"It seems your turtle shell needs a break."
Ning Yu dodged a slash from Chen Xing, who tried to retreat by stepping on an invisible staircase in the air. However, Ning Yu wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip.
"I’m curious to know what your blood tastes like."
The Blood Kite in Ning Yu’s hand grew hot, fueling her excitement.
She unleashed a flurry of strikes on Chen Xing’s already faltering shield.
The shield, which had withstood Ning Xuan’s fully mechanized self-destruction and liquid explosives, was finally at its limit.
Cracks like spiderwebs spread across the shield, and with Ning Yu’s final strike, it shattered into glowing fragments that dissipated into the air.
Now, nothing stood between Ning Yu and her target. She launched a relentless assault on Chen Xing.
Chen Xing retreated rapidly, but Ning Yu, wielding the Blood Kite, pursued her without hesitation.
Leviathan, noticing Chen Xing’s predicament, was momentarily distracted.
He had never seen Chen Xing’s shield broken before, and it was rare to see her resort to her sword instead of her usual light-based attacks.
Seeing Chen Xing on the defensive, Leviathan grew anxious.
His clones were being delayed by Shen Yiyue’s time-stopping bullets and the modified Peacemaker.
Thanks to Future Reading, Shen Yiyue’s tactics were effective, making it difficult for the clones to land a hit.
But Leviathan was losing patience. He swapped places with one of his clones and slowly reached for his eyepatch.
"Clang!"
Ning Yu, her expression fierce, deflected Chen Xing’s cross-shaped sword with force. It was clear that swordplay wasn’t Chen Xing’s forte.
Just as Ning Yu was about to deliver a fatal strike, Chen Xing’s body began to fade, merging into the light curtain she had created.
Before Ning Yu could react, Chen Xing reappeared from another part of the light curtain, her sword now dangerously close.
The tables had turned. Chen Xing slashed at Ning Yu, the strike ending with a shockwave.
Ning Yu, however, remained calm. As the shockwave approached, she activated Blood Mirror, reflecting Chen Xing’s devastating attack.
But Chen Xing was cunning. She struck once and retreated, her body merging back into the light curtain.
She showed no signs of panic, her expression still filled with disdain, as if the destruction of her shield meant nothing.
Ning Yu tried to attack the light curtains with the Blood Kite, hoping to destroy them, but it was like trying to cut water with a blade.
Water cannot be severed, and neither can light.
"Stop wasting your energy. You should worry about your little friend instead."
Chen Xing’s voice came from behind Ning Yu, who barely managed to block the sneak attack. In that brief clash, Chen Xing let out a soft, mocking laugh.
Ning Yu’s gaze shifted to Leviathan, who was now removing his eyepatch. She knew exactly what this meant.
Shen Yiyue didn’t have the Moon Princess to protect her mind. If Leviathan unleashed his Judgment of Sin on her, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Ning Yu did not hesitate any longer. The Blood Kite in her hand emitted a high-pitched hum, pulling her body forward as she shot toward Leviathan's direction.
"Trying to run?"
Chen Xing raised an eyebrow and turned, stepping into a curtain of light.
The crimson straight blade raced ahead, while the curtains of light appeared one after another in pursuit.
It was clear that as the curtains of light approached Ning Yu, the one farthest from her would vanish. It seemed that the number of light curtains Chen Xing could summon was limited by her energy reserves.
"I see you..."
Just as Leviathan fully removed his eyepatch, before he could finish his words, Ning Yu suddenly appeared between him and Shen Yiyue, blocking the terrifying gaze of Leviathan's eye.
"Moon Princess!"
Ning Yu called out the name in her heart. The golden spiral mark on her forehead shone with a dazzling light, and her eyes turned into an intimidating gold.
A gray mist swirled around Ning Yu, enveloping her. At the same moment, Chen Xing emerged from the light curtain in pursuit, her cross-shaped longsword slashing toward Ning Yu.
However, both Leviathan's Judgment of Sin and Chen Xing's deadly strike were successfully blocked by the gray mist surrounding Ning Yu as she entered the [Mist Walk] mode.
"Yiyue, don't look into his eyes!"
Ning Yu shouted a warning, causing Shen Yiyue to immediately close her eyes. But this warning also meant that Shen Yiyue could no longer easily evade attacks.
This was essentially telling Leviathan and Chen Xing to attack Shen Yiyue without hesitation.
As Ning Yu had anticipated, the light curtain had already spread behind Shen Yiyue, and Leviathan's clones were closing in.
If they succeeded, the battle would instantly become two against one, and they would lose the chance for Shen Yiyue to reverse time.
But Ning Yu had already calculated everything.
She had already entered [Mist Walk], and with a speed faster than Leviathan and Chen Xing's attacks, she reached Shen Yiyue's side.
She tightly shielded Shen Yiyue in her arms.
At that very moment, Chen Xing and Leviathan's attacks landed, striking Ning Yu just as she ended [Mist Walk], triggering [Moon's Moment] as she had intended.
Ning Yu knew very well that this trick would only work once.
In previous cycles, neither Leviathan nor Chen Xing had fallen for the time-stop effect of [Moon's Moment] a second time. They would deliberately avoid attacking Ning Yu immediately after she ended [Mist Walk].
So, since they wouldn't trigger it themselves, Ning Yu decided to make them trigger it.
"Let's take down Leviathan first."
As Ning Yu whispered these words into Shen Yiyue's ear, time around them completely froze. Everything came to a standstill.
Ning Yu could move freely in this frozen time, and surprisingly, Shen Yiyue could also act freely within it.
This was something Ning Yu had discovered during her previous battle with Rhea's "ambush," when she fought alongside Shen Yiyue. It was also related to the increasing strength of her [Time] origin ability.
These two seconds would be their moment of victory!
Not far away, Leviathan's terrifying eye was still exposed, but under the time-stop effect, it was powerless to drag anyone into its illusions.
Ning Yu's Blood Kite moved faster than Ning Yu herself, piercing into the abdomen of Leviathan's true form in an instant. Without hesitation, she immediately activated the [Thousand Moment Slash].
Shen Yiyue, standing in place, unleashed a barrage of various weapons, firing them all toward Leviathan while skillfully maneuvering around Ning Yu.
Every bullet hung suspended in mid-air, waiting for the precise moment when the time-stop would end.