Before Teresa could catch her breath, the man’s body swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye, doubling in size in just a few breaths.
Extraordinary strength broke free from Teresa’s whip, and he was about to shout out.
In an instant, Chloe stomped his right foot heavily on the ground, and a massive force spread outward with him at the center.
He launched himself like a cannonball, the muscles in his right hand tensing and emitting a muffled sound like a bowstring.
A heavy punch landed on the opponent’s throat.
Yet, the seemingly fragile throat wasn’t directly crushed.
The man twisted his head forcefully to straighten his distorted neck, spraying blood as he opened his mouth.
He was about to call for reinforcements.
Chloe’s calm voice rang out.
In an instant, the man’s neck swelled up as if inflated.
The words he was about to shout got stuck in his throat.
He painfully grabbed his throat but couldn’t make another sound.
Teresa’s whip smashed down onto him, swiftly strangling him.
At this moment, the look Teresa gave Chloe could no longer be described as strange.
"Inflict damage and then over-recover?" Rephya’s eyes widened, "Who taught you this way to physically silence someone?"
Are all healers with the Ethereal Emblem this fresh-faced?
The seeds she was eating no longer tasted good.
"Does any normal person behave that way?"
Even Teresa, with her cold demeanor, tried to redeem the reputation of the healing profession before her junior.
But just as she was about to speak, she was met with Chloe’s playful smile.
Chloe’s method was sort of inhuman.
But she had seen worse, like her little aunt.
That was the true outlier among healers.
Breaking one’s physical limits through healing.
Improving the body’s exertion methods through dissection.
Who would have thought that the first master of body techniques with the Ethereal Emblem would be a healer?
So she couldn’t help but ask:
"Do you mind if I share your method with others?"
This was her first time actively seeking Chloe’s opinion.
She wanted to discuss it with her aunt.
Knowing her aunt’s character, destroying enemies that hinder her from healing battlefield patients wouldn’t bother her.
She thought Chloe might refuse, but unexpectedly, he agreed readily:
"Sure, I actually wanted to seek out Master Heisha to temper my physique for this very reason. Her idea of ’eliminating the enemy that hinders healing is tantamount to performing perfect healing’ suits me very well."
Teresa nodded instinctively.
But soon, she sensed something was amiss. Newest update provıded by ⓝovelFire.net
"What do you mean by eliminating the one hindering healing? Master Heisha clearly aims to improve the survival rate of healers on the battlefield."
"Are you saying it’s meant to kill the opponent?"
"Do you think this strategy matches Master Heisha’s means?"
Huge waves surged in Teresa’s heart.
Her instincts told her she couldn’t let such a demonic method spread.
The style and lives of healers would be doomed together.
"Compared to killing the opponent, causing the opponent’s body to deform and lose chase capability seems more likely to increase survival rate, right? If paired with Flesh and Blood Magic..."
You dare even pair it with Flesh and Blood Magic!
Healers are already prone to direct assaults from enemy assault soldiers.
She felt that if this tactic spread, their already brief lifespans would be further shortened.
Originally, killing healers was just a means to restrict the main Extraordinary’s potential.
Now it becomes necessary to eliminate them.
"Alright, let’s observe for now and wait until night to explore this village’s situation."
Teresa issued further instructions.
She frowned at the messy scene in front of her and turned to the two women:
"As time goes by, these Pseudo-men will be consumed by the Maze on their own, so let’s gather them in a sealed room and find somewhere to rest."
Rephya hesitated, "Then how should we handle these materials? Do they count as maze resources?"
"Where are the materials?" The foodie’s eyes lit up, only to be knocked on the head by Rephya’s tin can.
In truth, she had wanted to say earlier that the human arms and legs scattered from the pot made her a bit queasy.
Teresa hesitated, "They should disappear on their own, right?"
She had never seen such a scene before.
But it should belong to the Maze’s self-generating mechanism.
Only Chloe took a deep look at the scene.
According to the game’s narrative, Rephya’s teammates weren’t originally him.
Yet Teresa had chosen hard mode.
Because her original teammate, Fu·Icarus, as part of the Shadow Stab Sequence, was a member of the survivor’s path and hid a bit of everything daily.
As a roommate, Teresa knew well.
If it were an ordinary player, they might end up grinding here.
But beating the first run, looking back at this plot, he sensed there was an issue here.
A big event occurred in the simulation, so he prepared more this time.
"Rephya, draw the curtains."
As the curtains around were drawn, he picked up a still-bloody finger and drew an array on the ground.
"I hunt, I revive, I destroy, I end, no one can escape my grasp, no one can avoid my gaze."
"Shatter, the prey will be guided to the Divine Kingdom by me."
"Rest, the souls of the dead will fly elsewhere."
"King of Hunting who presides over pain and hunting, I will anoint and brand sins, granting rest to the hunted."
"Only through death can one attain eternal life, the incarnate me swears here, grant mercy to all souls."
The array glimmered with a faint spiritual light.
An apparition of a Centaur emerged above it.
The indifferent face slowly looked at the people present, the scattered legs, arms, and fingers gradually dissipated under the light of the ritual.
Teresa’s face changed.
She covered her mouth and retreated two steps, her face turning pale, then surged with anger:
The two women looked at her confused.
She bit her lower lip pale and said:
"In the old Era, the Lord of the Hunt was far less orderly than now, His followers enjoyed causing bloodshed for profit, hunting the strong."
"Even now in the new Era, a large number of evil people ignore the will of the Patrol Hunting Church headed to the Order God, hunting others, blood-sacrificing to the Hunt."
Rephya was stunned and looked at Chloe, "Do you believe in the Lord of the Hunt now?"
Chloe spread his hands, "How could that be? I am knowledgeable in fourteen different deities with varying mystical rites; the church doesn’t acknowledge multi-faith, but that’s not the issue..."
Teresa said in an icy voice:
"The issue is that in the previous Era, the hunt required by the Lord of the Hunt never included Maze creatures, it had to be natives outside the Maze."
Fratiss paled as she backed half a step, her scalp tingling, "You mean, the human tissue in the pot is..."
"Yes, it’s living humans from outside the Maze, someone is using blood sacrifice to enhance Maze demons."
"It’s the Bloody Church’s [Crimson Mourning] ritual, I wasn’t sure earlier, but now it’s likely them. Teresa, contact the Ethereal Dawn Divine Sword."
"I... I found contact lost just a moment ago."
Chloe lifted the curtain, glanced at the village under the twilight, and said:
"Let’s take action tonight."
The blood ritual must not continue; otherwise, the Pseudo-men will become increasingly difficult to handle.