Four phantoms simultaneously flickered in the four directions around Xia De, and four identical "Lake Goddesses" surrounded him on the water from the east, west, south, and north. All four simultaneously wielded their longswords. Accompanied by astonishing waves surging from the calm lake surface, water walls enveloped by sharp sword blades surged towards Xia De on the water.
"Raglai's Leap!"
A dried frog leg was thrown onto the water. Xia De leaped upwards with all his might, jumping into the air before the water walls from the four directions closed in.
The water walls were extremely fast, colliding and bursting into water mist at his feet in an instant.
Ling Runes on the Destiny Ring behind the angel lit up one by one. This time, it was a combination of inspiration 【Fool's Lock】 and Miracle 【Water】.
Pure water chains shot from the four sides of the bursting water curtain towards Xia De in the air. The chains were composed of exquisite runes. "She" softly reminded the falling Outsider in Xia De's ear:
【Once entangled by the chains, even you cannot escape.】
"Great Sin Chains!"
Black chains that seemed to absorb light shot out from Xia De's sleeve. As he fell, he manipulated them to swing rapidly around his body. The four pure water chains were quite powerful, but they could not withstand the pitch-black chains, which were simultaneously enhanced by "Gluttony greed" and "sloth."
As Xia De landed back on the water, the Great Sin Chains in the air had already strangled the four pure water chains. But before Xia De could rejoice, he had to swing his sword forward again to block the wooden long staff that was swung down at him.
Bang!
Water mist exploded again. The Miracle Ling Rune 【Angel's Power】 brought extremely terrifying power to the White-robed Lady. When the dragon and the angel, two immense forces, collided and intertwined above the water, the feet of the two people standing on the water actually sank downwards. The huge rings behind them simultaneously tilted forward from above, and with a harsh screeching sound, their Destiny Rings collided, rapidly spinning and splashing dazzling sparks:
"What is this situation again?"
At the same time, Xia De heard a very fine clicking sound on himself. He didn't feel his bones cracking. It was she who provided the answer:
【The Poet Grade relic "Impure Dragon Blood" you are carrying has developed cracks on its surface.】
"What?"
The sword and the long staff pressed against each other, both sides contending. Xia De felt the White-robed Lady's power still increasing; this was not her limit:
"Can a Four-Ring Warlock have such strong power?"
Being suppressed in power was not the worst thing. The wooden staff in the White-robed Lady's hand seemed to "come alive" like roots and sprouts. The Moonlight Greatsword cut a small notch on the wooden staff, and wriggling wooden sprouts and dense tentacles instantly gushed out from the notch. The next second, they actually grew and clung to Xia De's sword, as if devouring the sword and Xia De's arm together.
"Oh!"
He wanted to retreat with his sword, but the wooden staff had completely "stuck" to the Moonlight Greatsword. The lady in front of him gave Xia De no chance to find a solution, as the water sword in her right hand was already slashing towards him.
Left with no choice, Xia De could only summon the yellow moon Moonlight Greatsword with his left hand to parry. However, without the Miracle enhancement of the 【Night Watchman】, coupled with his left hand's unskillfulness and the inherently weak power of the yellow moon Moonlight Greatsword, Xia De not only failed to defend successfully with one strike, but his left hand's sword shattered into light dust instead.
Seeing the water sword about to hit him, in the tingling sense of crisis, Xia De released the 【Night Watchman】 and took a step back, then appeared on the lake surface 20 meters away.
He used the backward step to avoid the casting wind-up (Note), seamlessly connecting it with a throwing motion:
"Lightning Spear!"
A blasting silver-white Lightning Spear pierced through the water mist and was thrown towards the White-robed Lady, but the latter merely waved the water sword in her hand, and the lightning was submerged by a huge wave. The massive golden Destiny Ring was now spinning at an even faster speed, as if devouring the surrounding water vapor.
At this moment, the 【Moonlight Greatsword】 that was "stuck" to the long staff shattered, revealing the silver sword inside. The White-robed Lady's wooden staff did not devour the night watchman, but instead caused it to fall into the lake water, and Xia De temporarily lost this weapon.
"Truly amazing."
Xia De sighed in his heart, drawing a cross of light in front of him with both hands, then turning sideways and crashing forward. The White-robed Lady raised her staff and summoned another water wall. After the Silver Moon Slash broke through the water wall, she used the water sword in her hand to parry again.
From this, it seemed that Xia De's full-power "Silver Moon Slash" was stronger than the "Lightning Spear," but the latter had a larger attack range. However, he still couldn't cause any damage to the opponent.
【You have done very well. She is an ancient angel, and you are an Outsider who has only been exposed to mysticism for half a year. There is no need to expect a better situation.】
As Xia De used "Raglai's Leap" to dodge again, "she" whispered in Xia De's ear.
"But this is not enough. What I need to do is defeat her, or at least last five minutes."
Several small streams of water tried to entangle Xia De's feet. Xia De, mimicking the technique Mr. Bernhardt had demonstrated, kicked out an arc-shaped light blade with his right foot to cut off those water tentacles, but was thus entangled by the White-robed Lady at close quarters again.
Without the 【Night Watchman】, Xia De could still use the 【Moonlight Greatsword】 to fight, but swinging his sword against the angel became increasingly disadvantageous.
In fact, Xia De was not good at dealing with targets like the "Lake Goddess." Many of his Miracles and relics, such as "Sunlight Ray" for restraining undead, the "higgs dragon head stone" as an enemy of dragons, and the "night watchman" and his own Moonlight as bane of evil and darkness. However, against normal "divine and benevolent" targets, these methods were quite restricted.
【You still have my power.】
"She" whispered, as the escalating battle raised large swathes of water mist. The sensation of water droplets sliding down his neck made Xia De mistakenly believe someone was truly caressing his neck.
Xia De couldn't be distracted at all at this moment. The White-robed Lady had indeed suppressed her power to be on par with his, but Xia De always felt that fighting her on the surface of Lake Cherub was like fighting the master of a Mystic Lock or Sublimation Words within a Mystic Lock or Sublimation Words.
"the little match girl!"
Thinking of this, snowflakes fell from the sky, and a silver Moonlight phantom appeared above Xia De's head, but it only slightly calmed the surging waves for a moment. The power of the Mystic Lock could indeed affect the White-robed Lady's control over Lake Cherub, but this was far from enough.
At this point, the battle entered a white-hot stage. Xia De's spirit was rapidly depleting, and he had to find a way to change the situation.
"What power do you have to help me? Can you interfere with reality now?"
Xia De asked in his mind. "She" seemed to know what Xia De was thinking, and her gentle smile made Xia De a bit embarrassed:
【You know what help I can give you.】
The Moonlight Greatsword in his right hand shattered again, and silver light dust was submerged in the surging waves. These waves were stirred up by Xia De; he leaped into the sky from the water curtain. Before the White-robed Lady could flap her wings and leave the water to catch up, Xia De moved 20 meters away into the high air.
As he descended, he confirmed in his heart:
"Help me calibrate the direction. We only have one chance. If this fails, I truly won't have any weapons left."
【Yes, only one chance.】
"Good! Then let me see the power of Knowledge!"
As he plunged into the water, he bent over with the momentum of his descent, thrusting both hands into the water in front of him. Without time to stand up, he rolled to the left on the water, dodging the water arrow descending from the sky, but at this moment, Xia De already had an additional weapon in his hand.
A bow, a water bow made entirely of the strange lake water beneath his feet, had appeared in Xia De's hand. Using the spell "manipulating water flow," Xia De formed the liquid beneath him into the shape of a bow. Although it couldn't compare to the water sword in the White-robed Lady's hand, all Xia De needed was a bow with mystical properties.
The 【Chaotic Time Blade】 could only be attached to a sword with extraordinary power, and the 【Aiken Ola's Arrow of Knowledge】 could only be fired by a bow or crossbow with extraordinary power. Although the arrow was in Professor Drake's hand, Xia De hadn't found the bow from decades ago. Fortunately, the "Lake Goddess's" action of drawing a sword from the water reminded him that the water beneath his feet was not ordinary water.
When Xia De stood up, the wooden box fell into the water, and the golden arrow had already appeared in his left hand.
Bending the bow and nocking the arrow, the golden arrowhead and bronze patterns reflected a brilliant luster in the afternoon sun.
The arrowhead in the water mist pointed towards the angel in the air, the water mist swirling in the low sky like tentacles.
Above the water mist, the white-winged lady held a staff in one hand and a sword in the other, emanating a soft glow. She had her back to the sun, which was precisely in the center of the massive golden ring, casting its light from the three core Ling Runes onto the mortal on the water.
Xia De held his breath, concentrating his mind to guide his own power to control the strange water in his hand:
"Help me aim."
【Now relax your muscles, to the left...】
"She's" gentle voice quickly assisted Xia De in calibrating the power and the direction of the arrowhead. As the water bow's string was drawn, the golden arrowhead of the 【Aiken Ola Knowledge Arrow】 shimmered with dazzling light in the sunlight that passed through the angel's Destiny Ring.
The Outsider's homeland Knowledge, Xia De Hamilton's exploration of secrets in this world, and his unwavering determination at this moment, urged Xia De to draw the bowstring to its maximum.
At this moment, time seemed to stand still. The holy angel held a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, spreading her arms. An indescribable power rose from the water, attempting to stop Xia De's actions.
At the same time, an ancient dark golden light bloomed amidst the exploding golden light. The power that emerged from Xia De's Knowledge instead illuminated him. Dense transparent characters flowed from Xia De's hands, coiling around the arrow and bow. In that silent dark golden light, he seemed to suddenly grow taller, and the burst of physical strength caused his clothes to directly tear.
He was breathing, breathing heavily. With each breath, he could feel a stronger power surging between the bow and arrow in his hands. Dense characters flowed in the water, in the arrow, and in Xia De's skin and eyes. Although not directly facing a deity at this moment, the palm holding the arrow developed cracks in the bursting light, and those cracks climbed up his arm, instantly spreading throughout his entire body.
Steam and water mist were illuminated by the golden cracks. At this moment, Xia De was like a golden ember ignited.
The power of Divine Radiance appeared for the first time without Xia De directly contacting a deity.
