The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

Under the insight of 【Root of the Sand Sea】, the sword strike from the armor not only possessed immense power, but also contained the concentrated essence of those violent sand demons within its trajectory!

They gathered... and gathered again, transforming into a rain of fire, yet its trajectory was straight towards Yunevo, swiftly slicing across the [Oak Skin] armor, sparks flying everywhere!

The protective capabilities of [Rubber Skin] are showing signs of weakening under this attack...

We must take the initiative!

Without further hesitation, Yunevo's heart pounded fiercely in sync with the fragment of the Unquenchable Sand...

An unprecedented heat and excitement surged from deep within my spinal cord throughout my entire body!

[Slam] has now been pushed to its limit, even sacrificing [Rubber Skin] and activating [Self-Consuming]'s enhanced [Corrosive Spray] once more...

A single, decisive blow!

Then, a wisp of green light, carrying a solidified pale white fist wind, suddenly burst forth, quietly blooming amidst the scorching yellow sand!

The armored figure didn't dodge, but instead held the sword horizontally in front of him, assumed a horse stance, and prepared to withstand the extremely destructive instantaneous punch...

boom--!

Eunice felt as if he had struck a creation made of sand.

The greatsword on the armor shattered piece by piece, and a hole was blasted through the armor on its chest cavity as well. And then...

A gust of wind, seemingly from nowhere, whipped up wave after wave of sand and dust, filling the gaps and reshaping the giant sword!

"Iron Sand Ghost Armor..." Yunefu murmured softly, with a hint of disbelief.

The creature's behavior during the battle increasingly resembled that of the dilapidated, decaying, yet stubborn and powerful "monster" when the two first entered the Morse Desert!

Sand Armor's attacks were relentless, each move, expansive and powerful, was imbued with ingenious calculation. The two figures slowly overlapped at this moment!

Not long after, another war of attrition has begun... and the victor will surely be decided at this moment.

But Yonivore had no intention of engaging in a pointless war of attrition with this thing. Did he really think the ancient church watching from the sidelines would just stand there dumbfounded?

By the time they realize that the black-robed alchemist is not one of their own... the outcome will become even more unpredictable!

Just as the sand-armored creature was wielding its greatsword with ferocious power, a powerful strangling sand vortex seemed about to rise from beneath its feet once more...

[Swift Wind Rush] allowed Yunevo to quickly break free from the entanglement. He arrived beside Iseria, his right hand still in a half-bow position, held horizontally in front of his chest. He took a half-step forward with his right foot, instinctively protecting her and activating an arcane magic shield...

The images overlap here.

Against the backdrop of the distant city and the blazing sun, the two figures stood like giants.

At this moment, the magical energy of the shield is condensing at an extremely slow speed, unlike in the past.

If the sand armor's charge-up isn't interrupted... he and Iseria will probably both get injured!

Then let's strike first! [Sandstorm]!

The instant this skill was used, the core sand current that maintained the operation of the sand vortex seemed to be rudely pulled out...

At this moment, Yunefu had also pushed the [Gale Achilles Tendon] to its limit. Not only was a powerful source of raging wind magic gathering beneath his feet, but also a large amount of rising fine yellow sand!

He was creating a wind field, utilizing his dwindling magical reserves and the extreme speed generated by overdrawing his [Gale Achilles Tendon]...

To create a high-frequency wind field that can suppress the self-healing of sand armor!

In these two battles, Yunevo gradually realized that... for the sand to coalesce into sand armor, it had to rely on some kind of "rule," or some kind of unnatural "connection"...

He then used himself as the core of the disintegration array, creating a "differential centrifuge" that flung the matter into a chaotic mess, separating them from one another!

The wind howled!

The sand that was meant to fill the gaps in the armor was forcibly flung away in the chaotic yet orderly wind, turning into a sky full of ownerless dust!

And among them were fragments of black robes mixed with blood... Yunefu still broke his promise.

Trading one's life for another—isn't that also a form of "war of attrition"?

The dark gold color on the sand armor began to show different cracks, and then, in this unreasonable disintegration wind field, it disappeared piece by piece.

"Alchemy..." it murmured a few broken "rusty" sounds in its throat, and could no longer hold the greatsword in its hand, kneeling on one knee on the ground.

Sand Armor lowered his head, examining the hands that were gradually losing their cohesion. With this posture that was close to "admitting defeat," he stopped all his killing intent.

Yunevo gasped for breath, and the two "hearts" in his chest also calmed down from their violent beating.

The merchants of the caravan stood dumbfounded beside the carriage, watching the arrogant "guardian" bow his head to the black-robed man, whose identity was still unknown.

Their faces all wore expressions of utter bewilderment...

On the other hand, the ancient church had already reacted and was preparing to advance when an even more chilling sense of "death" locked onto them.

It was Iseria, who wasn't idle even while hiding behind the cover. Instead, she was thinking like Yunevo... And so, the little aethers had something to do and began to silently gather their strength.

Yunevo gave Iseria an approving look, then walked up to the sand-armored figure, squatted down, and teased, "So... can you listen to me properly now?"

He looked at the still silent Sand Armor and said, "As you can see, I am an alchemist, an alchemist who always adheres to the principle of equivalent exchange."

"If my deal was to kill you... I would have joined those caravans long ago."

"Alchemist..." The armored figure coughed twice, his gaze slowly settling on the medal awarded to Yunefu by the Alchemist Guild of Hart City. "Mage..."

A mage? Yunefu was somewhat puzzled, so he beckoned to Iseria.

The fair-haired girl blinked, first giving the ancient church a friendly smile, then threateningly said, "If you make any trouble..." She made a throat-slitting gesture.

"What's wrong?" Iseria asked, approaching Yunevo.

Yunevo didn't answer, but simply patted Iseria's head and then said to the sand-armored figure, "She is the mage."

The black-robed alchemist subtly nudged the pale-haired girl and tapped the medal pinned to his chest.

The girl understood and quickly took out the outstanding apprentice badge awarded by Tus Academy and pinned it to her chest: "Is that so?"

The armored man looked at the two of them, then at the association certification on the badge that couldn't be faked...

A long, drawn-out sigh, filled with nostalgia, followed.