Boom!
The sword had stopped suddenly in John's hand, as if it were nothing more than a plaything. An incredibly powerful blast of crimson Qi slammed onto his body, doing almost no damage at all as if it were a weak attack. However, the blast of Qi slammed onto the earth behind John shortly after, devastating it with explosive power as it revealed the true might of the attack John had just withstood directly.
"Let go you fucking brat!" Amber yelled in rage as she recovered her wits and tried to pull her sword from his grip, but was unable to make the sword budge even an inch. It was as if a mountain was resting on top of the sword, making it impossible to move at all.
"If you want to die so bad, then die!" John replied calmly as he shoved his hand holding her sword forward. The motion seemed casual, but combined with her full power pulling on the sword, Amber's sword flew back towards her body with overwhelming force. If she had her full power, she would have been able to react in time, but with her exhausted state, her reactions were slowed and power reduced.
Boom!
The flat of the blade slammed against her chest powerfully, knocking her backwards violently before she could react. Her body tumbled head over heels through the air as a small trail of blood followed behind, indicating that she had taken damage from that attack.
"You piece of shit!" Amber cursed as she regained her balance and prepared to unleash a counterattack towards John. Her eyes widened as she spotted him directly before her, just an arm's reach away.
Roar of the Jade Dragon!
Roar!
A deafening dragonic roar boomed out from John's mouth in an instant, slamming onto Amber with its full might. Amber felt as if she had been roared at by a true dragon as her organs trembled violently and ears burst from the might of the roar. Even her soul rattled in protest as it felt on the verge of collapse, stunning her briefly as she fought against the attack she had failed to defend against.
Her vision became blurred and her Qi within her body slowed as she struggled against the roar, which had nearly outright killed her in her weakened state. She had not expected the roar to be so overwhelmingly powerful, nor John to be so physically strong. Her underestimation of John's strength resulted in her taking the full might of his attack.
Her vision quickly returned as she washed away the effects of the roar, at which point her eyes widened once more, pure fear contained within for the first time in her life.
Che!
Blood and flesh exploded out from Amber's chest as John's straightened hand pierced directly into her unguarded chest and out the other side. The eyes of everyone one the battlefield went wide once more as they locked onto the blood red object held in John's hand.
Crunch!
John squeezed his hand closed, destroying Amber's heart that he held within his hand. His face was no more than a foot away from hers, and he watched with cold indifference as Amber's wide eyes and opened mouth trembled with the fear of encroaching death.
Che!
John's other hand sliced sideways like a blade, slashing straight into Amber's neck, killing her for good. Everyone watched in absolute stunned disbelief as one of the strongest and most terrifying geniuses in the realm died without being able to fight back. Even in her weakened state, she was still strong enough to kill everyone other than Asuros, Miko, and a few others, and yet she had died without putting up any resistance at all.
After severing her head, John put away Amber's head in his spatial realm. He swiftly withdrew his bloodstained arm, removing it from her chest. Amber's headless body fell down from the sky, slamming onto the shattered earth below, the sound of her fallen body filling the absolutely silent battlefield.
The battlefield remained silent with stunned disbelief for a short while before another figure suddenly appeared next to John who continued to hover in the sky above the massive crater he had formed.
John's gaze shifted towards the arrival, and a warm smile quickly replaced his cold indifference.
"Miko!" John greeted his lifelong friend with a head nod, while Miko did the same. Usually, they would exchange a friendly embrace and excitedly discuss recent events, but the situation was far too serious for such joyful banter.
Before they could exchange any further words, another person arrived next to John, catching the attention of all as her appearance was far too eye-catching. Even Miko couldn't help but stare intently at the veiled person before him, ensnared by her hidden beauty.
"Did we make it in time?" Laia asked John softly as she surveyed the surrounding destruction. Hundreds of dead corpses laid strewn about, filling her gentle heart with grief.
"Not in time for most, but not too late for the ones remaining," John replied with a cold calmness.
"John….who is this?" Miko asked curiously, as he could tell the two were somehow close, and yet he had never seen Laia before in his life.
"This is Laia," John said as he gestured towards her, "the eighth princess of the Astral Empire."
"Astral Empire!" Miko couldn't help but blurt out in surprise. Even someone like him who had just arrived to the Divine Martial Continent knew of the Astral Empire, as it was one of the strongest powers in the world.
Laia smiled as she greeted Miko, before her gaze shifted down towards the group of Honorable Alliance youths in the distance. She frowned as she noticed many youths gravely injured, with some just hanging on by a thread.
"Will you need my help?" she asked John.
"No…go tend to them. I'll be just fine," John replied as he noticed her worried gaze.
"Ok…I'll be close if you do need me," she replied gently as she stared at him for a moment before speeding towards the Honorable Alliance group. She landed amongst them and instantly erupted with healing powers, shocking everyone around her. Her powers were beyond profound, and were mending even those beyond what the other healers in the group were capable of healing.
Miko's eyes widened slightly as he noticed Iseria's wounds start to mend as well, before he sighed deeply in relief. He had been hopeless to help her, but was now able to rest easier knowing that she would be healed. After staring at the distant group, Miko's gaze shifted towards Amber's headless corpse below them and gazed at her for a moment.
"She would have been quite a fearsome opponent to fight at her full strength," John said as he noticed Miko's gaze, "but she was wounded and incredibly exhausted. I'm guessing that it was you who pushed her to that state?"
"Mhm," Miko hummed in confirmation, "and I would have finished her off myself, but I was interrupted by someone else," he continued as his gaze shifted towards the fractured crater beneath their feet.
