Chapter 661: Grandmother's Style

Chapter 661 The Grandeur of Grandmother

"What is the point of pretending now? It is not as if I am unaware of your Bloodthirsty Demon lineage, I even treated you personally."

"You treated me personally?"

It would have been better left unmentioned, for the memory sent a twinge of resentment through Neo; after all, the streets of York City were far cleaner that day than usual.

That particular stint as a street cleaner had been a source of mockery from that fellow named Immaris for a very long time.

Bernie spread his hands and asked, "Can we not just be candid with one another?"

"But I truly do not know you."

Bernie froze for a moment, then understanding dawned upon him, and he nodded, saying, "Ah, so it is that you disdain to know me."

Originally, there had been a relationship of superior and subordinate between them, perhaps even a form of camaraderie, for they were, after all, "comrades-in-arms" who had ventured into political opportunism together.

Yet all of that had shattered completely because of Bernie's past betrayal of Karen.

Though Karen had triumphed in the previous round of struggle, taking Bernie's position and leaving Bernie transferred, it was merely the outcome of a conflict and did not mean their grievances had dissolved.

The other facet of separating public matters from private ones meant that while I have won on the surface, it does not impede ongoing retaliation in private.

The brief exchange served as mere prelude, for in truth, neither side had halted their movements.

The surrounding rain of blood, bearing an immense corrosive force, pressed frantically toward Bernie, but once his initial panic subsided, a gray luster emerged upon Bernie's skin, unexpectedly neutralizing the negative effects of the crimson downpour.

Furthermore, a gray sapling sprouted from Bernie's chest, conjuring a specialized environment around him that did not defend, but rather dissolved the assault.

This instantly disrupted the rhythm of Neo, who had intended to seize the momentum to crush Bernie using the "Decent Burial" technique.

The power of the Bloodthirsty Demon possessed a negative attribute, whereas the man before him responded directly with a method of "healing"; a confrontation seemingly devoid of logic, yet remarkably successful.

Immediately after, Bernie drew two wooden puppets from his robes. The small heads of the puppets were stained a vivid red by blood, and apart from that, a blue halo shimmered upon each of their chests, signifying a binding of souls.

"If you do not wish to die here, if you still wish to live, release your defenses to me!"

As Bernie's words fell, the giant who was still locked in a fierce battle with Ventura was the first to let out a roar, while the assassin, who had just broken contact with Philomena, gave a deeply helpless sigh.

In the next instant, blood-red threads materialized upon the two puppets before Bernie, creeping forward to weave into his chest.

"In the name of inheritance, I summon the echo from the void, and usher in the true blessing!"

Behind Bernie, two exceedingly blurred phantoms appeared; their true natures were indiscernible, but the moment they manifested, they plunged directly into the two puppets.

The true blessing was complete!

Henceforth, the giant and the assassin would receive the most colossal and conspicuous amplification of their strength, and this was the genuine power of a priest, for they were never merely healers in the purest sense.

Karen had witnessed with his own eyes the scene of the Order of Knights attacking the dragon territory of the Crypt Cult; once the knights formed their ranks, the amplification provided by the priests to the entire host could only be described as terrifying and extravagant.

The reason this technique had not been employed earlier was likely that such a blessing demanded an immense price from both the caster and the blessed, potentially inflicting irreversible, permanent damage.

The caution displayed by this team from the very beginning also illustrated their inherent selfishness, to say nothing of the fact that a man like Bernie was numbered among them.

"Roar!"

Black lines patterned themselves across the giant warrior's flesh; his body grew no larger, yet his entire being became far more solid than before.

With a single downward punch, Ventura, who had previously managed to hold his ground in a stalemate, was unexpectedly sent flying through the air, after which the giant leaped, his entire weight descending toward Ventura.

Ventura attempted to dodge by shifting sideways, but thick, illusory arms suddenly extended from the giant's form, forcefully binding and pinning Ventura to the earth.

"Bang!"

The giant crashed onto Ventura, raising his fists to rain down furious, rapid blows upon him.

Sheets of blood began to splatter, while shattered, crumbling stone grew beyond counting.

Ventura was suppressed so utterly that he had no room to strike back, rendering the situation critical.

On the assassin's side, the swift surge in speed made his silhouette even harder to capture, though their state was slightly better than Ventura's, for Muri held the defense while Philomena commanded the offense; under their combined cooperation, though they were suppressed, the assassin found it difficult to secure a true opening to strike.

His primary desire was a perfect resolution, unwilling to trade injuries.

Yet after the next round of probing, the assassin's form suddenly appeared behind the skeleton in an incredibly bizarre posture.

"Meow!"

Purr let out a cry, her voice thick with panic.

A sharp dagger pierced into the skull of the skeleton.

The skeleton offered no resistance, instead pressing its hands downward as a fiery dragon surged from beneath its feet, attempting to form a cage, but the assassin retreated ahead of time after the single strike; beholding the skeleton still standing there, a flash of astonishment surfaced in the assassin's eyes: A puppet?

Purr let out a regretful sound: "Alas, it did not succeed, meow."

"Have you played enough? This can end now."

Karen called out, a shout meant in truth for Neo's direction.

You came all this way and faced your old superior, yet failed to suppress him instantly, even allowing him to deliver the blessing; so are you capable or not, you thin bat?

"Philomena, Muri, withdraw to defense!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Philomena and Muri instantly fell back, beginning to assume readiness for the assassin's impending ambush.

Karen himself lunged directly to Ventura's side; under the current circumstances, he had to enter the fray that could directly influence the situation, rather than playing hide-and-seek with that assassin.

After all, agility and speed were not Karen's specialties; by contrast, though the giant was formidable at this moment, such a massive frame standing before him gave Karen a sense of grounded certainty.

The Sword of Diamans swung upward as Karen slashed directly downward from above, aiming for the neck of the giant riding atop Ventura.

Yet the instant before the great sword could touch him, the giant suddenly shifted aside to clear the space; if Karen continued his descent, he would execute his own subordinate by his own hand.

However, the giant's reaction fell within Karen's anticipation; the great sword did not fall vertically, but instead swept along the trajectory mid-way, its edge scraping fiercely across the giant's chest, grinding out a long stream of sparks.

The giant's body retreated rapidly; he was in pain, yet no imagery of torn flesh appeared, such was his terrifying defense.

Promptly, the enraged giant spread his arms and came charging toward Karen.

Recalling how Ventura became impulsive and irritable after each massive petrification, the reasoning faculties of this giant, who had received an even more exaggerated blessing, must now be greatly suppressed.

Clashing with brute force would indeed be difficult to manage; his previous strike had nearly cleaved through the opponent's outer defenses entirely yet failed to truly "break defense," so Karen, unwilling to linger in a stalemate, intended to employ another stratagem.

Herein lay the benefit of running a grocery store: with an abundance of items on hand, one could always select a suitable combination when facing different situations.

"Thank you for your hard work," Karen murmured. "Do not break any vital bones, protect yourself well, and simply intercept his speed to lure him in."

Little Kanna made no reply.

The giant had already charged forward; Karen, holding the Sword of Diamans, drifted in mid-air, assuming a posture of direct confrontation, which drove the giant further into madness.

A fellow injected with a high dose of "stimulants" naturally desired nothing more than a thoroughly gratifying release.

Yet, before the running giant, two colossal white bones suddenly manifested, stabbing toward him.

The giant gripped one in each hand, snapping them apart directly beneath his roar.

But as he continued his advance, the white bones grew increasingly numerous and dense; though Karen stood clearly before him, the "sense of distance" was instantly magnified to infinity by the appearance of these bones.

"Roar!"

The giant let out a roar, beginning to disregard the obstruction of these white bones as he launched a reckless charge, relying entirely upon the physical augmentation he now possessed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Like a massive rhinoceros, he shattered every bone that dared obstruct his path, splintering them layer by layer, field by field, an unstoppable force.

Karen maintained his dueling stance, his greatsword held aloft, appearing now like a red cape goading the nerves of a raging bull.

Beneath Karen, however, a peculiar wind had begun to gather, while the mark of the Scythe of War on the back of his hand flashed rapidly.

Upon the ground, a foundation started to coalesce, though its speed felt heavily suppressed.

At last, having torn through the blockade of bones, the giant let loose an eager, ravenous roar from his throat and swung a fist toward Karen, his knuckles coated in a dark, lustrous sheen; even if the Dragon God Armor could deflect most physical impacts, the accompanying shockwaves would still reverberate into the flesh beneath.

Yet just as the two forces were about to clash, Karen, who had held his grand dueling pose for so long, sprouted black wings from his back as Qianmei unleashed nearly all her strength, whisking him out of the zone at terminal velocity.

Hum!

The giant’s fist struck empty air, and as he instinctively reached out to swat the "butterfly," an uneasy premonition gripped him; looking down, he saw the previously unnoticed dark foundation now expanding upward at a frantic pace.

In the blink of an eye, a black fortress erected itself, and though the giant was colossal, the Black Prison Fortress was vast enough to completely confine him within.

It was a familiar maneuver, one Karen had deployed against the Moon God Religion’s great insect; against opponents with exceptionally high offense and defense, it yielded miraculous results.

Though the Black Prison Fortress was originally a defensive wartime spell, Karen’s unique nature transformed a collective squad incantation into a solo technique, shifting its purpose from protection to confinement while allowing him to freely draw external power.

Boom!

The giant smashed through a fortress wall with a single blow, an arm thrusting almost completely free as his entire body prepared to break out.

But from the command chamber of the Black Prison Fortress, a vine extended and coiled tightly around Karen’s wrist.

Enshrined within the Temple of Order, the Scythe of War answered the call, bestowing its power to reinforce the spell.

The fractured walls of the fortress began to regenerate at high speed, repaired as quickly as the giant could tear them down.

Sustained by the artifact's immense power, the burden weighing on Karen remained negligible.

As for whether this unauthorized theft of an artifact’s power would draw the temple’s scrutiny—likely not, for it was a complete, high-grade divine artifact, and this meager consumption was a mere drop in the bucket.

Behind him, the assassin materialized suddenly, fixing his sights entirely on Karen this time.

Yet Qianmei’s wings curled into an arc of defense, supplemented by the protection of the Dragon God Armor and, at the deepest layer, the sheltering grace of the Sea God Armor.

With one hand continuing to sustain the Black Prison Fortress, Karen held his sword in the other, engaging the assassin in a simple, casual skirmish; though the assassin managed to land occasional strikes, they elicited nothing more than a muffled grunt or two.

Bolstered by the dual blessings of Blanche and Richard, a heavily wounded Ventura rose to his feet once more; his body was broken and battered, yet he refused to end his giant form, charging toward the Black Prison Fortress to stand guard along the perimeter.

Wherever the giant inside attempted to break out, Ventura would throw his weight to push him back in.

The skeleton slipped another fire crystal into its chest cavity, muttering softly, "The cost is running a bit high this time, how many premium coffees will it take, meow?"

With arms widespread, the skeleton began to chant an incantation.

The surrounding magma began to converge toward the structure, ultimately forming a solid, cooled volcanic mold around the exterior, essentially encasing the Black Prison Fortress in a secondary shell.

With that, the giant was completely smothered inside.

Seeing this, the assassin quickly darted upward, fully aware that the tide had turned, intending to flee before his blessing expired.

A lion's roar echoed as a golden leonine phantom materialized around Muri, who intercepted the escape route above, his buckler expanding once more to block the assassin’s path.

Using her teammate’s body as a springboard, Philomena leapt from Muri’s back, her Nightmare Blade slashing in rapid succession as she re-engaged the enemy in a close-quarters duel of assassins.

But her opponent had no heart left for the fight, focusing entirely on escape despite holding the technical upper hand.

Philomena spotted her opening and intentionally left a flaw in her defense; almost by instinct, the assassin thrust his dagger toward her face, but Philomena caught the blade with her palm, ignoring the agony of her hand being impaled as she closed her eyes:

"Enter the Dream!"

The assassin shuddered violently, his consciousness dragged into a dreamscape; though the blessing spared him the giant’s madness, he was far from his most calculating self.

Philomena had kept this trump card hidden precisely for this moment, catching him entirely off guard.

Neo was furious; he had chosen what should have been the softest target, a mere priest, yet he had failed to make any real headway.

The man who considered himself his side's strongest asset had spent the entire battle locked in a stalemate with a healer.

Thus, Neo decided to drop the act; if his negative attributes were neutralized here, he would show this priest the meaning of true Light.

Before Neo could strike, however, Bernie took note of the collapsing situation and sighed, drawing a scroll that immediately burst into self-consuming flames.

Rumble!

Above them, a massive dark cloud coalesced, and from its depths stretched a gargantuan hand.

The hand had come to retrieve Bernie.

…

"You old fool, how did you fail to notice another array here?"

Upon witnessing this, Madame Tangli immediately began berating her husband.

Old Man Delong replied with an aggrieved tone, "That isn't an array, it’s the Guardian of Order for this region taking action."

"Which one?"

"He didn’t manifest his true form because he doesn’t want his identity exposed, making it easier to brush off later. Each regional guardian acts as an independent third party, staying out of regional affairs and answering only to the Holy See. What exactly is going on here, why has this turned into an internal feud within our own church?"

"It is precisely an internal feud within your Church of Order!" Madame Tangli snapped again. "You’re only realizing this now?"

"My dear… you should have explained the situation to me beforehand."

"What, would you have refused to come if I had?"

"Of course not, I would have come fully prepared!"

"Hmph."

Madame Tangli glanced at her husband, wondering if it was time to let him acknowledge Karen.

Yet, she felt a pang of reluctance, deeming it too cruel to Richard.

Richard at least enjoyed the undivided affection of his paternal grandfather; if her husband discovered that Karen was also his grandson, Richard would immediately be pushed to the wayside.

Madame Tangli never believed her favoritism toward Karen was uncalled for; she knew that once her husband learned the truth, he would be driven wild with joy, because Karen carried the blood of the Guman family, which naturally allowed him to awaken the Key to the Magic Cube.

When that time came, her husband would likely camp outside Karen’s door every day, drilling him on how to use it.

Their brilliant eldest daughter had met an early grave, their reasonably talented son had suffered a mental breakdown that wasted his golden years, and their youngest daughter possessed ordinary talent and cared only for her own small family...

Worse still, their biological grandson had gone astray, playing around with caterpillars!

The stagnation of the family lineage had always been a quiet sorrow in her husband's heart.

Meanwhile, the hand extending from the dark cloud continued its downward descent, intent on breaking through the barriers to forcibly rescue the targets.

Madame Tangli waited a beat, and seeing that the flaming skeleton had yet to make a move, a smile bloomed across her face.

"My dear, are you about to do something impulsive?"

Old Man Delong’s attempt at dissuasion was characteristically gentle.

"Yes, just like when I impulsively accepted your marriage proposal all those years ago."

Delong fell instantly silent.

Madam Tang Li twisted her neck: "A Regional Guardian, is it? Come, let me test your metal!"

The words had barely left her lips

When Madam Tang Li threw herself into the sky, the kitchen knife she had sharpened time and again raised high, hacking straight down at that colossal hand!

In this singular moment, it was as though Madam Tang Li had returned to the days of her youth;

While below, Old Man Delong, whose heart had just been fraught with trepidation,

Stood entirely entranced by the sight.