Chapter 70: The Sneaky Scholar and the Peeping Tom (Bonus Update)

The princess’ eyes brightened.

The form of the attack didn’t matter; the key was that Edwina’s impromptu actions had revealed the true power capable of harming the bizarre vengeful spirit.

The temple, or rather, the Holy Light bestowed by the Goddess.

Yes, this power is the exact opposite of the vile spirit formed from pure resentment; they would undoubtedly counter each other intensely.

“Try using light-based attacks!”

With Liliya’s command, bursts of white and golden light erupted from the crowd, charging straight towards the howling vengeful spirit!

However, the white auroras cast by the mages, relying solely on heat and penetration to deal damage, were of little effect against the resentment. Only two beams of golden light, hurled by the Adventurer Priests, exhibited more considerable destructive power.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!”

Leopold’s massive face formed from black mist let out another horrifying shriek that sent shivers down spines, as if the sound itself carried a hint of the power of Fear within it.

But Liliya keenly noticed that those two Grade Four Punishment Lights from the Sky-level Priests were the strongest attack magic they could wield. While their power was clearly higher than the exhausted Edwina’s previous strike, it was still less than half effective.

In other words, their ability to counter the vengeful spirit wasn’t on par with Edwina, the Holy Knight.

Why was that?

The straightforward Miss Edwina hadn’t hidden her last name from everyone. Liliya, as a princess, had a better understanding of “Cecilia,” one of the three sacred aristocratic families of the Holy Empire, perhaps more than an ordinary person.

Being a noble isn’t just a superficial title; although they are not truly descendants of gods, the blessings passed down in their family are a remarkable power that can, in a sense, alter their race, allowing it to be inherited through blood.

They are a kind of race that exists between gods and humans, accurately referred to as divine emissaries. While in most cases, they show no significant difference from ordinary humans, their talent for honing Holy Light powers is much stronger, and the light they refine is purer than that of ordinary goddess devotees.

Could this purity of the light element explain such a noticeable difference?

It appears that in this battle, where no one else could inflict effective damage, it would have to revolve around Edwina, the Divine Emissary and Holy Knight.

“Priests, immediately reinforce Edwina! Everyone else, cover and assist her, attack like before!”

“Yes!”

All of them were top-tier experts at least of the Sky-level, with high combat awareness and skill. Under Liliya’s direction, the group of over ten immediately changed their tactics.

The shield warriors stood behind Edwina, while Nickles swung his sword to block all the arrows targeting the Holy Knight. The assassins and others took up positions nearby, avoiding vengeful spirit attacks while remaining within a supportive distance.

The two Sky-level Priests then raised their hands simultaneously, casting colorful light from the tips of their staffs, infusing it into the weary Holy Knight.

As the world’s top support class, the abilities of the Priests were extremely versatile, covering all aspects of recovery and reinforcement.

Under the full support of the male and female duo, who seemed to be a couple, Edwina’s Holy Power, which had already been nearly exhausted from continuous fighting, began to recover rapidly like a gushing spring.

She felt her body revitalized with seemingly endless strength, and her vision became clear and expansive, able to capture every detail even in the dimly-lit testing grounds.

Edwina possessed solid combat instincts. After witnessing the previous scene, she immediately understood the princess’s strategy.

Without hesitation, subduing the undead was an absolute duty for every devotee of the Goddess.

“Catch, Miss Edwina!”

“Got it!”

Receiving another sword tossed by Nickles, Edwina nonchalantly stowed her Holy Knight shield, channeling all the just-recovered Holy Power into the sword, and unleashed the familiar “Holy Radiance Slash” once more.

She hurled it with all her might!

With the Priests’ support, this time the golden light enveloping the sword was far more intense than before, almost blinding, racing towards the colossal face of the vengeful spirit like a golden thunderbolt.

But this time, the hybrid vengeful spirit led by Leopold was no longer defenseless, returning fire.

“Die die die die die die die die!!!!!!

Screaming in furious agony, a gust of wind condensed into a black long sword similar to the Holy Radiance Slash, crashing down to intercept Edwina’s attack.

“One of the attacks, Fiery Blossom!”

Before the black-gold dual-color long sword could clash, arrows wreathed in crimson flame shot through the air, colliding with the black sword’s side and causing it to veer off course, embedding itself in the wall at the edge of the testing grounds, dissolving back into black mist.

Edwina’s Holy Radiance Slash then struck the vengeful spirit’s core head-on, aided by the Fiery Blossom.

“How despicable!!! You are all too despicable!!!!”

Unsurprisingly, the impact was even greater this time, vaporizing nearly one-tenth of the fused vengeful spirit’s black mist, with the sword even piercing through the testing grounds’ ceiling, breaking through to leave only a shaft of sunlight pouring in from the outside.

“Well done, continue the attacks!”

Ignoring the vengeful spirit’s wrathful accusations, Mr. Fierce Wolf gave Edwina a thumbs up and tossed her another sword.

With more than a dozen Sky-level experts and the princess at their back, the consumption of swords was practically trivial. Moreover, aside from the unique purple-quality Holy Sword still stuck in the ceiling, the others were merely white or green mass-produced gear.

What truly mattered was the Holy Power, not the equipment quality.

“Holy Radiance Slash!”

Edwina followed suit, launching another strike. This time, Leopold’s vengeful spirit face gathered a similar black sword to counter, but once more, the Fiery Blossom struck first.

However.

“What!?”

Several people gasped in astonishment at the sight, and the Fiery Blossom’s expression grew grim.

Because, astonishingly, arrows burning with black flames erupted from within the vengeful spirit too, colliding with the Fiery Blossom and resulting in mutual destruction!

Without the Blossom’s assistance, Edwina’s Holy Radiance Slash could not achieve the same results as before. Although it still pierced through the black sword and into the vengeful spirit’s body, its power had diminished to a mere fraction.

“It… is actually learning? Learning our moves?”

The developments had entirely exceeded the princess’s expectations.

When Leopold’s vengeful spirit unleashed its rain of arrows earlier, she felt… they bore a resemblance to the arrows used exclusively by the Fiery Blossom. Later, it created a black sword strikingly similar to the Holy Radiance Slash.

Now, seeing them even replicate the Fiery Blossom, Liliya finally confirmed her hypothesis.

Legendary beings are powerful due to their versatility; for example, the Fiery Blossom’s Six Styles of Red Lotus and Plakaka’s horrifying invisibility, their physical qualities do not overwhelmingly surpass those of Sky-level beings and still remain within the limits of their own race.

Thus, if there’s a legendary being capable of rapidly mastering any opponent’s abilities, one could confidently claim:

Below transcendence… there are no rivals!

Everyone’s faces paled, yet no one noticed a certain white figure lurking in the dark corner of the testing grounds, taking in the entire scene.

Moments later, the girl’s lips curled into a delighted smile as if she’d thought of a fun idea. In a flash, she vanished without a trace.

   

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