I am the Arcane Archer, and all my skills are self-created.

As the black fleshy ball, brimming with endless resentment, was about to erupt, Hua Zitong's expression had never been so grim.

Li Wu's heart sank.

This charged attack grants a massive increase in defense and is uninterruptible. It's practically an unstoppable killing move.

The entire altar was shrouded in an aura of destruction; the air seemed to freeze, and even escape became a luxury.

However, just as the black fleshy ball swelled to its limit and was about to unleash a world-destroying attack, the panic on Hua Zitong's face suddenly disappeared.

Instead, there was a resolute calm.

Instead of retreating, she took a step forward, sheathed her shield, planted her longsword on the ground, and stood like a javelin, facing the terrifying energy that could devour everything.

"Skill: Fate Deflection".

She whispered four words.

There were no spectacular lighting effects or dazzling special effects.

On the surface of her body, only a barely perceptible, transparent ripple, like water, spread out.

The next moment, the black fleshy ball suddenly exploded!

There was no sound, no explosion.

A black shockwave, composed purely of resentment and curses, swept in a fan shape toward Hua Zitong!

Wherever the shockwave passed, whether it was a hard stone altar or a sticky black silt, everything was silently decomposed and annihilated, turning into the most primordial nothingness.

Li Wu's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints; he almost thought Hua Zitong had gone mad.

However, the black shockwave, powerful enough to flatten the entire island, caused an incredibly bizarre scene the moment it touched the transparent ripples on Hua Zitong's body.

It did not cause any harm.

It was like hitting an absolutely smooth mirror, and being bounced back at a perfect angle!

Extremely fast! Extremely ruthless!

The polluted lake spirit didn't even have time to react before its powerful attack, which had just been released and contained a large amount of its own essence, was blasted back at itself!

-12500!

A blood-red, exaggeratedly high four-digit damage number suddenly jumped out from above the Lake Spirit's head!

"roar--!!!"

This time, it was no longer a silent roar of the spirit.

The lake spirit let out an extremely shrill scream. Its enormous body, made of black water and sludge, churned and melted violently, like butter thrown into boiling water, and its size shrank dramatically at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Its massive body went limp, temporarily losing its ability to move, and its health bar plummeted instantly, dropping from 70% to below 45%!

Li Wu stood at a distance, watching in stunned silence.

"This [Fate Deflection] skill is truly divine! It's just a pity the cooldown time is too long!"

That makes sense. If a skill that can reverse all damage could be used at will, it would be invincible!

"What are you standing there for! Strike while the iron is hot!" Hua Zitong shouted as soon as she caught her breath.

Li Wu reacted instantly.

Now is the best time to unleash your power!

Buzz—Buzz—

Before he could even think, he drew his bow to its fullest extent and unleashed two [Explosive Burning Arrows], each carrying the flames of vengeance!

Boom! Boom!

-605!

-621!

Two more high-damage attacks jumped out from above the weakened Lake Spirit's head.

The intense pain brought Hu Ling back to her senses from her severe injuries.

It did not launch another attack, but instead let out a series of low, whimpering roars.

Immediately afterwards, a strange, dark green halo, carrying an aura of decay, spread from its body, instantly enveloping the entire altar.

Wherever the halo reached, fist-sized pustules emerged from the black sludge on the ground, bursting with a "pop" and emitting an even more disgusting stench.

On both Li Wu and Hua Zitong's status bars, a green skull icon appeared, continuously dripping liquid.

[Stain of Filth]: When tainted, all healing effects are reduced by 90%, and you lose 1% of your maximum health and 1% of your mana per second.

"Oh no!" Hua Zitong's expression changed.

She had just been struck by a normal tentacle from the awakened Lake Spirit, and her health dropped slightly.

Upon seeing this, Li Wu immediately fired a [Healing Arrow] as a reflex.

A soft green light fell on Hua Zitong.

+28!

A negligible treatment number floated up from above her head.

Li Wu's brows furrowed instantly.

Treatment effectiveness reduced by 90%!

This practically rendered all his healing abilities useless. Moreover, the 1% health and mana loss per second, while not much, is like a frog being slowly boiled in water—over time, it can be fatal!

This is the BOSS's real killing move!

It forces challengers to kill it within a limited time, while enduring the pressure of continuous health loss!

"This is troublesome." Hua Zitong's voice also turned serious. "We have no choice but to rely on brute force!"

A direct confrontation?

Li Wu glanced at Hua Zitong's health bar, which had dropped to less than half, and then looked at his own health, which was also slowly decreasing.

No.

If this continues, Hua Zitong definitely won't be able to hold on.

His gaze fell on the green skull icon in his status bar.

This is an abnormal state.

Since it's an abnormal state...

A bold idea flashed through Li Wu's mind.

Instead of continuing to fire burning arrows, he once again condensed an arrow that emitted a pure white light.

[Insight into the Purification Arrow]!

"What are you doing? This isn't the time for..." Hua Zitong saw Li Wu's actions and was about to remind him to focus on outputting damage.

But the next second, her words caught in her throat.

The white arrow did not strike the BOSS, but instead hit her body precisely once again.

A flash of white light.

The green skull icon that was constantly dripping liquid on her status bar disappeared!

"This..." Hua Zitong was stunned.

Before she could react, another green light followed closely behind.

It's the Healing Arrow!

+285!

A huge green number appeared above her head, and her health bar shot up significantly, returning her to above the safety level!

Hua Zitong was completely stunned.

Purify!

Li Wu's skill can even remove the boss's aura-type debuffs!

This is no longer a skill, this is the rule!

"I can't do anything about the halo itself, but the effect it has on you can be removed," Li Wu's calm voice came, clearing up her doubts.

"After the debuff is cleared, there will be a brief period of immunity, lasting about five seconds. After five seconds, the aura will reapply the debuff to you."

"In other words, I have to fire a purification shot at you every five seconds."

Li Wu speaks very quickly, but her thoughts are frighteningly clear.

"During this time, the gaps in my output will become smaller. You must... hold on!"

Hua Zitong looked at the boy in the distance who, even in the midst of battle, could still think at high speed and instantly analyze the optimal solution. Her heart was stirred with even more intense emotions than when she saw the damage reflected by [Fate Deflection].

She always believed that her greatest advantage was her rebirth with memories of the future.

But at this moment, she saw in this boy a talent even more terrifying than rebirth.

That's creativity—enough to overturn the rules!

"good!"

She nodded heavily, the last trace of hesitation in her eyes vanishing, replaced by an unprecedented firmness.

"I can handle it!"

The battle has entered a new phase.

This is a phase that is more thrilling and puts the two of them to the test than ever before.

"Purify!"

"treat!"

"Dodge the tentacles!"

"I'm out of mana, time for a potion!"

Li Wu's voice, calm and clear, rang out on the altar, like a perfectly precise metronome, directing this dance of life and death.

His task became incredibly arduous.

He not only has to dodge the [Resentment Tentacles], but also deal the highest possible damage.

We also need to keep a close eye on Hua Zitong's condition. If she gets hit by the [Sludge Spray], we need to purify her immediately.

Furthermore, you need to precisely cast the "Purify + Heal" combo every five seconds to counteract the healing reduction and continuous damage from the [Filthy Aura].

One mind doing four things at once!

This is extremely mentally taxing.

But Li Wu did it.

Each of his arrows seemed to be the result of the most precise calculations, flying towards the most correct target at the most correct time.

Hua Zitong also unleashed astonishing potential.

She placed all her trust in Li Wu, who was behind her.

She stopped caring about her health and the debuffs on her body, and devoted all her energy to tanking monsters and positioning herself.

Parry, sidestep, roll, heavy chop...

Every movement she made was clean and efficient, showcasing the warrior's tenacity and agility to the fullest.

The two worked together with an almost supernatural level of synergy.

Under the relentless onslaught, the lake spirit's health began to steadily decline once again.

40%...

35%...

30%...

The scales of victory are slowly tipping in favor of these two audacious challengers.