49: Defeat the Flame Pinoch

"No need to ask, it seems she is Blazing Phenoxiu." Jian Wuxie's face was solemn; he hadn't forgotten the Frost Magic he encountered in the Frosty Dark Forest.

The woman, who had been bowing her head and chanting softly, heard someone speaking and slowly raised her head, fixing her gaze on the four of them.

The four immediately raised their weapons and went on high alert.

But the woman didn't attack directly. Instead, she scanned them with her burning, fiery eyes and spoke softly, "Adventurers, have you seen my sister? A little girl in a long blue dress, not very tall, and extremely cute."

Jian Wuxie asked softly with a look of confusion, "What's going on? She can speak; she doesn't look like those monsters."

Having met Sherlock earlier, Jian Wuxie subconsciously thought she wasn't a monster but a normal person.

Xiao Hongyuan was also puzzled and whispered, "The sister she mentioned should be Klahe, whom we killed, but she wasn't a little girl. Does she have another sister?"

Quan Wudi said, "Why don't we just ask her clearly?"

After saying that, Quan Wudi turned directly to Phenoxiu and said, "Hey, you, do you have any other sisters besides Klahe?"

Upon hearing Quan Wudi's words, Phenoxiu's expression changed instantly. She muttered, "Klahe, Klahe! Hahahaha... My sister Klahe!"

Her previously melancholy expression suddenly turned frenzied. She stood up immediately and brandished the staff in her hand.

A large swath of fire instantly spread from beneath her feet, surging toward them with infinite heat.

The four retreated in a panic, turning to leave the area engulfed in flames.

"Damn, Brother Quan, what did you do? Why is she so Life Qi?" Jian Wuxie asked while running.

"How the hell should I know? You heard it too. I just asked one question and she suddenly went crazy!" Quan Wudi had a look of being wronged.

While the four ran ahead, Phenoxiu chased from behind, waving her staff.

As they were fleeing, the four heard the whistling of wind from above and looked up in surprise.

They saw a massive Meteor wrapped in flames falling straight toward the path ahead of them. Its immense power ripped through the air, producing a loud roar.

"Holy crap!" A Fei cursed, a rare occurrence, seemingly corrupted by Quan Wudi.

He quickly used a backstep to interrupt his forward run, staring at the massive Meteor in shock.

The others followed suit, stopping immediately to avoid the falling Meteor.

The Meteor crashed straight into the ground with incredible force, with more than half of it sinking deep into the earth. It made one wonder: if hit by this Meteor, one would likely be crippled if not killed.

Their escape route blocked by the Meteor, the four could only turn back to face the pursuing Phenoxiu.

Quan Wudi cursed loudly and leaped straight toward Phenoxiu with a Vajra Shatter.

While Quan Wudi was still in mid-air, Phenoxiu suddenly spun her staff and whipped it straight across his ferocious face.

"Damn it!" Quan Wudi cursed in surprise. His skill was interrupted, and he was sent flying back, landing on the ground like a discarded salted fish.

Seeing this, Jian Wuxie couldn't hold it back and burst out laughing.

While rubbing his heavily struck face, Quan Wudi scrambled up and barked, "What are you laughing at? You go then!"

Jian Wuxie didn't hesitate. Braving the flames, he dashed toward Phenoxiu with a Three-Stage Slash. Since his weapon increased the Rank of his Three-Stage Slash skill, when he slid to her side on the third strike, the blade slashed directly into her.

Phenoxiu let out a miserable wail as she was knocked backward, a deep sword wound left on her body.

Jian Wuxie looked at Quan Wudi smugly and said, "How's that? Pretty good, right?"

While Jian Wuxie was gloating, Phenoxiu quickly stood up and released a Shockwave from beneath her feet, sending him flying back to land right next to Quan Wudi.

Quan Wudi was delighted. He grinned at the red-faced Jian Wuxie and laughed, "How's that? Still want to act tough?"

Xiao Hongyuan sighed and said, "Stop fooling around and focus on the fight."

Only then did the two stop their antics, standing up and waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Phenoxiu seemed enraged by the heavy wound from Jian Wuxie's blade. She chanted something rapidly, her staff waving frequently.

In an instant, several massive Meteors appeared in the sky, and the flames on the ground began to spread further.

"Damn, she's getting desperate!" Jian Wuxie said helplessly, then shouted to A Fei, "See if you can interrupt her casting!"

A Fei nodded calmly. He first reached out to release Kazan of the Blade Soul, boosting everyone's strength, and then, like Jian Wuxie, used a Three-Stage Slash to slide over, attempting to interrupt the casting.

The moment the two red-glowing phantoms of Kazan of the Blade Soul appeared, Phenoxiu looked straight over. She screamed loudly, her casting speed increasing as if she had been provoked.

A Fei slid in front of her and used a Wave Split Slash to trap her in mid-air.

However, the Meteors and the sea of fire that had already formed did not disappear; they continued to descend at high speed.

Quan Wudi cursed under his breath again. Even Xiao Hongyuan, standing right next to him, couldn't hear it clearly, but she felt it must have been very foul!

Left with no choice, they could only dodge the Meteors from the sky, unable to worry about the sea of fire on the ground.

The Meteors crashed one after another, leaving the once-flat ground riddled with craters. Flames burned on all four of them, and their health points were steadily draining over time.

Xiao Hongyuan shouted, "We can't drag this out! Everyone attack together and finish her quickly, or we'll be burned to death."

Jian Wuxie's weapon clearly made him the best primary attacker. Taking advantage of the moment Xiao Hongyuan used Wave Split Slash to control her, he landed a Mountain Collapse Strike directly on Phenoxiu. The massive damage caused Phenoxiu's wails to rise several decibels.

Fortunately, Phenoxiu was a mage with low defense and a fragile body; even Xiao Hongyuan's weapon could easily break through her defense.

Just as Jian Wuxie wanted to follow up his attack, the familiar Shockwave appeared beneath her again, knocking back everyone except A Fei.

Relying on his faster-than-average reactions, A Fei used a backstep skill to avoid the Shockwave's knockback effect.

While flying backward, Jian Wuxie shouted, "Xiao Fei! Use Wave Split Slash to control her! Don't let her drop any more Meteors!"

A Fei replied anxiously, "I can't! It's been used too frequently; I can't release Wave Split Slash right now."

The health of all four was now almost empty. If Phenoxiu recovered and managed to keep her distance to stall for time, they would be burned to death.

With a look of determination, A Fei first used an Uppercut to launch Phenoxiu into the air, then swung his Short Sword, quickly landing several slashes on her.

With a "Boom," the attack effect of A Fei's Thunder Rage suddenly triggered, and a bolt of Heavenly Thunder struck Phenoxiu directly.

She wailed unwillingly, "Sister, where are you?" before turning into white light and dissipating.

As she vanished, the flames burning on the four of them were instantly extinguished, and their health stopped draining.

Looking at his health, which was under 5%, Jian Wuxie laughed, "What luck. It's a good thing your weapon's effect triggered, or we'd probably have died here."

Then, with a look of anticipation, he walked toward where Phenoxiu had disappeared, muttering, "Let's see what good things this big sister left for us?"