Chapter 143: The Full Terror Of a Sidelined Monster!

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: The Full Terror Of a Sidelined Monster!

Despite its tiny appearance, the sphere was terrifying. It rotated slowly, resembling a miniature black hole.

The surrounding air and everything else within its reach seemed to be drawn toward it, swallowed by the darkness without leaving a trace.

Even Reginald and the others, who stood behind their Grand Elder, felt a chill run through their bodies.

They could barely imagine what would happen if that attack were directed at them.

Judging by the terrifying energy contained within the sphere, they were certain they would not survive a direct hit.

Fortunately, Winston’s target was Graham Cole.

"Go!" Winston’s face had grown noticeably pale. Gathering and compressing the energy had clearly placed an enormous strain on him.

With a quiet shout, he sent the black sphere hurtling toward Graham.

However, Graham had already recognized the danger. He had been observing Winston closely throughout the process of gathering energy.

As the person directly facing the attack, his instincts were far more sensitive than those of the spectators. The longer Winston prepared his technique, the stronger Graham’s sense of danger became.

Not even the combined attacks of the Lindsay family’s Star Sea Realm experts had managed to penetrate his chaotic energy barrier.

He had also emerged from the Azure Lotus God-Slaying Formation without suffering any injuries. Yet neither experience had prepared him for the pressure he felt now.

This was the first time since the battle began that he had experienced such an intense threat to his life. His immediate thought was to escape.

Unfortunately, the moment he attempted to use the spatial rune fragments he had obtained from Collins Lindsay, he discovered that he could not enter the void.

The surrounding space seemed to have been completely sealed off. No matter how he tried, he could not establish the spatial connection needed to escape.

Graham’s expression grew serious.

"So this is what makes a half step Divine Power Realm expert so dangerous," he said.

He was surprised, but he was not afraid. If he could not escape, he would have to withstand the attack directly.

As the black sphere closed in, Graham swept his right hand through the air.

Two figures appeared before him. The Dragon Bone Puppet and the Flower Fairy Puppet! The Dragon Bone Puppet possessed the strength of a peak 4th-Tier dragonman, while the Flower Fairy Puppet had reached the early 5th-Tier.

Graham had summoned them to serve as his first line of defense. He knew they might not be able to stop Winston’s attack entirely.

Nevertheless, if they could absorb even part of its destructive power, the sacrifice would be worthwhile.

Immediately afterward, he raised his left hand and unleashed Chaos Divine Palm, directing the attack straight toward the incoming sphere.

At the same time, chaotic energy poured out of his body in overwhelming quantities. It rapidly gathered around him, forming a thick defensive shield nearly three meters tall.

The black sphere finally struck the puppets. The Dragon Bone Puppet was the first to bear the impact.

The peak 4th-Tier puppet had once been a formidable existence, but against the Law of Annihilation, it offered almost no resistance.

Its body crumbled as rapidly as a snowman exposed to an intense flame, disintegrating into ash before vanishing completely.

There was no opportunity to repair it. No remains were left behind.

The black sphere continued forward. Next came the Flower Fairy Puppet.

The enormous creature opened its mouth and swallowed the sphere whole, attempting to contain the attack within its body.

For half a second, it seemed as though the puppet might succeed.

Then its head disappeared.

The annihilating force tore through it without the slightest hesitation, destroying its defensive capabilities and leaving the second puppet unable to continue.

Graham’s first line of defense had been completely destroyed. Yet the black sphere had barely diminished. Its rotation had slowed slightly, but it continued moving toward its real target.

The barrier of chaotic energy!

When the two forces collided, the surrounding world seemed to fall silent.

Chaotic energy surged around Graham like a raging ocean, its immense power resisting the advance of the black sphere.

The annihilating force, meanwhile, continued devouring everything it touched. Neither side immediately gained the advantage.

At first glance, the clash seemed to be nothing more than a struggle between two different forms of energy.

But the consequences were far more horrifying. A gigantic chasm began forming beside Graham.

On one side, the world remained intact, with vegetation and birdsong untouched by the battle.

On the other, the landscape had been erased across an area stretching for thousands of meters.

The resulting pit was more than a hundred meters deep, its exposed sides revealing how thoroughly the earth had been destroyed.

The soil, rocks, and everything else in the affected area had simply ceased to exist.

Fortunately, Graham’s chaotic energy barrier continued holding firm.

Despite the devastation unfolding around him, his body remained protected.

Then, after approximately one second of stalemate, the situation changed.

The black sphere suddenly exploded. An overwhelming wave of annihilating energy erupted outward, swallowing the chaotic energy that had been resisting it.

The world around Graham disappeared into an expanding darkness.

Everything within his field of vision was being erased. Even light seemed to vanish from existence.

Graham immediately poured out every bit of chaotic energy he could muster, drawing upon the reserves stored in his internal star spaces to reinforce his defense.

One star space was depleted.

Then another. Then a third.

The annihilating force continued consuming his chaotic energy, leaving him no opportunity to conserve his reserves.

Before long, the energy stored in ten star spaces had been completely exhausted.

The destructive force still had not disappeared. Graham gritted his teeth and drew upon the chaotic energy within his eleventh star space, forcing every remaining reserve into his defense.

Only after most of that eleventh star space had been drained did the terrifying annihilating energy finally dissipate.

The attack had ended.

* * *

"Is Graham Cole dead?" one clansman asked.

"He has to be! Did you see the power of the Grand Elder’s attack? No second star Star Sea Realm martial artist could possibly survive that!" another said.

"His strength was extraordinary, but he was still only at the second star level. Forcing the Grand Elder to unleash such a technique is already an achievement. Even if he died, he should have no regrets!"

Behind the battlefield, Reginald and the others tried to reassure themselves as they stared toward the place where Graham had disappeared.

None of them could hide their anxiety.

Immediately after unleashing the attack, Winston had descended to the ground.

His body trembled slightly, and his face was pale from the tremendous energy he had expended.

There was no doubt that the technique had consumed a substantial portion of his strength.

If Graham had been killed, then everything would have worked out perfectly.

They could finally eliminate the threat hanging over the Lindsay family and avenge their fallen relatives.

But what if the attack had failed to kill him? Even a badly injured Graham would remain dangerous.

If he had survived with enough strength to fight back, the Lindsay family would have to seize the opportunity to finish him off before he recovered.

And the worst possibility was one none of them wanted to consider. What if Graham had survived without suffering any serious injuries?

"Impossible!" Reginald shook his head forcefully, as though he could drive the thought out of his mind. "Even the strongest second star Star Sea Realm expert couldn’t possibly endure an attack like that without being seriously injured!"

"Father’s technique is comparable to an attack from a genuine Divine Power Realm expert," Desmond added. "There’s no way Graham Cole could have survived it unscathed!"

"Even if he somehow managed to stay alive, he must be on the verge of death!" Harold said.

They repeated these claims to each other, desperately trying to convince themselves that the battle was over.

Then their expressions changed. Someone had appeared beside them.

It was Graham Cole.

The very man they had just declared dead was standing among them, surrounded by a dense, surging mass of chaotic energy. For a moment, the Lindsay family members could only stare.

Before anyone could react, Graham released the energy he had gathered around himself.

The first explosion shook the compound. The next followed almost immediately, unleashing an even more devastating wave of destruction.

Detonating his chaotic energy was one of Graham’s most destructive methods. After enduring Winston’s annihilation attack, he had used the moment of confusion to get close to his enemies. Now, he unleashed the energy in a concentrated explosion before they could respond.

Winston, Reginald, Harold, and the other Lindsay family experts were caught directly in its path. They had no time to defend themselves. The successive explosions swallowed their figures, tearing through the surrounding area with overwhelming force. The Lindsay family’s strongest fighters were annihilated in the blast, their bodies and the ground beneath them consumed by the destructive energy.

The sound reverberated throughout Silver Lake City.