Echoes of the Past

Chapter 46 Sit Up

"A relaxation chair?" Suiyue murmured subconsciously.

Nilar interrupted her train of thought, reminding her, "The Evil Deer Manual mentions that you shouldn't casually assign too many cognitive associations to familiar Nightmare objects. Preconceived notions are dangerous when exploring the Black Mist."

Nan'an slowly retreated to the two people's side. The chair remained motionless throughout, only rocking on its own.

It was as if, out of the sight of the three, there existed a carefree spirit, happily enjoying its time on the recliner.

Nan'an inquired, "They don't seem aggressive. How would you normally handle this?"

Nilar kept his eyes fixed on the chair: "Actively attacking the Nightmare God carries a huge risk of triggering unpredictable events, so if it's not necessary, it's a relatively wise choice to ignore it and avoid it."

Suiyue looked around and, apart from the chair blocking the entrance, the only feasible route to leave the church was to break the stained glass and climb out the window.

Without hesitation, Nan'an took the lead after deciding to take an unconventional approach.

The stained glass shattered with a crack, turning into countless sparkling fragments that flew out of the window.

The expected fresh air and open view did not materialize.

They found themselves beneath a narrow corridor, shrouded in the shadows of stone pillars and arches.

The outer side of the corridor is a railing made of gray stone bricks. Through the gaps in the arches, you can see lush greenery in the distance, like a carefully manicured garden.

From some distance, one can only vaguely see that the statues in the visible area are distorted in posture and have indistinct faces.

With one hand braced against the window railing, Suiyue performed a cool one-handed wall-climbing maneuver and couldn't help but speak as soon as she landed.

Something's not right.

It defied intuition to the point that even Suiyue's mind could perceive the strangeness.

The light streaming into the church through the stained glass windows came from the east side. They followed the light, climbed over the wall, and were greeted by a corridor that blocked the direct sunlight and a towering arched structure.

The light seemed to penetrate all obstacles along the way, precisely landing on the desired location for the landscape.

The sound of dragging footsteps followed immediately after the three of them finished climbing out the window and landing.

Shadowy figures emerged from behind the columns, in the garden, and at the corners of the arches.

They were dressed in uniform, old-fashioned blue and white sectarian clothing. All of them had their eyes closed, and their faces were deathly pale, without a trace of blood.

Sensing the magic in the air beginning to stir, Nilar hurriedly issued a warning.

"It's a spirit erosion."

Unlike Living Erosion, Spirit Erosion is an individual transformed by black mist after death. It is skilled in and uses the spells it possessed at the time of death. It can be simply understood as a "partner" resurrected by high-level necromancy.

However, the Elu Manual also records special eyewitness reports—the Spirit Erosion who simultaneously wields both divine nightmare power and magic.

Nan'an's understanding of this is that if you order pork trotter rice and the owner accidentally orders a double portion of pork trotters, you've "gotten a good deal."

As the spirits transformed into spirits, a large number of cultists silently and slowly gathered towards the three of them. Nan'an silently activated "Elemental Drive - Earth" to increase his defense and strengthen his affinity for the earth element.

"Nila..."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud "clang".

Behind the three people, a heavy thud came from the window that had just been smashed.

The sound of wood colliding with the stone windowsill startled Suiyue, who turned around sharply.

The rocking chair that should have been at the entrance of the hall has now appeared out of nowhere inside the broken window frame.

It sat steadily on the windowsill, still swaying slowly and making creaking noises.

"You two, keep an eye on it. I'll handle these Spirit Devourers."

Nan'an sped off, not heading towards the nearest Spirit Erosion, but towards a massive stone pillar on one side of the corridor, so thick it would take two people to encircle it.

With the blessing of "Elemental Drive - Earth", the touch of his palm on the cold stone surface was no longer hard, but instead had a strange "plasticity".

Clench your fingers together and exert force.

"Boom!"

The base of the stone pillar broke at the point where it met the ground with a sickening scraping sound.

Instead of trying to lift the entire stone pillar, Nan'an concentrated his strength at the fracture, coordinating with the attraction of earth elements.

The broken stone pillar, like clay being kneaded by an invisible giant hand, began to twist and deform.

The scattered pebbles and the bricks paving the corridor floor cracked and flew up, like iron filings attracted by a magnet, quickly adhering to the surface of the stone pillars.

As the rock and soil move, they are squeezed and fused together, producing a dull crushing sound.

In just two or three breaths, a large amount of soil and gravel on the broken stone pillar merged together, transforming into a giant rock and soil club nearly three meters long.

"Yes, yes, that's the feeling!"

Nan An had always been curious: as a heroic spirit, having received the enhancement and amplification from the summoning ritual, and possessing the combat experience and knowledge from his previous life, what level of combat power could he be compared to Nora in the present day?

After configuring an external magic container for Suiyue, Nan'an clearly felt that the upper limit had been raised again.

Considering that the most powerful enemy he had ever faced in his adventurer career was probably the troll he fought in his last battle, he conservatively estimated that it was a Tier 7 monster.

The foremost Spirit Erosion has already closed to within five steps.

They kept their eyes closed, and simultaneously raised their arms, their fingertips gathering a dazzling, pure white magical glow.

Those were the offensive magic they possessed in their previous lives, their once holy light reappearing deep within the chaotic black mist.

In this situation, Nan'an couldn't help but think of some images related to depravity—the contrast was so strong that it was impossible not to make the connection.

Countless arrows, trailing pale golden halos, shot through the air.

Nan'an used the giant rock and earth club he was dragging behind him to block it forward.

A giant club blocked the path of the magic arrow.

The area on the stick that was struck rippled with faint, pale gold light.

The arrow sank deep into the ground, but the holy radiance containing sacred power failed to detonate. Instead, it was swept into the "body" by the rocks and soil on the surface, which were churning like boiling water.

The giant club, carrying a heavy wind pressure, swept into the swarm of spirit erosion.

There are no tricks, just pure numbers.

The moment they made contact, the Ling Shi Mei Mei in the front row enjoyed the immense force comparable to the impact of a major collision.

Their bodies didn't fly backwards; instead, they shattered directly under the terrifying force of the staff.

The pale body, wrapped in a blue and white priest's robe, exploded with a muffled thud, turning into a cloud of blood mist.

The giant club continued its unabated momentum, sweeping across the area.

The corridor was not wide, and the spirit erosion was densely packed. This blow was like a giant scythe scraping across a wheat field. Any spirit erosion that was grazed would either have its limbs broken or disintegrate on the spot.

The shattered body and the flying blood mist mingled together in the dust stirred up by the wind from the stick.

Nan'an advanced steadily through the corridor, clearing a section of the road ahead with each swing of his baton, much like a dump truck.

The feeling of the bat hitting flesh when it's swung might occasionally give the dump truck the illusion of crushing something, but once the giant bat hits the ground, causing an earthquake and leaving behind debris, Nan'an will burst into laughter from the bottom of his heart.

"Hehe, this is so relaxing!"

The two people playing the "statues" game with the chair maintained a sideways posture, keeping watch while admiring Nan'an Wushuang mowing the grass.

Frankly, if Nanan hadn't been labeled "El Deer," Nilar would have sincerely asked...

Who is the villain now?

The more they killed, the more excited they became. They could still laugh out loud while stepping on corpses and wading through pools of blood. This had nothing to do with mental fortitude...

Nan'an is enjoying himself.

Most of the magical attacks unleashed by the Spirit Erosions were swept away and intercepted by the ruthless giant club.

A few attacks that bypassed the staff and came from the side or above were easily deflected by the thick, rock-like earth elemental shield surrounding him.

Despite their sheer numbers, the Spirit Erosion forces were forced into retreat by this aggressive and sweeping attack, unable to stop Nan'an's rampage.

Near the garden, dozens of spirit erosions gathered under a relatively intact archway.

They simultaneously raised their arms, and the magic surging from their fingertips began to resonate and connect with each other, clearly preparing to cast a more powerful spell that required collective chanting.

Nan'an suddenly swung his giant club, gripping the end with both hands, raised it high above his head, pointed it at the center of the gathered spirit erosion swarm, and slammed it down heavily.

The moment the giant club made contact with the stone ground, the violent impact was like an invisible hammer, exploding outwards from the point of impact.

The stone slabs on the ground cracked inch by inch, and the shock wave, carrying gravel and dust, spread rapidly outward in a ring.

The ground beneath Ling Shi's feet shook violently as he was casting a resonance spell, causing the orderly formation to instantly lose its balance and stagger to the ground.

"Element-Driven Water!"

At the center of the impact, a violent torrent of water gushed forth without warning from the cracks in the stone slab.

In an instant, a powerful suction force is generated centered on the point of impact, and a vortex is formed.

Those spirit erosions that had just fallen and were not yet getting up, along with those individuals further away who had been shaken and staggered, were all violently pulled by this sudden attraction, involuntarily sliding towards the center of the water.

They struggled, trying to cling to the ground, but it was no use against the raging torrent.

The giant earth elemental staff that Nan'an had crushed countless spirit-corroding particles suddenly shattered, and yellowish-brown light particles swirled around his arm, while turbid mud was suddenly poured into the roaring vortex.

He then made a pushing motion outwards...

The vortex transformed into a surging wave, its height and width almost covering the entire corridor, carrying all the gathered spiritual energy, and crashed fiercely towards the archway in front and the garden further away.

"Splash!"

The waves crashed against the stone arches and railings, producing a deep, thunderous roar.

Caught in the turmoil of the eroding spirits, their fragile flesh and blood disintegrated under the impact of the violent water flow and the vibrations of magic. Mixed in with the water, they turned into a foul-smelling, filthy soup that splashed in all directions.

Nan'an breathed slightly, and the corridor in front of him was now empty.

Nilar felt a chill run down his spine and his body trembled with excitement.

It's so smooth, so fluid!

Depending on the battle, constantly switch elemental attributes, adapt to the changing circumstances and adjust elemental combinations to unleash completely unexpected combos.

The battle was seamless, with fluid and natural movements, crushing enemies in sight like a whirlwind.

Rough, violent, and bloody, but... efficient and concise, it can be called art.

The numerical advantage and teamwork of the Spirit Erosion faction became a joke.

This wild technique, combining elemental magic and physical combat, is at a level unmatched by anyone in the Eldead!

Above the corridor, in the recessed area shrouded in the shadow of the arches, which was originally thought to be a decorative relief, four figures suddenly fell without warning.

They are slender and agile, dressed in tight-fitting dark clothing, and hold rusty tetanus-enchanted short knives in their hands.

The fall was silent, like a wisp of mist.

The moment the dagger gleamed in the reflection of the remaining water, Nilar and Suiyue by the window opened their mouths, about to cry out in surprise.

"Fly fog".

Nan'an had already reacted; with a thought, the card flashed by.

A deep, dense hum began without warning, as if it were seeping directly from the shadows behind Nan'an.

In an instant, the four shadows that rushed in were completely swallowed up by the fly mist. Their final attack left ripples on Nan'an's prepared earthen-yellow shield, allowing him to take advantage of the situation and retreat from the combined attack circle.

The sounds of cutting and gnawing, almost drowned out by the buzzing, burst forth densely from within the insect cloud.

It's like countless tiny files simultaneously and frantically chiseling through a hard object.

The insect cloud churned and surged violently, and four blurry, writhing human figures could be vaguely seen within it.

Through the gaps in the swarm of insects, one could glimpse the tight-fitting dark clothing of the Soul Eater assassin, which was becoming riddled with holes at a visible speed, turning into drifting black fluff.

Beneath the clothing, Ling Shi's pale, withered flesh was exposed, instantly covered with countless tiny, bottomless holes.

Nilar couldn't see the process clearly, but he vaguely glimpsed that Nan'an seemed to make a waving gesture. In a moment, countless flies appeared, swirling around the four assassins, Ling Shi. In just a few breaths, four clumps of festering, bleeding flesh appeared on the ground.

The kill efficiency is astonishing.

"What kind of move is that?"

Having grown accustomed to Nan'an's brutal use of physical skills and elemental magic to overwhelm opponents, Nilar's first reaction upon discovering that Suiyue's summons could also summon other things was no longer "This is weird." Instead, he instinctively wanted to praise the veteran from the Gray Star era, to unleash his unfathomable skill pool, and carry him to an easy victory.

"Where's the chair?"

Suiyue cried out in surprise.

Her peripheral vision remained fixed on the chair, but in the blink of an eye, the window frame was already empty.

Just as she and Nilar were in shock, a chair hovered in front of Nan'an not far away, spinning and crashing towards him.

"Get in..."

Nan An subconsciously felt a subtle impulse, as if a voice in the dark was beckoning him to approach the rocking chair.

"Sit on your mother's seat!"

Although it was confirmed that the power of the Living Corruption's Nightmare had almost no effect on him, Nan'an still dared not gamble on the possibility of making a mistake.

Sensing this almost blatant "invitation," it didn't hesitate to command the fly mist: "Eat it!"

The fly mist swarmed up, the chair spun rapidly, engulfing the fly mist within it.

But this did not affect the rhythm of the fly mist's engulfment; the teeth-grinding scraping sound continued to emanate from the spinning chair top, which was almost a blur.

"Swoosh!"

A dim light flickered before Nan'an's eyes, and the chair that had been floating in mid-air vanished without a trace, along with most of the loyal swarm of flies.

"They... escaped?"