I Cultivated Too Long and Got Isekai’d Into a Game

Of course, the enemy wouldn't sit back and watch their members get wrecked.

Just as Jehanne was falling down, three more knights flew up, wielding a sword, a spear, and a morning star toward her.

"…!"

Mid-air, there was little to nothing she could do to maneuver. But it wasn't like she had no options. She hugged her spear tight as she spun her body parallel to it, then extended it outward, slapping the incoming spear knight back down.

Using the impact, she rose further into the air before following up the attack.

"Haaap!"

Her spear-flag danced like a beautiful white flower mid-air, hitting both knights chasing her. With her DEX, she was able to manipulate the impact, allowing her to move using the reactive force of each strike.

After the fifth hit, she was already clear of the back of the knights' group and had reached the area within Zetian's formations!

"Arrogant beings," Zetian growled, her eyes sharp and filled with anger. "You dare to fly higher than my Emperor's head? You deserve death by a thousand cuts!"

The ground shone—a telltale sign that another formation had been activated. The next moment, icy vines crawled up, forming a tower that endlessly reached for the two assailants chasing Jehanne. One of them got his leg caught by the vines, which quickly froze his body over.

Starting from his ankle, it spread to his leg, thigh, torso—until his entire body was encased in absolute-zero ice!

Of course, he wasn't the only one.

The final knight swung his sword, cutting off the incoming vines—only to have his sword slowly freeze. With each slash, the area covered by ice expanded, until it reached up to his elbow. The next time he swung his sword, the unthinkable happened.

CRACK!

His entire frozen arm shattered and fell to the ground—sword and all!

Losing his only way to defend, the remaining ice vines wrapped around his body like a cocoon, freezing him solid in a split second. Landing on the ground, just like the first, he scattered into a million shards, dissipating into particles of light—dead.

"There's more of them! Don't stop!" Jehanne shouted.

Not that others could understand her words. Still, they felt the fighting spirit in her roar, raising their morale as they charged forward.

With their initial push, they now outnumbered the enemy two to one.

Although there were still a few who made mistakes, with more hands available, they could fill the gaps instantly.

Jehanne, for one, charged toward the middle of the swarm fearlessly, waving her spear like a madwoman. It was a risky, dangerous maneuver, but thankfully, Xu Tao was there, watching over them all.

"Excalibur—!"

"Don't you dare block my path!"

Arthur and Achilles were quickly deployed, rushing to back up Jehanne.

While she was busy looking forward, slashing knights like she was cutting carrots, the two men guarded her back. They ensured no enemy could take her from behind, cutting down any that tried. The three's breathing was perfectly in sync as more and more knights fell under their onslaught.

However, things changed when only ten knights remained.

ROOOOOOAR!

They let out a powerful battle cry, almost forcing Jehanne and the others to back away. This short opening allowed the enemy to fix their formation, creating a solid circle with two layers: three shields, one sword, and one mace on the outer ring, with spear-wielding knights protected in the center.

A simple circular formation—but an effective one, given their strength.

"Petty tricks!"

Achilles, underestimating the enemy formation, rushed forward with shield up and spear at the ready. But just as he entered the shield bearer's range, a sword came down from above him.

"…!"

In a moment of reflex, he raised his shield to deflect the incoming blade… a decision he would come to regret.

"OOOF!"

As he raised his shield, his body was exposed. A spear shot out from inside the formation and struck Achilles' thigh at full strength, sending him rolling backward. Two more thrusts followed, but thankfully, he managed to roll out of danger, rising to his feet moments later.

"Fuck!" he cursed as he dusted himself off. "If that wasn't me, they'd be dead now!"

The shield acting as bait, the sword as a distraction, and the spear targeting his thigh to limit mobility—if that third attack had connected with anyone else, they would've been finished. Achilles was lucky his body was nearly invulnerable, or else…!

"Why are you rushing in without Sir Tao's command?" Jehanne glanced at Achilles, mumbling to herself. "That's what you get for breaking out of formation."

Of course, Achilles had no way to understand what she said. However, from her disdain-filled gaze, it wasn't hard to imagine what she meant.

"Step back, you ants." Zetian waved her fan like a celestial dancer preparing to perform on stage. "This Queen shall wrap up this senseless battlefield at once."

Midway through her speech, an image—a command—came from Xu Tao. The order was simple: retreat from the knights who huddled together.

Naturally, everyone moved fast. They jumped back, putting distance between themselves and the enemy's circular defense formation. As they currently were, it would be impossible for Jehanne, Arthur, or anyone else to crack that defense without losing a few allies.

That was the limit of fighting with cold weapons...

"Thanks for bundling up. You've made this Queen's job easier."

But to someone like Xu Tao and Zetian, this was practically the enemy lying belly-up on the ground—begging to be massacred.

SNAP!

As soon as Zetian closed her fan, a powerful wave of cold swept over the knight's defensive formation. Their bodies froze solid within seconds, not even able to dodge what was to come.

"As thanks, let me send you to the void painlessly."

BANG!

Following Xu Tao's command, Yifa and Arthur fired their revolvers at the same time. Bullets flew at the speed of sound and struck the bundled ice sculptures at once.

CRACK!

In the next instant, the ice crumbled into a billion shards, sparkling beautifully in the air.

"Well done."

Xu Tao clapped, seeing that the fight had wrapped up.

Of course, since they couldn't understand each other's words anyway, he passed along his praises as images instead.

"Although there's a lot to work on, this is the first time you've experienced this technique, so I'll be lenient. You did well following my commands."

Of course, his words and actions didn't entirely match. To those who failed miserably, he was making them rewatch their mistakes on repeat—inside their heads. Even if they wanted to avert their gaze, it was impossible, as the images played directly within their minds.

"But before we proceed, let's do a bit of reviewing first, shall we?"

Xu Tao smiled.

He was just getting started.