The Miraculous Treasure Hunting System-Chapter 155. Holding a Sharp Blade

The sound returned, and the lonely world instantly filled with noise. Ed heard the voices of his teammates behind him.

"They’ve disappeared, stay alert!" It was Elena’s voice.

"Energy Sweep!"

At Jason’s shout, the laurel wreath above his head shimmered with dazzling golden light. A ring of pale golden ripples swept outward. Ed watched as the light ignited across his own body and the retreating evil spirits scattered before it.

Those that had vanished mid-charge were revealed again under the golden ripples, just as before.

The same tactic, amplified by the laurel wreath, was far more potent than before. It stabilized their precarious situation, pushing all enemies back and giving the group time to adjust.

Simultaneously, a watery shield enveloped Ed from behind, facing the tentacles head-on. Another condensed bullet tore through the priest who had been screaming in agony, turning him into green smoke under the golden energy and the projectile’s impact.

"He’s gone," Lucilia announced vigilantly. She was continuously observing the surroundings from the mirror and providing Ed as much help as she could.

The knight facing Ed accelerated again, his soul blade flashing crimson. Card after card flew from Ed’s hand, transforming into mirrors mid-air that encircled him and his soul.

Yet the spectral knight passed straight through them, ordinary matter was no obstacle. Walls meant nothing to such a spirit, and he could pinpoint Ed’s location exactly.

Reacting instantly, Ed emptied his pistol, then turned and shouted, "Jason, light! Bring the biggest one! Damn it, I hate fighting ghosts the most..."

"On it, just need a moment! When will this end!"

Jason replied immediately. Elena moved to cover him, her own holy light piercing an enemy’s spirit. The shattered water shield re-formed around Jason as Vanessa’s spider silk shot out like sharp needles. Everyone was buying him one precious moment.

Jason retreated to the group’s center, murmuring incomprehensible words. As he chanted, the laurel wreath on his head brightened, and his magic swelled.

"Here it comes! Energy Burst!"

This time, three beams of golden light shot forth like pillars. While waiting, Ed had already surrounded them with mirrors. Mirror after mirror appeared, frantically reflecting the incoming radiance, a trick he and Jason had developed during idle hours on the ship.

The mirrors Ed created had excellent reflectivity and could easily redirect holy light, provided the light had certain properties. Jason’s holy light behaved more like actual light than raw energy; a more energy-focused holy light would have simply shattered the glass.

In an instant, the golden light spread through the mirror reflections, flooding the entire growth hall. The sudden flash was so intense it shattered the windows and illuminated the world outside.

Every hidden evil spirit was now exposed, their green forms smoking under the brilliance. Some of the completely crazed priest spirits howled in agony, immobilized by the holy radiance. The agile knights slowed but didn’t seem greatly harmed.

Under Ed’s deliberate control of the mirrors’ refraction, the beams converged into focused lances of energy, piercing the stationary priest spirits one by one. The concentrated holy light ignited them like paper, almost all vanished into green smoke.

Ed quickly reloaded, unleashing a torrent of bullets toward the knightly spirits.

Elena’s fists were sheathed in holy light, leaving silver trails as he swung. Yet the effect was different from what they’d hoped.

"Holy Mother’s Protection!"

The archbishop battling Andre suddenly raised his scepter. Uncontrollably, the ambient holy light surged into the knights’ bodies.

"What the hell?" Jason, exhausted from his exertion, shook his head in disbelief. "How can this be possible?"

The energy, once released and refracted, was long out of his control. Now the archbishop was commanding it, but why channel it into the ghosts? It should have been like throwing fire onto cotton.

Yet the result was unexpected. The golden holy light merged into the knights’ forms, transforming their pale green spectral armor into radiant gold, even emitting a holy aura. They looked less like ghostly knights and more like heroic spirits, though the dark green, crimson-lit blades in their hands told a different story.

"No! These knightly spirits aren’t fully transformed into evil spirits yet, they’re still sources of faith! Maybe will, maybe something else... they’ve retained their devotion," Gami shouted anxiously, realizing the truth. Although as a member of the church, it is a very proudful moment, but only if they weren’t fighting with those spirits themselves, now it become even bigger trouble.

That explained why the light hadn’t harmed them much, only slowed them. The priests’ agonized screams were entirely different.

Elena dodged a blade and leapt back. "Spirits that aren’t afraid of holy light, how do we fight them? Does anyone have plan B?"

Ed was also evading strikes, each swing of the knight’s sword trailing crimson light.

"Don’t get hit! These blades wound the soul, physical matter won’t block them!" Andre called from ahead.

Andre’s hands glowed blue again, pure magic parrying the enemy’s attacks. His left leg trembled; it had already taken one blow. An exhausted Jason was pulled aside by Vanessa, dodging knightly assaults. Gami scaled the walls in his vehicle, slashing with green-glowing tentacles.

Ed retreated continuously; thankfully, his blue water chains could still entangle the spirits, buying him breaths.

"Watch out!"

Lucilia’s voice barely reached his mind, before Ed could react, something grabbed his clothes from behind, swung him around, and threw him clear.

Mid-air, he turned his head and saw that it was Andre, who had appeared behind him unnoticed, and threw him away.

The archbishop’s soul materialized around the spot Ed had just occupied, striking at empty air. As Andre flung Ed aside, a scepter slammed into Andre’s hand. Andre’s brow furrowed, his left arm trembling visibly, the blow had pierced his soul, and the pain was unbearable.

Suddenly, the fight between the two had shifted from the front lines to the group’s center. The archbishop appeared behind Elena, scepter swinging. She avoided it with a series of acrobatic rolls.

"Bang!"

Andre’s right fist struck the archbishop’s soul. The impact made the spirit ripple like water, slowing its movements, but it wasn’t seriously wounded.

Ed hit the ground and rolled, but not fast enough, a dark green blade caught his left leg.

"Ah! F*CK! IT HURT," He cried out. The wound showed no blood, no visible damage, but the pain was a white-hot explosion in his mind. Now he understood true soul-deep agony.

Fortunately, the sharpness faded quickly; it would be deadly in an ongoing battle.

Still crouched, Ed produced a blue card and flung it. It grazed the knight and exploded, the spray forming four water chains that bound him. Only then could Ed stand, leaning against a nearby pillar. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Damn it, if I had known the difficulty of this mission was going to be so damn high, I wouldn’t have bought everyone here before becoming the first spiral toucher.

It was too impatient to leave this god damn dark region, where you can barely see the face of the sun if you are lucky, and have no way to see any beautiful woman for months...

"Ed, grab the sword! Use the sword to cut them down!" Gami, interrupting Ed’s wild thoughts, his shouted come from the wall.

"Sword? What sword?" Ed turned. The pillar he leaned against was the stone platform holding the Sword of Mercy, he’d been thrown right toward it.

He stared at the sword, hesitating, wondering if he should do something to get away from this hot potato.

"Hurry! The Sword of Mercy should be able to guide their souls!"

Oh, dear sword, please have mercy. Don’t burn me to a crisp, otherwise, it would be my social death on the ship... Ed prays inwardly, offering a silent apology to the Stone Mother for every irreverent thought he’d ever had.

Under everyone’s urging, Ed gritted his teeth and reached out, bracing for searing pain and social death.

His fingertips touched the spiral grip—cool, metallic, no burn.

Encouraged, he closed his hand around it tightly. Still no pain.

HA... HAHAHAHA... I AM WORTHY!

He hadn’t even time to revel in the thought. The instant his grip tightened, Ed felt his entire soul, spirit, and body being sucked into the blade.

Darkness.

He still had a body, yet also felt bodiless, a wisp of mist without hands, feet, sight, or sound. Only awareness of self and the surrounding void remained.

A gap opened in the dark, and light poured in, merging into a scene above:

A brass-colored dagger, its handle engraved with ears of wheat, its blade long and slender, more a long-handled poniard, plunged into a person’s back.

The image shifted.

On a dark sea under moonlight, a fleet sailed. At its forefront was a massive warship, its prow adorned with a statue of a hungry wolf, sails billowing black. The flag atop the watchtower showed a black scythe piercing a skull. At the bow, a figure adjusted his captain’s hat in the gloom.

The scene changed again.

A city burned in the night, wide gates and surrounding gardens illuminated by flames. The beautiful white walls were pocked with holes and blood, littered with shattered limbs, filled with screams.

The darkness receded.

Ed’s sight returned. He felt soul and body snap back into place. A warm, steady touch came from his hand, the sword’s hilt, solid and real.