Lord of Prayer - Chapter 172 - 131: Ghost Ship

Chapter 172: Chapter 131: Ghost Ship

As Ascenders from noble families, the members of the White House were equipped with what could only be described as a luxurious arsenal.

Besides the numerous gleaming Alchemy Armaments on their bodies, several of them had also housed Forbidden Objects, which were even rarer and more precious. Even the buttons on their clothes were defensive Artifacts with an Alchemy Matrix carved inside.

What was even more bizarre was how their weapons and artifacts would materialize in their hands out of thin air, as if they were pulling them from some fourth-dimensional pocket on a whim.

To say nothing of their combat skills. Every major family had its own secret school of techniques, and as the heirs to their families, these members of the younger generation had naturally undergone rigorous training and possessed extensive combat experience.

Under these circumstances, even Liu Hanyan, an elite killer among Tier Three Ascenders, was being steadily pushed back. Her several desperate, life-or-death attacks were all neutralized, and she was gradually forced into a purely defensive position.

Zhou Chen munched on his fries, analyzing the combat abilities of this younger generation as he watched the battle.

’Captain Xu Li is the strongest in this little squad. His Extraordinary Ability is [Full Power Unleash], which can boost all his physical attributes by up to five times. His body is already that of a trained Ascender, so a five-fold increase basically turns him into a human-shaped T-rex… No wonder he can swing that Meteorite Iron Heavy Sword around like it’s a toy.’

’Hmm… the Meteorite Iron Heavy Sword has the innate ability to control gravity, allowing it to generate a powerful gravitational pull to drag enemies within a certain range closer. If I were to fight him, it’d be best to keep my distance and kite him with movement skills…’

’The second strongest is Baron Brook. His ability is [Sovereign], a rare presence-type Ability. Sounds impressive, but it’s basically just an overlord’s aura that can intimidate and frighten enemies. He’s developed it to a high level; even Liu Hanyan is somewhat suppressed by his presence. A normal Ascender would probably be scared to their knees on the spot.’

’He’s also housed the Forbidden Object C-300, the King’s Ring, which enhances his [Sovereign] aura. But it’s useless against me. I could just make a wish to completely nullify it.’

’The third strongest is probably Morishima Ryoko. Her Extraordinary Ability is [Sword Qi], and combined with that Tachi—which is considered top-tier even among Alchemy Armaments—and her masterful Swordsmanship, she’s extremely dangerous. I can’t face her head-on.’

’Against the others one-on-one, my chances are high. But if they ganged up on me like they’re doing now, I’d have no choice but to run back to the Star Association and find some backup…’

In the brief moment Zhou Chen spent on his analysis, the battle grew even more intense.

Liu Hanyan unleashed a sky-full of scorching blood rain. It was as corrosive as strong acid, riddling the road with a dense pattern of pits where it landed.

Xu Li roared, and an invisible wave of gravity burst from his Meteorite Iron Heavy Sword, gathering all the blood rain that was sweeping toward the group. But this played right into Liu Hanyan’s hands. The moment the blood converged, the scarlet mass exploded with the force of a high-yield explosive, blasting Xu Li backward. His feet dug into the ground, plowing two deep furrows in the asphalt road.

As the searing wave of blood spread, Fujiwara Shunsuke, the weakest of the ten, suddenly froze as if struck by lightning. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, which then began to stream from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

The blood he coughed up coalesced into irregular spikes in mid-air and shot back toward him. He scrambled to dodge, and Shane, who was beside him, swung his Golden Longsword, shattering the Blood Crystal Spikes to dust.

“So hot…” Fujiwara Shunsuke panted heavily, hot steam rising from his mouth. The blood flowing around his ears, mouth, nose, and eyes began to smoke, boiling hot. It felt as if molten lava, not blood, was coursing through his veins!

His body temperature was rising rapidly. His blood was, in the truest sense of the word, boiling.

At the same time, the girl from Russia, Heidi Romanov, experienced the same condition. The blood in her body began to churn inexplicably, and an intense heat radiated from within her, as if it were about to cook her organs.

The two of them, with perfect tacit understanding, retreated with great haste. This was Bloodthirsty Syndrome, a derivative skill of Liu Hanyan’s Blood Control ability. As long as they moved more than a hundred meters away from her, the ability would automatically deactivate.

Seizing the hard-won breathing room, Liu Hanyan stomped heavily on the ground. A thick torrent of blood surged from her body, transforming into a bewitching, scarlet flower that bloomed with an explosive blast. Violent, bloody flames engulfed her attackers.

This blood burned at over a thousand degrees, comparable to a White Phosphorus Bomb. A single drop, once it made contact, would burn through flesh and bone like maggots burrowing into the marrow. It would also allow Liu Hanyan to successfully “invade” and gain control over the blood in their bodies.

Yet when the bloody flames dissipated, the members of the White House were completely unscathed. Each of them was protected by High-level Defense Artifacts. Seeing this, Liu Hanyan’s expression grew grim. She spun around, lunged forward like an arrow, and charged toward Shane, who looked the youngest and easiest to bully.

Shane held a Shield in his left hand and a longsword in his right. Seeing Liu Hanyan rush toward him, his youthful face was calm and composed, without a trace of panic. He swung his blade, a brilliant golden light flashing as he slashed out.

CLANG!

A metallic crash rang out. A short knife had appeared in Liu Hanyan’s hand, blocking the slash. With a deft flick of her wrist, she skillfully deflected the blade and, in the same motion, thrust her knife viciously toward Shane’s eyes while simultaneously striking his abdomen with her other palm.

The Shield in Shane’s hand abruptly expanded, becoming a shield wall that protected him. A sharp, grating sound and a dull thud rang out almost simultaneously, leaving a scratch mark and a faint palm print on its surface.

’Just a bunch of pay-to-win trash!’ Liu Hanyan cursed inwardly, seething with helpless rage. Her figure vanished from the spot, dodging an incoming storm of Sword Qi and bullets, only for a sudden chill to rise in her heart without warning.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A burly figure charged forward amidst the trembling of the earth. The Heavy Sword in his hands shot forward like a cannonball, sweeping horizontally at Liu Hanyan with a torrent of wind and air pressure.

A wet, tearing sound.

She was cut in half at the waist!

Liu Hanyan’s upper body flew through the air, but no internal organs spilled out. Scarlet blood extended from the wound like tentacles, swiftly connecting the two halves of her body and pulling them back together. The skin on her waist was smooth and unblemished, showing no sign of injury.

This was Body Essence Materialization, an Ability that only a few Tier Three Ascenders could master. Once you mastered this Ability, you no longer had to worry about losing limbs. As long as you had sufficient Essence in your body, all physical injuries could heal completely. It could also be used to dodge attacks, making it extremely practical.

The next second, the Heavy Sword came crashing down from above. Liu Hanyan’s expression had just begun to change when the immense force slammed into her, splattering her into a pool of blood. Seizing the opportunity, the others attacked decisively. Blades clashed and guns roared.

Amidst the deafening cacophony, three-fifths of the exploded blood was annihilated. The remaining two-fifths reconverged in the distance to form Liu Hanyan, her face as pale as paper and her aura faint.

’Liu Hanyan is heavily wounded, and her stored blood is almost used up. They should be able to finish her off soon… What should I have for dinner tonight? Maybe ask Old Yang out for hot pot? Nah, he’s definitely out chasing skirts again. I wonder if I can get Jiang Che to come out. Eating hot pot alone is no fun…’ Zhou Chen tossed the last fry into his mouth. He really wanted to yell at the group to get on with it so he could go home and rest.

Suddenly, he frowned and shot to his feet.

The entire World was rapidly fading to gray!

All color drained away like a receding tide, dimming until, in a matter of moments, the entire area had turned a monotonous black and white.

Zhou Chen looked at his own hands, then glanced around. It was as if he had stepped into an old black-and-white movie, unable to see any color other than black and white. Looking back at the battlefield, everyone, including Liu Hanyan, was utterly stunned, with no idea what was happening.

Silence spread.

This black-and-white world felt completely cut off, not a single sound from the outside world could be heard.

Sensing something, Zhou Chen looked up. On the rooftop of a nearby building, a figure completely shrouded in a black robe had appeared. He tossed something downward, then turned and walked away.

It looked like… a model pirate ship?

The palm-sized model pirate ship rapidly expanded to thirty meters as it fell. It ignited with an eerie, green Ghost-fire and, accompanied by wild, boisterous, and evil laughter, its sails unfurled and it set sail through the empty air.

A Ghost Ship!

Zhou Chen was stunned. Liu Hanyan clearly didn’t have any accomplices, so why would a mysterious person appear out of nowhere? And what the hell was this model-kit Ghost Ship?

“Fire!”

The wild laughter of Undead pirates echoed from the ship. The sixteen cannons on its side roared to life, firing in a continuous volley at the people on the ground.

Intense flames erupted. Amidst a series of thunderous explosions, rubble flew everywhere, and dust shot into the sky like an earthen dragon. The buildings lining the street suffered severe damage, collapsing in an instant as smoke billowed up from the ruins.

Pale flames ignited fifty meters away, and Zhou Chen’s figure materialized, having dodged the cannon fire. He pulled out his phone, wanting to contact Jiang Che and report, only to find he had no signal at all.

’Has this area been shielded?’ Zhou Chen frowned. His figure vanished again just as a cannonball flew in from above, landing where he had been with a thunderous explosion.

Things had taken an unexpected turn. The priority now was to eliminate Liu Hanyan first; the newcomer was most likely trying to rescue her.

But when Zhou Chen used Flame Jump to teleport into the battlefield, he found that Liu Hanyan had already vanished.

“During the explosion, a person in black appeared and carried Liu Hanyan away,” Shane explained, his face covered in soot as he spoke in a low voice. “Liu Hanyan tried to resist, but it was like her abilities had been sealed.”

“The captain and Baron went after them, leaving the rest of us to deal with the Ghost Ship.”

Her abilities were sealed? Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, then looked up at the eerie green ship sailing through the air.

“Then let’s take care of it first.”