Chapter 44: Wrathful Slash
Sparks sprayed from the mouth of the Wrathful Orphan, causing the flames on its body to begin dimming.
The Archbishop raised one hand to shield himself. The ground beneath his feet was already scorching red, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of burning. Even so, the Archbishop remained largely unharmed, as darkness clung to his entire body, insulating him from the high temperatures.
Kis had yet to make a move. He had been waiting for an opportunity, and now it had arrived.
A translucent phantom appeared around Kis. One hand held a heavy shield, the other a spike lance. This lance, nearly four meters long, would be difficult even for a mounted knight to wield—heavy and unstoppable.
The phantom enveloped Kis. With a clang, the spike lance rested beside the heavy shield. Inside the phantom, Kis pointed forward with one hand.
"Crush him."
With a boom, the phantom charged toward the Archbishop. The heavy armor clattered, and the phantom nearly solidified.
The Archbishop was being blasted by sparks, while energy arrows rained down behind him, temporarily keeping Su Xiao at bay.
Thud.
The phantom slammed into the Archbishop, causing him to stagger a few steps to the side. He pointed his scepter forward.
A massive hand formed from darkness appeared and slapped the Wrathful Orphan. The creature vanished instantly, reappearing above the dark hand.
Using the giant hand as a springboard, the Wrathful Orphan leaped, clearing the Archbishop's head and landing near Su Xiao.
Clang! Clang!
The Wrathful Orphan swatted away several energy arrows raining down from above, then positioned itself in front of Su Xiao.
No words were needed. The Wrathful Orphan took the lead, and Su Xiao followed, charging at the Archbishop together.
'Dragonbone Bow.'
Two bone arms, several meters long, emerged from the darkness behind Kis. Each held a massive longbow and a spiral-patterned bone arrow over five meters in length.
Crack, crack, crack~
The dragon-hunting bow was drawn. The spiral bone arrow aimed at the Archbishop.
Bang.
The bowstring released. The spiral bone arrow shot toward the Archbishop, piercing through layers of air. Mid-flight, the arrow suddenly split and spread, surrounding the Archbishop from all sides.
The Archbishop extended his scepter-wielding hand forward. A wall of light appeared, at least half a meter thick, crisscrossed with energy channels.
The bone arrows shattered against it with a series of crackling sounds. At that moment, the Wrathful Orphan had already reached the Archbishop's other side. Its whip-like tail lashed out, rapidly extending as its tip split open into a gaping maw filled with countless fangs. If that thing bit a vital spot, even the Archbishop would be drained of strength.
The Archbishop stomped on the darkness beneath him. The Wrathful Orphan was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
Su Xiao was right behind the Wrathful Orphan. He immediately leaped.
In its rapid retreat, the Wrathful Orphan grabbed Su Xiao's right leg. It swung its long tail, spinning its body mid-air. Using the momentum of its backward flight and its own throwing force, it hurled Su Xiao toward the Archbishop.
In the blink of an eye, Su Xiao flew past the Archbishop from behind.
Clang.
A slash cut across the Archbishop's back. The blade struck his vertebrae, which were harder than metal. Under the force of the slash, only a faint crack appeared.
Su Xiao crashed into the wall near Kis. Heaven knew what material this church was built from. Despite the intensity of the battle, the walls remained intact—even the Archbishop couldn't break them.
Su Xiao pushed off the wall and landed in a crouch. A five-meter-long bone arrow embedded itself in the ground before him, shattering a dark hand that had emerged from the floor.
The moment he landed, Su Xiao charged at the Archbishop again. He couldn't give the Archbishop a chance to attack, or he'd be suppressed once more.
Su Xiao had only taken a few steps when a blinding white light erupted from the Archbishop.
Clang. Su Xiao raised his blade to block. In the dazzling light, the Dark Mist Avatars appeared again. This time, their numbers were overwhelming. Even near Su Xiao alone, there were over a dozen.
Long-handled blades swung at him from all directions. Su Xiao parried continuously, but there were too many Dark Mist Avatars.
A cold sensation spread across his back, followed by a searing pain. He had been hit from behind. The wound was over thirty centimeters long, but not too deep—he had coated his back with a crystal layer before the strike.
Su Xiao drove his long blade into the ground. Azure Steel Shadow energy spread outward, consuming over 5,000 mana points in an instant.
The white light was dispelled by the Azure Steel Shadow energy. All the Dark Mist Avatars vanished. Kis and the Wrathful Orphan had clearly not been attacked by the avatars—the Archbishop had targeted Su Xiao specifically.
"Let me get close to him," Su Xiao said to Kis. The Wrathful Orphan was currently holding off the Archbishop.
"Wrathful, use that move you used on me a few years ago!" Kis shouted.
The Wrathful Orphan, which had been sent rolling across the ground by the Archbishop, clawed at the floor to steady itself.
"ROAR!!"
The Wrathful Orphan let out a deafening roar. Layers of air rippled outward, mixed with black sparks. The Archbishop tapped his scepter in the air before him, and layers of light barriers appeared around him.
"Wrathful lasts 4 seconds. I need 3," Kis said.
He meant that the Wrathful Orphan's roar ability would last about four seconds, and he needed three seconds to charge up a certain skill.
A giant skeleton appeared behind Kis. He pressed his finger to his brow, and the darkness in his eyes seemed to pulse.
Thump... thump... thump...
A heavy heartbeat echoed. The Archbishop, inside his light barriers, frowned. This was the first time he had shown any change in expression.
"I offer my soul as payment, in exchange for yours."
Kis's voice changed, becoming hollow and profound.
Thump!
The 'heart' stopped beating. A transparent arm and a transparent claw appeared behind the Archbishop, both grabbing his shoulders and pulling hard.
Creeeak~
Like stretching a rubbery substance, a translucent phantom was partially pulled from the Archbishop's body—his soul.
The light barriers around the Archbishop shattered. The Wrathful Orphan nearby stood frozen, its gaze vacant. Kis alone couldn't pull out the Archbishop's soul. The transparent arm was Kis's, and the transparent claw was the Wrathful Orphan's. Together, they managed to extract it.
Su Xiao didn't hesitate. He charged straight to the Archbishop and didn't swing his blade. On his own, he couldn't severely wound the Archbishop in a short time—the old bastard's vitality was too strong.
Instead, Su Xiao delivered a straight kick to the Archbishop's abdomen.
Bang.
The Archbishop involuntarily stepped back half a step. Numbness spread through his body, and his arms drooped.
Kis and the Wrathful Orphan recovered simultaneously. Both instantly appeared at the Archbishop's sides and behind him.
'Blade Path Sword: Extreme.'
Su Xiao's strongest close-combat sword technique struck the Archbishop's throat. The long blade cut through, severing two-fifths of his neck.
'Dark Envoy: Brutality.'
Kis clapped his hands together. A four-meter-tall skeleton appeared beside the Archbishop, wielding an oversized serrated blade. It swung at the Archbishop's throat, the wind pressure howling.
The Wrathful Orphan suddenly appeared behind the Archbishop. It didn't attack but instead braced its shoulder against his back, amplifying the tall skeleton's slashing force.
"Die!"
Kis roared. The skin at the corners of his eyes split open.
Pfft!
The serrated blade cleaved through the Archbishop's neck, dragging blood and shredded flesh. His neck was now four-fifths severed.
'Blade Path Sword: Blood Blade.'
Crimson feathers drifted down. A blood-red line flashed, striking the Archbishop's neck again. This time, his neck was nearly severed.
The Wrathful Orphan's muscles bulged. It leaped lightly, its clawed feet digging into the Archbishop's legs, while its hands grabbed his head.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Layers of dark rings and light blades exploded outward, so dense that nothing else was visible. Su Xiao raised one arm, forming a crystal shield on his forearm that covered his entire body.
Impact after impact struck his arm. Even with the crystal shield, his health plummeted. Pain wracked his entire body. In an extremely short time, his health dropped to 17%, and he was covered in blood.
Inside the dark rings and light blades, Kis wasn't faring much better. Shattered bone fragments scattered around him, and blood seeped from his clasped skeletal hands.
The Wrathful Orphan was the worst off. Its entire body was torn open, but it still kept its clawed feet locked on the Archbishop's legs and its claws gripping his head.
A figure wreathed in cold air rushed in—Amu. It braved the dark rings and light blades to reach the Archbishop, wrapping its arms tightly around his torso and binding his hands.
Baha dove from above, joining the Wrathful Orphan in gripping the Archbishop's head, flapping its wings with all its might.
"YAA!"
The Wrathful Orphan let out a piercing shriek. It used every ounce of strength to pull the Archbishop's head. Baha's wings beat, stirring up gusts of wind.
Squelch.
The Wrathful Orphan tore off the Archbishop's head. A spray of blood arced through the air. The Wrathful Orphan fell onto its back, its clawed feet still hooked onto the Archbishop's headless corpse, rolling several times across the ground.