Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 302: Chapter 302: Bottled Prisoner (26)_1

Changed outfits, have we? This look seems much fiercer than before!

Fu Qian couldn’t help but sigh as he regarded the murderous intent emanating from William.

However, for all his griping, Fu Qian was very aware that this was far more than just a visual effect.

William’s current state, indeed, was much stronger than before.

Those thorns wrapped around his entire body, one need only glance at them to sense the danger they possessed.

Facing a formidable enemy, appearing to jest and play the fool, yet covertly gathering strength, and ultimately, under the protection of the goddess, breaking free from the shackles, defeating the Great Demon King.

...
This is just like the template for a protagonist, did someone grab the wrong script?

“These are the Thorns of Sin and Retribution.”

Amidst his reflections, William’s increasingly unpleasant voice came, as he swung his Bloody Thorn Longsword through the air.

The very next moment, the walls, the floor, thorns of a dark red hue spread out in all directions, intertwining and entangling with each other, instantly forming a spiked prison.

“Now, you have no chance of escape.”

“In the name of the goddess, I will cleanse the sin from your body.”

“Sorry, but I bear no sin.”

In the face of William’s solemn proclamation, Fu Qian patted his chest and promptly pointed out his slip of the tongue.

…

William, with his hands wrapped around his sword, fell silent for several seconds.

Strictly speaking, Fu Qian wasn’t wrong.

Despite having traveled with the demeanor of a Demon King arriving, and employing fear-inducing methods, he had not touched a trace of Sinflame.

“Your very existence is a blasphemy to this world.”

Seemingly realizing that he was no match in a war of words, William spat out coldly, then spoke no further, unleashing a sword strike directly.

At this moment, his entire body was entwined with thorns, covered in spikes, it could be said that every part of him, even the little brother, was edged with bone armor—it was utterly scoundrelly.

And the area surrounding them was already completely encased by Sins Thorns, significantly reducing Fu Qian’s space for maneuver.

“That’s a personal attack.”

Fu Qian sighed, with top-notch control over his body, he dodged the attack with an odd movement.

After evading, he didn’t remain idle and turned his right hand into a heavy hammer, swinging a punch.

William’s swordsmanship was clearly exquisite, as he immediately shifted the angle to meet the fist.

Crack!

As fist and sword connected, blood sprayed violently.

Fu Qian’s hammer, as hard as an alloy, was pierced instantly; with a sweeping motion, his entire right arm nearly broke.

This thing is formidable!

Before William could exert more force, Fu Qian followed the direction of the thorns to withdraw his arm, retreating as if it were nothing.

Not only was the hard bone armor as fragile as tofu before it, but after being pierced by these strange thorns, Fu Qian even felt that the flesh and blood at the wound were deteriorating, no longer as vigorous as before.

Why does it feel like encountering something filthy?

As Fu Qian dodged subsequent attacks, he retracted his hand to observe the wound.

Like dominos, a radial pattern of cuts spread out from the puncture site, with the flesh rapidly crumbling apart.

Even the seeping blood instantly transformed into a strange, star-like pattern.

To affect me to such an extent, the rank of this thing isn’t low!

Fu Qian frowned; the last time he felt this way was back then.

Just after he had become the Whiteboard Demigod, a swarm of higher beings had clamored to reshape him in their own image.

Compared to that time, the sensation from this was even worse.

To be fair, from a visual standpoint, this circle of dark red and sharp thorns is quite splendid.

But the feeling of being pricked by them is truly not pleasant.

What they call the dirty sanctity is nothing more than this.

“Do you feel it? This is the power of sin and punishment!”

Having gained the upper hand, William indeed spoke up again.

“Even if you beg for mercy now, it’s useless. I will personally bury your arrogance.”

Hmm!

Fu Qian gave a perfunctory response while continuously moving his feet.

Unfortunately, with the thorns surrounding him, the space to maneuver was too small, and in the time it took to say those two sentences, several more cuts had appeared on his body.

Fu Qian, however, wasn’t too concerned about this. Instead, he was fully focused on his opponent, not missing a single detail.

This nearly divine-level power didn’t seem like something William could control at present; it was probably coming from the Goddess of Sin and Punishment behind him.

Now it seemed that her activation was due to a series of actions taken by William.

The statue that first appeared here might just have been a conceptual projection, one that even materialized only a few days each year.

Though of a high level, enough to make the surrounding sins materialize, it lacked any real autonomy.

Not until William inadvertently became the First Sinner through a special oath ceremony, did he also become a tool for collecting sins.

And his subsequent actions in collecting Sinflame, as well as the purification accepted by more people and the increase of sinners, all gradually “awakened” the Goddess of Sin and Punishment.

By now, she could do many things.

Such as pulling projections to collect Sinflame, such as granting William “Sins Thorns.”

This was a reasonable inference.

And amidst his nimbly dodging maneuvers, Fu Qian had already spotted an anomaly on William’s body.

Every time he moved, straining the entwining thorns, hair-like scratches seemed to appear on the surface of his silver armor.

They were fleeting and quickly healed, nearly invisible unless looked at very closely.

Indeed, as the First Sinner, William’s integration with the Sins Thorns was far higher than his own, but not completely without effect.

Of course, compared to himself, this impact was minuscule.

But that didn’t matter, any effect was enough.

After confirming his discovery, Fu Qian silently nodded, making up his mind.

Facing such divine-level techniques head-on was undoubtedly a dangerous act…

[SAN Points reduced by 1]

Without hesitation, Fu Qian activated his Mythical Form.

But opting not to confront it head-on might be even more dangerous.

The next moment, thousands of tentacles, twisted into an alien arm, shot straight at the silver Armor’s chest with a blast.

Faced with this devastating blow, Sin Seeker William didn’t dodge; on the contrary, he stood his ground, and the Bloody Thorn Longsword slashed down in response.

After the chase just now, the opponent was surprisingly agile in such a confined space, and even after many slashes of his sword, there had been little effect.

Seeing the stalemate and the opponent choosing to clash head-on was exactly what he had hoped for; there was no way he would dodge.

And with the sword slashing down, the Biochemical Demon Arm clashed with the Sins Thorns, instantly exemplifying the phrase ‘flesh and blood flying everywhere.’

Facing the needle-sharp Sins Thorns, the entwined tentacles were torn apart the moment they touched them.

Not only that, but the wounds inflicted by the thorns were even spreading and unraveling up the length of his arm.

The final impact that broke through the thorns and landed on the armor only caused William to retreat two steps.

But before he could steady himself, the sound of rushing wind rose again.

A figure burst through the bloody mist and slammed hard into his chest.