Chapter 192 – Killing Erok

Erok never expected to be ambushed. The transportation of the “High-Concentration Holy Water” was an absolute secret. At the very least, he had maintained an extremely low profile all the way to Mimig City. The high-profile vigilance upon arriving in Mimig City was only because the city was too close to the enemy’s front lines, making it necessary to take precautions.

He hadn’t even worried about being attacked by the “Glory Army.” Although Princess Trelinka had five loyal Formal-Level experts under her command, they were all busy leading troops and couldn’t possibly be sent to assassinate him. For this reason, Erok had let his guard down.

It wasn’t until now, when two clearly premeditated powerful enemies appeared before him, that Erok was left utterly bewildered!

But even in his confusion, Erok didn’t hesitate to react in combat. As a devout follower of the Lord of the Dawn, dying while carrying out the Church’s mission wouldn’t frighten him—instead, it would fill him with honor (one of the tenets of the Church of Dawn—the Church’s commands are absolutely sacred).

When the small chapel’s door was shattered, Erok almost instinctively used his most proficient divine spell—Summon Lesser Celestial!

As the Formal-Level priest prayed devoutly, a pristine portal opened beside him. A celestial with pure white wings stepped out of the glowing gateway. She wore light, white armor, and her longsword was clearly enchanted with a “Spellbreaking” effect.

Seeing a combat celestial emerge, Punk immediately said to Bloodclaw:

“Well, do you want to kill her, or should I?”

“Leave it to me!”

Bloodclaw agreed without hesitation. Although he had no desire to join the fight, Punk was undoubtedly at his most alert right now. If Bloodclaw stood by and did nothing, it would raise suspicions of betrayal, and Punk would surely attack him as well. Therefore, the basic principle of cooperation was for both to either engage in combat or remain out of it.

Secretly worried about complications and wanting to finish the battle quickly, Bloodclaw didn’t hold back. With a sinister “hehe” chuckle, a torrent of blood gushed from his body, forming a humanoid shape made of writhing blood to his left. Its height and size were roughly eighty percent similar to Bloodclaw’s own, and most eerily, the “blood figure’s” face bore an exaggerated, sinister grin.

“Hehe, beautiful lady, would you care to dance with me?”

As he spoke, Bloodclaw and the temporarily “split” blood figure swiftly charged toward the battle-ready celestial from both sides. The two crimson figures and the pristine, glowing form immediately clashed in a fierce melee.

Seeing that Bloodclaw wasn’t slacking off, Punk stopped paying attention to his movements. Although he was facing a priest three levels lower than himself, Punk wouldn’t let his guard down in the slightest.

Sticking to his usual battlefield control tactics as a mage, Golem Two, bolstered by four or five spell buffs, charged toward Erok, while Punk quickly began preparing his spells.

“Heretics! Prepare to die!”

Faced with an extremely unfavorable situation, Erok showed not a trace of fear. Shouting in fury, he gestured and cast two Formal-Level divine spells—Vengeance Blades!The golden blades of light carved two dazzling and sharp trajectories through the air, their keen radiance giving the illusion that merely looking at them would slice one’s eyes open!

But since Punk knew the spells his opponent excelled in, how could he not prepare? In fact, long before launching his assault, Punk had already cast an additional layer of protection specifically tailored against Erok.

Formal-Level Conjuration Spell — Protection from Good!

Metamagic – Mana Compression!

This spell, designed to counter forces of the good alignment, proved exceptionally effective. The two “Vengeance Blades,” purely of the good alignment, dissipated into faint divine energy amid distortion without even making contact with Punk’s “Advanced Mage Armor.”

Erok clearly hadn’t anticipated that his two proud attacks would be so effortlessly neutralized. However, the rapidly shifting situation left no room for extraneous thought. It was crucial to remember that as Erok launched his assault, Punk’s attack was equally swift. Now, with Erok’s two “Vengeance Blades” rendered useless, Punk’s strike had reached him within a thousandth of a second.

“Damn it! May your radiance, O Dawn, illuminate the darkness!”

Sensing the magical lock on him, Erok immediately prayed aloud to the Lord of the Dawn. Simultaneously, a pure white brilliance erupted from the short staff in his hand, enveloping him in a membrane of light that appeared as delicate as foam yet radiated an indestructible aura.

But once again, events unfolded contrary to his expectations. The magic Erok sensed had indeed descended, yet it wasn’t the powerful offensive spell he had imagined!

Instead, Golem Two’s “Iron Shackles” successfully manifested. Metallic tendrils coiled upward from beneath the light membrane, their flexibility effectively restricting Erok’s movements. For a moment, he found himself completely immobilized. In the ensuing half-second, hindered by the Iron Shackles, Erok became a veritable sitting duck!

In that critical half-second, Punk’s spell struck the light membrane encasing Erok unimpeded.

“Formal-Level Conjuration Spell — Lesser Disjunction!”

“Metamagic – Mana Compression!”

Under the influence of the peculiar energy, the light membrane before Erok shattered like glass struck by a heavy hammer. Every area touched by the spreading patterns of the “Lesser Disjunction” spell fragmented into pieces.

Witnessing his most vital defense shattered in a single blow, Erok was naturally horrified. He hurriedly attempted to reactivate the divine magic in his short staff. Logically, Erok hadn’t reached a dead end yet, as this Formal-Level divine spell, named “Dawn Barrier,” could be used up to three times per day.

But Erok’s efforts were doomed to futility. To his dismay, the staff that should have glowed with sacred brilliance remained unresponsive. Instead, a dark green crack ran through its shaft, and the crystal embedded in its head abruptly dimmed. All of this mercilessly confirmed one fact—the staff had been destroyed by Punk’s “Lesser Disjunction” spell!

“How is this possible? How could ‘Lesser Disjunction’ possess such… power?”

Erok stared wide-eyed at the fractured short staff, muttering to himself in disbelief.This was the final thought in the life of the priest named Erok.

The very next second after the light membrane shattered, Golem Two’s claws, wreathed in Abyssal energy, brutally pierced through the side of Erok’s skull, instantly destroying his brain.

Punk had used Metamagic – Mana Compression to greatly enhance his “Lesser Disjunction,” while Erok had only the single layer of “Dawn Barrier” for protection. After shattering the “Dawn Barrier,” the “Lesser Disjunction” still retained substantial residual energy and immediately targeted the magical items on Erok’s person. His highest-quality short staff naturally bore the brunt of it first!

The entire battle was extremely brief—from Golem Two breaking through the door to Erok being slain, less than five seconds had passed. Everything concluded in the blink of an eye—this was the combat of the powerful, sometimes lasting centuries, other times mere seconds!

(End of Chapter)