Artley’s complexion worsened, and he clenched his teeth and said, "Who among you has colluded with the Thousand-Eyed Demon?"
The two Legendary Mages vehemently denied any involvement, swearing oaths and insisting they had nothing to do with the Devil, not even blinking in the face of temptation.
"Then why did it take you so long to come out?"
"The enemy was too strong."
Artley’s chest heaved violently, clearly furious, and he glared menacingly at Plank and Borne, "I’ll include this in the report; you better have refused the Devil. If I find out anyone has lied, I swear I’ll make them pay with blood."
"Artley, you know me, I never hesitate in matters of right and wrong," Borne said, earnestly defending himself.
"Why are just the two of us in the report? Couldn’t it be you, Artley, who’s with the Devil..."
Plank snorted, and, seeing Artley’s stern expression, swiftly changed the subject, "The avatar of the Thousand-Eyed Demon has been destroyed, its thoughts further weakened. It seems to be buying time; we need to hurry and find its real body. Until now, everything has gone too smoothly."
"If you know it’s buying time, why didn’t you..."
Artley wanted to say more, but the timing wasn’t right. He shook his robes in frustration and abandoned the topic: "You two go back first. I must continue on my own from here. Remember, the Liberty Mage Alliance exists because Lundan always does!"
With these words, his figure blurred and vanished like moonlight into the ether.
"What the hell, that old guy doesn’t trust us? Do we look easily tempted by the Devil?" Plank said indignantly.
"I am not tempted by the Devil, but you, that’s not so certain," Borne refused to be lumped together with Plank, signaling him not to compare himself with Borne.
"Borne, there’s no one else around, Artley’s gone, tell me the truth, did you make a deal with the Devil, and if so, how far did it go?"
"I told you I didn’t!"
"I hardly believe you; I almost agreed myself, you definitely couldn’t resist."
On the second underground level, booming noises continued incessantly.
The Tactical Squad members set up a Holy Light Barrier, blocking the Corpse Demon from moving. Artley, clad in sturdy armor, wielded the Holy Light Spear like a storm, its edge honed to lethal perfection, breaking through the Corpse Demon’s keratinous defenses and injecting Fire Element to detonate internally.
As the adage goes, what doesn’t kill a Corpse Demon only makes it stronger.
Artley, rage unleashed, took on hundreds of monsters alone, slaughtering them with ease as if in a land free of demons, turning to elite monstrosities after dispatching the lesser ones.
Time spares no one, to unleash his full might again was clearly impossible. Relying on his Holy Scripture Armor and Holy Light Spear, he barely managed to suppress the Corpse Demon.
He could feel the Corpse Demon growing stronger, treating every attack as nourishment, bulking up with each meal. In a few more exchanges, the situation would likely turn to the Corpse Demon overpowering him.
The Familiars’ gluttonous ability was too strong; the most terrifying aspect wasn’t its growth, but its ability to fearlessly devour Holy Light as if it were food.
If not for this trait, Artley was confident he could have wiped out the Corpse Demon in the first round.
As he mulled this over, his eyes suddenly narrowed, inhaling a sharp breath.
The Corpse Demon’s pale arm melted and its body shrank, becoming much slimmer as the vanished flesh and blood congealed into a war spear. Except for its inability to wield Holy Light Magic, it was nearly identical to the Holy Light Spear in Artley’s hands.
The Corpse Demon not only treated attacks as food, but it also learned Artley’s combat skills in the midst of being hit.
Learning, is a form of feeding too!
The Corpse Demon, holding the war spear, let out a piercing screech with its fatal red lips, initiating an assault for the first time after countless beatings.
The spear swept across, with arcs of black mist extending the blade’s edge.
Amidst the intense vibrations in the air, broken rocks and dust rose like angry waves, rippling outwards in all directions.
Artley faced the brute force head-on, shouting loudly as his wings of light met the onslaught.
The clash of spears caused the ground to split open, shattering and tumbling, scattering large chunks of earth and stone that whistled through the air with a deafening noise.
With a tremendous roar, a fierce blast of air tore in every direction, breaking the Holy Light Barrier in the blink of an eye and forcing the squad members to retreat from the heart of the battlefield.
The seemingly impregnable Holy Light Barrier shattered, disbelief etched on everyone’s faces.
In the center of the battlefield, high-speed airflow caused intense, continuous thuds from friction.
Artley felt as though his Holy Light Spear was trapped in swamp mud; despite the radiant wings unleashing their full power, the spear wouldn’t budge an inch.
Before he could react, the Corpse Demon howled ferociously, a terror akin to an avalanche surging down, channeled directly into his arms through the spear.
Artley growled in rage, his arms trembling violently, his heart as though gripped in a vice, his blood unable to circulate, and the world in his eyes went momentarily gray.
The pressure from above intensified!
The trembling in his arms spread to his waist and then to his legs. The ground beneath Artley crumbled, his legs sinking to the knees, each leg numb and on the verge of being crushed to kneeling by the violent force.
Artley’s eyes turned red with rage, as a clergyman, he would rather be killed than kneel to a demon.
Ignoring his body’s lament, he roared, trying to unleash his second rage.
Before Artley could initiate his second assault, a Spatial Fissure opened, and a winged silhouette, slightly shorter and slender, appeared beside him, sweeping the Holy Light Spear to send the Corpse Demon flying.