CHAPTER 272: CHAPTER 272: SKYE’S GREAT AXE, THE PASSION-SEVERING MANTRA BACKFIRES

"A mechanical lifeform? So he refined the Gastro‑sac Transmuter. Not a bad choice." Pitiless noticed the Dark Golden Golem, her eyes lighting up as she realized how Nalorin Sylvia had dispelled the Passion-Severing Mantra without being affected.

"What a pity. I’ll need some time to rebuild the Passion-Severing Mantra. These two beauties are both at the Divine level—they should be able to bring forth even stronger life." She glanced at Maiev and Nalorin Sylvia and murmured; she wasn’t planning to kill them.

Then her gaze moved to Johnnie—or rather, to the giant axe in his hands.

Buzz!

Pitiless gave a slight wave. The axe slipped out of Johnnie’s grip and flew toward her.

"With Skye’s great axe, this Dragon Pulse will be mine for sure!" Feeling the power inside it, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.

But suddenly, the axe burst with terrifying power, and waves of flame swept over her.

"Huh? What’s going on?" Startled, Pitiless let go of the axe on instinct.

Whoosh!

A gale howled. The axe moved on its own and, with overwhelming force, suddenly chopped down at her.

Boom!

Caught completely off guard, Pitiless was sent flying. The air trembled, flames surged, and the snow around them melted in an instant.

"Skye!" She stared at the axe, crying out in disbelief, "You’re still alive? How is that possible? The Witch Clan has no Divine Soul. Your head was cut off—you should have died!"

"You know where my head is?" Skye’s voice came from the axe.

Pitiless’s brows drew together, then she understood. Her voice turned cold. "So that’s it. Skye, if you were at full strength, I wouldn’t be your match. But right now, you can’t threaten me."

Her confidence surged. With a lift of her hand, snow and ice swirled, and she attacked Skye’s great axe again.

She wanted to erase Skye’s mind and take the axe for herself.

"Hmph. Wishful thinking." Skye sounded scornful. His true body couldn’t come here, so he wasn’t Pitiless’s match—but he was counting on Johnnie.

Whoosh!

Endless flames rose up, wrapping the frozen Johnnie and the others.

In an instant, the hard ice melted away, and they broke free.

"What, you think you can fight me with this human?" Pitiless sneered. She struck without mercy. Countless blocks of ice turned into broken spikes and rained down on Johnnie and his group.

"Kid, you can’t kill Pitiless with your strength. Save them first." Skye’s voice came, and the great axe flared with fire, growing even stronger.

Johnnie understood. He gripped the axe with both hands and charged at Pitiless.

With Skye’s power added, the axe became even stronger. For a moment, it even pushed Pitiless back.

But it only suppressed her. It couldn’t really threaten her.

Johnnie glanced at the two women beside him as they were about to act. "Leave this to me. Go find Cecilia."

"Okay. Master, hang in there." Maiev took one look at the suppressed Pitiless, said no more, grabbed Nalorin Sylvia, and flew deeper into the palace to search for Cecilia.

"Save people? None of you are leaving today. Ice-Soul Sword!" Pitiless let out a low shout. Three crystalline ice swords formed and shot at the three of them.

A soul attack!

Johnnie’s face changed. It was too late to block it.

Pft!

The Ice-Soul Sword stabbed straight into his mind. His soul felt like it was being torn apart.

[Ding! You were instantly killed by Pitiless. Resurrection Ring activated...]

System prompts flashed. Johnnie revived on the spot. His face was paper-white, his soul wounded again—though not too badly.

"What a strong soul!" Pitiless was a bit shocked. She stopped using soul attacks. With a wave, countless snow and ice gathered and closed in on Johnnie.

She didn’t want to kill him. She still wanted to take him alive.

Buzz!

Skye’s great axe swept out. Flames surged up and melted the ice in an instant.

"Ash-Extinguishing Sword Domain!"

"Mountains and Rivers World!"

Ignoring the mana cost, Johnnie cast two powerful domains in a row.

Endless sword light circled him, and with the boost from Mountains and Rivers World, Pitiless’s power was slightly weakened.

"Hmph. You think this little bit of power can deal with me? Know your place!"

Pitiless sneered. With a lift of her hand, countless chunks of ice turned into meteors and came roaring down.

Boom, boom...

In an instant, the two domains Johnnie formed shattered, and he was instantly killed by Pitiless again.

"Human, stop struggling. Obey me and you’ll live longer. Otherwise, I can kill you right now." Pitiless’s patience was gone. Killing intent rose in her heart.

"In your dreams. Hellfire!" Johnnie roared. The power of the fire law surged around him. Endless flames swept out, covering a kilometer around.

A fire-type forbidden spell!

Johnnie’s understanding of the fire law was now at 5%, so this forbidden spell packed a punch.

And Pitiless cultivated ice laws, which were restrained by fire.

A sea of flames rose and swallowed her in a blink.

Johnnie’s mana began to drain fast—10% per second. He could last at most ten seconds.

"Human, don’t test my patience again." Pitiless’s cold voice echoed. A heavy suppressive force fell, and the rising flames faded away.

It wasn’t that his mana ran out. Johnnie’s stats and power were sealed again.

That weird trick again!

He’d suffered this before when he tried to use the Divine Thunder Punishment against Pitiless.

But Skye’s great axe wasn’t affected.

Johnnie held the great axe and charged at Pitiless again without fear.

[Ding! You were instantly killed by Pitiless. Special law blessing: you revived on the spot.]

The prompts kept popping up. Even with Skye’s great axe, he still wasn’t her match. He got instantly killed over and over.

One of those was a soul attack, which made his injuries even worse.

"Master, we rescued Lady Cecilia. Fall back now!" Nalorin Sylvia’s voice rang out as she and Maiev rushed out, escorting Cecilia.

Johnnie let out a breath. "You go first. I’ll keep this woman busy!"

"Hmph, none of you are leaving today!" Pitiless scoffed. Cold power gathered around her. Countless chunks of ice closed in again, trying to freeze them.

Buzz!

Just then, Skye’s great axe trembled. Endless flames swept out and melted the ice in an instant.

"Damn it!" Pitiless cursed through gritted teeth, her eyes turning icy. With Skye’s axe there, it was clearly impossible to trap them.

"In that case, die." She stopped holding back and used her killing move. Countless Ice-Soul Swords formed and rained down on them.

Not good!

Johnnie’s face changed. Those Ice-Soul Swords all carried soul attacks. A single one could badly wound his soul. If so many hit at once, he definitely couldn’t withstand it—he’d die for sure.

Whoosh!

A gale howled as the Ice-Soul Swords closed in.

Despair hit Johnnie. He raised Skye’s axe on instinct to shield the women.

Buzz!

Power burst from the axe, blasting the Ice-Soul Swords back.

Skye’s voice came again. "Go, now. The energy I left in the axe won’t last long. When it’s gone, you’ll all die."

Johnnie snapped back to his senses. "Retreat!"

He led the women down the snowy mountain, swinging the great axe again and again to hold off the advancing Pitiless.

A flash of cold light, and the snowy mountain shook. The great axe’s strike was terrifying, but it still couldn’t threaten the woman.

Pitiless flew through the air, shattered the axe shadows, and closed in fast.

Johnnie grew anxious. His power was being suppressed. Other than Skye’s great axe, he couldn’t use any skills.

He could still use Sevenfold Severance, but he didn’t dare risk it.

He could feel that if he tried it again, he would die for sure.

Buzz...

Just then, the great axe in his hands trembled and grew heavier and heavier.

Johnnie’s face changed. The power Skye had left in the axe was draining fast.

Without Skye’s power, he couldn’t wield the axe at all.

"This woman is really a headache!" Johnnie cursed through clenched teeth. He didn’t dare swing Skye’s axe carelessly, and he quickly scanned his inventory.

There were plenty of weapons and gear inside, and of decent grade, but none of them could threaten Pitiless.

Whatever—no time to think!

Several longswords appeared in Johnnie’s hands. He threw them at Pitiless with all his strength. With his power suppressed, he couldn’t even use The Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords.

Pitiless sneered. With just a lift of her hand, the swords were instantly frozen and shattered.

She smiled and said with disdain, "Human, it seems you have no other tricks. Stop struggling and come back with me."

Johnnie’s expression stayed grim. He ignored her and kept tossing weapons and gear from his inventory, hurling them at Pitiless.

Whoosh!

A jade box flew out as well—it held the Passion-Severing Mantra.

Johnnie realized it and tried to pull it back, but it was too late.

Crack!

The weapons and the jade box were all smashed. An ice crystal shot out of the box and flew toward Pitiless, out of his control.

The Passion-Severing Mantra was also a soul-attack method and couldn’t be blocked.

Pitiless paused, then understood and said with scorn, "Human, that Passion-Severing Mantra was formed by me. Do you think I’d be afraid of it?"

Buzz!

A low hum sounded as the ice crystal touched her skin and sank into her body, piercing straight into the depths of her soul.

"Hm?" Pitiless’s calm look froze. Her face shifted, and a sharp pain hit her heart, like ten thousand arrows at once.

What’s happening?

She stared wide-eyed in shock, unable to believe it.

The Passion-Severing Mantra is terrifying, but if you are truly heartless, it won’t trigger.

She cultivated The Unfeeling Way and had no emotions to begin with—this Passion-Severing Mantra shouldn’t have activated.

Pitiless looked at Johnnie, and the pain grew even stronger. In her mind flashed obscene images of Johnnie tangled with Nalorin Sylvia.

Boom!

Power roared around Pitiless as boundless killing intent burst out.

Johnnie and the others were flung away, their faces draining of color.

Pitiless now meant to kill them.

"Go!" Johnnie didn’t dare stop for a second and hurried the women to flee.

Then Pitiless suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her aura weakened—she was badly hurt.