Chapter 177: Rosalia VS Hannah

Before Rosalia could even get back on her feet, Hannah pressed the attack again.

With a light tap of her toe, the ground cracked beneath her. Hannah’s aura surged violently.

"Third-tier Divine Technique—Grip of Agony."

Ripples spread through the air. In almost an instant, Hannah appeared before Rosalia. One hand shot forward, turning intangible, passing straight through the greatsword’s guard and slamming into Rosalia’s chest.

Rosalia’s heart shattered instantly. Terrifying divine power ravaged her body.

"Pfft—"

Blood hung in the air like a suspended curtain, refusing to fall.

"Heh. Got you."

A trace of satisfaction appeared on Hannah’s face. "That was easy."

"Was it?"

Hannah froze, lifting her head—only to meet Rosalia’s eyes, cold as frost. Feeling her aura suddenly double, she was stunned for a split second. "What the—?!"

A black-gray, formless flame rapidly gathered around Rosalia. The amplification from Crimson Ascendancy, triggered by the opponent’s overwhelming single-target attack, surged to an astonishing level.

Energy ripples burst outward.

"A halo-type divine artifact like mine? No... how are you not dead?"

Hannah frowned, raising her hand to continue the attack.

Rosalia didn’t retreat—she advanced instead. Her grotesque greatsword swung down, carrying a crushing shockwave.

A streak of black flashed past as the blade smashed into Hannah’s left shoulder. Her halo-like mantle fluctuated violently, vast amounts of energy scattering.

"Damn it—that hurts!"

"She must’ve used some kind of divine technique. There’s no way she could take my hit and still be this lively otherwise," Hannah thought, a flicker of surprise crossing her mind. "But in the face of absolute power, it doesn’t matter."

Though her combat ability was on the weaker side among third-tier, the gap in tiers was still a chasm.

Divine flames rapidly gathered around her fists. The viscous fire wrapped around her hands like serpents, radiating a strange glow.

Her fists came crashing down with a foul, putrid gale.

"Clang—! Hummm—"

The sound of metal clashing rang out like a cathedral bell, echoing through the mountains.

Even the beasts deep within the forest turned instinctively toward the battle.

"Heh, a third-tier Divine Chosen really is strong. Though—aren’t you a summoner? Why do you have attack skills? That sneak attack just now really caught me off guard."

Rosalia staggered back, but this time she wasn’t sent flying. The ground beneath her feet shattered as she retreated over a dozen steps. Feeling her physical strength still rising, she licked her lips, battle intent surging.

"Should we fall back?" the black crow asked. After all, Rosalia had taken a direct hit from a third-tier technique—her vitality must have dropped significantly.

"No need. I want to try."

Even among the same tier, the gap between Divine Chosen could be enormous. With stacking abilities and amplification passives, she wasn’t afraid of this opponent at all.

Rosalia tilted her head. "Did you mess up your skill build or something?"

If you built your abilities wrong, you’d end up a mess.

"None of your business. You can still talk? And your power is increasing? This is too strange." Hannah looked over in confusion—then saw something shocking. A mass of writhing bloodlines was rapidly repairing Rosalia’s wounds. "Wait... you’re one of the corrupted creatures my children encountered."

"Heh."

Hannah gritted her teeth, anger flaring. "If you’re a corrupted being, why are you helping humans?"

Rosalia answered with her blade.

"Second-tier Divine Technique—Endless Severance!"

A vast torrent of sword energy surged forth, carving a jagged rift through the air. Trees and boulders along its path were annihilated into dust.

"A second-tier technique... with this kind of power..."

A trace of astonishment flashed through Hannah’s eyes. She said nothing more, suppressing the discomfort in her body as she charged head-on.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Fist met flesh, blade answered blade. Two completely different divine forces clashed violently. The black crow soared high, afraid of being caught in the chaotic energy. All it could see were explosions and afterimages—it couldn’t provide any useful information.

Wild punches came crashing in; wild sword strikes returned in kind. Flesh tore, energy erupted.

In less than half an hour, the once-lush forest had been blasted into ruin.

"Huff... huff..."

Black-gray energy ripples continued to rise and spread, as if flames clung to her entire body. Now reduced to a small girl’s form, Rosalia landed heavily, leaning on her greatsword, battered.

Her vitality kept plummeting. Even maintaining her teenage form was becoming difficult—so she switched to a lower-energy state.

The ground beneath her cracked open, strands of divine power erasing the surrounding grass.

"What the hell... what kind of ability is this? How can a second-tier be this strong?"

Hannah’s expression had shifted from surprise to outright shock. Though Rosalia looked battered, Hannah herself wasn’t much better—her legs trembled, her body covered in wounds, her clothes in tatters. Worse, her old injuries had flared up, and her confidence began to waver. "Why isn’t she weakening at all? Her power is actually increasing."

With a casual flick, Rosalia hurled her greatsword, dragging a third-tier red monster back to kill and absorb. She shook her head in disdain. "Compared to the damage you deal, this kind of recovery is negligible. We’ll have to settle this with raw strength."

Once the fight intensified, it became difficult to rely on weaker enemies nearby for recovery.

Rosalia crooked her finger. "Come on. Let’s go another round."

Her clothes were nearly destroyed, but Hannah didn’t care about exposing her body—there was no one else around. She thought to herself: Why am I brawling head-on with a brute like this?

Worse still, the injuries she had only just managed to suppress were flaring up again, her body wracked with slicing pain.

Hannah lowered her gaze. I’ll stall for time. My recovery is far superior to hers.

"Let’s talk," she said. "You’re strong. The Shadow World Sect needs talent like you."

Rosalia tilted her head, a blood-stained smile curling her lips. "We can talk. First, suck your own chest and let me see."

The doll-like little girl spoke something utterly absurd.

"...What?" Hannah was stunned. It was the first time she had ever heard such a request.

"I’m a corrupted being. My brain doesn’t work right. Don’t push me into going all out. Even if I die, I’ll just return to the gray mist—my soul won’t perish."

Rosalia wore an expression that clearly said I’m the strongest, especially when she proudly emphasized her "broken brain."

After a moment of silence, seeing Rosalia about to attack and still unable to suppress her injuries, Hannah could only raise her hands slightly and grit her teeth. "To show my sincerity... I’ll do it."

Keeping a wary eye on Rosalia’s every move, Hannah parted her lips, about to follow her absurd demand.

"Ridiculous. Honestly, all those from the evil divine factions think about nothing but bizarre things."

Watching everything clearly through the black crow, Phield couldn’t help but sigh.

PS:I like Rosalia!!!!!