Chapter 266: Your Alchemy Isn't Exactly Proper, Is It?
Bazett only acted lovesick in front of Dales, the leader of the Dark Clan; at other times, she remained a remarkably skilled Dark Archmage.
Due to her initial preconception, upon seeing the goddess Fina tied up and flown like a kite, she subconsciously assumed Fina had been captured. However, when she noticed the goddess's subtle movements and an expression almost devoid of negative emotions, she finally realized something was amiss. Still, she didn't immediately raise an alarm, maintaining her composure.
"Why are you here?" Cheng Tian asked, taking the initiative.
"The ritual has temporarily concluded. Besides, after you killed the guardian monsters I painstakingly placed in the Black Tower, wouldn't it seem like I'm neglecting my duties if I didn't come to check?"
At the mention of the deaths of the Frenzied Beast and the Insect Demon, Bazett's expression immediately crumpled, and the anger that had been simmering within her instantly erupted.
As an Archmage, she was actually more adept at controlling and summoning monsters than at pure magic bursts and elemental orbs. She was essentially a summoner among Archmages, so she personally oversaw the placement of all the monsters in the Black Tower.
The six great monsters, in particular, had consumed most of her effort; she treated them as her direct summons.
However, not only the people of the Isu Kingdom but even members of the Dark Clan had casually slaughtered her monsters, citing them as "obstacles." This naturally infuriated her, akin to trampling her hard work underfoot.
The deaths of the six great monsters, which had required even more of her effort, made her even angrier. She repeatedly tapped her staff on the ground and began to question them.
"I'm telling you, what's wrong with you people? Do you have to kill the monsters I worked so hard to bring in?"
"Who told them to block the way? My usual method for dealing with rabid dogs that jump out by the roadside is to just kill them directly."
Facing Bazett's questioning, Cheng Tian's expression was one of complete justification.
Mutual slaughter between players and monsters was a given; it wasn't for an NPC to question... But Bazett somehow felt like this Orange Knight was indirectly insulting her too.
The most frustrating part was that she couldn't genuinely get angry, because getting angry would mean admitting she was also a rabid dog that bites.
Bazett's chest rose and fell dramatically, clearly infuriated but unable to directly retort.
At the same time, the goddess Fina was staring intently at the almost bralette-like white area of Bazett's heaving chest with a look of "Morally corrupt! Utterly morally corrupt!" Her eyes narrowed slightly, lost in thought.
Incidentally, Bazett, who was from some unknown region outside the Isu Kingdom, wore clothing that surprisingly had the gathering and compressing effect of women's lingerie...
"You are Lady Fina, right? Where are Lady Rhea and Black Pearl?"
Considering her leader Dales, Bazett forcibly suppressed her anger and turned her attention to the goddess.
Although she used an honorific suffix when addressing Fina, it carried a strong undertone of mockery here.
Fina pursed her lips and remained silent.
"Alright then, it doesn't matter if you don't speak. Let Lord Dales interrogate you personally; he has many techniques to make people wish they were dead... Alright, hand the goddess over to me."
Bazett extended her hand towards Bazett, signaling her to hand over the ropes binding the goddess.
In her eyes, Bazett was Cheng Tian's subordinate, so there was no need to ask for Bazett's opinion; she could just give orders directly.
Currently, Cheng Tian faced two choices.
One was to continue maintaining his already unreliable undercover identity, take the goddess Fina to the Dark Clan's encampment for imprisonment, and then search for Rhea's whereabouts alone.
And the other was—
Upon hearing this, Bazett tugged the goddess like a kite and jogged two steps, handing over the strip of cloth that tethered the goddess... Then, Bazett's forearm, like a spring, lunged forward, striking Bazett's lower abdomen without mercy!
However, the imagined scenario of Bazett making an ahegao face from a forced abdominal punch did not occur. Instead, there was a sound like shattering glass; a thin magical shield on Bazett's body instantly shattered, and she used the force to directly fly backward, finally landing lightly on the ground.
"As expected, there's a problem! You traitors!" Bazett's body trembled slightly as she gritted her teeth and shouted at Cheng Tian and his group.
Although Bazett had anticipated and prepared a magical barrier due to her initial suspicion and caution, Bazett's seemingly incredibly slender arm had delivered an unbelievably heavy blow. While the shattered magical barrier had absorbed most of the impact, the remaining force still pierced through her smooth lower abdomen.
The main reason for her current strange body and expression was that her internal organs were in turmoil.
In terms of pain, it was probably akin to having a period while foolishly devouring five ice pops.
But who was Cheng Tian? He was someone who never let go when he had the upper hand, the kind who would knock someone down and then deliver two shots to the chest and one to the head to finish them off!
The word "traitors" had just left Bazett's mouth when her eyes suddenly widened even further, because two crystal magic eyes had appeared and split from Cheng Tian's shoulder.
Eyes of Facter!? He's from the Six High Priests' clan—
Without a doubt, the Eyes of Facter, which had even deceived Yog, similarly misled Bazett's judgment.
But these two split crystal magic eyes had already synchronized and glowed brightly with the one on the forehead of the Blazing Sun Mask!
Three purple rays of light, identical to those in Kukulcan's state, burst forth almost simultaneously from the mask and the magic eyes, striking Bazett like laser cannons. She had only enough time to hastily raise her staff and cast a second magical barrier!
The next second, Bazett was sent flying backward.
The scorching sunlight, imbued with powerful purification properties, instantly inflicted massive damage on Bazett, who primarily used the Dark Clan's demonic power!
Three large "-400" numbers floated above Bazett's head, but her health bar barely moved. Instead, her mana bar plummeted significantly.
Mage units in the Isu world generally knew how to use magic shields to block damage, and typically, the conversion rate was very high.
Using Cheng Tian as an example, the Whirlwind Shield he obtained from the Wings of the Azure Sky had an MP to HP conversion ratio as high as 1:5, meaning 10 MP could convert to 50 HP, far higher than the equal ratio of the Proto-Shell. However, such shields usually only existed temporarily for a short duration and would dissipate on their own after being cast, regardless of whether they had absorbed the full amount of damage.
When Cheng Tian's Purification Light struck, Bazett instantly realized that an ordinary shield wouldn't hold. She immediately chose to convert mana to health. Although this would drastically deplete her mana bar, it would prevent her from being burned to death on the spot.
However, just as Bazett, who had been knocked back but still had the power to retaliate, was about to use her magic to counterattack, she suddenly felt her body go cold, then hot.
From the perspective of Cheng Tian and his group, what was happening to Bazett at this moment was much clearer—
The long skirt Bazett was wearing and the pair of purple thigh-high stockings on her legs directly transformed into a shower of gold coins before the goddess's shocked eyes, forcing her to reveal a pure white triangular area, just like her bralette...