"Bang!"
A crisp, clean sound rang out, and the alien monster's body vanished almost instantly.
"Puff!"
The completely black, crystallized forearm pierced through Antiya Lisi's chest from behind and emerged from the front, revealing its sharp, black, reflective tip.
At this moment, the Blood Corpse, which had shrunk in size due to its body reshaping, hung on Antiya Lisi's body, which had expanded, like a ferocious hyena hunting a monster many times its own size.
In order to pierce his heart, the monster's left arm had completely Alienation into a crystal with extremely strong penetrating power, while the five fingers of its right hand had become curled and sharp, and were now firmly gripping the archbishop's right shoulder.
Blood flowed down the black crystal, and Antiya Lisi's body twitched twice.
He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at the hideous, repulsive monster:
How could you...?
He wanted to ask the other person how they managed that final acceleration.
The barrier is formed from its own symbiotic plants, and it can be instantly captured if it tries to gain leverage from above.
The ground had been completely softened by its own root system, turning into a mud pit, and there was still no way to gain leverage.
Antiya Lisi couldn't figure out how the other party had managed that final acceleration.
Without that final moment of leverage, his senses would have been able to defend against the attack.
But what exactly was it stepping on?
Before the question was even finished, Antiya Lisi had already guessed the answer.
He saw Shattered tissue, large swaths of Shattered tissue.
Skin, flesh, and bone fragments were scattered across a patch of ground behind him, as if blasted open by explosives.
His gaze drifted downwards and landed on the monster that only had one leg left.
Yes, I should have thought of that sooner.
As a grand duke who governs blood and flesh, it is entirely within his capabilities to sacrifice a part of his body when he has nowhere else to turn.
It deliberately severed one of its legs and used its other leg to step on the flesh and blood to complete its final acceleration.
As a result, the body tissues that had endured the immense force had been completely transformed into rotten flesh with no value for recycling, turning into a patch of dark red paint smeared all over the ground.
You're very good.
The monster, still pierced through the chest, continued to inject venom into Antiya Lisi's body, accelerating the process of Blood Corpse Transformation. At the same time, it spoke:
"You're intelligent, capable, and calm under pressure. Become my subordinate, and you'll start as a marquis. The seal is about to Shattered, and the Corpse Tide will once again sweep across this world. This time, no one can stop us!"
Antiya Lisi, upon hearing this, simply shook his head and smiled:
It's too late.
"It's not too late. You've already been initially infected. As long as you lower your defenses, I can convert you immediately. Become a member of my lineage; only then will you have a future."
No, it's too late for you.
Antiya Lisi's voice gradually changed, becoming weak and feeble, like a doorbell about to run out of power.
After saying this, his eyes fell out of their sockets like two dried fruits and rolled to the ground.
Behind the eyeballs, there was no human tissue, only a dense network of plant roots, as if a swarm of insects were forcibly propping up this human body.
The monster looked to its right; the human's shoulder, which its claws had gripped, had been replaced by a thick layer of tree bark. The blood that had been gushing from its left side had turned white and was now mixed with a large amount of plant venom.
"Impossible, the aura is clearly..."
The monster let out a low growl, but it was too late.
Countless white venomous sap and root-like structures gushed from all the wounds on this body—eye sockets, chest, subcutaneous tissue...
In less than a second, the monster that had just been so confident of victory was now bound, countless roots burrowed into its skin, and countless vines tore at its body. Freed from its restraints, the plant's instincts were unleashed to the fullest extent at this moment. This was nutrition, and plants need nutrition to grow.
The Grand Duke wanted to use his technique of sacrificing flesh and blood to reshape his body again, but just then, the countdown for the Character Blessing Card reached zero.
The body's stats shrank dramatically in an instant, even more severely than if it had been cut in half; its previously high-ranking Psionic Energy Compatibility attribute dropped by more than half in an instant.
With the loss of Psionic Energy Compatibility, the Blood Corpse Transformation no longer holds sway, and the powers of Tree Transformation and Dragon Transformation begin to retaliate once again. At the same time, the other attribute bonuses brought about by the Grand Duke's possession also completely disappear.
This body, which was incredibly powerful just a moment ago, now finds it a luxury to even maintain its integrity and prevent itself from disintegrating.
Looking at the scene before him, [ Howling Pothos ] couldn't help but sigh that the outcome of a true duel between masters often hinges on a single moment.
When the Grand Duke sacrificed his limbs to deliver his final blow, how could he have imagined that the tide of battle would turn completely in just a few seconds?
The vines absorbed the monster's body into the tree, roots emerging from its mouth. Having realized his defeat, the Grand Duke had given up resistance. As he was completely absorbed into the tree, he finally sensed Antiya Lisi's presence again.
"Very good. With such skillful application of ability, how many people in the entire Middle Tier can defeat you?"
"No wonder Adelaide left such a clear mark on your body. Here, take this Blood Curse. I hope you live to see the day I break the seal."
"I'll remember you, Antiya Lisi."
The long, gradually fading note disappeared into the tree; the body, blessed by the Grand Duke, had become part of the plant.
At the center of this area stands a tall, thick poison tree; Antiya Lisi's previous human characteristics have completely disappeared.
Despite it being winter, the abundant nutrients from the Blood Corpse caused the tree to sprout many tender leaves, and the tree continued to grow new buds, as if it had inexhaustible nutrients.
The sealed-off area was deserted. After a moment of silence, a crack suddenly appeared beneath the poison tree, and a middle-aged or elderly man staggered out.
In the dead of winter, he was dressed in only simple clothes, his hair and beard were disheveled, his skin was pale, and he looked as if he had just been pulled out of the water.
And what's most strange is that there's no trace of symbiotic plants on his body.
He is Antiya Lisi, and he indeed does not have any symbiotic plants now.
In order to defeat an unprecedentedly powerful opponent, he also used his most secret skills.
He completely released the constraints on the symbiotic plant, allowing it to grow and thrive. Taking advantage of the opportunity when the symbiotic plant Drain nutrients stored in its roots, Antiya Lisi used the same Stand ability he had used during his battle with Adelaide to successfully switch places with the symbiotic plant and forcibly detach himself from it.
The alien Blood Corpse's final, desperate strike always hit its Symbiotic Tree, not itself.
Even Middle Tier Blood Corpse don't have a good way to deal with plants that are not infected by Blood Poison.
I won this battle.
Antiya Lisi quietly stepped out from the east side of the barrier. The shouts of battle continued in the distance, but there were no rebels here.
No one noticed the archbishop's figure, except for a peregrine falcon circling in the sky.