CHAPTER 646: CHAPTER 643: INJURED

So fast?

Was it some kind of instant movement spell?

These two thoughts flashed rapidly through Ronald’s mind, however, before he could ponder further, the enemy struck. Instinctively, he lifted his leg and kicked at the outstretched hand of the artificial deity.

Boom—

Midair, both Ronald and the artificial deity were hurled back several meters.

At the position where the two had clashed.

The magic power of their head-on collision burst forth almost to the point of exploding, and the expressions on the faces of the surrounding casters changed upon witnessing this exchange.

—Too strong.

As for the artificial deity, that was to be expected; after all, from their previous sparring with Dantrian, the strength of this adversary was known to everyone present.

However, Ronald...

There were many on the battlefield who were familiar with Ronald’s strength.

But in their minds, that strength had never been to this extreme.

Before Harvest Day, if someone had claimed—"Springs still has a caster as powerful as Dantrian"—it would have been met with the laughter and puzzlement of all the casters.

So much so, that when faced with the spectacle of Ronald’s clash with the artificial deity,

These people couldn’t help but be reminded of the Barrier Mountain Wizard’s declaration.

—Ronald’s ability to decipher the original texts.

No matter how complex the thoughts of the others were.

Being in the thick of direct combat, Ronald himself had no time to deal with these things.

Firstly, he confirmed the artificial deity’s mode of action through their recent exchange.

That absurdly fast movement speed was not an instantaneous movement spell, but some kind of ability for extreme short-term acceleration. This was his conclusion after observing the surroundings once the two had each retreated several meters.

—A swift wind stirred up around them.

If the artificial deity had teleported in front of him, such physical interference would have been impossible; it could only be some spell that accelerated the deity to an extreme speed.

This...could be seen as good news, right?

When comparing extreme high-speed movement with instantaneous movement, was the former easier to handle?

"Huff—"

His gaze locked around the vicinity of the artificial deity.

Ronald took a deep breath.

While trying his best to remain calm in combat, he also maximized his magic power to strengthen his body, preparing to launch his next attack on the artificial deity.

And it was at that instant.

Ronald saw something different.

The artificial deity, whose eyes were normally slightly open and expression solemn, was now curving its lips into a smile!

Was it...smiling?

Something bad was definitely about to happen!

Realizing this change, the Daylight’s power covering Ronald surged fiercely and, while reciting the incantation, he also activated the power of the "Archangel" to its maximum, charging forward.

The next second, the Dark Holy Sword, almost ablaze, swung towards the enemy’s head.

In the face of Ronald’s attack.

The smile on the artificial deity’s face only widened.

Still, it did nothing but manipulate magic power to activate a spell, then brought its hand forward to block.

Bang!

Another clash of attack and defense met without surprise.

Ronald’s strike indeed pushed the artificial deity back again, but no further results were achieved.

"The greatest improvement on the productive powers of labour, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which it is anywhere directed or applied, seem to be the effects of the division of labour..."

At this moment, the incantation that Ronald had been reciting reached its completion.

"The Invisible Hand" spell appeared at once.

This spell of uncertain strength once again proved effective in such circumstances.

The seemingly indestructible defense on the artificial deity’s arm.

It was torn apart instantly by this force while the spell was being cast.

Regrettably, "The Invisible Hand" could only be trusted to work just this once. The magic power of the spell dissipated rapidly; besides breaking through the defense spell, it had no more power to follow through.

Of course, for Ronald, this was enough.

What he needed was a chance to break the defense and then strike directly!

So, as the artificial deity’s defense spell was shattered, Ronald’s synchronized sword swing followed closely, slashing down fiercely from top to bottom.

Swoosh—

The effect of this attack was immediately visible.

Because the defense spell was destroyed by "The Invisible Hand," the artificial deity literally used its arm to contend with the edge of Saint Catherine’s sword.

Even though its own body possessed enough strength,

against such a sword that was completely covered with the power of sunstones and had been handed down since ancient times, that level of strength was far from sufficient.

In an instant.

The artificial deity’s arm used for resistance was severed directly at the joint near the base of the forearm. The Dark Holy Sword, blazing with the power of sunstones, smoothly reached the artificial deity’s chest and then continued to cleave downwards.

Zing—

An extremely shrill screeching noise arose from the sword’s blade.

Flesh was still sliced open in an instant.

But when Saint Catherine’s sword blade struck the artificial deity’s shoulder blade, Ronald could no longer drive the legacy of the Saint forward in his hand.

The bone hardness of the artificial deity and the joints of the arm were not on the same level.

Even though the sword had already caused a division of flesh, it could not cut through the bone to continue damaging the organs below.

Ronald frowned.

There was definitely something wrong with this guy’s bones.

If they couldn’t be split even by Saint Catherine’s sword combined with the power of sunstones—it had to be the result of specialized enhancement!

"Heh heh..."

Suddenly, a scene that defied common sense unfolded before Ronald’s eyes.

The artificial deity, now missing a segment of its arm, showed no sign of pain or anger. Instead, it let out a soft laugh.

Considering the current distance between Ronald and this creature,

he could even detect a hint of mockery in its tone!

"..."

"This spell, it’s ’Wealth of Nations’..."

The artificial deity spoke again, and in pointing out the origin of the spell, its eyes opened completely.

Those pupils were blood red, the whites as empty as the abyss—staring intently at Ronald, filled with mockery, hostility, an intense desire to kill, and sheer brutality!

This guy was about to attack!

Ronald immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

From the start of the clash until now, the artificial deity had only launched a few attacks, spending most of the time quietly withstanding Ronald’s assaults.

Such a disadvantaged and defensive demeanor could never be the strategy of choice for the opponent!

The performance during the recent fight must have been the cost of the artificial deity preparing some trick behind the scenes. Now that this trick was ready, that explains such a reaction!

Crackle—

At that instant,

a blinding light erupted before Ronald with a tremendous noise.

The "Guardian Angel" spell’s white light flared up and then dimmed away; subsequently, Ronald recoiled backward in the air, entwined by paralysis and pain.

The attack that the artificial deity had been brewing all along,

turned out to be lightning!