Chapter 1276: Sacrifice and the Battle of the Colossi

Although the appearance of the Rain-Praying Golem had not changed, as the demon's power clung to it, a sense of inexplicable eeriness and immense malice flooded the hearts of everyone who continued to watch the battle.

Aside from Xia De, the Guardian Mr. Fleming, and a few cultists, no one understood what this change meant at this moment. As the stone spikes in Xia De's "Vision of the Demon" perspective spread to the golem's face, its mouth—which had previously been just a horizontal line without the ability to open—actually opened.

More precisely, the entire square chin slid downward, revealing a gaping hole on the golem's face.

Pitch-black energy gathered. The next moment, a beam of light pierced directly through the stone statue's chest. As the two figures standing on the statue's shoulders struggled to keep their balance, stone spikes clung to the golem's back, causing two more pitch-black stone arms to grow out. Those arms wrapped around the statue's body with astonishing speed, rendering it unable to move.

Energy gathered in its mouth again, and the pitch-black beam shot out, this time vaporizing the stone statue's left and right hands. Then, the golem's right hand swatted toward the two people and one ghost on the statue's shoulders like it was swatting a fly.

"The demon's true body hasn't arrived; it is testing me."

Mr. Fleming said, and an unknown sorcery formed a yellow, hemispherical shield that enveloped the three of them, blocking the giant stone palm. But then the golem's left hand also slammed over. Under the immense force, the spherical shield nearly shattered, and the armless stone statue also developed dense cracks across its surface from the impact.

The dense cracks on the shield were as intricate as a spiderweb. If Mr. Fleming hadn't been maintaining the spell, the witch's summon would have already shattered. Even so, his own spirit body had become much more transparent, yet he still maintained the Holy Grail in his hand.

"Shi Stone-Osenfurt is definitely also involved with the cultists. Could the ritual to summon an Evil God also be related to the demon?"

The people on the shore also noticed this abrupt change. After a few shouts, the Ringed Shushi in the air launched even more intensive attacks at the golem, hoping to attract its attention. But the golem withstood the attacks from the church behind it, refusing to give up its assault on the stone statue even when the most severe strike pierced its shoulder.

Beneath the Dahu, black mud seeped continuously from the silt, spreading curses and plagues downstream. Above the Dahu, the entanglement of the two giant stone statues in the blizzard had almost reached its final showdown.

The golem's two hands pressed downward continuously, getting closer and closer to the stone statue's shoulders, and Mr. Fleming's shield grew smaller and smaller.

Suddenly, the golem opened its mouth again, this time aiming directly at the shoulder position. The pitch-black beam of light shot toward them without giving them any chance. Xia De instinctively wanted to stop casting and use the "Heaton Seal" to take the hit head-on, but unexpectedly, Luvia blocked his path:

"Sorcery - Blessing of Books."

A sky full of bookshelves flashed through the void, and then a transparent, giant book-shaped purple shield blocked the three of them. Luvia gritted her teeth and retreated continuously, blocking the strike before her own shield shattered:

"You see, you and she always think I should stay in the rear, but I am not as weak as you think."

Although the consumption was quite high, the purple-eyed girl still smiled and said to Xia De. Xia De felt the sorcery just now was quite familiar and was about to ask, but Mr. Fleming, who could barely hold the shield anymore, spoke up:

"Powerful soul, this cannot go on. Fortunately, you called the church in advance, preventing the demon from appearing directly. Now, I will maintain the 'Healing Aura' spell; you go and stop the relic golem."

"Wait, how am I supposed to stop it?"

Xia De asked in surprise. It wasn't that he looked down on himself, but without using divinity, even with the witch's ring, he and Luvia combined couldn't hope to defeat that giant relic opposite them.

But then he thought of a way:

"My sorcery 【Puppetry】 can directly control this stone statue. This should be better than the control by that lady on the shore, but if it's just this, it doesn't seem to improve the current situation."

Mr. Fleming shook his head:

"There is a way. Since you can directly control this stone statue, I can use an ancient ritual. The stone statue beneath our feet, you, your female companion, and I, all possess Earth Power. I will give you one chance to let the Earth Power of all four resonate, allowing you to control the stone statue and use a sorcery attack with the statue as your body."

"【Rain-Praying Golem】 is easier to destroy than other relics; this is the chance. Even if you cannot destroy it, such an attack is enough to clear the power clinging to it. If it works, the Rain-Praying Golem will no longer be able to act. This can only be done by you; only your soul is powerful enough to achieve this."

"Use the stone statue as a body? Wait, what about the consumption?"

Even if the method Mr. Fleming mentioned was truly doable, using a larger body to attack meant consuming even more Spirit.

"I will bear it."

The soul did not hesitate at all.

"But if that happens, won't your soul..."

"I can still withstand this kind of consumption."

"Alright then, what type of sorcery should I use?"

"Do not make direct contact, otherwise the stone statue will be devoured by the power on the golem's surface; do not use sorcery that exposes your identity. Although that demon is wary of the church and dares not appear, it will definitely learn of tonight's events from its allies and servants later; it is best to bombard it continuously, and concentrate the attack on a small area..."

These were very harsh requirements. If he weren't afraid of being discovered, he would just use the "Moonlight Greatsword," have the stone statue hold the giant sword, and stab it once. But the Moonlight Greatsword could not be used; that sword would directly reveal who he was. He could not let the demon think that the 13th-tier "God-Awakener" was the helper Osenfurt had found.

Among Xia De's remaining powerful offensive sorceries, "Feilianna's Witch Light" was an area-of-effect attack, and "Moonlight Slash," regardless of the stage, was also a linear attack area. "Sunlight Ray" and "Thunder Spear" perfectly met the requirements and would not expose Xia De's identity, as the appearance of the sorcery had no distinctive features. The problem was that the attack power of these two sorceries might not be enough.

"Offensive sorcery might not work; can control-type sorcery work?"

He intended to use 【Binding Halo】.

"Yes, as long as you can make the opponent unable to move, that is enough."

Mr. Fleming's soul began to become increasingly transparent, and the golem's two pressing palms made the shield smaller and smaller. Luvia also raised her left hand at this time, and the purple transparent book-shaped giant shield, together with Mr. Fleming, blocked the pressure of the golem's palms.

"Please be quick. Lady, place your other hand on his shoulder."

"Okay."

Luvia immediately extended her right hand and placed it on Xia De's shoulder. The power of the "Domain of Abundance" allowed Xia De to perceive the other form of Earth Power more profoundly.

"Powerful soul, please be prepared."

Mr. Fleming took a deep breath, although it looked very strange for a spirit body to do this action:

"Three, two, one! Earth Power - Primal Force!"

His soul suddenly radiated light. That light, representing the purest earth, swept toward the surroundings in the blizzard night like a shockwave, colliding with the falling snow and even forming a short-lived, ring-shaped, snow-free airspace.

That light did not hurt Xia De and Luvia, who possessed Earth Power, but it directly shattered the golem's arms that were imprisoning the stone statue beneath everyone's feet, and even pushed the golem back two steps in the black blizzard. The palms swatting toward them no longer posed a threat, but the lake water shook violently because of this, causing more black mud to surface.

The power of the curse became increasingly severe, and the power of the twisting earth directly affected the spellcasting effects of all the Ringed Shushi nearby. At this moment, the people on the shore all stared at the lake. In the surging lake water, the temporarily repelled golem adjusted its posture, wanting to launch another attack.

Mr. Fleming's increasingly transparent soul placed his hand on Xia De's other shoulder:

"Powerful soul, actually there is a way to enhance Earth Power in a short time!"

"What?"

Xia

De was startled, then immediately understood:

"Wait, what are you going to do? There's no need..."

Xia De turned his head, wanting to stop him, but the soul behind him glared with wide eyes; he was already prepared:

"Earth Power - Inheritance of the Soil! May the earth be with you and me!"

In an instant, Mr. Fleming's entire soul trembled, and the entire soul became turbid and unbearable. And on the face of the spirit body, Xia De was surprised to see the shadow of Mr. Granger.

"What? Could it be that the truth of the Guardian is..."

But just at this moment, the spirit body completely shattered, and the core Earth Power of the soul attached itself to Xia De:

"Mr. Fleming has left?"

He couldn't believe this result, but thinking of his own guess, he immediately understood the other party's plan. Xia De then stopped thinking about it, looked at Luvia, who was equally shocked and also saw that something was wrong, and nodded to her:

"Guardian Fleming has left forever for the sake of this land. Luvia, we cannot waste this opportunity, stand firm! Puppetry!"

Although the power of the soul inheritance was one-time, at this moment, Xia De still felt that he was completely connected to the stone statue beneath his feet, and even his vision became dual. One was his human self, squinting in the blizzard at the giant golem in front of him; the other was the stone statue's vision, looking at a golem of equal size to itself.

At this moment, he felt as if he were the stone statue itself, and even as the power of the earth was controlled by Xia De, even the stone statue's broken hands grew out again from the shoulders.

"Xia De, there is only one chance!"

Luvia's voice seemed to come from his ear, but also seemed to come from his shoulder. And the golem that had just been repelled by Mr. Fleming's power was now almost charging in front of them.

Xia De took a deep breath. Facing the blizzard, his own right hand rose, and the stone statue's right hand also rose. As his Spirit drained, a brilliant bright silver halo appeared on his right wrist, and a giant halo emitting flowing light followed closely on the giant statue's right wrist.

At this moment, the starry sky was obscured by clouds, and the moon seemed to appear above the Dahu. He was about to punch forward as usual, letting the 【Binding Halo】 fly out to encircle the golem's limbs and neck, but looking at the giant halo rotating and emitting light like sparks on the right wrist of the golem on the right with his human eyes, at this moment, Xia De's eyes seemed to reflect the silver moon, and Luvia also discovered that his body seemed to be faintly glowing. ===== CHAPTER 1277 =====