Silence!
Absolute silence!
As the words of those few fell into the void, no one spoke again.
All of them stared intently at Ao Yuan.
A faint smile was hidden at the corners of their mouths, as if they already knew the decision Ao Yuan would make next.
Under the gaze of many, Ao Yuan slowly raised his head, his gaze meeting with each of theirs.
Gradually.
A smile also appeared on Ao Yuan's lips, "Sever an arm?"
"That's quite a good suggestion."
"Hahahahaha!"
Apollo roared with laughter, just about to speak, when Ao Yuan suddenly sneered, "But with just this little bit of ability, you expect me to bow my head?"
Upon hearing this, the smiles on the faces of the seven people froze.
Each of their pupils fixed on Ao Yuan with a somber intensity.
"In my opinion, this is just the beginning."
"What? Have you already had enough?"
*Swish!*
The expressions of the seven people changed drastically.
"In that case, we shall send you on your way."
Apollo let out a soft shout, and the seven faces darkened. Divine light erupted from each of them as they prepared to attack Ao Yuan.
"Roar!"
Ao Yuan showed no fear, letting out a long roar.
His human body swelled with the wind!
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a colossal dragon!
His entire body shimmered with golden light, his feet treaded on flames, and threads of blue-purple electricity coiled around his body.
At this moment, the aura Ao Yuan exuded climbed to its peak.
"Roar!"
Ao Yuan roared at them, then surged forward, his target fixed on Hermes!
"He's coming for me."
"Quick, quick, help me stop him!" Hermes's face was contorted with fear.
During the previous battle, he had shot out several arrows.
These had inflicted great damage on Ao Yuan, but his own spiritual energy was also almost depleted.
Without help, he would surely not survive under Ao Yuan's might.
Ao Yuan's speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, he was beside Hermes, opening his colossal claws and pressing them down.
"Damn it!"
Hermes's expression changed drastically, and he continued to dodge backward.
However, Ao Yuan pressed on relentlessly.
"I'll help you."
The Moon God, who was beside Hermes, concentrated and threw out a cypress branch.
The cypress branch grew rapidly in the wind, dotted with specks of silver light.
Seeing this, Hermes immediately hid behind the cypress branch, a wave of relief washing over him.
Just moments ago, the cypress branch had been able to block one of Ao Yuan's attacks.
He was safe hiding behind it.
But as soon as this thought crossed his mind.
*Bang!*
A crisp sound echoed.
Several gash-like claw marks appeared on the cypress branch.
Then, the specks of silver light emanating from the branch rapidly dimmed.
At first glance, it was dim and lusterless, with only a faint glimmer of light remaining.
However.
Just then.
Flames raged fiercely on Ao Yuan's dragon claws. The moment they touched the cypress branch, they ignited and spread along it.
In the blink of an eye, the already dim cypress branch could no longer hold on. It rapidly shrank and flew back into the Moon God's hand.
Following this.
A series of crackling sounds rang out.
Ao Yuan's dragon claws continued to descend, striking Hermes.
*Pfft!*
Hermes could not withstand it at all. Deep claw marks, so deep they could see the bone, appeared on his body.
Fortunately, at the last moment, driven by the desire to survive, Hermes flickered his feet and narrowly escaped a fatal blow.
"Cough, cough..."
Hermes coughed up fresh blood, his face pale as old parchment.
At this moment.
From a distance, the others noticed that Hermes's body bore several claw marks, so deep they could see his bones.
*Hiss!*
Witnessing this scene, those few people inwardly drew a sharp breath.
Although Hermes had suffered such severe injuries due to his depleted spiritual energy,
Setting that aside, Ao Yuan had single-handedly dispersed the cypress branch.
From this alone, after the previous battle, how had Ao Yuan's strength been weakened?
Instead, it seemed to have even strengthened slightly.
Many of them even imagined themselves in Hermes's position, considering whether they could have withstood Ao Yuan's attack.
The result.
They arrived at a startling conclusion: they might have been able to withstand it.
But the final outcome would not have been much better than Hermes's.
This immediately made their gazes much more serious.
It seemed that taking down Ao Yuan would not be an easy task.
"Continue!"
Ao Yuan looked at them and spoke calmly.
However, his gaze was filled with a chilling intensity.
"Do not get injured at all costs."
Apollo shouted softly, his body once again erupting with scorching divine radiance.
It shone out like a blazing sun.
The dazzling light caused Ao Yuan to narrow his eyes.
This time, he did not choose to wait for the seven people to gather as before.
After all, he had already tested how strong the combined efforts of these seven were.
While he could indeed withstand their attacks, he would still be injured.
But if he could avoid getting injured, why would Ao Yuan foolishly allow himself to be wounded?
With a long roar, he opened his mouth and spat out a ball of blazing flames, sending it towards Apollo.
"I'll block it!" The God of Fire, Styx, roared and transformed into a mass of dense fire, charging forward fiercely.
"Get lost!"
Ao Yuan's voice was deep and stern!
As he spoke, Styx, who was about to charge forward, suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis from behind him.
He turned his head sharply and saw a golden spear shadow rushing towards him like a guided missile.
"Damn it."
Styx cursed inwardly. He shook his hands, and an incredibly dense fireball was instantly thrown out. He intended to use it to try and block this attack.
At the same time, he continued to charge rapidly towards Apollo, his entire body transforming into a colossal fireball with a *whoosh*.
Ao Yuan noticed Styx's actions, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. He didn't take him seriously at all and continued towards Apollo as if nothing had happened.
"Ah!" Ignored by Ao Yuan, Styx felt an irrepressible surge of anger.
Even if he was not as powerful as Ao Yuan, he was still a god!
"Since you're not going to block, I'll see how strong your defenses are!"
Styx roared, his entire body's flames intensifying.
This drew everyone's attention.
However.
At this critical moment.
Everyone was focused on Ao Yuan, Apollo, and Styx as they drew closer and closer.
They did not notice the spear behind them emit a crisp sound the moment it made contact with the flames Ao Yuan spat out.
Following this.
The flames did not make contact for even a second. Instead, they seemed to be absorbed by the spear.
And the spear continued to rush towards them as before.
At this point!
Within everyone's sight, Styx was about to collide with Ao Yuan.
And Ao Yuan was still some distance away from Apollo.
Judging by Styx's posture, it was clear that Ao Yuan would no longer be able to reach Apollo.
Seeing this, the crowd felt a slight sense of relief.
However.
At that very moment, one person inadvertently noticed something, and their pupils suddenly contracted.
...