She vanished into the shadows as the flying blades passed through her afterimage. She reappeared less than a meter behind Sylvia, her shadow moon blade thrusting out without hesitation.

The timing of this strike was incredibly tricky.

Sylvia was fully focused on defending against Lin Feng's frontal thrust, and Jiang Yelan accurately seized the opening at her back.

The blade tip pierced Sylvia's waist. -340!

Sylvia's health bar took a massive hit, and her translucent figure fluctuated violently as she swung her poison blade back at Jiang Yelan.

Jiang Yelan pulled back, but Sylvia's reaction was lightning-fast, and the poison blade managed to nick her arm.

-350, with a poison effect: lose 50 health per second for 6 seconds.

Su Yurou immediately cast 【Purification】. An emerald light fell upon Jiang Yelan, and the poison effect vanished instantly.

Sylvia's rhythm was disrupted by that strike, her figure stumbling half a step in the air.

A sharp light flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Now!

A blazing fire meteor condensed at the tip of the Wildfire Spear—【Beacon Fire City】! The spear's glow shot straight toward Sylvia.

She dodged to the side, but Lin Feng had already appeared beside her at some unknown point.

He no longer held back.

With a full burst of sixty points in all three attributes, the Wildfire Spear thrust out, the flames on its tip letting out a sonic boom.

The first strike: Sylvia barely parried, but the massive impact sent her reeling back.

The second strike followed immediately, passing through the gap in her parry to pierce her left shoulder. -510.

The third strike! The spear tip plunged into her chest. -540. Her health bar hit zero.

Sylvia's body began to disintegrate from the edges, turning into countless tiny points of light that scattered through the hall like fireflies.

Her twin blades slipped from her hands and hit the floor with a crisp clang.

Before dissipating, those ghostly green eyes took one last look at the high platform deep within the hall. Her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

The light points drifted toward the ceiling, mingling with the glow of the dark energy crystals. It was impossible to tell which were starlight and which were her afterimages.

The hall fell silent.

Tie Dun let out a long breath. "My goodness... that female assassin was too bouncy. Flying here and darting there, my neck is sore from looking up."

Zhao Hu sheathed his blade and looked up at Lin Feng, who was suspended in mid-air, and Jiang Yelan, who had landed back on the ground.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly. "Ye Lan's strike was the key. The Lord drew the fire in front while she settled the matter from behind. That coordination was second to none."

Jiang Yelan didn't respond. She simply flicked the shadow energy off the shadow moon blade and sheathed it.

Under her cloak's hood, her face was somewhat pale, but her gaze was calm.

Lin Feng landed back on the ground, leaning his Wildfire Spear against the floor as the flames on the tip slowly died out.

Lin Feng glanced at Jiang Yelan and nodded. "Good coordination."

Jiang Yelan nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "It was the Lord's frontal suppression that made her unable to cope."

Su Yurou walked over quickly, first casting a Healing Spell on Jiang Yelan, then another on Lin Feng.

The emerald light from the bone healing staff flowed over the two of them, and the cut on Jiang Yelan's arm gradually healed.

Tie Dun scurried to where Sylvia had dissipated and picked up the items dropped on the ground.

A pair of boots glowing with purple light, three blue energy crystals, and a dark purple memory crystal.

"Lord, we got loot!" Tie Dun held the boots in both hands, his eyes shining.

Lin Feng took the boots and checked the attributes.

【Shadow Strike Boots (Purple)】

Slot: Feet

Requirement: agility ≥ 30

Basic Attributes: Defense +50, agility +3

Special Effect 1 · Shadow Backstab (Passive): Hit rate increased by 10% when attacking enemies from behind.

Special Effect 2 · Shadow Affinity (Passive): agility +5.

Lin Feng handed the boots to Jiang Yelan and said, "These suit you."

Jiang Yelan took them, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered, "Thank you, Lord."

Su Yurou leaned down to pick up the dark purple memory crystal and handed it to Lin Feng. "Lord, a Memory Fragment."

Lin Feng took the crystal in his hand and looked down at it.

【Memory Fragment · Apostle · Sacrifice】

With a thought...

Light erupted from the crystal, enveloping the entire hall in a ghostly purple halo.

A massive holographic image surfaced in the air.

It was as if everyone's consciousness had been pulled into another time and space; the sound of the wind, the scents, the temperature—everything was within reach.

...

In the Throne Room of Elderland, candlelight made the Oak Leaf Emblem on the wall flicker in and out of view.

Twelve long candles were lined up along the stone wall. The flames swayed slightly in the draft but never went out.

A permanent Wind-Shielding Spell had been cast on this hall; every flicker of the candle flames originated from energy fluctuations rather than natural wind.

The Queen sat upon her throne, her back as straight as a sword.

A young Sylvia knelt on one knee below the steps, her right hand balled into a fist against the center of her chest.

Her leather armor was still stained with dust from the Northern Front, and her hair was tied back loosely with a leather cord, with a few stray strands hanging over her forehead.

The Queen's voice wasn't loud, but every word carried an unquestionable weight: "I need you to take a look at the source of the Black Tide."

Sylvia did not look up. "Just a look?"

"Just a look," the Queen said. "Then come back and tell me exactly what that source is."

She stood up from the throne, the hem of her robe sweeping across the stone steps.

She stopped before Sylvia and took a gold emblem from her bosom—the emblem of the Shadow Council, a dagger piercing through a moon.

The Queen leaned down and personally pinned the emblem to Sylvia's leather armor. Her fingers lingered briefly as they touched the leather, as if confirming something.

"This emblem has been with me for twenty years." She straightened up.

Sylvia looked down at the emblem, then raised her right hand, balled it into a fist, and pressed it against the center of her chest.

The Queen turned and walked back to the throne. With her back to Sylvia, she gave an order that sounded like a more personal entrustment: "Come back alive."

...

The scene shifted to the front lines of the Black Tide.

A black mist that blotted out the sky moved like a wall, advancing slowly but unstoppably toward the north.

Within the mist, countless distorted silhouettes were faintly visible; some looked like humans, some like beasts, and some looked like the two had been crushed and stitched back together.

Low growls emanated from the mist—not a single sound, but thousands of voices layered together, like subterranean magma churning.

Sylvia's ghostly form emerged from the mist without making a sound.

Shadowform was the highest level of stealth in the Shadow Council. it could convert the body into a semi-ethereal energy state, existing in the crack between the material world and the Shadow Plane.

Ordinary assassins could only maintain Shadowform for a matter of seconds, but Sylvia had maintained it continuously for nearly an hour.