Chapter 277: Reversal
The ground for several kilometers around trembled incessantly with the clash of the four combatants, as one massive crater after another was blasted into existence. Almost all of the coalition soldiers caught in the crossfire perished in the aftermath of their struggle.
Though Xi Liu and the others desperately tried to draw the battlefield in the opposite direction of their forces' retreat, they were themselves under pressure, making such a feat easier said than done.
Spells flying in all directions became a death warrant for countless soldiers fleeing in disarray, and Ramdo's initial charge against the entire formation had already scattered the coalition's ranks.
"I'll hold him back!" To salvage the situation, Xi Liu employed a secret art of the Blood Clan—Blood Burning—to temporarily boost all his abilities.
"Not bad, not bad. You can finally take a few of my moves head-on." Seeing his opponent begin to unleash his power, Ramdo continuously thrust his spear forward. The violent energy attached to it heated the surrounding air to the point of expansion, stirring up wave after wave of hot currents that formed sweeping shockwaves in all directions.
Xi Liu, who had been acting as the meat shield, was not overly concerned with shockwave-type physical attacks. As long as he didn't encounter a natural enemy like Sa Qia Si Ji again, his Elementized body could coalesce and disperse at will, fearless of attacks.
However, Ramdo, who clearly understood his opponent's situation, would certainly not unleash purely physical attacks.
Although he didn't comprehend the Xingyi Dao developed by the Hua-Ya martial artists, which involved infusing will into every strike, as a genius in mental power cultivation, he had also independently discovered similar techniques.
The golden lightning swirling around his spear was the hidden move he used to counter Xi Liu's undying form.
On the other hand, the Holy Arts released by Gang Duo were constantly nullified, one for one, by the Divine Arts released by Ramdo. The battle between the two had become a pure war of attrition of mental power.
As for Chris Ding, whose cultivation path blended both magic and Divine Arts, she was not proficient in such head-to-head combat. Thus, most of the time, she would cast a flurry of enhancement spells on the other two, then reduce negative effects and inflict debuffs on the enemy.
The three of them, with great effort, had managed to form an iron triangle of warrior, priest, and mage. Xi Liu was the tanking warrior, Gang Duo was responsible for various types of damage output, and finally, Chris Ding, as a barely qualified priest, jointly resisted Ramdo's fierce offensive.
...
The frenzied battle had raged for nearly two hours. The trio had fought from the initial grassland battlefield all the way to a desert battlefield three hundred kilometers away. Even a divine body projection like Ramdo was beginning to struggle.
Chris Ding and the others, being living beings, were even more exhausted to the point of death. But no matter what, they had at least covered the main force's retreat and successfully stalled Ramdo.
The battle at their level was simply too terrifying. A casual strike from any of them far surpassed the full power of the ability user soldiers below. The ordinary soldiers had no power to resist at all.
Now, what the three had to consider was how to escape their opponent's pursuit!
Though the golden light on his body had become quite dim, Ramdo also knew that his opponents were in an even worse state. After all, he was merely an energy projection, while they were beings that could get tired and feel pain. He pondered whether it was possible to keep one or two of them.
Killing all three at once was unrealistic. Even though he held a considerable advantage, every individual who could stand out among billions of ordinary people and become a top-tier figure would more or less possess some life-saving skills. Winning was easy, killing was difficult.
In the end, Ramdo still chose Xi Liu. For no other reason than that he had already left a hidden move, a thought lightning, within his body.
He didn't hope to brainwash the opponent with the faint mental shock from the lightning, but as long as he could make the enemy fall into confusion for one or two seconds, he would have a significant chance of killing him.
As for the other two, the divine power on their bodies was like a natural enemy to his golden lightning; not even a trace could infiltrate.
"Explode!" Ramdo had to seize the moment now. The power of his projection was nearly exhausted, so he immediately activated the lightning hidden within Xi Liu's body.
"A chance!" Sensing the moment the lightning in his body finally exploded, Xi Liu silently chanted in his heart.
Before his body lost control, he leaped backward with all his might, trying to minimize the damage his body would take in the next one or two seconds.
"Boom!" Seizing this precious second, Ramdo unleashed almost all the remaining power of his projection, aiming to finish off the opponent in one go.
Overwhelming golden energy lit up the entire sky. In that instant, within a radius of dozens of miles, even the sun could not contend with its brilliance, and all the clouds were pushed away.
However, within this endless radiance, an almost imperceptible shadow suddenly appeared.
Ke Lai Yin, the super-assassin belonging to the European Union, who had been hidden in the subspace, took advantage of Ramdo's momentary lapse after unleashing his ultimate move. He instantly plunged his death-dealing dagger into the opponent's body!
The black substance adhering to the dagger rapidly contaminated the projection, and the golden light on Ramdo's surface immediately dimmed significantly.
Ramdo, who had originally thought he had victory in his grasp and could at least keep the Blood Battle God, now showed a hint of sullen rage on his expression.
As an assassin, Ke Lai Yin showed no desire to prolong the fight. Without even sparing a glance at his opponent, he immediately dragged the already severely wounded Xi Liu and disappeared into the void once more.
The entire process, from Ramdo activating the thought lightning to Ke Lai Yin disappearing with Xi Liu, took only three seconds. It was precisely these crucial three seconds that changed the outcome of this battle.
"Damn it!" Seeing his divine power projection about to collapse under the interference of the black substance, Ramdo acted decisively. He resolutely made a wisp of his sub-soul attached to it escape, then detonated the clone.
"Boom!!" Another earth-shattering explosion occurred. The powerful air currents caused a small mushroom cloud to rise in mid-air. Even the front lines hundreds of kilometers away could feel faint tremors.
Chris Ding and Gang Duo, who were at the center of the explosion, had not anticipated that their opponent would self-detonate so decisively, unwilling to delay even for a second, which caused them a few seconds of delay.
The wild shockwave swept away their hastily prepared defenses, instantly blasting them hundreds of meters away. However, thanks to their terrifying physiques and regenerative abilities, they were slowly able to get up after resting on the ground for a few minutes.
Chris Ding, who recovered half a minute earlier than Gang Duo, looked at Pope Gang Duo, who still couldn't move. The thought of whether to kill him here once crossed her mind, as it would also perfectly frame Ramdo.
There were no witnesses at the scene. Other than the two of them, all living people had already left far away.
But after struggling for a few seconds, she abandoned the idea of killing this political rival here. For Chris Ding wasn't sure how many hidden trump cards this middle-aged man, who always looked devout on weekdays, still had.
Once the assassination failed, it would immediately trigger a civil war. And she herself, still in a relatively weaker position within the Luminous Holy Church, didn't have much chance of winning.
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