Fangsheng gripped his greatsword, struggling to regulate his ragged breathing and feeling his legs tremble slightly. This was not the first time his stamina had nearly been exhausted in battle, but previously he had Lewan to help him recover his strength. Now, she was gone!
Even worse, mental fatigue followed closely behind, eroding Fangsheng's willpower.
*I'd love to just rest here for a moment...*
The thought arose, but Fangsheng instantly cast it to the back of his mind. If he showed any such weakness, he would probably die right then and there!
Fangsheng tightened his grip on the greatsword and once again charged at the Flame Fiend. Only this time, his speed had slowed down...
Naturally, the Flame Fiend noticed that Fangsheng's movements had slowed. He felt somewhat hesitant; Holy Radiance was supposed to be able to heal physical fatigue, yet Fangsheng was pressing the attack against him despite being exhausted.
Unsure whether this was one of Fangsheng's schemes, the Flame Fiend beat his bat-wings to take to the air, waved his right hand, and hurled a fireball straight at Fangsheng!
Hampered by exhaustion, Fangsheng barely managed to dodge the strike, but the explosion of the fireball still caught him in the blast!
A look of suspicion crossed the Flame Fiend's face. He was terrified that Fangsheng might be like that cunning priest, deliberately leaving an opening just to trick him! After all, if he were hit by Holy Radiance again, he no longer had enough magical power to defend against its might.
*Damn it, if you hadn't damaged my origin source back in the Abyss and severed my magical inheritance, I'd be flying up in the air right now using magic to blast you to pieces. Do I really need to stoop to fighting you with a greatsword and a whip?*
The Flame Fiend thought bitterly, but he did not dare to descend, leaving him with no choice but to cautiously lob fireballs to probe the enemy.
Fangsheng dodged the fireballs in a sorry state, the continuous evasion pushing his physical endurance to the absolute limit! Finally, on the sixth fireball thrown by the Flame Fiend, Fangsheng failed to dodge in time and was sent flying straight through the air by the explosion!
*Hiss, that really hurts.*
This time, lacking the protection of Holy Radiance, Fangsheng experienced the true power of a Tier 3 fireball. A single blow left him completely incapacitated, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness altogether!
Seeing this scene from afar, the Administrator froze for a moment before snapping back to reality, pulling out a magic orb and beginning to chant.
Seeing Fangsheng lying miserably on the ground with his armor blasted to pieces, the Flame Fiend paused briefly before realizing that Fangsheng no longer had any power of faith left to use!
Joy flashed in his eyes. He beat his bat-wings, raised his door-sized greatsword, and brought it down fiercely toward Fangsheng.
Through his blurred vision, Fangsheng watched the Flame Fiend draw closer and closer. He gave a bitter, self-deprecating smile. *I've let down my country's hopes. I just hope Lewan manages to escape quickly, so at least one person survives.*
"Clang!" A loud crash rang out. The pain Fangsheng had expected never came. He forced his eyes open and saw Lewan's panic-stricken little face.
"Hang in there!" Lewan cried out, her voice laced with tears as she wrung out the meager power of faith left in her body to heal Fangsheng.
Looking at the barrier before him, the Flame Fiend let out a cold snort, swung the greatsword in a full arc, and smashed it viciously against the shimmering golden shield.
As for the spells cast by the Administrator, the Flame Fiend didn't even glance at them, choosing to take the hits head-on.
*Crack, crack.*
Fractions began to appear on the barrier, rapidly widening until it finally let out a mournful cry and shattered completely!
Looking at the priest standing before him with her frail, delicate body shielding Fangsheng, the Flame Fiend sneered. *No matter how cunning you are, aren't you still trapped by your own emotions!*
He raised the giant sword high. Just as he was about to bring it down, the Flame Fiend noticed that the priest in front of him had moved—she thrust an arrow straight into his abdomen.
Feeling the arrow grow increasingly searing hot once inside his belly, the Flame Fiend's eyes were overcome with terror. But before he could even react, he dissolved between heaven and earth like melting snow in springtime!
"Clatter!" The giant sword dropped to the ground, the flames burning upon it extinguishing instantly. Quick-handed, Lewan scooped up the greatsword and stashed it away in her spatial pouch, then hoisted the feather-light Fangsheng to his feet and headed outside.
The Administrator watched Lewan with a measure of fear; this woman's decisiveness chilled him to the bone, yet Lord Nameless remained his only hope of returning to his homeland.
Gritting his teeth, the Administrator blocked Lewan's path: "Miss Witch, put down Lord Nameless, and I guarantee you can return to the church unharmed..." He tried reasoning with her earnestly: "Otherwise, with your power of faith depleted, facing me and more than a dozen guards means you will die!"
Lewan fell silent. She glanced at the mortally wounded Fangsheng, lowered her head, and said, "When Fangsheng learned you belonged to the Harvest Church, he didn't abandon me, and now I won't abandon him!"
Gently laying Fangsheng down to the side, Lewan drew the longsword Fangsheng had been using earlier and charged straight at the Administrator!
The Administrator retreated rapidly to prevent Lewan from engaging him in close combat. Once he steadied himself, he drew a cylindrical object from inside his robes.
A flash of sword light sliced the cylinder in two, and the sharp strike even ripped the clothes across the Administrator's chest! He stared in shock at Lewan, who had already closed in on him.
"How can you possibly be this fast!" The Administrator parried Lewan's next strike with his short blade, crying out in disbelief.
Lewan did not answer. She slashed about wildly with no method or form to her attacks, yet she forced the Administrator back step by step!
*If I'd known, I should have practiced swordplay earlier!* the Administrator roared inwardly. He could easily tell that Lewan was just swinging blindly, but unfortunately, he was nothing more than a half-baked amateur himself!
Amidst the flashing blades, Lewan pressed her frantic assault while the Administrator mounted a hurried defense. These two rank amateurs were actually trading blows evenly.
*Clang!*
The short blade deflected the longsword. Seizing the opening, the Administrator thrust toward Lewan, whose center was wide open, as if aiming for a fatal blow!
Faced with this vicious strike, Lewan neither dodged nor parried. Gripping the longsword tightly with both hands, she brought it down on the Administrator with an unstoppable momentum!
At that critical juncture, the Administrator suddenly remembered that even the Flame Fiend's Flame Whip hadn't broken through Lewan's defenses; his own ordinary short blade stood even less of a chance!
The thought flashed through his mind in an instant. He hastily pulled back to evade, allowing Lewan to only slice open his chest.
Feeling the burning pain in his chest, the Administrator narrowed his eyes, intending to back off and cast a healing spell on himself, when Lewan closed in to melee range once more!
By this point, the Administrator was already feeling some regret. He had never expected this witch to possess such physical prowess!
"Little Wi—" Before the word could leave his lips, Lewan's next strike was already upon him, and the Administrator scrambled to respond.
Seeing that the Administrator's rhythm was completely shattered, Lewan narrowed her eyes and decisively chose to take the strike aimed at her face head-on, while simultaneously kicking out hard at the Administrator's shin.
The short blade grazed her cheek. Feeling the burning pain there, Lewan merely frowned, then drove her longsword straight into the Administrator's heart without a moment's hesitation. As the blade pierced his flesh, she shoved the hilt forward until it punched entirely through his body.
Retrieving her sword, Lewan wiped the blood from her face and turned back toward Fangsheng.
Lying collapsed on the ground, the Administrator watched Lewan's retreating figure with a gaze full of resentment.