Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 773 - 38 Sacred Protection_1

Chapter 773: Chapter 38 Sacred Protection_1

When it comes to defense, some believe the strongest is the Water Barrier of the Sea God, capable of dispersing all harm; some consider it to be the Wind Spirit World of the Wind God, capable of deflecting any attack. These were opinions of those who evidently forgot that all foundations originate from the Earth. The Yarran World cannot exist without the land—destroy the land, and the world shatters too. Thus, the true strongest defense isn’t the Water Barrier, nor the Wind Spirit World, but the Sacred Protection granted by the Earth Goddess, Denia. The Water Barrier can disperse, the Wind Spirit World can deflect, yet the unique attribute of Sacred Protection is substitution—it transfers all inflicted damage from the caster to the Land. To break Sacred Protection, one would require disastrous power, matching the intensity of the final battle of the War of Gods in the Third Epoch. Otherwise, the spell would persist until its effect wears off. Any direct damage to the caster would be absorbed by the shield of Sacred Protection, taken by the Earth instead.

Originally, this divine spell was restricted to God Denia’s use, as mortal humans could not bear all the Earth’s blessings and cast it onto themselves. But when Denia granted the sacred item, Earth’s Praise, among the thirty-two divine spells attached to it, the last was Sacred Protection. As long as one had the strength to turn to the final page of the book and establish perfect synchronization with the magic book, this infrequently seen divine spell in the mortal world could be used. However, there were few among the magic book’s lineage of users who achieved the Legendary Rank and perfect synergy with the book. As a result, even the Church of the Earth Goddess only knew of this capability from its scriptures and had never seen it in action. Unexpectedly, when confronted with a strong enemy, Lina allowed this divine spell to reappear in the world.

However, due to two drawbacks of this divine spell, its applicability is quite limited. Firstly, it can only be cast on the holder of the magic book, making it impossible to assist allies in high-intensity battles. In such situations, the caster could only watch helplessly as their teammates faced danger while equipped with Sacred Protection. Secondly, the consumption of this divine spell is usually more than a mortal can bear. The magic and Divine Power stored in the magic book are completely drained in one use, requiring a lengthy recharging process to be used again. If the magic book is left to recharge on its own, it often requires one to two years. With regular prayers, this can perhaps be reduced by a few months, but it’s still a daunting task.

Nevertheless, it was a price well worth paying. The drawn-out charging time allowed her to escape from the brink of death. Upon Lina’s command, the shimmering silver magic book suddenly emitted a radiant light. The divine power congealed into a triangular shield on each surface, forming two pyramids stuck together at the base, encasing Lina within. Even with all of its strength, the Marsh Stalker could not tighten its tentacles around her any further. The force exerted would be returned back onto its tentacles—it was as if it was entangled with a fortress forged of steel rather than a body of flesh and blood. Moreover, the Marsh Stalker found itself unable to lift its prey, akin to its weight suddenly multiplying manifold. Even when it exerted all its power at the Demigod Rank, it failed to support its own tentacles. The dozen or so tentacles landed heavily on the ground like meteors, creating a large round crater with Lina, shielded, peacefully standing at its center.

"The divine spell is connecting me to the Earth, cough, cough." Lina coughed, spitting out a mouthful of thick blood. Being bound and squashed by the tentacles made her not only look desperate and distressed with slimy liquid all over her face but also caused some injuries to her bones and organs. The priestess absentmindedly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth before forcefully smashing her mace onto the Stalker’s tentacles. Speaking with a clear and forceful voice, she said, "Who gave you such confidence that you dared to resist the strength of the Earth? Who granted you such courage to shake the mighty embrace of our nurturing Earth Goddess? Ignorant magical beast, you are nothing more than an insignificant insect before the grandeur of the land. How dare you offend its majesty?"

Although enveloped by Sacred Protection, the priestess’ power to attack remained unchanged—still at the Legendary Rank. When she struck the Lurker with her mace, it did no substantial damage to the formidable magical beast and was more of an act of venting her frustration. After all, the silver-haired girl, being a clergy, rarely suffered such humiliations. With the immense defensive abilities of her spell, she vented all of her suppressed anger on her mace.

The Marsh Stalker finally realized it could not ensnare its prey and let go of its tentacles, aiming to move towards a companion separated by Pannis. But it discovered, to its horror, that it again could not move. With Lina under the protection of the Divine Spell, she and the earth combined into a singular entity; unless she wished to move on her own, it was impossible to make her move using an external force, similar to moving the Earth with bare hands. Thus, the clever priestess seized the opportunity; she pounced onto the stalkers’ two tentacles. The Marsh Stalker immediately felt the weight of a mountain on its tentacles. Unless it severed them, there was no hope for it to move again.

"Dimwit, be careful." When Lina just escaped, the two mages switched their targets to assist Catherine in controlling the other Lurker. They believed Lina could handle her own problems. However, they still reserved some attention for her. Seeing her using such a way to delay the Lurker, Vivian felt her heart skip a beat. She shouted a warning, "That spell should have a time limit, right? Be careful—if its time limit expires and it binds you again, don’t expect us to cooperate."

"It’s okay." Lina confidently replied, "I fully understand the duration of my skill, and I will retreat when the time comes."

"That’s what you said just now, and what happened?" Vivian pursed her lips, deciding not to dwell on the subject. "And, when you were wrapped up by it, were you not affected by the paralysis toxin?"

"Don’t underestimate a priest’s resistance to toxins," Lina responded while pressing down on the Lurker with her body. "Besides, I cast a toxin resistance on myself before I was tied up. I’m a bit dizzy, but at least I’m not paralyzed. I’m fine."

"Then you have to be careful. Heh, Heh," Catherine gasped heavily. Her armor was smeared with mucilage, and her face, even her black hair, was damp. Whether it’s sweat or the Lurker’s slimy secretes, the intense combat had left her extremely fatigued. Her every muscle cried out in agony. Yet, the young girl stood firmly in front of the Marsh Stalker, refusing to let it take a single step past her. During her panting, Catherine managed to say, "Both of you have to push a bit harder too. I think Pannis will be back soon. We have to hold out until he returns, no matter what."

"We know." Freya elegantly nodded and gave Vivian a glance. Vivian grunted in agreement, waved her hand, and eight orbs of water appeared in front of Freya, floating above the crystal energy cannon. As the blue water orbs burst one after another, a large amount of icy magical water poured onto the cannon’s barrel. The moment the water mixed with the heat of the barrel, a sizzling sound was heard along with rising steam. Evidently, the high-intensity barrage of the past few minutes had raised the temperature of the cannon’s barrel to a dangerous level. If it wasn’t cooled down promptly, an explosion could occur. Even if it is cooled in time, it still can’t withstand the torture of such continuous bombardment in a short time, so it can only return to the initial low-frequency firing state.

However, this didn’t worry Freya, because she had already lifted up her favorite and most commonly used crystal energy gun. A legendary gunner’s crystal energy gun, besides consuming more of one’s own energy as it lacks the ability to use many crystals for power, isn’t necessarily weaker than the crystal energy cannon. Freya clenched the crystal energy gun, the butt pressed closely against her shoulder, and an energy glow began to emanate from the dark muzzle. Almost synchronously, the petite mage girl raised her magic staff and began to chant incomprehensible spells. This time, the spells she chose took quite long to read. Normally, the longer the spell casting, the stronger its power or effect. Vivian usually refrains from casting these powerful but slowly activating magic. As a battle mage, in a small-scale fight, the disadvantage of this kind of magic is as obvious as its advantage. However, given the unique circumstances they faced, the girl still made her choice.

Right when all of the girls were exerting their full strength, furiously pushing their potential, a shrill whistle echoed through the air from nearby. Almost simultaneous with the sound, an aggressive energy blade shot through the air, accurately cutting off two tendrils stealthily aiming towards Catherine. It brushed past the girls and let out a howl as it flew towards the distant sky. Trailing behind the energy blade was a silver phantom, speeding away at a high speed, its black hair billowing in the wind. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote and support it at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can read it on m.qidian.com.)