Chapter 195: March 7th: Leon, You Really Need to Find a Girlfriend
"Very well... I shall use this power of immortality bestowed upon the Xianzhou to bring you total 'Destruction'."
Surveying the devastation wrought by her casual strike, a look of unabashed satisfaction spread across Phantylia's colossal face. This new body, forged from the very essence of the Ambrosial Arbor... it was simply too powerful. So potent, in fact, that even she found herself intoxicated by the sheer scale of its might.
'As expected of a vessel I shaped with my own hands... it is perfect,' she thought, a cruel smile twisting her lips.
"Phantylia has seized the power of the Ambrosial Arbor for herself," Jing Yuan's voice cut through the charged air. His gaze swept over his former comrades, now standing side-by-side with him once more, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Everyone, do your best to eradicate the surrounding Abundance Lotuses..."
He leveled his stare at the towering figure dominating the battlefield. "As for her physical form... I shall be the one to break it."
The Cloud-Piercer glaive in Jing Yuan's hand hummed, a sharp metallic ring that sang through the air. The power of lightning coiled around the blade like a living serpent, crackling and jumping restlessly.
"Radiant Spirit, heed my command—show no mercy!"
Behind him, the towering phantom of the Lightning-Lord mirrored his movements, raising its gargantuan blade. It brought the weapon down in a devastating arc, trailing ten thousand feet of raw lightning as it slashed fiercely toward Phantylia's massive body.
Boom—!
A cataclysmic thunderstorm rippled out like a tidal wave. Arcs of electricity converged and flowed, finally striking down in unison with the Lightning-Lord's blade.
Following Jing Yuan's command, the others split up, engaging the endlessly proliferating Abundance Lotuses that swarmed the area.
"Heh... such arrogant talk," Phantylia scoffed. "You think you can destroy this noble body, born of the Ambrosial Arbor?" Her voice dripped with contempt. "In Phantylia's eyes, all of you right now... are as insignificant as ants."
She chuckled, her wrist giving the fan she held a delicate, almost lazy flick. A violent hurricane materialized from nothing, roaring as it clashed with the downpour of lightning, tearing blinding rifts of energy into the very fabric of the air.
Meanwhile, Leon stood leisurely at the very back of the battlefield, holding Bailu with one arm, a playful smile dancing on his lips. He was already pulling out his phone.
[Leon: @Nanook, your Emanator says I'm as insignificant as an ant. What do you think?]
[Nanook:...]
[Aha: Ahahaha! This Phantylia is so much fun! She gets a tiny taste of Abundance and suddenly she's this inflated?]
[Aha: Aha really wants to see how much more she'd puff up if she received a blessing of Elation right now.]
[Leon: And then, at the peak of her triumph, you'd snatch all the power back, wouldn't you?]
[Aha: Oh my, how did Aha not think of such an interesting way to play? So much fun!]
[Leon: You didn't think of it? Hehe, I don't believe that for a second.]
[Fuli: Light Cone Record: "Phantylia: 'In Phantylia's eyes, all of you right now are as insignificant as ants.'"]
Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, casually constructed a new Light Cone cover. In the image, Phantylia's massive body occupied the foreground, her posture one of supreme arrogance. Facing her were five figures—Nanook, Nous, Fuli, Aha, and Qlipoth—all scaled down to human proportions, yet still radiating their original, undiminished majesty.
Yes, at that very moment, the true forms of these five Aeons were actually standing right next to Leon. It was just that their presence was so perfectly shielded that not a single soul on the battlefield could perceive them.
Phantylia's taunt had been aimed at Jing Yuan and the others, but after Fuli's "artistic processing," it now looked as if she were simultaneously provoking five of the most powerful beings in the universe.
[Nanook:...]
[Lan: This is your Emanator? Doesn't look like much.]
[Yaoshi: It seems she really likes this body forged by the Abundance.]
[Nanook: Lan, shut up. Your Emanator is the one being suppressed and beaten by mine.]
[Yaoshi: Oh my, no need to get so angry~ Strictly speaking, it's my Emanator and Nanook's Emanator working together to suppress your Emanator.]
[Nanook:??? What do you mean 'your Emanator'? She is my Emanator! She's just using a body blessed by the Abundance.]
[Yaoshi: No need to worry about such trivial details. If you like, you can just consider her yours.]
[Nanook:...What do you mean 'if I like, I can consider her mine'? She IS mine!]
"Leon—are you just going to stand there and watch?!"
March 7th's arm was getting sore from holding her bow taut. She couldn't help but turn back and shout at him. Although her role in this high-level battle was limited, she was still doing her absolute best to interfere and provide support with her arrows, her forehead glistening with sweat from the effort.
Seeing Leon, of all people, standing leisurely in the back... actually cracking open melon seeds and watching the show, she really couldn't stop herself from complaining.
"Am I not protecting the High Elder of the Luofu? How can I just rush forward?" Leon replied with a matter-of-fact look, even pointing at Bailu, who was currently reaching into his pocket to snag some of the melon seeds for herself.
"It's not like I wanted to come! You're the one who carried me in here!" Bailu protested indistinctly, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed on a seed kernel.
Though she had no combat power, she wasn't idle either. Her sharp eyes were fixed on the battlefield, her hands poised to cast her healing arts at a moment's notice.
"Try to break free from this cage—"
Phantylia flicked a finger. Countless thick, gnarled roots of the Ambrosial Arbor suddenly burst from the ground, lunging and coiling toward everyone like subterranean dragons churning the earth.
March 7th cried out as she dodged left and right, narrowly escaping the grasping tendrils.
But Leon just gave a casual wave of his hand. All the roots that shot toward him suddenly deflected as if they'd struck an invisible wall, none able to get anywhere near him.
"Why aren't these things attacking you?!" March 7th scrambled over to Leon's side, complaining breathlessly.
She had noticed it too; all of Phantylia's attacks seemed to intentionally or unintentionally avoid the area where Leon stood. But that made no sense... who specifically avoids one person when trying to wipe out a group of enemies?
"Also... why do I always feel like there are several people standing behind me?" March 7th looked back in confusion but saw nothing but empty air. "Could there really be someone shielding my perception and standing right behind me?"
[Leon:...]
[Aha: Ahahaha! @Fuli, what do you think?]
[Fuli: Ehe~ (Image: A selfie of March 7th from behind, with her throwing up a peace sign, completely unaware of the five cosmic entities photobombing her.)]
"Mere vines can be severed with a single strike." Jing Yuan's voice was cold. He swung his glaive like a bolt of lightning, and wherever the chilling light of the blade passed, the pillar-thick roots of the Arbor snapped and fell away.
"Heh... putting on a brave face," Phantylia sneered. The light shimmering around her began to shift. The original, intertwined colors of gold and green gradually settled, transforming into a deep, dangerous blue-purple.
"Ho, it can even change colors? I like it even more now," Leon remarked, raising an eyebrow with genuine interest. If this were a game, this would probably be the start of phase two.
"What is there for you to like..."
March 7th was standing right next to him and heard his comment clearly. Her mouth twitched. "You aren't... interested in Phantylia's body, are you?"
"Oh ho, you actually guessed it," Leon admitted with generous honesty.
He was indeed eyeing this body born of the Ambrosial Arbor. Anyway, after Phantylia was defeated, she'd have to abandon this vessel sooner or later. Whoever was fast enough to pick it up would get to keep it.
As for whether this body would be given to that Stellaron from Belobog or used for something else... he could decide that when the time came. After all, Belobog's Stellaron was currently being studied by Ruan Mei, and it was still unknown if the consciousness lingering within it had even survived.
"Leon..." March 7th's expression suddenly became very complicated.
She was silent for a few seconds, then solemnly pressed a hand on Leon's shoulder. She looked him in the eye and said with grave earnestness, "You really should find a girlfriend... but don't... don't repress yourself too much."
[Leon:...]
"Besides..." March 7th's expression grew even more serious, now carrying a hint of genuine worry. "Phantylia's current body... it's, it's just too big! This isn't appropriate at all!"
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