CHAPTER 329: CHAPTER 329 - TRAPPED IN TWO RINGS

Atlas and the others had been trapped inside Elyndra’s protective barrier for what felt like an eternity. The enemy’s relentless bombardment showed no sign of stopping. Waves of blazing magic meteors crashing down with merciless precision.

Without Elyndra’s barrier, they wouldn’t have survived long enough for a single word. Every blast shook the dome violently, heat pouring through the shimmering wall of light as if the world outside were being consumed by fire itself.

Then, finally... The explosions ceased.

The ground still trembled faintly, but the barrage had stopped. The suffocating roar of destruction faded into a heavy, uneasy silence.

"Is it over?" Ember muttered, wiping sweat from her brow.

Atlas narrowed his eyes, scanning the outside through the fading haze of smoke. In the distance, several silhouettes stood out. And at their center, one man stepped forward. His long black hair was tied neatly behind him, his light armor glinting under the dim morning sun, a dark cloak draped over his shoulders.

Atlas lifted his hand slightly, signaling Elyndra. The Fae girl nodded and slowly lowered her arms, the radiant barrier dissolving around them in waves of fading light.

As the glow vanished, dozens of figures came into view, surrounding them from every direction. Each one aimed a mana-infused rifle directly at Atlas and his group. One twitch, one wrong move, and they would be met with another storm of deadly fire.

They hadn’t come to threaten. They had come to kill.

Then the man at the center raised his hand slightly, and his voice carried clearly through the wind.

"Atlas of Gacha Haven."

That tone, that confidence, it could only belong to another Lord.

Atlas stepped forward slowly, meeting the man’s gaze without flinching. He tilted his head slightly, a small, mocking smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Who?" he said quietly.

The man looked furious; his expression changed sharply. He clenched his teeth, stepped forward in anger, and pointed straight at Atlas.

"You’re standing at the edge of death. Look at how many troops I’ve brought. There’s no way out for you, Atlas. I’ll kill you in seconds. You’re such a fool. Too careless. You really thought you could walk freely on this land?! You made a huge mistake choosing us as your enemy. You’ve angered the wrong dragon!" the man shouted, his words spilling out in a storm of rage.

"Who?! Who?!" Atlas yelled back just as fiercely.

His outburst made the soldiers surrounding him from a distance click their weapons, the sharp metallic sounds warning that even a single wrong word could get him shot on the spot.

The man whom Atlas had just shouted at grinned widely, his expression filled with exhilaration and triumph.

"Atlas of Gacha Haven! Ha! Ha! Ha! I can’t believe it’s this easy to capture you. Hah! Two lords in one hunt. This is a real jackpot. My job just got a whole lot easier."

"Motherfucker!" Atlas shouted again. "At least introduce yourselves first so I know who the hell I’m dealing with!" he barked furiously.

The lord’s soldiers looked enraged, their fingers tightening on their triggers as the sound of metal cocking filled the air, ready to fire at any moment.

But the lord only grinned, looking ecstatic, and raised his left hand to signal his men to stand down.

"No, let him be," he said. "It’s only natural for prey who’s trapped and out of options to start babbling like this. Maybe he’s just tired of living as a lord and has accepted his death so easily."

"Can you please shut up and just tell me who you are?" Atlas cut him off sharply.

This time... Atlas’s words truly seemed to set the lord off, and right after that an explosion sounded from one side as a shot was fired toward Atlas.

Edrik moved quickly, darting to Atlas’s right; he drew his dagger and deflected the projectile with a loud clank! A small puff of smoke rose afterward. The shot failed to hit its target.

The opposing lord smirked once more. "I am delighted to see how you keep clinging to hope, even when the situation is so clearly against you," he said calmly.

He took a slow step forward, then continued, "If that is what you want, all right. I will give you something to find out who will end your life. My name is Lei Shen of Lingxiao Isle," he finished with that sharp look.

"Lei Shen?" Atlas repeated. "That name sounds familiar."

Atlas actually knew the name. That was the lord who had originally challenged Atlas in the lord battle season, but who had withdrawn his challenge after Atlas’s victory over Bai Yun.

"Oh," Atlas added. "Were you the frightened lord who withdrew your challenge back then? I thought you had been hiding in a cave and clinging to your mother’s skirt, but you still have the nerve to show yourself like this."

"SHUT UP, ATLAS!" the man answered now, firm and loud.

At the same moment more forces arrived from the distance. The same troops who had been riding and standing on their flying swords now spread out and stopped in the air, circling Atlas’s position and adding another ring of siege from above that made any escape impossible. Their numbers were simply equal to those on the ground.

The man smirked again. "So, you see? I could end you instantly. But it would not be interesting to kill you immediately. Let me have a little entertainment instead. Maybe I will start with the women first, then let you watch what my men can do to them. And perhaps I will leave you alive without hands and feet afterward. That sounds a lot more fun than an instant death."

Atlas drew a slow breath and offered a thin smile. "That threat is really awful. Truly awful. It does not sound pleasant to my ears at all. Maybe you could learn to threaten in a more elegant way."

The troops in the air then readied themselves, moving through hand seals with quick, practiced motions, and a magic formation formed before them, as if primed to strike whenever needed.

All the enemy forces were prepared to launch their attack. A single, massive, simultaneous assault. No matter how well Elyndra could hold, she would not be able to withstand it for long if it happened.

"You are cornered, Atlas! There is no way out," the man insisted again. "You are dead! Now... let me start with...." he said.

"Ah... I see something interesting here. Fae?" he added. "So you were the one who won the fae girl at the auction? What a shame that such an expensive prize must become my bed warmer tonight, Atlas."

"Warmer?" Atlas repeated after him. "What if it’s not just warm, but blazing? Blazing sounds far more interesting than warm."

Atlas answered calmly, and Lei Shen no longer looked like he was joking; his provocation had no effect on Atlas.

"You really do not know when to shut up," he growled.

Suddenly flames burst up around Lei Shen. Panic crossed his face as the fire wrapped around his body.

Everyone watched in shock when something appeared floating beside Lei Shen: a skull head burning with fierce flames.

"Koho koho koho... now you are caught! I can burn you alive," the skull head shouted loudly.