Chapter 27: Battle Against a Seventh-Tier Monster and Aethelorn's Flash

The next moment.

A huge shadow rose beneath the glow of spiritual light.

Its two hind limbs were covered in brown warts, piled into two small mounds of flesh, pressed together like a giant skirt of meat.

The forelimbs had turned into slender, elongated scythe-claws, gripping a long crystal; their densely packed, vertically erupting scales were enough to trigger arachnophobia.

The eyeballs had completely detached from the face, hanging in the air on flesh-colored tentacles just like the two mouthparts.

Seth screamed in panic.

Rod frowned, feeling disgusted by the ugly thing before him.

Even more despairing was that behind this seventh-tier monster, there were over ten fifth-tier peak monsters.

Kang—

A downward strike from the scythe-claw.

Farshad's spell shield immediately showed signs of cracking.

He was also injured by the tremendous force, fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and resolve for death already gleaming in his determined eyes.

"Run! While I can still hold on! Take Kalist back to the nearest tribe! They will avenge me!"

"Farshad!"

Kalist slammed her fist hard into the ground.

Wild magic gathered from her bracelet, dispersed, then flowed through her entire body, leaving her whole spiritual state unstable.

"Are you detonating your spirit? No! Kalist!"

"No one can defeat the elves, no one! Flee, human. Elves need no pity or retreat. Carry our story across the entire continent."

The huge monster swung its scythe-claw again, and the spell shield immediately became precarious.

On the other side of the spell shield was the raging, ferocious monster.

The scene was chaotic and despairing.

Tally came over and grabbed Rod's arm, her eyes asking—should she activate 【Flash】 to escape?

"No."

【Sacrificial Sword】 suddenly erupted with lightning.

Spiritual light flashed repeatedly across Rod's body, and a full circle of buffs instantly took effect.

A seventh-tier, seventh-tier monster.

It didn't even compare to the oppressive pressure of Isabella at sixth-tier peak.

Such a perfect battle for training; how could he possibly flee?

Ping!

The spell shield shattered like glass.

Kalist made to charge, but a tremendous force suddenly struck the back of her neck, instantly throwing her backward.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Farshad already beneath that giant scythe-claw, his eyes bulging with rage.

"Human!!!"

Boom!

Rod stomped his foot hard.

【Steel Vine Assault】!

Four steel vines burst from the earth.

The scythe-claw that should have fallen was lifted high into the air.

The fleshy skirt on the legs was not pierced; it could only pin the opponent's body in place.

It was just that compared to the huge fleshy skirt, the steel vines were somewhat insufficient in size.

"Human Mr.?" Farshad turned back in shock.

"Get away! Don't hinder me!"

Powerful spiritual light gathered on the sword, grew, and finally transformed into a giant spiritual sword shooting straight toward the sky.

Slashed down fiercely!

Even the earth wall above was cut with a deep sword mark!

Rod's strongest strike so far—【Giant Slash】.

Pfft!

The monster screamed in agony.

One scythe-claw was severed and fell to the ground.

Along with several fifth-tier monsters behind it, they were also directly sliced in half.

Poisonous blood almost soaked him completely.

Rod did not stop.

【Aethelorn's Flash】 was executed immediately after.

Three swords in an instant!

A sword art named after a kingdom could naturally not be simple.

It could be said that if the Snow Hill Evening News of the Kingdom of Wind made a ranking list of "The Most Practiced Spiritual Arts in the Kingdom of Aethelorn," 【Aethelorn's Flash】 would surely be number one.

Therefore, the number of people researching this sword art was also abnormally high.

Some called the level of swinging out three swords in an instant 【Triple Flash】; for every additional sword, one more flash was added.

A ninth-tier general of the kingdom could slash twelve swords in an instant, and was thus called the "Divine Speed Sword."

Three blood marks appeared instantly, and poisonous blood sprayed toward the sky.

"Not enough!"

Rod forcibly activated his Spirit and unleashed 【Flash of Aethelon】 again.

Still at the 【Three Flashes】 level!

"Not enough! Not enough!"

He ducked his head to evade the scythe-claw's attack, but his face was smeared with venom sprayed from its mouthparts.

Yet this did nothing to stop Rod from activating his Spirit once more.

Still 【Three Flashes】!

"Faster! Faster still!"

Tally 【Blinked】 into the horde of low-tier demons behind them, using her transformed limbs and magical air blades to entangle them.

She could not let these inferior creatures hinder Rod.

The sharp, piercing sensation of Spirit struck again; she turned her head to look and saw four bursts of blood instantly bloom across the demon's face!

Watching her master's frenzied state during the battle.

Tally's eyes gradually grew hazy.

"Hate it... don't make me get wet while I'm fighting..."

Sword winds constantly whipped out.

The crystals on the cavern walls were swiftly shattered by the sharp Spirit.

Rod was furiously honing his swordsmanship by trading injuries for injuries.

Farshard, whose face had been stung to the point of pain, stood aside, staring in awe.

"Good heavens, did you see that, Lady Kali? He is fighting a seventh-rank opponent with fifth-rank Spirit accumulation! Where does he get so much Spirit to use Spirit sword techniques so frequently?!"

"I'm not blind."

Lady Kali looked at the demon and the human fighting wildly, her expression complex.

"While fighting, he is also constantly absorbing Spirit; his stamina and vitality are so vigorous they could allow him to fight endlessly."

"Most importantly, the demon's venom has almost no effect on him! Good heavens, is human poison resistance that high?!"

"Perhaps he carries treasures that enhance poison resistance, which greatly reduces his Spirit consumption."

Citi flew over and said anxiously:

"Are you still chatting here? Go help them!"

"Don't worry, Wing-Crystal Clan, he can handle it."

Lady Kali's face showed displeasure.

She had used two antidote spells with poor results; forcing a stronger spell now might cause them to die instantly.

Farshard raised his staff.

He cast a layer of protective spells on both Rod and Tally.

"No need to cast it on the succubus!"

"Don't be like that; they saved us..."

A massive Spirit greatsword struck down once more.

The entire mine cave trembled.

Rod suddenly threw his head back and laughed, leaping high into the air.

His two hearts pumped to the extreme, and high-temperature steam rose from his body.

Five rotating sword lights followed immediately, instantly severing the remaining scythe-claw!

But he was knocked flying by a collision with its mouthparts, embedding himself into the cavern wall.

"Thrilling!"

He immediately climbed out of the debris.

The stirred-up dirt scattered everywhere.

Spirit light flashed on the sword again; this time, it was six sword lights!

【Six Flashes】!

"Flash of Aethelon"

Farshard was already dumbfounded. "Have you ever heard of a fifth-ranker achieving 【Six Flashes】?"

"Never..."

Lady Kali was very reluctant to admit it.

But the threshold for this sword technique, renowned across the continent, stands right here; merely stepping into it proves one is no ordinary person.

The power of the sword light had already broken through the previous rank; the demon's head was nearly sliced into blooming petals.

It was not yet dead.

But it seemed to feel fear and actually fled toward the rear.

Farshard cast a mana barrier early, blocking the demon.

"Die for me!"

Rod accumulated Spirit while pursuing.

【Giant Slash】 is a sword technique that enhances its power through long-term Spirit accumulation.

Boom—

The Spirit greatsword erupted with unprecedented brilliance, then descended from the sky.

The ground and the dirt on the cavern ceiling above burst open violently!

The demon was split directly in two!

Along with Falshard's magical barrier and the fifth-tier magical beasts behind it, they were all shattered to pieces.

The dust settled.

"Breathtaking, Mr. Human!"

"You are the strongest fifth-tier I have ever seen!"

Falshard said, clapping.

(End of this chapter)