Chapter 452: The Greatsword and a Step Further

The edgeless greatsword once again instantly shattered three layers of force-field shields and slammed into the silver Cu Zhong steel spear.

Cambion Boden grimaced in pain.

His arms simply could not withstand the force; elbows buckling under pressure, the steel spear was driven into the chestplate, caving in a section.

And his entire body once again became a bunker-busting shell, shooting into the Delinbier River with a thud, smashing a merchant vessel along the way.

The violent plunge into the water carved out a massive cavity, and a colossal spray of water exploded straight upward on the spot.

Splash splash splash—

A brief rain fell.

Rod raised his left hand, and 【Judian's Ice Blade Domain】 seized a large amount of the falling seawater.

Then, under the boost of 【Frost Affinity】, it rapidly condensed into a giant ice cone that dove down toward old Ed, who was in hot pursuit from the other side.

Just as it was about to hit, nine streaks of cold light wreathed in scarlet airflow arrived in an instant, slicing the ice cone into neat fragments in the blink of an eye.

But he himself lost his upward momentum from the tremendous impact and slowly fell, unable to reach Rod's position.

Boom!

Another explosive roar rang out.

The half-elf Virgil had already erupted violently from the ground; a super-powered great leap carried him right past old Ed's side, and with a single-handed lift, he charged toward Rod together with the old man.

His body was covered in pus and sickly blood, his muscles even more swollen than when the fight began, bloated to a purplish-black hue.

Yet the force of his strikes had not diminished in the slightest; on the contrary, it felt heavier, faintly showing signs of surpassing the early stage of the eighth rank and reaching the mid stage.

Old Ed, meanwhile, wore a cold expression, drew one hand back, and his blood-red steel sword shimmered with a spiritual light.

And delivered another 【Nine Flashes】.

In midair, the two of them, one above and one below, closed in on Rod in a pincer attack.

Rod threw his head back and laughed wildly.

The blue-white mist behind him rapidly swelled, and a bronze dragon war soul as massive as a mountain materialized, roaring fiercely along with his laughter.

The dragon's roar at point-blank range made both old Ed and Virgil stiffen.

The former was then swept away by the greatsword, coughing up a huge mouthful of blood midair, sent flying far off, and happened to crash through the wall of Axe Beach, his scarlet airflow extinguished, his fate unknown.

The latter faced the bronze dragon's war soul head-on.

No matter how swollen his muscles were, his entire frame looked small before the ten-meter-tall bronze dragon.

【War Soul Charge】!

Boom!

Virgil, just like old Ed, also crashed into the town of Axe Beach.

Only his momentum was even greater; he cleared the perimeter wall, smashed into the grand estate of Earl Gubao, and carved out a dust-choked skid mark as he slid.

The commotion of the battle had long since alarmed the residents of Axe Beach.

They stared in panic at the man soaring arrogantly in midair, watching the bronze dragon war soul behind him spread its wings and roar, blotting out the sky, its shadow pressing down on the town.

"Dragon invasion?!!"

The terrifying thought arose in the minds of the bewildered commoners.

Then came fleeing, panic, and screaming.

Militias, private armies, adventurers—even retired fighters—were roused into action by the disturbance.

Rod's face was shrouded by the Disguise Domain, so of course he wasn't worried.

Among them, the captain of the militia, steeling himself, stepped forward and had a mage cast 【Phantasmal Sound】 on him to amplify his voice.

In a cold, flat tone, he called out:

"My lord! May I ask what business brings you to our Axe Beach!"

Rod did not answer.

With a thought, the slime Little Black coated his entire left palm, and he unleashed a 【Gravity Wave】 at the river below.

Purple mana formed layer upon layer of halos, tugging at the flow of the water's surface.

As the current churned—

Cambion Boden was drawn up by the gravity magic, coughing blood all the while.

He refused to give up, gritted his teeth viciously, and fired another ray that struck Rod's chest.

But that man's body seemed to be made of some rare rock; even a charged fire ray couldn't deal with it—hell would freeze over before it could pierce through now.

All that could be seen on the bare, muscular chest was a single scorched-black spot with a wisp of green smoke, not a wound in sight.

He could only watch helplessly as the man before him gripped his neck and lifted him high.

Rod did not dismiss his war soul either, standing proud with his back to the brilliant sunlight.

A sight that stung the eyes of all who looked upon him.

"Look, what's that in his hand?"

"A demon?! There's a demon in Axe Beach?!"

"Is this lord slaying the demon??"

"But I saw old Ed and Lord Bugo's private army captain—they're among those being slain too."

Rod still said not a single word.

Feeling it was about time, he clenched his hand, intending to crush the Cambion's neck.

Well, he couldn't crush it.

After all, the guy was at the peak of the seventh rank; crushing him one-handed without a skill was still a bit difficult.

Speaking of which—

This Dragon-Slaying Greatsword—

How to put it.

After this round of sword testing, he discovered a very uncomfortable point.

Perhaps due to the Eternal Stone's construction, this giant sword not only cannot be imbued with spiritual nature, but also prevents the wielder's arm below the elbow from channeling spiritual energy and magic.

That is to say, Rod could not even hold it to use 【Giant Slash】 and 【Aethelorn's Flash】.

When he held this sword, it had only one function: basic attack.

But that wasn't right.

The treasure's trait clearly marked 【Dragon-Slayer】, and he had observed the white dragon's horn wound; though slightly rough, it was indeed a cutting mark.

Now, this flat-bladed door-sized greatsword could not do that.

Therefore, Rod was certain.

The Dragon-Slayer Greatsword still possessed true abilities he had not yet touched, perhaps accessible during continuous, unceasing combat.

This was also the reason he had never struck to kill.

While pondering.

The Cambion in his hand puffed up, the sulfuric smell around him intensified greatly, and immediately thick orange flames roared to life.

His strength instantly surged; the thick steel spear swept horizontally, carrying a hint of Virgil's power.

Rod released his neck and dodged sideways.

Borden spread his bat wings wide, suddenly pulling away distance; the orange flames around him quickly dissipated, and he panted heavily, gasping for air.

"Damn it... even in the Inferno there are no such monsters. What is this thing..."

Then, he looked toward Virgil, who was slowly rising from the collapsed buildings where the Count's Gubao had been smashed.

He saw that the half-elf had already gone somewhat mad.

He had directly grabbed a companion from his private mercenary band who was trying to rescue him, twisted him in half at the waist with bare hands, and with a crunch shoved him into the stitched opening on his own abdomen.

Then, he forcibly had someone cast the Flight spell buff on himself and charged headlong toward the man bearing the Bronze Dragon War Soul.

Borden's desire to retreat gradually rose.

Contract spirit is contract spirit, but when life is at stake, it is calculated differently; he was not like those old-school devils who worshipped contracts.

Thinking thus.

He saw Virgil fly backward again, and this time straight toward his position.

Borden frowned.

He raised a 【Flame Hand】, similar to the Mage Hand spell, grabbed the guy, and said in a cold voice:

"Listen, Virgil, what you offered isn't enough. This guy is completely a monster, a dangerous figure with the potential to ascend to Inferno Duke. Laozi isn't playing with you!"

The half-elf's face had already become somewhat vacant.

The stitched opening on his abdomen looked like a huge mouth; the human body shoved inside just now had not been fully consumed, with two legs hanging from his belly, a sight so disgusting even devils felt nauseated.

"You... you... want to quit?"

"Yes, friend... but don't misunderstand. Laozi is just not doing this one deal; the population of Axe Beach still needs to be harvested."

As he was speaking.

Borden suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He looked down: a massive bone spike, as thick as a bowl, had grown from Virgil's knee and pierced precisely through the position of his heart.

"You!"

"I... I... have already gained realization; I will use you to advance further."

(End of this chapter)