Faced with Irving''s attack, Elder Astra did not sumb to panic. Although he felt a slight sense of frustration, he did not believe he would lose to Irving in battle.


    Elder Astra extended his hand forward. In an instant, a dazzling white light erupted from his palm. This white light quickly formed a shield in front of him. The golden light, which was Irving''s form, collided with the shield, and nearly all of its power was absorbed by it.


    At the same time, Irving appeared just a few steps away from Elder Astra. He was not discouraged by his failed attack; instead, he raised the staff in his hand and smashed it down heavily onto the ground. The moment the staff touched the earth, a massive crack opened up beneath it.


    This enormous fissure rapidly extended towards Elder Astra and the Dark Portal. Elder Astra''s eyes were fixed on every move Irving made. Upon witnessing Irving''s actions, he ced his other hand on the Dark Portal. In that instant, the immense dark power emanating from the Dark Portal made Elder Astra stronger than ever before.


    A tangible ck mist swirled around Elder Astra. Although this mist did have some adverse effects on him, Elder Astra did not care. He hoped to defeat Irving while he was in this peak state.


    As the crack spread beneath Elder Astra''s feet, he had already used the formidable dark power to lift himself and the Dark Portal into the air. Elder Astra''s gaze was devoid of emotion as he looked at Irving. At that moment, Irving felt a powerful dark force materializing around him.


    Irving gripped his staff horizontally. This horizontal position sessfully blocked the onught of dark energy. However, the current position of the staff prevented Irving from using its power to cast strong spells. With no other options, Irving could only rely on his mental strength to manipte the Lava Giant puppet.


    Red light burst from Irving''s eyes, and a massive shadow appeared above Elder Astra''s head. A gigantic Lava Giant puppet crashed down from the shadow. The size of the Lava Giant puppet was extraordinarily immense. It seemed as though Elder Astra and the Dark Portal were being smashed directly into the ground.


    Seizing this opportunity, Irving used his spells to drive away the dark power surrounding him. Just as he freed himself from the dark energy''s grip, a loud explosion erupted from the direction of the Lava Giant puppet. The recently summoned Lava Giant puppet was reduced to ashes in an instant.


    Elder Astra and the Dark Portal reappeared within Irving''s line of sight. At this point, the expression on Elder Astra''s face had grown extremely cold; all of his emotions seemed to have vanished.


    Elder Astra became faint and indistinct, his figure seemingly oveppingpletely with the Dark Portal.


    "It seems you are indeed much harder to deal with than the other Night de elders! But I can still defeat you!"


    At this moment, Irving felt a certain level of pressure. He sensed that his opponent''s strength was far superior to that of the other Night de elders. Therefore, Irving decided to engage in a battle of attrition.


    Gripping the Staff of Cmity tightly, he unleashed an incredibly powerful Fireball. Countless zing fireballs shot forth rapidly from the staff, all targeting Elder Astra.


    Elder Astra, expressionless, opened his mouth and recited several unusuallyplex and profound words. These words held immense power. As he finished his incantation, a humanoid figureposed entirely of shadows slowly materialized nearby. This figure was nearly identical to Elder Astra, the only difference being that it was entirely made of dark energy.


    Elder Astra had created a shadowy doppelg?nger using the dark power he had obtained, while his true self slipped directly into the Dark Portal. This maneuver was extremely risky. If he could not defeat Irving quickly, his soul could very well bepletely consumed by the Dark Portal.


    The seal on the Dark Portal had already been removed. Although Elder Astra possessed some secret techniques of the Night des that could temporarily suppress the Dark Portal''s power, it would soon break through all limitations. He needed to emerge from the Dark Portal before that happened.


    As soon as the shadowy doppelg?nger formed, it transformed into countless magical formations, all powered by the potent dark energy. Within these formations, distorted and tormented human expressions appeared one after another.


    When Irving saw these twisted, anguished faces, he was ovee by a severe headache.


    "Elder Astra can actually use dark energy tounch a mental attack on me! It seems the members of the Night des are all highly skilled in psychic assaults."


    Struggling to maintain his consciousness, Irving fought against the intense pain. He could only continue to wave his staff, casting powerful spells one after another. However, none of these spells could affect Elder Astra''s doppelg?nger, nor could they even reach it.


    The shadowy doppelg?nger of Elder Astra actually existed in the space between the real world and the Dark Portal. Any attackunched from the real world could not hit it directly.


    Irving immediately realized that his opponent''s goal was also to engage in a battle of attrition. Without hesitation, he activated the power of the Taikoo me Pearl within him. As the Taikoo me Pearl came to life, a golden light enveloped Irving, temporarily relieving him of the intense headache.


    Irving mmed his staff down onto the ground again, creating a massive void beneath him. Without a moment''s hesitation, he jumped into the void. What he had just used was, in fact, an enhanced version of the Gravity Swamp spell. Normally, the Gravity Swamp spell only limited an enemy''s movement speed. However, with the help of the Staff of Cmity and the Taikoo me Pearl, Irving could unleash a more powerful version of the Gravity Swamp spell.


    This more potent Gravity Swamp spell allowed a void to open up directly in the ground. This void acted as a simplified teleportation channel, enabling Irving to move to a location not far from where he was. As he entered the void, he continued to use his staff tounch attacks against Elder Astra, knowing he had to disrupt his opponent''s actions.


    By employing this tactic, Irving sessfully escaped the battlefield. Once he confirmed that Irving had left, Elder Astra''s true form emerged from the Dark Portal.


    The reason Elder Astra had been able to repel Irving during the battle was due to the extremely powerful item he possessed. There was no way Elder Astra could have driven Irving back otherwise. However, he now found himself in a state of conflict. He was uncertain whether he should pursue Irving.


    If he chased after Irving, he would certainly be able to hold him back. This would give the Envoy of Filth ample time to destroy the headquarters of the Angel Guild, which would mean their n could seedpletely.


    Initially, Elder Astra had hoped to join forces with Irving tobat the Envoy of Filth. Although working together was no longer feasible, he might still be able to direct Irving towards confronting the Envoy of Filth. As a bystander, he could wait for both Irving and the Envoy of Filth to weaken each other in battle.


    After contemting for a moment longer, Elder Astra ultimately made a decision that was most advantageous for himself.


    Elder Astra sealed the Dark Portal once again. He transformed into a shadow and swiftly disappeared. He no longer intended to hold back Irving, as he had confirmed that the Envoy of Filth had already begun his actions.


    At the same time that Elder Astra was battling Irving, the Envoy of Filthunched an attack on the headquarters of the Angel Guild, apanied by his subordinates. Utilizing his powerful chaotic energy, the Envoy of Filth destroyed the front defenses of the Angel Guild headquarters. However, once he entered the interior of the headquarters, he suddenly found that his movements became extremely difficult.


    Although the members inside the Angel Guild headquarters were not particrly strong, they utilized the magical formations within the building to continuously disrupt his actions. The Envoy of Filth had now reached the mid-level area of the headquarters, which was the region with the most magical formations. His chaotic power was rapidly dissipating. If he did not leave this area quickly, he risked losing all of his chaotic energy.


    "It seems something is not right! The defenses here are far too tight! I must get out of here as soon as possible! Perhaps I should go find Elder Astra; we need to revise our previous n," the Envoy of Filth muttered to himself, intending to turn and leave.


    However, just as he turned around, he came face to face with Aron, who was smiling. Aron held a massive long sword that radiated an orange-yellow glow. Any object that came close to this gigantic sword would inevitably begin to decay rapidly.


    "What do you think this ce is, the headquarters of the Angel Guild? Do you really think you cane and go as you please? Since you''re here now, I won''t let you leave so easily," Aron said with a coldugh.


    As soon as his words fell, Aron charged toward the Envoy of Filth, gripping the orange-yellow sword tightly. The Envoy of Filth suddenly realized that he could no longer use his chaotic energy to move quickly.