"Gulu..."
Before the black puppet was touched by the flames that were as hot as lava, it shrank at an extremely fast speed. The originally scattered fragments and runes were all gathered together, and it turned back to its original bamboo shoot shape with dark red lines flowing on the surface.
A blood-red light poured out without warning, instantly repelling the oncoming flames!
The battle is far from over!
"What is she…keeping?"
Watching the fight between Nancy and the puppet of the Church of Life, Qi Ji frowned.
As it stands, the battle between the two is almost evenly matched, and their strength seems to be on a similar level.
But…this isn’t quite right.
The various spells that Nancy cast, although more skillfully used, were also more bizarre than conventional transmutation spells. They could actually steal the enemy's power and transform it into her own power, making it virtually impossible to defend against.
But after all... he is still at the stage of a high-level righteous mage.
However, when she arrived at the scene in time and pronounced the two "spells" with unnatural, sluggish, and stuck pronunciation, causing the puppet to freeze instantly and then explode immediately...
The power displayed far exceeds the realm of a righteous master.
In other words, Nancy's true strength is enough to destroy this puppet with a crushing advantage.
But now, she was fighting it back and forth.
"She is deliberately holding back her strength?" Qi Ji's eyes flashed with a mixture of crimson and orange, and he groaned in thought, "Or was it not her who made the initial move?"
Chapter 163 Unusual Rescue
"Boom!"
"call--"
"Swipe!"
"..."
Brilliant orange-yellow flames and eerie scarlet lights danced, intertwined and entangled with each other, dyeing the space not far away into a bright and magnificent painting, filled with rich fantasy colors.
The sounds of explosions, air tearing, hard objects colliding, and wind howling came one after another, with almost no intervals between them.
The mysterious black puppet of the Church of Life kept changing its shape, sometimes shrinking into a ball, resisting the flames that were surging like a tide, and violent ripples were rippling on its surface, like the surface of water being slapped.
Sometimes it is pressed into a thin sheet several millimeters thick, covering an area of more than ten meters in radius close to the ground, and then hundreds of black spikes grow at lightning speed, from bottom to top, trying to pierce the attacker above.
Sometimes it would explode with a loud bang, breaking into countless fragments of varying sizes, which would radiate bright and dazzling torrents like columns of blood in the vast red light.
And those dark red runes all over its surface and interior are like the surging and dancing waves on a mighty river, changing their shape, number, density and brightness all the time. There is hardly a single second when they are still, and there is not even a single repetition.
The rumbling explosion shook the earth, carrying an overwhelming impact that surged in all directions, forcing Gary's family, who were not too far away, to hurriedly hold their heads and lower their bodies to avoid being injured by the debris that was flying in the air like shrapnel.
While the puppet changed its shape to adapt to various states of attack and defense, it did not stay still, but moved continuously within a certain range with a very agile trajectory, like a big black rat avoiding predators in a sewer.
But Nancy was faster. Her steps were agile and her figure left a trail of afterimage. She dodged and defended against the puppets' attacks while seizing opportunities to launch counterattacks from all directions.
The bright orange-yellow flame absorbed the energy dissipated by the opponent's attack, and continuously rushed towards the target while replenishing and strengthening itself. The hot air waves were like an eclipse of the sun, baking the already scorched earth.
"Strange, what are you avoiding?"
Feeling the surging heat and flames, Qi Ji sat on the bench, crossed his legs, puffed up his cheeks and muttered impatiently:
"Is it because with an 'outsider' like me watching, it's inconvenient for you to show your true strength?"
Thinking of this, she noticed another suspicious point.
That is...Nancy seemed to be the only one who came.
Qi Ji released his own inspiration and quickly scanned the spiritual fluctuations within a radius of several kilometers, but did not find Nancy's companions.
"That's not right... If she is the official 'executor' of the empire, how could she come here alone?"
Where are her teammates?
Even if the team members cannot leave because they have to guard Sunset Harbor, the authorities will have to send a few people to help!
Letting Nancy, the captain of the team, go alone to the border where the country's control is weak and challenge the local illegal and evil forces... This is too nonsensical.
No matter how powerful Nancy is, and no matter how much trust the Sunset Harbor Superintendent's Office has in her, they can't let her handle such a serious matter alone!
"Wait, she... wasn't sent by the authorities. She came here on her own after seeing the telegram I sent?"
Qi Ji thinks this is very likely!
But why?
From Nancy's perspective, her sister's family, with whom she had a very close relationship, had encountered such a thrilling crisis in a faraway place, and she must have been extremely anxious and worried.
In this situation, as a member of the official security organization, Nancy's choice to report the situation is the best way to ensure the safety of her relatives and friends.
With the support of the power behind them, not only can the safety of their own actions be greatly improved, but they can also notify the Canyang Church near the Loen city area as quickly as possible, allowing the church to provide protection for Gary's family.
——I believe that as a state religion of a country, it will never tolerate a cult organization that conducts blood sacrifices within its sphere of influence, and will inevitably intervene forcefully after learning of the situation.
However, she did not do so. Instead, she crossed half the country alone and ran to this border area where the situation was unclear and the outcome was unpredictable to carry out rescue.
Qi Ji even suspected that after receiving the "telegram", she deliberately concealed the news and did not let her teammates and superiors know.
……why?
Is there any hidden secret?
Thinking of this, Qi Ji chuckled and looked at Nancy with a little more playfulness.
"It seems that this person has a 'secret'..."
Mumbling silently, she stretched out a hand and pointed with a smile at the battlefield where fire and thunder were raging:
"Then I'll give it a try and see what you're 'looking for'."
As soon as she finished speaking, the space behind her twisted and clusters of translucent ghost lights like candles condensed out of thin air, emitting extremely strange colors, neither purple nor red - colors that had never appeared in the human world.
Their brightness is very dim, and they are difficult to distinguish with the naked eye under the obscuration of the setting sun in the west.
"Hmm... should this move be called, 'The Candle of Redemption'? Never mind, the name is whatever you want..."
With a self-deprecating smile, she pinched her index finger and thumb with the hand she stretched out, and snapped her fingers crisply.
Then, those swaying will-o'-the-wisp fires began to move, drawing curved and rounded arcs, and quickly but silently attacked the black puppet dozens of meters away!
The puppet, which was still in a stalemate with Nancy, was shrinking into a ball. The dark red lines floating on its surface were forcefully propped outward to resist the orange-yellow flames burning around it.
The ghost fire flashing with strange light penetrated the flames surrounding it without any resistance and directly hit the dark red rune that served as a protective shield!
There was no violent explosion, no dazzling fire, and not even any sound.
The rune shield, which was not broken even by the fierce orange-yellow flames, instantly had several circular holes!
These holes are so abrupt, as if a few circles were cut out of a picture.
At the same time as the hole appeared, the first few ghost fires that came into contact with the rune shield also disappeared in an instant, just as abruptly.
And it was precisely because of the appearance of those circular holes that the puppet body behind the rune shield... also lost its only cover and was completely exposed to the remaining ghost fires.
"Swipe brush-"
With a whistling sound that didn't actually exist, they passed through the gap above the rune shield and hit the black and smooth surface!
There was another silent flash, and the black puppet's body...most of it disappeared.
The puppet, which was supposed to be round and regular in shape, suddenly had several incomplete spherical gaps, as if a huge spoon had dug out several pieces.
Chapter 164 Arrangement (Part )
This "Candle of Redemption" is not the result of mobilizing the power of any authority, but a "magic" that Qi Ji fabricated by imitating the performance of several authorities currently in his possession!
Strictly speaking, it is also a type of energy-shaping system, and there is no essential difference between it and "fireball", "black flame", "ice cone", etc.
——Just like a nuclear bomb explosion and a match burning are essentially just the release of light radiation and particle kinetic energy.
It is obvious that the "pledge candle" corresponds to the "nuclear bomb".
“Gululu!——”
After being hit by several balls of ghostly fire emitting strange flames and losing more than half of its volume in an instant, the black puppet could no longer maintain a stable state. Bubbles surged from the inside out like boiling oil.
The dark red runes floating around suddenly lost their order and shattered with crackling sounds. The powder they turned into did not dissipate, but instead burst into a dazzling scarlet light like a dam bursting.
The incomplete body was also distorted and deformed rapidly in the violent and uncontrolled red light, and was as restless as the shadow of a candle in a fierce wind.
"boom--"
The next second, the black puppet, which had been turbulent to a certain extent, seemed to have reached its limit and collapsed instantly!
Along with it came an unprecedented explosion! The terrifying energy was released recklessly at this moment, sweeping in all directions with unimaginable power.
The ground, which had been scorched yellow by the heat of the previous battle, had a shallow pit. With the position of the puppet as the center, everything on the ground around it was pushed outwards, like a huge and powerful broom sweeping past.
Small pieces of stone and dust were picked up by the heat waves and shock waves, and headed towards Qi Ji and Gary's family's scrapped carriage.
Qi Ji casually put down his arms and silently watched the fragments carrying the whistling sound approaching rapidly. He did not move or speak.
He simply simulated the spiritual fluctuations skillfully and quickly, outlining a series of specially designed rhythms in his consciousness.
"call--"
The invisible barrier gathered around the carriage without leaving any trace. No matter whether it was sharp stones like blades or trivial dust and grass fragments, they all deviated from their original tracks the moment they got two or three meters close to the carriage, swept over the edge of the carriage, dissipated in the air and sank into the ground.
Finally, the dust settled, and the scene that had been ravaged by a storm finally returned to calm.
In a shallow pit not far away, the black puppet had completely dissipated, and there were no pools of pitch-black, paint-like debris left around it like when it was first blown up by Nancy's strange magic, as if it had evaporated out of thin air.
At the very bottom of the shallow pit, a faint dark red light flickered faintly, and continued to weaken as the frequency decreased - this was the only remnant of the black puppet.
Less than ten meters away from the center of the explosion, a ball of "fire" stood on the ground.
It was nearly two meters tall and a bright orange-yellow color. It was clearly burning, but it was completely still, without any fluctuations. It seemed as if it was permanently frozen in a moment, appearing very unreal.
"Cough cough..."
A deliberately restrained low cough suddenly came from this huge and strange "fire", and then it quickly became transparent and finally dissipated, revealing the scene inside.
Nancy, the young "executor" with thigh-length navy blue hair, was standing in the unreal "fire" in a defensive posture with her hands in front of her, knees slightly bent and upper body slightly bent.
At her feet, in the small area that was also covered by the "fire", the growing weeds showed no signs of being burned or blown away, which was in sharp contrast to the miserable scorched earth just a few inches away.
After the "fire" that protected her from the puppet's out-of-control self-explosion disappeared, she lowered her arms and stood up straight, but did not let her guard down.
Instead, he glanced around very cautiously, as if he was confirming something.
This lasted less than two seconds, and soon her eyes moved to the shattered carriage, and then...
The scene was locked on Qi Ji who was sitting leisurely on the bench with his legs crossed.
Noticing her gaze, Qi Ji looked back at her without hesitation, and at the same time waved his hands beside his head a few times, with a playful smile on his lips:
"Hi!"
Nancy seemed choked by this completely informal attitude. Although her face was blurry and difficult to judge her expression because her back was facing the dazzling setting sun, Qi Ji could easily see that she was obviously stunned for half a second.
"I saw you were fighting with that thing for a long time and still couldn't finish it, so I helped you." Qi Ji said casually with a smile.
After staring at the cloaked girl for several seconds, who seemed young but had a very casual attitude based on her figure and voice, Nancy spoke slowly, as if considering:
"...You are Yaoliuliu?"
"Exactly."
The cloaked girl not far away responded in a mature tone that was obviously pretended, while slowly stroking her chin with one hand, from top to bottom, as if she was stroking a tuft of long beard that did not exist at all, which looked very confusing.
The girl sat in the carriage, her eyes, covered by the haze of her cloak, looked at him in an unfathomable way, and continued to speak in that strange old-fashioned tone:
"Is it... Nancy?"
Nancy seemed a little uncomfortable with the slightly strange tone. She did not answer the question whose answer was obvious. She just nodded and said:
"Thank you very much for your help just now. I am also grateful for the protection you provided to Renee and the others over the past few days."
——Renee is Mrs. Gary’s real name.
"Miss Yaoliuliu... is it over?"
Hearing the conversation between Qi Ji and Nancy, Mrs. Gary and her husband cautiously poked their heads out from under the bench in the carriage and looked at Qi Ji with a little hope.
