The Evil God Summoned by the Saintess

The Dragon Rider Captain has already summoned the magic puppet.

His eyes were crimson, holding back no longer, a terrifying aura of fourth-tier strength emanated, with a faint hint of polluted aura.

The pressure was directed at Hilia and Encore from all directions, with Hilia as the primary target.

No longer concealing his fourth-tier power, he switched from defense to offense, starting to press the two.

The magic impact pushed the nearby Dragon Rider Guards back onto the city wall, protected by an array. Other mages had to retreat far away to avoid being caught in the crossfire and dying from unknown AOE.

"Die!"

The Dragon Rider Captain’s magic puppet drew its longsword, unleashing a sword qi that cleaved the ground along its path, crashing into Hilia’s prepared Ice Shield Combination Skill.

Boom!

The sword qi exploded, shattering the thick ice shield, and the remaining shockwaves blasted toward Hilia, throwing her back several meters, crashing onto the ground and smashing a large rock.

The magic puppet wanted to press on its advantage, but suddenly it slowed down, as some potions exploded nearby, obstructing it.

Over there, Hilia got up from the ground, took a breath. The natural restoration brought by the life-type magic puppet was quickly healing her injuries. Her magic power, not lesser than that of a Tier Four Mage, was not disrupted by the Dragon Rider Captain’s attack.

After a short pause, Hilia felt most of her injuries were almost healed.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"The ability of the [Guardian Angel] lets the magic puppet share some of the damage I receive, along with its strong healing abilities. Coupled with the Ice Shield mitigating most of the damage, I can withstand a full force hit from an ordinary fourth-tier... All thanks to the purification skill that weakened his magic strength."

Facing a normal Tier Four Mage might be daunting, but not when facing a polluted cultist. Hilia was fearless.

The purification skill acts as a constant debuff reducing all attributes by at least half. The actual weakening depends on the gap in strength; against a fourth-tier, it could weaken about 10% to 20%, which is significant.

With this confidence, Hilia felt more assured.

"With Encore’s support, even if we can’t defeat this fourth-tier cultist, we can make it unbearable for him!"

A significant portion of the fourth-tier cultists’ strength comes from the amplification of demonic qi. Without a countering purification skill, this amplification is terrifying.

Of course, once purified, the fourth-tier cultist seems like a child, easily overpowered by those of the same tier.

"Even a third-tier can weaken a cultist this much. Publicizing the purification skill is a wise choice."

Hilia thought.

During battle, she could even afford to be distracted.

Hilia has already impacted the Holy Court by publicizing the specialized purification skill.

The efficiency in purifying pollution has most obviously improved.

However, Hilia was not entirely satisfied.

She wanted to move to the next stage—

Make it public to the whole world.

This purification skill, though having higher learning requirements than the ordinary one, is only challenging for mages below Tier Four. Above that, it’s easy to learn.

If this spell becomes widespread, the advantage of the cultists would cease to exist; they might be forced to abandon the power derived from the Abyss.

The benefits are apparent; pollution would no longer trouble the world, and cultists would enter a period of weakness, lurking or rapidly being eliminated.

There are downsides too. The most straightforward one is that the Holy Court’s revenue would decrease—a portion of their income comes from purifying pollution via purification skills. Hilia’s purification skill being more efficient than what the Holy Court uses will undoubtedly impact.

As for other downsides, Hilia’s limited perspective didn’t allow her to see them clearly.

She decided to consult Rose’s opinion later before deciding whether to proceed.

Now...

Hilia looked at the Dragon Rider Captain, who was gradually becoming berserk and losing rationality under the demonic qi pollution, and smiled slightly.

"Let’s see how long you can hold out."

Even in the fourth tier, the reliance on magic puppets is significant, even more than in the third tier. This stage means tapping into a faint ability of the Heart of the Magic Puppet, enhancing its strength and spell potency by a tier.

This overall enhancement in the fourth tier makes the gap between the third and fourth tiers larger than that between the fourth and fifth tiers.

Yet, the Dragon Rider Captain felt his fourth-tier was like child’s play.

Clearly, he was the aggressor, pressing Hilia and Encore, along with their magic puppet, yet he felt tied down.

Every attack could seemingly force them back, sometimes even penetrating Hilia’s defenses, causing her some damage.

Yet she would spit blood, seemingly gravely injured, but within seconds, she would stand up again, as if unscathed, continuing to hold the line.

This time, Hilia didn’t employ tactics or use a large amount of scrolls for suppression; it was a straight-up mage battle with both sides exchanging blows.

If she were in the fourth tier, it wouldn’t be surprising.

But she’s in the third tier!

Even with help, they were still third-tier.

It’s tough for two mages to form a combination skill powerful enough to threaten a fourth-tier. Hilia seemed to only exhibit typical third-tier performance... Except for her endurance; the strength of the Ice Shield Combination Skill matched that of a fourth-tier spell, always offsetting the spell’s impact.

Whether it was the Dragon Rider Guards or the mages watching, they were all stunned.

They couldn’t help but doubt if the gap between third and fourth tiers was really as significant as legends say.

Near the wall’s observation deck, Pamisha and Anthony watched all this with excitement.

Pamisha, a Tier Three Mage, understood the gap between the third and fourth tiers, and had Anthony document the events after Hilia’s clash with the Dragon Rider Captain.

She was initially a bit tense.

Later, seeing that despite the fourth-tier mage’s efforts, he couldn’t prevail over Hilia and her partner, she grew excited.

"Traveling is indeed meaningful; without this trip, we wouldn’t see the limits of a third-tier mage!"

Pamisha exclaimed.

"Miss Hilia is amazing, worthy of being a tournament champion."

Anthony looked at Encore, who was collaborating with Hilia, and mused, "The one assisting her must be her teammate, also the champion, Miss Anke."

Pamisha was surprised, turning back to ask, "Really?"

Anthony said, "Just a guess. The tournament limits the use of potions and scrolls. I’ve seen Miss Anke take out potions; she’s also water-type. Though the magic puppet is a bit different, the combat style is similar. It’s probably Miss Anke."

Pamisha realized, "I see, Anthony is indeed impressive, but..."

Her tone shifted, eyes picking up a dangerous glint, "Why are you paying so much attention to other girls?"

Anthony’s expression remained unchanged, "Because you’re a fan of Miss Hilia. I’m willing to learn about her and her teammates for you, providing you with updates on your idol."

Pamisha blushed.

Meanwhile, there was a change in the battlefield action.

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