Chapter 023: Slightly Gaining the Upper Hand

Wang Bo had no choice but to stall for time with words while searching for traces of Hela.

Boom!

At that moment, another highly compressed magical energy ray struck the barrier in front of Wang Bo. The barrier shuddered violently, deforming and bowing inward at an alarming angle.

As if it were about to burst, Wang Bo hurriedly reinforced the barrier, narrowly escaping disaster.

But if this continued, it was only a matter of time before the barrier was destroyed.

Just then, however, a thought struck Wang Bo. He realized that Hela was actually hiding nearby, but he couldn't detect her. The only option was to use a big move to force her out.

And Wang Bo did have such a move.

He raised two fingers and said, "Seal!"

In an instant, a massive square barrier enveloped the entire forest.

The barrier technique Wang Bo now used came from the world of "Barrier Master," one of the prizes he had drawn. It could create barriers using "space."

This barrier technique involved several steps: first, designate the target; second, create lines within the designated range; third, deploy the barrier.

Wang Bo used these three steps to create a huge barrier that surrounded the entire forest.

And he believed Hela was within this forest.

The fourth step of the barrier technique was to destroy or dissolve.

If Wang Bo wished, he could instantly dissolve the barrier, or of course, instantly collapse it. But the moment the barrier collapsed, the space inside would also collapse.

After all, this was a barrier technique that used space to create barriers. When the barrier collapsed, space could hardly survive.

And once space was destroyed, anything inside could hardly survive either.

This was a very interesting and highly lethal spell. Once trapped inside, unless one's body could withstand the force of spatial destruction, escape was impossible.

Moreover, after Wang Bo's improvements, this barrier technique was even more powerful.

Having studied portal magic and mirror space at Kamar-Taj, as well as other barrier techniques, Wang Bo had considerable knowledge of space magic. His improved barrier technique was sure to astonish.

Although Wang Bo had created a barrier surrounding the forest, he did not intend to destroy the forest altogether. Instead, he gradually shrank the barrier's range. The golden barrier visibly contracted at a noticeable speed.

In an instant, it was only half the size of the forest.

A few seconds later, the shrinking barrier seemed to collide with something, shaking violently. Wang Bo looked up and swept his gaze around.

Though he saw nothing, he was certain that what the barrier had hit was most likely Hela.

Wang Bo continued to shrink the barrier.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... At the same time, beams of magical energy shot from all directions, striking the small square barrier around Wang Bo.

With a thunderous roar, the square barrier around Wang Bo was instantly shattered.

But a second before the barrier broke, Wang Bo erected three layers of small barriers to envelop himself.

Meanwhile, the large outer barrier continued to contract.

Finally, when the shrinking barrier reached a diameter of fifty meters, it collided with something again. Ripples spread across the barrier's surface, radiating outward layer after layer.

Then, Hela's figure finally appeared.

She glared at Wang Bo with hatred, then turned away from him to try and destroy the ever-shrinking barrier.

"That won't do, Goddess Hela."

Wang Bo raised his finger and drew, adding two more layers of barrier outside the large one. He absolutely would not allow Goddess Hela to escape; today he would send her back home.

Goddess Hela destroyed the first large barrier with a backhand, only to find two more layers outside. Furious, she glared at Wang Bo with murderous intent, and her death god power began to spread outward.

The large barrier, affected by the death god power, began to totter.

Seeing this, Wang Bo made up his mind and shouted, "Destroy!"

In an instant, the first large barrier collapsed.

As the large barrier collapsed, the space inside also collapsed. Layer after layer of space caved in, as if the whole world was returning to nothingness.

Seeing this, Hela roared in fury. Sensing danger, her death god power surged like a mountain flood, trying to resist the collapsing space.

Wang Bo did not escape this calamity either. When the large barrier collapsed, nothing inside could escape—Hela was no exception, and neither was Wang Bo.

But unlike Hela, Wang Bo still had three layers of small barriers around him.

The small barriers, identical in nature to the large one, were equally formidable and managed to withstand the spatial collapse.

Hela, relying on her death god power, barely survived the spatial collapse.

But before she could rejoice, Wang Bo pointed at her.

"Seal!"

In an instant, three small barriers appeared around Hela, enveloping her layer by layer.

Hela froze, then struggled fiercely. Her Glory Hand infinitely strengthened her body, and with the power of mixed magic, she punched out, shattering one layer of barrier.

Seeing this, Wang Bo unceremoniously added dozens more layers of barrier, surrounding Hela in a dense cocoon.

"If you destroy another barrier, I won't be so kind."

Wang Bo's icy voice came through. Hela stiffened. She had personally experienced the power of the barrier's collapse earlier; though it hadn't killed her, it had left her in a sorry state.

If dozens of layers collapsed together, the force would be earth-shattering, enough to inflict fatal damage on her.

Seeing that Hela wisely stopped her actions, Wang Bo nodded in satisfaction and said slowly, "Goddess Hela, I mean you no harm. I just want to send you home."

"Home?" Hela laughed mockingly. "I don't know how you recognize me, but do you think that cage can be called home?"

"What about Asgard?" Wang Bo countered. "Isn't Asgard your home?"

Hela retorted, "Are you sure you can send me back to Asgard, and not that cage?"

Uh... Wang Bo wasn't sure about that.

Hela's laughter grew more scornful. She looked at Wang Bo and said word by word, "I will never return to that prison. Never!!!"

At the same time, Wang Bo felt Hela's aura rising layer by layer. She was finally about to fight for her life.

This was something Wang Bo did not want to see.