The three different options each had their benefits and problems.
Greem chose the first option with almost zero hesitation.
He still had big plans for the Orb of Shadows, and it wasn’t wise to reveal it so early. They were also in the midst of a ferocious battle where thirteen minutes of weakness was not acceptable. Greem could only choose the first option.
Temporarily losing 7% of his fire powers wasn’t the best outcome, but it was acceptable given the current circumstances!
Another loud, fiery explosion rang out as Greem’s entire body turned into flames once again.
Much like before, most of the golden flames scattered everywhere before being gathered together by an unknown force. Unlike before, 7% of the flames did not disperse, but instead silently burned without moving.
When Greem once again rematerialized, the divine aura had utterly vanished from his body!
Lich Kanganas and Mietzel, both of whom were still engaged in a deadly duel, couldn’t help but turn their heads and look at Greem. They were all surprised and shocked by Greem’s subtle control over his elementiumized body.
In particular, Mietzel frowned deeply. He had a feeling that things were turning south.
He knew his own situation best, after all. The Sword of Judgment he had used earlier was not a spell that could be cast without cost. The entire Libram of Wisdom contained only two high-grade spells, one for offense and one for defense. Both of these spells had been imprinted in the Libram by the God of Wisdom Hierro himself.
These two high-grade divine spells were also Mietzel’s greatest guarantee of surviving this trip to Morrian Plane!
Once fired, the spells required a three-hour cooldown to gather divine power once again.
Mietzel’s only ace for the next three hours was that divine defensive spell. The Sword of Judgment was now stuck in a low cooldown period.
Even though Mietzel could unleash many other Fourth Grade divine spells with the Libram of Wisdom, he only had two of these peak Fourth Grade spells. Every spell used would be one consumed. If the Sword of Judgment had been able to exterminate the fiery fiend in a single strike, it might have been able to intimidate the rest of the opponents.
However, the fiend had not only survived, but he had survived his hidden ace with such an ‘insignificant’ cost. How could Mietzel not be furious and terrified?
Greem’s disruption successfully scattered the members of the Omniscient Eye.
Under Lich Kanganas’ command, a massive horde of high-grade undead swarmed forward and kept the five templar knights away from the center of the battle. Meanwhile, Kanganas attempted to intercept the three fleeing spiritualists under the escort of his royal guard. A real battle between Fourth Grades had begun.
Divine magic filled the air, just as death energy rushed forward!
The battle between the spiritualists and the lich filled the entire battlefield with violent and chaotic energy shockwaves. All creatures with insufficient magical or physical resistance were broken down and disintegrated by the energy vortices, reduced to mere bones before they fell from the skies.
The two-headed siblings only managed to fire two barrages of spells at Mietzel before they were surrounded by several large and ferocious undead. It was almost as if the undead were trying to warn them away from the battle.
Greem grunted and appeared beside the siblings with Fire Teleportation. His body swelled rapidly as he once again transformed into the flame giant. As he waved his hand, a five-meter-tall astral construct quickly flew over from a distance. It crashed into the ground loudly, sending all the nearby undead flying a hundred meters away, along with several tons of dirt from the field.
The appearance of the three Fourth Grade adepts immediately stunned the two parties in combat.
Greem had secretly sent a voice transmission to the lich to discuss the matter of attacking the god believers prior to his attack. However, it was apparent that Lich Kanganas wanted to keep Greem and the two-headed adept away from the battlefield after Greem’s ambush. He wanted the Libram of Wisdom all for himself.
Indeed, it wasn’t just Greem who had his sights set on the Libram of Wisdom. Lich Kanganas was also greatly moved by that Fifth Grade artifact.
However, now that Greem had summoned Adept Holly, any thoughts of taking advantage of the adepts faded from his mind instantly.
As prideful and arrogant as he was, Lich Kanganas did not dare to face three Fourth Grade adepts all at once.
It was especially so when these three adepts were clearly allied and cooperative with each other. It significantly amplified their combat prowess, so much so that even the evil lich didn’t dare to start a fight so simply.
The believers of the Omniscient Eye were greater in number, but they were weaklings who were only able to fight through the power of divine halos. Their bodily attributes might be a hundred times better than the average mortal, but they were still nothing more than ants beneath the eyes of a Fourth Grade lich.
If they were separated from the divine halos around them, Lich Kanganas would be able to slaughter them as easily as if they were chickens under his culling blade!
It was this confidence that prompted Lich Kanganas to leave his undead army behind to delay the templar knights, while he himself focused on the god’s son. The two archbishops were of no concern either. In all honesty, if it weren’t for the Libram of Wisdom, Kanganas would be able to endure their attacks and charge to their sides before using his death magic to turn them into piles of bones.
The magic resistance of a Fourth Grade lich was no small matter! How could it possibly be penetrated by ordinary spells or divine magic?
Now that Greem had revealed his true limits, Lich Kanganas had no choice but to accept the reality– the reality that the three adepts now formed a powerful force that even he could not ignore.
The presence of these adepts was more than enough to turn the battle against him!
“Adept, does our agreement still stand?” Kanganas’ tone even softened, as he proactively attempted to negotiate with Greem.
Poor lich! The evil liches were terrifying individuals who had always crushed everyone around them wherever they went, enemy or ‘ally.’ When had they ever actively approached their prey for negotiations?!
“Of course, it does!” Greem chuckled, and a smile appeared on his fiery face. “Let’s work together to take down these religious hacks. The spoils will belong to whoever gets their hands on it in the end. What is it, sir? Could you be afraid of being at a disadvantage despite all the undead you have on your side?”
“Very well. It is settled!” The soulfire hidden behind Lich Kanganas’ ruby eyes subtly scanned the three adepts. He couldn’t help but start laughing sinisterly and coldly when he sensed Greem’s beginner Fourth Grade aura.
Beginner Fourth Grade. It didn’t matter how talented Greem was to have grasped some of the fire laws at beginner Fourth Grade; he would not be able to harness the power of the Fifth Grade Libram of Wisdom. An artifact with an owner could only be bound and sealed with the power of a Fifth Grade, be that a person or another artifact.
As such, Lich Kanganas accepted Greem’s offer without any hesitation!
The joining of forces between the two evil factions immediately put the scattered believers on the back foot.
This place was another world, after all, not the origin plane they had been born on.
Though the Libram of Wisdom could continuously project divine power across billions and billions of kilometers from its origin plane, it was extremely costly to do so.
The God of Wisdom might be able to sustain such expenditure of power if he was a higher god.
Unfortunately, God of Wisdom Hierro was only an inferior Fifth Grade deity.
Mietzel, the son of Hierro, might be able to hang on with the blessing of the Libram of Wisdom. Divine halo after divine halo formed around him into thick and firm divine shields that kept the enemies’ spells and magic at bay. Meanwhile, the two archbishops did not have such a powerful tool at their disposal. After several waves of ferocious attacks, they buckled.
The divine shield around Archbishop Rousseau was the first to shatter. Several terrifying attacks struck him and instantly killed him.
Lich Kanganas’ death energy first corroded the archbishop’s body, the gray mist sizzling as it ate away at the flesh until everything was gray.
The flesh wilted and rotted away, just as the bones calcified in the blink of an eye.
Archbishop Rousseau, who held the title of the Divine Guardian, was eroded into a gray, colorless skeleton in less than three seconds. All his flesh, tendons, and organs had vanished without a trace. Several other terrifying attacks then arrived, shattering Rousseau’s bones into dust and sending the powder into the air.
“Rousseau!” Anthony screamed in sorrow. There was only a thin layer of divine shield around him as well. It trembled and rippled incessantly beneath the opponents’ attacks, obviously on the verge of breaking as well.
“My lord, please run! I,” Anthony’s eyes were bright red now. It was obvious he had prepared himself for death, “I will buy time for you with all of my ability!”
Having said that, Anthony gave up all meaningless resistance. He lifted his hands before his chest, palms facing up as he devotedly began to sing a mysterious prayer in a language that Greem and the others could not understand.
When the prayer rang out, the Fourth Grades in the battle couldn’t help but be lulled into relaxation. Their consciousness faltered temporarily. Their attacks stopped as they became enamored by the low and lingering sound of the prayer, almost as if they had forgotten the battle itself.
Meanwhile, trails of blood flowed down from Anthony’s mouth and nose, even as he continued to sing. Two streaks of black blood could also be seen racing down from his eyes. Even so, he did not stop singing. Instead, he continued his prayers in a tragic, sorrowful manner.
Meanwhile, Mietzel turned and ran without looking back the moment Anthony’s prayer began. He had no intention of helping Anthony attack the enemies at all.
It couldn’t be helped. The Prayer of God’s Praise was a suicidal ability, meant to drag the enemy to the grave along with the caster.
Should Mietzel attack any of the enemies, he would awaken them from the illusion and cause Anthony’s sacrifice to have been in vain.
Mietzel had just flown a thousand meters away when a light flickered around Lich Kanganas. He had managed to escape from the illusion. He was a lich, after all, and had much higher magic resistance than the adepts. Breaking free of the illusion’s control was not difficult at all.
Kanganas looked at the three hypnotized adepts whose defenses were still fully functional and instantly made up his mind. His figure flickered as he chased after the god’s son.
Once Kanganas had left, Greem abruptly opened his eyes……
