You are all my wings!

In other words, the more combat experience you have, the stronger you become, and the greater your reputation, the stronger you become. This is a more lasting benefit, much like a kidney tonic.

The world has no preference for or aversion to those who establish great achievements, but the poets of different poems have different circumstances in the world.

Moreover, it is even more difficult for those who obtain the Dark Verses to ascend to the Legendary Verses; the advancement is extremely difficult, and only a few who can accomplish even greater feats can break through this limitation.

Therefore, those who obtain the Dark Verses are often rarer, live more discreetly, and habitually avoid having their identities discovered.

The man before them, Andrio, not only possessed formidable strength as a fifth-tier senior alchemist, but also had an exceptionally robust body resulting from life alchemy experiments.

The fact that he could withstand the remaining holy light even after his equipment was destroyed, with only his skin turning yellowish, shows that his physical abilities are at least stronger than those of a fourth-tier warrior class.

Andrio should still have a lot of health left.

boom!!!!

Britta also saw through her opponent's situation and realized that her long-prepared ultimate move had been blocked despite her seizing the opportunity, putting her in a bad position.

She suddenly started running and sprinted at an extremely fast speed to a distance of 100 meters.

Tatata!

Her magnificent relic-inspired colorful robes stood out starkly in the darkness, like a flash of light piercing through the darkness.

Soon, everyone heard flashes of magical light and the sound of violent magical collisions from a hundred meters away.

Judging from the sheer scale of the battle, both sides were putting in their best effort to rapidly unleash intermediate-level magic, making it a fight that these second- and third-tier individuals could not easily intervene in.

So who actually has the upper hand in the current situation?

However, this was the 24th underground floor, with poor lighting, and separated from the blood-red monster by another passage, so the group couldn't see what was happening over there for the time being.

Lyon used his Wind Probe to observe the battle between the two, wondering whether Britta had anticipated the enemy's strength.

Logically speaking, Britta and Andrio had not had any direct contact before the story began.

Their enmity likely began during the Blood Society's extermination campaign after the Paladin Selection storyline.

Lyon wondered if it was because of the butterfly effect caused by his appearance that Andrio, a fifth-level expert, encountered Britta ahead of time.

So, did Britta anticipate the strength of this enemy?

If the situation exceeds Britta's expectations and control, then it will be his turn to take charge.

And the overall strategy, of course, is to run away.

When it comes to running away, Lyon is second to none.

At this moment, Iris Bovary and the others looked at Leon, waiting for his instructions.

Without realizing it, they had become accustomed to being commanded by Lyon.

Of course, the reason they had this free time was mainly because as Britta and the hidden figure in the distance started their battle, the crimson monster stopped its activities and remained stationary.

However, the group did not launch an attack rashly.

Because the blood energy emanating from that crimson demon has a strong effect on mental interference, once you get close, it's easy to lose your strength.

Even though they were gathered at the entrance of the passageway where they could exchange air, they felt a little uncomfortable and had difficulty breathing.

Leon drew his second-tier magic sword and whispered:

"Did you see the Saintess's powerful attack, which was almost like a high-level spell?"

They all nodded.

"For the Holy Maiden to unleash such a powerful attack, it's clear how formidable the enemy is. A major battle is inevitable here. Do you have any potions that can instantly restore vitality, stamina, and mana? Use them as soon as possible; we don't need to wait until we reach the 39th floor."

Leon spoke quickly to the Four Horsemen.

He didn't tell Iris because he knew she didn't have enough money to buy the potion.

This potion is not cheap; it is made from a variety of high-level magical materials.

Tier 1 and 2 potions start at 70 or 80 gold coins per small bottle.

For Tier 3 use, a small bottle costs at least 150 gold coins.

The reason it's so expensive is not only because of the high value of the raw materials, but also because this stuff can be life-saving in critical situations; drinking it can immediately restore you to a complete state.

Given the wealth of the Vatican, these four people likely each had one or two bottles of medicine, hoping to save their lives.

Upon hearing this, Bovary immediately took out two bottles and handed them to Lyon, saying:

"Sir, I have a stamina potion and a life-restoring potion. Would you like them?"

"You take half of the stamina potion and half of the life force potion first, and lend the remaining half to Karl."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Bovary showed no sign of regret over the potion, and without hesitation tilted his head back and drank half of it, then fed it to the still unconscious Karl.

Milo was dumbfounded: "Your Excellency, I didn't bring any potions with me."

"Then hurry up and take out the reserve meat and eat it, eat it in big bites, and then pray for good fortune."

Lyon glanced at the guy speechlessly. "Look at that bulbous nose and thick neck. Does he often spend money on other things?"

Could it be that this guy's character is completely unrelated to the title of Paladin Reserve?

On the other hand, although Iris had used two powerful spells and several basic spells, she had the aid of her wand, and both powerful spells were long chants, which saved a lot of mana. In total, she only consumed 25 mana points.

With her magic reserves of 70 points and the monster meat she had eaten during her break, she had recovered to about 70-80% of her original condition.

Unlike the other knights, she always collected the monster meat that Leon had prepared beforehand, and the quantity and quality of the meat she ate were both high.

She remained silent, eating her dried meat while waiting for Lyon's new instructions, all the while keeping watch on her back.

At that moment, as Bovary fed Karl a potion of strength and vitality, he suddenly opened his eyes.

He was nearly dead before, and if it weren't for Britta's intermediate holy healing spell, he would be gone by now.

Even with a powerful healing spell like Intermediate Holy Healing, which is almost like bringing the dead back to life, it's impossible to completely restore the strength and health of a person on the verge of death.

That's why Leon had Bovary give the potion to Karl, to add a useful combatant.

Putting everything else aside, he is at least a very formidable tank.

Without him withstanding the most crucial attacks, the only difference between the Four Knights' fate and that of the knights who perished on the 25th floor was that they didn't die as tragically as the Water-Swallowing Ape.

Chapter Seventy: Backup Plan

"Is the battle over? Did the Holy Maiden witness my heroic figure?"

Karl woke up, his eyes initially filled with confusion, before he suddenly jumped up, sword in hand, ready for action.

"Milo, explain to Karl what happened in three sentences."

Lyon gave the instructions.

Milo, feeling helpless, quickly explained the situation to Carl.

"What! The Holy Maiden is fighting the enemy alone? Why don't we go and assist her?"

Karl was furious and strode over to help.

Lyon stopped Carl:

"Going to a battlefield where intermediate-level magic can be used at will is just courting death. You'll only distract the Holy Maiden and make things worse, wasting the potion Bovary lent you. As a knight, the most important thing is not to be reckless, but to calmly make the best choice."

Carl scoffed, "I certainly won't make things worse!"

Despite saying that, he stopped and did not continue rushing forward.

The reason for this is that Lyon's words do indeed make sense.

On the other hand, he had only taken two or three steps when he sensed the powerful blood energy emanating from the crimson demon in front of him, which made him feel vaguely exhausted.

He had just recovered, and even with an iron body, he couldn't immediately return to 100% of his previous condition.

"Shouldn't we take advantage of the time while the Holy Maiden is holding off the opponent and eliminate this blood-red monster in front of us?"

"No, this is for the best."

Leon shook his head and explained:

“The monster standing there will deplete the spellcaster’s sustaining magic power. If we take it down, the enemy will have no extra burden and can focus all their efforts on the Holy Maiden.”

"Then why don't we wage guerrilla warfare against the Crimson Demon? Wouldn't that both increase the consumption of the enemy's magic power and weaken the demon?"

Carl, however, was persistent.

"No, don't do anything reckless. This alchemical monster must have a built-in basic magic for automatic counterattack. If it counterattacks, it will only consume the magic power originally in the Water Devouring Ape's body, not the enemy's maintenance magic power. This would be counterproductive and waste the stamina and magic power that we have finally recovered."

Leon explained as he used the Quick Monster Meat skill, a core skill of elemental mages, Rapid Mana Recovery, to accelerate mana regeneration.

"Also, everyone, don't just stand there! Use all the food you can to replenish your stamina and mana. The battle ahead will change drastically in a minute or two, so be ready to react at any time!"

Sure enough, just two and a half minutes later, the magical radiance a hundred meters away stopped abruptly.

"Iris, now begin chanting your Radiant Light Magic."

"Karl, be prepared to fight the enemy at any time."

"Bovary and Milo gathered up all the spoils, including that big tail."

Lyon quickly issued a series of operational orders.

The place grew quieter, the dim light of the fluorescent moss on the dome reflecting off the dark cave, with only Iris's beautiful and rapid chanting echoing throughout the cave.

Tick.

Water droplets fell from the dome, heading towards the crimson monster, but were instantly evaporated by the scorching blood energy emanating from it halfway down the path.

BOOM!!!

The sudden noise grew louder and louder as it approached from afar.

A magnificent and dazzling figure flew backward at high speed from a distance, about to collide with the blood-red monster that remained motionless.

Leon had already sensed the anomaly with his Wind Detection magic and quickly activated Shadow Leap!

call out! ! !

A shadowy figure darted across the ground, skirting the area within seven or eight meters of the crimson monster before leaping up in front of it, grabbing Britta, and suppressing her backward momentum.

Lyon looked down and saw that Britta looked really bad; blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth, her face was slightly pale, and her breathing was labored, clearly indicating that she was seriously injured.

"Your Holiness, it seems your plan has failed."

"Sorry, I miscalculated. I didn't expect that the Holy Annihilation Magic wouldn't be enough to win. It's kind of you to cover for me."

It was Britta who apologized.

But Leon also silently apologized to himself at the same time.

In theory, according to the original plot, there were no surprises in Britta's training this time, and her plan to lure the remnants of the Holy Blood School should have succeeded.

Unexpectedly, this event triggered a butterfly effect, resulting in the appearance of Andrio, a powerful figure who had been a fifth-tier cultivator for at least thirty years and was about to obtain the Dark Poems.

Not only did he master a variety of bizarre and evil life alchemy techniques, but his body was also transformed into a humanoid monster, making him ridiculously strong.

Aside from his rather ugly face, he really doesn't have many flaws.

Moreover, his extremely calm fighting style and formidable combat experience allowed him to defeat Britta, the protector of the gods, even after being seriously injured by a combination of secret Papal magic spells.

Many of the advantages that Britta had created in advance were neutralized by Andrio.

There's a reason this guy can be a mid-game boss.

"Does Your Excellency have any backup plans?"

“There’s a magic circle I prepared in advance on the ninth branch of the 30th floor. I originally planned to deal with the remnants of the school who were lying in ambush there. But I didn’t expect that he would send down the Water Swallowing Ape, which forced the battlefield to be moved to this place. As you can see, the result was as you saw. Moreover, the intelligence was also wrong. Logically speaking, Andrio shouldn’t be here right now.”

How much magic power is left?

"About one-sixth."

Oh no, our strongest fighter now only has ten points of magic left.

"And what about the enemy?"

"He's not much better than me, but he has a physical condition that allows him to recover quickly from magic and injuries. His unarmed strength is comparable to that of a fifth-tier warrior."

"Since the Holy Maiden's plan is no longer needed, it's time to activate my backup plan."