Knowing he had angered many of the awakened, the plainly dressed man, upon being defeated and thrown off the stage, immediately pretended to fall into unconsciousness.
After all, with powerhouses like Glutton present, the angry awakened wouldn’t dare to openly check whether his unconsciousness was feigned or real.
Sure enough, once the awakened saw the man lying motionless, they quickly shifted their attention to the impending battle between Howard and the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask, curious about how spectacular this final fight would be.
The previous battle between the plainly dressed man and the woman, though intense, lacked strong spectator appeal.
Howard, equally determined not to miss the chance to vie for the Starry River Map, walked onto the stage with a smile, the Soul Nurturer securely in his hand.
Despite the woman’s previous flirtatious taunts and even her jest about marrying Howard, she was utterly serious and focused now.
Her gaze was resolute, and her whip seemed to come alive in her hand, twisting and turning continuously.
As Glutton uttered the word “Begin,” the woman with the mask suddenly flicked her whip, unleashing a burst of purple lightning.
It was like a blooming flower, aggressively targeting Howard.
However, before the lightning unleashed from the whip could reach him, a pale blue shield appeared beside Howard.
The battle had lasted so long that it had extended into the evening!
The night’s immunity to seven attacks shield activated, absorbing the countless lightning strikes on Howard.
Not only did they fail to inflict damage, but even the paralyzing effect was nullified.
Moreover, Howard wielded the Soul Nurturer and executed the skill – Frostbite Assault!
Pale blue cold air coalesced, cascading down like raindrops, whistling out rapidly, and slicing through the air like a fierce wind, tearing apart the space.
The primary threat of the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask lay in her whip, so her physique was relatively weaker.
Naturally, she wouldn’t let herself be hit. With a light tap of her toe on the ground, she swiftly retreated.
Her wrist flickered, and the whip transformed into a roaring tiger.
The sonic waves spun like a whirlwind, forming circular barriers that encapsulated the pale blue chill.
However, the piercing cold burst forth, freezing the whirlwinds in mid-air and creating an ice-blue corridor that was spectacular to behold.
But the woman with the mask immediately launched a counterattack.
Purple lightning danced wildly, bringing forth countless Shadow Whips, swinging erratically and spreading in all directions.
Clearly, the woman knew of Howard’s Blink ability and was not planning to give him a chance. .
She was employing the same tactic that had won her the previous bout, aiming to swiftly defeat Howard.
Unfortunately, what the plainly dressed man couldn’t withstand due to his weaker physique was not necessarily a limitation for Howard.
Facing this attack, Howard instead used his Blink skill, closing the distance to the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask.
With shields that granted immunity to attacks at night and an MP value shield, Howard remained unaffected by the skills, finding himself remarkably close to the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask.
In the next moment, Howard reached out to grab the woman, intending to execute the Death Six-Step Throw on her.
It was undeniable that ever since he had learned this skill, Howard had realized its effectiveness.
Once in close quarters, very few could withstand being slammed six consecutive times and remain conscious.
However, just as Howard grasped the woman’s arm, he suddenly felt it slip from his grip as she deftly twisted free.
Then, with a swift motion, the woman with the mask fiercely whipped the ground.
The whip whirled wildly, and the recoil force created instantaneously distanced her from Howard.
This was the first time Howard had encountered such a nimble opponent, and he couldn’t help but show a look of surprise.
“Giggle, giggle! Since I could recognize your identity, how could I not be familiar with the skills of the Kennedy family?”
The woman with the mask chuckled coyly, “To defeat me, you’ll need to use skills I’m not familiar with!”
With that, she swung her whip again.
This time, the Shadow Whip only transformed into two streams, one to the left and the other to the right, both hurtling towards Howard.
Despite being only two strikes, the power contained within them was no less formidable than any of the previous attacks launched by the woman.
Had Howard taken them lightly, he would undoubtedly have been hit by the Shadow Whips.
For ranged attackers like them, belonging to a class susceptible to damage, being controlled or hit meant being perilously close to defeat.
It was similar to the situation of the plainly dressed man earlier, who, after managing to contend with the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask for so long, met his downfall as soon as his movement was confined within the range of her skills.
At this moment, Howard realized that conventional methods would not suffice to defeat the woman.
He would have to resort to an SS-level skill!
Taking a deep breath, Howard swung the Soul Nurturer, unleashing Multiple Wind Blade.
Sharp blades of wind materialized, not only slicing through the incoming Shadow Whips but also rampaging around, sweeping in all directions.
The woman with the mask, unaware of Howard’s target for the skill, saw the ferocity of the Multiple Wind Blade attack and chose to temporarily retreat.
However, unbeknownst to her, Howard’s intention was exactly to push her back momentarily, creating an opportunity to deploy his SS-level skill.
The problem with SS-level skills was their casting time; without creating distance, they were easily interruptible.
By the time the woman realized what was happening, a biting cold had already transformed into a flurry of snowflakes, howling down from the sky.
In an instant, all the awakened on the platform felt the bone-chilling cold that pervaded the air.
The area affected by the Icy Touch of Winter Goddess skill was vast, and even though Howard hadn’t targeted the nearby awakened with his attack, they too felt its impact.
As for the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask, who was the focus of the attack, she was instantly frozen into an ice sculpture.
However, before Howard could launch another offensive, a glint of light flashed in the woman’s eyes, and the next moment, the layer of ice encasing her shattered.
Following this, purple lightning burst forth from within her, lifting her into the air.
“Crackle and boom!”
Continuous peals of thunder resounded as the woman, now akin to a thunder goddess descending to earth, was enveloped in lightning, her gaze fiercely fixed on Howard.
“Lightning Sword!”
As the woman raised her hands, two massive sword shadows, entirely formed from lightning, appeared in her grasp.
She then hurled them mightily towards Howard.
The air tore with a whooshing sound as the two immense lightning-formed swords ripped through space, one after the other.
“This person… can actually dissolve the Icy Touch of Winter Goddess skill?”
With a furrowed brow, Howard was taken aback and immediately unleashed a second SS-level skill — Wrath of the Earth!
Boom and rumble!
The roaring sound filled the air, and the ground beneath Howard’s feet seemed to come alive.
Countless clods of earth erupted and levitated into the sky.
The next moment, an overwhelming force bore down, not only crushing the massive sword shadows formed of lightning but also transforming into a gigantic mountain range that pressed down upon the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask.
Unfortunately, the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask was too agile.
Even when trapped by an SS-level skill, she managed to struggle free and pull out a talisman, crushing it in her hand.
Whoosh!
In an instant, her figure vanished, only to reappear in the air directly above Howard.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—
The Shadow Whips, sharp as piercing spikes, dove straight towards Howard.
Thankfully, the robustness of his MP value shield managed to block this attack for Howard.
However, the woman, seemingly aware of Howard’s formidable close-combat abilities, didn’t give him a chance to counterattack, retreating once again to maintain the distance between them.
Observing how nimble the woman was, even capable of negating the control of his two SS-level skills, Howard’s expression grew more solemn.
Indeed, there was always someone better out there!
The fact that the woman with the eight-eyed devil mask could negate the control of SS-level skills was beyond Howard’s expectation.
Among all those present, she seemed to be the only one capable of continuously resisting the control of SS-level skills.
Other awakened might possess one life-saving skill, but having a second chance to break free from such control was almost unthinkable.
At this point, Howard also became cautious about launching another attack.
For him, skills like Roar of the Fire God and Mighty Thunder were even less useful now.
Lacking control effects, they were unlikely to hit the agile woman with the mask.
Could it be that he was going to lose?
“No, I can’t lose, I must win!”
“If this lady is so good at running, then I just won’t give her the chance to escape!”
Updated from 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮