The large book floating at the edge of the lake was about to turn to its last page. The white mist drifting from Lake Heart Island could not obscure its glow; the dazzling silvery-white light was so brilliant that it grew stronger during the short few minutes of their conversation.
Silvery-white light specks danced around the book, and information-dense light streams flowed between different pages. Just from its appearance, this relic was more beautiful than most relics Xia De had seen, and from the fluctuations of the whisper element, Xia De even believed this relic was very likely Angel-level (Level 1).
“You can believe my words, because what I know, Apner Library also knows. They are on good terms with the Orthodox Church, and although they exchanged intelligence with us for selfish reasons this time, they will certainly inform the Church of these matters later.”
Miss Pa Wo continued, her eyes appraising Xia De, knowing that this man was in charge.
“We are not members of the Five Gods Church.”
“Then to which side do you belong?”
As she spoke, she looked at her book, which at this moment finally turned to its last page, then slowly descended. Miss Pa Wo took the giant book with the silver cover, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth:
“Alright, although the final result wasn’t calculated, my work is done. Well, gentlemen, until next time, I still need to hurry to Lake Heart Island.”
“Do you think you can leave?”
Xia De asked, Miss Pa Wo shook her head, extending three fingers:
“3.”
A sound came from the grass behind her.
“2.”
Xia De's ears could discern that someone was quickly walking towards them.
“1.”
A thin, eyebrowless man in a brown robe emerged from the bushes, his hands holding a brass box covered with water plants. He was a Low-Ring Ring術士. The whisper element diffused from the brass box, and with his arrival, it even caused the mist in this area by the shore to forcibly dissipate.
This looked very strange, as if a semi-circular bowl had been placed over him. And the box itself was not “quiet”; several dark electric arcs constantly flickered on its surface, and faintly, Xia De heard roaring sounds.
He silently blocked Tifa and the cat, raising an eyebrow, trying his best to control his expression. The man holding the box was none other than Karl Liebesich, the Cultists who worshipped the evil god raging storm, whom he had met in Huntington City. The relic in his hand was the angel-level relic he had always coveted, the 【Wrath of the Gods】.
“If I don’t get the divinity tonight, remember to remind me to practice Miracle for one hour every night for the next month by sleeping late.”
【Okay.】
“You see, how could I not have companions when performing such a high-risk mission? Although the professors have already landed on the island and are intercepting the Church’s squad, I still have this one beside me. Of course, if I had anticipated being intercepted by you, I should have brought more people. Such low-probability events are truly annoying.”
Miss Pa Wo said to the silent man:
“I'll leave first, Mr. Liebesich, you deal with these two. Don't linger in battle, Ring術士 who appear in places they shouldn't usually have something strange about them. The Church’s High-Ring Sorcerer should appear within five minutes. If you cannot guarantee a one-hit kill, do not stay here for too long.”
“Yes, madam.”
The Cultists said softly, then moved to face Xia De.
Tifa stepped out from behind Xia De, and before Xia De could speak, she handed the cat she was holding back to Xia De:
“Madam, do you really think you can leave?”
Steam mist appeared behind Tifa, followed by the high-heat rotating Destiny Ring of a Six-Ring Arcanist. Seeing that Tifa was a Middle-Ring Ring術士, the Cultists holding the holy relic immediately avoided her:
“Miss Pa Wo, although I am hired by you, according to the agreement, I am not responsible for confronting such opponents.”
Miss Pa Wo stopped her steps, which were preparing to enter the lake water, and turned to look at Tifa, holding the book:
“Hexacle?”
She said, opening her large book and glancing at it:
“My win rate is only fifty-nine percent?”
“I believe your win rate is one percent.”
Tifa said with a serious expression, whether to help Xia De or Miss Jialinna, she had to keep this woman here now.
“Numbers don't lie. If you want to challenge probability, madam, then come with me!”
Miss Pa Wo suddenly leaped backward, directly entering the thick mist on the lake. Tifa was not in a hurry; her high heels stepped on the water surface, and the spiritual light of her Destiny Ring behind her illuminated all directions, also entering the water area.
The two ladies quickly disappeared from the sight of Xia De and Mr. Liebesich, the Cultists. In fact, Tifa was at a disadvantage. Miss Pa Wo came to Lakeview Manor fully prepared, but Tifa, when invited by Xia De to the garden, did not know there would be such a battle afterward.
But Xia De had great confidence in the black-haired maid, and furthermore, he could not be distracted at this moment, because the Cultists was vigilantly watching him.
Xia De shook his head slightly:
“You don’t have to be too nervous. I’m just a Low-Ring Ring術士. Compared to the two ladies, I’m clearly not strong.”
As he spoke, he took a step, crossing the thin mist, and appeared beside the Cultists holding the brass box. The Moonlight Greatsword in his hand swung down, but it was blocked by the raised box with a clang.
Silver moon light fragments and dark electric sparks splattered. The brass box seemed to flash a light the moment it was touched by the Moonlight Greatsword. The blasphemy element, representing the power of the evil god, impacted Xia De, who was close by, but he felt indifferent to it.
Although he currently lacked divinity, Xia De, having been cleansed by three drops of divinity and possessing the Original Fire, felt no mental impact from the leakage of divine power. In fact, the slight power leaking from the divinity made him even more excited.
Although the Moonlight Greatsword, which cut through the night, failed to injure the enemy, the power brought by Xia De’s strong physique almost made the eyebrowless Karl Liebesich drop the box in his hand.
After blocking Xia De’s sneak attack, the Cultists retreated into the water, using the momentum carried by the greatsword. The Cultists, who came from a coastal region, also possessed the power to walk on water, just like Xia De. In an instant, only a blurry figure remained in the white mist:
“Do you think you can get away?”
Xia De didn't want to involve Mia in the battle, so he temporarily placed this cat, which looked like a dog, on the shore and also pursued onto the water. Although he started a few seconds later than the opponent, in just two or three steps, Xia De caught up with the opponent in the white mist on the water:
“Moonlight Slash.”
His hands clapped together and then pulled apart sharply, and a brilliant arc of light flew across the water surface under the moon. The Cultists instinctively felt danger and hurriedly stopped, turning to block with the box in his hand. With a crisp sound, the silver moon arc once again collided with the angel-level relic 【Wrath of the Gods】, scattering into large pieces of light fragments on the lake surface.
But this blow was by no means without effect; the enormous impact knocked the Cultists, who was using the relic as a “shield,” down onto the water. And as he tried to get up by supporting himself on the water, Xia De, ten seconds later, took another step and appeared before him:
“Moonlight Greatsword!”
This time, he absolutely could not let the opponent escape again, so he acted without any reservations.
The Destiny Ring of the Three-Ring Arcanist appeared in the thick mist at this moment, and the 【Storm】 Ling Rune flickered with spiritual light. The kneeling Cultists held 【Wrath of the Gods】 in his left hand, and the air he was virtually gripping in his right hand became distorted. As a wisp of dark lightning surged from the brass metal box into his body, he virtually gripped with his right hand and swung an invisible sword upwards:
“Storm Sword!”
Crack!
The two swords met, electric sparks flew, as if the air itself had exploded, and Xia De and Karl Liebesich were simultaneously thrown in two directions.
Xia De felt his greatsword touch a raging storm in the air, and then electric light surged into his arm, instantly paralyzing half of his body. He stumbled back several steps before stopping. But the Cultists was also in pain; although the light trail of the descending Moonlight Greatsword shifted slightly, he still felt as if the bones in his right arm were broken.
Moreover, even though he caught this sword with the help of the holy relic, the brilliant silver Moonlight still affected his body. He could clearly feel that the power of the Moonlight was restraining the power of the holy relic.
“Indeed, you are only a Low-Ring, yet you were chosen and hired by the Truth Society. The power you can exert through relics is definitely very strong.”
The paralysis in half of Xia De's body quickly returned to normal. Liebesich, who stood up in the thick mist on the water, heard his completely normal voice and looked over in surprise:
“You recovered so quickly?”
“I was struck by lightning some time ago, and then I found that my resistance to lightning increased.”
As Xia De spoke, he suddenly pulled the chain in his hand. When he arrived in front of the Cultists using “Raglai's Leap” just now, the Great Sin Chains had already fallen into the water. As the Cultists avoided the Moonlight Greatsword, the chains under the water had reached the opponent's feet through the water.
At this moment, the Living Rope Trick manipulated the chains, shooting out from under the water like a long snake, coiling around the right leg of this eyebrowless man:
“What is this?”
For Ring術士 whose level was even lower than Xia De's, the Great Sin Chains’ effect of restricting mobility was quite significant. Karl Liebesich immediately froze in his rising posture, stopping on the water. The three runes of “Gluttony, greed, sloth” on the chains flickered with an eerie light, gradually coiling upwards from his right leg, climbing his body until they reached his Destiny Ring.
As the dark chains touched the Destiny Ring, the Ling Rune, which had been flickering with spiritual light, gradually dimmed, and the Destiny Ring itself stopped rotating.
Xia De didn't waste any words with him, quickly stepped forward, extended his left hand which wasn't holding a sword, and tried to snatch the box he was holding. But when his left hand was still about three inches away from the box covered with water plants, the lid automatically opened a crack.
