Combat mode, one of the several modes of the Mechanist Type I Individual Armor.
Only by activating combat mode could the armor on Fire Lizard truly be called individual armor. Without it, the armor on Fire Lizard was no different from the armor worn by dwarves.
As combat mode was activated, a massive amount of Magic Power flowed through the mithril magic circuits within the armor.
The tree patterns and runes began to glow, and surging power coursed through the internal components of the armor.
In an instant, the entire armor seemed to come alive.
"Haha, this is what real Sacred Armor is like!"
Kava laughed as he moved, and in the next moment, the four members of the Wizard Hunting team instantly surrounded Fiend Bruno.
Their Chainsaw Swords were fully activated, the humming blades wrapped in blue-purple energy arcs.
Hum! The roaring Chainsaw Swords sliced through Fiend Bruno's body with almost no resistance.
Such a wound would be absolutely fatal to an ordinary creature, but for Fiend Bruno, it was no more significant than a scratch on the skin.
His grotesque right arm continued to swing the Flesh War Hammer, paying no attention to the Chainsaw Sword that had cleaved through his skull.
Boom! Mishaen was slightly pushed back by the hammer strike, and a noticeable dent appeared on the armor plate she used to block the attack.
This was the first time the Mechanist Type I Armor had suffered such severe damage since its creation.
"Switch weapons. This guy is more vulnerable to blunt force and fire," Makar's calm voice echoed through the communication system.
The Wizard Hunting team almost instantly holstered their Chainsaw Swords in the back slots and then… raised their fists.
Boom! The sound of a sonic boom rang out again, but this time, it came from Makar.
With the enhancement of the armor, Makar's strike was as powerful as thunder, and his steel fist instantly shattered Fiend Bruno's already regenerated skull.
Boom! The Flame Thrower on the armor's arm activated, and a massive Flame Jet instantly reduced Fiend Bruno's shattered head to ashes.
Clang! The Flesh War Hammer swung out again, forcing Makar to retreat two steps. It seemed that losing his head was no big deal for Fiend Bruno.
But the three fists that followed immediately taught Fiend Bruno a lesson.
Still alive without a head? Then let's smash the entire body to pieces!
The Wizard Hunting team's steel fists rained down on Fiend Bruno like a storm. With the enhancement of the armor, the power of the steel fists even surpassed that of the long-handled hammers of the Golden-armored Dwarves.
Before Fiend Bruno could figure out what was happening, his grotesque body had been pounded into a squirming mass of flesh by the Wizard Hunting team's iron fists.
Seeing Fiend Bruno dealt with so easily, Richard turned to the High Priest beside him and asked with some confusion, "Is that all he's got? Or is he planning some kind of scheme?"
Faced with Richard's confusion, the High Priest awkwardly explained, "Master, the most troublesome part of dealing with this Fiend is the endless waves of Aberrant Monsters.
In the past, by the time the decisive battle began, our warriors would have already lost nearly half of their numbers to those Aberrant Monsters.
The remaining warriors were all injured and had expended a great deal of stamina."
In the past battles against Fiend Bruno, the skills accumulated through years of combat and an iron will were the greatest assets of the Magic Dwarves.
These two things were the final support that allowed the Magic Dwarves to face Fiend Bruno after surviving the tide of Aberrant Monsters.
But… Flame Throwers are much more effective than will and skill.
The once troublesome tide of Aberrant Monsters, under the onslaught of the Flame Throwers, was reduced to nothing more than firewood by a stove.
The once thorny path that required an iron will and skills honed through countless battles had now become a smooth road under the Flame Jets of the Flame Throwers.
"However, this battle was indeed a bit too smooth. Fiend Bruno possesses the power of rules granted by the Fiend. In the past, many warriors were corrupted by its rule power and turned into Aberrants," the High Priest added.
"Perhaps it's because your followers are too powerful, Master. Level three beings usually need some time to activate their rule power, but this Fiend didn't have that time."
Richard nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze back to the battlefield.
On the battlefield, the pulped remains of Fiend Bruno were being continuously incinerated by the Wizard Hunting team's Flame Throwers.
But his regeneration speed seemed to have become even more terrifying after losing his form. The Flame Throwers of the Wizard Hunting team could only suppress him, not completely destroy him.
Kava suddenly turned to the stunned Magic Dwarves and shouted, "Stop staring! Get your Flame Throwers out!"
With that, the Wizard Hunting team dispersed their encirclement, making space for the Magic Dwarves.
In the next moment, fifty-two Flame Jets instantly turned Fiend Bruno's remains into a ball of fire.
Still within the realm of a level three being, no matter how strong Fiend Bruno's regeneration was, it couldn't withstand such firepower.
In less than five minutes, Fiend Bruno's remains were reduced to a pile of charcoal.
Richard, holding his staff, walked over to the charcoal pile. After confirming that there was no flesh left inside, he scratched his head in confusion.
"Looks like there was no need for me to intervene."
The High Priest walked over to Richard, equally perplexed.
The divination had indicated that Richard would use fire to purify Fiend Bruno, but now Richard's subordinates, along with the Magic Dwarves, had already dealt with Fiend Bruno.
This clearly didn't align with the divination's result.
But the result of the divination represented a future that must come to pass, and there had never been a counterexample to this.
Richard used his staff to poke around in the charcoal pile, and suddenly, a dark red gem emerged from the ashes.
The moment the gem appeared, the Magic Dwarves around them seemed to lose their focus, and even the High Priest was not spared. The closest one actually bent down to pick up the gem.
"It seems we've found the culprit."
Richard stopped the dwarf who was about to pick up the gem and covered it again with the charcoal.
"Master, what do you mean?"
The High Priest, seemingly unaware of the earlier lapse in focus, looked at Richard in confusion.
Without explaining, Richard summoned chains of runes from his body, sealing the dark red gem hidden beneath the charcoal.
"Take a look at this. You've never seen this before, have you?"
Richard used his Magic Power to suspend the sealed dark red gem in the air. The Magic Dwarves closest to it once again seemed to lose their focus.
But this time, the High Priest's mind remained unaffected.
Noticing the condition of the Magic Dwarves, the High Priest immediately understood the meaning behind Richard's earlier words.
"So, the Fiend's resurrection was entirely dependent on this!"
The High Priest walked over to the dazed Magic Dwarves and slapped them awake.
The awakened dwarves, still confused, rubbed their cheeks, completely unaware of what had just happened.
The High Priest then turned to Richard and bowed slightly, "Master, please take this item. Perhaps the result of the divination will not manifest now.
Maybe in your future experiments, you will burn and purify the Fiend."
Richard also thought this made sense. Divination only showed the result, not the process.
If this gem was truly the means by which Fiend Bruno resurrected, then Richard's future experiments burning and purifying it could indeed be seen as burning Fiend Bruno.
The results of divination often carried a certain intention, and this explanation was quite reasonable.
Richard held the sealed gem, preparing to place it into his Magic Pocket.
But for some unknown reason, the gem suddenly turned into a pool of blood the moment it approached Richard.
The blood instantly dissolved Richard's seal and, with lightning speed, entered Richard's body.
In an instant, a flash of red light was seen.
The next moment, a grotesque figure appeared in Richard's soul space.
"Hahaha, after all these years, these dwarves have finally brought a Wizard!"
Fiend Bruno's figure appeared in Richard's soul space, and a bloody red began to spread rapidly from him, engulfing half of the soul space in the blink of an eye.
This transformation signified that Richard's soul was being invaded. If left unchecked, Richard's soul would soon be completely overtaken by Fiend Bruno, becoming a part of him.
But Richard remained unfazed.
In the soul space, Richard's mental projection looked at Fiend Bruno with great interest.
"It seems the ability of Flesh Cancer isn't just disorderly proliferation. I always thought that if it were only disorderly proliferation, it couldn't have caused such chaos back then."
Seeing Richard so calm, Fiend Bruno became wary.
At this moment, his soul was already connected to Richard's, and he could clearly sense Richard's emotions.
Richard wasn't putting on a brave face; he truly had no fear.
"Wizard, what trick are you playing!"
"Trick?" Richard smiled, "You'll find out soon."
With that, Fiend Bruno's expression suddenly changed.
He looked at Richard in horror and roared, "What the hell is in your soul!"
Out of nowhere, a furnace appeared.
Colorless flames surged from the mouth of the furnace, and Fiend Bruno instantly turned into a torch.
The Miracle Furnace was fused with Richard's soul. This kind of hostile takeover was no different from directly invading the furnace itself.
If it weren't for this, Ulysses wouldn't have been so easily intimidated by Richard back then.
"Who the hell are you! How can your soul have something like this!"
Fiend Bruno's figure rapidly shriveled in the flames, and his agonized screams echoed throughout the soul space.
Richard pointed to himself and smiled, "Me? I'm just an ordinary Wizard."
An ordinary Wizard? What kind of ordinary Wizard has something like this in their soul!
Amidst regret and despair, Fiend Bruno's entire form was completely refined by the flames.
Then, the colorless flames followed the path of Fiend Bruno's invasion, refining all traces of him before returning to the furnace.
The Miracle Furnace returned to calm, and Richard approached Fiend Bruno.
At this moment, a cluster of colorful light floated up and down in his place.
Richard absorbed it, and in an instant, a sense of epiphany washed over him.
This feeling was familiar to Richard—it was the same sensation he had when he absorbed rules before.
Moreover, Richard felt that the Flesh Rule, the Birth Rule, and the Nightmare Rule within him were all stirring at this moment.
It was as if the rule contained within this light was interconnected with these rules.
In the void, Richard seemed to see the Flesh Rule transform into a flesh tentacle, the Birth Rule into a miniature Mother Insect Deity, and the Nightmare Rule into a doll holding a knife.
The newly integrated rule transformed into a pulsating tumor and a crystal-clear worm.
These rules intertwined with each other. The flesh tentacle and the Mother Insect Deity, originally intertwined, became appendages of the tumor.
The Nightmare Rule and the crystal worm intertwined, with the worm encapsulating the knife-wielding doll like amber.
Richard could feel that although these rules were intertwined and even interacted with each other, their boundaries remained distinct.
This realization gave Richard a deeper unders
tanding of rules.
Rules can easily intertwine, but they will never easily merge.
After a long while, Richard emerged from this vision and murmured:
"Aberrant Rule, Soul Rule… This harvest is quite substantial."
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