Assassin Obstacle Course (10)

Of the four areas of battle, Astar's battle against the other Masters was the most high-profile. Although he was clearly out numbered, no one underestimated him for his title as a tier 6 array grandmaster gave him the qualifications to stand on equal grounds with True Masters. If he was given time to set up an array, then it was certain that he could annihilate the other side, but none believed that he would be given that chance.

However, in this battle, Astar disproved the popular idea that array masters couldn't perform well in direct combat. Shortly after the start of their fight, three Masters, including the leader, approached to attack him while the rest stayed in the sky with their spells ready. They held back their spells because they didn't want to push him too far, but they were prepared to shoot the moment he tried to make an array. Even so, they were too late.

Before the three Masters could get close enough to throw a punch, an array lit up under their feet and quickly expanded to connect to other arrays in the area, before combining into one massive array that captured all of them.

"What?! When did he set this up?!"

"Impossible!"

All of them believed that they hadn't given him any chance to set up an array, and they confirmed that there was none set up beforehand, so they were totally stunned and confused when it appeared. Majority began freaking out and while some tried to figure out his trick, but all evidence had been removed. Astar's plan would have been foiled if even a single one of them paid attention to the dirt on the ground, but he taunted them to focus their attention entirely on him.

"Everyone! Stay focused. This is a tier 5 array, he hasn't defeated us yet."

The leader of the Masters, shouted at them to get them under control. After hearing him, they carefully looked at the array and confirmed it. Additionally, they were experienced enough to tell that this wasn't an offensive array. However, as relief filled the air, a chuckle interrupted them.

"Odd, I thought you said you wouldn't allow me to use any of my precious arrays, so how did you end up getting caught in one?"

Everyone scowled at his smiling face, but none of them could brush off his comments. They had declared that they wouldn't let him arrange any arrays, but he had done so right under their noses. Fearing that he would create more arrays if they gave him additional time, the three Masters rushed towards him while spells began to rain down. Nevertheless, Astar's expression did not falter as he took out a clear orb that was the size of his fist. As if afraid of the orb, the spells instantly vanished and the orb released a gentle green glow.

Naturally, the incoming Masters were wary of this glowing orb, but they didn't slow down. They readied about 70% of their power to strike him, however, their bodies were forced to a halt before they were within ten feet of him. They could easily take a step back, but even throwing their weapons was futile as they would be stuck in the air. They wondered how this was happening, but none of them were clear on the details of tier 5 arrays. Only spectators with sufficient expertise in the field could tell that this was a special support array known as the Grand Equality Field.

This array would gradually drain the energy of the stronger side, and deliver this energy to the weaker side, until both sides had the same aggregate amount of nature energy, making it perfectly suited for Astar's current predicament. The energy transfer effect was stronger on energy outside the body, so the enemies' spells couldn't reach him while he could use their energy to cast a repulsion spell strong enough to form a safe space around him.

However, his enemies could only guess on the array's effects so they were inevitably several times more concerned. Even their leader with the dragon mask needed time to think of a countermeasure, and Astar wouldn't grant them that time.

"Pardon me, but there's no time to waste."

Astar waved his arm and suddenly five tier 4 arrays began to be drawn in the air around him. No evolved beast blood or special dust was needed this time, instead, his dark purple energy coalesced into strands to form his arrays. This was a technique that could only be used by array grandmasters, Instant Construction. It was a very cost-effective means of creating arrays, but it only lasted for a short duration, and consumed a sizeable portion of energy that scaled with the tier of the array. Furthermore, this technique could only be used for arrays two tiers below mastery level of the array master.

Shui was familiar with inscriptions, so he didn't place much emphasis on this skill, but he surely would have reconsidered if he saw the way Astar used it.

Once the five arrays were near completion, the enemy woke up from their stupefied state and tried to interrupt him, but the outcome was unchanged; their spells were extinguished and they could not enter his personal space. And so, they could do nothing to stop his next attack.

"Tch, defend!"

There were only tier 4 arrays, so the Masters used the barrier spell, but the Sky Realm experts brought out their strongest defense.

Once the arrays were finished, Astar sent them to surround the enemy. Once again, the arrays expanded and combined with each other, then swiftly formed a starry blue dome around the enemy. In the Sky Realm, cultivators would begin to establish connections with the natural laws, so even tier 4 arrays would need time to kill one, but a second after a light flashed inside the dome, half of them had died.

Powerful rays of white light bounced erratically inside the dome, ruthlessly ripping through Sky Realm experts and even shaking the barriers of Masters. Still, these Masters couldn't bear the sight of their disciples and comrades being slaughtered, so they took the ones still alive into their protection, and poured more power into their barriers.

Truthfully, even if the arrays had been combined, the dome should have scattered after the first shot, but Astar was keeping it together with an advanced spell exclusive to array grandmasters. This spell allowed an array master to provide energy to any nearby array that he had constructed, including ones made through Instant Construction. Additionally, thanks to the Grand Equality Field, they were basically fueling the light that killed them.

It wouldn't last forever, but Astar was certain that the Masters would have to face a dire decision once enough energy was taken from them. Even so, he planned on dealing greater damage, but before he could make his next move, he noticed a change in the sky.

"The second boundary's been raised. I guess my role is over."

Instead on crushing his enemies, Astar summoned an elegantly carved wooden chair and table, and sat down with a hot cup of tea suddenly appearing in hand. The Masters inside the dome nearly coughed blood from intense anger at this scene, but they had people to protect so they had to bottle it up.