Chapter 610: The Return of the Winged One and the Call

BOOM!!!

In the instant the blue-white plasma collided with the orange-red flame.

The explosive shockwave swelled violently outward into a massive spherical energy cocoon, lightning and fire serpents wildly entwining within.

Then it shattered instantly, releasing energy that carbonized and blackened all nearby grass.

Vast plumes of black smoke rose, obscuring everyone's vision with howling winds.

Fuck!

Luo De roared skyward, his body launching out of the smoke like a cannonball.

CRASH—he slammed into the ground, kicking up a spray of dirt several meters high, instantly burying him.

Cardinal Davide fared no better; the accumulated flame currents from 【Flame Leap】 were substantial, and the explosive recoil sent him hurtling dozens of meters back, his body covered in burn scars.

But as a ninth-rank spiritual warrior, his physical recovery speed was obviously rapid.

His wounds were healing at a visibly rapid pace.

PUFF!

Luo De's right hand burst through the loose, covering soil, gripping the compacted rock at the edge.

He pushed himself up, dirt cascading off his body in a rush.

His gaze remained cold and unyielding.

Unlike this cardinal, he bore no injuries beyond faint scorch marks from electrical arcs.

His +18 【Dragon Scale Art】 granted him defense superior to that of a ninth-rank warrior.

Of course, the opponent simply wasn't skilled in defense either.

"He's much stronger in raw power, a burst-type fighter, poor endurance—even ended up getting overwhelmed by me later."

Luo De looked up.

In midair, Cardinal Davide looked ancient and frail, his exposed torso dark and emaciated, muscles gone, bones nearly pressed against skin.

This ninth-rank was the very symbol of physical decay.

ZZZT!

A streak of lightning shifted—Davide vanished in an instant.

The next moment he appeared before Luo De, his bony, plasma-dripping fist already striking.

Behind Luo De, the shadowy form of his Astral Ambusher spirit flickered.

【Reflective Evasion】 and 【Hunger for Prey】 activated to maximum effect.

He barely twisted his head aside, the electric wind whipping across his face, tingling numbly.

The arcs on the opponent's body carried potent paralysis properties.

But Luo De's 【Great Dragon Heart】 inherently granted paralysis immunity, so the effect was minimal.

Black-gold filaments coiled around the drawn 【Sacrificial Blade】, blurring.

【Twelve Flash】!

Twelve black-gold blade flashes streaked past, striking simultaneously, their afterimages nearly overlapping.

Davide sensed the threat—lightning flared again in his eyes.

Lightning wrapped his entire body.

As the blade swung.

Luo De felt no resistance—worse than cutting through cotton.

Flashing lightning filled his vision; he couldn't even see the man, let alone land a hit.

"What the hell!?"

Luo De couldn't help but cry out.

He dodged all of them??

That's insane.

The plasma-clad elder seized Luo De's brief, slight post-attack lag and lunged in with a veteran's precision, crashing straight into his chest.

Then came a relentless barrage of close-quarters strikes—punches, elbows, knees—every part of his body a weapon, hammering with violent spiritual and electric damage.

If the long spear was a long-range weapon in close combat, the longsword was mid-range; daggers, fist blades, and bare hands were the ultimate close-range.

One inch shorter, one inch more perilous.

Luo De's reaction wasn't slow—he unleashed a powerful 【Repulsion Art】, blasting distance between them.

Only then did he look down and see several glowing thunder marks on his body.

At that moment, he looked down and noticed several flickering thunder marks on his body.

Plasma erupted!

A torrent of lightning completely engulfed Luo De.

Luo De had low lightning resistance—significantly lower than his resistance to fire, poison, strong acid, or frost.

His +18 【Dragon Scale Art】 primarily defended against physical and magical damage; this torrent of lightning truly hurt.

Blue-white spiritual mist surged.

The Bronze Dragon spirit solidified abruptly, roaring skyward, barely scattering the plasma.

"Aren't you a bit too fast, old man?"

Luo De grunted, smoke curling from his body, staggering half a step.

【Dragon Scale Art】 hadn't been broken.

But with insufficient resistance, it still inflicted 【Spiritual Disruption】, 【Magic Interference】, and 【Agility Reduction】.

"Truly surpassing his master—a seventh-rank with such formidable defense? I've never seen anyone like it except the Minotaur committee member from the Magic Control League!"

"Truly, the student surpasses the master— at seventh tier, such formidable defense is extraordinary; aside from Minotaur Committee Member Mino from the Magic Control League, I've never seen anything like it!"

Then he smiled warmly, "Good thing I have a few tricks of my own. Hold on tight."

Then he smiled warmly, "Good thing I have a few tricks of my own— hold on tight."

a crystal orb suddenly appeared in his palm.

Light flashed—the orb shattered, the radiance condensing instantly into a pair of massive white wings.

As light flared, the sphere shattered, and the released radiance swiftly coalesced into a pair of massive white wings.

It was a winged humanoid—skin pure white, glowing with aura.

Delicate and frail, limbs slightly longer than normal.

Light armor, longsword, utterly holy.

But the familiar face of this winged swordsman startled Luo De.

But the familiar face of the avian swordsman startled Luo De slightly.

The winged humanoid who once attacked Shi Ying Town with the demon Artu!

Yet now Caroline, though radiating eighth-rank early-stage energy, had hollow eyes—like a puppet, utterly devoid of consciousness.

She swung her single longsword.

"Radiant Flash."

A column of light descended from the heavens, striking Luo De directly.

【'Dragon Scale Art +18' dispelled by powerful dispel skill 'Radiant Flash'!】

【Dispel resistance successful! Negative effects halved!】

【Dragon Scale Art +10 (-8)!】

"Heh, still that tough, huh?"

Luo De smiled.

He'd thought Davide was about to launch a full assault.

But the old man hesitated, seemingly dissatisfied with 【Radiant Flash】's effect.

Luo De didn't care.

Even 【Aethelon's Flash】, an ultra-fast slash, hadn't landed.

He immediately switched tactics.

CRACK—

Frost spread rapidly across the ground, ice blades swirling into a windless vortex as a 【Howling Ice Tree】 sprouted.

Simultaneously, the toxic mist of his 【Plague Domain】 spread outward.

Davide frowned, lightning crackling around him.

In an instant, he pulled himself beyond the ice blade zone.

He sighed softly: "Mr. Vincent, I'm an old man, not as strong as you youngsters. If you keep this up, I'll collapse."

In midair, a towering three-meter-tall white-robed mage had appeared without warning.

In his hand, a staff of bone; his face encased in bone, hollowed-out sockets revealing arrogant eyes looking down at Luo De.

Behind him hung the Truth Circle, missing a quarter of its circumference.

Signifying he had already consumed one spell metamagic opportunity.

"The Campbell family are useless. Old man, wouldn't it be better if I helped you?"

"What do you mean, Mr. Vincent?"

"I want to join the Igo Cult. Include me in your new world—but you must help me kill Mistralla the bitch one more time."

I want to join the Igoy Cult—count me in on your new world, but you've got to help me kill Mistrala the bitch one more time.

"The false god's magic web is but a fleeting illusion, a sham that cannot withstand the erosion of the other dimension; capturing her is merely a matter of time."

"Good!"

The piercing mage Vincent gazed intently at Luo De.

"Kid, let you see what a true ninth-rank can do."

Luo De couldn't help laughing: "Two against one? Two ninth-ranks beating a single seventh-rank? Aren't you ashamed?"

Davide shook his head: "As long as justice is served, I don't mind using slightly dishonorable means. I'm old—let the sins fall upon me. This is my final act of shielding the next generation from the storm."

Luo De sneered.

Too lazy to bother with this hypocrite.

"You think you can call for reinforcements?"

"So you mean those seventh-ranks? That halfling's somewhat interesting—others? Hmph." Vincent sneered.

Luo De straightened his body and chuckled.

In his hand appeared a churning, molten 【 Wanxiangronglu 】.

"Dora—no, Lady Hera, it's your turn to step out."

(End of Chapter)