Chapter 292: Fierce Battle

The momentum of Ortenrosse suddenly halted bizarrely, just in time for the golden lightning descending from the sky to graze past him. With the millennia of accumulation by this king of dead apostles, even though the artifact of the Buddhist guardian deity did have a certain restraining effect on him, as long as it wasn't a direct hit, it wouldn't have much impact.

Avoiding a direct hit by the Indra's Thunder, the white-clad, white-winged, ever-dustless vampire raised his left hand, swatting away the incoming shield. Simultaneously, he extended his right hand to press down on the handle of the scythe, preventing it from advancing further, and then swept a whip kick towards Shinji's chest.

When Shinji's Harpe was effortlessly pushed and withdrawn, Ortenrosse realized that this cunning magus had played a trick. However, considering the significant gap in experience and strength between them, he didn't believe that Shinji, who favored more attacks than defense, could set a trap that would cause him considerable harm. Thus, his whip kick swept out without any hesitation.

Shinji released the scythe and raised his elbows to block the powerful kick. In an instant, centered at Ortenrosse, Shinji was spun a full circle by the force of the kick before being flung outwards by centrifugal force.

It seemed like Ortenroose had the upper hand. However, as soon as his feet touched the ground, Shinji, who had stealthily put on feathered shoes during the spin, returned. With his hands clasped together, a burst of Buddhist light appeared in his palms.

Ortenrosse, with eyesight far surpassing that of humans, immediately felt the dazzling light sting his eyes, making it impossible to look directly. Shinji, with his hands poised to strike, didn't rush to attack. Advancing step by step, the blinding Buddhist light gradually concentrated, becoming almost tangible. Although these changes seemed complex, they occurred in the brief moments of Shinji's advance and retreat.

Ortenrosse let his arms hang naturally and slowly opened his squinted eyes, ready to respond to whatever Buddhist secret technique Shinji would unleash in three steps. By this point in the battle, this ancient dead apostle, who had survived for a millennium, believed he had largely grasped Shinji's abilities. The majestic golden light and the golden conical artifact unmistakably belonged to Buddhist tools, and the formidable close combat skills displayed by Shinji further solidified Ortenrosse's judgment.

As for the scythe that inhibited wound healing and the indestructible shield, they were likely ceremonial tools passed down by the Barthomeloi family. This family, which had entangled with him for years, always managed to come up with peculiar items. Seeing Shinji avoid using weapons in combat suggested that he was only temporarily borrowing them, hence not fully integrating them into his battle style.

As Ortenrosse predicted, Shinji indeed released his clasped hands after three steps, with his left palm forward and right palm back, delivering a double strike. However, he miscalculated one thing: Shinji's true trump card wasn't in the powerful double strike but in a trap set long before.

In a dark corner opposite the solemn Buddhist light, a pair of eyes quietly opened on the shield that had fallen to the ground. The deep pupils elongated into ovals, emitting a strange golden light that starkly contrasted with the Buddhist glow.

The highest-grade Mystic Eyes "Cybele" opened! Aegis (Athena's Shield) – Caress of the Medusa!

A gray-white color silently crept up Ortenrosse's body. Even the king of dead apostles couldn't escape the petrifying Mystic Eyes, originating from a bloodline more ancient than that of vampires and the era of myths.

When he tried to step forward to engage the enemy, he suddenly found his feet immobile. Looking down, he saw that his legs below the knees had turned to stone. In that brief moment of shock, Shinji's double palms had already reached him.

Ortenrosse was brave. He allowed Shinji's palms, imbued with the power to break evil, to press against his chest and then retaliated with two punches to Shinji's abdomen. These punches were even heavier than the earlier kick, forcing Shinji back even further.

But this wasn't Ortenrosse's true intent. The immense force from Shinji's double palms and the counteracting force from his punches were all channeled into his lower body. If his legs were intact, the force would have been absorbed by the muscles and bones of his legs into the ground. However, with his lower legs petrified, the only outcome was that the stone legs shattered into pieces, along with the unaffected parts above the knees.

Enduring the turmoil within his body, Shinji, hidden entirely under a cloak, looked up at Ortenrosse in midair. At this moment, Ortenrosse no longer retained its pure and holy appearance; a layer of seductive, blood-red mist was spreading around its body, growing thicker and denser.

A white bird flew overhead, diving straight into the blood mist without pause, never to emerge again. Meanwhile, Ortenrosse's lost legs began to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Shinji knew that he had lost the chance to further expand his victory, possibly the only opportunity to severely wound Ortenrosse using the advantage of information asymmetry.

Fortunately, the most basic objective had been achieved, so Shinji didn't feel too regretful. Rubbing his still-protesting abdomen, Shinji gathered up his scattered treasures and staggered forward.

At the same time, more and more white beasts were converging towards the blood mist from afar. Their actions were no different from that of the white bird; they all dove into the mist, using their bodies to repair the main body's damage.

These creatures were familiars split from Ortenrosse's body, so they could naturally return to the main body and become nourishment for its recovery.

After devouring over a dozen familiars, the ancient king of dead apostles finally restored his legs. The force of exorcism that had invaded his body had already been dispelled before his legs were fully regenerated.

Taking a deep breath and inhaling the remaining blood mist, Ortenrosse stared intently in the direction Shinji had left, his vampiric eyes growing even redder as if filled with countless streams of blood.

"To be able to inflict such damage on me, I'll reluctantly commend you as remarkable. However, this level alone is not enough. Do you think that by retrieving my familiars, I won't be able to find you? As your Buddhist saying goes—you can't escape from my Five-Finger Mountain."

With a flap of his white wings, the pure white "Angel" streaked across the night sky.

There was now less than an hour until sunrise.