Chapter 819: Lightning Strike (Wishing Everyone a Happy Dragon Boat Festival)

The blazing white spear formed by Albus suddenly disintegrated midair just before striking the Cengcengdiedie gray-white "fishing net."

From the rain of blazing white flames, Albus's figure emerged, plummeting rapidly toward the ground to evade the "Witch's" silk threads.

Each of the iron soldiers' blazing white-and-blue fire crows traced large arcs, adjusting their flight paths to relock onto Albus, while Vanner, lifted by the hurricane, leapt down and raised his flame Jujian, slamming it down hard on the target.

Simultaneous explosions and metallic impacts rang out as the swarm of blazing white-and-blue fire crows surrounded Albus before he touched the ground, striking him singly or in groups without pause, relentless in their assault on this Medici family member.

The wind blast and scattered blazing white-and-blue light from the explosions hurled Albus upward, directly into the path of Vanner's diving slash.

Clang!

Vanner's flame Jujian struck like it had hit metal, producing a crisp cracking sound.

The violent force pressed against Albus's body, slamming him hard into the ground from two or three meters above.

Boom!

The road, violently impacted, sank inward, revealing the subterranean hollow thick with dense mist.

Albus fell into it.

Vanner had barely landed when he prepared to leap into the hollow, denying Albus any chance to escape or recover.

Suddenly, he hesitated clearly, and did not make that choice.

He could only summon hurricanes through Morola's special ability, unable to direct them precisely into the ground, only letting them rage across this "City of Exile."

Under these conditions, jumping into a hollow filled with war mist, where visibility was only a few meters, to fight another "Hunter" with unique abilities was not a wise move—it would trap himself as well.

At this moment, Lu Mi had ended his attempt to exchange fates and retracted his swung fist.

He strongly suspected that Albus's intended escape destination was neither beyond this ruin nor the subterranean hollow covered in war mist!

This Medici family member never believed he could easily break through the "Hunter," the "Witch," and the monsters' blockade—he merely feigned such an intention, then used the resistance to forcibly smash through the road already on the verge of collapse, tumbling into his true destination.

That way, he could leverage the environment to effectively escape the encirclement, attempt to conceal himself, and flee toward any possible other exits.

"So this is disguising your true intent to confuse the enemy? No wonder you're a Medici…" Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully.

At the same time, he noticed how astonishingly strong Albus's defense was.

He had not only withstood the iron soldiers' fire crow barrage but also blocked Vanner's "Harvest" strike, ending up with only moderate injuries.

It was clearly impossible to achieve this solely through partial metalization of the body—Lu Mi suspected Albus had an item like the "Sword of Courage" or a "companion" absorbing at least half the damage.

Coupled with the fact that this Medici member displayed abilities surpassing Sequence 5 and traits absent in most Sequence 5s, Lu Mi reasonably deduced he had some special connection with the "Red Angel," allowing him to borrow a fraction of that power and have the Angel bear part of the harm—this seemed to be a capability inherent to the "Hunter" path, beginning at the demi-god level and gradually deepening.

Had he not been inside Morola, this "0—01" sealing site, Lu Mi was certain Albus could have drawn upon true demi-god power, not this heavily restricted version.

Just as the iron soldiers prepared to leap into the war-mist-filled subterranean hollow to pursue Albus Medici, the mother-form of Gu Xin tilted her head and let out a piercing, shrill scream.

Lu Mi and Vanner's minds simultaneously rang, their thoughts shattered, their lifeforce draining rapidly, bringing a weakness rooted deep in their souls.

Crack.

In the darkness at the edge of the street, a mirror shattered and fell, and Zhu Li's figure swiftly took shape.

The next second, Gu Xin turned his gaze toward Lu Mi, completely ignoring Vanner and Zhu Li.

He touched his increasingly swollen belly, his blue eyes turning fiercely vicious.

Under his will, the iron soldier with near-Sequence 4 power abandoned its pursuit of Albus Medici, turned, and locked onto Lu Mi.

Seeing this, Lu Mi, despite the throbbing in his head and the ringing in his ears, smiled and waved at Gu Xin and the iron soldier.

His figure vanished instantly, leaving Gu Xin and the iron soldier to Vanner and Zhu Li.

Bye-bye, you two!

Lu Mi's "teleport" destination was the entrance of the Knowledge Church, where he saw two squads of black-robed Enforcers rushing out.

He walked into the church with a smile, found a corner, sat on the floor, pulled out a borrowed book from the "Traveler's Satchel," leaned against the brass bookshelf, and focused on studying.

He feared the child Gu Xin carried might have serious issues and target him, so he came to the Knowledge Church seeking protection.

I'm reading so seriously—shouldn't the Knowledge Church show some appreciation?

Inside the ruin where most buildings had collapsed, Vanner saw Gu Xin's belly swell further, growing more and more like that of a pregnant woman about to give birth.

The belly began to writhe, as if something strange inside wanted to burst out.

Vanner's gaze froze; he immediately raised both hands, tilted his head upward, and stared at the gloomy sky.

Thick clouds instantly gathered overhead, and Morola's weather changed once more.

Silver-white lightning serpents darted rapidly through the dark clouds, converging into a thunderous tree as thick as a barrel, striking the ground.

This terrifying lightning targeted Gu Xin and the baby in his belly!

Gu Xin had vanished, hiding within an extremely illusory wasteland.

Yet that silver-white "giant serpent" pursued him, piercing through space and descending from above the wasteland.

It struck Gu Xin's belly at an unavoidable speed.

Boom!

The thunder in midair awakened every exile in the city.

The wasteland shattered like a mirror; Gu Xin reappeared on the ruin-strewn street, his belly blackened, emitting a charred scent.

Plop. A piece of charred, rotting flesh fell from his belly, wriggled a few times, then fell still.

Gu Xin froze, his lifeforce completely drained, swaying as he collapsed.

His flesh rapidly withered, turning him into a charred mummy, his skin erupting in one blood-red, large blister after another.

Another bolt of lightning, woven from countless silver-white serpents, struck down, hitting Gu Xin as his blisters continued to grow.

Boom!

Gu Xin convulsed a few times, then died.

"Mother!" The iron soldier, who had absorbed part of the damage, sprinted toward Gu Xin, knelt, and embraced him.

Zhu Li seized the opportunity, used her mirror to reflect the iron soldier's image, and coated it with the "Witch's" black flame.

The iron soldier was instantly ignited from within to without by the black flame.

It sprang up, brandishing a metal spear covered in blazing white fire, charging wildly at Vanner and Zhu Li.

For a time, fireballs, fire crows, mirror shards, blazing white spears, burning rain—all flashed repeatedly, explosions roaring without end.

Just as Zhu Li prepared to use the "Mirror Double" to escape the area and leave Vanner to face the iron soldier alone, the iron soldier trembled.

Still burning from the "Witch's" black flame, its legs seemed unable to support its weight, showing signs of rust and melting.

Ding, ding, ding—metal parts of the iron soldier, each wreathed in black flame, clattered to the ground.

Soon, the iron soldier became nothing but a pile of scrap metal.

Vanner, who had been barely holding on and hoping for the Enforcers' arrival, quietly exhaled in relief and sneered at the iron soldier's remains:

"The fate of having power but no brains."

Shuowan, this most dangerous man in Morola turned his head toward Zhu Li, ten meters away.

Zhu Li's gaze first landed on his face, then slowly descended, lingering on his crotch.

The "Witch" shook her head in disappointment, as if regretting having cursed the iron soldier with black flame from the start, missing the chance to wait for Vanner to be wounded and weakened.

As Vanner's eyes narrowed slightly, Zhu Li smiled faintly and stepped back, dissolving into the ruin's shadows.

At this moment, the Enforcers finally arrived at this street.

…………

Inside the war-mist-filled subterranean hollow, Albus stood in a corner, back against a brown rock wall, hair disheveled, clothes torn, a white cigarette dangling from his lips.

This Medici family member took a deep drag, silently lamenting:

"No one followed? I was hoping to give you all a surprise…"

…………

Only after the distant explosions faded and the Enforcers returned to the Knowledge Church did Lu Mi leave, heading toward the "Carnivore" Bar.

Morola's Archbishop Heraberg never appeared—he didn't seem to need to keep watch.

Lu Mi didn't rush to sleep; he conjured a ball of blazing white fire and continued reading books related to "0—01" at his desk.

Soon, Zhu Li returned and knocked on his door.

Lu Mi, holding the blazing white fireball, opened the cheap wooden door to find the neighboring "Witch" with dewy eyes and flushed cheeks, as if she'd just finished something unsuitable for children.

In her hand, she held a blood-red object frozen in ice.

"Vanner's?" Lu Mi asked with a smile.

Zhu Li sighed and shook her head:

"No. Didn't get the chance."

She then scolded Lu Mi—this was why she'd knocked on his door at midnight:

"Why did you run off early? If we'd teamed up, we could've cut off that thing of Vanner's!"

I'd have risked seeing something you wouldn't want to see if I'd stayed… Lu Mi chuckled:

"I'm in a partnership with Vanner."

"Pfft." Zhu Li's reaction showed she didn't believe him.

After spitting, she turned and walked toward her room.

After two steps, she turned back, smiling slyly at Lu Mi:

"I hope you don't regret today's choice."

PS: Wishing everyone a happy Dragon Boat Festival—this chapter is a normal update~

(End of Chapter)