Clack, clack, clack.
Claude's figure slowly approached from one end of the passage, golden holy light enveloping his body.
His aged body appeared remarkably upright.
His gaze swept over Caiman, who was sealed by the Emerald Tree, before turning to the five elves before him.
At this moment, Nephalian had also given up her struggle with Manfred.
A fourth-rank priest of light was not someone they could afford to be careless with.
As Eomer looked at the expressionless Claude, information about the man surfaced in his mind.
Claude Grey.
An illegitimate son born from an unexpected liaison between the previous head of the Grey family and a maid.
He was later sent into the Church of Light to become a priest, where he strictly followed the tenets and displayed outstanding talent for holy arts.
At the age of twenty-eight, he went to the Church of the Goddess of Light in the Lanxi Royal City to further his studies in holy arts and doctrine.
He returned to the Northern Territory at thirty-six and became the head priest of the Frost City Church of Light, responsible for the conquest of the Frost City dungeon at the time.
Frost City was a city completely controlled by the Grey family.
It contained a medium-scale dungeon known as the Frost Sea, which had a depth of thirty-four floors and had already been conquered.
At seventy-one, he became the vice-bishop of the Frost City Church of Light.
Now, at one hundred and thirty-one, he had been dispatched to the Well of Eternal Imprisonment in this Bentu Territory to serve as bishop.
Later, because the Life Casket he was escorting was stolen, he committed a grave error and resigned from his position as bishop, disappearing thereafter.
Claude raised his head and pointed his iron staff at Eomer and the other elves.
"This familiar aura... are you elves?"
Claude recognized the identity of the five elves at a single glance.
This meant that this Claude knew about the Grey family's secrets!
"It seems you've come to take revenge on the Grey family. Are you with that elf, Zeno?"
"That's fine. If I capture you, I might be able to find Zeno's whereabouts."
"It seems following along into the Well of Eternal Imprisonment was indeed the right choice."
Claude's indifferent tone caused the anger in Eomer's heart to build steadily.
"One greater magic grade, two lesser magic grade magical artifacts, and fewer than ten magic items!"
The two elven mages in the team spoke quickly, directly judging the number of magical artifacts the opponent held based on Claude's mana aura.
"Are you all just thin-blooded elves? It seems you've been away from your tribe for a long time."
"There is no longer any value in capturing you to purify the Grey family's hereditary bloodline."
Claude continued to use words to provoke the elves before him.
As long as the opponents lost their composure to anger, his chances of winning would increase significantly.
At the same time, Claude noticed Caiman sealed by the Emerald Tree.
He had to release Caiman to bolster their combat power.
Eomer was the first to raise his hand, activating the Air Iron Tail.
He stagnated the space's speed while simultaneously deploying a spatial barrier to prevent the opponent from escaping.
However, at this moment, as a fourth-rank priest of light, Claude himself didn't seem to have any intention of fleeing.
"A spatial-attribute magical artifact... what a fine item."
"However, this spatial stagnation seems to affect friend and foe alike."
Claude raised the iron staff in his hand as holy light enveloped his body.
Indeed, once the Air Iron Tail was activated, everything within the area would be slowed down.
This included the caster and any allies who entered the area of effect.
That was why, after deploying the Air Iron Tail earlier, Eomer had not let the other elves enter to finish off Caiman, only allowing them to cast magic from outside the range.
"It is enough to deal with you, Claude!"
Eomer activated a holy art, causing vines to grow wildly and coil toward Claude.
The holy light Claude had deployed in advance now firmly kept the vines at bay.
"Second-rank magic, Fire River!"
"Second-rank magic, Wind River!"
The two elven mages quickly cast their spells. A long river of fire and a long river of wind combined, rushing through the air toward Claude within the Air Iron Tail's range.
Claude raised his iron staff. He did not activate a holy art but instead triggered the iron staff's special ability.
In an instant, the river of fire before him was decomposed into pure mana elements, and even the surrounding vines disappeared along with it.
The range was exactly a five-meter radius.
[Elemental Decomposition] Lesser magic grade. Capable of directly decomposing all elements within range. After three uses, it requires one week to recharge.
Using the opening created by Elemental Decomposition, Claude activated a holy art.
"Fourth-rank holy art, Deprivation of Light."
Deprivation of Light could directly strip away all light within an area, causing an immediate loss of vision!
Darkness descended instantly.
In the pitch-black environment, Eomer did not panic and quickly activated an ability to resist.
"Third-rank holy art, Breath of Greenery!"
A plant-based holy art that could grant the target plant-like perception, allowing them to directly sense their surroundings.
Within the range of perception, Claude's body had already disappeared from the Air Iron Tail's area of effect.
"He's at my nine o'clock direction!"
The two mages in the team shouted quickly!
To the mages, Claude, who carried three magical artifacts, was as conspicuous as fireflies in the night sky.
At the nine o'clock direction, he had already escaped the spatial stagnation range of the Air Iron Tail!
Eomer quickly shifted the spatial stagnation range of the Air Iron Tail.
To prevent the opponent from misleading them, Eomer quickly followed up with a holy art at Claude's original position.
Yet at that moment, Eomer discovered that his Air Iron Tail was actually moving in the opposite direction, beyond his control.
Not good!
Claude had activated another magical artifact.
[Inverse Compass] Lesser magic grade. After locking onto a target and activating, it reverses the direction of one of the target's attacks. After three uses, it requires one day to recharge.
Claude held the compass and activated a holy art once more.
However, as the spatial stagnation range shifted in the opposite direction, Nephalian, holding her rapier, initiated a charge without hesitation.
The sharp blade of the swordsman pierced straight toward Claude.
As a priest, close-quarters combat was undoubtedly Claude's weakness.
Faced with Nephalian's thrust, he did not appear flustered in the slightest.
"Fourth-rank holy art, Spear of Condemnation!"
A holy art that originally required a moment of charging was unexpectedly released instantly.
The pure white cravat at his chest emitted a faint glow; it was his final greater magic grade magical artifact.
[Pious Whisper] Greater magic grade. The whisper of the devout brings strength and the favor of the gods.
[Special Effects] 1. Prayer Shortening: Increases the casting speed of holy arts.
2. Prayer Omission: Instantly casts non-angelic holy arts. After three uses, it requires one month to recharge.
3. Pious Prayer: Increases the power of holy arts.
The sharp spear of holy light instantly pierced through and evaporated Nephalian, flying straight toward the group behind her.
With no way to dodge, the elven second-rank heavy warrior raised his great shield.
"Immovable Fortress!"
Clang!
The moment of impact caused the holy light to explode. The elven heavy warrior braced against his shield, not retreating a single step.
As the holy light dissipated, the elven heavy warrior's shield was covered in cracks, and both his arms were broken.
"Second-rank magic, Tornado!"
"Second-rank magic, Violent Tremor!"
The two mages protected behind the elven heavy warrior cast magic again.
The earth shook, and a rampaging tornado was compressed within the labyrinth, roaring toward Claude.
Facing the attack, Claude cast a holy art again while simultaneously waving the Elemental Decomposition.
In an instant, the hurricane was directly decomposed, and the holy art was about to be triggered.
But at that moment, the fragments of the walls shattered by the tremor were not decomposed.
Elemental Decomposition could only decompose magical attacks.
The wall fragments knocked loose did not count as magical attacks.
These large and small fragments were accelerated to extreme speeds by the compressed hurricane, shooting toward Claude!
Claude was forced to stop his holy art and instead manipulated holy light to block the attack.
It was at this moment that Nephalian, who had been evaporated by the holy light earlier, reappeared, her rapier thrusting directly at Claude.
Claude was not surprised.
He raised the Inverse Compass.
However, Eomer in the distance also took out another box-shaped magical artifact and activated it without hesitation.
Nephalian's figure vanished instantly, and the effect of the Inverse Compass missed its mark.
Claude's pupils constricted, and he activated the greater magic grade magical artifact, Pious Whisper, to instantly cast a holy art.
Before Eomer had pulled out that magical artifact, Claude hadn't even detected a trace of its mana.
"Fourth-rank holy art, Wings of the Light Angel!"
In an instant, a pair of golden wings enveloped him, firmly protecting his body.
The blade Nephalian thrust was blocked halfway, but the other half had already pierced into his chest, nearly skewering his heart.
A rapier-wielding swordsman was fast and lethal.
Eomer held the open box while his other hand gripped the greater magic grade magical artifact, the Air Iron Tail.
[Mist Forest Box] Greater magic grade. A treasure chest hidden in a forest full of mist, possessing the power of concealment.
[Special Effects] 1. Stealth: The Mist Forest Box can hide the mana fluctuations of magical artifacts; there will be no mana fluctuations before activation.
2. Dense Fog: After opening and activating the Mist Forest Box, lock onto one target and directly hide their form for three seconds. After two uses, it requires three days to recharge.
3. Light Mist: After opening and activating the Mist Forest Box, summon mist to hide forms and block all perception.
The Dense Fog of the Mist Forest Box could still be used one more time.
Only one chance remained.
Nephalian retreated immediately after her strike. Claude deployed his defensive Wings of the Light Angel, which transformed into countless golden feathers that shot outward.
Manfred perceived all of this.
Eomer's plant-based perception holy art had also enveloped him within its range of enhancement, allowing him to sense the current state of the battle.
Should he step in?
He remembered Nephalian's words; he had long since run out of paths to retreat.
Therefore.
The answer was yes.
He took out the Candelabra. The Forbidden Fire Blessing glowed on the back of his hand as he lit the half-stub of a candle that looked like an oil painting.
The flickering light of the Forbidden Fire was rekindled once more.
Rate on N.U.
