At this sound, the silver light sword struck, yet it could not cut through. Kortemi’s use of invisibility was indeed worthy of a master-level technique; his presence vanished entirely from Yang Ying's senses. All Yang Ying was left with was a faint sense of crisis, though the suspended silver light sword still shone brilliantly, betraying Kortemi’s attack.

Yang Ying twisted his wrist, holding his sword horizontally before him with both hands, blocking the silver light sword.

Tzzzt!

In the cold cavern, Kortemi’s voice suddenly rang out: "What is that? It actually blocked my light sword? Impossible! Nothing tangible can resist the cut of a light sword. Could it be—could it be that you are using an invisible light sword? Hahaha! If I acquire your light sword, then my invisibility will be perfect!"

Suddenly, the silver light sword violently retreated, and a flash of an invisible blade seemed to streak where it had been—that was Dao Feng’s sword.

"Two invisible light swords! Two quasi-masters proficient in invisibility, making you the perfect opponents for me! Let us have an unseen battle! I will surely slay you and confiscate those invisible light swords!"

Kortemi's voice was filled with stubbornness and obsession, yet his existing injuries persisted and affected his movements. At this moment, he fought purely on experience, minimizing his energy expenditure.

To conserve his nearly depleted psionic energy, he refrained from using any magic, relying solely on swordsmanship to clash with Yang Ying and Dao Feng.

The silver light sword, dancing wildly in the air, executed several intricate turns and then suddenly burst forth, seemingly transforming into a blooming flower, sending dozens of engraved light beams slashing towards Yang Ying and Dao Feng simultaneously.

Yang Ying and Dao Feng pressed forward with their swords, engaging without hesitation. The zizizi sounds of clashing blades merged into a continuous stream, like rain hitting duckweed, deflecting every strike from Kortemi.

If an outsider had been present, they might have thought they were seeing ghosts, as nothing was visible in the cavern except for the single silver light sword floating and weaving in the air. Yet, streaks of molten scarring appeared across the surrounding rock walls, with reddish-brown magma outlining the edges of the cuts, showcasing power generated by extreme heat.

The two sides were now evenly matched. Their bodies were invisible to the naked eye, forcing them to rely on vague feelings of danger to evade attacks and counter. Yang Ying and Dao Feng could see Kortemi’s silver light sword, allowing them a general sense of his movements.

Kortemi, possessing a master-level spiritual essence, had senses far keener than any mortal. Even though his eyes could not see the invisible light swords, he could foresee and judge the physical location of the invisible blades through the force felt in his hands during each clash, allowing him to anticipate Yang Ying and Dao Feng's subsequent maneuvers.

Dao Feng fought with an equal measure of offense and defense. Kortemi’s spirit was channeled into the silver blade, and the sword light sweeping around Dao Feng’s body exerted a terrifying oppressive force, as if lending him a true eye capable of seeing through all illusions.

Yang Ying, meanwhile, maintained six parts defense and four parts offense, muttering inwardly, "As expected, even a wounded master is difficult to handle. His combat instincts are outstanding among humans, but still far inferior to the Zerg-bodied Emperor Dao Feng."

Instinct is the set of action rules ingrained in the body and subconscious. Powerful mental energy allows the brain to think more clearly and comprehensively, even allowing for precognition. However, powerful instinct allows the body to react optimally without conscious thought. When Dao Feng attacked, he made the best choice based purely on instinct, without thinking.

After several exchanges, Kortemi seemed to adapt quickly to this combat style. The might of his master-level swordsmanship gradually manifested; the flying silver light sword became increasingly fluid, elusive, and untraceable, like an antelope pausing on a horn. After ten more exchanges, he slowly began to gain the upper hand.

"One of you is not human. I can sense that your physical form is different from the norm. Who is it? Is it Yang Ying, the commander of the Terran Mercenary Group, or Colonel Dao Feng? Never mind, this is not the time to discuss this. After I defeat you both, I will get to the bottom of this. Your swordsmanship is decent, but you are ultimately not masters. You do not understand the difference between a master's swordplay and the swordplay of commoners! Take this! Hah!"

Kortemi let out a loud shout, the sound transmitted directly into Yang Ying and Dao Feng’s ears, not through the thin air. But his voice quickly changed: "No, the hilt is heating up? Are your invisible light swords as potent as the golden light swords? A quasi-master in a non-human form, wielding invisible light swords—is this technology from beyond Earth? Who exactly are you?"

When Kortemi sensed the sword heating up, the master-level certainty of victory within him finally wavered. The silver light sword was his last reliance. If it were shattered, facing Yang Ying and Dao Feng, both wielding invisible light swords, he would stand no chance.

"He noticed? We must end this quickly, or he will escape the cavern. I fear if he gets away, Dao Feng and I might not stop him, and it will take much more effort. Let’s use that move," Yang Ying and Dao Feng shared thoughts, requiring no words; with a single mental impulse, they moved simultaneously, attacking Kortemi from his left and right sides—

Kortemi roared in anger, his light sword lunging toward Dao Feng on the right. Then, using a clever maneuver, he used the force to pivot the blade, aiming toward Yang Ying on the left, causing the two blades to clash violently at the center—KABOOM!

With Kortemi momentarily pinned by the collision of the two swords, unable to move freely, Yang Ying seized the opportunity, inwardly exclaiming, "Great Vortex!"

He pointed his index finger downward. A mass of deep crimson light suddenly erupted from the ground, instantly spreading out to form a circular, deep-red carpet.

The moment Yang Ying extended his finger, Kortemi knew things were bad. He instantly released his grip on the sword and tried to flash away, but Yang Ying and Dao Feng had combined their swords precisely to restrict his movement; he was already half a step too slow to escape.

The deep-red carpet spread beneath Kortemi’s feet, and suddenly, several deep-crimson chains shot up, wrapping around him in lightning-fast coils, binding him fast.

The Great Vortex was a spell of the Protoss Dark Prelate, capable of rooting any organic matter. Under normal circumstances, against an equally matched opponent, it could hold them for twelve seconds, with the duration varying based on the opponent’s strength.

The Great Vortex had another function: while binding an invisible enemy, it simultaneously forced them to become visible. Kortemi, now shackled by the chains, could no longer maintain his invisibility; a faint silhouette of his simian form appeared within the confines of the bindings.

The instant he was ensnared, Kortemi roared, unleashing a surge of tremendous psionic power that strained the chains outward, creating a gap. Yang Ying could even feel cracks appearing in several links of the chain—they were a single step away from snapping.

At this moment, Dao Feng also extended a finger, pointing at Kortemi: "Feedback."

Feedback, the Dark Prelate’s signature skill, acted like a powerful fuse, igniting the enemy’s spiritual energy and converting it into flames that burned the enemy from within. The stronger the enemy, the stronger the resulting flame.

Of course, an overwhelmingly powerful foe could suppress the flames, reducing or even negating the damage. Kortemi was agonizingly close to shattering the chains but still lacked the final push. The danger Feedback presented was ten times greater than the Great Vortex. Had he not been caught, he would have used every means possible to evade it. But now, he was caught; the spell could not be cast before the chains broke, leaving him helpless as Feedback struck him!

Instantly, two fiery dragons erupted from the soles of Kortemi’s feet, surging upward to meet above his head. Kortemi shrieked, his entire body engulfed in bright flames.

Although Feedback was a spell far beyond Kortemi’s expectations, inflicting massive damage, his master-level acumen allowed him to preserve a portion of his psionic energy the instant Feedback hit.

Just then, the deep-crimson chains snapped violently.

Without giving Kortemi any time to react, Yang Ying immediately unleashed another Feedback, adding two more streams of fire. The flames consuming Kortemi suddenly surged, incinerating the remainder of his preserved psionic energy.

Protoss spells required great energy but delivered immense power. When cast by top-tier quasi-masters like Yang Ying and Dao Feng, they carried the equivalent force of spells cast by a master-level expert.

Kortemi was already severely wounded, his psionic reserves nearly exhausted. Relying on his higher realm attainment, he had managed to suppress the combined efforts of Yang Ying and Dao Feng. Now, struck by two successive Feedbacks, his remaining energy immediately became a death warrant. Old wounds and new combined, instantly reducing his body to charred coke.

The simian Master Kortemi’s body tilted stiffly forward and finally crashed to the ground.

However, Yang Ying and Dao Feng could still sense that his life force had not entirely been extinguished.

"The vitality of a master-level expert’s body is astonishingly robust. Such injuries would have killed an ordinary person ten times over, yet they still cannot kill you. I’ll finish it myself."

Dao Feng stepped forward and cleaved off Kortemi’s head with his sword. The severed head rolled to Yang Ying's feet. Although capturing Kortemi alive would have been easy, he had seen Dao Feng's non-human form and knew too much; silence was the better option for him now.

With his head gone, no matter how transcendent his being, he could not survive. Yang Ying distinctly felt all signs of life vanish from Kortemi; he was dead.

Looking at the headless corpse, Yang Ying and Dao Feng allowed their true forms to become visible, a sense of solemnity washing over them: "This is the strength and resilience of a master-level expert. We finally won."

Dao Feng approached to retrieve the silver light sword from Kortemi’s grasp. Having been scorched twice by the Feedback flames, how could the hilt not be scalding hot?

Dao Feng encased his palm in ice energy and attempted to pull the hilt out forcefully. But the hand was gripped too tightly; after a couple of hard yanks, Dao Feng found no purchase. He had to raise his invisible light sword and slice through the entire hand to extract the hilt.

Yang Ying paused, then used his sword to plane a section of the rock wall, carving: "Simian Master Kortemi died here. These Eleven Great Ones." Then, he led Dao Feng out of the cavern.