Above The Sky
Chapter 583 - 583 552 Retrace The Past Emotions 23

583: Chapter 552 Retrace The Past Emotions (2/3) 583: Chapter 552 Retrace The Past Emotions (2/3) The other enhancements from the Domain of Void, for the most part, are like this, for instance, some people look very ugly and frightening to others, so even if they are handsome in reality, once they uncontrollably shift into the Projection of the Phantasmal Realm, they will turn into a monstrous figure filled with ugliness and terror.

Essentially, this is the power of the Domain of Void.

It’s the overflow of power from the Domain of Void caused by extreme emotions that materializes in these projections.

Had it been within the Domain of Void, the enhancements might not have been so bizarre, just like Ian himself, a person entangled in madness who is nothing but an unremarkable little sphere within the Domain of Void.

But it was precisely because the Avak Domain was the gap between the Domain of Void and reality that Phantasms, these unique existences, were born.

“If I became a Phantasm, what would my Phantasm look like, and how strong would it be?”

After contemplating the possibility, Ian laughed and shook his head, “It would be just so.

A sentient Phantasm is the strongest; Viscount Avak’s form allows him to use his strength and skill, and he wouldn’t die even if he failed.”

“That’s the complete form of the ‘Phantom Army’ as a Spirit Energy Technique.”

At this moment, he intentionally moved a bit more to the outskirts.

Even though it seemed like he was checking the surrounding environment, possibly straying from the protection of the Patrol Knight Squad…

In reality, Hua’an and Frost Butterfly were hiding behind Ian.

Mo Feng continued to record the Domain of Void variation data within Azure City; after all, she did genuinely have a mission, and they needed this Fairy Miss to write the final report for the Reconnaissance Squad.

As everyone knows, no one disturbs the person in the lab responsible for writing reports.

In any case, whether in reality or on the surface, Ian was perfectly safe.

Safe enough to meet the enemy’s attack openly and with dignity.

The person controlling these Phantasms and Exobeasts evidently noticed Ian’s slightly ‘reckless’ positioning and guessed it might be a trap—but worst-case scenario, they could just spring it; successful or not, they would ascertain the strength and execution of this squad.

Whoosh—accompanied by a slight whistling of the wind, the Iron Claw Badger and two Phantasms moved silently through the shadows between buildings in Azure City, especially undetectable beneath the cover of various strange phantom noises, not even the elite Patrol Knight Squad could discover them.

They moved with incredible speed, and if it hadn’t been for someone activating Clairvoyance, and not just Tres’s intervention, they would have had to wait until the enemy launched an attack to become aware of it.

Ian was their target, and the giant badger, standing at one and a half meters tall, swung its pair of alloy claws and leaped tens of meters, pouncing viciously toward the boy from the side and rear.

This strike, even the armor of a transport vehicle might not stop, and even if the Entangling Void Armor was sturdy, the person inside would definitely suffer a severe blow.

But Tres had already pinpointed the enemy’s location based on Ian’s callouts, and as the Iron Claw Badger lunged to attack, he moved as well; swinging his longsword, he arrived in front of Ian to meet it—even his Second Energy Level, sufficient to stand alone against the force of Viscount Avak’s Knight Order, surprisingly did not send the badger flying.

“Something’s not right; this strength and hardness…

is it mechanical?!”

Tres’s expression shifted slightly, having clearly seen the figure of the Exobeast before him.

The creature’s body was a dark gray, and aside from its size, it wasn’t too different from a normal badger with its two tiny purple eyes only gleaming with a cold, merciless bloodlust.

But what was truly unusual was its arms.

Apart from the dull-hued sharp alloy claws, the arms of this giant badger were extraordinary.

Because Tres was clashing with it with all his might, the outer layer of fur and flesh and blood on the badger’s arms were shredded by the knight’s wind blade, but beneath the first layer of flesh and blood, there was a hidden layer of silver metallic structure.

Those were a pair of Alchemy Prosthetic Limbs forged from special alloy, inlaid with Crystal Essence Conduits for power amplification, and it was precisely these peculiar alchemic arms made of sturdy material and massive strength that allowed the badger to stand toe-to-toe with Tres in a fierce exchange of blows.

If it hadn’t been Tres, but another member of the Patrol Knight Squad who reckoned their own strength as similar, and they faced it in direct combat, they would have undoubtedly been crushed by a swipe of its claws.

“Interesting, I recall it’s not just the Spiritual Tool Church bunch who like to play with prosthetic limbs, the Dragon Worship Cult seems quite fond of them too…”

Yet, after the initial surprise, Tres began to suppress the Exobeast with ease, “To be honest, when I get old, I reckon I’ll like them too.”

“But for now, my arms are a bit stronger.”

As for the two shadows that skimmed past him and lunged at Ian, the knight was not the slightest bit worried.

Indeed, a man’s Phantasm holding a woodworking knife, overly large in size, was quickly suppressed by the fire from the Patrol Knight Squad, unable to advance for a moment.

Yet it was resilient, incredibly powerful, as if it would never fall—this proved that in many people’s eyes, the Phantasm’s original form was an extremely tenacious man who had never been brought down and could even be described as lofty, worthy of admiration and gratitude.

The distant attacks couldn’t penetrate its defense, and in the end, it took five gun-wielding knights to halt its progress.

Meanwhile, the Phantasm of another woman turned into a swift gust of wind, brushing past countless bullets to continue her pursuit of Ian, who still seemed not to have reacted, his face showing a trace of surprise.

Then, her hands transformed into sharp spikes, raining down on the ‘unresponsive’ boy like a sudden storm.

Ian hastily retreated a few steps and ‘just happened’ to dodge most of the attacks from the spikes on the hands of the phantom woman.

But even so, in the midst of the surprise attack, his shoulder still sustained a hit from the attacker.

Hum—The Entangling Void Armor blocked the strike, but a small indentation appeared.

If it had been the standard armor of an ordinary Inspector Knight, it would likely have been pierced through.

“Interesting, is this a sewing needle?”

To an outsider, Ian seemed to be reacting slowly, but in his mind, he was analyzing and evaluating this seemingly ordinary, yet exceedingly fast and sturdy woman: “Her fingers have turned into sewing needles, and her attack power is quite strong.

Without the enhancement of Origin Quality, she almost managed to pierce through the Entangling Void Armor.”

The original form of this phantom woman must have been a quite gentle woman skilled in household duties; the knitting needles on her fingers were proof of that, and her sturdy body could even ignore the shockwaves from an Alchemical Cannon.

This must be the projection of her resilient spirit in the Domain of Void; many people think she’s very strong, which is why the projection is so tough.

But the real reason Ian was deliberately acting, just to observe her more, was because of Foresight View.

This phantom bears…

a strong emotional residue.

Emotions sufficient to trigger the second ability of Foresight View…

the ability to ‘Retrace The Past’!

Ian’s Foresight View had evolved before due to the knowledge from the South Sea Great Labyrinth and the former epoch’s civilization; he could see ‘images from the past’ on objects and even people with strong emotional attachment.

So far, Ian hadn’t encountered many objects with this condition…

on the contrary, there were quite a few people, whether it was Pirate Captain Andor, or the remains of his father in this life, or even in the South Sea Great Labyrinth, the remains of the five Elders and The Great Elder’s Worm Nest body, all hosted such strong emotions.

The same went for this phantom.

The phantom continued its assault, while Ian continued to retreat.

He couldn’t even ‘draw his sword’, only using his hands to block each puncturing attack from the phantom woman, and his unarmed combat skills were clearly not as good as when he wielded a blade.

But Ian learned quickly.

Although he retreated step by step, each step became more steady, and he could even gradually deflect the phantom’s ghost-like puncturing attacks and launch a counterattack or two.

This rate of learning was so fast that even Michael, who had been observing all this time, was somewhat surprised: “At first, he really wasn’t proficient in unarmed combat—well, at his age, being skilled in alchemy, inscriptions, and swordsmanship is already outrageous, but it’s only been a few seconds?

His unarmed blocking has already reached a masterful level.”

“How can there be someone who learns so quickly in this world?”

At this moment, the person controlling the phantom’s attack also felt it inconceivable.

They originally thought that this surprise attack was certain to kill a key member of this squad—in fact, they almost succeeded, nearly killing the leading Observing Scholar.

But now, a strange turn of events had occurred.

The phantom woman silently extended her claws, with her five sharp fingers whirling, aiming to jab at Ian’s eyes and the breathing holes in his armor, their tips carrying a cutting cold light capable of damaging the soul.

She found an opening in Ian’s defense and, at the cost of having her other hand caught by Ian, was about to pierce the boy’s eyes.

But just then, Frost Butterfly, holding an Ice Shield, appeared beside Ian.

The Little Fairy, like a floating shield, had always been waiting for an opportunity.

The phantom woman’s attack indeed shattered the Ice Shield, but her momentum was temporarily halted—and it was at that moment Hua’an appeared.

Fairy Miss was clutching her own umbrella-turned-staff, and a lead-gray mixture of Origin Quality and Spirit Energy wound around it like chains, enveloping the phantom.

‘Spirit-Sealing Restraints’.

It’s a commonly used binding Spirit Energy Technique among fae.

Except for a longer charging time, it has few drawbacks; it’s also the skill that Hua’an had previously shown when capturing the phantom sniper.

The phantom was restrained in place, and all connections to it, whether from the Domain of Void or from reality, were also severed.

—Damn it, the plan failed, and we’ve revealed even more information!

In an instant, their vision went dark, and the controllers were both shocked and furious.

They had never imagined that a Second Energy Level fae and an Inspector Knight Squad would act together.

If they could still communicate with others, they might have been able to get information from Viscount Avak’s side.

But now, everyone was separated, fighting their own battles.

“Good.”

And after losing all the last signals, the phantom’s controller heard Ian’s voice, so calm it hardly seemed as though he was under attack: “Now, we should be able to find out, just how those rats hiding in the dark are controlling the phantoms.”