When Lex raised his gun, Hilda lifted her arms to defend, taking two shots with her arms and shoulders, while a third bullet grazed her cheek as she turned her head.
Although the demon-hunting bullets seemed to inflict limited damage on her, a seductive blood-fire bloomed on Hilda's shoulder, and the wound on her arm bled profusely; the Beyonder effect of Blood Praise had already taken effect.
Seeing Hilda get shot, Lex became even more certain that the High Priest belonged to the Corpse Collector pathway.
If she were a Zombie, she wouldn't have been injured at all; even a werewolf's wounds would heal quickly.
She also wouldn't be a Beyonder from the Night pathway, otherwise, she should have dragged him into a dream by now, instead of charging straight forward.
Lex continued to fire, but this time, Hilda didn't rashly offer herself up; instead, she used her agile movements to evade the attacks.
On the ship, Lex had read some material about the different characteristics of various Beyonder pathways. He remembered that the Corpse Collector pathway, Sequence 9, already possessed certain corpse traits and had enhanced Physique, allowing them to withstand the erosion of decay, cold, and death aura.
Sequence 8's Physique was even stronger, and her movements were even more agile.
So, after realizing she couldn't Spirit Channel, Hilda directly used her Physique advantage, intending to eliminate him, the intruder.
However, what a Spirit Medium was best at was things related to spirits. If Hilda could still Spirit Channel, she could completely use different spirits to achieve various magics, create various supernatural phenomena, and then she would be very troublesome.
Now,
After sealing her Spirit Channeling ability, Lex didn't find her to be that terrifying.
However, he still needed to be cautious.
Having quickly run out of bullets, Lex had no intention of reloading; he turned and ran.
He ran towards the main entrance.
Rapid footsteps came from behind; Hilda was already catching up. Lex spread his spirituality, creating 'traps' at the instant his feet touched the ground.
He felt a fierce gust of wind behind him, and Lex didn't hesitate. A flash of fire beneath his feet, and two streams of flames erupted, propelling him into the air, causing Hilda's full-force kick to miss.
In mid-air, Lex held his hands out flat, flames spewing from his palms, propelling him to change direction and land behind Hilda. Next, Lex brought his index and middle fingers together, with his thumb raised, continuously spewing small fireballs from his fingertips, sweeping Hilda like a machine gun.
Hilda hadn't recovered from his previous 'performance' before she was hit by several 'bullets' in quick succession.
But these 'bullets' were not so easy to take; they caused small explosions upon hitting Hilda, causing crimson to continuously bloom on the High Priest's body.
The High Priest raised her hands, protecting her head and chest, but her arms and other parts were torn and bleeding from the explosions.
She screamed incessantly, suppressed by this barrage of firepower, unable to lift her head, and constantly retreating.
When she retreated to the 'trap' Lex had just set, a flash of fire erupted there, crimson churning, and several flame landmines exploded in succession, the spewing flames instantly engulfing Hilda.
At this point, Lex stopped, raised his right hand, and suddenly a large amount of orange-red flames shot out from between his arms. As he clenched his five fingers into a fist, the flames retracted and gathered, forming a huge 'fist'.
From the fire on the ground, Hilda rushed out, clutching her head and screaming; she had turned into a torch. The Beyonder effect of Blood Praise, combined with the series of damages Lex had just inflicted, had caused her to lose her sanity.
Lex twisted his waist slightly, gathered strength, and swung a punch down towards Hilda.
The massive 'fist' condensed from flames roared forth, smashing into Hilda's body like a cannonball. The High Priest didn't even have time to let out a grunt before she was knocked to the ground by this Fire Fist.
Boom!
Flames raged in the garden!
Amidst the huge explosion, all the windows of the garden villa were shattered, glass shards spewing out in a rush, countless fragments reflecting the firelight, sparkling and falling.
In the garden in front of the villa, crimson surged, and magnificent flames shot skyward. After releasing all their heat, they slowly descended, then thick smoke filled the surrounding space. Waves of heat rolled through the garden, and where the Fire Fist had just struck, a pit had sunk into the ground. Flames still burned in the pit, scattered with flecks of red light, and blue smoke rose, just like a crater made by a cannonball.
Hilda lay in the middle of the pit, her entire body charred black, not a single piece of good flesh on her, completely motionless.
Looking at the corpse on the ground, looking at the almost completely destroyed garden, looking at his own hands.
Lex exhaled: "This is the power a Pyromaniac should possess, this is the power of destruction and annihilation, and I haven't even used my full strength yet..."
He landed back on the ground, not lingering, and rushed into the living room.
Using Fire Finger Gun again, a round of sweeping fire carved a circle on the floor, then he jumped high and landed forcefully on the floor.
The sound of splintering wood rang out, and Lex, along with the floor, fell into the space beneath the house. Flames spewed from his feet, allowing him to hover in mid-air. By the light of the fire, he could see that there was indeed another space beneath this garden villa, and it wasn't small.
This area was supported by numerous pillars, and where Lex landed was a passage. At the end of the passage was a heavy wooden door. Lex landed on the ground, and flames rose from his palm, illuminating the surroundings.
He quickly saw a lantern hanging on the wall; a moment later, the light from the lantern replaced the flames in his palm.
Arriving at the wooden door, Lex pushed it open forcefully, then held up the lantern to look inside. Beyond the door was a large hall, with wooden stakes standing upright. Almost every stake had a person tied to it.
As far as the lamplight reached, there were at least fifteen or sixteen stakes, indicating how many people were tied to them below.
Those people seemed to have fainted; Lex opened the door and shined the light, but they didn't react.
Among those wooden stakes, Lex quickly found Quincy, this tall, thin, dark-skinned fellow with his head slumped, eyes tightly closed. Thankfully, his chest was rising and falling, indicating he had only fainted.
Lex immediately thought of the 'Awakening Potion' given by the Miss Apothecary, took it out, and was about to let Quincy smell it. On second thought, Lex changed his mind.
He first released Quincy, then walked to a nearby stake and placed the bottle containing the 'Awakening Potion' in front of a lean man with a chin full of stubble.
A moment later, the man coughed, his eyes rolled, showing signs of waking up.
Lex then went to another man, lifted his head, and couldn't help but be stunned.
This was actually the captain of the Sea Cow!
Lex then looked at the people in this underground hall and probably guessed who they were.
They were the pirates from the Sea Cow!
They had been imprisoned.
Lex followed suit, and soon, the captain of the Sea Cow slowly opened his eyes. Lex put him down, then placed the 'Awakening Potion' into the pirate's hand, saying in a specially altered tone: "This thing can help your companions wake up quickly. The island is very dangerous, so leave as soon as you're free."
With that, Lex carried Quincy on his back and quickly left the underground hall.