Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

Why does that conceptual aura appear on the priest?

The box was empty; there were no other sacred objects in the church.

The only remaining traces of spiritual energy were Henry before them and the ever-changing scripture in his hand.

"I should have killed him... damn it."

Kong Jiu was filled with remorse. When he knocked the priest unconscious, he had intended to take the spiritual object from the box and run away.

He was still too soft-hearted, always trying to avoid taking lives.

Before he could think any further, the dagger in Henry's hand stabbed like a venomous snake, aimed straight at his vital points.

"You really didn't open this box?"

Kong Jiu cried out in surprise, his figure swaying like smoke as he dodged the cold arc of the dagger.

Upon hearing this question, the old priest was taken aback.

Kong Jiu seized the moment of distraction and slapped Henry's wrist hard.

The dagger fell to the ground, but while still in mid-air, it flashed with golden light and landed in the old priest's other hand.

The golden light was shaped almost instantly, transforming into a slender rapier, which the priest held firmly in his hand.

Henry bent his arm slightly and thrust forward with a sudden, swift motion.

The cold glint of the rapier pierced straight through Kong Jiu's chest, precisely striking his heart.

Kong Jiu's pupils suddenly contracted, and he staggered backward.

[Blood Magic - Blood Clotting]

He hurriedly activated his blood magic to forcibly seal the pierced heart wall. When he looked up again, his face was slightly pale, and his gaze was gloomy as he stared at old Henry.

Such a fast sword.

A completely unexpected way of making a move.

At this moment, the elderly man, though seventy years old, stood upright with his hunched back, holding a rapier in his slightly bent arm, positioned between the two men.

That sword strike was extremely accurate.

The old man's accuracy was so high that Kong Jiu was certain that he was no ordinary person when it came to cold weapons.

Could it be that he was a wandering knight-errant in his youth?

Moreover, the idea of ​​taking that weapon was not very realistic, as it seemed to have a magnetic force that allowed it to return to his hand.

It seems that the original plan to get close to them and limit their firearms will not be so easy to achieve.

"Old man, how many forms does that book come in?"

Kong Jiu wiped the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, swallowed it back down, and secretly used blood magic to heal himself, then asked with a cold laugh.

"This sacred text of God will grant you that many ways to die, as many times you can get up from the ground!"

Henry shouted angrily, and his rapier shot forward again.

Kong Jiu's figure swayed, and a pillar of dark red blood light suddenly shot out from the emblem in his palm.

The blood-red light turned black, instantly condensing into a long, jet-black umbrella.

Mina lent him this umbrella.

He didn't know what the umbrella was called, only that Abel had given it a very high evaluation, saying it was an A-grade spiritual object.

However, Abel also pointed out that only blood mages can wield this object; in the hands of ordinary people, it is nothing more than an invulnerable umbrella.

But for Kong Jiu, a long-handled umbrella that was impervious to swords and spears was enough.

A jet-black, gleaming umbrella appeared out of thin air in his hand, and he swung it downwards with a powerful slash, striking the middle of the rapier.

The sudden, heavy blow slammed into the slender sword, causing Henry to lose his grip and the rapier slip from his hand again.

But, as expected, the moment it left his hand, the rapier transformed into specks of golden light, gathering in the old priest's hand.

A short sword, the kind that looks like it would appear in a Roman-themed TV series, was suddenly gripped tightly in his hand.

Annoying!

As the golden light once again rushed back into Henry's hand, a surge of restlessness welled up in Kong Jiu's heart.

It's a piece of armor, a melee weapon, and can even be turned into a firearm for thuggish purposes.

This thing is not just good at both offense and defense, it's practically flawless.

What should I do?

Holding the black umbrella and facing off against Henry, Kong Jiu was somewhat troubled.

They're resorting to the same old trick, using bloodshed to stall the priest's actions first?

This move can almost only be used once; once the Blood Mage's identity is discovered, the opponent will definitely be on high alert regarding the blood.

Should we keep sending them to their deaths, weakening their attributes first and then finding their weaknesses?

Kong Jiu loathed this "invincible tactic".

He experienced death and rebirth repeatedly, but the pain he endured was no less, and it was quite unpleasant.

Moreover, the collapse of rationality is a side effect that should not be underestimated. Who wants to experience the feeling of having their brain eaten alive by a swarm of rats?

Most importantly, this tactic is quite passive and full of variables. Kong Jiu doesn't like being passive, even when he's intimate with Mina.

The squeaking of the mice around him grew clearer, and Kong Jiu knew that his sanity was running low.

The Rat God's blessing allowed him to steal Old Henry's attributes, barely managing a draw, but it was also continuously eroding his sanity.

This dilemma was exactly what Kong Jiu least wanted to see.

They'll have to resort to underhanded tactics.

Kong Jiu gritted his teeth, suddenly opened the black umbrella, spun it around, and rushed forward!

The sharp, black-and-red edge of the umbrella spun rapidly, hurtling straight at Henry's face, leaving him dazzled and forcing him to hastily raise his sword to parry.

His swordsmanship was superb; his short sword clashed fiercely with the swirling black umbrella, making a crackling sound, and he managed to block the entire attack.

However, under the cover of the black umbrella's sudden charge, a dark red fingertip had already quietly touched his heart.

With the blessing of blood magic, even a few drops of blood seeping from the fingertips can be transformed into a sharp blade.

The dark red blood spikes suddenly appeared, and pulled downwards fiercely!

The priest's aged chest was suddenly ripped open with a deep gash that exposed the bone.

A fatal wound, an absolute fatal wound.

Not only were several of his ribs severed, but his heart was also cleaved open with a huge gash.

Kong Jiu's face lit up with joy, and he lightly leaped backward to safety.

Such a fatal wound, even if old Henry could remedy it, would allow the gushing blood to be used by Kong Jiu, turning it into a weapon for patricide.

Having dealt the fatal blow, he had already won; all he needed to do was patiently await old Henry's death, like a pack of hunting dogs.

But old Henry did not fall down as he had imagined.

A ray of golden light seeped out from the wound in his heart, swirling and intertwining.

Henry, whose belly had been ripped open, did not bleed a single drop.

"Holy shit..."

Kong Jiu couldn't help but blurt out his mother tongue.

He himself is an immortal being, and he is well-versed in the fighting style of trading blows.

Therefore, he was well aware of how fiercely the pain receptors would protest when his chest was ripped open like that.

Most unusually, old Henry did not bleed at all.

The deep wound to the heart didn't even bleed from the veins or capillaries, let alone sever arteries and spray blood.

"You're not human, are you, Father?"

Kong Jiu exclaimed in surprise, unconsciously tightening his grip on the black umbrella in his hand.

No, this humanoid individual in front of us absolutely cannot be called human!

Henry ignored him, and a wisp of golden light from his hand transformed into a thread, forcibly sewing up the "open" chest.

Does this old man not even feel pain?

Henry remained silent, pulling his chest together as if tightening his clothes, while Kong Jiu's expression grew increasingly terrified.

The old priest raised his head, his eyes shining with golden light.

"Henry Robertson died seven days ago."

The old priest's voice changed several times, sounding like the whooshing of a strong wind blowing through an orchestral church.

Clearly, there are two different consciousnesses within "it".

"The church always sets extremely strict lifelines for secretive monks. If there are any setbacks during the shift change, the person in charge has to rely on my help... to hold on for a few more days."

Kong Jiu's face slowly darkened. "Who are you?"

"concept."

Henry's eyes gleamed with gold, and the crack on his chest flickered with his voice, like the breathing light of an electronic device.

"Faith in 'concepts' and 'loyalty'."

It gently touched the chest, the heart beneath the crack.

"Loyalty"