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Thereafter, the two Saint Realms exchanged no further words, leaving only the violent clashes of combat energy and the howls of the Demon Dragon King's phantom form echoing through the space.

The battle within the sealed space was self-contained. Those outside could only observe through the floating, meter-wide black spherical window, witnessing the explosive surges of black and gold combat energy and the fleeting, ghostly movements of the Demon Dragon King.

Naturally, such changes also caused ripples in the external battlefield.

With Catherine trapped inside the "Dragon Soul Space" by the Dragon Saint, those outside could no longer influence the battle within. The Fontainebleau troops, aware of Catherine's dire situation, were thrown into panic: Catherine had always been slightly weaker than the Dragon Saint, and now the gap was even wider. With the Dragon Saint's overwhelming advantage within the "Dragon Soul Space," did Catherine even stand a chance?

Thus, they acted immediately.

The first to react was the Lich, who faced the least pressure. Suddenly, he crushed two black rings in his hand, releasing thick, dark smoke that merged into the black crystal bone dragon beneath him. The massive bone dragon instantly swelled in size, let out a roar, and charged straight at the Golden Dragon in the sky.

The Golden Dragon, the Dragon Saint's mount, was continuously casting draconic magic. Had a mage been in its position, they would have layered themselves with protective spells. But as the proudest and most powerful of dragons, the Golden Dragon had absolute confidence in its physical resilience and scales, so it took no precautions. Thus, when the smoke-shrouded bone dragon shattered the lightning bolts raining down and lunged at it, the Golden Dragon had no time to react before being tightly entangled. In raw strength, the Golden Dragon—though past its prime—still far surpassed the magically animated bone dragon. Yet the black crystal bone dragon avoided direct confrontation, instead coiling its body around the Golden Dragon to disrupt its spellcasting. The bone dragon's body was indestructible, impervious to claws, fangs, or even dragon breath. The two behemoths battled from sky to ground, eventually breaking away from the main battlefield.

Freed from the Golden Dragon's suppression, the Lich swiftly disengaged. Instead of targeting the black sphere of the "Dragon Soul Space," it retreated into the Magic Tower atop Qingcheng Fortress.

The next moment, the fortress's top walls unfolded, revealing nine massive magic cannons crafted from hydra skulls.

Then, a torrent of ice projectiles erupted into the sky.

Their target was the aerial battlefield where the Ice Valkyrie Zha clashed with the Celestial Knight Tan Yueer.

Despite her frost giant's physique, Zha was no match for the true Saint Realm Tan Yueer and had been forced into a defensive battle. Only by relying on the constant stream of healing light magic behind her—and trading injuries recklessly—had she managed to keep her opponent outside the "Twelve Star Palace Gate"'s magical barrier. But the ice projectiles changed everything. The frost magic condensed by the Lich after taking control of the "Twelve Star Palace Gate," amplified by the hydra-skull cannons, unleashed projectiles with nearly ninth-level spell potency. The sheer volume filled the sky, instantly transforming the battlefield into a semi-frozen battlefield. Here, Zha's mastery over ice skyrocketed her combat power, allowing her to swiftly reverse the tide and suppress Tan Yueer.

Meanwhile, as the fortress unleashed its icy barrage, a slender white figure darted unnoticed across the sky.

Outside "Fontainebleau"'s main gate, another Saint Realm battle raged fiercely.

The "Hanyue Knight" Carol, wielding his divine weapon "Slashing煌雷," was locked in a fierce duel with the angelic phantom beast "Scarlett." Unlike Zha, who commanded ice, Scarlett was a light-aligned humanoid phantom beast with an angelic bloodline, capable of continuously healing herself mid-battle without any external assistance. This granted her a slight advantage, enabling her to firmly block Carol from entering the city. However, this was only true as long as Carol refrained from summoning his domain. In reality, Carol had attempted to activate his domain three times already. Fortunately, Scarlett's phantom beast nature endowed her with an acute sensitivity to spatial and elemental fluctuations. Each time, she either interrupted Carol's casting at the cost of injury or retreated beyond the range of his domain, avoiding being drawn into the space where his combat power would double.

The shifting tides within the city did not escape the Sword Saint's notice, prompting Carol to attempt summoning his domain once more to break through and enter the city.

To his delight, he soon realized his opponent's reactions had dulled significantly this time, granting him ample time to complete the several-second-long domain summoning. Once his domain was active, defeating his opponent would be a matter of moments.

"...Perfect. It feels unfair to win this way, but Miss Phantom Beast, you are of angelic bloodline meant to protect humans, no? You've merely erred by siding with the beastmen. For the sake of humanity, forgive my rudeness..."

With this thought—uncharacteristically ruthless for the most virtuous of young human Sword Saints—Carol quietly awaited the moment his domain would envelop the battlefield. Yet, just as victory seemed assured, he failed to notice a white figure darting out from behind Scarlett's light-shrouded wings.

Then, the white figure merged with Scarlett mid-air.

The fusion birthed a towering, six-foot-tall armored angel with twelve light wings.

That white figure was Jin Luosha.

A Saint Realm Jin Luosha and a super-beast-tier Scarlett, both wielding light-aligned powers with perfectly compatible traits, fused through "Phantom Beast Armorization." Their combined strength briefly skyrocketed to nearly triple that of other young Sword Saints.

This tripled power rivaled the boost a Sword Saint gained within their domain. Though it lasted only minutes, it was enough to turn the tide. Had Carol been prepared, he might have outlasted it through evasion. But caught mid-domain summoning and unaware of Jin Luosha's arrival, he stood no chance.