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Although the magic barrier quickly repaired the breach, Carol had already seized the opportunity to infiltrate Fontainebleau.

Fontainebleau responded immediately as a beam of white light shot from the top of Qingcheng Fortress, reaching Carol in an instant.

"Hmm, this holy power... Miss Jin Luosha? No, it's—" Carol swung his blade to block, only to be jolted back several steps. When he steadied himself, he saw before him a six-winged angel wielding a twin-bladed golden spear.

It wasn’t Jin Luosha, but her Supreme Phantom Beast—the Holy Angel Scarlat.

This was only natural. Though Jin Luosha herself had reached the Saint-tier, her talents and efforts were primarily devoted to magic and divine arts. Asking her to face these young sword saints, who had displayed extraordinary martial prowess since childhood, in a life-or-death battle would be far too dangerous. The Supreme Phantom Beast, "Holy Angel Scarlat," was different. Created by the Twelve Sages, it possessed considerable combat abilities from the start. After several evolutions, its strength and holy power rivaled that of an average dragon. Later, it absorbed part of the soul imprint of a high-ranking Seraph from the Celestial Realm, perfectly inheriting the combat wisdom and skills of a true top-tier angel. Combining divine arts and martial prowess flawlessly, armed with Jin Luosha’s "Holy Spear Quinilon" and a nearly indestructible incandescent form, its combat power was no less than any of the young sword saints.

Meanwhile, Jin Luosha remained hidden in the core of the "Twelve Star Palace Gate," using her radiant magic to support the battlefields across the city, maximizing her strengths.

However, compared to the third battlefield, these two seemed almost silent—or rather, the battle on the other side was far too dazzling.

Atop Qingcheng Fortress, a colossal pure-black ancient tree stretched toward the sky, its roots entwined over the fortress’s peak, covering nearly half the battlements. Its branches and leaves spread outward, nearly blotting out the sky. Countless multicolored elemental lights shimmered across its trunk, branches, and leaves, like an inverted galaxy, radiant and resplendent. At the treetop stood a graceful and beautiful elven maiden, holding a longbow with pride. Brilliant elemental lights streaked across her flawless, pale cheeks, as if adorned with the most luxurious jewels. The silver longbow in her hands, nearly as tall as a person, was exquisitely elegant, its dreamlike curves studded with scattered, translucent crystals that sparkled like stars—almost a priceless work of art, yet radiating immense natural magical energy.

"Sing for me, symphony of a thousand stars—"

The golden-haired elven maiden plucked the bowstring with slender fingers, as if playing an instrument, appearing graceful and serene. Yet in stark contrast, waves of elemental arrows shot forth from the bowstring, each carrying tremendous magical power. As they flew, they ignited the elements in the air, transforming into blazing comets. Dozens, even hundreds, of these comets converged into a vast, flowing galaxy.

This elven maiden was none other than Xue Li, wielder of the legendary "Sighing Holy Bow." During the war to reclaim the elven kingdom, she had earned the favor of the Nature Goddess, greatly enhancing her power. With guidance from the "Sniper Deity of Arrows" Karin Ling, even after losing the "Dream Star Crown," her combat prowess had only grown. Now, standing atop the super plant phantom beast "Onyx Gold Treant," she drew upon its gathered elemental power, firing endless magical arrows.

Her target was Xian Lan, the "Tide Knight," still standing atop his dragon.

With the longest attack range among Saint-level warriors, Xian Lan, wielding the "Dragonbreaker Whip," could strike anywhere within a kilometer without error. Though he remained high in the air, his attacks were relentless. A storm of black whip shadows rained down, clashing against Xue Li’s magical arrows in a series of deafening explosions. The shattered arrows burst into countless fireworks, painting the sky in dazzling hues of violet, emerald, gold, azure, and snow-white—far more resplendent than the magic barrier enveloping the heavens.

"Hah! Clever elf—" Xian Lan hovered in the air, frustration evident in his voice. "Let’s see how long you can keep this up!"

With the Onyx Gold Treant’s support, Xue Li’s elemental power was nearly limitless, firmly pinning down the sword saint Xian Lan. Though her attacks couldn’t harm him, they were enough to prevent the "Tide Knight" from focusing his strength to breach the "Twelve Star Palace Gate’s" magic barrier. Without concentrating his power on a single point, even a sword saint couldn’t break through the barrier crafted by the Twelve Sages.

Yet, as they remained locked in stalemate, another breach appeared in the magic barrier elsewhere.

The weapon that tore through it was a crystalline sword gleaming in five colors—azure, crimson, white, gold, and black.

The "Blade of the Hero-Emperor"—Pope Xi Luo.

"I deeply regret bringing war to the innocent. Yet, though it is a despicable act, I must still destroy this city." Clad in "Ancient God Armor," crowned with the "Thorn Diadem," and wielding the world’s foremost divine weapon, Xi Luo had shed most of his youthful appearance. Blazing, radiant holy light surged around him, and two pairs of luminous wings had sprouted from his back. Though not yet Saint-tier, his combat power was no less formidable. Breaking through the magic barrier had been far easier for him than for others. Just as Catherine had speculated, the two artifacts, both creations of the Twelve Sages, shared a special connection. Though their lights differed in hue, their essence was strikingly similar. Thus, Xi Luo entered Fontainebleau almost unimpeded—and the "Twelve Star Palace Gate" remained intact.

Fontainebleau’s interior was far from defenseless. On the contrary, anyone breaching the magic barrier would face concentrated assaults from all defensive forces. One hundred and eight "Soulreaper Demon Cannons," personally overseen by the King of the Undead, thousands of arrow towers equipped with massive ballistae, garrisons surveilling the city, and a considerable number of phantom beast battalions—all were formidable assets in city combat. While such forces could inflict heavy casualties on ordinary foes, even sword emperors or ninth-tier phantom beasts, they posed little threat to Saint-level warriors. Still, they could buy precious time.