Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 372 Holy Flame Burning
【Fang Hunt】The powerful impact of the rapid movement caused Xia Nan's sword strike to almost distort and stick the pink light around the blade to the sharp shadow, leaving a pink arc of sword light in the air.

But it was precisely because of the added momentum of the body that such a full-force sword strike, when the sword, carrying a violent airflow, landed on the surface of the seemingly indestructible pink barrier around the priest, the recoil force transmitted from the hilt was even greater.

If it weren't for my keen senses, noticing the burst of gem energy in advance, and my good agility and extremely fast reaction speed, allowing me to prepare in advance and grip the sword hilt tightly.

Otherwise, with such a sudden impact of recoil force, it wouldn't be impossible for the straight sword to be knocked out of one's hand if one wasn't careful.

Of course, even though he was mentally prepared, it didn't change the fact that he was blasted away by the gem barrier.

【Tidal Shaping】 took effect silently, and 【Fang Hunt】, carrying a powerful impact, reacted on Xia Nan, who was flying high backward, and his figure suddenly slowed down.

It felt as if the air around my body wasn't invisible, but rather a murky, viscous liquid.

Engage your abdominal and back muscles, use your core strength for support, and add a bit of gravitational pull.

Like Xia Nan swimming in water, she used the momentum of leaning back to turn her body 270 degrees.

Like a feather falling from the sky, her feet landed lightly.

His dark eyes reflected the dazzling pink light ahead. Xia Nan remained calm, gently rotating his wrist as he gripped the straight sword, seemingly to alleviate the discomfort caused by the recoil.

He had to admit that the priest named "Moen" was more powerful than he had expected.

Although Xia Nan has not encountered many serious spellcaster enemies since he entered the profession, he has always maintained the highest level of vigilance towards magic-based professions such as "mage" and "priest" due to the generally high regard adventurers in this world have for them, as well as the stereotypes he has formed from countless works of literature and entertainment in his previous life.

Even shortly after transmigrating to this world, before even obtaining a professional rank, he often mentally rehearsed similar scenarios—if his enemy was a spellcaster who had made thorough preparations for battle, what should he do to achieve final victory and cut off the opponent's head?

As his strength and combat experience grew, Xia Nan's ideas became more and more refined. He even developed specific combat strategies for different terrains and against spellcasters of varying strengths.

The current battle takes place in a fairly spacious church, and the enemy is an elderly spellcaster of the priest class, whose strength is relatively unclear.

There is some distance between the two, but it is not too far.

Taking all of the above into account, Xia Nan adopted a less aggressive, relatively conservative battle plan that allowed for some margin of error. He wanted to use the speed and burst power of [Fang Hunt] to close the distance with the priest and bring him into his attack range.

Take advantage of Moen's lack of understanding of his own dash attack techniques to catch the opponent off guard.

but……

[Radiant Prayer], [Light-Guiding Arrow], [Human Freeze Spell];
Tricks, 1st-level spells, 2nd-level spells.

Even if you are fully prepared, the old priest's casting speed is still frighteningly fast.

If I were to use [Fang Hunt] to rush from the church entrance to the innermost part of the church without encountering any obstacles, it would probably only take a single breath.

But the old priest's exaggerated casting speed made him like a "spell machine gun." He had just withstood the scorching damage of [Radiant Prayer] when [Light Guide Arrow] was already blasting at him; he had just used Serpent Scale Arm Shield to block the damage when another [Human Immobilize] was cast.

By inexplicably extending the journey that should have been completed in an instant, they also gave the other party ample time to react.

Even though he didn't know much about the priest profession, Xia Nan was still certain that this was definitely not the casting speed that an ordinary professional should possess.

Even if the spells cast are not of high ring level, to be able to cast spells continuously with almost no gaps in such a short time... it would probably require advanced professionals with relevant expertise.

At least below level 5, this is impossible.

However, judging from the degree of magic power concentration and the aura of the dissipated magical energy, the opponent's specific class level was probably around level five, not much higher than his own.

"So...it was that pastel gem that gave him his power?"

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the pink gem in Moen's hand, and her heart sank.

In other words, he was relatively well-rounded, with physical fitness, combat skills, and equipment quality far exceeding those of ordinary professionals, and managed to withstand all three spells.

If it were any other adventurer, encountering such a combo from the opponent, they would probably be calling the villagers to prepare a feast by now.

Even so, Xia Nan managed to withstand three consecutive spells by relying on his own "stats" and "mechanics," and rushed to the priest's side at a speed that was still not slow even after being delayed.

The opponent actually had a final trick up their sleeve, using the pink barrier of the gemstone to block their attack.

In the blink of an eye, one round of the contest was over.

Aside from slight soreness in his right wrist and forearm due to the recoil, and a slight burn on his chest from the spell's radiant damage, he was otherwise unharmed, not even a minor injury. The 5% radiant resistance provided by the [Radiant One] feat was only slightly effective because the amount of damage that could actually fall on Xia Nan's body after [Pulse of Purgatory] was already limited; it was better than nothing.

On the contrary, Pastor Moen, who seemed to have the upper hand, now looked extremely tired and pale.

It seems that for him, that combo of spells was by no means an easy task.

Even the way the other person looked at Xia Nan became somewhat strange.

Xia Nan was surprised by the priest's casting speed, and Moen was equally astonished by Xia Nan's equally exaggerated performance in the face of spell combos.

For a moment, he couldn't even keep his expression straight.

One could vaguely see the outline of the contracting pupils in his bright eyes, and even the staff he held in his hand unconsciously swayed twice.

Countless thoughts flashed through their minds, but before they could even coalesce into concrete ideas, they were reduced to dust in the clash of their gazes.

No extra nonsense.

Once a battle begins, it can only end after one side dies.

Xia Nanfang landed lightly after being knocked away, the high-frequency sharp sound of the sword blade colliding with the energy barrier still echoing in the sky above the church dome, and the long wolf howl rang out once again.

Knowing full well that he must maximize his speed advantage and never stand still to become a sitting duck for his opponent.

The jet-black winter wolf, its mane swaying, patiently circled its prey, no longer lunging forward as it had before, but instead applying pressure while probing with feints.

At the same time, Xia Nan also keenly observed that, along with the quiet passage of time amidst the wolf howls, the pink light shield that the priest had erected to protect his body, after rapidly expanding when Xia Nan was knocked away, slowly deflated at a visible speed.

This gave him a slight sense of relief.

After all, with his current attack capabilities, he couldn't break through the light shield's defense. If the opponent could maintain the light shield indefinitely, he might really have to consider how to escape from the church with his teammates.

On the other hand, Moen's increasingly pale and tired appearance also showed his gradually weakening strength.

It was obvious that he himself knew he couldn't continue like this.

Otherwise, if things continue like this, I will exhaust myself trying to maintain the light shield, and eventually become a lamb to the slaughter in the clutches of wolves.

We must regain the initiative in the battle!
"Buzz!"

A burst of high-frequency energy noise erupted in an instant.

Taking advantage of Xia Nan's brief moment of retreat after his feigned attack, Moen decisively removed the pink light shield that was gradually shrinking and protecting him.

At the same time, he gripped the staff tightly in his hand, raised it sharply, and pointed the tip of the staff directly in the direction of the black-haired adventurer.

Long——

The massive infusion of spiritual energy subtly distorted the surrounding air. A magical radiance, far more powerful and dazzling than before, surged forth from the surface of the staff.

In the blink of an eye, it will condense into a complete spell within the mental energy model.

"It's now!"

A thought flashed through Xia Nan's mind, and his heart stirred.

With the two sides close enough together, the previously envisioned plan seemed to have a real opportunity to be put into practice.

A hint of gray suddenly appeared deep within his dark eyes.

【A World That Opens Your Mind】!
His already limited mental energy was rapidly depleted, and everything before him instantly transformed into a strange world composed of pure black and white lines.

With unprecedented focus, he locked his attention on Moen's arm holding the staff, carefully observing the gravitational ripples on its surface that changed due to the infusion of magic, searching for the most vulnerable and core point, a small dot located below his wrist.

"here!"

As the gray and white light in his eyes dissipated and he broke free from the [Mind-Guiding Vision], Xia Nan ignored the throbbing pain in his brain caused by excessive mental energy consumption. He focused his attention, maximized his perception, and manipulated all the gravity he could mobilize.

In the instant before the spell of Morn was about to take shape, referencing the core point glimpsed from a unique perspective, he manipulated gravity across the air—

Beneath the priest's wrist holding the staff, at the most appropriate angle, at the most precise moment, and with the most suitable force...

Give it a gentle tug.

"Buzz!"

Moen felt as if he had been violently pulled forward by some invisible force, causing his body to lean forward and stagger a few steps.

The staff nearly slipped from his hand, and the spell that was about to take shape at the tip of the staff became disordered and distorted.

Under normal circumstances, when faced with such an "accident," an experienced spellcaster can completely offset the effect of the spell being interrupted by cutting off the infusion of mental energy or forcibly dissolving the magic model, causing the already condensed magic particles to turn into harmless energy turbulence.

However, the timing and location that Xia Nan found were the most delicate points. In addition, his old and frail body had been greatly depleted in the fierce battle, and his ability to control magical particles was greatly weakened.

This caused the spell model, which was abruptly disrupted by gravity, not to temporarily end, but instead to uncontrollably drain the priest's magic power in an even more violent manner.

The external reaction was that, as Moen staggered, a small, dazzling ball of light suddenly rose from the staff.

It's like a miniature sun.

It absorbed magic power wantonly, rapidly expanding and growing.

Then it reached a certain critical point... and exploded!

boom--

A dazzling white light flashed across the spacious church, even momentarily suppressing the pink beam of light overhead.

Xia Nan, who had transformed into a black wolf phantom and retreated away in advance due to a sense of danger, subconsciously squinted his eyes amidst the flashing light.

A scalding torrent, imbued with a sacred aura, rushed towards us after the dazzling light, stirring up countless wood chips and dust from the ground.

"what!!!"

A piercing, agonizing wail reached my ears.

Xia Nan opened her eyes.

What came into view was a distorted human figure engulfed in flames.

The pure white holy flames scorched the flesh, and a nauseating smell of burning rose with a sizzling sound;

The once solemn and magnificent ceremonial robes were mostly burned, revealing the skin and fat beneath them that were rapidly melting away under the flames.

The elderly pastor, who once held a high position of prestige in the hearts of the townspeople, was now enveloped in his holy flame, resembling a human torch.

Even more tragically, his left hand, which was holding the staff, was also damaged.

Two inches above the elbow, it was completely blown off, and the blood at the wound was dried up, revealing pale bone fragments.

The ash wood staff that served as the medium for casting the spell was reduced to a small section, rapidly charring under the pure white flames, and fell onto the altar beside it along with two fingers that were also stained with flames.

It has clearly lost its value as a spoil of war.

It was just a flash of inspiration during the battle, but I never expected it to have such a huge impact.

Xia Nan naturally wouldn't let this golden opportunity slip by.

As the wolf howled, it rushed rapidly toward Moen.

This time, without the hindrance of magic, his speed was maximized.

In the blink of an eye, he leaped in front of the priest.

Feeling the scorching heat wave emanating from ahead, accompanied by wailing sounds, he raised the black-gray straight sword high, about to bring it down.

At that very moment, under the influence of his senses, an extremely dangerous premonition arose in his heart.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Nan followed his premonition almost instinctively, pulling his arms together and stomping his feet hard on the floor.

Gravel splashes!

At the same time, he was instantly swept away by the black wolf's phantom.

hum-

The pink energy light that the priest had been surging and then abruptly withdrawing from his right hand, which was gripping the gem tightly, missed its target.

The screams stopped abruptly.

Moen's body was still burning with pure white holy flames, and his flesh was still being consumed and scorched by the flames.

But the contortion and pain on his face vanished without a trace.

Flames flickered in his throat; his vocal cords were damaged, and he could no longer speak. He looked at Xia Nan, and could only make incomprehensible "hoho" sounds from his open mouth.

Then, in front of him, she raised her right hand.

Amidst the splattering of blood, he practically forced the gem, which shimmered with an eerie pink light, into his chest.

Behind them, the statue of the goddess stood silently.

Beneath the compassionate and benevolent stone eyes, a single, pure white flame burned silently.

(End of this chapter)