Genshin Impacti: This Priest is Cringe, But She's Also Unbeatable — Chapter 54

Chapter 54: The Favored Children with All Their Trump Cards Out

Outside the Domain, the night sky was a silent, ink-black canvas.

The public live broadcast had long since been skillfully redirected to other, more “peaceful” corners of the examination area. Viewers were now treated to scenes of cautious confrontations between small teams or lone candidates struggling against scattered monsters.

The events unfolding within the church were simply too intense, too shocking for an ordinary audience. Broadcasting it would undoubtedly trigger a firestorm of unnecessary controversy.

However, within the Domain’s official observation center and the joint monitoring hub for the points competition, every core screen was locked onto the real-time feed from that dilapidated, shadow-drenched church.

“Are you kidding me? A Death Knight of that caliber, and a steed that seems to have gained its own sentience… is this really the final test for a bunch of high school seniors?”

Inside the joint monitoring center, an admissions officer from a top-tier university in the north couldn’t stop himself from slamming a hand on the table and shooting to his feet, his face a mask of disbelief.

“Calm down, Old Li.”

Beside him, a refined, middle-aged man adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. He was a specially appointed professor from Jingcheng University and one of the consultants for this very assessment. His gaze was fixed on the figures on the screen, who were desperately maneuvering and struggling to hold their ground. His tone, however, was laced with an irrepressible sense of wonder.

“The BOSS’s strength has indeed exceeded conventional estimates,” he admitted, “but look at these kids…”

He raised a finger, pointing to the figures on the screen one by one.

“The fact that they were able to be brought in by that pink-haired girl using… well, that method, all while under pursuit from such an undead scourge, is proof enough of their extraordinary nature.”

Major Zhou Zhenyun spoke up, his voice as steady and solid as granite. “Eleven of them. It is, indeed, far fewer than the number we estimated would reach the final area.”

“But look at them individually,” he continued, his eyes narrowing as if trying to pierce through the screen itself. “Is there a single one who isn’t hiding a mountain of secrets or blessed with some fortuitous encounter? Each one is practically a protagonist in their own right.”

He paused, his expression grim. “A desperate situation is the only true crucible for testing gold. Just watch. These little fledglings are about to show their claws.”

On the battlefield, the fight had reached a terrifying fever pitch.

Every time the Death Knight’s greatsword descended, it carried a soul-tearing chill that seeped into the very bones. A thick layer of frost had already condensed on Selene’s and Wang Lei’s shields, and the constant, jarring impacts had left their arms so numb they’d nearly lost all feeling.

All the while, the Undead Warhorse remained a phantom of necrotic energy. It wasn’t just another attacker; it was a perfect battlefield controller, a blur of motion that constantly shattered the casting rhythm of the backline mages and forced the frontline fighters to scramble for new positions. It kept the entire team pinned down, suffocating under relentless pressure.

“This is bad! If this keeps up, we’re going to get worn down and killed!” Zhao Shihao gritted his teeth. His signature Explosive Fireball, his pride and joy, was nothing but a pathetic joke against the knight’s anti-magic barrier. The frustration of having so much power with nowhere to direct it was driving him mad.

His eyes flashed with a fierce, desperate light. He had made his decision.

‘Dammit, I was saving this ace for the final PvP showdown… No choice now!’

He slammed the butt of his staff into the stone floor. His hands blurred through a series of complex seals as obscure, ancient syllables spilled from his lips.

A surge of fire element, far hotter and more violent than anything he had summoned before, coalesced around him. For a moment, the blistering heat actually seemed to push back the oppressive aura of death that filled the church.

With a sharp crack, an inconspicuous crimson jade pendant on his chest shattered, dissolving into a torrent of pure, raw energy that flooded directly into his body.

“Skreee—!”

A clear, piercing cry, like that of a phoenix, echoed from thin air!

For a fleeting instant, the massive, spectral image of a fire phoenix materialized behind Zhao Shihao before collapsing inward, sinking entirely into the staff in his hand.

The next moment, the gem at the top of his staff blazed with an almost blinding light, as if a miniature sun were being born within its crystalline depths.

“【Phoenix Cry: Solar Impact】!” he roared, leveling the staff at the Death Knight.

It was no longer a fireball. What erupted from the staff was a beam of pure white fire, condensed to an extreme, no thicker than a man’s arm.

Wherever the beam passed, the very air seemed to scorch and twist, sending visible ripples through space.

“Szzzzzle—!”

The white line of fire slammed into the Death Knight’s sickly green anti-magic barrier, producing a tooth-aching shriek of corrosion. The barrier, which had effortlessly devoured every spell thrown at it before, now fluctuated violently. A web of fine cracks spread across its surface.

For the first time, a low growl, tinged with alarm and fury, rumbled from within the Death Knight’s helm. It was forced to divert its power to reinforce the shield, and the crushing pressure on the front line suddenly eased.

“Now’s our chance!”

Mo Chen, the greatsword user who had been as silent and immovable as a mountain, suddenly had a razor-sharp light explode in his eyes.

He slapped the massive, door-like scabbard on his back. An ancient, complex rune etched into its surface flared to life.

“Unseal: First Layer!”

Clang!

The sound of the greatsword being unsheathed was not the clean friction of metal on leather, but a deep, guttural roar, like an ancient behemoth stirring from a long slumber.

Dark red patterns, like pulsing blood vessels, lit up along the length of the blade, unleashing a world-shaking, malevolent aura.

Mo Chen’s entire presence seemed to swell. Gripping the colossal sword with both hands, he took a single, simple step forward and brought it down in a brutal cleave.

There were no fancy techniques, only the purest expression of raw power and speed.

A dark red, crescent-shaped wave of sword energy tore through the stone floor, carrying a domineering force that seemed to crush everything in its path as it shot straight for the Undead Warhorse’s legs.

The spectral steed tried to leap aside with its usual phantom-like agility, but the sword qi seemed to possess a will of its own, its speed suddenly accelerating.

Thump!

With a sickeningly dull thud, the energy blade slammed into the warhorse’s front hoof joint.

Cracks instantly spiderwebbed across the hardened bone, and the ghostly blue soul fire in its eye sockets flickered and dimmed. The warhorse let out a pained, ethereal neigh, its movements faltering into a clear stumble for the first time.

“It’s staggered! Hit it now!” the Berserker roared. A red glow of 【Recklessness】 flared around his body as he seized the opportunity, swinging his giant axe down with the force to split a mountain.

At the same time, the Order Mage, who had maintained a low profile until now, produced a book from his robes that radiated a soft, white light. He flipped rapidly through the pages, which seemed to be condensed from pure light element, his lips moving in a silent chant.

“Decree: Imprisonment!”

“Decree: Weaken!”

Two halos of pure white light shot out, not at the Death Knight, but at the ground directly beneath its feet, forming a temporary barrier of Order. The knight’s movements slowed by a visible, if slight, margin.

In this deadlocked battle, it was the lifeline they desperately needed.

“Sister! They’re…” Selene felt the pressure on her shield lessen dramatically, and she shot a surprised look at Celeste.

Celeste calmly swallowed the last bite of a second system-produced potato pancake, feeling a welcome surge of stamina return to her limbs. She glanced at her “temporary teammates,” who had all suddenly revealed their hidden powers, without a hint of surprise in her eyes.

‘Of course they’ve all got hidden ultimates,’she thought dryly.’You don’t get this far by being a free-to-play scrub. Everyone’s got some pay-to-win gear stashed away.’

Zhao Shihao’s one-use jade pendant, Mo Chen’s sealed greatsword, the Order Mage’s Codex of Light… these were the trump cards they had been saving for the final scramble for the top scholar position, or for an extreme situation just like this one.

She took a deep breath, her grip tightening on the pink staff in her hand. Her character card was still on cooldown and her mental energy was a long way from recovered, but her basic priest abilities were fully functional.

Besides, watching these guys go all out had ignited the competitive, battle-hungry spirit buried deep in her bones.

“Selene, Wang Lei, focus on defense! Leave the healing to me!” Her voice was cool and collected, yet it carried a power that instantly reassured them.

The staff waved.

【Greater Healing Spell】! 【Holy Light Shield】! 【Dispel】!

Beams of vibrant pink light shot out, landing with perfect precision on the frontline fighters. They repaired injuries, reinforced defenses, and purged the corrupting, slowing effects of the death energy.

Of course, a shining, ten-minute-long pink heart inevitably popped into existence above each person she healed…

But in a life-or-death moment like this, nobody had the time or energy to complain.

Being alive was more important! If it’s pink, it’s pink! Who cares!

“Tch, it looks a little weird…” Zhao Shihao muttered, maintaining his Solar Impact. He caught sight of the fresh pink heart floating over the shield warrior Wang Lei’s head, and the corner of his mouth twitched. “But damn, this healing output and timing are impeccable!”

The Ice Mage, Jiang Xue, finally stopped holding back as well.

She bit her fingertip, letting a single drop of crimson blood fall onto her ice crystal staff.

The staff instantly erupted with an astonishingly potent cold. The very air around her began to condense into glittering ice crystals.

“【Absolute Zero Domain (Pseudo)】!”

With her at its center, a frigid mist swirled outwards at a terrifying speed, blanketing the ground in a thick layer of slick ice. The domain not only drastically slowed the scattered undead minions that managed to slip past the front line, but fine layers of frost even began to creep across the armor of the Death Knight and the bones of its steed.

For a moment, the entire church became a chaotic spectacle of colliding forces. Blinding firelight, malevolent sword qi, pure holy light, biting frost, and chains of Order… all these powerful energies intertwined, clashing against the darkness.

Incredibly, they were fighting the Death Knight and its mount to a standstill.

Inside the observation center, there was dead silence.

Whether it was the military observers or the admissions officers from the various universities, all of them were stunned into speechlessness by the dazzling display of hidden talents.

“Do you see?” The professor from Jingcheng University let out a slow breath, a gratified, almost excited smile spreading across his face. “This is the cream of the crop of our younger generation. A desperate situation will never be the end for true geniuses; it only serves to force out their deepest potential.”

Major Zhou Zhenyun nodded slightly, his gaze finally settling on the Priest Damselette who was constantly showering the battlefield in pink light.

“External aid, fortuitous encounters, powerful inheritances… they lack none of it. And now, the thing I want to know most is…”

His gaze was as sharp as a scalpel.

“That little girl who always brings ‘surprises’… besides taking people flying and that socially suicidal… uh, magnificent ultimate move, what kind of edge does she herself hide in a head-on fight like this? Can she still use that Maid Knight form?”

As if in direct response to his question, a burst of music rang through the entire church, completely and utterly out of place with the grim battle.

Under the strain of such frequent spellcasting, the 【Overtones】 passive that had kept Celeste on edge this whole time…

…had triggered again.