras. Only Ragnar remained. He was still holding on, but he was already covered in wounds.
Narcissa realized they were outmatched and began to plan her retreat. She pushed the Violebolt Orb forward in a furious attack while secretly crushing a charm hidden in her sleeve to send a silent call to her husband, Alarion.
“Trying to escape?”
Aveline saw through her intention. The sword formation suddenly shifted from defense to offense. Five sword lights merged into one, forming a brilliant white arc that carried biting cold intent straight toward Narcissa.
This strike combined the power of all five cultivators, enhanced by the formation’s frost energy. Its power was devastating. Narcissa’s face went white with terror as she pushed the Violebolt Orb to its limit to defend herself.
The white arc collided with the purple lightning, unleashing a shockwave that dispersed large swaths of the surrounding mist. The Violebolt Orb let out a mournful cry as its light dimmed and it flew backward.
Narcissa took the impact, coughing up blood and staggering back. Her energy waves weakened dramatically.
