A terrifying fist wind surged forth, instantly alerting the dual swordsman who shifted his footwork, though it now seemed somewhat slow.

This punch pulled afterimages, the massive fist resembling a wildly charging boar.

If struck, his body would likely be torn to pieces.

Fortunately, in the next instant, an ethereal figure appeared and embraced him.

Summoning-class spell: Green Sprite Embrace. Follow current novels on novel⚑fire.net

Summoning the spiritual power within plants to embrace the target, providing protection and healing.

Op timely cast his second spell, saving the dual swordsman in the process.

The green sprite's phantom shattered instantly, and the dual swordsman was sent flying backward, though his body sustained minimal damage.

Pur retracted his fist, his similarly whale-like eyes fixed on Op.

"What price did Naimes offer you? I'll double it," Op said, stepping back nervously, his slightly plump hand clutching a handkerchief tightly.

Upon seeing Tangs, Op realized that behind Pur and the village guard stood that muddle-headed holy knight.

Though now it seemed perhaps he himself was the truly confused one.

"You can't afford it," Pur's eyes flashed with killing intent as he advanced toward Op.

Op keenly detected the murderous intent and immediately understood this was the most difficult opponent to deal with.

Throughout his merchant career, he'd encountered numerous situations and experienced plenty of double-cross scenarios.

But most enemies were ultimately after money and resources.

So often things didn't need to escalate to life-or-death situations.

Yet Pur was different - he possessed faith.

Just like Aro, who held convictions that made him often impossible to reason with for the sake of his beliefs.

Pur was the same, equally driven by belief, possibly even more so than Aro - he had genuine faith.

"I'm useful!" Op immediately exclaimed. "I know much intelligence about Naimes."

"If I die, that information will be lost forever."

Confirming his opponent wouldn't easily back down, Op immediately shifted to psychological warfare, hoping to make Pur hold back in subsequent combat to ensure his own safety.

Simultaneously, Op felt some regret.

He was ultimately not combat-proficient and had issues with strategic planning.

From the very beginning, he had made several mistakes in this battle.

For instance, he possessed a ring with the solidified force-field spell 'Arrow Avoidance,' so he didn't need to immediately recall the feather-air snake.

He should have let it help Aro quickly eliminate the village guard, then concentrate their forces.

Also, from that moment, he should have directly used high-power spell scrolls instead of trying to conserve them.

But because the feather-air snake entangled Pur and the dual swordsman was nearby, his scrolls became difficult to deploy for fear of friendly fire.

There were numerous similar tactical details where mistakes were made.

Had he avoided those errors, the battle would have been much easier now.

"But it's not too late yet." Op continued retreating while using words to distract Pur, simultaneously lowering his hand to let his sleeve cover it.

"Naimes's family has actually been secretly collecting intelligence about him all along."

"They even contacted me before, hoping I could add certain things to his food while obtaining some of his blood and hair."

"Additionally, there's another crucially important piece of information absolutely vital regarding Naimes." Op spoke with convincing sincerity, his emotions seeming genuine.

This indeed captured some of Pur's attention.

"That is..." Op's tone shifted as a scroll unfolded in his hand, presenting itself before him.

Accompanying his words fell a brilliant flash of white lightning.

Shaping-class spell: Falling Thunder!

This was one of Op's trump cards obtained at the cost of five whalehide ore scrolls from another source.

Op turned his head aside and closed his eyes, preventing the lightning from blinding him.

While maintaining a steady retreat, he began preparing another spell.

The summoning school contained numerous internal factions.

Op specialized in void summoning and specific summoning.

Void summoning involved emitting mental energy at specific frequencies, pulsating and extending into the unknown void to sense and summon one's 'summons.'

This required continuously harmonizing one's mental frequency with the summon while paying a portion of mental energy as tribute to the unknown existence as passage fee before finally summoning it.

The feather-air snake was summoned through this method.

Specific summoning referred to spells like the previous Green Sprite Embrace.

It limited itself to the green sprite power residing in surrounding vegetation.

The summoning spell Op prepared now was also specific summoning.

This time the designated target was something on his person, the creature most closely bonded with him - the Nest Beast.

This thing originated from the old priest but underwent significant changes due to different cultivation directions.

The old priest enhanced its blood manipulation capabilities and its own mobility.

Op instead strengthened its parasitic nature.

However, each use increased its ferocity, so Op disliked employing this creature.

But now seemed to require its use.

Because just moments ago, he felt another dormant Nest Beast activate.

Indicating another subordinate had been severely injured near death, forced to activate the Nest Beast's symbiotic healing.

That Tangs proved stronger and more troublesome than expected.

Yet the next moment made Op grateful for his correct choice.

Because within the lightning's brilliance, amid smoke generated by electrocution, a massive figure waved its arm tearing through the smoke, emerging from within.

Pur's body was somewhat charred, but his already enlarged height grew even more, now reaching approximately four meters.

"Powerful, but the power bestowed by our lord encompasses more than just whale transformation!!" Pur's trembling body quickly stabilized.

Pain rapidly transformed into strength, filling his entire being.

The trait named Pain Essence turned suffering into fuel for further growth.

Pur's back bulged rhythmically before bone spikes pierced through his skin, forming whale-like dorsal fins but with sharper, more pronounced protrusions.

His whale transformation, fueled by absolute faith in Naimes, completed another evolution!

Successfully obtaining two additional traits from whale transformation:

Damage Auto-Heal: Healing capabilities further enhanced and solidified, enabling rapid repair of most bodily injuries.

Bone Fin: Bone spike fins grow on the back, granting slight weight adjustment ability, current adjustment range ±10%.

"The power bestowed by our lord enables my growth through suffering, sweeping away all obstacles in my path!" Following these words came his massive body charging forward at incredible speed!