https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-837-Ran-Chi-s-Hellish-Battle-Part-3-/12937099/
Chapter 838: My Resemblance to Pope Lant of the Holy Soul
Chapter 838: My Resemblance to Pope Lant of the Holy Soul
Blood Moon City's central plaza.
"Are you one of those discarded failures?"
Lan Chi asked sincerely.
La Xial seemed to have not heard him clearly, so he asked again, and he did.
"Landri, you're asking for death!!!"
La Xial shouted, his voice hoarse.
His outstretched palm controlled the blood mist, and countless deep red tendrils extended from within, like venomous snakes, sweeping towards Lan Chi, ready to send this reckless human into the crimson abyss of no return!
"Why are you getting angry?"
The figure in the dark gray coat stood unmoving amidst the blood snakes and raging flames, showing no sign of the panic La Xial expected from someone facing imminent death. Instead, he sighed, caressing his right cheek.
As faint magic emanated from his body, all attacks around him were repelled, and the atmosphere seemed to freeze in that moment. Profound light danced in the city, like countless black stars, as if the very essence of magic was piercing through the veil and entering their minds.
Weak creatures with insufficient psychic energy, if they faced this soul-stirring aura for the first time, might experience an instant, lengthy journey beyond the confines of their physical bodies and the boundaries of time.
Eventually, they would become completely dazed, kneeling on the ground, and perhaps even shedding tears.
The swirling characters formed by the mist did not belong to any known era; only those who had witnessed the ruins of the Divine Age would understand their significance—
This was the radiant aura emitted by the Sealed Tablet when it bestowed its blessing.
"The Sealed... Tablet?"
La Xial's movements momentarily froze upon seeing the light of the Primordial Tablet.
According to the information from the Decaying Bishop Fammer, the new holder of the Sealed Tablet was the new Cardinal who had replaced the Extinct Bishop Asksang in the Northern Continent.
If Landri was indeed the Mad Love Bishop, then it made sense for him to be hanging out with the Heretic Bishop and the Dimensional Bishop.
"That's right. This time, I've gained new power."
Lan Chi spoke thoughtfully, as if to himself.
"..."
Talia listened within Lan Chi's mind, wanting to say something but stopping short.
Lan Chi's words might sound like an incomprehensible riddle to La Xial, but Talia felt that Lan Chi had started to make sense.
Earlier that morning, she had once again merged with Lan Chi, returning to the Mad Love Demon King, regaining all the traits of the Great Love Poet, and hiding within Lan Chi's soul space, possessing him.
With Talia's possession, Lan Chi, now at the seventh rank, had essentially reached the eighth rank, saving more mana than if she were summoned separately and reducing La Xial's targets by one.
"Master, if you have something to say, just say it. Your silence is making me uncomfortable."
Lan Chi sensed Talia's thoughts, communicating with her through their minds as the Mad Love Demon King had done before.
Their mental communication was highly efficient, allowing them to exchange dozens of messages in an instant.
"Seriously, Lan Lan, do you have the time to chat with me right now?"
Talia had decided to remain quiet and be a tool for providing Lan Chi with power.
To avoid distracting him.
"In BO5, I've never lost to him."
Lan Chi responded to Talia.
He had never felt any pressure when fighting La Xial.
If there was any pressure, it would be when facing Talia, where there was no escape, no resistance, and he could only be conquered by her overwhelming power.
"Now I'm starting to wonder if you're enjoying being ridden by me. Are you deliberately seeking it? You're so annoying!"
Talia cursed in his mind.
She believed that Lan Chi no longer felt pressured when facing La Xial, as this guy's words had made it hard for her to distinguish between the times he had done tasks for her.
Countless black mists emerged from Blood King Palace's plaza, swirling with a life of their own, and in their center, crimson lightning crackled, illuminating La Xial's cold face.
Amidst this offensive, Lan Chi remained unmoved, absolutely immune to the ninth-rank spells of the Third Ancestor, Duke La Xial, until the power subsided.
"No wonder... So, you're the strongest among them, and you've been hiding it, Professor Landri..."
La Xial's initial burst of anger gradually subsided after a brief outburst.
After the attack, he had a better understanding of his opponent's strength.
When they first arrived, they had disguised themselves as seventh-rank beings.
But when the sealing spell with the immunity trait was revealed, he no longer concealed his power as a Cardinal.
If he was indeed the eighth-rank top sealer capable of defeating Asksang, then he was not an ant that could be easily crushed.
Of course, it was merely the difference between killing with little effort and killing with a bit more effort.
"So, La Xial, can you tell me why your true king has forsaken you?"
Lan Chi stared at the Third Ancestor, La Xial, completely ignoring whatever he was saying, determined to find the answer he sought.
"..."
Talia was too used to Lan Chi's fighting style, making their conversation like a dialogue of the deaf.
In an instant, the veins near La Xial's temples began to twitch.
He forced himself to calm his anger.
The Mad Love Bishop might indeed be a Sword Tomb Bishop who enjoyed attacking the mind, but the more they faced such beings, the more they needed to maintain a calm and collected state.
"Professor Landri, I'm not sure where you heard about the True King of the Blood Clan, but if you seek pain beyond death today, I'll grant it to you. Before that, I'd like to ask you, who exactly are you?"
La Xial raised his hand, gathering his vast ninth-rank mana, ready to take Lan Chi's life with his superior power, and asked.
If Landri had come from the north and knew about the True King, it wasn't impossible.
But if Landri couldn't provide a satisfactory answer, then he'd send this sealer to join Asksang in the depths.
"Don't I look like Landri?"
Lan Chi asked, as if it were obvious.
"Forget it, I'll see for myself!"
La Xial felt that the Mad Love Bishop was treating him like a fool, as he had never encountered a Cardinal with such a personality.
His mana surged, and invisible counter-spell ripples spread across Blood King Palace's plaza, stirring up a fierce wind.
With the ninth-rank dispelling spell, any illusion spell would be rendered useless.
After all, the person before him must have used an illusion spell to transform into Professor Landri.
"How can you..."
Lan Chi raised his eyebrows in surprise, glancing at the dancing strands of hair in front of his forehead, realizing that the illusion spell was being dispelled.
But it didn't matter.
He had already prepared a new disguise, equipped with a simple item card, the Holy Soul Lant Pope's White Robe.
In an instant, the raging Blood King Flame that spread from the Blood King Palace failed to harm the Archangel Pope, who was protected by the wolf blood that he had consumed earlier. The wolf blood, a source of life force, granted him the power to dispel the flames, and the wolf shadow that accompanied him served as a shield, ensuring his safety.
Duke Lashar's forced dispel magic took effect, but the man in white, with his silver-white mask, remained hidden, preventing Lashar from seeing his true face.
Only the emerald eyes beneath the mask's openings revealed a gaze filled with compassion, pity, and a hint of regret.
But at that moment, Duke Lashar no longer cared to see the man's true face.
"Ah... Ah..."
Lashar's spell abruptly stopped, his lips trembling, and his face paled instantly, transforming from its previous violent state. The thick panic in his contracted blood pupils resembled a dark cloud, obscuring his rationality and courage as the Ancestor, erasing his previous confidence and certainty of victory.
An overwhelming sense of fear engulfed every part of Duke Lashar's body.
He couldn't understand why this man was here or how he could still exist after tens of thousands of years.
"Your presence as a duke truly delights me."
The Archangel Pope's gaze remained calm as he spoke with a hint of comfort.
"Stop pretending, Landry!"
Duke Lashar shouted with a trembling throat,
"Lancros is dead! He's been dead for tens of thousands of years! It's impossible for him to be here!"
This fear-induced anger wasn't just a natural instinct when facing an enemy; it was also because the most unbearable memories resurfaced, threatening to crush him once again.
"Die!"
Duke Lashar's eyes turned into bottomless black holes, emitting endless madness.
Countless dark red psychic tendrils shot out from Lashar's body, enveloping the entire Blood King Palace like a thorny forest.
A chill ran up his spine, causing Lashar to abandon all caution and flee.
But if this person was indeed the eternal and indestructible Holy Soul Lant Pope, where could he possibly escape to?
The only option was to tear off the mask of this imposter, Landry.
"You know, I don't even bother dodging your spell attacks because they're so weak."
When the dark red psychic tendrils touched Ran Chi, they encountered an invisible wall, shattering into countless fragments of blood-colored light that dissipated in the air.
"..."
Duke Lashar couldn't believe that his proud ninth-rank attack spell had no effect.
This only reminded him of the final battle tens of thousands of years ago.
The Holy Soul Lant Pope, that monster with near-immunity to magic.
"During the time you were sealed, I thought of you every day."
Ran Chi maintained the Black Sun Tyrant's Eternal Punishment Decree, addressing Lashar.
"Who are you...?"
Duke Lashar stared at the distracted pope.
A sense of confusion, dissonance, and unfulfilled expectations, along with a feeling of being tricked by an invisible opponent, overwhelmed Duke Lashar's mind.
He could only believe that there was another spellcaster behind the mask.
"Do you want to see what's under my mask?"
Ran Chi answered with a light laugh beneath his mask.
His casual and unintentional words left Duke Lashar with a fleeting sense of bewilderment.
"You desperately hide your true appearance because you're not 'him,' right?"
The Third Ancestor, Duke Lashar, desperately questioned Ran Chi.
"You think I resemble the Holy Soul Lant Pope."
Ran Chi placed his hand on his cheek, slightly lifting his mask to reveal the black centipede-like mark crawling on his right cheek.
"This reunion brings joy."
He spoke with confidence, revealing the answer to Lashar.
The half-covered face by the silver-white mask, the black centipede's playful eyelids, and the emerald eyes radiating a chilling light, all left Lashar feeling chilled to the bone.
"No, you're not him..."
Duke Lashar muttered in disbelief.
The unmasked face, without any illusion spells, bore a striking resemblance to the younger Holy Soul Lant Pope.
If the Holy Soul Lant Pope was like a shattered jade repeatedly tempered and reborn, then this youth before him was a pristine, flawless piece of glass from the very beginning.
Now, even Lashar himself couldn't believe that this person had no connection to the Holy Soul Lant Pope.
His body's instincts urged him to retreat.
The only thing he could rely on was the protection mechanism of Blood Moon City.
As long as the other marquises' sub-palaces remained intact, even if the Holy Soul Lant Pope had truly resurrected, he couldn't harm Lashar.
But Lashar feared that the Holy Soul Lant Pope would capture and torture the marquises one by one, before coming for him.
The Holy Soul Lant Pope's strength was so far beyond this era that even in Blood Moon City, he could handle ten opponents at once. He could clear the sub-palaces and then return to the Blood King Palace.
So, this person's appearance at the Blood King Palace indicated that he didn't possess the strength of the peak Holy Soul Lant Pope.
"You know better than anyone how difficult it is to bear the will of the Black Sun."
Ran Chi spoke calmly to Lashar, taking slow steps towards him as if returning after tens of thousands of years.
"If you have the skills, show me what you've got!"
Duke Lashar roared, summoning countless blood-colored mirrors that resembled a kaleidoscope of venomous snakes. They twisted and spiraled, attempting to entangle Ran Chi's limbs. Simultaneously, Lashar's psychic attacks reflected in the mirrors also struck.
Ran Chi didn't even bother to dodge.
"If you can't withstand this, you don't deserve to be the Third Ancestor."
With his hands behind his back, he strode towards Lashar without hesitation.
This step forward was unstoppable.
When the blood-colored snakes touched Ran Chi, they encountered a hissing black fog, rendering them useless.
Duke Lashar had no idea what move his opponent was about to make, but he felt a sense of impending doom, like sitting on pins and needles.
"The broken Holy Soul Lant Pope is still after me!"
Duke Lashar couldn't believe that his spells had no effect.
The Archangel Pope approached Lashar, each step causing his brain to tremble with an illusion.
...
Western Blood Moon City.
Two vampire counts arrived at the black city like lightning, rushing towards Abigail, who was focused on her work.
Count Barton swiftly drew his magic vibration sword, its blade shimmering with cold light in the moonlight.
He blocked the female count's attack, the clash of metal and claws creating an ear-piercing sound and scattering sparks.
At the same time, Count Barton threw a flying blade, pinning the count's leg to the ground as he attacked Abigail. But the vampire count, unfazed by pain, tore his leg free and lunged towards Abigail.
For a moment, the battle reached a stalemate.
Just then, Abigail finally completed the construction of the mechanical spatial barrier.
A massive mechanical dimensional gate unfolded in the night sky, emitting a faint blue glow.
Mechanical dolls marched, and parts and weapons poured out from the gate, assembling into a formidable mechanical army under Abigail's control. They successfully repelled the Blood Clan Count with their firepower.
The Count's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, but before he could dodge the barrier's attack, Barton caught up and slammed him into the ground by his head.
At this moment, Houbelia had already disappeared from the temporary camp.
Abigail's protection was significantly reduced.
Fortunately, she had successfully constructed the barrier.
Now, she could spare some mental capacity to command operations in other areas and share intelligence.
"Meow, is it really okay to let Houbelia go on her own?"
A black cat's head emerged from the shadows beneath Abigail's feet.
With the barrier in place, it dared to show itself.
Most of the time, it preferred to stay hidden in the shadows, ready to provide Abigail with a life-saving shield whenever needed.
The cat boss had intended to accompany Houbelia, but based on their on-site assessment, it was better for the cat boss to remain at the western camp to ensure stable communication. Otherwise, if they lost contact with the command center, everyone would be without maps and up-to-date battle information.
"Trust in Houbelia," Abigail said, her expression grave as she stared at the hundreds of mechanical messengers' footage, focusing on the Abyssal Palace.
As the commander, she knew she couldn't afford to die, and she had to trust her teammates.
Houbelia's ability to hold off Marquis Ulysses was contingent on her communication support.
"According to my real-time analysis, the seal at the Abyssal Palace not only requires specific conditions to be met for initial breaking, but also necessitates the destruction of the high-density anti-magic crystals within."
Abigail used the communication system to inform everyone, especially Houbelia, about the assault team's plan.
She didn't mind the cat speaking to her and instead reached down, pulling it out of the shadows and placing it on her shoulder, asking it to help her analyze the map.
Her mechanical messengers couldn't get close to the black crystal without being devoured by the Blood Serpent left by Marquis Ulysses in the Abyssal Palace. They could only gather information from a distance.
"I understand, Abigail!" Houbelia's voice echoed through Abigail's mechanical earpiece.
Before arriving at Blood Moon City, they had thoroughly researched all possible sealing methods.
Sealing techniques were categorized into two types: deadlocks and living locks. Deadlocks were similar to the sealing techniques of Asksaan, which couldn't be undone unless the caster was killed. Living locks were like embedded commands, which could be actively broken.
According to the professional sealer Ran Chi's assessment, the Blood Clan's seal on Duke Migaya was definitely not the type that required the caster's death to break the curse, as this would violate the Strong Correspondence Principle of sealing and unsealing.
Moreover, the Blood Clan was not adept at sealing techniques; they were more interested in researching how to break seals.
Therefore, the seal on Duke Migaya was similar to the one used on Viscount Augustine during the Cathedral's Evil Banquet.
Ran Chi, Houbelia, and Frey had gone to the underground wine cellar on the last night of the Shadow World Castle, where they found the sealed Viscount Augustine. Ran Chi had broken the curse by requesting blood from Houbelia and Frey.
Viscount Augustine's sealing conditions in the Lichtens Castle required the influence of a witch and a werewolf during the day, so the curse was broken by reversing these conditions: at night, with the blood of a witch and a werewolf.
Similarly, to break the Blood Clan's seal on Duke Migaya, the required materials were the blood of a higher-ranked Blood Clan member imbued with demonic power, or even the Blood Moon Soul, which was used to create minions.
"Meow!"
The cat boss anxiously watched the footage of Houbelia that Abigail had asked it to monitor. A mechanical messenger was specifically assigned to follow Houbelia, who was swiftly moving towards the southernmost Abyssal Palace.
The Blood Clan members captured by Ifatia had their blood extracted by Ran Chi's team, and it was even condensed into an artificial Blood Moon Soul, which was given to Abigail. She had just handed it over to Houbelia.
In other words, they possessed the essential key to breaking the seal.
The real challenge was how Houbelia would distract the eighth-tier Blood Serpent and gain enough time to destroy the high-density anti-magic crystals that imprisoned Duke Migaya.
However, once the anti-magic crystals were attacked by Houbelia, Marquis Ulysses would be restrained.
"Hey, I've stabilized the situation here," Ran Chi's voice suddenly came through again, audible to both Abigail and the cat boss.
"Ran Chi, meow!"
The cat boss knew the battle wasn't going well, and hearing Ran Chi's voice at this moment was like a calming injection.
"I just heard your assessment of Duke Migaya's sealing situation in the Abyssal Palace, and I can confirm that what Teacher Laosan taught me was correct," Ran Chi's voice was accompanied by the mechanical sounds of the communication system.
"Meow," the cat boss thought, deciding to let Laosan off the hook for now.
Ran Chi had a big heart, able to fight Marquis Lashar while maintaining contact with the camp.
"Abigail, I can now participate in the command. You focus on upgrading the camp's barrier and mechanical forces, and just share the intelligence with me."
Ran Chi instructed Abigail in real-time.
"No problem," Abigail immediately turned her attention to the screen showing Marquis Lashar in the Blood King's Palace.
The situation unfolded as she had initially predicted. Once Ran Chi and Marquis Lashar engaged in battle, he could divert his attention to assist her in the command.
Indeed, neither Ran Chi nor Marquis Lashar could defeat the other. They could only wear each other down in the Blood King's Palace.
The one thing Abigail hadn't anticipated was Ran Chi's torturous strategy.
The cat boss inadvertently caught a glimpse of Ran Chi's situation, and his eyes twitched.
Currently, Ran Chi and Marquis Lashar were at a stalemate, neither able to leave the Blood King's Palace. But Ran Chi was enjoying himself, while Marquis Lashar was effectively imprisoned.
(End of Chapter)
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