Chapter 352
Equipment Card: Lightning Strike Halberd
Sherlock’s mood was complex.
He never expected to participate in a battle of this scale.
When he and Eivass arrived on the scene, riding the Gryphon Liz, Prince of Giants Wolfram was at a clear disadvantage.
Undoubtedly, the giant intended to escape. He had unleashed one after another of his many strategies and trump cards, barely holding off the first wave of attacks.
The mysterious, bizarre, and powerful ritualistic spells filled Sherlock with dread. If they had all been used against the Grand Guardian, Mr. George would likely have been in grave danger.
However, the King of the Wild Hunt was simply too strong.
It attacked the giant relentlessly, seemingly ignoring all spells. The ordinary undead continuously broke down, but they had no impact on the battle. They would regenerate again tomorrow night.
The giant was only able to barely contend with the King of the Wild Hunt by relying on the various buffs he had applied beforehand.
Previously, he had severely injured the new director of the Inspection Bureau of Glass Island with just one strike, using only a tenth of his strength and his own skills, without employing any Path abilities. He truly had skill, managing to avoid being too heavily injured by relying on his buffs even when at an absolute disadvantage.
Despite being at a disadvantage, he had gradually stabilized the situation.
If they approached at this moment, they were highly likely to be caught in the crossfire of the ritualistic spells. Eivass could disperse into bats and evade them, but what about Sherlock and Liz?
Eivass gave an incredibly precise command.
He instructed Sherlock to condense the “Petrification Removal Ointment” made by Yulia into a mud eagle and charge towards Prince of Giants.
This was a battle strategy similar to the “Water Demon Hand – Sulfuric Acid Fill” used in the Ascension Ritual when Sherlock first met Eivass!
Eivass was by no means a mage, yet he could accurately capture inspiration from that battle and determine what they should do at that moment.
Although Eivass had mentioned the power of the King of the Wild Hunt before, witnessing it up close still made Sherlock tremble with fear. It likely possessed the power of a legendary Sixth Tier, its mere attack aftermath powerful enough to tear the atmosphere.
Sherlock made this judgment because it was far stronger than the Grand Guardian. Even alone, it could probably annihilate the Gryphon Legion. And that was without it having used many special abilities.
The Prince of Giants fighting it was a top-tier expert, a Fifth Tier on his main Path and Fourth Tier on his secondary Path. Even completely suppressed before it, he was by no means someone Eivass could contend with. Even if he summoned the Phantom Demon called the Butterfly, it would be directly killed within two moves.
He even observed various states on the giant that countered flame damage. The “Super Intelligence: Analysis” from the Path of Wisdom allowed him to accurately judge the effects of these states, roughly deducing the outcome of the simulated battle.
The result was that Eivass and Sherlock were completely unable to involve themselves in a battle of this scale.
However, Eivass’s command yielded a miraculous effect.
The mud eagle obviously didn’t inflict any damage; it was destroyed before it could even self-detonate.
Even so, a portion of the “Petrification Removal Ointment” was still scattered onto Prince of Giants.
This directly caused his [Petrified Skin] state to be removed!
Eivass also did something else.
A Tarot Card with a strange image appeared out of thin air in his hand, which he threw directly at the King of the Wild Hunt like a dart.
Sherlock held his breath in fear.
The King of the Wild Hunt casually swatted it away, paying it no mind. The Prince of Giants’ aggro was too stable.
But the moment the spear touched the card, the card suddenly shattered into a mass of shadows and covered the spear in the King of the Wild Hunt’s hand.
Sherlock instantly analyzed it as an incredibly powerful buff. The King of the Wild Hunt clearly recognized this as well and looked over with slight surprise for the first time.
Thus, Eivass boosted the King of the Wild Hunt’s attack, and Sherlock weakened Wolfram’s defense. With this push and pull, their combat styles did not suddenly change. The result was that the King of the Wild Hunt’s attack pierced through Wolfram’s petrified body.
Taking this attack as a breakthrough, Wolfram could no longer hold on. He was defeated and directly slain within a few moves.
“Just as Eivass said, sometimes a single crucial spell can turn the tide of battle…”
This finally relieved Sherlock’s tension, and he felt increased admiration for Eivass.
His combat sense was incredibly strong. After arriving at the battlefield, he only took a glance before commanding a Path profession he completely didn’t understand to make the most appropriate response.
But at this moment, Eivass told Sherlock that Wolfram was not completely dead and asked him to go “loot the body” first. Sherlock simply interpreted this as some kind of slang, meaning to collect spoils of war.
He wondered where this child had learned such slang.
Little Sherlock muttered to himself but still obeyed Eivass’s command to “loot the body.”
With his “Super Intelligence” state activated, he was indeed suitable for analyzing whether various items were useful or extraordinary equipment.
Eivass then turned into a bat and returned to the other battlefield.
Eivass’s original request was simply to stabilize the situation and not let the opponent escape. But Haina, who had obtained a Golden Path Trait and activated the Holy Sword, seemed terrifyingly strong. With the help of the Butterfly, Lily, and the Shadow Demon, she had easily defeated the Punisher Demon in just a few rounds. She even managed to injure it without killing it—this was significantly more difficult than killing it outright.
Facing the Punisher Demon, which had completely abandoned any resistance, Eivass knew what overwhelming power they had displayed.
Only then would the Punisher Demon obediently stay there and await death rather than attempt a counter-kill or escape.
… But you didn’t expect this, you have no chance of resurrection.
Eivass chuckled lightly and recited aloud:
“—I implore the Great Philosopher, the God of Sacred Number Four, the God who sees Truth, the silent God!”
One Bullet, Shackles and Key, Three Gryphon Feathers, Four Owl Feathers.
The materials floated in the air, inscribing a Wheel of Fate.
The original Wheel of Fate had a wheel divided into four parts in the center. At its four corners were a lion, an eagle, an angel, and a bull, representing fire, water, wind, and earth. These animals were all reading books, with wings behind them. It was truth and wisdom that allowed them to control their own destinies.
The Wheel of Fate had three layers, with three guardians above, to the lower left, and to the lower right of the wheel, respectively. From top to bottom: a winged sphinx in blue holding a sword, the snake-like evil god Apep in yellow on the left, and Anubis in red on the right. Since the snake’s head was pointing downwards, the Wheel of Fate was rotating counter-clockwise.
Falling downwards, rising from hell, reaching the highest point, and then falling again—this was the cycle of fate.
Eivass felt his Mana being frantically drawn from his body.
Not just the normal five points required for card creation, but much more—over sixty points of Mana were being drained.
But Eivass did not resist, allowing the ritual to draw Mana from his body.
At this moment.
A bolt of lightning descended, striking the Punisher Demon, who controlled lightning!
It was an ordinary-looking bolt of lightning.
But the Punisher Demon instantly turned into dust—and was absorbed by the sapphire powder, flying towards the card in front of Eivass.
This was a lightning strike personally unleashed by the Great Philosopher!
Dyeing the Tarot Card in front of Eivass with the Punisher Demon’s soul, it began to change dramatically.
It transformed into a blue-purple Tarot Card.
The card spun and landed in Eivass’s hand, revealing its attributes:
[Equipment Card: Lightning Strike Halberd (Wheel of Fate)]
[Requirements: Wind 3 or Dark 3]
[Action, Summon, Recast]
[Effect: Summon “Lightning Strike Halberd” (Extraordinary Weapon – Halberd, Heavy, Punitive, Armor-piercing, Holder Module “Demon Slayer”, Lightning Attribute Attack)]
[Effect: Use again to increase the Holder’s “Lightning Affinity” level by 3, lasting for one minute]
Activating it cost more Mana than a normal Lightning Strike Halberd, by two points.
But it had gained a recast effect. Was this the strengthened version obtained after completely draining the Punisher Demon?
This should have been something Eivass was ecstatic about.
However, he was now captivated by the card’s artwork.
Above, the winged sphinx still held a sword. The sphinx also represented sulfur, which in alchemy symbolized the soul.
On the right was Typhon, the son of Tartarus, the god of the underworld in legend, and the father of Cerberus the hellhound. It represented salt, and salt represented the physical body of a creature.
Anubis was now on the left. He was climbing upwards, while Typhon on the right was falling downwards, signifying the reversal of the Wheel of Fate—from counter-clockwise rotation to clockwise.
Unlike the previous composition, the four beasts at the corners of the wheel and the heavenly clouds were gone.
The shining objects had instead become stars in the sky.
The entire Wheel of Fate was enveloped in lightning. But the lightning did not harm the three deities at all—proving that this lightning was the great power that destroyed the old Wheel of Fate and set it in motion. It also foreshadowed the Great Philosopher who controlled the lightning.
At the very bottom of the Wheel of Fate, there was a small, almost invisible fist.
It was a human fist clenched tightly.
Humanity, with its own will, grasped the Wheel of Fate and made it spin.
This fate did not require the divine manipulation of the four beasts, nor could humanity lie down comfortably to read; instead, it had to stand up and seek change.
—Change fate with one’s own power.
Eivass looked at the card artwork, a look of understanding on his face.
He softly murmured, “Thus, all humans are stars.”
As soon as he spoke, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity.
It was as if he had heard these words somewhere before…
An update of six thousand words—
My schedule is becoming more and more irregular, but my physical condition feels like it’s improving after getting enough sleep.
I feel like I can tentatively change the update time to 6 PM for now… Everyone, please check in at 6 PM!
