"Bastet Electric Art!"
Merka's cat ears flicked on top of his head as he bravely stood in the path of dozens of grey lasers rushing towards him, instantly summoning three huge cat demons to block the attacks in front of him.
All his clones also gathered around Merka, trying to protect Duke George's safety.
However, it was simply not enough.
Like the dazzling spotlights in a nightclub, scorching beams of light mercilessly poured down on Merka's head.
"A staff... obliterated?"
Merka was stunned to find that when the magnificent and devastating brilliance came rushing towards him, the large cats and clones did not even have a second to support him before they turned to ashes.
The twisted staff didn't even have time to chant a spell before it was sent flying somewhere by this lightning-fast magic.
Merka's face turned pale, as he exerted all his magical power to try to forcefully block the attack.
"Heart of the Furnace!"
Although in the recent past Merka had spent almost all his time enjoying leisurely moments in Tender Town with Turing, it did not mean that he had completely abandoned his practice of magic.
On the contrary, he had mastered the Heart of the Furnace to a level that truly matched his ultimate wizardry skills.
With a loud bang, the grey stream of light hit the mud and rocks in front of Merka, pushing him back several dozen meters.
Breathing heavily, Merka's body was as red-hot as molten rock, emitting suffocating heat.
Regaining his footing, Merka tensed his body, preparing to face the second wave of attacks from the despondent knight.
But to his surprise, the despondent knight didn't even look at him, raising his hand to continue attacking Duke George.
Hundreds of grey lasers, exuding terrifying penetrating power, twisted and spiraled behind the despondent knight's throne, before viciously converging like a tornado and speeding towards Duke George.
Why? Why not attack me first?
Merka's face turned pale as he quickly analyzed the situation, trying to figure out a reason, but the complexity of the battle made it hard for him to understand.
Is it trying to catch the thief first? Does it see that Duke George is now using the volcano mode?
No... I don't think so...
This laser magic is cast extremely quickly, with high speed and accuracy. It could have easily killed me with a simple gesture, so why didn't it do so first?
It's almost like... it's protecting me.
After all, it actually has so many large-scale magics, so why did it choose to use a sword when trying to kill Xiangjun earlier? Wasn't it afraid of harming me behind Xiangjun?
This is so strange...
The vengeful laser aimed at Duke George's body shot towards her with almost no way to avoid it.
Yet Duke George simply raised her Granite-like leg and fiercely swung it towards the laser. The laser instantly rebounded as if hitting a reflective prism, and was sent flying back ruthlessly.
Unfazed, the despondent knight directly countered the rebounding laser with an equal measure of laser power.
Seeing that normal attacks couldn't harm Duke George, the despondent knight seemed to get angry. It flew from the throne into the sky, summoning thunderstorms from the surroundings, providing itself with almost lightning-fast speed.
It danced in the air, flying freely around Duke George.
It flew faster and faster, and the laser attacks also increased in speed and power in sync with the rhythm of the battle. The continuous increase in the strength of the lasers, from a few hundred bundled together initially to thousands, tens of thousands, and ultimately hundreds of thousands and millions of bundled lasers, made it impossible for Duke George, temporarily unable to use magic, to do anything but endure the onslaught.
Initially, the lasers were twisted into a few hundred beams, then they multiplied to thousands, tens of thousands, and eventually to hundreds of thousands and millions. The damage caused by the lasers became increasingly terrifying. What had initially barely scratched Duke George's flesh was now able to pierce her solid body, even penetrating through over a dozen skyscrapers behind her.
Yet, the despondent knight continued to accelerate, increasing the speed and power of the lasers without limit, as if its power would never reach a ceiling.
And Merka had no way to deal with it at all, after all, it was light! Can something that can be countered solely by human reaction be stopped?
This is bad... I'm completely useless like this!
Self-reproach flooded Merka's mind. He stood nervously in place, beating his head in regret, lamenting his weakness.
What can I do... Is there any way to expose a vulnerability?
What could it be... Think, think fast!
Ah, I remember...
Merka's peripheral vision caught something, prompting him to look carefully ahead.
That emblem on the throne, doesn't it look like an Arabic-style emblem?
With his mind racing, Merka caught sight of a badge standing at the top of the throne and an idea formed in his mind.
He decided to take a risky gamble.
"Hey! Host of the East! We are guests here! Not here to fight!"
Merka loudly addressed the despondent knight, who was phantom-like in the sky, flying back and forth.
Unexpectedly, the despondent knight actually hesitated, slowly stopping in mid-air to look at Merka, uncertain of what to make of the situation.
Then, from his pocket, Merka took out the emblem he had remotely controlled the cat claws to steal from the throne, and showed it to the despondent knight.
"Look! I even have a token from your Emperor! We should have a proper conversation!"
At the sight of the emblem, the despondent knight, not particularly intelligent to begin with, suddenly became dumbfounded. Though he had no idea what his Emperor even looked like, he recognized the emblem.
Yet, how could he have a conversation? What should he say? He probably hadn't even learned all the words of basic language.
Duke George, however, paid no attention to these thoughts. Seizing the opportunity, she swiftly kicked off the ground and pounced into the air, propelled by the grudge from her recent injuries, delivering a furious kick to the despondent knight's face.
With the volcano mode empowering this kick, Duke George was like a charging mammoth, a dragon soaring, directly shattering the despondent knight's cheek, sending it flying until it crashed into over a dozen houses before finally coming to a stop.
Taking advantage of the moment, Merka wasted no time. Without the threat of the laser barrage, he quickly smashed the peculiar throne to pieces.
"I get it... Laser weapons are complex weapons."
"Their mechanisms are usually bulky and cumbersome."
"I saw the lasers emerging from inside here a moment ago."
Presumably, this throne served as the medium for the laser magic.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have needed to lure us here.
Realizing this, Merka hurried to George, who had fallen to the ground, gently helped her up, and began to heal her.
Her chest and abdomen were pierced with four large holes, and a mixture of blood and bodily fluids gushed out of her broken body, making her look like a juicer squeezing out fruits.
"Duke George, are you alright?"
"Take a rest quickly, I will heal you.”
