On the desolate fields in the southwestern suburbs of Tivian.
Under the dark sky, the Spiderfang Priest, who was originally flying at high speed, suffered an unexpected attack. For some unknown reason, his perfectly fine head suddenly shattered. Amidst an invisible force, his skull was pierced through, his brain matter mangled, and his entire body let out a scream in the air, plummeting down in agony.
The blood devil with a pair of wings on his back fell into the field, slamming heavily onto the desolate winter ground. Amidst the splashing mud, the Spiderfang Priest directly crashed into the ground, creating a pit.
The Spiderfang Priest's flying altitude was over seventy meters. If this fall had been onto solid rock ground, it would have likely splattered a large pool of blood on the ground. Even on muddy ground, his bones would have been completely shattered. Let alone a normal person, even an ordinary Extraordinary would have likely lost his life with such a fall.
But the Spiderfang Priest here was different. He was a derivative created by a Crimson Tier Extraordinary using his own lifeblood, possessing some characteristics of a Scarlet Tier Extraordinary. Even with his head pierced and suffering such a heavy fall, he still did not stop moving.
In the mud pit in the field, the Spiderfang Priest, whose limbs were already twisted from the fall, slowly began to move. As a faint layer of blood mist enveloped his entire body, he began to stand up from the pit.
Amidst the blood mist spreading throughout his body, all the injuries on the Spiderfang Priest were rapidly recovering. Not to mention the numerous abrasions and internal injuries caused by the fall, even the seemingly fatal gunshot wound to his head was rapidly recovering at this moment.
"What... is happening... this sudden injury! Where did it come from?!"
With a grim expression, the Spiderfang Priest covered his temple, which had already recovered, muttering in disbelief. At this moment, an expression of astonishment he had never shown before appeared on his face.
Extraordinaries of the "Shadow" possess extremely strong movement techniques and reaction abilities. They can calmly perceive and respond to various sudden attacks. Even the most concealed sneak attacks will often be sensed by them in the final moments, allowing them to make extreme reactions.
This was evident when Vanya ambushed Claudius and Berlit, the two Vampires. Even though Vanya had achieved extremely perfect concealment with Dorothy's enhancement, in the final moment before the ambush was about to succeed, those two Vampires reacted with astonishing speed and dodged at the last moment, thus avoiding the critical fatal injuries.
Although the Spiderfang Priest here was only a derivative, his strength was not as great as the true Crimson Tier body, but he was still stronger than Chalk Vampires. In terms of reaction ability, he was on a higher level. However, even with such powerful reaction ability, the Spiderfang Priest still did not perceive where the attack that caused him harm came from.
There were no bullets, no arrows, no wind blades, and he didn't see any object flying towards him... There was no disturbance in the air, and the only sound was the faint gunshots in the distance. The Spiderfang Priest didn't understand why, without perceiving the existence of any projectile, his head was suddenly pierced?!
This inexplicable injury made the Spiderfang Priest's heart palpitate. This situation of being inexplicably injured made him suspect that he had been cursed!
The sudden injury made the Spiderfang Priest extremely vigilant for a time. He began to look around, searching for the enemy who had suddenly attacked him, but no matter how he searched, he could not find him.
And just as the Spiderfang Priest was vigilantly on guard, another anomaly occurred. Again, without any warning, his left chest suddenly caved inward, creating a bloody hole in an instant. His ribs were broken, his heart burst, and scarlet blood immediately gushed out.
"Waaah!!"
Following the headshot, the Spiderfang Priest's heart was inexplicably pierced. Because of this, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and bend over, covering his chest and suddenly spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. The expression on his face was extremely distorted due to the pain.
"Again... This is... that thread..."
With blood in his mouth, the Spiderfang Priest said in a trembling voice. Even though his heart was pierced, he still did not fall down. And while being vigilant and encountering this sudden attack, he also discovered a clue.
It was that thread, the Spirituality thread on the flesh puppet he had absorbed, which was connected to the controller! The moment before he was injured, that Spirituality thread connected to the other party suddenly had a strange Spirituality fluctuation!
'That person behind the scenes... he can cause me harm through some method, using this Spirituality thread!'
Finally, the Spiderfang Priest perceived the source of the anomaly, and then he immediately planned to break the Spirituality thread connected to the other party. But after trying, he found that the thread could not be broken no matter what!
The Spiderfang Priest suddenly realized that he had used the method of corrosion to cause a problem with the thread on his end, making the thread stick to him, thus preventing the thread controller from actively breaking it.
But in fact, the decision to break the thread or not was always in the hands of the thread controller. Even if he decided not to corrode anymore, allowing the thread to return to a state where it could be broken, if the thread controller changed his mind and chose not to break it, he couldn't do anything on his end.
Before, Dorothy wanted to break the thread, but the Spiderfang Priest actively prevented it from being broken. Now the Spiderfang Priest wanted to break the thread, but Dorothy indicated that whether it broke now was no longer up to him.
'That guy... clearly had a means to counteract the thread corrosion like this, yet he pretended to escape, leading me to this isolated and helpless place before suddenly attacking... Is this a trap he deliberately set?!
'But if he thinks this level is enough to defeat me, it's far from it...'
Facing this situation, the Spiderfang Priest thought angrily in his heart. Afterward, a layer of blood mist appeared on his body again. His entire body was surrounded by the scarlet mist, and within this blood mist, the fatal injury on his heart was rapidly healing.
...
In the distance, three kilometers away, on a muddy patch beside a road, Dorothy stood in place, looking into the distance. Beside her was Edrick, whose gunshot wound to the heart had just healed.
Looking at the dark sky and sensing the situation in the distance, Dorothy spoke with a slight frown.
"He didn't die from a headshot... nor did he die from a heart shot... This guy has already neutralized his vital points. It feels very troublesome."
Touching her chin, Dorothy murmured like this.
Due to the continuous injuries he suffered, the Spiderfang Priest's ability to suppress Dorothy's thread decreased, which increased Dorothy's control over the thread. Although Dorothy could not control the Spiderfang Priest with the thread now, she was already able to receive his sensory information.
Dorothy used her new ability as a Thread-Controlling Spirit Witch to transfer two fatal vital point injuries to the Spiderfang Priest's body, but she still failed to kill the opponent. Although the opponent was injured, he quickly recovered, which made Dorothy wonder about the reason for the opponent's strong immortality.
'Fatal injuries cannot kill him... Is this because the opponent is just a derivative? Just like my Corpse Puppet, as long as the main body is not harmed, the derivative can self-heal no matter how it is injured.
'As for the current situation, the essence of his derivative is not human but blood mist. He himself can transform into blood mist, and any injury, including fatal ones, can be healed by the injured part transforming into blood mist. The human form only makes it more convenient for him to move and fly quickly.'
Dorothy thought in contemplation like this, and at this moment, she again sensed an anomaly occurring with the Spiderfang Priest in the distance.
"That guy... is about to launch an attack from where he is..."
...
In the distance from Dorothy, on the field where the Spiderfang Priest was located, having recovered from his heart injury, he gazed towards the direction of the distant enemy with serious eyes.
The Spiderfang Priest extended his hand, and then a large amount of blood mist suddenly steamed up from his body. After spreading in the air for a short time, this blood mist quickly retracted and condensed, finally forming a scarlet long spear in the Spiderfang Priest's hand.
Holding this scarlet long spear in his hand, the Spiderfang Priest assumed a javelin-throwing stance. He held the scarlet long spear in his hand, and after a very short charge, he threw it forcefully towards the distance. The entire speed was so fast that it was difficult to react.
Under the power of "Cup" above Tier 2, the blood-red long spear shot straight into the sky. The "Shadow" wrapped around it made the blood spear very light. Combined with the power of "Cup", this blood spear tore through the night sky at an incredible speed, flying directly towards the enemy target three kilometers away.
'Feel... the scarlet corrosion...'
Looking at the blood spear disappearing into the sky, the Spiderfang Priest thought in his heart.
The Spiderfang Priest knew that while connected by the thread, it would be difficult for him to approach the target again. Injuries that suddenly appeared from nowhere would destroy his body and directly shoot him down.
In this situation, he chose to launch a long-range attack without approaching the opponent!
The Spiderfang Priest used his own ability to summon blood mist and condense it into a blood spear, then projected it out. With the enhancement of "Cup" above Tier 2 and "Shadow" above Tier 3, this blood spear could easily be thrown a distance of three kilometers.
After landing, this blood spear would immediately revert back into blood mist and explode. The blood mist would spread into the air, sweeping through an area with a radius of three hundred meters in a very short time. Any living creature in this area that came into contact with the blood mist would be infiltrated into their bodies and then corroded. Since the blood mist could directly penetrate the body through the skin, there was no way to defend against it, even by holding one's breath.
The blood mist spear had a killing radius of three hundred meters. The flight speed of the blood spear would quickly hit near the person behind the scenes. Based on the speed of that person behind the scenes that the Spiderfang Priest knew, even if the opponent had foreknowledge and started running now, he would ultimately not be able to escape the effects of the blood mist.
The Spiderfang Priest planned to use such a long-range strike to defeat the enemy. Any living creature infected by his blood mist would have no room for resistance.
...
On the other side, due to having the Spiderfang Priest's perception, Dorothy's brows furrowed slightly after the opponent threw the blood spear. She then immediately began to analyze the current situation at high speed in her mind.
'What does that guy want to do? Throwing a spear at me? No way, does he expect to throw a spear three kilometers away and pierce me? What kind of accuracy would that require?
'Throwing a spear three kilometers away, even a slight error would miss the target. That guy isn't that stupid, so there must be something wrong with this spear. Either it can lock onto a target, or it has a large area of effect. Target locking is unlikely. In terms of mysticism, locking onto a specific target usually requires a medium related to him, or some mark on the target. Judging from that guy's action of condensing the spear from blood mist... it's very likely the latter.
'After realizing that approaching him might be severely hindered, he started attacking from a distance? That's also a correct choice...'
In just an instant, Dorothy made a judgment about the Spiderfang Priest's spear throw, and then she also began to respond.
First, Dorothy accessed the flight status of the blood spear after it was thrown from the Spiderfang Priest's perspective. Due to the powerful night vision ability of the Vampire lineage, Dorothy clearly saw the trajectory of the blood spear's flight from the opponent's perspective, and then she immediately calculated the blood spear's flight speed.
Next, Dorothy recalled the aerial imagery she had witnessed when the bird corpse puppet passed through this area on its way to Barret's mansion. After drawing a map from it, Dorothy marked the specific locations of the Spiderfang Priest and herself on it, and then drew the blood spear's flight path from there. After calculation, she determined the specific direction and time of the blood spear's arrival.
Utilizing the unparalleled powerful information processing ability of a Chalk Tier "Qi" (Awakening/Enlightenment) Extraordinary, Dorothy confirmed the two most crucial pieces of information, the time and direction of the blood spear's arrival, in just an instant.
Then, she turned her head towards the direction from which the blood spear was about to arrive. Looking at the dark night sky, she extended her hand.
At this moment, a spark of electricity began to flicker at Dorothy's fingertips.
Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound of wind, the scarlet long spear crossed a distance of three kilometers, howling through the night sky and thrusting directly towards Dorothy. At the same time, a white light shone on Dorothy's hand, and dazzling electric arcs split the air, reaching out menacingly towards the incoming blood spear. They accurately struck it, and the blood mist condensed into the blood spear was instantly vaporized by the high temperature brought by the strong electric shock. After the dazzling light flickered, the incoming blood spear had turned into black smoke and nothingness.
Relying on the information brought by her powerful information processing ability, Dorothy defended against the incoming attack with the precise electric shock of a Summoning Thunder Master.
And then, it was time for a counterattack.
'The Thread-Controlling Spirit Witch's injury transfer... The larger and more severe the damage, the more Spirituality is consumed in the transfer. The remaining 'Cup' after advancing is not enough for me to transfer large-scale severe damage. If that's the case... then I can only use this move...'
Dorothy thought like this in her heart. Afterward, she consumed a large amount of 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment) in one go, using the thread to forcefully restrain the Spiderfang Priest. Then, she controlled Edrick, who was beside her, to shoot and shatter her own neck, breaking her own spine. Dorothy then transferred this injury over.
Next, Dorothy's gaze fixed on the distant sky, on the thick clouds under the dark winter sky.
...
'What... what's going on? Why didn't the blood spear explode? Was my blood spear destroyed?'
Above the field, the Spiderfang Priest looked at the darkness in the distance, his brows furrowed seriously. He did not feel the blood spear explode; instead, he felt the blood spear's destruction.
Just as the Spiderfang Priest was wondering how his blood spear was destroyed, he suddenly felt a restraining force applied to his body. Just as the Spiderfang Priest was about to break free, a bloody hole suddenly burst open in his neck.
Under the invisible attack, the Spiderfang Priest's spine was shattered, and his entire body temporarily lost control and collapsed onto the ground. With his spine broken and the inexplicable restraining force applied, the Spiderfang Priest was temporarily unable to move, and he couldn't even transform into blood mist for the time being.
"What..."
Meanwhile, above the Spiderfang Priest, the dark and thick winter clouds began to churn. Streaks of electric light and rumbling sounds appeared from within.
A powerful pressure was brewing within the clouds.
At the same time, Dorothy looked at the rumbling black clouds, recalled the information she had gained after her advancement, and murmured.
"The thunder that roars across the sky is the word of the gods, and the lightning that tears through the firmament is the writing of the gods. Therefore, this thunder... is the element controlled by the god of 'Qi' (Awakening/Enlightenment)."
"Boom!!"
As soon as Dorothy finished speaking, a dazzling flash of lightning tore through the night sky, striking directly down from the black clouds onto the vast field. The powerful lightning connecting heaven and earth was like the most ancient divine pattern.