Chapter 454: Charging and Transformation

The Dragon-Slaying Sword transmitted a faint vibration.

From weak tremors to strong ones, then to alternating bursts of intensity.

Luo De's expression turned strange; he felt this vibration pattern was oddly familiar.

Before he could investigate further, Virgil dragged his obese, distorted body right up to him.

"Die!!!"

A punch swung in, laden with sickly blood and pus, its power increased by more than a notch.

Unable to fight effectively midair, Luo De suppressed his instinct to 【Reflective Dodge】, instead swung the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword horizontally to block—then used the momentum to surge toward the ground.

Boom.

Luo De landed violently, crushing a small hill beneath him.

"Whoa."

The obese version of Virgil had broken through to Mid-Stage Eighth Rank; according to the brass Spirit-Testing Ball, his value hovered around 410.

But it seemed all his strength had increased—his speed had actually slowed further.

Luo De, who had previously surpassed him after 【Dragon Power Technique +3】 and his own ascension, was now overtaken again. It made him nauseous.

Luo De disdainfully wiped the sickly blood off the greatsword, sensing the spiritual-energy variant of plague within.

He couldn't help but be startled.

This should have been his own leftover plague domain—but now it had changed slightly. His portion had been purged, transformed into something else.

What the hell had this half-elf eaten?

He unleashed 【Hunger for Prey】, instantly boosting his agility by 25%.

Facing Virgil's renewed charge, Luo De barely managed to outpace him using 【Reflective Dodge】 as his instinct.

Mainly because Virgil's moves were clumsy—obvious wind-up, long recovery.

This guy wasn't bright.

Amid the rapid exchange of strikes and dodges, the Dragon-Slaying Sword vibrated again.

This time, it was a wave-like alternation of intensity, spreading back and forth across Luo De's palm—now it was downright nauseating.

Luo De knew the sword's spirit was probably behind it.

He didn't indulge it—he punched the hilt.

【Uuu~】

A wail immediately echoed inside his skull.

Luo De raised an eyebrow, recognizing the sword's spirit: "Speak up. Why shake me?"

【Still need that.】

The voice came again.

A girl's voice—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, slightly shrill.

"Spirit essence?"

【Yes. More. Thicker.】

"Heh. First tell me how to trigger the Dragon-Slaying Sword's true ability."

A pause.

The sword spirit spoke again.

【Charging. Use that charging.】

Luo De couldn't help but feel speechless.

You're not a succubus. Why charge with that?

【I don't know why, but that has the energy the Dragon-Slaying needs. The enemy before us also has similar energy.】

"?"

"Die!!!"

Virgil charged again with a furious roar, like a gorilla in heat fighting for mating rights.

Does this thing have energy similar to my spirit essence?

Is it insulting me?

Luo De switched from one hand to two, sidestepped the blow, then spun and slashed sideways, sweeping him flying.

Like a stone skipping on water, he bounced across the surface tension, then plunged into the Deringbil River.

"Tally, your backup snack—give me a tube."

A shadow shifted beside him; Tally's small head peeked out, looking unimpressed.

"Tally doesn't know what Master means. It's all used up."

"Don't lie—I saw you take some off Lilian last night. Quick."

". h."

Tally reluctantly pulled a spirit essence tube from between her breasts and handed it over.

He was about to say he'd replenish it later when a distant boom erupted—he immediately retreated into the shadow.

The moment Luo De took the tube, he grunted—his chest was struck midair by a punch's force.

He was flung backward, crashing through countless trees, smashing clean through the Axe Beach city wall, dragging dirt and bricks behind him, leaving a long, churning furrow.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself at the outskirts of the Earl's Ancient Castle estate.

He stood up, patting dust off his chest with relief.

That punch was powerful—thankfully, 【Dragon Scale Technique】 had reached +4, or he'd have been seriously injured.

So it seems, before further refinement, 【Dragon Scale Technique】's defensive limit is around Mid-Stage Eighth Rank. No wonder he'd been able to play around with it so freely before.

Virgil leapt out of the river, his aura stronger than ever—Luo De's previous strike had left him unharmed.

His face twisted in monstrous rage: "Why! Why! Why won't you die!!!"

"Could it be because you're weak?"

Luo De spun and slashed, cleaving a Sandalin infiltrator attempting to ambush him into two halves.

He tossed the spirit essence tube upward, caught it, then slammed it against the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword's blade.

Crack—

As the tube burst, its liquid splattered everywhere.

Rip—beneath the brown leather cord on the sword's spine, a gaping mouth suddenly split open, its pink tongue greedily lapping up every drop on the blade.

Then came a heavy, dominant roar.

The greatsword vibrated violently.

Along the flat edge, brutal canine teeth sprouted—thick, veined, and densely packed, covering the entire blade.

Combined with the gaping tongue along the spine, it had the feel of a living organism fused with metal.

Luo De fell silent.

Hmm.

It's kind of ugly.

【Pull me.】

The brown leather cord twitched, like a limp pole.

"Oh."

Luo De reluctantly tugged the brown leather cord, then yanked hard outward.

Boom!!!

Instantly—

Like a awakened engine-beast, rough and powerful, trembling the air with a deep, chest-throbbing roar.

Vvvvvv!!!

A low, continuous hum.

The savage canine teeth sprouting along the flat edge began rotating counterclockwise, like a giant chainsaw, emitting crunching sounds of metal grinding against bone.

Sparks flew!

"?"

Luo De stared at the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword roaring in his hands, stunned.

A chainsaw?!

No wonder there was that weird pull-cord, no wonder the blade had no edge, no wonder the White Dragon horn's cut was uneven!

This is the Dragon-Slaying Sword??

Ugly, sure—but still a treasure-grade weapon.

Luo De turned to Virgil, who charged again with another punch.

This time, he didn't dodge—he closed in, gripped the roaring greatsword with one hand, and swung it hard.

The half-mad Virgil didn't care about the sword's transformation—he crashed into it head-on.

Sssssssssssssssssss—

Blood mist, shredded flesh, pus, severed fingers.

Nothing held for a moment under the spinning fangs—spurting out like a geyser.

"Aaaahhhhh—"

Virgil screamed in agony and recoiled, spraying sickly blood—his right hand had been torn apart in the brief clash.

Luo De pulled with his left hand, firing another 【Gravitational Wave】 to forcibly halt his momentum.

The roaring great sword swung violently, smashing into his shoulder.

Sizzle-zzzt-sizzle-zzzt-sizzle-zzzt—

Flesh and blood sprayed.

(End of Chapter)