Endless Debt-Chapter 963 - 57: Battle Again
Silver Knight.
Even after such a long time, Bologue recognized the enemy instantly as it broke through the wall. Once again, the Third Seat did not make a personal appearance but sent his Alchemy Puppet.
The Order Bureau has limited information on the Third Seat. During the Secret War, he rarely took action, and most of it was through the use of Alchemy Puppets. The Third Seat seldom appears in person, and combined with the Time Axis Disorder incident, the Order Bureau gradually developed a hypothesis about the Third Seat.
Similar to Lebius, they belong to the Commanding School, and both are capable of controlling a large number of Domination Objects to fight.
Bologue harbors suspicion but won’t completely rely on his doubts. It’s dangerous to enter a battle with preconceived notions.
The Defender-level Ether strength erupted in a terrifying pressure that left Bologue and Palmer feeling suffocated. More footsteps echoed from the darkness, and the place became surrounded by enemies.
The heavy lance advanced rapidly; it was also an Alchemy Armament crafted by the Third Seat, bearing layers of Alchemy Matrix. Bologue flung the hook from the Arm of Adaptation, coordinating with his own Ethereal Amplification, and evaded the lance’s attack like a phantom, flashing to the other end of the corridor.
The spear tip struck the ground where Bologue had just been, and in an instant, the terrain shattered, all the stones flipped and exposed on the surface.
The lance was similar to Bologue’s once-used Shock Hammer, with its Alchemy Matrix capable of piercing and vibrating. If it hits, the flesh would be pulverized into a bloody mist in a moment.
Palmer let out a terrifying low moan, and by mastering the wind, he briefly ascended into the air, quickly distancing himself from the Silver Knight’s attack range.
When an Overlord controls a Domination Object, the Ether must be distributed among numerous objects, inevitably reducing the average Ether intensity, similar to the Silent Legion.
Yet, the Silver Knight as a Domination Object perfectly displayed the Defender’s Ether strength, causing Bologue to doubt if the Third Seat’s Domination Object was only this single Alchemy Puppet... Or perhaps the design of the Alchemy Puppet ensured no loss in Ether transmission, fully embodying its power.
But regardless of the true answer, the Silver Knight wielding Defender power is clearly not a foe to underestimate.
"It’s up to you! Partner!"
Palmer howled, throwing out the Storm Feather. The slight sound of wind spread momentarily before transforming into a complex, sharp screech, like countless birds screaming and dancing in this deep fortress.
He knew he was not a match for the Defender, but the newly promoted Negative Power User Bologue might give it a try. After all, Bologue carried enough strange abilities that, when combined, might offer a chance of victory.
As for Palmer himself, he could only do his best to clear out some of the foot soldiers for Bologue.
The reinforcements arriving by the sound hadn’t even entered the dim corridor when they faced Palmer’s fierce assault.
Storm Feathers poured into the darkness like deadly birds, accompanied by the dense Wind Blades stirred by Secret Energy. Harrowing screams emanated from the darkness, and the sound of flesh being sliced continued, until the darkness fell silent again, with only vast pools of blood trailing down the stairs.
Palmer landed, the Storm Feather returning to his hand. Before he could feel smug, footsteps again echoed in the darkness, not from new reinforcements, but the previously fallen men, who stood up once more.
With a deep breath, Palmer’s expression turned serious, as one mangled, scarred figure after another emerged from the darkness.
"Oh my God..."
When the dim light illuminated their figures, Palmer realized just what kind of things he was battling against.
These were corpses of unknown death, swollen and decayed, some with exposed bones, others having their abdomen slit open with innards spilling everywhere. They stumbled awkwardly forward, some even struggling to crawl over the ground.
Palmer wasn’t seeing these corpses for the first time; the Tainted Sect frequently crafted such trinkets. What truly shocked him, however, were the heads of these corpses.
Their original skull tops were removed, the brain tissue inside the skulls entirely gone, replaced by bizarre birds nesting within the hollowed skulls.
Scarlet, with numerous ovary-like eyes hanging from their heads, the bird’s claws sinking deep into the flesh of the skull, seemingly connected with the body’s nerves, controlling the corpse’s actions. Flapping their wings, from afar, they appeared as if heads had grown wings.
"Help... Help me..."
A strange, hoarse voice sounded. These bizarre birds opened their mouths, imitating human speech like parrots, while the corpses raised their hands, seemingly pleading with Palmer.
Palmer was nearly sick, having never seen such strange birds, confirming that these are no earthly creatures but some kind of Alchemy Creature. They control the corpses, mimicking human cries to lure people close.
Rarely angry, Palmer threw out Storm Feathers while gathering storms, aiming solely at the strange birds atop the skulls. The birds sensed Palmer’s attack. The corpse’s movements were too clumsy, so they abandoned the corpse entirely and flew madly towards Palmer.
The radiance of Ether illuminated the sharp, curved talons, which resembled iron hooks. Once they pierced into the skull, they could easily pry open the cranium. Palmer dared not imagine the catastrophe such creatures would unleash upon the surface cities if they escaped Fog Abyss Fortress.
In the narrow passage, fierce winds intertwined with sharp metal daggers. Palmer unleashed a deadly storm to slaughter the undead and monstrous birds, while at the other end of the corridor, the battle between the Negative Power User and the Defender had already begun.
The earth was completely fractured, and the Silver Knight stood tall upon it with his lance. The radiance of Ether slowly flowed over the surface of his armor, confronting Bologue, who had set up a spiteful bite from afar.
The confrontation between them did not last long. Bologue gripped the spiteful bite and summoned Ether, issuing decrees to all the substances he commanded.
The fractured ground began to writhe, and in the next second, countless dense stone spears and stone halberds emerged from the earth, stabbing towards the Silver Knight from all directions. The Silver Knight swung his longsword fiercely, relying on the violent Ether to completely sever these stone weapons.
The Silver Knight’s body began to rotate, swinging his arms to wield the lance in a deadly wide arc. Bologue threw out a grappling hook, quickly repositioning himself.
Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid spilled out from his sleeve, and dense metal spread across Bologue’s body, resembling a swarm of crawling snakes, with their heads biting their tails, weaving together into a lightweight armor.
Sudden Ether surged, gathering more Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid into Bologue’s hand, shaping into a narrow, sharp long spear. The spearhead was completely constructed of Red Mercury, its crimson hue resembling bloodstains.
Ethereal Amplification enveloped his arm, and Bologue prepared to throw this deadly long spear like a missile to confront the Silver Knight. But the anticipated attack never came; the Silver Knight, full of might, hurled the lance in an entirely opposite direction.
Towards the tunnel’s exit.
"Damn!"
Bologue cursed aloud, angrily tossing the long spear.
The long spear and lance flew simultaneously, and in an instant, the two explosions overlapped almost together, stirring a tumultuous heat wave in the dark, enclosed fortress.
The lance struck the rocky formation where Bologue had come from. With the Defender’s power added, the entire rock face collapsed and shattered after a mournful tremor, along with the tunnel Bologue had dug.
The Silver Knight’s target was not Bologue, but to cut off their retreat route. Now they were birds in a cage.
Bologue couldn’t understand what was happening. Clearly, everything was going smoothly, and he ensured he hadn’t made any mistakes. How did they get discovered so quickly?
Did Church fail? Considering the professionalism of the Field Staff, even if Church was captured, their information shouldn’t be exposed so quickly.
Bologue didn’t understand, and there was no time to figure it out.
The speeding long spear precisely hit the Silver Knight. The Alchemy Puppet had extremely strong defense, along with the Defender Tier Ether’s blessing. The spearhead merely dented the chest armor slightly before breaking and exploding.
Red Mercury whipped up a blazing storm; amidst the scorching heat, the Silver Knight’s silhouette gradually blurred. But in the next moment, he swung his longsword, effortlessly extinguishing the fire streams with wind pressure.
Meanwhile, a Blade of Pitch Black was already suspended above the Silver Knight’s head.
"Come again!"
Bologue roared, slashing with the spiteful bite, tearing out a bolt of black lightning.
This wasn’t Bologue’s first engagement with the Third Seat. Last time, he relied on the Calamity Flesh, Lebius, and that deadly Secret Sword to jointly slay the Third Seat’s Domination Object.
This time, Bologue intended to resolve it personally.
The spiteful bite swung onto the Iron Armor, and at the edge where the metals contacted, dazzling sparks erupted. The spiteful bite cleaved through the Ether flow’s characteristic but struggled to suppress the Defender’s power.
Intricate patterns emerged along Bologue’s arm, extending to the sword body of the spiteful bite, as if awakening a mysterious power, progressively lighting up enigmatic runes.
Secret Energy·Commanding Decree.
Highly aggressive Ether spread along the sword body, like the venom of a serpent, injected into the armor, voraciously consuming the Third Seat’s Ether, tearing apart the woven defense lines until after a brief stalemate, all obstructions vanished.
The spiteful bite cleaved the Ether flow, and also split the sturdy Alchemy Metal, the sharp end cut into the thick armor, nearly penetrating the Silver Knight’s body.
