Chapter 480 Ascetic
Amidst the frenzied and terrifying roars, a hurricane tore through the abnormally chaotic weather, shrouding the scene in smoke, flames, lightning, and hail. It spiraled into the sky, merging with the silent inferno.
Not far from the apocalypse-like hurricane, two figures felt the impact of the roar simultaneously. One's head tilted back slightly, as if punched, while the other's wrinkles quivered, and his eyes grew sharper.
The former was the man who had originally stood behind Olson, vice president of the Iron and Blood Cross Order, Tony Twain. The latter was aged, donning a blue military suit with a sash and medals. His neatly combed back dark-red hair identified him as the mysterious president of the Iron and Blood Cross Order, known as Diest.
Diest shifted his gaze from the hurricane to Tony Twain.
"The chance to become a Conqueror is before us. If I can seize it, I'll find a way to separate the Weather Warlock's Beyonder characteristic and bestow it upon you."
As Tony Twain observed the violent hurricane, lightning, and torrential rain, his light-blue eyes hinted at mockery.
"Can we really succeed? A Weather Warlock has already joined. Even if Vermonda Sauron loses control and transforms into a monster, he's still a Sequence 1 monster."
Tony Twain's words showed no respect for a Sequence 2 Weather Warlock or a Sequence 1 Conqueror, despite not being an Angel yet.
Diest's expression remained unchanged, and his aura surged.
With his military attire, he resembled the commander-in-chief of all armies.
"Elsewhere, we'll surely fail. Even without interference, we'll need to embark on a lengthy hunt to stand a chance against the out-of-control Vermonda Sauron. But here…" Diest spoke in a deep voice, "We can harness that power for a brief period."
As he finished speaking, the area between his brows turned red, as if something sought to emerge.
Simultaneously, Diest retrieved a coin pouch from his waist, concealed beneath his suit.
Filled with soybeans and a few palm-sized iron soldiers, Diest grabbed them and tossed them forward.
Amidst the howling wind, the iron soldiers sprang to life and expanded. The soybeans swelled rapidly, transforming into giants with blurred faces and yellowish skin, as if soaked in water.
Failing to bring his team here in time, Diest abruptly transformed into a blazing dark-red, nearly purple flame, engulfing the newly created soldiers.
A beam of light shot up, tearing through the sky and homing in on the giant figure within the hurricane.
…
At the edge of the magnificent city veiled in a thin gray fog, Gardner Martin removed his helmet. His breastplate bore web-like cracks, revealing blood-stained clothes beneath.
With one hand pressed against his head, he staggered forward, intermittently emitting crimson flames bordering on white.
The terrifying roar had clearly taken its toll.
Navigating through the ruins, Gardner Martin quickly approached the thin gray fog. Half-collapsed asymmetrical buildings stood within, seemingly frozen in time, struck by a devastating blow and sunk into the ground.
Abruptly halting, Gardner Martin glanced to the side and asked in a deep voice, "Who is it?"
Amidst the sound of gravel tumbling, Olson, resembling a hungry bear, emerged from behind a collapsed black building, carrying a small brown suitcase.
The Supervisor, sporting a half top hat, yellow vest, and black suit, looked at Gardner Martin and said, "I didn't know who was coming, so I hid for a while. Where's Philip?"
Gardner Martin breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "We encountered Lumian Lee and his team. They killed Philip. I was injured and barely managed to escape."
Olson, with his thick beard, didn't delve into the details of the battle and sized up Gardner Martin. "You're quite beaten up."
Gardner Martin chuckled, saying,
"Fortunately, I had Pride Armor to shield me from most of the damage. Yeah, I blame it mainly on the angelic roar; it affected me to a certain extent. Fortunately, I was relatively far away, so the problem isn't that serious. Look, even the Pride Armor hasn't attacked me, indicating that I haven't weakened."
"That's good. Let's enter Fourth Epoch Trier now," Supervisor Olson nodded with an indifferent expression.
Gardner Martin turned around, clutching the silver helmet with one arm, and walked towards the thin gray fog not far away.
Olson carried a small brown suitcase and trailed behind the Commanding Officer of the Iron and Blood Cross Order.
As the two advanced, Olson's eyes suddenly turned fierce and vicious.
You'd used 'fortunately' twice… You've already taken off the Pride Armor's helmet… Olson muttered silently to himself, his brownish-red eyes reflecting Gardner Martin's staggering figure in the silver armor.
…
At the edge of the wilderness, scattered with mirror fragments, Franca and Jenna couldn't hear the chants emanating from the wall of spirituality, but they observed the grayish-white stone pillar and two candles of the same color mysteriously softening. Fist-sized candle flames flickered in silver-white and black, while an illusory pewter-black liquid oozed from Lumian's chest, enveloping him.
As Lumian curled up on the ground, occasionally rolling, Franca sighed softly and remarked, "It looks painful…"
This likely marked Ciel's fourth encounter with such an ordeal.
"That's right." Despite standing outside the wall of spirituality, Jenna felt an inexplicable fear, goosebumps forming on her skin.
While she had witnessed Ciel's mental pain and confusion, this was her first time witnessing such intense physical suffering.
Franca spoke sincerely, "If Ciel were to switch to the Affliction potion now, he wouldn't have to worry about not reaching Sequence 4. It's too compatible!"
Sequence 5 of the Assassin pathway was known as Affliction or the Demoness of Affliction.
After another terrifying roar, the silver-black illusory liquid beads on Lumian's body seeped into him. His expression gradually relaxed, and his body ceased its curled-up state.
He lay sprawled beside the collapsed grayish-white stone pillar, reluctant to move for a few seconds.
While his spirituality had recovered and even increased, his body and mind were visibly exhausted. It was akin to the sensation one experienced after completing an exceptionally challenging task in their most focused state.
Lumian, aware of the urgency, forced himself to his feet.
He noticed that the silver-black candle flame had returned to normal, and the surrounding gray fog was gradually dissipating.
His plan to rely on the gray fog's protection against the terrifying roar had failed before implementation.
Mr. Fool's response had a time limit!
Furthermore, he had to consider the interference of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.
As Lumian swiftly tidied up the altar, he scrutinized his transformation:
The improvement in spirituality was evident with the Ascetic boon. Lumian believed that even after using the Spell of Harrumph a few times, he could complete nearly eight Spirit World Traversals.
Ascetic had also enhanced his endurance, making him more adaptable to extreme weather. Even if he encountered frost, he wouldn't be frozen. Similarly, he found himself better at enduring emotions and desires. While he still felt them, he could endure many things.
This extended to an Ascetic's core ability, Compression. It could be used for the mind and also produced positive effects in the physical and mystic domains.
The former involved emotions and desires, which were mostly tolerated. They didn't completely disappear but were suppressed. At critical points, they needed to be vented or relieved, or psychological problems could arise. The Compression ability could accumulate these emotions and desires and erupt at critical moments for the desired effect. For Lumian, the negative effects of the Contractee's three abilities and the corresponding effects of mystical items on him were more bearable. However, he needed to regularly break an enemy's neck as a way to vent.
The latter aspect referred to spirituality, strength, and ritual steps. Through Compression, Lumian could compress and store spirituality and strength beyond the average person when he had nothing to do, releasing them when needed. This allowed his spirituality to recover once and temporarily enlarge him. His strength, speed, and agility were sufficient to withstand a Sequence 6 Dawn Paladin of the Warrior pathway for a minute or two. Additionally, the accumulation of ritual steps enabled Lumian to use abilities like the Animal Creation Spell and the Exorcism Spell in actual combat.
Furthermore, after becoming an Ascetic, Lumian's previous boons had been enhanced. For instance, the number of contract abilities he could withstand had increased to three, although he didn't want to maximize them. He preferred choosing one or two suitable ones, as too many contracts brought too many negative effects. Even Ascetics would suffer because of them, as evidenced by negative examples like Guillaume Bénet and Bouvard.
Of course, this wasn't an immediate concern, as summoning creatures from the spirit world was impossible in this location.
Lumian swiftly stashed away the items and dispelled the wall of spirituality. Handing back the fortunate gold coin to Jenna, he spoke in a low, commanding tone, "Let's make our way to Fourth Epoch Trier."
"Huh?" Jenna was bewildered.
Ciel had warned them to steer clear of the giant and the grand city!
Franca looked back with contemplation and said, "Do you suspect that the fog shrouding the city belongs to Mr. Fool? Entering might provide some protection. We won't have to worry about getting taken out by that lunatic's roar or succumbing to the risk of transforming into a monster?"
"Yes, it's dangerous, but there's a chance for us to defend ourselves and await further developments." Lumian inferred that the same fog enshrouded Fourth Epoch Trier, drawing from the fog around the Samaritan Women's Spring and the lingering shadows of significant figures from the Fourth Epoch.
It emanated from Mr. Fool's powers!
Franca wasted no time and nodded decisively. "Okay."
Jenna chose to trust her two companions without delving into questions.
At that moment, Anthony Reid had finished clearing the battlefield and approached with the spoils.