Four phantoms simultaneously flickered towards Shard from four directions, encircling him with four identical "Lake Goddesses" at the water's surface in the east, west, south, and north directions. All four wielded longswords at once. Accompanied by the calm lake surface surging into extraordinary waves, water walls swept with sharp blades surrounding Shard above the water.
"Frog's Leap!"
Dried Frog Legs were thrown to the water surface, and Shard leaped upwards with effort, jumping into the air just before the water walls from the four directions converged.
The speed of those water walls was exceedingly fast, instantly crashing into each other beneath his feet and exploding into mist.
Spirit runes sequentially lit up on the angel's bright ring, combining Enlightenment [Lock of the Fool] with Miracle [Water] this time.
Pure water chains shot towards Shard from above, composed of intricate runes from the shattered water screen's four corners. "She" whispered a warning to the descending Outlander:
[Once you become entangled by the chains, you cannot escape, even you.]
"Great Sin Chain!"
It seemed like light-absorbing black chains shot from Shard's sleeves, manipulated by him to swiftly whip around his body as he fell. Although the four pure water chains were extremely formidable, they couldn't match the black chains simultaneously amplified by "Gluttony", "Greed", and "Sloth".
As Shard regained his footing on the water surface, the Great Sin Chain in the air already destroyed all four pure water chains. Yet Shard barely had time to celebrate before he had to swing his sword forward again, fending off the oncoming wooden long staff.
Boom!
Mist exploded once more. The Miracle Spirit Rune [Angel's Power] brought terrifying strength to the White-robed Lady. When dragon and angel, those immense forces collided above the water, during their interlacing moment, beneath the feet of those standing on the water, a depression unexpectedly appeared. The enormous rings tilted simultaneously from above to at the front, under the piercing sound, the Rings of Fate collided with each other, rapidly revolving and sparking dazzling fire:
"What is going on with this?"
At the same time, Shard heard a very delicate cracking sound on himself, not feeling his bones cracking. She provided the answer:
[The surface of the Poet-Level Relic "Impure Dragon Blood" you're carrying has developed cracks.] S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
"What?"
The sword and long staff pressed together, both sides struggling against each other, Shard felt the White-robed Lady's power still intensifying, not her limit:
"Could a Four-Ring Sorcerer have this much power?"
Being restrained in power wasn't the worst situation. The wooden staff in the White-robed Lady's hand became "alive", growing and sprouting. The Moonlight Greatsword cut a small notch in the staff, and wriggling sprouts and dense tendrils instantly surged from the notch, in the next second growing and clinging to Shard's sword, seemingly engulfing both the sword and Shard's arm altogether.
"Oh!"
He wanted to withdraw the sword, but the staff already completely "stuck" to the Moonlight Greatsword. The lady in front wouldn't give Shard a chance to strategize, her right-hand water sword already cleaving towards him.
Forced to, Shard could only summon a bright yellow Moonlight Greatsword with his left hand to block, but without[Night Watchman's]Arcane Technique boost, coupled with his left hand's weakness and the Yellow Moon Moonlight Greatsword's naturally weak power, he not only failed in defending successfully but his left-hand sword shattered into light particles.
With the water sword about to hit him, under a dire sense of crisis making his scalp tingling, Shard released the[Night Watchman]and took a step back, then appeared on the lake's surface 20 meters away.
Taking advantage of the backward step to evade casting lag (Note), he seamlessly transitioned to a throwing motion:
"Thunder Spear!"
The silver-white thunder spear exploded, piercing through water mist, hurled at the lady in the white robe, but she merely swung the water sword at it, and the thunder became swallowed by the huge wave. The massive golden Ring of Fate, at this moment, spun even faster, seemingly consuming the surrounding water vapor.
Meanwhile, the Moonlight Greatsword, "stuck" by the staff, splintered, revealing a Silver Sword inside. The White-robed Lady's staff didn't swallow the Night Watchman, instead allowing it to fall into the lake, leaving Shard temporarily without this weapon.
"Remarkable indeed."
Shard mused in his heart, his hands drawing a cross light trace before him, then he sidestepped forward. The White-robed Lady lifted her staff and summoned another water wall, and the Silvermoon Slash cleaved through the water wall, then she used her water sword to block.
All things considered, Shard's full effort in performing the "Silvermoon Slash" was more powerful than "Thunder Spear," but the latter had a wider attack range. However, he still couldn't inflict any damage on the opponent.
[You've done really well. She is an ancient angel and you are an Outlander who has only been involved in mysticism for half a year. You don't need to expect a better situation.]
While Shard evaded once more using "Lagre's Leap," "she" whispered softly in his ear.
"But this isn't enough; I need to defeat her or at least hold out for five minutes."
Several fine streams of water tried entwining around Shard's feet. Shard mimicked Mr. Benhart's demonstrated technique, sweeping his right foot to emit an arc light blade severing those watery tendrils, only to be stuck in close proximity by the White-robed Lady once more.
Without the [Night Watchman], Shard can still use the [Moonlight Greatsword] against the enemy, but wielding the sword in a struggle against an angel becomes increasingly disadvantageous.
In fact, Shard was not good at dealing with targets like the "Lake Goddess." Many of his arcane techniques and relics, such as the "Sunlight Ray" which restrains the undead, the "Higgs Dragonhead Stone" which is the enemy of dragons, the "Night Watchman," and his own moonlight are nemeses of evil and darkness. However, against entities that are inherently "holy" and "good," these methods are considerably limited.
[You still have my power.]
"She" whispered softly, the intense battle stirred up large clouds of water vapor, and the sensation of water droplets sliding down his neck made Shard mistakenly think someone was caressing his neck.
At this moment, Shard couldn't afford any distractions; the White-robed Lady indeed suppressed her power to match his level, but Shard always felt that fighting on the surface of Lake Cherub against her was like battling within a Maze Lock or Sublimation Incantation, against the master of the Maze Lock or Sublimation Incantation.
"Little Match Girl!"
Thinking this, swirling snowflakes fell from the sky, and a silver moon phantom appeared above Shard's head, but it only slightly calmed the turbulent waves. The power of the Maze Lock indeed affected the White-robed Lady's control over Lake Cherub, but it was far from enough.
At this moment, the battle reached a fever pitch, Shard's spirit was rapidly consuming, and he had to find a way to change the situation.
"What power do you have to help me? Can you interfere with reality?"
Shard asked in his heart, "She" seemed to know what Shard was thinking, and her gentle smile made Shard feel somewhat embarrassed:
[You know what I can do to help you.]
The moonlight greatsword in his right hand shattered again, silver light particles submerged in the massive waves being stirred up. These waves were stirred by Shard, who leapt into the sky within the water curtain, moving to 20 meters high in the air before the White-robed Lady could flap her wings and chase him above the water.
As he fell, he confirmed in his heart:
"Help me align the direction; we only have one chance, if we fail this time, I really will have no weapon left."
[Yes, only one chance.]
"Alright! Then let me see the power of knowledge!"
Simultaneously as he plunged to the surface, bending down due to the falling inertia, he plunged his hands into the water in front of him. Before he could get up, he rolled to the left on the water surface to avoid a water arrow descending from the sky, but by this time a new weapon had appeared in Shard's hand.
A bow, a water bow completely formed from the peculiar lake water beneath his feet had appeared in Shard's hand. Using the sorcery of "Water Flow Manipulation," Shard shaped the liquid below him into the form of a bow. Although it could not compare to the water sword in the White-robed Lady's hand, all Shard needed was a bow with mystical properties.
[Blade of Chaotic Time] can only be used through a sword possessing supernatural power, and [Aikenora-Arrow of Knowledge] can only be fired from a bow or crossbow with supernatural power. Although the arrow was in Professor Drake's hand, Shard had not found a bow from decades ago. Fortunately, the action of the "Lake Goddess" retrieving arrows from the water reminded him, and the water underfoot was not just ordinary water.
When Shard stood up, the wooden box fell into the water, and the golden arrow had already appeared in his left hand.
Drawing the bow and nocking the arrow, the golden arrowhead and bronze-colored patterns reflected brilliant light in the afternoon sun.
The arrowhead in the mist pointed at the angel in the sky, the mist coiling like tendrils in low air.
Above the water mist, the white-winged lady held a staff in one hand and a sword in the other, her whole body radiating a gentle glow. She stood with her back to the sun, which was located at the center of the enormous golden ring, projecting light towards the mortal on the water through three core spirit runes.
Shard held his breath, his mind intensely focused, channeling his inner power to control the peculiar water in his hand:
"Help me aim."
[Now relax your muscles, to the left...]
"Her" gentle voice swiftly assisted Shard in calibrating the power level and direction of the arrowhead, and as the bowstring of the water bow was drawn back, the golden arrowhead of the [Aikenora-Arrow of Knowledge] gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight filtering through the Ring of Fate.
The knowledge from the Outlander's hometown, the secrets Shard Hamilton explored in this world, and the indomitable determination of the moment urged Shard to draw the bowstring to its fullest extent.
At that moment, time seemed to stand still, the holy angel wielded a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, spreading her arms as an indescribable force rose from the water, attempting to halt Shard's actions.
Simultaneously, ancient dark gold light bloomed among the erupting golden light, a power arising from Shard's knowledge illuminated him instead.
Dense transparent characters flowed from Shard's hands, entwining arrow and bow, and amidst the silent dark gold glow, he seemed to grow a head taller, the eruption of flesh power tearing his garments into rifts directly.
He was breathing, breathing heavily, each breath sensing stronger power surging between the bow and arrow in his hands. The dense characters flowed through the water, the arrow, and on Shard's skin and eyes. Though not directly facing the deity at this moment, the palm holding the arrow cracked in the erupting light, the cracks climbing up his arm, spreading across his whole body.
Steam and water vapor were illuminated by the gold-colored cracks, making Shard seem like golden embers igniting.
The power of the Divine Afterglow manifested for the first time in Shard without him having come into contact with a deity.