“Eat my Flame Fist!”
The roar of Lion King Andy tore through the crimson sky, the pitch-black earth illuminated only by the flashes from his fist.
A soaring Flame Fist shot straight at the Nun of Atonement Samimi, punching through her in one powerful blow!
“What—?!”
But just as Lion King Andy’s fist split Samimi in two, he instantly sensed something was wrong.
The sensation was off! There was no feeling of hitting a real body!
Sure enough, Samimi’s body that had been pierced suddenly exploded on its own, revealing inside a flood of healing light, along with Runic Paper scattered wildly in all directions.
“A clone? No! It’s a Substitute!”
In magic, there is a significant difference between a clone and a substitute. Any spell constructed from separated magical energy can be called a clone—for example, the Lion King’s Fire Lion and Fire Griffin.
But a Substitute is different. The core concept of the Substitution Technique is deception.
It’s like the Nun of Atonement now, abandoning a magical clone identical to herself. Or like Saintess Makima, who creates a lifelike Violet Archpriest to walk the continent in her place.
Only magical clones of this level qualify as true Substitutes.
But who could have learned such an arcane technique? And how could Lion King Andy be tricked into unleashing his ultimate move on such a common spell?
His punch had struck nothing but air—yet it felt as if he’d shattered his own heart. It was maddening.
The tide of battle reversed instantly!
The swirling Runic Paper began to gather in one spot, revealing the Nun of Atonement’s real location.
Her true body was actually nearby, hanging suspended in midair like a salted fish, hidden in a blind spot from the enemy’s view, tightly gripping a fully enchanted Runic Staff.
The entire Substitute wasn’t entirely fake either. At least the Slaying Demon Sword in her hand was real. It had fallen from above but was immediately swept away by thorns.
“Happy Rising Dragon Fist? Die!” Samimi sneered coldly, already poised to strike.
Though her body was heavily burdened, Thorn King Liang Wangming assisted her in unleashing the final blow.
“Thorn Poison Dragon Drill!” Samimi shot out dozens of spring-like thorns, bouncing her away like a pinball, while her Runic Staff stabbed directly into Lion King Andy’s chest and knee.
“Ah! Hah hah hah hey ha!” Lion King Andy’s face twisted grotesquely, emitting a dreadful, hateful sound.
In a flash of lightning and fire, Samimi’s Runic Staff struck Lion King Andy’s heart like a bolt.
Who says you need a spearhead to pierce someone?
No, no, no. Samimi never intended to pierce him cruelly. She was shocked and deeply confused.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
The body of Lion King Andy, pierced by her own strike, began to crumble. There was no blood, no internal organs—only seething hot particles.
Now it was Samimi’s turn to grimace fiercely, grinding her teeth in nausea.
She finally understood what it felt like to disgust others as she often did herself.
Substitution Technique!
Lion King Andy had somehow grasped the Substitution Technique in such an extreme situation!
It was originally a universal spell any mage could understand. Samimi herself had independently mastered the Substitution Technique without needing spellbooks or skill manuals.
Also, the Substitution Technique was an advanced form of magical cloning. Since Lion King Andy was proficient with flame clones, it wasn’t unimaginable that he could grasp Substitution Technique too.
But to do so at this critical moment?
Was this what true genius was?
The tide shifted again instantly!
“Not willing to give me victory until the last moment?” Samimi scanned around, anxiously searching for the enemy’s real body.
Soon, a roaring blaze surged from behind her!
“Thank you. You really made me give it my all, but in the end, I still win!”
Engulfed in flames, Lion King Andy unleashed his magic again, accelerating three times midair. Speaking humbly of his victory, his attack was merciless—a piercing Flame Fist aimed at Samimi’s back.
“Pfft!”
His fist struck straight through Samimi’s heart, the scorching heat instantly setting her ablaze.
So powerful! So domineering! So ruthless!
But the more brutal the scene, the more something felt wrong.
Everyone had seen so many battles—it was never so easy to punch through someone. If that happened, surely there’d be a trap.
Sure enough, when this Samimi exploded, inside was only tangled thorns—not a human at all. The only real thing was the Runic Staff falling from above.
The tide turned yet again!
“[Double Substitution Technique]? Ahhhhhh!” Lion King Andy’s face turned pitch black—whether from burning or something else, he sucked in a cold breath in defeat.
“Foundation!” A third Samimi appeared above Lion King Andy’s head, both hands grabbing the New Demon Sword, blade up, spine down, and slammed heavily on his skull.
He had no second Substitute. The blade’s back struck firmly on his crown, eyes rolling back, saliva flying as he staggered.
Lion King Andy was like a kite with a cut string, plummeting from the sky, smashing the ground and cracking the floor.
Luckily, in this life-or-death fall, he managed to release some flames toward the ground, greatly reducing the impact. He didn’t die but ended up half crippled.
Lion King Andy’s Domain for supremacy was utterly shattered; the last blazing mirage dissolved into fiery mist and scattered on the wind.
The dense Thorn Dream forest quickly withered and vanished, leaving only the twin Goddess Statues standing silently.
The surrounding environment instantly returned to normal—the rooftop was just the rooftop.
“It’s finally over.”
Niubao had already placed the Golden Knight Sword at Lion King Andy’s neck.
He had no room to fight back.
Though his expression showed intense resentment and he wanted to struggle, his battered body could barely move, head broken and bleeding, blood covering his eyes.
Samimi gripped the Slaying Demon Sword, dragging her exhausted body as she stepped over to his side.
“Why? How could you unleash the Substitution Technique twice in such a short time?” Lion King Andy demanded loudly.
“Because I’m a dual magical talent operator. One healing Substitute, one thorn Substitute.” Samimi answered.
“Uh…” Hearing this, Lion King Andy suddenly stopped struggling, lying on the ground deflated and motionless.
After a long while, he spoke in broken breaths: “I… have lost.”
No excuses. He had given his all and still couldn’t win.
Maybe he could have done better—for instance, his Fire Griffin hadn’t even unleashed its full power—but that wasn’t because he fought poorly. It was because his opponent was perfect.
Yet, he still had ultimate moves he hadn’t used. He hated losing so much—it was unbearable.
But who would have thought a divine official nun could slash down his flying Fire Griffin? Was that even something a mage could do?
Was it reasonable? No, it was too unreasonable! Too unorthodox!
“Do you want to know why you lost?”
Samimi struggled to sheath the Slaying Demon Sword and stood propped up by the blade, chatting beside him.
Most annoying was the healing little light balls softly landing on Samimi’s back, healing her muscle strains.
“Samimi! So cool!”
Priestess Rebecca made her presence felt at the last moment.
As long as she provided support, she wasn’t a useless bystander.
I’m the one who finds this fight long and poorly written; it’s clearly forced.