With a loud boom, two streaks of golden light violently collided halfway up the mountain.

A powerful shockwave swept outward, instantly clearing the snow and wind filling the air around them.

The long saber slashed into Bhadra's dark-golden arm, unleashing a shower of blinding sparks and a crisp metallic clang.

The two stalemated in midair for less than a second.

Then, they quickly broke apart.

Bhadra stumbled back dozens of meters through the air before stabilizing himself, a deep white mark left on his originally dark-golden arm.

His pupils shrank as his contemptuous gaze instantly turned solemn.

"What a fast blade!"

"What immense power!"

"You... are actually an SS-Rank Expert too?!"

Monstrous waves raged in Bhadra's heart.

He had thought this was just a group of suicidal nobodies, but to his shock, this brief clash revealed the opponent's strength was not the least bit inferior to his own!

Moreover, the opponent's razor-sharp thunder Sword Intent even caused a stinging pain on his reinforced skin.

Bhadra quickly backed away and hovered in midair, his massive body blocking the path of the seven.

With a cold expression, his gaze swept over the seven figures before finally settling on the black-robed man seated upon the insect throne in the center.

"Who on earth are you people?"

Suddenly...

Bhadra's gaze narrowed.

He stared at Caesar, seemingly trying to recall something.

A moment later, realization dawned on him, and he pointed at Caesar, roaring loudly:

"I remember you!"

"Though your appearance has changed, I could never mistake that disgusting stench of insects!"

"You're that insect master who fled from Fuji City back then!"

"To think you actually dare to return and court death!"

Facing Bhadra's taunts, Zhou Huai didn't even bother to respond with a single word.

The Avatar had no self-awareness, let alone the ability to chat with him.

In Zhou Huai's main consciousness, every second was precious right now. How could he waste time talking nonsense with this big idiot?

"Charge past him!"

With a thought, Zhou Huai controlled Caesar to completely ignore Bhadra's presence. Riding the armored insect throne, he slightly adjusted his angle and continued charging toward the snow mountain peak at full speed.

The rest of the Avatars followed close behind, treating this SS-Rank Expert like air.

This blatant disregard instantly ignited Bhadra's fury.

"Bastards!"

"How dare you ignore me!"

Bhadra flew into a rage, veins bulging on his forehead.

His dark-golden arms swelled abruptly, and a terrifying energy gathered in his palms, ready to unleash a skill at Caesar, who was about to pass by him.

"Stay right there!"

However...

Just at the moment he was about to strike...

The heavily armored giant at the end of the line, who had remained silent all along, suddenly raised his head.

A fearsome gleam burst forth from Xiang Yu's tiger-like eyes.

He took a deep breath and let out an earth-shattering roar at Bhadra, who was preparing to attack Caesar!

【Enemy of the World】!

"ROAR—!!!"

This roar seemed to contain an ancient power of rules that ignored spatial distance, resounding directly within the depths of Bhadra's soul.

Bhadra, who had been staring intently at Caesar, suddenly froze.

In the next second...

His eyes turned blood-red in an instant, as if his sanity were forcibly stripped away by an irresistible force.

In his field of vision, the originally insignificant heavily armored giant suddenly became the most hateful, damnable, and intolerable existence in the world!

All his anger and killing intent transferred onto Xiang Yu in that moment.

"I will kill you!!!"

Bhadra unleashed a beastly howl.

He actually abandoned Caesar, who was right within reach, allowing the others to fly past him.

Then he swung around abruptly and pounced toward Xiang Yu like a mad dog.

Boom!

The two equally burly giants instantly collided in midair, locking in intense combat.

Dull thuds of fists striking flesh echoed through the wind and snow.

Zhou Huai didn't even turn his head, not taking a single glance at Xiang Yu's situation.

He knew very well that although Xiang Yu had incredible defensive power, his Level and gear were not top-tier yet, making it impossible for him to win a 1v1 against that buffed golden giant.

However...

Simply stalling him was more than enough.

The only thing Zhou Huai had to do now was charge to the mountain peak and stop that damned sacrifice ritual!

"Faster! Just a bit faster!"

The speed of the armored insect throne was pushed to its limit, now less than a thousand meters from the summit.

On the peak of the snow mountain...

Watching the scene unfold below, the Man in White Suit saw Bhadra getting taunted away like a fool by a single enemy skill.

He couldn't help shaking his head, a helpless expression appearing on his face.

"That guy Bhadra really is as unreliable as ever."

"Is that a mental-type taunt skill? To think it can force an aggro transfer—what an interesting ability."

The Man in White Suit's gaze fell back onto Caesar and the others who were about to charge up the summit.

Though they had lost one companion, the enemy side still had six people.

Moreover, every single one of their aura gave him a faint sense of threat.

"However..."

"This road is closed."

The Man in White Suit slowly raised his right hand and gently snapped his long fingers in the air.

Snap!

The crisp snap sounded remarkably clear in this violent world of wind and snow.

In the next second...

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The frantically wild wind and snow seemed to have a pause button pressed on them at this instant.

The snow filling the sky froze motionless in midair.

The entire world seemed to turn into a still painting.

Looking at the crowd frozen in the wind and snow, the Man in White Suit curled his lips into a smile and softly uttered a single word:

"Go!"

As his voice fell...

Countless stationary snowflakes instantly transformed.

No longer soft ice crystals, they turned into razor-sharp white blades.

Every single snowflake carried a terrifyingly sharp air capable of slicing gold and severing jade.

"Whoosh—"

The gale howled again.

But this wind was no longer blowing randomly; it was controlled by a supreme will.

Countless snowflakes turned blades coalesced into giant white Dragons, sweeping over the six-person team with an all-consuming aura that threatened to tear apart everything.

This was a literal "avalanche."

Except what was collapsing wasn't built-up snow, but the entire sky!

"Defend!"

Positioned in the center of the team, Gabriel's Intellect Core AI reacted in an instant.

The holy sword in his hand plunged fiercely into the the void as the six light wings behind his back burst open.

【Holy Light Protection】!

A golden semi-transparent light barrier instantly enclosed all six of them.

Although Gabriel was an angel inclined toward attack and purification, and his shield value couldn't match Gandalf's perverted 【Arcane Barrier】, at this critical juncture, it was the strongest instant defense available.

Clang clang clang clang clang—!

Dense impacts resounded like torrential rain pounding against plantain leaves.

Countless snowflake blades struck the Holy Light barrier, triggering ripples upon ripples.

The light of the barrier dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But this was merely the beginning.

As the Man in White Suit slowly pressed his palm downward...

The wind and snow grew increasingly dense and vastly more powerful.

Eventually, Zhou Huai could no longer see any other color before his eyes, leaving only a despair-inducing, ghastly white.

It was as though the entire snow mountain, the entire sky, was collapsing down on him at this moment, seeking to utterly crush these ants who dared challenge Divine Might into the ice and snow.