This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 276: We’re Even

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: We’re Even

Faralis was wrapped in flames, her tattered white wedding dress also sparking with little stars of fire, and the Flame Greatsword that had fallen to the ground flew back into her hands, like a torch that had been lit.

The flames, like a red torrent, climbed along the blade toward the Pope, the crimson beam of light burning everything it touched to ashes, even leaving black marks on the stone floor.

The intense flow of flames enveloped the two greatswords the Pope used to block, as if it wanted to turn them to ash.

But Chen Ke knew it wasn’t that simple. Within the roaring flames, streams of purple and blue energy flowed, resembling veins, which incredibly climbed up the flames towards Faralis.

Faralis noticed this phenomenon, she withdrew the flames, leapt backward, and left a large puddle of fire water on the ground.

The Pope twirled his two greatswords, and the flames on the blades immediately extinguished, the original glowing energy reclaiming its dominance.

However, this time, those lights also climbed up the Pope’s arms, causing his wide sleeves to tremble with the infused energy.

Chen Ke picked up a sword from the ground, charged power into his legs, and ran towards the Pope’s back with hopping steps, his hands tightly gripping the longsword, aiming directly at the Pope’s ass with a forceful thrust.

At that moment, a fierce magical explosion suddenly occurred around the Pope. He first saw the blue flames in front of him burst open, followed by an unpleasant odor, and a powerful energy hit him like a truck.

Chen Ke hadn’t figured out what was happening when he was flung away, and only in mid-air did the sound of the explosion reach his ears.

"Boom!"

Chen Ke fell to the ground face up, sliding several meters, his vision pitch black, unable to see anything, and hearing a sizzling sound like burnt flesh mixed with bubbling liquid in his ears.

After a moment, his vision returned, and he sat up to find that his legs and arms were broken, and within three steps from him lay his Silver Knight armor.

The explosion had shattered him, but fortunately, he hadn’t died, just critically injured...

At this moment, Faralis and the Pope had engaged in close combat, her twin sword skills truly proficient. Now, Faralis was very clear-headed, no longer as reckless as before, and was fighting toe-to-toe with the dual-wielding Pope using just one sword.

Clashes of swords resounded throughout the cathedral, Chen Ke’s broken limbs also came back together, and he quickly dressed himself in the scattered Silver Knight armor.

He couldn’t let the Pope harm him again. The Pope’s attacks, at this moment, were either fatal or crippling, not even allowing for a fair exchange.

Using a sword was too dangerous, but it wasn’t that he couldn’t harm the Pope, if he really couldn’t, why would there be any need to block or dodge? However, it was indeed not easy for Chen Ke to exploit his weaknesses.

The Pope parried another blow, then his body, as if sliding across, circled behind Faralis in an arc.

Without hesitation, Faralis quickly slashed backwards. The tip of the sword touched the ground, making a "clang" sound.

The Pope soared up, surpassing the head of the Blindfolded Goddess statue, and just hung there in the air; he spread his twin swords and, within a second, dived towards the ground.

Faralis retreated, her figure resembling a flame. The Pope landed, inserting both swords into the ground to form a circular Magic Array. Under the intermingling lights of blue and purple, an X-shaped explosion surged toward the church ceiling, shattering the large chandelier above.

Chen Ke spotted the Pope’s weak point, almost exhausting his own lifespan and leaving only 5 minutes. He condensed the largest Crystal Gun he could muster and hurled it toward the Pope.

The Crystal Gun, thick as a column and over ten meters long, startled Faralis, who swiftly dodged.

With a whoosh, the Crystal Gun struck directly at the Pope’s chest, embedding deeply and exploding on impact.

"Ah!!" The Pope screamed, his long hair curling from the blast and revealing his pale, scorched scalp, while the skin on his face peeled off, revealing half a skull.

His chest also blasted open, flesh flying everywhere. However, the flesh inside the Pope was a mass of black paste, sticky and thick as southern black sesame paste.

"He’s not dead..." Chen Ke said regretfully.

This was the strongest attack Chen Ke could deliver, yet even so, it did not kill the Pope. The Pope raised his head, glancing at Chen Ke with hollow eyes, and instantly, a surging murderous aura assaulted him. Chen Ke condensed another Crystal Gun with his right hand, ready to strike again.

Faralis swung her Flame Greatsword at the Pope’s head, but in that instant, the Pope turned into a shadow and dived underground.

Chen Ke was still casting a spell when he saw the Pope suddenly go underground; he immediately understood the other’s intent. Just as he was about to change position, a black mist rose beneath him, swiftly enveloping his thighs.

"Mama mia..." Chen Ke cursed under his breath, knowing he was in for pain.

The next second, the Pope burst from the ground. The blue greatsword gashed open the Silver Knight’s armor at the abdomen and stabbed directly into Chen Ke’s stomach, then exited through his back, leaving half his intestines hanging on the blade.

Chen Ke retched, feeling a large, hard object inside himself. Not only this, but the blue energy was also mercilessly tearing at his organs. His eyes widened as he felt his liver, stomach, and appendix being punctured into a mess.

"Where did this Knight come from... to use my magic no less, and so powerfully..." the Pope said coldly, half his skull-faced sending chills to the core.

Faralis immediately followed up, her Flame Greatsword biting straight toward the back of the Pope’s head. The Pope turned and caught the attack with his left hand’s purple greatsword, redirecting it towards the ground and pinning it down.

"I will remember you, Knight!" Faralis burst out as her body erupted in intense heat, her pupils bright as the sun.

The Pope snorted coldly as the blue greatsword released a powerful energy pulse that blasted Chen Ke away, slamming him against a large stone pillar, blood splattering all around.

Faralis exploded like a human-shaped nuclear bomb at her location, bursting forth with brightness like daylight. The storm of flames engulfed the entire church, burning everything in its path to ashes.

Chen Ke curled up on the ground, hugging himself and cursing continuously as his body oscillated between self-healing and turning into dried meat.

The Pope was burned into a mummy-like dried meat, his whole head skeletal, his once-luxurious robe ragged, and even the purple greatsword charred into nothing more than a piece of firewood.

Yet his actions were still unaffected. Dropping the purple greatsword, he grasped Faralis by the throat and lifted her up.

Faralis resumed human form, her face flushed from lack of oxygen, her tongue slightly protruding, and her eyes rolling back.

Chen Ke’s sword had already become bent from the flames before, and his originally silver armor and shield were scorched black and yellow. He once again condensed a Crystal Gun, equivalent to 23 hours and 55 minutes, and hurled it at the Pope.

"Whiz!"

The Crystal Gun exploded in a burst behind the Pope, blasting away a quarter of his upper body. The Pope turned around in surprise, realizing that Chen Ke wasn’t dead.

Seizing the opportunity, Faralis recalled the Flame Greatsword to her right hand and swung it at the Pope’s neck.

"Thud..."

The Pope’s skull fell to the ground, rolling far away.

Faralis struggled to her feet, kicked the still-standing corpse of the Pope down, and leaned on her sword, gasping for breath.

Is it over?

Chen Ke stood in place, with only 4 minutes and 49 seconds of life remaining.

The soul?

Where is the Pope’s soul?

Chen Ke waited, having nearly exhausted his lifetime with that last blow. If he couldn’t capture the Pope’s soul, it would be somewhat of a loss. Although one could continue indefinitely under an enemy’s killing intent, there was a paradox here.

If the enemy was too strong, too strong for him to defeat and he could only flee, then the ability to continue indefinitely was useless. If the enemy was weak and could be defeated at once, then the ability to continue indefinitely was meaningless.

The Pope was much stronger than Chen Ke. Without Faralis drawing his fire and creating an opportunity, Chen Ke had no chance to strike.

After a brief pause and failing to capture the Pope’s soul, Chen Ke had no choice but to crush a spare soul he carried, and through the soul’s echo, his lifespan rose to 35 hours.

"Knight... you are odd, but that doesn’t matter... we’ve finally killed him... huff huff..." said Faralis, sheathing her sword and giving him a classical bow.

Chen Ke was stunned for a moment and instinctively made a scissor hand gesture.

"But... it’s not over yet. We need to free my mother, the Queen of Fan Hede..." said Faralis as she crouched beside the Pope’s body and removed a blue amber ring from his left finger.

The ring had hardly been damaged by the flames, clearly showing it was a Holy Relic.

Now, the Pope’s clothes and sword were also surely extraordinary Holy Relics, he thought as he eyed the blue Greatsword that had fallen nearby, the idea forming in his mind.

"This ring, Knight... can open the cage imprisoning my mother, we need to go now..." Faralis was cut off mid-sentence as her abdominal wound suddenly burst open, splashing blood five steps away.

"Ah..." Faralis coughed up blood and knelt on the ground, leaning on her sword, the ring rolling to Chen Ke’s feet.

Chen Ke picked up the ring, approached Faralis, and knelt on one knee before her.

"This is nothing serious, I am a descendant of the Witch..." Faralis breathed heavily, placing a hand on Chen Ke’s shoulder.

Meaning she wanted Chen Ke to help her walk a bit.

Chen Ke slipped the ring onto his ring finger, casually picked up the blue Greatsword that had fallen from the Pope, and then helped Faralis to her feet, letting her lean on his shoulder.

"Let’s go, undying Knight, to calm the flames of Fan Hede," Faralis said slowly.

Chen Ke and Faralis slowly made their way to the church’s main door.

"+100 Years"

"+100 Years"

"+100 Years"

"+100 Years"

"+100 Years"

...

Chen Ke was shocked and looked back abruptly, only to see the church was pitch dark, and a black, mud-like crawling entity was surging toward him and Faralis like the Abyss.

"That is... of course, Mazville, has fallen to the Abyss..." Faralis also sensed the anomaly.

In Chen Ke’s view, that black substance displayed an unprecedented information interface at the bottom center of his vision, showing a name:

Abyss Clan—Mazville

"This isn’t... this..." Chen Ke was babbling incoherently, this was beyond his abilities.

Even a contract demon only added one year at a time, and this thing was going directly for 100 years...

At that moment, Faralis suddenly shoved Chen Ke.

Spiritual Energy burst out!?

Chen Ke flew out of the door, crashing heavily to the ground and looking up just as the church doors were slowly closing.

"Knight... now we are even..." Faralis smiled, then turned back into blazing fire.