Although shameless, the 105~Gate Seeds were indeed useful.
There was no denying that Princess Filisia’s bloodline was absurdly resilient. With her alchemy resistance not being particularly high, she had endured being pelted by an unrelenting rain of explosive alchemical flasks for so long without biting the dust.
In no time, Tillysha ran out of flasks and looked bewilderedly at the knight girl sprawled on the ground, drenched in various medicinal liquids and with her golden locks sodden.
With a flushed face, the knight girl struggled to her feet, leaning on her sword. “What a refreshingly invigorating attack… but I cannot fall here yet.”
Realizing she’d be worn down by Tillysha if things continued, Filisia planted her greatsword into the ground. Around her formed platinum crystals, effectively hindering the alchemical concoctions being hurled her way.
However, while the height of these crystals might obstruct the accuracy of offensive alchemy, they couldn’t stop alchemical agents like flashbangs that spread over wide areas.
Tillysha tossed a flashbang from below, and a brilliant white light erupted in Filisia’s field of vision. Not wasting any more time, Filisia shattered the surrounding crystals, sending them flying outward in jagged pieces.
Faced with the incessant barrage of sharp crystal shards, Tillysha wielded her cross-shaped light sword with both hands, poised and focused. After her longbow broke, she noticed a significant transformation within herself.
The world through her eyes was now remarkably different from before.
For instance, whether it was the clash of blades or a storm of projectiles, everything appeared agonizingly slow to her, as if the world were slowed down to a quarter of its original speed.
Swinging her cross sword, the golden-haired girl was like a ginkgo leaf tossed about by a storm, appearing perilous but untouched by even a single feather.
Taking advantage of this reprieve, Filisia regained her vision and charged toward Tillysha again.
Before the fight, Yalin had analyzed the colorful alchemical agents hanging from Tillysha’s waist. The conclusion drawn was that eight out of ten would be restorative concoctions, for replenishing stamina and healing wounds.
After all, people generally still perceived alchemists as healers or combat restorers. Interfering or offensive alchemical agents existed, but the costs were prohibitively high. A high-quality flashbang cost more than a mid-tier restorative agent, leaving no market for alchemy-based ‘interference’ or ‘offensive’ branches. Hence, most saw alchemists as a subpar version of priestesses with divine authority.
This was a misconception. A well-funded alchemist with an abundant supply of potions could play an irreplaceable role in combat, far from being an optional liability.
Filisia was a prime example. Due to her lack of experience combating such a Gate-type alchemist, she’d suffered greatly, even getting disoriented at the beginning.
To handle this humanoid flashbang, Filisia could only rely on her past experiences. Seeing Tillysha gripping another flashbang, she immediately blocked it with her greatsword as a shield.
But this move completely blocked her vision as well.
Noticing this, Tillysha smirked, feigning an attack. She reinserted the safety cap, then took out a fire-oil vial containing a viscous substance.
This potent offensive agent had a famous name on the Blue Star – Napalm.
“Boom Boom!” The fire-oil splashed onto Filisia’s greatsword, and the flames quickly spread to her armor.
With a mere three-star alchemy resistance, the knight’s armor began undergoing carbonization under the alchemical flames, its surface gradually melting.
You could hack physical resistances, magic resistances, and even achieve godlike resistances with divine authority combined with a priest’s blessings.
But there were four resistances in total. No matter how high or impenetrable, one could at most guard against three of them, much like how countless acupoints and weaknesses in the human body couldn’t possibly be defended against completely.
Still, in the face of the alchemical flames licking her body, Filisia paid them no heed, seemingly unaware that the alchemical fire had made itself at home. She charged toward Tillysha with unwavering determination.
A flicker of surprise crossed Tillysha’s eyes.
Filisia should have been quite afraid of alchemical attacks. There was no effect in her divine authority or realm abilities that could protect against such alchemy.
The only plausible explanation was that Filisia endured the searing flames solely through sheer willpower.
With every swing of her greatsword, the flames now enchanted to its blade, if Tillysha were struck, the fire would surely spread to her.
Tillysha didn’t dodge or retreat, hiding a flashbang in her palm before drawing her sword to meet Filisia’s charge.
The heavy cross-sword and the massive crown sword clashed, sparking brilliantly.
In the struggle, Tillysha’s knees bent slightly, thanks to the enhancement from her “Broken Bow” ability, which significantly boosted her speed and strength. Coupled with her impeccable deflection techniques and refined skills, her double swords met Filisia without any disadvantage despite the direct confrontation.
“Is this even possible? Tillysha can go toe-to-toe with Filisia in melee combat??” The audience in the square stared in disbelief.
Filisia’s sword had been ‘enchanted,’ obviously indicating her intent to counterattack with her own alchemy. The blade, like a crocodile’s sharp teeth, had clamped down and refused to let go.
Tillysha had anticipated this. Sensing the hot wind rushing toward her face, she tossed the flashbang hidden in her palm and promptly ducked.
“Snap!” Filisia found herself blinded by another whiteout.
Tillysha swiftly withdrew her sword, rolled past Filisia’s side, and with the safety cap off, hurled another explosive alchemical flask at the unsuspecting Filisia.
“Boom Boom!” Filisia’s back took the hit. After being continuously seared by the alchemical flames and having endured a barrage of alchemical attacks, she finally began to show signs of fatigue.
Having reached this point, she decided to stop holding back and use her ultimate technique, Divine Majesty, for the final showdown.
Countless crystal fragments gathered, swirled, and spun around her blade like a whirling engine ready to ignite—only to dissipate just as quickly.
Filisia was stunned; her Divine Majesty failed to activate.
Could it be she had depleted her divine power? That was impossible! Each time she used her divine authority, she meticulously calculated to ensure enough divine power remained to activate Divine Majesty. So how could this happen?
Could it be…
She suddenly recalled a detail from her Magic and Alchemy Fundamentals class.
Some magical and alchemical attacks had a ‘diminishing’ effect that divine authority lacked. For instance, magical attacks could weaken an enemy’s resistances, and alchemical attacks could reduce an enemy’s divine power…
Could it be that in the previous bombardment, there was an alchemical agent that diminished her divine power?
Realizing this possibility was quite a shock to Filisia.
She had no experience dealing with offensive (Gate-type) alchemical agents and had naturally overlooked this subtle detail.
This wasn’t her fault. Even Tillysha was unaware of this nuance—she had merely aimed to reserve her trump card and attack using the alchemical agents that Filisia was least resistant to.
