I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

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The dagger's crisp sound echoed over the altar.

Lis felt a shock in his hand, as if the dagger had struck iron, the rebounding force causing some numbness in his right hand.

Seeing the divine light of the Holy Spells in the other three Prayers' hands, Lis had no choice but to retreat for the time being.

Retreating tens of meters, Lis's eyes were fixed on the four Prayers; his recent [Throat Cutting] had been ineffective, leaving the targeted Prayer completely unaffected.

The sharp dagger flickered dexterously in Lis's hand, yet his face remained calm, showing no sign of disappointment from his earlier misstep.

This was his first encounter with a Prayer, and it was normal to have unexpected outcomes.

In his previous life, Lis had also explored the shattered Divine Country, but this was the first time he had ever encountered a Prayer.

He had attempted to move in close for a direct attack to isolate and break them down, but he hadn't expected the Prayers' bodies to be so formidable.

The feeling from the clash of the dagger was like encountering a Gold-level warrior; even Lis's attack couldn't break through their defense.

It made sense, for as one of the Divine Country's defensive forces, the Prayers naturally weren't going to be easy opponents.

Silver Level strength meant nothing in the face of adversaries capable of invading the Divine Country.

Even if ants could kill an elephant, facing Divine Level strength required at least Gold-level power.

Perhaps these Prayers had weakened considerably due to the fall of the divinities and the shattering of the Divine Country.

But while their power might have diminished, their previously enhanced physical strength hadn't been reduced.

Though this was Lis's first clash with the Prayers, he still knew some basic intelligence about them.

That is, the bodies of the Prayers were not their original flesh and blood.

Prayers were the souls of deceased followers who entered the Divine Country under guidance, and whose bodies were formed under the influence of its power.

Thus, except in a few cases, the abilities of the Divine Country's Prayers had little to do with their life before death, being more influenced by the will of the divinity.

So, compared to mortals of flesh and blood, these Prayers were more like elemental beings made of energy life.

Continuing to retreat, preparing for a new wave of attacks, Lis suddenly noticed the Prayers resuming their prayerful state.

It was as if they were like the mechanical creatures from his past life—if Lis left their attack range, aggression would simply reset.

Furthermore, before Lis had entered invisibility to initiate an attack, not a single Prayer had detected his presence.

The Prayers seemed to operate rigidly like machines, completely inflexible and without adaptability.

With his own capabilities, taking down these Prayers in close combat seemed unlikely.

Lis put away the dagger in his hand and drew out his usual Jade Wand.

Although he had undergone long and arduous training to improve his close combat skills far beyond what they were when he first advanced in rank, Lis still had more confidence in his Mage abilities.

The Magic Wand moved subtly, and a dozen pale blue fireballs materialized in front of Lis.

[Blue Ball Skill] was Lis's first arcane, and also the one he had studied the most extensively.

Although it was a Three-Ring Magic, under Lis's arcane research and the augment of Experience Points, its power had increased significantly.

Moreover, for a Mage, higher level Spells didn't necessarily mean stronger spells.

High-Circle Magic often represented a higher rank of Magic, with more special Skill Effects, and wasn't necessarily more powerful than Low-level Magic in terms of destructive force.

Just like the Fireball Technique, even in the hands of a Legendary Mage, it wasn't necessarily useful in combat, often being modified to be more handy due to personal refinements.

[Blue Ball Skill], one of the Spells Lis was most adept with.

Under Lis's control, the pale blue fireballs streaked towards the Prayers.

At first, the Prayers didn't react, but as the fireballs came within several meters of them, they suddenly looked up.

Pale white Shields appeared around their bodies, the blue fireballs colliding directly with the Shields.

Boom, boom, boom!

The loud explosions resonated through the clearing in the woods, sadly not startling a single bird into flight for Lis's amusement.

Lis didn't rush to act; he noted that the Prayers' Shields were not unscathed under his attack, already showing many cracks.

The ability to cast Shields meant their bodies weren't immune to Magic Attacks, and Lis's attacks were still a threat to them.

More importantly, the Prayers' Shields didn't look very solid.

It seemed Lis's attack had alarmed the Prayers, and although he was some distance away, they didn't hesitate to launch an offensive towards him.

Divine Arts [Holy Flame Technique]!

Divine Arts [Giant Wave Skill]!

Divine Arts [Meteor Impact]!

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These four Prayers seemed to possess the capabilities of Divine Priests, displaying little cooperation among themselves; their current attack methods were more akin to Plastic Energy Mages, casting Divine Arts and attacking Lis directly.

Lis, as a Mage with extensive combat experience, naturally wasn't phased by such a situation.

With a speed on par with an assassin of equal ranking, dodging attacks was almost second nature to him.

If there was an attack he couldn't evade, he'd block it with Protection Magic.

As he kept dodging, Lis also tried out different kinds of spells, probing the capabilities of the Prayers.

Divine Country Priests usually had the same Divine Arts, mainly distinguished according to the divinity's alignment.

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