Chapter 403: More Than a Little Pain

Chapter 403: More Than a Little Pain

The people from the Sanctuary Church and another group approaching from the opposite direction stared each other down. Those were the people from the Dark Church, numbering more than three times the Sanctuary Church’s forces. Yet, in terms of presence, the two sides were not too far apart. The other side had more people, but the Sanctuary Church held the advantage in high-level combat power .

“Damn it… Did the Backlash Curse not work!?” Within the Dark Church’s ranks, an old man with a withered face said through gritted teeth. He was the one who had set up the Magic Rune Array for the Backlash Curse. They had conducted detailed investigations on this group from the Sanctuary Church. Therefore, even if this Magic Rune Array couldn’t backlash all of their attacks under their full assault, it should still backlash over seventy percent of them!

Even if the rebounding Curse Power were evenly distributed, with good luck, it would be enough to wipe them all out. It was important to know that this Backlash Curse Magic had a rather glorious battle record. Once, a quite powerful Saintess from the Sanctuary Church had died from the Backlash Curse.

Naturally, the old man wanted this curse magic, which could unleash almost infinite power when used well, to add another glorious achievement. It would be even better if this achievement was created by his own hand.

But now, everything seemed like a joke. The Backlash Curse did indeed take effect, but it only seemed to make the people from the Sanctuary Church look a bit paler. There was no substantial effect at all. They hadn’t even lost a single hair.

“It’s not that it was useless, but that it was broken…” a woman in the Dark Church’s ranks said. She frowned slightly, thinking for a moment. “To take a functioning Backlash Curse completely unscathed… Although there might be someone among them who masters this kind of magic… it’s not realistic.”

Everything was relative. Fire could evaporate water, and water could extinguish fire. It depended on which was stronger. At that moment, the power unleashed by the Backlash Curse simply couldn’t have been neutralized. Those people didn’t have the preparation time. Spending a lot of time preparing a resistance magic might have worked, but by the time they finished preparing, the Dark Church’s objective would have been mostly achieved.

By then, they might not even need to attack. The Dark Church people would simply drop the Dark Curtain and slip away. Watching the Sanctuary Church suffer a hidden loss would also be a very satisfying thing.

“Hmph! How could they possibly break it!” The old man snorted coldly, not believing that his Backlash Curse of that scale could have been broken. If the curse was broken before it took effect, that might be acceptable. But this was a Backlash Curse that had fully taken effect and had already unleashed its rebounding Curse Power attack! To break it on the spot like that… are they treating this like some unrealistic protagonist from a novel!?

“We overlooked something very important.” The woman shook her head and continued. “When the other side hesitated and didn’t launch a combined attack, I was already wondering if the Backlash Curse had been exposed. Now, seeing them completely unharmed, it’s completely confirmed. Our prior preparations were indeed exposed ahead of time.

Backlash Magic was indeed very hard to break in the past, especially when it had already taken effect. But now… don’t forget about something like the Fixation Potion.”

The old man’s face turned pitch black, yet he couldn’t refute anything. What could he refute? He wasn’t unfamiliar with the miraculous properties of the Fixation Potion. Its fixation strength could ignore any effects involving the body, including those brought by Curse Magic. Moreover, before the potion’s effect was exhausted, it even had a ‘Purification’ effect on Curse Magic.

It was important to know that most Curse Magic was persistent. Even if one could resist it temporarily, as the power waned and resistance weakened, the curse would still erupt. But the Fixation Potion could directly make a curse fizzle out. Fortunately, such an overpowering special Magic Potion only worked on the body. This also made the Fixation Potion a special, high-end product, not some so-called divine medicine.

Unfortunately, the Backlash Curse was exactly the type of curse that directly affected the body, perfectly countered by the Fixation Potion. Even if the rebounding Curse Power could instantly kill all of them, one or two bottles of Fixation Potion wouldn’t have a huge effect. Even if they allowed someone to survive, they’d probably just be hanging on by a thread.

Those things were ultimately limited by their duration and effect. But if one or two bottles had limited effect, what about increasing that number tenfold?

Others might not be able to produce that many Fixation Potions in one go. It wasn’t just about money, but also whether they could be bought. Fixation Potions were always in a state of semi-shortage. Whenever they appeared, various forces would scramble for them, making it basically impossible to buy large quantities directly.

“…” The old man fell completely silent, his face even showing signs of desolation. He felt terrible. The magic he had studied so deeply was actually countered by a mere potion. And the condition for this counter didn’t require much difficulty; it just required spending money. It was like a technical player realizing that no matter how much they tried to bridge the gap with skill, they could never match the kind of unlimited improvement that a player who spent money could achieve. The despair felt…

Forget it, it’s hopeless, change games…

All of this was thanks to that Magic Pharmacist from Kaja! A flash of viciousness appeared in the old man’s eyes.

“Let’s not stand off any longer; we retreat.” The woman said quite decisively. They had the numbers advantage, but if a real fight broke out, their advantage wouldn’t be high; in fact, it would be quite low. Even if they finished the fight, they would lose most of their people. If they managed to take out the Saintess from the Sanctuary Church, that would naturally be a huge gain. But the problem was she didn’t have that confidence. So, it wasn’t worth risking it, even though the Undying Witch had provided the Dark Church with something they absolutely could not refuse.

For that thing, the Dark Church had made ample preparations to confront the Sanctuary Church. Multiple preparations didn’t need to be used right at this moment. After this first setback, forcing a fight was the worst strategy, only to be chosen when there were no other options. The woman had no doubt that at the final moment, if the Dark Church found the plan couldn’t proceed smoothly, they would make them sacrifice themselves without hesitation. Even if it meant piling up lives to buy enough time.

No other meaning, the thing provided by the Undying Witch indeed allowed the Dark Church to do so.

The woman’s timing for retreat was quite accurate. If they hesitated even a little, even if they didn’t want to fight, they would have to. Although the Church people were mainly focused on tracking the Undying Witch and tried not to waste time on the way, if there were obstacles in their path, they would also not hesitate to kick them aside or smash them.

Now that the other side wisely retreated, Achille and the others wouldn’t chase just to vent. Doing that would only make the other side happier, or even use it to waste more of their time!

A Witch’s concealment ability was very strong. Having finally caught a substantial trail, missing it because of wasted time would be like picking up sesame seeds but losing the watermelon.

“Hmph!” The middle-aged man looked at the retreating Dark Church group. With his explosive temper, after being offended like this and resolving the control of the Dark Curtain, he definitely would have fought them. If he didn’t leave behind more than half of their people, he wouldn’t deserve his position!

But for now, he still had to prioritize the overall situation. Since the Dark Church people wisely left, let it be…

“Actually, I would have preferred a fight.” Achille suddenly said. The middle-aged man glanced at him expressionlessly.

“The other side left so decisively, clearly having sufficient backup plans prepared. This time, the Undying Witch has indeed pulled in an extremely important pawn. So, having a fight would have been good too. If we hurt them badly, they wouldn’t act so recklessly.”

“…”

“But not fighting isn’t a big problem either. We just need to slightly alter our plans on our end.”

As for hiding their tracks to pursue the Undying Witch? That wasn’t realistic. The Undying Witch knew very well that the traces she left couldn’t be hidden. They also couldn’t march in a direction away from this trail. If they deviated, what they picked up again might be fake.

“Phew… I feel like I’ve been reborn.” Gale looked down at his own hands, his expression inexplicable. It took nearly ten minutes for them to snap out of that dazed state. But the impression had already been completely etched into the depths of their Souls.

“This is probably a good thing.” Gale said weakly. He tugged at his collar. Their clothes were already soaked with sweat and now clung to their bodies, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

“Good thing, good thing.” Wood sighed slightly. “Just this once is equivalent to who knows how many sessions of willpower training.”

“Even so, I don’t want to encounter anything related to such an experience again!” Gale was still shaken. He rubbed his head vigorously. “Seriously, I can’t quite believe I didn’t break down… By the way, how is Lena?”

He asked worriedly. Compared to them, Lena was practically a pampered Noble daughter. Even though she’d suffered quite a bit adventuring with them, they had almost felt like they were going to die. How could Lena be any better?

Wood and Rick both showed worried expressions. Lena hadn’t said a word until now. Could it be that something really… happened?

“Uh… You’re overthinking it.” Seeing his teammates’ grave expressions, Oss immediately understood what they were thinking and hurried to explain. “Lena is much smarter than us. She had already found a way to deal with it.”

Oss shared his discovery. Gale and the others were speechless. What could they say? Sure enough… a Noble? Her mind was just different from theirs. They were all thinking about enduring head-on, while she had already thought of a clever, less strenuous way that also circumvented the rules. Although speechless, they weren’t too surprised. This was indeed very much in line with Noble behavior.

“Sigh, I should have used that method too. Lena is really not considerate; why didn’t she tell us…” Gale rubbed his head.

“…Phew~ Is it over?” Lena, who had been moved to the passenger seat, opened her eyes and ‘woke up’. She gently rubbed her eyes and stretched her body a little. Through the car’s mirror, she saw the lingering expressions on the faces of Gale and the others in the back seat. Resting her chin on her hand, she thought for a moment. “Did you lose money?”

“Losing money would be better! Lena, you’re so inconsiderate. You just kept that good method to yourself?”

“Mm, so it’s about that. I had my reasons for using it myself. Because I wasn’t sure if that method could actually get us through the Backlash Curse smoothly, and at that time, there wasn’t much time left. If something went wrong, would you rather die confused like I was, or die with a clear mind?”

“Of course with a clear mind!”

Oss nodded beside them. Being an Adventurer was inherently a risky thing. Adventuring always involved encountering various accidents, and among these accidents, there were often many situations where one died without even knowing how. In those times, besides despair, what Adventurers wished for most was to understand how they died.

Yet this final thought often remained unfulfilled. So, compared to dying in the dark, any Adventurer who was mentally prepared would choose to die clearly.

“Captain, how long did I sleep?”

“Not too long, about two hours.” Oss said. After driving away the Dark Church people, the Sanctuary Church resumed their pursuit. Lena was still asleep at that time, and Oss had been driving since.

Two hours earlier, in Kaja, Zheng Yichen looked at Dan Marina’s somewhat strange expression. Her usual smile was gone. This situation was too rare. Apart from when discussing serious topics, she would put away her usual ever-present smile, but at other times, she wouldn’t have such a reaction. This time, she just lost her smile for no apparent reason.

Had he accidentally said something wrong?

That shouldn’t be. The last time he spoke to her was three minutes ago. Even if he said something wrong, her reaction delay was way too long.

“What’s wrong with you? Suddenly having life reflections?”

“Huh? What life reflections? I ran out of those hundreds of years ago.” Dan Marina shook her head. Things like life reflections were hard to come by after living long enough. After living long, you naturally think through everything there is to think about. After that, you can’t think of anything new to ponder. Even later, you simply don’t have such troubles as life reflections anymore. Having seen and experienced everything, encountering similar scenarios only brings thoughts like, “Oh… I’ve thought about this before.”

“Then what were you doing just now?”

“Hmm… Just suddenly felt something unexpected, a bit of an unpleasant surprise.” Dan Marina said, giving Zheng Yichen a rather resentful look. “The Avatar you made is just too good. It even managed to startle me.”

“…What mischief did you do?” Upon hearing this, Zheng Yichen’s eyes immediately turned sharp. He leaned forward slightly, wanting to use this pressuring posture to make Dan Marina answer properly. Unfortunately, he was facing a Witch. Faced with Zheng Yichen’s posture, she wasn’t affected at all, just lightly yawned.

“Am I that kind of person? I just ate a Backlash Curse. It hurt a bit, you know.”

“More than just a little pain, right?” Zheng Yichen didn’t quite agree with Dan Marina’s words. If it was just a little pain, would it make her smile disappear?

“Anyway, it’s like that. It was over in an instant.” Dan Marina still waved her hand dismissively. “The Avatar is perfectly fine. Consider it a test of mine.”

The Avatar Zheng Yichen had made was extremely perfect and had a built-in evolution characteristic. Apart from lacking a Soul, it was just like a real body… However, Avatars weren’t necessarily only controlled by others. When not controlled, they could also act autonomously, maintaining a state of ‘having intelligence but no spirit’. It was already very good that what Zheng Yichen made couldn’t reach this level.

It was just that this Avatar was being used by Dan Marina. That meant many battles were basically irrelevant to her. Even though she had a deep understanding of this Avatar, it was just understanding. The upper limit of performance and the Avatar’s own limits required some testing, not just groping in the dark. Unfortunately, such opportunities were really too few. This time, encountering the Backlash Curse set by the Dark Church, the rebounding Curse Power was super strong.

How could she miss such a great opportunity? And this test was quite foolproof. The Sanctuary Church had willingly footed the bill, providing large quantities of Fixation Potion, adding a new layer of insurance to the test. This allowed Dan Marina to avoid using some of her own methods to ensure the Alchemical Avatar wouldn’t break down during the test.

The test results were out. The resistance of this Alchemical Avatar far exceeded her expectations… no, it should be said that its growth aspect exceeded her expectations. This body’s growth speed was too fast. This made her think on a deeper level. Perhaps this abnormal growth was due to the materials used… a revival of divinity?

She shook her head slightly. Regardless, she was the one controlling that Avatar now. She definitely wouldn’t let that Avatar go out of control.

“So?”

“Hmm…” Dan Marina rested her chin on her hand and gently tapped her cheek. She looked Zheng Yichen up and down for a while, a faint smile curling at the corner of her mouth. “Let me put it this way… you’re awesome!”

“Hey!” Zheng Yichen shook his head. That sarcastic tone sounded really awkward no matter how he heard it. “Let’s not talk about that for now. From what you said, the Dark Church people also got involved in the Undying Witch’s affairs. I remember they had a grudge against the Undying Witch too, right?”

“Having a grudge doesn’t mean they can’t cooperate. The decision-makers of the Dark Church aren’t necessarily the members who hold a grudge against the Undying Witch. As long as what she offers or the conditions she proposes can sway the Dark Church, cooperation isn’t strange.” Dan Marina shook her head. “Just like now, I also have a grudge against the Undying Witch. But if I understood part of her goal and was willing to help her perfect it, we could easily cooperate too. She might even be willing to give me what I want… If her goal is particularly important, what’s a grudge? Even with a grudge, she would obediently satisfy me~”

Although she was talking about a matter quite seriously, her words somehow sounded increasingly… strangely evil.