Chapter 136: The Phlogiston Sprite and the Bone Dragon

Under the Lich’s gaze, the phlogiston sprite suddenly erupted with purple-red flames. A surging wave of killing intent roared and billowed outwards, as if a dragon had opened its eyes, naturally radiating an oppressive pressure.

How could this be! The Lich believed it had seen more fire-elemental creatures than the little girl over there had even heard of. How could a mere phlogiston sprite possess such terrifying pressure?

People would believe it if one called her a young red dragon!

Yet, she was just a sprite!

Hita’s flames were almost infinite. Therefore, unlike Vinigo, she was not one to be frugal; she made it a habit to set off fireworks as magnificently as possible whenever she had the chance.

Like right now—"Extinguishing Grand Slash!"

Whistling purple fireballs rained down. The Lich pulled up its skeletal dragon, commanding it to beat its wings and stir up a roaring black storm to meet the attack.

The sprite’s "output" was clearly much weaker than that of the bone dragon. Although the opponent was using a weapon it wasn't accustomed to, the enemy still held the upper hand.

This displeased Hita. She shook her large sleeves and dived down at high speed.

"Heavenly Demon Sky-Blade Kick!"

A phlogiston sprite, actually daring to challenge a bone dragon to close-quarters combat?

The bone dragon opened its maw, and a mass of gray, withered-bone fog rapidly expanded within, blasting toward Hita.

*Slish...* Hita’s kick, wreathed in killing intent, sliced the bone dragon’s withered breath clean in two and landed a light tap on the dragon’s skull.

Although the kick lacked much force at this point, the dragon’s soul, feeling its dignity offended, inevitably flew into a rage. A gray, deathly mist exploded from the bone dragon’s body. Accompanied by a silent, sky-piercing roar, its scissor-like bone wings lashed out.

Unfortunately, Hita was very small.

She let out a faint chuckle and slipped between the bone wings.

"Extinguishing Grand Spiral!"

The violent purple flames turned into a vortex that swallowed death itself, nearly pulling the Lich into its grasp. In that instant, the Lich activated a magic stored in the gem on its wrist, triggering a whirlwind far more powerful than Hita’s, completely consuming her purple flames.

Hita was unhappy.

Normally, her Extinguishing Grand Spiral could instantly transform into a flame vortex, only to turn into a Dragon Fist the next second and end with a magnificent flourish. But now, just as she was ready to ignite, she found that her fireworks had been snatched away by the opponent.

Hita pouted.

Vinigo’s lips curled into a faint smile. While Hita drew the attention of the Lich and the bone dragon, Vinigo was not idle. The "Blade of Victory" was incredibly fast; once unleashed, it moved like a short-track speed skater, instantly darting under the feet of the black knights and vampires, tripping them to the ground or leaving charred wounds upon them.

The vitality of nature is a torment to the undead. The *Kikiushi* in Vinigo’s hand was no different from a red-hot carving knife to the black knights and vampires—and they were but blocks of frozen butter.

"Akana, Flash Fang!"

The "Flash Fang" and the "Blade of Victory," two remarkably similar finishing moves, exploded in turns among the horde of monsters. Vinigo knew well that the greatest weakness of the Blade of Victory was the moment of decelerated speed after striking or missing a target.

The Flash Fang, however, could launch a new attack during that window, protecting her until the next strike.

The vampires were quite fast, but clearly, these few were no top-tier powerhouses. They lacked the ability to seize the momentary opening in Vinigo’s rhythm, nor did they possess the overwhelming strength to forcibly crush the Blade of Victory.

They could only wait for Vinigo’s stamina to drain. One of the great advantages of the undead was their exceptionally abundant "stamina."

"You foolish, unclean things," Vinigo announced in her crisp voice. "Turn to ash! Dust to dust, earth to earth; let your remains become fertilizer, and may the forest be your eternal home!"

A black knight finally seized an opportunity. It leveled its lance and spurred its nightmare to charge from behind Vinigo.

"Terror Pierce!"

Vinigo did not look back, as if she were unaware. Yet, the second the lance was about to strike, a burst of air pushed her to the side with extreme speed.

With the agility of a cat, Vinigo performed a side-handspring, appearing behind the nightmare, and smiled as she swung her short blade.

The blade’s arc, like a wheel, spun along the ground, leaving a deep gash on the nightmare’s noble haunches. The nightmare’s lava-like "blood" sprayed out.

Hellfire—tangible hatred—was what flowed within the nightmare.

However, this substance, which should have triggered an instinctive fear in any living creature, did not make Vinigo frown in the slightest. She leaped lightly, tapped her toe on the nightmare, and swung her blade down with force.

The strike landed heavily on the black knight’s back.

"Go now, be released from your endless rage and resentment," Vinigo whispered.

The four vampires seemed to see an opening; they floated in from four directions and pounced on Vinigo. These vampires were equipped identically: longsword in one hand, dagger in the other, draped in pitch-black leather armor and ugly, face-covering helms. Their swordsmanship was clearly of the same origin.

"Such sword-and-dagger coordination is really not worth seeing," Vinigo chuckled softly.

Her figure vanished instantly from the nightmare’s back.

She was in mid-air. Vinigo held Hita’s foot with one hand, as if she were weightless, hanging beneath the sprite. Hita was fanning her flames to the fullest, struggling to maintain altitude.

"Enough." Vinigo chuckled, let go, and turned into an arrow, shooting downward at an angle.

"Falcon Hang: Falcon Strike!"

Vinigo did not have a falcon, but she did have a flying familiar: Hita. By borrowing the sprite, Vinigo could execute such a technique.

She descended from the sky, her speed far exceeding that of a human falling through the air. This speed caused the vampires to misjudge; the female vampire only managed to raise her longsword before Vinigo landed on her head with both knees, slamming her into the ground.

Then... naturally, a mounted heavy-blade chest-pierce followed...

The three remaining vampires shrieked and threw their daggers. Vinigo chuckled, leaped up, and swung the soft ribbons of her shrine maiden outfit.

"Secret Technique: Flowing Wind Dance."

The three daggers flew back at the same speed. The vampires swiped their swords to parry the daggers while simultaneously pointing their other hands at Vinigo—"Vampiric Drain!"

A supernatural ability unique to vampires struck Vinigo simultaneously. This annoying spell could drain the victim’s blood, turning it into energy for the vampires to heal wounds and recover stamina—though, normally, ordinary vampires using such an ability would appear to lack offensive power.

However, Vinigo’s constitution was not high; she was, after all, only a shrine maiden.

This time, she had truly been caught in a painful spot. Vinigo could not help but frown.

If the vampires relied on their speed to continuously use Vampiric Drain, it would indeed be troublesome. However, Vinigo was not alone.

The giant wolf cunningly lunged out from behind the enemy, leaped into the air, and in an instant, turned into a bolt of lightning, crashing into the midst of the vampires.

"Lightning Fang!"

The lightning bolt instantly slammed one vampire to the ground, using its immense impact and electricity to reduce him to ash. The giant wolf raised its head, observing the other vampires with its eerily magnificent red eyes.

"Well done," Vinigo praised.

"Hita, over here." Vinigo waved to the little familiar in the sky.

"Secret Technique: Falcon Continuous Kill!"

Hita felt a surge of power within her body. Before she could even control it, her body seemed to move on its own, turning into a stream of flame and diving downward.

Red, yellow, blue, purple... fire-falcons of different colors shot down with the speed of arrows, trailing long tails of flame and light. In an instant, the three vampires were pierced through by the flame-falcons Hita had become, their longswords torn to shreds along with them.

"Akana, go! Tooth of the Radiant God!"

The same secret technique drove the giant wolf, transformed by Akana, into a frantic assault against the last remaining black knight. With pride-worthy speed and immense power, it instantly dragged the black knight to the ground with overwhelming explosive force, tearing him to pieces.

Oh my, oh my, why do these two children always use such bloody combat styles—it’s fortunate that the undead are just dead, rotting meat.

With that, in the sky and on the ground, only the Lich and his pet bone dragon remained.

"Unclean one, do you think you can look down on me from on high?" Vinigo issued a clear challenge, raising her *Kikiushi* and gesturing toward the bone dragon in the sky.

"As a spellcaster, what is wrong with keeping my distance?" the Lich sneered.

The next second, six bolts of lightning appeared simultaneously, descending toward Vinigo.

"Flicker-Lightning: Six-Fold Burst"... such spellcasting technique clearly showed this was no ordinary Lich.

Excellent, a formidable foe! Vinigo, Akana, and Hita all thought the same thing simultaneously.

"In that case, I must return the favor with full sincerity." Even before she finished speaking, Vinigo had already cleared the impact zone of the lightning. Utilizing the proud speed of the Blade of Victory, she had begun her evasion the instant before the lightning was unleashed.

It was a success. Yet, the moment the Blade of Victory slowed down, it would still provide the Lich with a chance for a fatal blow.

Would it be able to wait for that opportunity?