Eldritch Horror Theatre

If changing strategies midway was a cardinal mistake of strategists, throwing away one's weapon was undoubtedly a step beyond.

This was no mere illusion. The sound had genuinely been the Rapier falling from A Fei's hand and clattering to the ground.

Nor was the scent of roasting meat an illusion. The hand that had just been gripping the sword was now torn open and charred black.

At a glance, it seemed the Proxy Plan had suffered a massive setback.

Under the brilliant radiance of the sun, A Fei's sword heart had faltered. His path of heresy had come to an end.

"Light is the answer to all!"

He couldn't even squeeze out a bit more residual value to bait the enemy into revealing fresh intelligence. At that moment, the Sun Apostle was still just shouting the same tired lines.

At the same time, the Sun Apostle raised both hands high. Beneath his visor, two miniature suns seemed to ignite within his exposed eyes.

All shadows were stripped away; all evils were reduced to ash.

He didn't even bother locking onto A Fei. Blinding fire erupted from his eyes, incinerating the face of his own visor to ash.

Naturally, A Fei bore the brunt of this all-encompassing illumination. He was instantly swallowed by the light.

The scent of roasting meat grew thicker.

Fu Qian could see one hole after another searing into A Fei's body, exactly like the scene when they had confronted Ariel.

The scale wasn't quite as exaggerated, but A Fei was completely curled up on the ground like a roasting pigeon.

Uh...

Even so, he hadn't given up.

He didn't retreat a single inch to escape the sweltering heat. As A Fei lay curled on the ground, one small movement remained glaringly obvious: he was trying to pick his sword back up.

Unfortunately, under the glare of the twin suns, the Rapier seemed even more searing than before.

On top of that, with his body in such tatters, it was hard to imagine a second strike going any better than his first, especially since he was reaching out with that same ruined hand—Crack!

The very next moment, that conventional assumption was shattered.

With a twisted body, a crooked sword, and a hand completely carbonized on the outside...

Despite these crippled components, he unleashed an unbelievable strike from where he lay curled.

And that bizarre sound was the sun setting in the Sun Apostle's left eye socket.

The eye that had become a miniature sun instantly shattered.

...

Well done. Whenever this seat sees someone flashing their high beams, I want to do the exact same thing.

It was an unbelievable result, yet A Fei had actually pulled it off.

With a single strike of his sword, one of those two high-powered celestial bodies was smashed to pieces. It was intensely satisfying.

This glorious outcome completely defied common sense; it could no longer be explained by a simple proverb like "a desperate army is bound to win."

"Impossible!"

His Excellency the Sun Apostle, for instance, immediately voiced this exact disbelief, clearly reeling from the shock.

It was no surprise. This was the one flaw of following the path of faith.

As long as things stayed within their understanding, they were incredibly strong whether they had the upper hand or not. But the moment they encountered something anomalous, their ability to cope plummeted.

For instance, right now, his first instinct wasn't to fly into a rage and slaughter A Fei. Instead, he immediately backed away, and the intense light in his remaining eye rapidly dimmed.

Oh? Not only had A Fei delivered a Chastisement, but he had even forced the enemy to switch to their low beams?

This outcome looked even better.

Fu Qian felt incredibly pleased, showing absolutely no intention of speaking up.

He hadn't intervened during the previous crisis, choosing to believe that A Fei's sword heart remained unbroken. Why would he butt in now?

Hum—

Brother A Fei's performance continued to stun. Facing a Sun Apostle who had quickly learned his lesson, A Fei offered neither forgiveness nor trash talk. Without a single word, he thrust his sword again.

Along the needle-thin blade, a radiant gleam seemed to come alive, flowing until the weapon whipped perfectly straight like a spear.

...

It only seemed that way.

The thing that had shattered the "sun" was, of course, the sharp tip of the blade. Fu Qian saw this very clearly.

But it wasn't because A Fei had achieved complete enlightenment in a desperate situation, suddenly mastering the technique to physically transform his Rapier. That would be far too idealistic.

Though thin, it wasn't the least bit flexible. The physical shape of his newly swapped weapon hadn't changed from start to finish.

The reason for that earlier illusion was actually quite simple. Brother A Fei hadn't mastered a technique to transform the weapon—he had simply mastered how to use it.

That might sound insultingly simple, but pulling it off was no easy feat.

His very first strike had actually been crisp and clean. He had clearly taken the weapon's shape and dimensions into full account; it hadn't been a blind swing.

It was executed so well that even a Sword Dao Demigod would struggle to find any glaring flaws in it.

However, to put it in more mystical terms: he had perfected the technique, but he was still far from the Dao.

Compared to that subsequent strike that executed the sun, the first one was far too rooted in the mundane.

In that second strike, every single movement, every split-second angle, and every ounce of strength had perfectly synchronized under the banner of the "Dao."

It was only when this synchronization aligned perfectly with the flowing radiance along the blade that he produced such a miraculous visual effect, truly condensing all his power into a single, devastating point.

Including Calamity.

Having been held by those tentacles for so long, this second weapon naturally carried a Blessing of the Tyrant as well.

But on one hand, the blessing wasn't any stronger than the one on his first sword, which was why his initial attack hadn't produced any obvious results.

On the other hand, as the source of that power, Fu Qian knew very well that A Fei's somewhat mystical sword "Dao" had managed to mobilize the Calamity attached to the blade, forcing the curse to erupt from a single point in a highly specific way.

Only then had he achieved that astonishing result: shattering that seemingly indestructible divine protection into dust with a single strike.

And it was about to be shattered again.

Experiencing a Sublimation in his Dao of Slaughter was one thing, but it hadn't done anything to restore his Health Bar. Right now, A Fei was in visibly worse shape than he had been before.

He was clearly very aware of this fact. Without a word, he immediately launched a second thrust, aiming straight for the remaining eye.

Crack—

The result was entirely expected. The safe distance the Sun Apostle had subconsciously created couldn't save him from disaster, and his other eye shattered on impact.

Not bad. Very decisive.

He had switched to low beams and still gotten them smashed. Fu Qian didn't see any problem with that outcome.

The lesson might have already been taught, but one couldn't forget that Brother A Fei's duty was that of a Scavenger.

As long as he had strength remaining, he obviously needed to secure the kill as quickly as possible.

As for the Sun Apostle, any proper rehabilitation would be a matter to discuss after he went to meet God.

As for why his method of choice was still poking out eyeballs rather than striking at a more lethal spot?

The reason was simple: that was all the strength he had left.

Compared to targeting the body—an approach that had already failed once—aiming for the eyes was a proven, much more reliable tactic.

Huff—

The reality was that after completing this second strike, A Fei didn't even have the strength left to follow up with a new movement. He just stood frozen in place, gasping for air.

On the other side, the Sun Apostle, whose eyes had both been completely shattered, clearly hadn't been felled by the trauma.

"Very impressive..."

But he still didn't fly into a furious counterattack. Instead, he simply stood his ground, offering the exact same evaluation that Fu Qian had given.

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