Bai Shi floated in mid-air, using gravity magic to ascend the tower. Before long, he was nearing the very top. Suddenly, two glints of cold light flashed from the spiral staircase beside him as unknown objects shot toward him at high speed. A tempest swirled around Bai Shi, deflecting the incoming projectiles. Taking a closer look, he saw they were two throwing daggers. Newest update provıded by 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱 Bai Shi glanced toward the staircase and immediately locked onto a dark figure sprinting rapidly up the winding steps. A head full of Omen horns, a golden mask, an unnatural gait, and most tellingly, a pair of bizarre, circular blades. Without a doubt, his attacker was a Hornsent Curse-Blade Dancer. Bai Shi raised his right hand, and the ancient dragon seal on its back glowed with crimson light. The warrior quickly looked back, only to find that the steps behind him were also crackling with lightning. There was nowhere to hide. The next moment, the fully charged ancient dragon lightning strike engulfed the section of the spiral staircase where the Curse-Blade Dancer stood. A charred figure burst through the curtain of lightning, lunging toward a safe area on the opposite side. Realizing he was trapped with lightning both before and behind him, the Curse-Blade Dancer had instantly found a way to escape. But as he leaped into the air, he was met not with hope, but with a deep violet laser beam blasting from Bai Shi’s hand. Though the dancer had dodged most of the dragon lightning, the bolts that had connected were more than enough. For a warrior who relied on agility, the paralyzing electricity was the deadliest blow of all. Bai Shi charged a beam of gravitational energy in his hand and fired it at the airborne Hornsent Curse-Blade Dancer. The dragon lightning that had struck the dancer had already marked him. The gravity laser could easily follow the mark and pierce him—it was practically an aimbot with a headshot lock. Paralyzed in mid-air, the Curse-Blade Dancer was completely defenseless, able to do nothing but watch the laser approach. Yet, the laser that should have claimed his life was blocked. Innumerable yellow-black cursed souls came whistling through the air, colliding with and neutralizing the gravity beam, stopping the attack. At the same time, another Curse-Blade Dancer descended from above, hanging upside down as his circular blades danced in a lethal arc. Bai Shi dodged nimbly, seizing the spinning warrior’s arm in a fluid motion and flinging him hard against the tower wall. Bai Shi scanned his surroundings. Three Curse-Blade Dancers had now appeared around him. The one who had released the cursed souls to block his gravity beam seemed the strongest, wreathed in a thin black mist that obscured any attempts to gauge his power. That Curse-Blade Dancer didn’t rush to attack. Instead, he spewed a large cloud of black mist from his mouth. The mist spread, concealing both him and the dancer who had been struck by lightning. The one Bai Shi had thrown against the wall also quickly coughed up black mist and vanished into it. The clouds of mist merged, gradually enveloping the middle section of the tower where Bai Shi currently was. Bai Shi raised an eyebrow but didn't immediately disperse the mist. This was basically just a slaughter; their petty tricks didn’t matter. If he blew the mist away now, the Curse-Blade Dancers would surely be embarrassed. Bai Shi was a kind soul. He decided to give them a chance to perform. A circular blade flew out from the front, emerging from the mist just inches from Bai Shi’s face. Bai Shi reached out and casually caught the blade. But in the next instant, two more circular blades, held by two other dancers, slashed toward his lower back from the left and right. If they succeeded, Bai Shi’s kidneys would be in peril. And the final Curse-Blade Dancer attacked from above. Countless cursed souls danced wildly within the black mist, closing in on Bai Shi. Faced with their assault, Bai Shi felt a flicker of anticipation. He reversed his grip on the thrown circular blade. Using the weapon’s protruding spike, Bai Shi hooked the blade of one of the dancers and slammed him into his comrade. The warrior didn't have time to pull back his own blade, which sank deep into his companion's body. With the two dancers tangled together, Bai Shi sent them flying with a single kick. Only then did he calmly deal with the cursed souls flitting through the air. When facing the Omen-horned Night's Cavalry before, Bai Shi had discovered that these souls could pass through his wind barriers. So this time, he decided to try a different kind of power against them. As brilliant sunlight radiated from Bai Shi's body, the cursed souls dissolved one by one. The strange black mist was pierced by the light, leaving the Curse-Blade Dancers hiding within completely exposed. The dancer who had thrown the circular blade and unleashed the cursed souls appeared on the staircase to Bai Shi's side. He was visibly flustered now that his mist had been dispelled. Bai Shi hurled the circular blade in his hand, sending it whistling through the air toward its owner. The Curse-Blade Dancer instinctively reached out, trying to catch his weapon. But you can't just catch any thrown weapon with your bare hands. The speed and force of the blade were beyond his ability to react. As his fingers closed to grip it, the blade had already sliced through his palm. The weapon spun like a buzzsaw, cutting all the way up his arm, splitting it in two before finally embedding itself between his ulna and radius. The immense force dragged the Curse-Blade Dancer’s arm back, pinning him to the wall. The dancer seemed to feel no pain, making no sound despite the grievous injury. In the next moment, a spear of red lightning shot through the air. In a flash, only the bloodstained circular blade was left hanging on the wall. The Curse-Blade Dancer had once again vanished into the shadows, dodging the attack. But Bai Shi had simultaneously formed a red lightning spear in each hand. His two companions were not so lucky. The first dancer to attack had already lost half his life to the initial lightning strike, and now, impaled from behind by his ally's weapon, his fate was sealed. The circular blade, already embedded in his body, had pierced all the way through when Bai Shi kicked them both away. The dancer behind him could do nothing about the situation. He could only abandon his weapon and try to break free. But the appearance of a red lightning spear instantly dashed his hopes. The spear impaled both Curse-Blade Dancers, sending them to their deaths together. Now only one remained on the field—the strongest one, who could unleash the cursed souls. Seeing his comrades fall, the final dancer showed no sign of fleeing. Instead, he chose to go all out. He leaped from the edge of the stairs, using a spiraling pillar to launch a surprise attack from behind Bai Shi. Throughout this maneuver, the Curse-Blade Dancer remained cloaked in black mist, making not a single sound. Unfortunately for him, the slight gust of wind stirred by his leap had already clearly revealed his movements to Bai Shi. A violent storm erupted behind Bai Shi, stopping the final Curse-Blade Dancer in mid-air. Bai Shi turned around and gave the dancer one last look. Then, with a downward press of his palm, Bai Shi sent the airborne warrior plummeting to the bottom of the tower, smashed down by the raging wind. The Curse-Blade Dancer landed in the ruins of countless broken and collapsed stairs at the tower's base, a place that would now become his tomb. Bai Shi made a rectangular frame with his hands, perfectly centering the dancer below within it. The shattered bricks and stones all around the dancer were manipulated by gravity, surging inward to bury him. The dancer realized what was about to happen to him and began to struggle frantically. He swung his circular blade, trying to cut through the tide of rubble, but the endless deluge of stone engulfed him like a tidal wave, rendering him immobile. Bai Shi slowly brought his hands together. As his fingers began to interlace, the frame locking onto the dancer grew smaller and smaller. Extreme gravitational force contracted and compressed everything toward the center. Under the immense pressure, the Curse-Blade Dancer was utterly submerged within the cube of rubble hewn from the ruins. Two small holes appeared on the side of the cube, and the blood that had pooled inside shot out like arrows. The cube continued to compress, squeezing until the last drop of blood was expelled, only then truly taking its final form. In the end, the Curse-Blade Dancer and the rock became one, transformed into a perfectly square block of stone. The entire process was silent. Not the sound of horns snapping, not a desperate scream, not even the crunch of breaking bones... No sound could escape. It was the most hopeless prison Bai Shi could construct for him. After compressing the Curse-Blade Dancer into a .zip file, Bai Shi resumed his flight upward. This one had been stronger than the others he had encountered. A pity he was only slightly stronger. Just then, a tremendous noise echoed from outside the tower. Bai Shi looked out from an exit on a middle floor and saw a vast, brilliant golden radiance in the distance. A multitude of golden Omen horns erupted from the ground, causing some of the buildings in the tower settlement to collapse with a roar. That was undoubtedly the Hornsent Warrior's ultimate technique—the Advent of the Horns. Gazing at the scene of billowing dust, Bai Shi quickly deduced what had happened there. It seemed Leda and Freya were over there and had likely run into a Hornsent Warrior. Bai Shi immediately flew out of the tower and headed in that direction. From this exit, Bai Shi was already near the highest level of the tower settlement. Looking down from here, he could see most of the town. The path in front of this exit was angled differently from the straight road at the tower's base. In the distance, a covered walkway connected the two roads at a slant, forming a triangle with the tower as its apex. The battle was currently taking place on that slanted walkway connecting the upper and lower paths. Leda and Freya were currently fighting another Hornsent Warrior. This one was even larger than the last, and he wielded an absurdly large curved greatsword. By now, the greatsword-wielding warrior was covered in wounds, battered and bruised. With their previous experience fighting a Hornsent Warrior, Leda and Freya coordinated flawlessly, seizing the advantage early on. After dodging the wide-ranging Advent of the Horns, the warrior was at the end of his rope. Victory was just one final, fatal blow away. Yet, just as the warrior’s health hit rock bottom, the tables turned dramatically. The warrior had adapted to their coordinated assault and found an opening to counterattack. He swung his greatsword to force Freya back, then suddenly charged forward with a powerful shoulder check, sending the advancing Leda flying. The tremendous force sent Leda hurtling backward, crashing through the walkway's wall and plummeting down. Below the walkway was the place where all the town’s sewage collected—the very source of its filth, inhabited by countless man-flies. Falling from this height would certainly result in serious injuries. Just as Leda was considering how to minimize the damage, she saw Bai Shi fly to her side and grab her arm. Bai Shi pulled Leda back onto the bridge, and she immediately looked toward Freya. Without Leda to divert his attention, Freya was struggling to face the Hornsent Warrior alone. She was constantly dodging his attacks, looking for a chance to land a finishing blow. However, empowered by his descending god technique, the warrior was impervious to injury and difficult to stop. His final, desperate assault was more ferocious than any foe Freya had ever faced. She had no openings at all and could do nothing but evade. After saving Leda, who was closest, Bai Shi formed a spear of solar flame in his hand and hurled it at the Hornsent Warrior. The spear of sunlight instantly pierced the warrior’s body, and erupting flames reduced him to ash. Seeing Freya out of danger, Leda finally let out a sigh of relief. They had been on the verge of defeating him. Who could have guessed he would turn the fight around with a single move, putting them both in peril. Bai Shi looked at Leda and Freya and shook his head. “Didn’t I tell you not to rush into fights with strong enemies?” At Bai Shi's words, Leda lowered her head. But Bai Shi didn't mean to blame them. After all, he'd had his own experiences in games, getting reverse-swept by an enemy he was clearly beating who had just a sliver of health left. Bai Shi thought for a moment before speaking again: “...But you both did very well.” “If it weren't for the suppression of the Land of Shadow, he would have been no match for you at all.” “Come on, let’s go see what’s at the top of the tower.” With that, Bai Shi released the power of the sun, and the two women’s injuries were quickly healed. Once they had recovered, Bai Shi pointed toward the tower. Leda looked surprised for a moment, then nodded and followed him with Freya. On the way back to the tower, Bai Shi gathered some more spirit ashes for Torrent from the corpse of a Hornsent ancestor. With all obstacles inside the tower cleared, the three of them soon walked out onto the summit. Pushing open a heavy door, they found themselves in a massive arena. The corpse of a strange creature lay in the center of the stage. The creature had the head of a lion covered in Omen horns, its body draped and concealed by long cloths. Just as they stepped into the vast arena, a fierce wind began to howl as the sky churned and darkened. An ancient voice echoed from within the tower settlement: “Oh, Horned Beast, Divine Beast—” “Dwell within the children of the tower, within the bodies of champions, and for our sake, dance...” “Dance splendidly, dance beautifully, and purify all—” “Purify misfortune, the wicked, the tower's enemies...” “...Purify those... sons of the wretched woman...!” As the voice faded, the strange creature in the center of the stage—which they had thought was a corpse—began to stir. Bai Shi looked at the bizarre creature, a bit surprised. He hadn't been able to tell when it was lying on the ground, but it became clear once it stood up. This thing... why does it look like a dancing lion? And those things holding up the lion’s head from underneath... they’re definitely human hands, aren’t they?