The power carried within that golden Hammer of Holy Light far exceeded Baron Sori’s expectations.
Like a massive bolt from a siege crossbow, it tore through the surrounding air, accompanied by the roar of wind and thunder. It struck toward Baron Sori with a force that a Bronze rank priest should have been absolutely incapable of wielding.
Forced into a corner, Baron Sori had no choice but to immediately adjust his stance. He erupted with battle qi, wrapping it around his crystal iron rapier to turn his intended strike against Leon into a desperate defense.
Clang!
The moment the rapier met the Hammer of Holy Light, the sound of clashing metal exploded, and a shockwave burst outward from the center of the impact.
Baron Sori felt a violent tremor run through the webbing of his thumb. The rapier felt as if it had slammed into a shield made entirely of solid crystal iron. The sheer force of the recoil left him inwardly horrified.
“Your attacks are useless against me!”
Baron Sori roared. He knew that while Leon’s Hammer of Holy Light possessed power far beyond the Bronze rank, it surely came with many restrictions and a massive cost!
Therefore, Leon would definitely be unable to unleash an attack of this magnitude a second time—
Before that thought could even fully form, a strong sense of crisis surged within Baron Sori again. He snapped his head up, his face filled with pure shock.
After the Hammer of Holy Light collided with his cyan battle qi-infused rapier, it had also been subjected to an intense recoil, bouncing back several feet.
However, it did not dissipate. Instead, it was snatched back into the palm of the Hand of Divine Spells. Like a bolt of lightning descending from the heavens, it swung down toward him once more with majestic power!
“Why?!”
Baron Sori was terrified. Even for a combination of two divine spells—the Hand of Divine Spells and the Hammer of Holy Light—why hadn't the magic dissipated after one strike? How could it continue to strike a second time?
In the forty-odd years he had lived, he had never heard of a divine spell being used consecutively after a single cast!
“Useless, useless! Still useless!”
Baron Sori gripped his rapier tight as cyan battle qi surged frantically from his body, coating the blade. He took a heavy step forward to meet the Hammer of Holy Light.
He was a Silver rank bloodline warrior!
Against a Bronze rank priest like Leon, he was expected to retreat? Absolutely impossible!
The Hand of Divine Spells gripped the Hammer of Holy Light, swinging through the air and leaving a trail of afterimages. The head of the hammer crashed down like a clap of thunder.
Consumed by rage, Baron Sori didn't dodge or evade. He thrust his rapier hard against the Hammer of Holy Light, the cyan battle qi erupting from him like a roaring bonfire.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The rapier and the hammer head collided violently, producing crisp, bell-like rings. Sparks flew as shockwaves swept through the area.
Leon watched the frantic Baron Sori. With every collision of the Hammer of Holy Light, the mental energy in his body was being drained like a receding tide. Soon, only about a sixth remained.
“My mental energy pool is too shallow. It severely limits my combat performance...”
Leon sighed. Because he had previously followed the path of a bloodline warrior, only to find he couldn't activate battle qi and lacked talent in that field, he had eventually switched to being a priest.
This had resulted in Leon lacking the long-term accumulation of mental energy.
Even though he had been practicing Holy Light Meditation recently to increase his mental energy intensity, he still couldn't compare to other Bronze rank priests. They might not be as hardworking as Leon, but the years of casting divine spells had allowed their mental energy intensity to grow slowly over time.
By comparison, while Leon’s proficiency in divine spells was incredibly high due to his experience points, his mental energy intensity was far inferior to that of other priests.
“Fortunately, I came prepared for this situation.”
Leon brushed aside his noble robes and reached for his belt, where a row of over a dozen high-quality, expensive potions hung.
These were temporary enhancement potions with absolutely no side effects, each having a different function.
Leon pulled out a vial containing a deep blue liquid, uncorked it, and tilted his head back to quickly drain the Mental Energy Recovery Potion.
“It’s even orange-flavored. This ‘Super Supreme Edition’ potion at a hundred gold coins a bottle is indeed quite good.”
The potion slid down his throat and into his stomach, where it was rapidly consumed and absorbed.
Leon instantly felt his mind clear. His mental energy pool, which had been nearly drained dry, was now like parched earth being nourished by a sudden spring rain, recovering and refilling at high speed.
Baron Sori, while dealing with the Hammer of Holy Light, saw this scene and felt his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets in fury.
“You... You’re shameless!”
As soon as these words left his mouth, not only Leon, but even the Falcon warriors in the back and Alicia showed expressions of confusion and bewilderment.
In a life-and-death struggle... the enemy isn't allowed to drink potions?
“Oh, I see!”
Leon laughed in realization. “It seems you recognize the value of this potion of mine.”
“What’s the matter? You can't afford potions yourself, so seeing me drink one that costs a hundred gold coins makes you fly into a rage out of poverty and inferiority?”
“Shut up!”
Baron Sori’s sore spot was hit, and his face distorted instantly.
His decision to betray the Heron Empire was driven not only by his dissatisfaction with the Sage King’s Human Rights Bill but also by the punishment from the Tribunal a few days ago.
Just because they found vampires in his shops, the Tribunal had fined him a thousand gold coins!
That was a thousand gold coins! Converted, that was a hundred thousand silver coins, or ten million copper coins!
Even as a noble who controlled many shops and businesses, it would take him several months to accumulate that many gold coins!
It made Baron Sori’s heart bleed.
And now, seeing Leon drink a hundred-gold-coin potion without a hint of hesitation or pain, Baron Sori felt an extreme sense of insult.
This insult fueled his rage, and thus—
Influenced by his anger, his rapier strike lacked proper form. The ferocious Hammer of Holy Light had already slammed toward him from a tricky angle.
In his haste, Baron Sori tried his best to block, but he could only barely deflect a portion of the force. Though the Hammer of Holy Light slowed for a fraction of a second, it still struck his sword arm with the terrifying weight of a mountain!
Crack—!
The sound of bones shattering rang out. The muscles and bones of Baron Sori’s arm were crushed together in an instant by the immense force. His body was sent flying like a ragdoll, skidding across the rocky ground and leaving a scorched trail over a dozen feet long.
Baron Sori curled up on the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
The massive impact of the Hammer of Holy Light had not only shattered his arm bones but had also transferred through his arm into his torso, causing severe internal tremors.
His breathing was thrown into complete disarray, and even the cyan battle qi burning around him like fire grew several shades weaker.
Leon, his mental energy fully restored, raised his priest’s staff high. A glowing orb of light condensed at the tip, but the sensation it gave Baron Sori was not one of warmth, but of scorching heat.
A heat as if one were being engulfed by flames.
“I warned you before. Talking during a fight is either for gathering information, unsettling the enemy’s mind, or buying time to achieve your own goals.”
Leon took a step forward, shaking his head slightly.
“How is it that you learned one lesson only to fail another?”
Rate on N.U.
