"It's tricky!"
Seeing that Tishachar was about to take down their frontline fighter, Punk didn't dare to waste a second. He completed his casting at the fastest possible speed and aimed at one of Tishachar's two attacking limbs.
Official-Level Conjuration Spell—Kinetic Energy Siphon!
A purple spiral ribbon shot out, connecting to Tishachar's limb. In an instant, a large amount of kinetic energy was siphoned away, and the abruptly halted limb emitted a sharp screeching sound.
This spell could only stop one limb, but Punk was certain that Kang Kai would handle the other.
As expected, Kang Kai, who had just stopped spinning, ignored his body's limits and reactivated his combat technique.
Official-Level Combat Skill—Wheel Saw!
"shhhrriiiinnn!"
With a low growl, Kang Kai accelerated in the opposite direction, his high-speed rotating energy saw striking the tip of Tishachar's other limb at the last possible moment. Sparks burst forth with a piercing screech of metal grinding against bone.
At the same time, Bahanger, sensing the impending danger, managed to regain some clarity. He stomped the ground hard, propelling himself backward in a swift retreat.
The redirected blade barely missed its fatal mark, but the tip still carved a deep gash across Bahanger's chest.
"Damn! That thing is poisoned—how despicable!"
Bahanger roared in fury as he staggered back. In mere seconds, his chest turned a sickly green, the surrounding flesh rotting and splitting apart at an alarming rate.
"Moradin help me—this burns like hell!"
Cursing, the dwarf attempted to force out the venom with his earth-attribute battle aura, but the poison showed no signs of receding. Gritting his teeth, he yanked out a vial of antidote and chugged it down.
The potion's effects kicked in quickly, restoring some color to his face.
But Tishachar wasn't about to let him recover. With a shrill cry, she severed Punk's kinetic energy siphon with a single swipe of her bladed limbs, then spewed several large gobs of acid at Bahanger.
"Damn you, Tishachar—you wretched bug, I'll see you dead!"
Bahanger cursed as he rolled out of the way, barely dodging the corrosive projectiles. He scrambled back to his feet, his body now covered in dust and his rage burning hotter than ever.
Meanwhile, Kang Kai leaped into the air, his figure blurring into a streak of wind as he put distance between himself and Tishachar.
Punk also recalled Golem No.1. The construct itself had survived the earlier blow without major damage, but the summoned alloy armor it wore had been completely shattered into twisted fragments.
Now, the three of them had Tishachar surrounded in a triangular formation.
Yet, despite being encircled, the one who remained most vigilant… was not Tishachar, but Punk and his allies.
Even in just this brief exchange, Punk had already gauged Tishachar's power—fighting her alone or even two-on-one would have been a death sentence. Uniting with Bahanger and Kang Kai had been the right decision.
If not for their combined efforts, Tishachar's relentless attacks would have overwhelmed them. Even now, her strength hovered just below the threshold of a Master-level being.
And worst of all, they had only forced her to reveal a fraction of her abilities.
As Bahanger and Kang Kai braced for their next moves and Punk prepared his next spell, Tishachar suddenly let out a cold, mirthless laugh.
"Ahahaha! Foolish heretics, haven't you realized my divine power yet? I am the great Goddess Tishachar! If you kneel before me now, I may consider granting you a painless death."
Punk's eye twitched.
What kind of surrender attempt was that? This wasn't negotiation—it was mockery.
But Tishachar wasn't just taunting them. Her laughter abruptly ceased, and her massive abdomen began to churn violently.
"Come now," she whispered with eerie delight, "say hello to my little darlings."
At that moment, six openings along her abdomen released a swarm of dark-green spiders. These palm-sized creatures swiftly unfurled their limbs upon landing, their movements unnervingly synchronized.
A dozen of them scattered, each targeting one of the three warriors. Wisps of energy began gathering on the spiders' hind limbs.
Punk's eyes narrowed. He remembered these creatures—similar flame spiders had been summoned by the High Priest. That priest had once mentioned that the spell was improved by a "great being."
Now, it seemed clear.
That "great being" was none other than Tishachar.
"Be careful! These things might explode! Their summoner can likely gather them and hurl them as living bombs!"
Punk's urgent warning rang out.
"Explode, huh? Then let's see if she dares to let them detonate right next to her!"
A sharp glint flashed in Kang Kai's eyes.
He knew they couldn't allow Tishachar to flood the battlefield with more of these creatures. Without hesitation, he activated his speed-enhancing technique and charged straight at her.
In an instant, his figure became a blur of motion. Before the spiders could react, Kang Kai reached Tishachar, moving too fast for them to latch onto him.
"Cut through!"
His dagger, vibrating at a high frequency, became a streak of light as it slashed toward Tishachar's head.
Had anyone been able to sense energy at this moment, they would have noticed something terrifying—Kang Kai had poured every ounce of his battle aura into this strike. He had abandoned all defensive measures, compressing his wind-element energy into an impossibly sharp edge.
Secret Combat Technique—Battle Aura Compression!
Official-Level Combat Skill—Qi Severing Slash!
As his blade descended, space itself seemed to distort. The sheer force of the attack ripped open a thin crack in the air, warping both matter and energy.
Tishachar shrieked in fury. She reacted in a split second, raising two of her limbs to block. A surge of faith energy gathered at the tips, instantly coating them in a layer of golden-black radiance.
For just a fraction of a second, the limbs became denser than steel.
Then—
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal rang through the cavern like a tolling bell.
The next instant, Tishachar's two limbs were severed.
A jet of dark-green blood sprayed out, but before it could even hit the ground, the sheer heat of Kang Kai's aura had already evaporated it into a thin mist.
However…
Although this strike had maimed her, it wasn't fatal.
At the very last moment, Tishachar had twisted her body and retreated. What should have been a decapitation instead left only a deep, bone-exposing wound across her carapace.
But Punk's sharp gaze caught something else.
For the first time since the battle started—Tishachar had moved.
And beneath her abdomen, now exposed due to her dodge…
There lay a small, dark-brown wooden box.