Even though he was momentarily stunned, his peripheral vision was still watching those Shadow Throne members. He noticed that when they paused to search for someone, their formation spread out. At that moment, he suddenly realized it was the perfect chance to strike.

Although the target had not been found yet, he was certain that if their opponents couldn't teleport, they wouldn't hide far away. If the Shadow Throne people started searching, they would eventually find their target. Fang Hong, realizing this, gritted his teeth and tossed an object in front of himself, then raised his hand to unleash two flickering blue beams.

But someone else acted even faster—

With a gunshot, in Fang Hong's field of vision, the Alchemist fell, having been shot by Hilveld.

The Shadow Throne members froze for a moment, seemingly just realizing what happened. It wasn't easy to determine the attack's direction in the dark, but some of them started to look toward where the gunshot came from.

Their reaction was adequately trained, but ultimately some were a moment too slow. Just as they turned, they saw two streaks of silver light rush into their group.

It was the Energy Angels using their Blink ability. Fang Hong's goal was clear: the first targets were the two robe-wearing Invokers in the group—he couldn't tell their professions from afar, but anyone wearing a robe was either a Healer or a Spellcaster; that was a certainty.

He didn't want to give them a chance, as one controlling spell could spell doom for his pitiful Willpower at his current level. Even for a Healer, they are the highest-priority target on the battlefield, which anyone with half a brain should understand.

Of the two targets, the first one seemed to be a Healer, who generally lacked combat capabilities and relied entirely on their comrades for protection. But under the excessive assault power of the Energy Angel, that person didn't even have time to react and was already turned into a white light.

The other robed target, however, wasn't so easy to deal with.

Fang Hong was about to sever them with the Energy Angel's sword, but to his surprise, the person reacted at the last moment, raising their hand to switch the shield mode from full-spectrum to area reinforcement, locating the attack direction instantly.

She managed to block the path of the Energy Angel's blade with a backhand move, layers of shields visibly stacking up at that spot, forming a hexagonal grid that completely withstood the Energy Angel's strike.

In the light, Fang Hong saw clearly that this was a Magician, and apparently a woman. Though she blocked the strike, she was still injured by the subsequent assault from the Energy Angel.

She rolled back using the force, her figure disappearing behind the Piper's Court.

The opponent's evasive maneuver made Fang Hong realize that there might be someone with a high level in this group, at least this Spellcaster wouldn't be easy to handle. But he had no time to search for their position from a high vantage point.

Because by then, the four remaining Shadow Throne members had also reacted. They pinpointed Fang Hong's location, splitting up with two blocking the two Energy Angels, while the other pair charged directly toward him.

One among them was even a Crossbowman. Seeing them pull a Magic Guided Crossbow from under their cloak, Fang Hong couldn't help but groan inwardly. The opponent was too cunning; typical Crossbow Shooters would carry a light and heavy crossbow, with a heavy crossbow slung on their back and a light crossbow hidden under their cloak, making it easy to identify their role.

Unexpectedly, this person did the opposite, not carrying a heavy crossbow. And since a longbow isn't something that can be hidden under a cloak, Fang Hong failed to identify that the person had a ranged role at first.

Had he known earlier that this person was a Crossbow Shooter, he would have targeted them first instead of the Healer.

But it was too late for regrets now. At this distance, if the Crossbow Shooter's level wasn't too low, he, a mere Alchemist, had almost no chance of dodging all the shots.

Fang Hong couldn't help recalling the training with the Papalarians, hoping the Crossbowman had a habitual shooting pattern. He instinctively switched his shield to area reinforcement mode.

He concentrated all his shield on the head while raising his hand to block.

Because he frequently used the Flying Claw for mobility, the shield was not particularly strong, mostly the basic kind provided by the Magic Guided Reactor of spellcasters, even with the shield value increased by two hundred percent, it wasn't much. As the Crossbowman raised the bow and shot, the bolt aimed straight at his face, first hitting the shield, shattering it despite the layered reinforcement.

But behind that was Fang Hong's raised left hand. The bolt passed through the metallic Control Glove, piercing his left palm, making Fang Hong grunt in pain—but fortunately, a layer of complex mechanisms on the glove's back stopped the bolt.

And so, the bolt, shimmering with an ominous cold light, halted almost right in front of him.

Fang Hong gasped sharply.

It wasn't out of fear, but because of the sharp pain.

However, he also received good news; at the moment he was hit, Miss Tata took control of one Energy Angel. During the fight, she unexpectedly discovered that the Shadow Throne member she was facing was actually a rookie.

The opponent faltered after only two or three exchanges with the deftly maneuvering Construct, and Miss Tata seized the opportunity to thrust a sword into their chest, chilling it to the core.

With this person down, the Crossbowman who had stopped nearby to shoot at Fang Hong found their rear and flank completely exposed. Realizing this, even though they'd managed to hit Fang Hong, they had to abandon the chase and turn to deal with the approaching Energy Angel.

Fang Hong finally breathed a sigh of relief, realizing the enemy was just a hastily formed squad with unequal skill levels. The Alchemist, the Healer, and the Swordsman who was felled by Miss Tata were virtually all rookies.

But that Crossbowman and the earlier Magician were tough opponents.

Though surprised himself, the enemy was clearly having a tough time too. The Crossbowman, noticing their fallen Swordsman ally, felt a chill on their spine—how could someone still control a Construct while wounded? What kind of monster was this?

They turned back, issuing a warning over the channel: "Be careful, the opponent is formidable."

But the comrade charging at Fang Hong didn't seem to agree. "Don't worry, their control glove has been shot broken," they even joked back.

"Wait," the Crossbowman realized something was wrong with this response, hurriedly turning to warn. But just as they opened their mouth, they saw that their ally had already been thrown back, hitting the ground heavily without a sound.

There, Fang Hong was gritting his teeth, shaking his bloodied left hand.

The opponent's assessment was correct, except he didn't only have one Control Glove. His left and right hands could both control the Flexible Construct. The warrior getting close hadn't expected this at all.

And so, after being hit by a Stalker's Gravity Trap, he was smashed away by a Rocket Fist. The punch landed directly on his face, potentially knocking him out cold even if it didn't outright kill him.

In an instant, the battle's dynamics shifted dramatically.

Aside from the escaped Magician, only the Crossbowman and another member holding off an Energy Angel remained from the Shadow Throne team. The rest lay either in pools of their own blood or were unconscious.

...

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