Lapis Lazuli VS High Earth Elemental Spirit (Third Update 3/5)

The hazy Phase Space faded away, and Isaac and Lapis Lazuli silently emerged. The scarlet evil eye in Hamon's palm radiated an eerie blood-red glow as the endlessly regenerating Dimension Apostles surged into the valley alongside them.

Normally, even sluggish Earth Elemental Spirits would have grown wary when faced with such bizarre magic power.

But unfortunately, they had already been worn down by the Dimension Apostles' harassment. Having been driven from their homes after defeat, they were even more irritable than before, and thus failed to notice the strange bloody light.

Of course, those were merely ordinary Earth Elemental Spirits. The six High Earth Elemental Spirits were somewhat sharper. After a while, even as slow as they were, they sensed that something was wrong!

Unfortunately...

It was too late!

Although Flesh Aberration had yet to completely tear them apart, most of the Earth Elemental Spirits' defenses had already crumbled away!

Not only had they lost their original defensive abilities, those defenses had even turned around and attacked them!

The High Earth Elemental Spirits fared better. They were powerful and possessed the strongest resistance to Flesh Aberration. So far, only the thick stone armor on their bodies had loosened slightly.

But the ordinary Earth Elemental Spirits were different!

Their defenses had basically been completely destroyed!

Even after losing their thick stone armor, their defense was still not low. But the Dimension Apostles' attacks were no slouch either. Their combat strength might not have been much, and none of them knew any fighting techniques, but they were still Dimension Apostles. Near-endless Dimension Magic Power churned within them, making each of them a large-scale Arcane Secret Master. They might not have learned complicated arcane arts, but they could still use simple ones like Magic Ray.

Before that eerie, unfathomable Dimension Magic Power, even Tier 2 Earth Elemental Spirits would perish on the spot under a single barrage!

The most miserable ones were the Tier 1 Earth Elemental Spirits that had luckily survived the Demiplane. They were simply too weak. Though Elemental Spirits had relatively high magic resistance, the gap between them and Isaac was far too great, so they were affected even more severely!

They directly lost all ability to fight under Flesh Aberration!

Some were covered from head to toe in tiny serrated mouths that constantly gnawed at their bodies. Some had all four limbs split apart and become animated. Others sprouted eyes all over their bodies, wildly venting magic power in every direction. At that moment, the entire valley looked as though the most bizarre evil god had descended!

Eerie!

Grotesque!

Absurd!

"Roar!!!"

Watching this miserable scene, the largest Earth Elemental Spirit threw back its head and roared. Its murky yellow eyes were filled with fury. This was the worst its clansmen had ever suffered. Well, there had been no previous time—this was simply the worst!

"Heh." Hearing the Earth Elemental Spirit's roar outside the valley, Isaac smiled faintly and turned to Lapis Lazuli behind him. "Want to give it a try?"

Lapis Lazuli paused for a moment, then nodded and stepped forward. Purple-black magic power wrapped around her body, and in an instant, her plain white dress transformed into a full set of leather armor.

Yes, leather armor, not plate armor.

This was the equipment Isaac had purchased for Lapis Lazuli in Nebula City. The reason it was not armor was that she possessed magic power, and heavy armor would affect the flow of that magic power.

That was why Battle Wizards wore specially tailored magical trench coats. They not only offered a certain degree of protection, but also greatly amplified the power of spells.

Of course, Lapis Lazuli leaned more toward the warrior side, so there was no need to prepare Battle Wizard attire for her.

That would have been too extravagant. Leather armor suited her perfectly.

Besides the leather armor, five longswords hung at her waist. One was the Treasure Item Sever Everything, obtained during the Genie Lamp Trial. The other four were high-grade longswords bought together with the leather armor, meant to be used alongside her authority, Invisible Hand.

Normally, Invisible Hand was strongest when used on its own. Its three ultimate concealment traits—unseen, imperceptible, and inaudible—could be extraordinarily useful in actual combat.

But that was under normal circumstances.

Lapis Lazuli was different. From the moment she was born, she had displayed a smooth Four Sword Style. Later, she had diligently studied swordsmanship under Smith. Now, each of her four Invisible Hands wielded a longsword, while she held another in her own hand. Five sword techniques attacked together from five directions, leaving enemies unable to defend themselves.

Most importantly, when necessary, she could use magic power to control the longswords, freeing up the Invisible Hands for an unexpected strike.

Thus, Five Sword Style had become Lapis Lazuli's preferred method of combat. Sure enough, in the next moment, four high-grade longswords flew from her waist and hovered above her head, their edges gleaming sharply.

"!"

In the next instant, rubble exploded beneath Lapis Lazuli's feet, and her figure vanished from where she stood. When she reappeared, she was already before the tallest and largest High Earth Elemental Spirit in the valley.

"Roar!"

The Earth Elemental Spirit roared as countless stones gathered from the air and condensed around its right fist, which smashed straight down!

"Sever Everything!"

A cold glint flashed through Lapis Lazuli's eyes. The longsword at her waist left its sheath, sending out a chilling streak of light!

The High Earth Elemental Spirit's right arm was instantly severed. Not only that, the moment it broke away, it directly scattered into a pile of rubble!

Sever Everything had grown more powerful after Lapis Lazuli advanced to Tier 3. When Sever Everything cut off the High Elemental Spirit's arm, the connection between that arm and the Earth Elemental Spirit's elemental magic power was completely severed as well. Naturally, the severed arm turned into a heap of rubble.

"Roar!"

The High Earth Elemental Spirit roared, and a heavy yellow magic power pressed down upon Lapis Lazuli!

Lapis Lazuli's body sank, and the ground beneath her feet cracked apart!

Authority: Gravity!

Gravity restrained Lapis Lazuli. Yellow-brown magic power gathered around the remaining left arm, transforming into a longsword that slashed directly at her!

This was the simple tactic of magical creatures: restrict movement, then strike!

Simple, but effective!

However...

Violent magic power gathered around the high-grade longswords dancing through the air, forming four streaks of sword light that fell at once!

With four swift slashes, the stone longsword instantly split into four pieces!

However, unlike the stone right arm, it did not scatter into rubble. After its force was dispersed, the fragments circled through the air, flew back, and returned to their original state.

Of course, although the attack had been defused, the gravity weighing upon Lapis Lazuli had not been lifted. This was gravity from an authority, unlike ordinary Gravity Magic, which would dissipate once its magic power was disrupted.

The power of an authority would not even fade with the death of its wielder.

Still, it was no great problem.

After circling through the air, the four high-grade longswords flew back and resumed their battle with the High Earth Elemental Spirit.

Inside the valley, Isaac watched Lapis Lazuli and the High Earth Elemental Spirit fighting with curiosity. He had seen Lapis Lazuli battle Smith many times, but those had ultimately only been sparring matches, different from real combat. Thus, he was very curious about Lapis Lazuli's true combat strength now.