Chapter 682: Combat Experience

As Gaim loaded the purified bullets into his revolver, his ears buzzed, and a sharp hissing sound echoed in his mind.

Before his eyes, the world seemed to detach, separated from him by a pane of transparent glass, and under the wailing of the vengeful spirits, cracks appeared on this glass—cracks that seemed to extend deep into his spirit.

Faint cracking sounds, indistinguishable in order or allegiance, reverberated in the ears of Lu Mi, Ruiya, Lu Jianuo, Amandina, Robert, who had just crawled out from beneath the ground near the altar, and the other naked men frantically dodging, bringing stinging pain to their eardrums, blood from their noses, and agony rooted deep in their souls.

Almost everyone froze in place, like fragile porcelain undergoing an invisible storm's inspection.

Among them, the naked men who were still ordinary people fainted without a sound, blood oozing from their corners of eyes, nostrils, mouths, ears, and skin surface; Lu Mi, who had advanced to Sequence 5 "Harvester" and possessed the strongest soul, suffered the least damage and recovered the fastest.

What met his eyes were wave after wave of icy crystal arrows hurtling toward him, their tips gleaming with cold light.

In the flash of an instant, Lu Mi made his decision.

He did not transform into a shadow creature and enter the shadows to avoid harm, nor did he attempt to dodge.

In a flash, flames of blazing white erupted across his body.

He became a violently burning, blazing-white spear, charging straight toward those icy crystal arrows, hurtling toward the stained-glass window closer to the door.

There stood Father Cali, his dark-brown skin and grim expression unmistakable.

The second to recover from the "Wail of the Vengeful Spirits" was Amandina; she happened to see the brilliant blazing-white flame spear "collide" with the icy crystal arrows aimed at their position.

Without sound, the icy crystal arrows directly facing the blazing-white spear instantly vaporized into hissing white steam; those scattered around melted and evaporated rapidly.

A thick fog of water vapor filled the air; though the blazing-white flame spear had dimmed and ceased its violent combustion, it still pierced through, heading straight for the stained-glass window where Father Cali's figure had appeared.

Some icy crystal arrows also passed through the mist, striking before Amandina, Gaim, Ruiya, and Lu Jianuo—but their arrowheads had melted and dulled, or shrunken by half, and their speed had dropped significantly.

Amandina and Gaim, having just escaped the "Wail of the Vengeful Spirits," easily dodged; Ruiya and Lu Jianuo, too slow to react, were struck by the icy arrows, but felt only slight pain—as if a child had pelted them with ice beads; it hurt a little, but mostly felt wet and icy-cold.

They snapped back to awareness, nearly simultaneous with Robert near the altar.

CRACK!

The blazing-white flame spear struck the stained-glass window, shattering and collapsing it—but Father Cali had already leapt onto the stained-glass pane Lu Mi had pried open.

As the firelight scattered, Lu Mi's figure reappeared.

He did not pause; he ignited blazing-white flames once more, transforming into a brilliant spear, and hurled himself toward the window where Father Cali's form had manifested.

He deliberately avoided using "Teleport," repeatedly transforming into flame spears to pursue his enemy, aiming to lull Father Cali into complacency, making him ignore this possibility, then striking unexpectedly at the critical moment by appearing beside him and using "Hengha Technique."

Otherwise, it would be truly difficult to catch a "vengeful spirit" capable of constantly leaping across reflective surfaces.

Moreover, according to Lu Mi's knowledge, "vengeful spirits" are, to some extent, spirit-world beings and can likewise use the spirit world to traverse—though not as adeptly as specialized spirit-world entities, this ability cannot be ignored.

As the fireball spear raced toward the stained-glass pane Lu Mi had pried open, Robert rolled to the side of the altar where their clothes were stored, intending to retrieve the materials used for "Spirit Communication."

WHOOSH!

An arrow embedded itself in the stone tiles before him, forcing him to alter his roll direction prematurely.

As soon as Ruiya recovered, she immediately aimed at Robert and launched another attack.

She and Gaim both believed Louis Berry could handle Father Cali; their task was to restrain Robert, capture this key figure, and prevent him from aiding Cali or interfering with the battle on that side.

As gunfire rang out, Father Cali's figure vanished from the stained-glass window.

In Amandina's vision, the naked, fallen priest appeared.

Amandina tried to resist, but her body rapidly grew cold, gradually ceasing to obey her will.

With a rustling sound, Lu Mi's blazing-white flame spear pierced through the stained-glass window and landed outside the church, three or four meters from Amandina.

As the firelight faded, Lu Mi emerged—wearing a golden straw hat, a white shirt, and a black vest.

At that moment, Amandina's hands had "automatically" raised; her beautiful face curved into a sinister, smug smile.

Come on!

Attack me!

Amandina will be the first to be injured and die; if my body fails to protect me, I can still leap away in time and relocate!

Father Cali feared Amandina's ability to forcibly drag others into dreams, so he chose to possess her rather than Louis Berry, the higher-sequence enemy.

As Father Cali manipulated Amandina's body to reveal that sinister, smug smile, he saw Louis Berry's lips also curl upward, returning a radiant smile.

As a "vengeful spirit," Father Cali possessed strong spiritual intuition—he suddenly sensed extreme danger.

"Ha!"

A pale-yellow light burst from Lu Mi's smiling mouth, striking Amandina three or four meters away, enveloping both her spirit and the unprepared Father Cali, who had not yet activated "Mirror Leap."

Frankly, for Lu Mi, this was an unexpected, tremendous stroke of luck:

You fear Nightmare's ability—yet you didn't guard against "Hengha Technique"?

Oh, you truly didn't know—it's a power you didn't know existed, and you didn't know I possessed it.

But as a "vengeful spirit," you could have kept leaping across mirrors endlessly—why possess one of my teammates, and why stay within mere meters of me, with no distance? What's your logic?

Don't you have enough combat experience?

Even if you didn't know "Hengha Technique," you should've guarded against abilities like "Spirit Piercing"!

Oh, you thought Gaim was too far away to worry about, and I, a Sequence 5 "Hunter," wouldn't understand such things—so you planned to use my hand to quickly kill Amandina?

Didn't you consider the existence of miraculous items?

I originally planned: once I found an opportunity, if using "Teleport" → "Hengha Technique" → "Harvest" failed to eliminate you, I'd retreat as a feint, pretend to withdraw, find a small enclosed space, set up the "Vessel of Illusion," then wait for you to chase me, and fight you in that confined, sealed space—just like I did against "Siso." Who knew you'd deliver yourself right to my doorstep…

As Lu Mi furiously ranted inwardly, Father Cali and Amandina both collapsed unconscious to the ground.

Had this been during his earlier battle with "Siso," Lu Mi would have urgently pressed forward, because "Hengha Technique" couldn't keep a Sequence 5 enemy unconscious for long—but now, having advanced to Sequence 5 himself, his "Hengha Technique" had grown significantly stronger, extending the duration he could control the "vengeful spirit."

Of course, it was still limited to just a few seconds.

Lu Mi removed "Wrath of the Sea," and pulled several specially made bullets from "The Traveler's Satchel"—bullets purchased from Gaim by the Patrol Unit.

Two "Exorcism" bullets, two "Purification" bullets—all golden.

Lu Mi swiftly loaded all four bullets into his revolver's cylinder, aiming at Amandina, now lying on the ground.

Gaim, catching sight of this from the corner of his eye, gasped and shouted:

"What are you doing?"

"Saving her," Lu Mi replied calmly.

Then he pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

The golden Exorcism bullet struck Amandina's shoulder, spraying blood and releasing a burst of golden sunlight.

Amandina jolted awake in pain; Father Cali's wraith detached from her body, his face contorting under the "sunlight."

Normally, the strength of an Exorcism bullet couldn't instantly expel a "vengeful spirit" from its host—but Father Cali had been unconscious moments before, unable to respond effectively.

Lu Mi immediately raised his gun barrel, his eyes locking onto the colors visible on Father Cali's spirit-body, zeroing in on the now unmistakably pale white.

BOOM!

A golden Purification bullet, infused with "Harvest" power, struck the "vengeful spirit" squarely on the forehead.

Father Cali's wraith froze rigid—he "saw" the bullet shatter spontaneously, transforming into clusters of holy golden flames spreading across his entire body, igniting dust, igniting the soul.

Pure, sunlike golden flames swiftly engulfed Father Cali, forcing from him a piercing scream.

This was not the "Wail of the Vengeful Spirits," yet it still caused everyone present to feel their heads swell and ears ache.

Lu Mi endured the pain, calmly instructing Amandina:

"Drag him into the dream. Ask him about the origin of the 'Dream Festival.'"

Father Cali had already suffered "Harvest"—he was now severely weakened, on the brink of true death; Amandina could easily control him!

"But…" Amandina's shoulder ached, her head throbbed—but seeing Louis Berry's cold, calm face, she dared not complain.

Lu Mi turned his head slightly to Lu Jianuo:

"Treat her gunshot wound."

"Got it." Lu Jianuo winced from his damaged eardrums but rushed over.

At this moment, Father Cali, subjected to Harvest-style Purification, instinctively exited "vengeful spirit" state and reverted to human form to escape the ongoing damage.

Seeing this, Amandina drew a breath, clenched her fists, and lowered her eyelids.

She and Father Cali simultaneously entered the dream.

(End of Chapter)