Chapter 875: The Fated Battle (Thanks to Ma En, Who Painfully Wants to Do Math Problems, for Supporting Xiao Ke

Within the special mirror world, seeing only Lu Mi ahead, Higton immediately turned his gaze toward Vazan Sansong.

Vazan Sansong removed a ring made of glass-like material and tossed it to this Half-God of the Church of Universal Extinction.

Harrison, meanwhile, spoke in imperfect Intis language:

"This world will guide you."

At that moment, Lu Mi, his entire body wreathed in blazing white-and-blue flames, charged forward gripping the Sword of Courage.

After catching the glass-like ring, Higton immediately activated it.

Within the nearly pitch-black ruins of the town, where something seemed to loom overhead, multiple mirror-like objects suddenly flared to life; Higton's figure was enveloped in translucent light and hurled into one of them, chasing after Ludwig and the others.

Lu Mi had barely taken a few steps when he vanished from his original spot.

Behind Vazan Sansong, a cluster of blazing white-and-blue flames swiftly materialized, rapidly expanding and stretching into a burning silhouette holding a colossal flame sword.

The "Man of the Ring" showed no surprise; a semi-transparent figure resembling him emerged from his back—more faint, colder, more detached.

Vazan Sansong's new pact ability: "Summoning of the Death God!"

As the semi-transparent upper-body figure stared at it and drew near, the blazing white-and-blue human form rapidly dimmed, its flames extinguishing one after another.

But Lu Mi himself was not within it.

Beneath Vazan Sansong's feet, the shadow cast by the flames came grotesquely alive, transforming into a thick, viscous black liquid resembling the darkest desires and emotions buried deep within the human heart, surging upward violently.

They first wrapped around Vazan Sansong's legs, then rapidly spread toward his torso.

"Embodiment of Desire!"

Lu Mi's earlier rear ambush was merely a distraction; the true killing blow was the "Embodiment of Desire" granted by the Bone Ring of Devil's Whisper, allowing him to put his chaotic internal corruptions and seals to real use in battle.

Thus, the moment he "teleported" behind Vazan Sansong, he used the flame silhouette he deliberately created as cover, transformed into a shadow creature, slipped into the shadow beneath his target's feet, and activated the Bone Ring of Devil's Whisper—gifted by "Siso."

As for the other enemy present, Lu Mi, brimming with courage, paid him no mind.

Before drawing the Sword of Courage, he had already planned his battle strategy:

Franca and the others, relying on Ludwig, should draw Higton away; his sole target was Vazan Sansong and Harrison. Though Harrison was not a Half-God and lacked divinity, his abilities were peculiar and varied—killing him swiftly would be no easier than crippling Vazan Sansong.

Therefore, the primary target could only be the "Man of the Ring," Vazan Sansong; he would then use his "Astral Plane Transit" ability—faster to activate and with significantly reduced cooldown—to constantly blink, avoiding Harrison's chance to steal his items or key abilities.

During this process, the esoteric plague from the "Black Tear" forehead ornament would naturally spread, covering the area; Lu Mi believed it would severely counter Harrison's "Paper Doll Substitute"—Harrison might use the "Paper Doll Substitute" to absorb esoteric diseases, but as long as he remained on the battlefield, he would be continuously infected; the substitutes would eventually run out, and over time, their rate of destruction would become extremely high, their lifespan drastically shortened.

The moment the thick, viscous black liquid, saturated with guilt and terror, covered Vazan Sansong's body, it suddenly blurred.

Lu Mi's thoughts momentarily flickered; when he regained clarity, Vazan Sansong had already retreated several meters away, showing no signs of being affected by the horrific corruptions within the "Embodiment of Desire."

This was another application of the "Man of the Ring" ability.

This time, Vazan Sansong had not included the entire ruined town within his "Man of the Ring," only adjusting his own body—just as Lu Mi automatically restored his physical and spiritual state every morning at six, the only difference being the trigger point was set to near-death or lethal attack.

The previous "Embodiment of Desire" assault had automatically activated the "Man of the Ring" effect; Vazan Sansong thus restored himself to normal, exploited the brief disorientation caused by the "Man of the Ring"'s connected objects, and quickly distanced himself from Lu Mi—otherwise, he would have remained engulfed by the viscous black liquid.

Immediately afterward, a pale green light condensed in his eyes and shot toward the recently revived viscous black liquid.

Lu Mi had no time to "teleport"; he could only violently animate his shadow and swap positions with it.

The ray, the moment it appeared, struck the dark shadow, instantly fading and dissolving it without any chance to resist.

Almost simultaneously, Vazan Sansong extended his right palm.

His eyes turned silver-white with black veins, reflecting a tranquil, mercury-colored river.

That was the River of Fate—the River of Fate belonging to Lu Mi.

Vazan Sansong, the "Man of the Ring," intended to exchange a fragment of fate with Lu Mi.

After dodging the pale green ray, Lu Mi showed no fear and "teleported" again beside Vazan Sansong.

Hmph, wanting to "exchange fate"?

Fine!

Just knock you into a reboot, and your attempt fails!

Lu Mi raised his iron-black straight sword, wreathed in blazing white-and-blue flames, and brought it down hard upon Vazan Sansong.

"Reaping!"

At that moment, Harrison finally found his opening; he extended his right hand and lightly grasped, "stealing" the attack.

Flames of white-and-blue instantly surfaced across his body, coalescing into a blazing great sword in his hand.

Boom!

From over ten meters away, Harrison swung the flame sword toward Lu Mi, unleashing a violent explosion.

Lu Mi did not despair; he turned his body and, facing the furious wave of flames, slashed again with the Sword of Courage.

Another "Reaping!"

Boom!

Blazing white-and-blue flames clashed with the devastating shockwave; terrifying winds tore through the ruins, hurling stones and igniting wooden debris.

Harrison was swallowed by the rebounding flames and wind; his body rapidly regressed into a thin, sinister paper doll with facial features drawn upon it.

The paper doll's surface had somehow developed reddish-yellow rust stains, then burned to ash within the white-and-blue flames.

When Harrison's figure reformed at the edge of the storm, Lu Mi, whose constitution had been enhanced by "0—01" and whose injuries were partially absorbed by the Sword of Courage, did not retreat a single step—he locked onto Vazan Sansong once more.

His eyes turned iron-black, searching for the faint pale streak that marked Vazan Sansong's weakness.

He raised the Sword of Courage again, and behind him, clusters of blazing white-and-blue fire crows coalesced.

At this moment, thanks to Harrison's delay, Vazan Sansong had completed all preparatory steps for the "Exchange of Fate"; all that remained was to wait for time to pass and welcome the final outcome—had Lu Mi not possessed a false angelic rank, Vazan Sansong could have simply extended his hand, symbolically touched Lu Mi's river of fate, selected the desired fragment, and initiated the exchange instantly, without needing to spend time forcing it.

Boom!

Lu Mi brought the Sword of Courage down upon Vazan Sansong's head, while the clusters of blazing white-and-blue fire crows circled and blanketed the surrounding area.

You can use your "Man of the Ring" ability to restore your body—I can use area-wide, delayed attacks to target you the moment you recover!

A few more reboots, and you'll reach your destined end!

Boom!

Vazan Sansong's body blurred again, and Lu Mi's thoughts flickered once more.

Thanks to the "Man of the Ring" effect, Vazan Sansong recovered from the damage inflicted by the Sword of Courage; yet the surrounding fire crows did not slow their pace due to Lu Mi's disorientation—they continued along their predetermined paths, descending toward different locations.

Suddenly, Vazan Sansong's figure vanished from his spot.

As the fire crows exploded one after another, the "Man of the Ring" reappeared thirty to forty meters away.

You have "teleport," I've contracted "teleport" too!

Beside Vazan Sansong, Lu Mi's figure rapidly materialized, relentlessly pursuing.

His eyes were now silver-black, reflecting Vazan Sansong's mercury-colored river of fate.

He extended his left hand, pushing the illusory river of fate toward a tributary Vazan Sansong had failed to escape from, while simultaneously slashing once more with the Sword of Courage, generating clusters of blazing white-and-blue fireballs.

Had he found a suitable option, Lu Mi would have used the "Push Fate" ability to directly disrupt Vazan Sansong's "Man of the Ring" effect, rendering it useless.

Boom!

Lu Mi's spiritual energy was utterly drained by the chain of attacks; he hastily released the accumulated reserves, while Vazan Sansong, first struck by the Sword of Courage, recovered—then failed to "teleport" away in time, and was engulfed by the clusters of blazing white-and-blue fireballs.

The "Man of the Ring" effect triggered for the fourth time.

Vazan Sansong restored his condition and "teleported" to another direction.

But the fate exchange between them had not ceased, for only Vazan Sansong's body and spirit were included within the "Man of the Ring"—not his fate, nor his actions. It was like how Lu Mi's daily reset at six a. . did not erase his prior movements or nullify their outcomes.

Lu Mi did not retreat; he continued chasing Vazan Sansong, "flashing" beside him.

Vazan Sansong no longer chose to endure; he used his contracted "teleport" ability to change position.

On the other side, Harrison had regressed again into a thin, sinister paper doll, sensing imminent infection.

Lu Mi pursued Vazan Sansong, exploiting his superior teleport cooldown and speed, securing two more attack opportunities—but each was either neutralized by Vazan Sansong's special ability or triggered the "Man of the Ring" effect.

Vazan Sansong's "Man of the Ring" had clearly not yet reached its destined conclusion.

Even with the Sword of Courage, Lu Mi felt a degree of despair—he knew with certainty that once the fate exchange completed, something terrible would happen; he had the chance to strike, yet could not interrupt the exchange, could not alter the inevitable outcome!

Perhaps this is the meaning of fate.

Perhaps the "Fate Hunter" only achieves true terror when paired with the "Man of the Ring."

Despair vanished in an instant; courage once again dominated Lu Mi.

ps: This weekend should return to two updates per day, no rest.

ps2: Thank you to Ma En, who painfully wants to do math problems, for supporting Xiao Ke's Silver Alliance.

(End of Chapter)