Several smooth, translucent threads extended from the void, gently wrapping around Lumine, Keqing, and Nolan's waists, lowering them safely to the ground.
As everyone looked up slightly, they noticed that "Childe" had undergone a significant change in appearance.
He was now floating in mid-air, his mask had turned red, with a single blue-glowing "monocle" in the center.
The weapon in his hand was no longer a bow or twin blades, but rather a spear-like weapon, one end of which resembled a blade.
To Nolan, it looked more like a long-handled broadsword.
As expected from "Childe," who had the talent to master all kinds of weapons, it seemed like he could wield anything with ease.
Although Nolan figured he could probably do the same if he wanted to, he already had no obvious weaknesses in his current skillset. Learning too many things would only spread his Adventure EXP thin.
For now, focusing on improving his existing skills was enough.
When he had more Adventure EXP to spare, he could learn a few more weapon techniques. That way, he might be able to respond to specific opponents with greater finesse.
"What's going on with him? He feels a lot stronger!"
Keqing gazed at the dramatically altered Childe, her usually fair and delicate face now filled with tension.
"This might be Childe in his strongest form, having revealed all his trump cards. Stay sharp, everyone."
Nolan exhaled quietly, gripping his sword hilt tighter, ready to attack or defend at a moment's notice.
He noticed that Childe had now reached level 82, clearly a significant boost from the "Foul Legacy Transformation."
"Haha, now it's my turn to attack!"
Childe's voice sounded synthesized and strange, but there was a clear note of amusement in it.
As soon as the words left his mouth—
He vanished from where he stood, covering a considerable distance in an instant, appearing right in front of Nolan and the others.
With a weapon infused with both Electro and Hydro elements, he swung the blade from left to right, aiming at them.
"He can wield two elements at once?!"
Lumine, though surprised, reacted swiftly.
As soon as she saw the attack, she infused her longsword with Geo energy and raised it to block.
Though the Geo element was solid and sturdy, Lumine's physical strength wasn't as great as Childe's. Her blade, blunt-edged, could barely hold the line as she was slowly pushed back.
"You're too weak!"
Childe increased the pressure, and the blade moved closer to Lumine's neck at a faster pace.
Nolan swung his greatsword at Childe's waist, while Keqing joined in, summoning sharp purple swords made entirely of Electro energy around her.
All of the sword tips pointed directly at Childe.
"Starward Sword!"
With a soft command from Keqing's lips, countless purple swords shot towards Childe.
Faced with the combined might of their attacks, Childe had no choice but to retreat, vanishing from the spot.
Nolan's greatsword and Keqing's purple swords all struck empty air.
Childe reappeared a short distance away, his long-handled broadsword slashing rapidly, sending out multiple water blades towards them.
Keqing quickly redirected her purple swords to clash with the incoming water blades.
As the attacks canceled each other out, neither side gained any advantage.
Even when a stray water blade narrowly missed and came their way, Lumine quickly summoned several massive Geo constructs from the ground to block it.
Nolan noticed that Childe possessed the ability to teleport, greatly enhancing his mobility. Even someone as fast as Keqing had difficulty landing an attack on him.
After some thought, Nolan planted his greatsword into the ground, activating the "Spirit Descent" feature of his Focus Technique. He controlled the phantom of his sword energy to approach Childe, slashing out golden sword waves.
At the same time, Nolan took out his Adventurer's Hunting Bow.
To deal with an enemy that could teleport, naturally, using similar tactics would yield better results.
He infused the arrow with fire elemental energy from Lisa's modified Delusion and took aim at Childe. Releasing the bowstring, the arrow shot through space, just as Childe had the thought to dodge.
A burst of flames erupted in front of him, exploding right in his face.
However, he felt no pain—not even a scratch on his mask. The arrow was fast, but not powerful enough.
"Well..."
Nolan watched as Childe hovered in the air, completely unharmed, feeling a bit helpless.
The power of a bow and arrow greatly depends on both the user and the weapon itself.
Nolan's Adventurer's Hunting Bow was still only a two-star weapon. Against ordinary enemies, he could compensate for the bow's shortcomings with his own strength.
But against a powerful foe like Childe—
Even when using elemental power, it seemed he still couldn't deal any significant damage.
It was clear now that upgrading to a better bow needed to be a priority. Otherwise, having the means to counter Childe but failing to break through his defense would just be laughable.
"Nice archery! Let me return the favor!"
In his Foul Legacy form, Tartaglia raised his right hand above his head, a massive elemental arrow slowly taking shape in his palm, crackling with lightning.
"Damm, that's some terrifying power!"
Nolan could tell his elemental shield wouldn't be able to withstand it.
He mentally communicated through his "Waymark" to Paimon, who was outside the Golden House, asking her to be ready to teleport him to her side at any moment.
This proved to be the right move.
The next moment, the enormous lightning-infused arrow shot forward like a bolt of lightning, flashing across the battlefield.
Thankfully, Nolan's reflexes were fast.
Just before the arrow struck him, he teleported to Paimon's side outside the battlefield.
He casually patted her head in thanks, and despite her annoyed stomping in the air, he teleported back inside, reappearing next to Lumine.
Using his "Interstellar Travel" teleportation ability, Nolan had effortlessly evaded that devastating attack.
"Is teleportation that common now?" Childe muttered with a complex expression.
Both Keqing and Nolan had demonstrated teleportation like abilities that rivaled his own, offering them exceptional mobility.
At this point, there wasn't much point in continuing the fight.
Unless his attacks could outpace their reaction times, he wouldn't be able to land a hit. Childe understood this all too well.
Continuing the battle would only drain their energy.
For him, especially in his Foul Legacy form, this was a natural disadvantage, as the transformation took a heavy toll on his body. If they kept playing this teleportation cat-and-mouse game, it was only a matter of time before his body would give out.
Realizing this, Childe hesitated no longer and unleashed his ultimate move.
A massive, water-formed whale rose from the ground, its enormous body filling the entire space as it crashed down on Nolan and the others.
Taking advantage of their obstructed vision and their focus on defending against the attack, Childe teleported directly to the Exuvia of the Geo Archon.
His right hand swiftly plunged into the Exuvia's body. This time, no one could stop him from seizing the Gnosis!
---
(End of Chapter)
❇❇❇
Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 20+ Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/RedX43
❇❇❇