Chapter 1569: The Secret to Becoming Stronger
Their seven-person team’s strength was too immense. Each of them could exert several times their previous abilities. Moreover, to maintain such power for so long was unscientific and unnatural.
Magic also had its basic principles. Magic Power wouldn’t increase out of thin air, and strength enhancement came at a price. The fact that these people could so drastically boost their strength made me suspect foul play. There must be something we were overlooking.
It was then that I noticed the four Priestesses had never engaged in combat. While it seemed reasonable for them to be support, during our fight with the male Priests, they merely provided buffs and rarely used magic to attack us.
I refused to believe that none of them, as casters, possessed offensive spells. Even if the Seven Gods didn’t have divine spells for offense, they would surely learn offensive magic to supplement their weaknesses, just like me.
Yet, apart from the Gray-robed woman’s single use of “Command: Death,” they hadn’t attacked us. They hadn’t even provided supporting fire, which was absolutely impossible. The only explanation was that they were doing it intentionally.
If they were to attack, it might reveal certain situations. So, while their attention was completely focused on Karina, I suddenly launched a surprise attack on the Grandmother.
Her abilities were the most troublesome. She was likely a scout, and under the light of her lantern, many tricks and changes would be exposed. Therefore, I attacked her first.
“Hmm!?” Just as my sword was about to pierce her back, the Grandmother reacted. However, by my standards, her reaction speed was too slow. If I weren’t actually not proficient with a sword, she would already be dead.
“Clang!” My greatsword struck a shield. As expected, to prevent surprise attacks, they disciplined themselves to maintain a shield around them.
Taking advantage of this, the Grandmother forcibly twisted her body, but the shield was still pierced, leaving a deep sword mark on her back. Blood spurted out, and she let out a scream: “Ugh ah!”
“What?!” The three Priestesses beside her simultaneously turned their heads, looking at me in shock, wondering when I had snuck behind the Grandmother and wounded her.
The Girl reacted the fastest. She raised her hand, and several light-formed longswords stabbed towards me. But I casually swung my sword, knocking down these light swords.
So weak. The Grandmother’s earlier movements were too slow, and the Girl’s divine spell was even weaker. It was like a newbie Adventurer. Such strength didn’t match their previous performance. Or perhaps they all had severe imbalances?
Discovering that the Girl’s attack posed no threat, I directly pursued the Grandmother, striking while she was down. My greatsword swept towards her, and simultaneously, a Frost Ray shot out.
However, at this moment, the Grandmother’s movements suddenly became swift. She raised her lantern, blocking the Frost Ray in front of her chest.
With the Werewolf’s Heart and the understanding of “The Snow Queen” fairy tale, my Frost Ray had greatly improved. Its current power was no less than some very powerful high-level spells. I had used Frost Ray to freeze several Knights just moments ago.
Yet, this ray, comparable to a high-level spell, was blocked by the lantern. The Frost Ray shot into the lantern’s cover and melted into the firelight, as if a mud ox entering the sea, without causing a ripple.
Then, the lantern’s light turned into substance, forming a light barrier around her. The nature of this barrier was exactly the same as the shield she had previously placed around herself. But this time, when my greatsword cleaved onto the light barrier, it couldn’t cut through.
Something was wrong, very wrong! It felt as if within that mere second, she had transformed from someone who couldn’t fight at all into a master, and the aura of magic power emanating from her had also surged.
The Old Woman retreated rapidly, her movements incredibly agile, quickly moving into the Beautiful Woman’s light shroud for protection. At the same time, the Gray-robed woman beside me lunged at me.
Her two hands emerged from her gray robe’s sleeves, her five fingers elongating at extreme speed. Their tips became incredibly sharp and were also imbued with a faint blue light.
This was somewhat similar to Sherris’s “Ghoul’s Claw,” transforming her hands into weapons before using them to launch a frenzied attack on me.
Such immense strength! Every time she clawed at me, I felt as if my greatsword was about to be ripped from my hands. This strength was no less than that of a Warrior, and her speed was even superior.
If it weren’t for the low-temperature area surrounding me, which slowed her down, combined with the continuous attacks of chains and ice magic, I might have already lost in a pure sword fight.
Moreover, the Gray-robed woman dared to clash head-on with my greatsword using her mutated claws, using her frenzied attack to swipe away countless ice thorns and directly grabbing and snapping the chains in two with her claws.
Simultaneously, the Beautiful Woman healed the wound on the Old Woman’s back. With a “Cure” spell, her sword wound healed.
The Girl and the Old Woman then simultaneously attacked me with magic, covering the Gray-robed woman. Both of them used swords formed of light.
However, when I attempted to block, I found that the power of these light swords was drastically different from before. I had underestimated them, thinking they were as weak as before, and suffered a small loss. More chains were severed, and my armor also bore several sword marks from the light swords.
These were all insignificant minor injuries. For a Spirit Body Guardian Deity, as long as the injury wasn’t fatal, other parts could be repaired by replenishing soul power.
What concerned me more was their sudden surge in strength. It was hard to judge the Grandmother without a comparison, but the power of the Girl’s light swords now was undeniably different from before.
What was causing such drastic fluctuations in their Combat Power? This might be why their strength varied so much when they formed a formation.
At that moment, I suddenly saw that the old man, Warrior, and Blacksmith at the front line were still attacking the two Demon Guards, facing the assaults of Via and Lorna, but they appeared quite strained.
The Blacksmith’s hammer strike against the Demon Guard’s great saber pushed him back several steps, losing the decisive power he had moments ago.
The Warrior slashed the Demon Guard’s body more than a dozen times. His swordsmanship remained exquisite, but the damage was frankly pathetic. The Demon Guard sustained over a dozen sword wounds, blood flowing all over his body, looking terrifying but actually being just superficial injuries.
The Old Man, with the strongest abilities, broke through the Demon Guard’s interception. However, he was forced to retreat repeatedly by Via and Lorna’s combined attack, rendering him unable to threaten Karina.
Keep in mind that just moments ago, these three could instantly kill the Demon Guards. Now, they were struggling so much. A sudden realization struck me, and I understood. This was why they could exert such immense power after forming their formation. I had already guessed the reason.
Because the three in the front row suddenly faltered, and no one was interfering with Karina anymore, she launched her third “Annihilation Sphere.” It struck the gate precisely.
“Boom!” The magical barrier protecting the gate instantly shattered. The thick, explosion-proof gate was also blasted open by the Demon’s magic, creating a large hole. This defensive line had finally been breached.
