The winged Battle Angel solidified into a physical form, its wings fluttering gently as it hovered in the air behind him. The Angel extended a hand forward, and the surrounding holy light slowly coalesced in its grasp, forming a great white sword. With a powerful beat of its wings, it shot towards Liu Hui, bringing the great sword down in a cleaving strike aimed at his head.

Seeing this, Liu Hui was forced to halt his assault on Augustus's protective white light and rapidly retreated to evade the Battle Angel's attack.

"Ignorant mortal, now I shall let you witness the majesty of God, so you may know that the authority of God is unquestionable. Those who doubt God shall surely be punished," Augustus declared loudly, his heart settling once Liu Hui backed away, as he directly commanded the Battle Angel to attack.

Liu Hui was filled with bitter hatred. He had just expended all his strength and failed to breach Augustus's defense, only to have Augustus successfully summon the Battle Angel. Moreover, this Battle Angel appeared immensely powerful; his own Brilliant Light Armor was already ruined. It seemed a vicious battle lay ahead today.

Liu Hui felt a pang of regret. During his last trip to Japan, he had specifically sought out Xiaoyaozi to craft a single 'Armor-Piercing Steel Pellet,' which he had used to unexpectedly eliminate that Japanese monk. Unfortunately, the materials required for the formation array were exceedingly rare, and Xiaoyaozi could not forge another one quickly. Otherwise, Liu Hui would have already dealt with Augustus, and this situation of summoning a Battle Angel would never have arisen.

The Battle Angel possessed a handsome visage, yet it was impossible to discern its gender. It was expressionless, radiating only a fierce, sharp killing intent, its great sword pointed diagonally towards Liu Hui. Following Augustus's command, its wings flapped, and it lunged at Liu Hui like lightning, the great sword aimed straight for his heart.

Liu Hui hastily used the steel pipe in his hand to parry. With a sharp shing, his sturdy steel pipe was sliced clean through by the Battle Angel's great sword. The severed section clattered to the ground with a crisp sound.

Liu Hui quickly retreated. He knew the great sword was sharp, but he hadn't expected his custom-made steel pipe to break after enduring just one blow. The Battle Angel caught up, lunging in again with a sword thrust. Liu Hui blocked once more with the remaining pipe, which was promptly sheared further by the great sword.

In desperation, Liu Hui threw the rest of the pipe towards the Battle Angel, but the Angel easily batted it aside with its great sword and continued its relentless pursuit.

The Battle Angel was incredibly fast, moving with only slight fluctuations of its back wings, and it swiftly closed the distance on Liu Hui, bringing the sword down once more. Liu Hui reacted with blinding speed, pulling a shield from his storage space to place in front of him—a shield he had specially crafted for emergency self-defense. Sadly, even this ten-centimeter-thick alloy shield could not withstand the Angel's strike; the shield was instantly pierced clean through.

With quick reflexes, Liu Hui violently spun the impaled shield and hurled it aside. The Battle Angel’s great sword was still stuck in the shield, and Liu Hui used this momentary pull to create an opening. Seizing this rare chance, Liu Hui launched himself upward with a kick that landed squarely on the Battle Angel's face.

Given the force of his kick, capable of splitting stone and separating metal, delivered with his full strength directly to the Angel's face, Liu Hui expected at least some damage or a delay in the pursuit. However, the Angel remained completely unharmed, its face merely dusted with grime, its posture unwavering.

Zhou Tengyun, watching Liu Hui repeatedly face mortal danger, felt his heart leap into his throat. He desperately wanted to quickly defeat the male and female attendants so he could rush to Liu Hui's aid. But the two attendants were no ordinary foes; they saw the situation clearly and employed every trick to desperately tie down Zhou Tengyun, preventing him from breaking free.

The Battle Angel ripped the great sword free from the shield, kicked the shield far away, and charged back towards Liu Hui. Liu Hui panicked; he now possessed no defensive tools whatsoever. If the Angel’s great sword touched him again, death would be certain.

"Wait a moment, I have a secret to tell you," Liu Hui yelled out to Augustus.

"Oh? What secret do you have for me? Could it be about that protective artifact you possess?" Augustus paused, suddenly recalling the artifact on Liu Hui, as well as the pipe and shield that had materialized inexplicably in Liu Hui’s hands. He controlled the Battle Angel to halt, letting it simply point the great sword at Liu Hui. He felt complete control over the situation, certain Liu Hui could not cause any upheaval or find a path to victory. If Liu Hui made any wrong move, he could strike him down instantly. His profound self-confidence remained unshaken, despite the minor trouble Liu Hui had caused him. With the overall situation firmly grasped, listening to Liu Hui’s secret seemed worthwhile.

"In fact, this secret is..." Liu Hui seemed tired, his voice trailing off, the latter part of his speech becoming indistinct.

"What is the secret?" Augustus demanded loudly.

"Idiot, can't you even tell that I’m stalling for time?" Liu Hui burst into laughter, his expression suddenly relaxed.

"Heh heh, stalling for time? Even if you stalled until tomorrow, do you think you’d have a chance to turn things around?" Augustus scoffed, utterly confident in his Battle Angel.

"Old Ao, I truly admire you; you’ve pushed me this far. But now, it’s my turn to perform. I'm about to unleash my trump card," Liu Hui said with an easy smile.

"A trump card? Don't tell me it's surrender?" Augustus roared with laughter, suddenly finding Liu Hui rather amusing.

Liu Hui stopped wasting breath, snapped his fingers, and commanded, "My dear Little Black, aren't you going to show yourself?"

Before Augustus could register who Little Black was, a massive splash erupted from the sea. Then, an immensely huge, dark shadow shot out of the water like a bolt of lightning. In the blink of an eye, it reached the Battle Angel, and the colossal shadow swung down violently towards it.

The Battle Angel reacted swiftly, managing to block the incoming strike with its great sword just before contact. A deafening boom echoed, sending dust flying and carving a massive crater in the ground. The Battle Angel was driven bodily into the earth by the shadow’s impact, lying still, seemingly dead.

Augustus was aghast. Only now did he clearly see that the impossibly vast shadow was a giant black python. The Super Python coiled beside Liu Hui, its enormous head staring coldly at Augustus. The dense killing intent radiating from it was so potent it nearly froze Augustus’s blood solid.

Even the seasoned Augustus found his limbs turning cold with fear. The black python was coiled, its full length unknowable, but judging by the diameter of its body—nearly a meter across—it far exceeded the known definitions of pythons in this era and stretched the limits of his comprehension.

It turned out that when Liu Hui witnessed Augustus slaughtering Brother Quan’s group, he had become wary due to Augustus’s terrifying strength and immediately summoned Little Black, who was hunting nearby in the sea, to come at full speed. Although Little Black received the message and rushed over immediately, the distance was too great. Only when the Battle Angel pierced Liu Hui's shield did Little Black arrive, just barely missing the crucial moment. This was why Liu Hui had feigned fear, using the supposed secret to trick Augustus into wasting precious seconds. This brief delay allowed Liu Hui to catch his breath, and Little Black used that interval to arrive just in the nick of time. As soon as Little Black arrived, Liu Hui utilized its powerful tail to smash the Battle Angel into the ground. Now, the Battle Angel appeared to have lost combat effectiveness, and the situation was finally back under Liu Hui's control.

"Hiss," Little Black flicked out a two-meter-long tongue at Augustus, startling him badly. But he reacted instantly, waving his staff. A white light shot out from the golden crown atop his head, plunging into the earth and enveloping the Battle Angel. As if injected with a stimulant, the Battle Angel instantly recovered, flapped its wings, shot out of the crater, and charged toward Little Black.

From Little Black's appearance to the Battle Angel's recovery, much happened, yet the actual elapsed time was very short. Seeing the Battle Angel driven into the ground by Little Black’s tail, Liu Hui was preparing to attack Augustus, but when he saw the Angel regain its strength and charge Little Black, he had no choice but to direct Little Black to meet the Angel.

The Battle Angel's great sword clashed against Little Black’s slick black scales, but it inflicted no damage, only sparking a long trail of fire across the scales.

Liu Hui rejoiced at the sight, his mind finally at ease. Little Black, who was destined to withstand stellar cannon fire once mature, could not be breached by this Battle Angel’s defense. Liu Hui now had no lingering worries.

Little Black moved with agility. While the Battle Angel's great sword was engaged against its body, it suddenly opened its jaws and clamped down on the Angel’s wings. Little Black’s fangs were incredibly sharp, and its crushing force was unimaginable. With a single head shake, it tore both wings clean off. Losing its wings, the Battle Angel instantly lost its ability to fly and plummeted downwards. Yet, despite having its wings ripped off, no blood appeared on its back, and it didn't even wince, continuing its assault on Little Black.

Little Black suddenly reared up, reaching a height of over twenty meters, and executed a lightning-fast massive constricting coil. The Battle Angel reacted too slowly and was caught, slammed to the ground.

Little Black squeezed its body tight, binding the Battle Angel in an unbreakable grip. The Angel's body emitted a series of creaking sounds, as if every bone was being crushed, on the verge of collapse.

Seeing the situation deteriorating, Augustus’s face flushed red, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He swung his staff again; another white light shot from his golden crown, enveloping the Battle Angel and instantly restoring it from its near-collapse. However, even restored, the Battle Angel struggled merely to twitch within Little Black's coils.

Liu Hui commanded Little Black to secure the Battle Angel, then released his control over the snake, allowing Little Black to maintain the restraint. He snatched up the pipe he had discarded earlier and lunged toward Augustus. The pipe, having been sharpened by the Battle Angel's great sword, was now perfectly suited for use as a spear.

Liu Hui thrust the steel pipe fiercely at Augustus's protective white light. The light rapidly dimmed, clearly on the verge of shattering.

Though Augustus possessed powerful artifacts, he himself possessed absolutely no martial skill. He had already exhausted all his strength and had no backup plan; escape was impossible now. Seeing that Liu Hui’s relentless stabbing was breaking down his magical defense, he could only focus his energy, hoping the Battle Angel could escape the giant black python and carry him away—that might be their only chance of survival.

Liu Hui thrust the steel pipe hundreds of times, and Augustus's white light grew fainter with each strike. Finally, Liu Hui pierced through with one last thrust, completely dispersing the protective light. Meanwhile, the Battle Angel still had not broken free from Little Black.

Augustus panicked, feeling the visceral threat of death. He screamed, "Stop! I am the newly appointed Grand Inquisitor of the Holy See. Killing me means making an enemy of the Church, inviting endless pursuit. If you spare me, I will act as if tonight never happened, and I will grant you three wishes."

Liu Hui was now in complete control of the situation and paid no mind to the ranting. Furthermore, he feared unnecessary delays might allow Augustus to conjure something else to turn the tables, which would be disastrous. Thus, he threw a punch, this time aimed squarely at Augustus’s forehead.

The two attendants, seeing the sudden reversal of fortune reach its most critical point, immediately abandoned Zhou Tengyun and prepared to rush to Augustus’s aid. But Zhou Tengyun was in no mood to let them pass; he accelerated his assault, preventing them from splitting their focus.

With a sharp thwack, Liu Hui’s punch landed true on Augustus’s forehead. Augustus’s head exploded like an overripe watermelon, scattering red and white matter everywhere.

"Lord Augustus!" The two attendants rushed forward in grief-stricken fury, but Zhou Tengyun seized the opportunity, delivering a punch to the back of each man, dispatching them with ease.

With Augustus’s death, the Battle Angel, still bound by Little Black, ceased struggling. Its body began to dissipate, and in a final flash of white light, the space where it stood was empty, leaving nothing behind.

Liu Hui and Zhou Tengyun stared at each other, both feeling that the bizarre encounters and perilous situations of this night were unprecedented in their lives. But they quickly composed themselves and began to clean up the scene. It was unwise to linger; the sounds of combat—flashes of light and gunfire—had been too loud and might attract unwanted attention.

Liu Hui swiftly collected the corpses of Augustus and his two men into his storage space, not forgetting the blasted golden crown and the white staff. He then bagged the drugs and the several sacks of cash from the dock, storing them too. After carefully checking the scene for any omissions, he signaled Zhou Tengyun, who hoisted the unconscious Master Mu onto his shoulder, and they swiftly departed. Little Black also dove back into the sea, returning to its deep-sea trench hideout.

Not long after Liu Hui and Zhou Tengyun left, they heard the wail of approaching police sirens heading toward the pier where the intense fighting had just occurred.