Chapter 145: Holy Light Blessing
When the blood moon rose into the sky again, the skeleton army ceased all action just like before. Xiao Lin was quite certain that the blood moon had a great influence on the skeleton’s actions as opposed to himself. What surprised him was that the high priest actually left his skeleton army on the streets, as if unafraid that Xiao Lin would execute a sneak attack on them at night while they were deep asleep.
After thinking about it for a bit, Xiao Lin immediately decided to forgo that idea. A sneak attack when the blood moon was in the sky was like hitting an easy target. The skeleton soldiers would not resist, but the army was far too large in number and the high priest would not possibly send out all the skeletons to do the search.
Even if he destroyed skeletons throughout the night, the total number of destroyed skeletons would only be a fraction. Xiao Lin would not get enough rest and his combat effectiveness would drop severely during the day. If he repeated that several times, he would be worn down from the fatigue.
The high priest had to enlist Xiao Lin or Lilith’s help if he wanted to leave The Final Land. Xiao Lin felt that the dead old man would not miss such an opportunity, because then he would have to wait for an indeterminate amount of time for other SS-level talents to enter that world by accident again.
Xiao Lin was almost certain that Asabanor would not kill him, at least not as a last resort. Asabanor’s order to the skeleton army was probably so he could capture them alive.
The battle was undoubtedly a protracted one. Such a blanket search was actually very inefficient, but the delay of a couple of days or months would not matter to the high priest, since he had been in The Final Land for more than nine centuries anyway. On the other hand, Xiao Lin did not want to die in that monotonous, blood-red world.
The dazed Xiao Lin fell asleep again, and it was a really deep sleep no less. The high intensity and increased exhaustion during the day was one reason for that, while another was the deterioration of his wound. It was not until he was awakened by a burst of noise that he got up abruptly from the cold stone ground and found that the blood moon had long disappeared from the sky.
He cursed to himself because he had been unaware that daytime had already come. The pain in his left arm left him drenched in cold sweat, even after some movement. He touched the wound a little and felt absolutely nothing, indicating that things had worsened much more than the previous day.
The worry in Xiao Lin’s heart amplified. Then, a loud clash of metal was heard outside the door, as if there was a fight. He quickly hid himself and looked out of the window. There stood someone he knew, the very same person he predicted had been sucked into the world as well. It was Lilith, who wielded a scythe that was as tall as a person, and moved freely forward and backward between at least a dozen skeleton soldiers. The attack range of the scythe was huge, and she brandished the weapon to its fullest potential, even though she had to contend with the enemy’s numerical advantage.
The red lotus flame on the sickle blade whizzed and fluttered, and the girl shone with a layer of radiant white light. The battle was over just as Xiao Lin pondered over whether or not to go out and help. Lilith exhaled and her eyes darted slightly before she pointed the weapon toward the window, the raging flames blazing yet again.
“Don’t attack! It’s me!” Xiao Lin quickly opened the door with his still-able right hand.
“Xiao Lin?” Lilith tilted her head, p.r.o.nouncing the name somewhat arduously. She asked in surprise, “Why are you here?”
Xiao Lin looked at Lilith and was unsure if she had come to the conclusion that only SS-level talents could enter and exit there. He asked in return. “Did Asabanor, the high priest, get to you?”
Lilith nodded, then smirked and said disdainfully. “How ridiculous that he’d expect me to help him.”
Xiao Lin loosened up and the two had a brief exchange. There was not much difference between what the high priest said to them, and Lilith was clearly not going to be deceived by such low-level rhetoric. Just like that, the two of them joined hands. Leaving that place in one piece was their common goal.
“You’re injured?” Lilith quickly noticed the discomfort in Xiao Lin’s left arm.
“I was grazed by a bone knife.” Xiao Lin untied the bandage with great effort, revealing the black wound. He smiled bitterly to himself. “I’m not going to become a zombie like the movies, am I?”
Lilith pondered for a moment. “It’s possible.”
“Huh?” Xiao Lin was just making a joke, not expecting to get an affirmative answer from Lilith.
Lilith did not notice Xiao Lin’s nervous look and muttered pensively, “Judge Academy has been facing more and more undead enemies in recent years, and it’s for that reason the academy provided the Undead Awareness Course for soph.o.m.ore year students. As far as I know, some advanced attacks from undead creatures are contagious. If an infection occurs and one fails to eliminate it in time, the person would lose their consciousness and become a fighting puppet for the undead.”
Xiao Lin laughed nervously. “You’re kidding, right?”
Lilith’s face was dignified as she continued, “Rather than waiting until you’re neither dead nor alive, it’s better to deal with it quickly right now. This is the best solution!”
“Hey! Wait! Wait a minute!” Seeing Lilith moving the scythe, he quickly stepped back and asked, “Are those skeleton soldiers considered advanced undead creatures?”
“Uh, I don’t know.”
“Then how are you so sure it’s the best solution?”
“I don’t like guessing, and I don’t like having a time bomb next to me,” Lilith replied in all earnestness. Her scythe twitched gently and she spoke sincerely, “It’s still safer for you to die. I heard that the Chinese are very particular about proper burials. I’ll make sure to erect a tombstone for you.”
She lived up to her t.i.tle of Demon Queen indeed!
Xiao Lin cursed internally, but winning was not a guarantee in that situation, even if dragon power was released, since he had lost the use of an arm. He hurriedly said, “The skeleton soldier doesn’t look like a high-level undead creature. You must have failed the Undead Awareness Course!”
A blush of embarra.s.sment flashed across Lilith’s face, which soon turned to anger. The flames on her weapon were faint and looming.
He had guessed correctly...
It was rumored that Lilith, who excelled at using various weapons, actually failed in the basic knowledge courses. Xiao Lin could not help but poke fun of her deep down. He dropped the topic at once and maneuvered it in a different direction. “You do know that there’s many skeletons here, right? Can you guarantee that you will be unharmed every time?”
“I mastered the Holy Light series of skills. Wounds of this degree are self-healing.”
“Me too!”
“You’ve mastered the Holy Light Blessing?” Lilith looked suspicious and quickly shook her head confidently. “Impossible. The Holy Light Blessing is a skill that requires a concurrent study of matter and law. Neither Judge Academy nor Dawn Academy has this course. Only the Royal British Academy and France’s Sainte Académie offer that skill, since they deal with the undead all the time.”
“Then how did you master it?” Xiao Lin asked.
“Because I’m a genius!” Lilith said that in a very calm tone. She was not flaunting it at all. It was as if she was stating an absolute fact.