Chapter 701

Chapter 86: Degeneration Part Eight

Zzzz—

In the center of the town, the running current made the already scorching air even more intense. Swordsman Carlos flickered through the shadows with astonishing speed, weaving through the ruins and rubble. He appeared near the burning sphere, swinging his sword to create several sword shadows, all of which were blocked by countless blood-red tentacles.

Dead smoke coiled into several ferocious smoke snakes, twisting and chasing after him. However, they couldn’t keep up with the man’s speed. Even if the man was faster, he couldn’t break through the tentacle defenses of the sphere to save the girl trapped inside the burning blood. Both sides were locked in a brief struggle, neither able to gain the upper hand.

Soon, surging flames rushed from the west, and a woman named Elma burst out of the fire, landing in the center of the bumpy dirt path, not far from the sphere. She lifted her head, watching the lightning flash in the sky, and with a huge bloody hand behind her, she swung it, sending several intense fireballs flying.

On the half-collapsed wall, just as Carlos dodged the black mist, his feet had yet to steady when he heard a whistling sound coming from the left. Sensing the sudden rise in temperature, he retreated again like lightning, and several fireballs exploded where he had been standing, shattering the remains of the wall.

Amidst the flying debris, a blue electric arc streaked across the road below, reaching Elma in an instant. In the arc of light, a sharp blade stabbed toward her chest.

Clang!

A ringing sound echoed.

The longsword wrapped in lightning suddenly struck, but Elma remained calm. Just as she was about to dodge, she heard a faint “zizz” under her feet. Immediately, her body stiffened as electricity surged up from her feet, paralyzing her. She watched helplessly as the sword pierced her chest, “puff,” and the tip emerged from her back, revealing a bearded man’s face.

“Heretic, you’re still alive…”

Carlos’s gaze was calm, but his pupils concealed deep anger. He thrust the sword into the other’s chest and then pulled it down violently toward his right waist. The electrified blade tore out from his abdomen, spraying burning blood and organs onto the ground.

“Cough!”

Elma spat out blood.

“Was that fireball your doing?”

The man turned his head to avoid the blood spray, speaking to her, but his attacks did not stop. He knew that such actions alone would not kill her. Taking a slight step back, lightning flashed, and he slashed at the heretic’s neck.

“What did you do to her?!”

Pfft!

The sharp blade cut into Elma’s pale, bloody neck, spewing more hot blood. But this strike, which should have severed her head, was stopped halfway by a suddenly raised hand grabbing the blade.

The man’s pupils contracted sharply.

He saw that the heretic’s hand was now covered in layers of bloody scales, like the claws of some terrifying beast, with long black barbs growing from her fingertips. The barbs scratched the blade, leaving deep marks, and the blue electric arcs, striking her arm, were deflected by the scales.

Not good…

Carlos decisively withdrew, releasing the sword handle and retreating instantly more than ten meters away.

Ahead, the heretic snapped the sword in her hand, and the scorching wind blew the tattered cloak off her body.

She was wearing what seemed to be a mismatched red robe, with loose pants like riding breeches, barefoot, and her waist was tightly bound. Her white hair flowed behind her.

She casually threw away the broken sword blade, and with a series of “sizzling” sounds, the terrifying wounds on her neck and chest rapidly healed as flesh buds writhed. The blood also stopped flowing as black smoke rose from the wounds.

The woman exhaled sparks and slowly raised her head.

Half of her face, already charred and withered, was now covered in the same blood-red scales as her arms. One foot was also covered, nearly the entire half of her body enveloped in those scales. The scales even climbed onto the strange bloody hands that grew from her back, making her arms, which looked bloody and skinless, resemble the claws of a fearsome giant beast, gleaming metallically in the flames.

“Angelization… No, it’s not complete. It’s semi-angelization…”

Carlos felt a chill rise as he observed the heretic’s hideous appearance. He softly spoke a new term he had recently learned from his teacher, his eyes narrowing like a hawk, never leaving the woman’s movements. “To survive a direct hit from Master’s Star-Cutting Slash and still appear here, what kind of monster are you?”

As he spoke, he tore off the gray cloak on his body and threw it aside, revealing the silver light armor underneath. Two long swords were strapped to the side of the armor, indicating he was well-prepared for this confrontation.

“Clang.”

He drew one of the swords and held it horizontally in front of him.

“Messian…”

Carlos heard the heretic whisper, as if answering his question or only speaking to herself.

In the next moment, she moved.

Her injured body transformed into flowing flames, instantly rushing back towards Carlos. The massive claw behind her erupted in fire, smashing down toward Carlos. However, the man was prepared and retreated again amidst the lightning flashes. The massive claw struck the ground, causing a blazing explosion, with flames and yellow earth splashing everywhere. The woman’s figure charged out from the flames, pursuing the retreating lightning fiercely.

In the blink of an eye, the clashing sounds echoed through the ruins at the center of the town. Lightning arcs danced within the crimson flames, sending shocking winds spreading outward!

Unlike the brutal, unreasonable frontal combat style of the plump old crone Apfel, the explosions never ceased since the beginning of their clash. Carlos did not engage the heretic head-on, nor did he directly confront her fiery and powerful strikes. Instead, he relied on his unparalleled speed, freely moving around her. Each time he narrowly avoided her attacks, he waited for an opportunity to counterattack, striking fiercely once he found a gap.

Their figures entangled in the ruins, yet after more than ten seconds, neither had touched each other.

Although Carlos had a significant advantage in speed, Elma possessed extraordinary combat skills and sensory abilities. Whenever she caught a gap, a sword would strike, but she always detected it first and stepped aside in advance. Even if she couldn’t dodge in time, she would quickly raise her right arm, letting the blade strike the blood-red scales with a dull “clang,” causing no harm.

This won’t work…

Again, they crossed paths and separated. Carlos, carrying lightning, darted to a corner of the ruins, watching the heretic, who was surrounded by raging flames, preparing to retaliate. He felt his lungs burn with heat, his face flush, and the smell of burning armor on him.

He realized that continuing this way would not only fail to produce results quickly but could also result in injury during the fight. He could not save little Hill, and it would be a waste of time and effort. So, he decided, looking up at the fireball, the arcs of lightning around him flickered, and his figure shot up into the sky.

Sword Technique—

Cross Sky Slash!

The man, amidst the lightning, retracted his sword to his waist, flipping his wrist, and slashed twice upward almost too fast for the eye to see. The two swords clashed simultaneously, and the electric arc cross-shaped aura emerged, “whoosh,” flying toward the hovering fireball.