Chapter 43: Three Against One
Dwarf Zis was forced to one knee by the dark force field, his entire skeleton creaking and cracking as if about to be crushed.
"You can't kill me with darkness."
Zis swung his hand to the side, as if grabbing the air beside him, and pulled hard.
With a crack, the dark force field shattered like broken glass, black crystal fragments falling to the ground and gradually dissolving into black smoke that drifted through the air.
Zis stood up, his eyes now pitch black. His abilities leaned toward darkness. Although the Archbishop had damage reduction against dark attributes, Zis was no longer simply using darkness to fight; he had derived 'Death-Life' from darkness.
Ancient God power had three attributes: Light, Darkness, and Newborn Flame. The Archbishop possessed all three attributes of Ancient God power.
Zis mastered the Darkness attribute and further developed it. The ability of the Resentful Orphan leaned toward Newborn Flame, while the absent Serpent Sisters favored Dim Light.
The battle erupted instantly. The Archbishop stood at the center of the circular altar, while Su Xiao, Zis, and the Resentful Orphan stood at diagonal points on the altar's edge, perfectly surrounding the Archbishop.
Baha circled overhead, Amu blocked the only exit, and Bubu Wang stood behind Amu, primarily providing aura support. He couldn't approach the altar easily; once the melee began, being too close would be dangerous.
Su Xiao stood at the altar's edge, his sword-wielding hand hanging naturally. He was waiting for Zis or the Resentful Orphan to make the first move.
Su Xiao knew full well that both Zis and the Resentful Orphan had ulterior motives, but once the fight started, cooperation was mandatory. Facing an opponent like the Archbishop, sabotaging each other mid-battle would be an act of extreme stupidity. No matter their goals, they had to defeat the Archbishop first before settling their own matters.
Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged along the long blade as Su Xiao slightly lowered his stance.
"Resentment!"
Zis roared, and the Resentful Orphan responded with a low growl.
Boom!
The altar shook as Su Xiao, Zis, and the Resentful Orphan vanished from their spots almost simultaneously.
Cyan Steel Shadow energy trailed a blue streak, blood energy spread, Zis's eyes were pitch black with a mass of darkness gathering behind him as if something was about to burst out. The Resentful Orphan's whole body flickered with sparks, the surrounding air seeming ready to ignite. Every step it took left a spark-covered footprint.
'Darkness, Repentance.'
The Archbishop raised his scepter, his hair and beard flying upward as darkness appeared beneath his feet.
Thump~
It felt like an invisible giant hammer had slammed down, stopping Su Xiao, Zis, and the Resentful Orphan in their tracks.
The ground beneath Su Xiao had turned black, the darkness forming a carpet-like layer. He felt immense pressure descending from above, making it impossible to move an inch.
[You are affected by Darkness Repentance (Active, Lv.73). You will take 3942 points of erosion damage + 530 points of true damage per second.]
[Your mobility is suppressed. Suppression ongoing.]
[Willpower check passed.]
[Stamina attribute check failed.]
[Intelligence attribute check failed.]
...
Su Xiao struggled to breathe, his chest aching intensely. Darkness had climbed onto his body surface and was converging toward his heart.
Cyan Steel Shadow energy surged through Su Xiao, and the darkness immediately receded. The stabbing pain in his chest and the heavy pressure over his entire body vanished.
Darkness Repentance wasn't a control ability; it used dark energy to create suppression. As long as the darkness on his body was dispelled, the suppression effect naturally lifted.
The moment he regained freedom, Su Xiao sidestepped. A half-meter-wide white light beam shot past him, barely grazing his side before crashing into the wall behind with a thunderous boom.
The Archbishop was pointing his scepter forward, the white light beam spraying from within like a laser column, its momentum astonishing.
Regardless of how absurdly high the Archbishop's health was, just getting close to him was extremely difficult. The Archbishop wasn't someone who possessed powerful abilities but couldn't fight; this old man had long been the strongest combat force of the Healing Church.
The powerful monsters transformed from Ancient God remnants were personally led by the Archbishop to exterminate. The Immortal, the Saintess, and the Serpent Sisters were all personally trained by the Archbishop; he taught them how to fight.
'Darkness: Converge.'
The Archbishop tapped the ground with his scepter. The darkness on the ground surged once before flattening against the surface, then began to contract.
Su Xiao felt as if he were standing on a dragged carpet, rapidly being pulled toward the Archbishop.
"Above!"
Zis shouted while two massive bone hands emerged from the darkness behind him, shielding him within.
The Resentful Orphan ran in the opposite direction across the dark ground, but the darkness wasn't just contracting—it was also draining its strength.
The Archbishop raised his left hand, and an ancient book appeared. The cover showed signs of damage and was stained with mottled bloodstains.
A white light circle appeared above the Archbishop, suspended from the ceiling, with light energy converging inside.
Dense energy arrows shot out from the white light circle, covering nearly the entire altar. These energy arrows were thin but extremely sharp and incredibly fast.
Bang, bang, bang...
The energy arrows were as dense as raindrops, embedding themselves everywhere. The Resentful Orphan fared the worst, getting shot into a pincushion.
With a crack, a crystal ball covered in energy arrows shattered. Su Xiao's long blade was stabbed into the ground, Cyan Steel Shadow energy surging beneath his feet to prevent the ground's darkness from dragging him.
Pulling an energy arrow from his shoulder, Su Xiao waited for an opportunity. He had to interrupt the Archbishop's continuous suppression, or there would be no chance to get close. Even using Dragon Shadow Flash to penetrate space wouldn't work; too much darkness had gathered around the Archbishop, and approaching recklessly would get him blasted back immediately.
The darkness on the ground kept converging toward the Archbishop, who had already begun preparing his next ability. This was the Archbishop's style—while using one ability, he would already start brewing the next. This not only maintained continuous suppression but also reduced the consumption of Ancient God power.
'Light: Deprivation.'
A light sphere gathered above the Archbishop, then exploded, flooding the entire empty room with intense light.
Everything in sight was blinding white. Su Xiao raised one hand to shield his eyes. The light not only affected vision but also sealed his perception. Everything around was white, completely unseeable.
A sound of wind-breaking came from Su Xiao's side, and he immediately raised his blade to block.
Clang!
The sharp sound of metal clashing rang out. Within the blinding white light, a figure formed from black mist appeared, wielding a long-handled greatsword and standing over three meters tall. This wasn't the Archbishop but a dark avatar created by him.
The sound of clashing came from dozens of meters away. Su Xiao deduced that there was more than one dark avatar; Zis had one too.
"Roar!"
A howl rang out as sparks flew. The Resentful Orphan threw its head back and roared, the sparks dispersing the white light.
The dark avatars could only exist within the white light. With 'light' came 'dark shadow.' Once the white light dissipated, the dark avatars immediately vanished.
The Archbishop still stood at the altar's center. From the start of the battle until now, he hadn't moved a single step.
An opportunity—a perfect one. The Resentful Orphan had interrupted the Archbishop's continuous suppression.
Su Xiao penetrated space, vanishing from his spot and reappearing behind the Archbishop.
The long blade left a blue cutting trail in the air, striking the Archbishop's back with full force.
Pfft.
Blood splattered. The Archbishop grunted, his motion of raising the scepter faltering.
As the blade cut into the Archbishop, Su Xiao felt resistance. The Archbishop's skin and muscles were extremely tough. Even with Dragon-Slaying Flash's sharpness, it only cut through flesh without reaching the bone.
Just as the Archbishop took Su Xiao's strike, the Resentful Orphan pounced in front of him. The darkness around the Archbishop surged, about to bind the Resentful Orphan, when it opened its mouth wide, took a brief breath, and spat out sparks.
Hiss, hiss, hiss~
The Archbishop's robes began to scorch. Sparks enveloped his entire body. A strange scene unfolded: a large patch of sparks sprayed through behind the Archbishop, which should have also affected Su Xiao behind him. But when these sparks reached Su Xiao's front, they rapidly dimmed, turning into black ash with no heat.