Chapter 590: Chapter 558 Magical Beasts Know Martial Arts (2/3)
"Huai Guang Church really wonât care? Even if itâs not a natural disaster, there are still their churches in the Avak region, right?"
As the team advanced toward the northern sewers, Ian complained to Tres. It was the kind of question someone of his age and theoretically would ask.
In the role-playing aspect, Ian always grasped the essence, so no one felt there was anything wrong with his question.
No country or organization really likes the Huai Guang Church.
But when it really comes down to the crunch, everyone hopes the Huai Guang Church will help them.
This was precisely because they never intervened in the disputes among nations and they had never missed even once when a natural disaster struck.
"The Huai Guang Church really wonât care."
Tres shook his finger, "Before I set out on the mission, I asked an acquaintance about the Huai Guang Churchâs view on the situation in the Avak region."
"The result is that the Huai Guang Church believes the events in the Avak region are not a natural disaster but man-made. Even if it is described in the gravest terms, it is nothing more than a war within Humans, and they cannot interfere. Even if it causes extremely serious consequences in the future, they would accept it," Tres said, imitating the solemn tone of a Huai Guang monk with uncanny accuracy, thanks to being a Wind Sublimator. "However, out of indignation for the destruction of the âHuai Guang Churchâ and the death of many âbelievers,â the Huai Guang Church allows âHoly Knightsâ to form rescue teams on an individual basis to enter the Avak region."
"Oh? Thatâs good news. If Holy Knights show up, maybe the survivors really can be saved."
This news made Ian quite puzzled, and he looked around at the surrounding streets and sighed, "But the question is... who will they save?"
"Is there really anyone left for them to save?"
"Listen to how you talk."
Tres waved his hand at Ian, feeling smug about something that Ian didnât know.
Being able to know what the top genius doesnât was indeed a matter of pride for him, who considered himself merely an ordinary genius: "There surely are no survivors left in the city, but there must be some in the laboratories."
"Whether itâs those researchers, the experimented upon or those special forces teams from Fiery Flame Land... they are now within our countryâs territory. The Huai Guang Church doesnât care about their self-identified nationalities; the country theyâre in is the country they belong to."
"So, if itâs the Holy Knight Squad that ârescuesâ them, then they will turn all those âsurvivorsâ over to us."
"In this aspect, the Holy Knights are our most faithful allies!"
"Thatâs also true," Ian realized â it indeed made sense.
Not to mention Viscount Avak and his Knight Order, theyâre definitely still alive; they are âsurvivorsâ too.
Whether itâs The Empire or the Huai Guang Church that ârescuesâ them, The Empire can get the relevant clues and information, doubling the chance of success for nothing.
And while Ian and Tres were exchanging these thoughts, the Patrol Knight Squad swept through like a road roller, crushing all the fungus-infested corpses attempting to approach and encircle them.
The city center of Azure City was permeated with a foul stench of decay and filth.
Wherever they trod, the once clean and tidy streets had become a damp blood trail covered with disgusting rotten flesh, corrupt fluids, and bits of internal organs.
Add to that the pale white mist of Domain of Void, which could drive people mad; the entire Azure City was like a huge devouring labyrinth.
And this labyrinth was filled with Exobeasts and Phantasms that could tear invaders to shreds, as well as those rotten corpses.
Clearly, Ian and the others had indeed found the right direction.
The surviving researchers in the laboratories or the guards were afraid of their actions, so they used some method to guide these wandering fungus-infested corpses around the city to obstruct them.
For ordinary people, it might be a problem â almost none could escape with their lives from these corpses, which had lost their self-restraint but still maintained physical activity under fungal stimulation.
After all, corpses that could move with the greatest strength and agility their bodies could endure without the restraint of the flesh are not something ordinary people can resist.
But the problem was...
But what they were facing were the Patrol Knights, one of The Empireâs most elite forces!
Even if it wasnât an elite team led by a Third Energy Level Great Knight, a squad was still Patrol Knights.
Tresâs team of twenty, all Sublimators, all geared up in armor, each with several weapons or even firearms, was a war machine prepared to fight in all conditions.
Not to mention they also had Ianâs Magic Potion.
Crack â Splurch â Spatter.
At this moment, with the continuous sounds of flesh being sliced and even shattered by weapons, the armor of each Patrol Knight was covered with blood carrying rotting fungus and viscosity. However, these toxic fluids, potent enough to cause the skin of an ordinary person to fester and ulcerate, could not penetrate the fully enclosed armored clothing of the knights.
Their formation was like a meat grinder, clearing a path through the masses of corpses at an even faster pace than on the transport vehicle.
Standing behind these knights, Ian and Tres were poised and ready. They were not slacking off as âteam leaders,â but were on guard for the possible appearance of enemy forces from the Second Energy Level.
Although Tres seemed to be joyfully chatting and boasting with Ian, Ian could observe the knightâs Wind Attribute Origin Quality permeating the surrounding intersections, just like several months ago when Tres had âeavesdroppedâ on his conversation with the Frost Butterfly.
Tres was listening to all the sounds in the surrounding streets.
"Theyâre coming."
Suddenly, he spoke, and Ian silently nodded in agreement.
Whooshâ The knight took a deep breath, with a visible stream of air entwining a large amount of the surrounding Wind Attribute Origin Quality into his mouth, stimulating the slight writhing enhancement of his muscles and bones, and forming visible Wind Blade Aegis around him.
âTurbulent Giant Sword,â âWind Blade Aegis,â and âChargeâ were Tresâs three best Sublimation Skills.
Each True Form Bloodline Inheritance allows one to construct various special abilities with the Sublimation Organ as the coreâfor instance, The Unyielding Fortressâs Sand Armor and Rock Armor, and the frequently used Jetting Charge and Ice Blade Sword by those with a Fairy Bloodline like Ian, are the simplest forms of these Sublimation Skills.
At the Second Energy Level, as Sublimators coalesce their souls, gaining more computing power to support more complex combinations, their Sublimation Skills also become more powerful.
Just like Ian with âFairy Wings,â âFrost Comet Skeleton,â and âIce Tide Bead,â supplemented by frost-imbued potions to create the âFairy Orbital Bombardmentâ... Though it sounds strange, the power of that strike could shatter the sturdy top defenses of a castle. Rivaling Baron Leyanâs signature move, it was a genuine siege-breaking Sublimation Skill.
With this single technique, Ian could make a name for himself in the outside world, earning the title of Bombarding Fairy.
"Iâm going to attract the enemyâs main force."
With those words left for Ian, Tresâs feet generated an explosion-like shockwave, propelling him forward, creating ripples laced with lethal force.
His longsword, wrapped with wind forces impervious to air resistance, slashed out sixteen times almost instantly into the darkness of the left-side street. The exquisite sword technique, capable of dividing a person into seventeen parts, covered all the areas available for evasion and blocking, slicing through the walls of nearby houses, lampposts, and streets as if they were butter.
Clangâthe crisp sound of metal on metal rang out as a not-too-large but nonetheless three-meter-tall figure, hidden in the darkness, stumbled backward awkwardly.
Thrown off balance by Tresâs surprise assault, it tumbled and rolled heavily on the ground twice, making several dents on the street before it slowly rose again.
But Ian saw that at the same time, Tresâs figure had been sent flying backward for over a dozen meters before he could stop his retreat.
The strength of the towering figure was such that it managed to stand its ground against Tresâs ambush, even when taken by surprise!
"Huff... huff..."
When Ian saw the shadow in the darkness, he couldnât help but frown in disgust and immediately understood why.
It was an abnormal bear creature with two heads, one of which was an Azure Fiend Bear Beast, virtually nonexistent in The Empire and only found in the Yanjiang region, known for its incredible brute strength and robust physique.
The other was a distorted, thick-skinned human head.
Indeed, it was much like the situation when the Redwood Aboriginal Great Shaman âfusedâ with the Swamp Crocodragon.
On the human head, eyes sewn shut, mouth meticulously stitched closed, and both ears cut off to block the ears, its only value lay in providing intelligence to the bear creatureâas evidenced by the Twin-headed Green Demon Bearâs response time and wisdom, which far exceeded its peers. Its agile gaze locked on Tres, it let out a thunderous roar, and charged at the knight.
âWas this lab actually conducting âfusion parasiteâ experiments?
I should have thought of this sooner.
"Be careful."
As thoughts raced through his mind, Ian warned Tres through internal communication: "The enemy is more intelligent than expected. This Azure Fiend Bear Beast is definitely not limited to brute strength; watch out for its use of martial techniques or even Sublimation Combat Skills."
"Understood," Tres responded briefly, once again charging forward to meet the bear creatureâs rushing attack.
Boom! The clash between two second-level powers instantly shattered all remaining doors and windows on both sides of the street. The visible shockwaves from their sword and claw impacts burst forth, striking the walls of nearby buildings.
Hearing Ianâs warning, Tres had already underestimated the enemyâs wisdom as much as possible, but he didnât expect the bear monster to actually know human martial artsâits thick double claws swung like an impenetrable shield, clearly the Sublimation Combat Skill âScale Armor Fist,â blocking the sound of his wind sword.
âA Goddamn Exobeast that knows martial skills!
Moreover, it wasnât just about defense. While Tresâs attack was blocked and his momentum paused, the Azure Fiend Bear Beast launched its own assault.
"Embrace Light above, how is this possible?!"
With just a raise of its hand, the bear creature made the knight exclaim in disbelief: "How can it use this?!"