Saintess, Death Is Near (2)

Ugh!

The sound of the cold wind howling.

Although abundant Magic Power sustained the flame shield, Qin Chu and Antasia still pulled their robes tighter.

This seems to be a purely subconscious action; seeing the raging snow outside, one would tighten their clothes, even though the fiery shield had already insulated them from the cold.

Antasia could feel the call growing stronger, which meant that Qin Chu and Antasia were getting closer and closer to their destination.

Qin Chu had been making plans in his mind as well.

If the being who summoned Antasia truly is the Ice Witch, then is the Ice Witch alive or dead?

If he were still alive and still wielding the Ice Authority, what use would summoning Antasia be, hoping Antasia would become his successor?

This possibility seems rather slim.

After all, under the influence of Divine Authority, it is difficult for mortal bodies and minds to withstand such power.

Phil, the Flame Witch, has gone mad.

Violet, the Storm Witch, is half-mad.

The Pride Witch Adelina, though not insane, was nearing her end; she would have perished had she not met Qin Chu.

The Gluttony Witch was instantly reduced to ashes; it's unknown how long she's been dead.

The Death Witch Ileta is an exception. She wields the Death Soul Authority. She hasn't gone mad, but her physical body is dead, filled with death energy, making her a walking Death God.

The Little Saya were exceptions among exceptions; these two did not wield authority and were not subject to the corruption of Divine Authority.

In short, if they hadn't met Qin Chu, most of these Witch would have met a tragic end.

The Ice Witch's condition is probably no worse than the Flame Witch's and Storm Witch's... Even if she's still alive, she's most likely insane, or at best, half-mad.

In this situation, does the Ice Witch truly possess the ability and rationality to summon Antasia to appear deep within the glacier and become her successor?

Most importantly, Qin Chu did not believe that Witch possessed the ability to whisper directly into the ears of other beings, unbound by spatial constraints, like gods.

So, it's quite possible that what truly summoned Antasia wasn't the Ice Witch, but rather the Divine Authority embodied by the Ice Witch?

If Divine Authority can be invoked with autonomous will, then the Ice Witch might truly be dead.

Is it like the Gluttony Witch, maintaining a physical existence, but the body has long since decayed, turning to ashes at the slightest touch, and the soul has already perished?

Or perhaps, the soul still remains?

Before reaching that place, Qin Chu had no way of knowing what the situation would be like.

I have a feeling that this situation is strange in every way.

Even the Divine Authority may have become abnormal. If that's the case, even if it means destroying the Divine Authority, Qin Chu will not allow Antasia to become the host of the Divine Authority.

After all, no one can guarantee what kind of danger an already abnormal Divine Authority might bring.

Antasia's face was pale, and her delicate eyebrows were furrowed. "Qin Chu, do you feel like you've suddenly gotten colder?"

Even with the protection of the fire shield, it seemed impossible to completely eliminate that chilling cold.

The air exhaled from her small mouth instantly turned into fine ice shards.

Qin Chu, who was deep in thought, was interrupted by Antasia's words. After a moment's perception, he realized that something was indeed amiss.

Although the temperature was decreasing as the two of them moved forward, the decrease was gradual and did not drop precipitously... But now, the temperature seemed to have suddenly dropped a lot.

"Perhaps we really are close to reaching the core," Qin Chu said after a moment's thought. "Antasia, can she hold on?"

Antasia nodded vigorously. Although she would have been frozen solid long ago if she were alone, she could still hold on thanks to her lover's protection.

"Alright, let's speed things up a bit."

Qin Chu smiled and took Antasia's small hand.

With a light touch of their toes on the ice, their speed increased again.

All I could hear was the howling of the cold wind, and all the snowflakes falling from the sky were left behind.

Suddenly...

Bang!

A deep, muffled sound came from afar.

The sound entered Qin Chu and Antasia's ears, immediately jolting them awake.

After such a long time, we finally heard something different.

That sound like someone's fighting over here?

Besides the two of them, were there other people who could reach such a depth?

Although he didn't know who was fighting over there, Qin Chu still instinctively flew towards the direction from which the sound came, his speed increasing rapidly.

On a sheet of silvery-white ice, Inas stood motionless, holding the Ochre Rock Shield.

This shield was forged by Inas at a great expense and is extremely hard, but at this moment, even this shield cannot withstand the attack in front of it.

The sharp spear gleamed like a dragon emerging from the sea.

Even with Inas's immense strength, he had no way to dodge it.

The sounds of gunfire echoed in his ears, and his vision was blurred by the sheer speed of his opponent, which was too fast for Inas to react to.

With a strength level of over 80, one could be considered a master against an average person, but the gap between them and the being before them was simply too great.

Inas, Florence, and Ileta were meeting for the first time, but a certain understanding had already formed between the three women.

When the ice was broken and the real danger appeared, the three immediately realized that it was beyond their control.

No one can imagine how terrifying these evil spirits, which have endured the Evil God's Corruption for thousands or hundreds of years, must be.

If these evil spirits were allowed to spread across the Skyvault Continent, it would likely be a disaster far more devastating than natural calamities like earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, or storms. This land would be awash in blood and littered with corpses.

So Ileta did not choose to run away. Even if she might not be able to suppress so many evil spirits, she had to stay there, at least to hold them back.

Ileta believed that Inas and Florence would make the right decision.

Indeed, this was the case. Under Florence's orders, Inas rushed to the Ice Grand Duchy as quickly as possible, while Florence, on the other hand, tried to contact Qin Chu using Message Magic while fleeing.

Currently, on the entire Skyvault Continent, besides Qin Chu, a follower of the Goddess of Holy Light, there is no one else capable of suppressing this calamity.

However, even the most perfect plan, if not discussed beforehand, will inevitably encounter some errors when it is actually implemented.

Ileta was a powerful level 99 being, but she was not Demigod and did not have the strength to hold back a large number of evil spirits and seven powerful beings at the same time. In the end, she allowed an avatar of the First Hero to break free from the Death Domain and begin hunting down Inas.

Inas had absolutely no intention of fighting her opponent; she knew very well that for her in her current state, it would be utterly pointless to act rashly.

Only by finding Qin Chu can we see the dawn of victory.

Therefore, Inas almost desperately pushed his own power, completely disregarding any consequences. Even though excessive use of Magic Power and Battle Qi caused his internal meridians to crack and blood to flow from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, Inas didn't care at all.

However, no matter how hard Inas tried, the distance between them continued to close.

When Inas knew her escape was over. All she could do was grit her teeth, grip her shield tightly, and withstand the attack.

Perhaps I won't have time to rush to the Ice Grand Duchy for help, or to find Qin Chu, but at the very least I must delay this enemy here for as long as possible.

The spear was like a dream, ethereal and indistinct.

Even with Inas's strength, he couldn't possibly track the spear's trajectory.

She could only feel a tremendous force suddenly coming from the shield, and her body was uncontrollably pushed backward on the ice, leaving two long dents in the solid ice with her feet.

Tiny ice fragments scattered and flew everywhere.

Immediately following was an extremely unpleasant metallic scraping sound.

The sturdy shield was pierced in the next instant.

The sharp spearhead pierced straight through Inas's shoulder.

The shoulder pad was shattered into pieces, and drops of bright red, viscous blood spurted from the wound, solidifying before hitting the ground, like sparkling rubies, shimmering with a vivid luster.

Inas groaned as his shoulder was severely injured.

It was at this moment that Inas finally saw the enemy chasing him clearly; before that, Inas hadn't even turned his head to look.

It was a woman.

She wasn't exactly beautiful; her looks were just average, and her figure was somewhat plump.

Especially the abdomen, which is bulging high.

She appeared to be pregnant, but there was no sign of life in her womb, only chaotic yet powerful energy.

This woman seems to treat her stomach as an energy storage device.

His grayish-black skin looked somewhat dry.

Excitement gleamed in the woman's eyes. She grinned cruelly, seemingly regarding Inas as a delicious meal, scrutinizing him from head to toe, wondering where to begin her attack.

That look sent chills down Inas. She had no doubt that this woman would eat her own corpse, even while she was still alive but powerless to resist, and be eaten alive.

With just a quick glance, Inas didn't hesitate, didn't waver, and completely ignored the sharp pain in his shoulder. He suddenly stepped back, forcefully pulling the spearhead out of his shoulder, and another spurt of blood shot out.

The next second, Inas flipped his right hand, and several bottles of potions appeared in his palm.

These potions are all the type that can temporarily enhance one's strength.

Inas had already taken a lot of potions before, and there are restrictions on the use of potions. Absorbing too many potions in a short period of time can cause Heavy Break to the body, but at this moment, Inas didn't have time to care about that.

He raised his head and swallowed the potions whole.

Meanwhile, the mysterious woman opposite her was not idle either. Almost at the same time, the blue light in her eyes suddenly intensified, and her abdomen seemed to shrink slightly.

But suddenly his mouth opened wide, tearing open from the corner of his mouth, splitting his entire face in two at that moment, revealing a mouthful of scarlet, shark-like teeth.

Awoo.

A wolf-like howl came from the woman's mouth.

This strange woman, seemingly unable to contain her hunger any longer, pounced forward, her truly gaping maw aimed directly at Inas's head.

Judging by its appearance, it might just be able to swallow Inas's head whole, and its sharp teeth could crush Inas's head into dust in an instant.

"Bedrock Armor"

Inas reacted swiftly, quickly discarding his shield, spreading his arms wide, and desperately channeling the Magic Power he had just recovered to create a magical shield.

With a loud thud, the woman's body slammed into the Bedrock Armor.

The terrifying, savage power penetrated the magical shield and struck Inas directly. The muscular god was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ice and sliding thousands of meters down the smooth, frigid surface.

His golden armor shattered instantly.

Before Inas could even stop, the woman's body had already appeared high in the sky, the spear reappearing in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, it fell like a shooting star.

Buzz!

A deep indentation was visible to the naked eye in the sky above Inas.

The rapidly spinning spear swallowed up the surrounding air, Inas could feel a strong sense of suffocation.

Although his mind was completely blank, Inas dared not linger for a moment. He slammed his right hand on the ground and immediately flipped to the side.

Pfft!

The spear pierced the ice, barely grazing Inas's back.

The next instant, the power contained within exploded.

The glacier began to tremble like an earthquake, rising and falling like ocean waves.

The thick ice all around was immediately shattered into fragments, and in an instant, fine ice dust filled the sky and the fields.

Inas's body was directly affected by the impact due to the close proximity, and was thrown away along with shattered ice.

The enemy was simply too strong. Even with the help of the magic potion, Inas couldn't find any chance to retaliate. Just dodging the enemy's attacks had exhausted all of Inas's strength.

It's unclear how much time passed, but Inas finally landed on the ice with a thud.

Blood gushed from his mouth, and his chest was covered in a bright red stain.

In the instant the spear slashed across his back, a large chunk of flesh was torn away, even revealing the white bones beneath.