Chapter 535: Pollution

A sulfurous stench permeated the air.

Inside the domed space of the Blood Birth Pool.

Twelve black-gold sword lights completed their slashes in a single instant.

Even the air currents escaping from the sword tips had transformed into sharp qi blades.

On the grotesque black rock walls, on the ground covered in red liquid footprints, on the dome directly overhead—none was left without terrifying sword scars.

Aurelio used 【Flash】 and a shield spell he had never employed before to evade or block part of the damage.

Among them, several strikes were caught by his 【Demon-Slayer】 rapier.

Counting it up, only one or two strikes had actually landed on his body.

The dark elf let out a muffled grunt as two deep, bone-exposing cross-shaped sword wounds exploded across his chest!

Fresh blood sprayed through the air.

"Oh?"

Rod was mildly surprised.

The feel had changed.

It wasn't so much that his muscle strength had increased—it was that a change had occurred.

Cutting into flesh and blood actually carried a steel-like resistance.

Based on the reports Tally had brought from her tracking, he naturally knew this dark elf general had used a special secret art combined with the 【Demon-Slayer Rapier】 to break free of the Grand Duke's soul control.

This secret art of his even sounded, on first hearing, like the "Soldier's Dissolution" Rod had heard about in his previous life.

Hearing it so casually still sounded rather unreliable.

Who would have thought a thirty-percent chance actually succeeded.

A Hero Candidate still has something to them—they've picked up a bit of the world's fortune upon themselves.

"It's you??!!"

Aurelio's face showed shock, staring at this man who should have been trapped inside the black orb ritual as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Why... that ritual showed no sign of change from start to finish."

Rod sneered coldly, ignoring him.

He glanced back at the dark elf woman who was no longer recognizable as human: "Pamela, get into the Blood Birth Pool."

The dragging team composed of stomach and lungs nodded its 'head,' slowly crawling toward the inside of the Blood Birth Pool.

"Pamela?"

And when Aurelio got a clear look at the miserable state of this former lover before him, his face instantly turned ashen, his fists clenched tight, and his eyes seemed about to spit fire.

The silver light on the Demon-Slayer Rapier in his hand blazed brightly.

In an instant, he transformed into a blur and vanished on the spot.

"What did you do to her?!"

"What did I do? Because I myself repay every grievance, what you've done to my people will naturally be returned twofold."

The black-gold longsword in Rod's hand swept out one-handed, colliding with the rapier.

Clang—

The sound of the clash reverberated violently within this enclosed space, deafening.

Sparks flew!

【Sharpness Check Triggered】!

【Sharpness of 'Dedication Body Sword (Black-Gold Coating)': 84】

【Sharpness of 'Demon-Slayer': 92】

【Result: Failure!】

Heavy qi blades escaped outward, carving mark after mark into the walls.

The half-goat Miss Miss Ainala standing at the edge had no choice but to activate a spell shield, her face showing shock.

"How can a petty thief... fight Aurelio to a standstill?"

Sword light flickered.

The two clashed like gale-force winds, the crisp ring of blade against blade never ceasing.

Both moved with swift, precise strikes, like sudden flashes of lightning, every sword swing carrying fierce, heavy force.

Crack—

A fracture appeared on the black-gold longsword.

After 【Black-Gold Coating】, the Dedication Body Sword's sharpness reached as high as 84, a gap of less than 10 points from the Demon-Slayer Rapier's 92.

After a brief exchange of swordplay, an obvious break finally appeared.

"Having lost the advantage of your weapon, what do you have left?! Rod!"

Aurelio roared.

Rod sharply tilted his head to dodge a thrust aimed at his face, then twisted his waist and threw a hook that smashed into Aurelio's face.

Even without 【Power Release】.

But he had advanced to the upper tier of seventh rank, his strength bolstered by 【Dragon Strength +2】—it could not be called anything but heavy.

Yet Aurelio seemed to willingly take this punch.

He was only seen letting out a pained grunt.

He actually went with the force of the punch and flew backward, heading toward Pamela, who had already reached the edge of the pool.

"Heh heh."

How could Rod let him have his way.

He raised his hand, and his palm split open like a zipper, revealing a round, rolling eyeball.

【Panoramic Vision +1: The Hundred-Eyed Demon possesses a no-blind-spot panoramic view in combat, gaining the additional skill 'Eyeball Growth'—each additional eye increases perception by 1.1%.】

The eyeball instantly turned crimson.

Immediately, a wrist-thick 【Flame Ray】 blasted out, the tremendous recoil slamming the lunging Aurelio straight into the wall.

And the organs that had grown arthropod limbs successfully dragged Pamela into the Blood Birth Pool.

Right away.

The Blood Birth Pool boiled violently!

The blood-red pool water began to shift, black and green surging up in succession.

"Pamela!!!" Aurelio screamed.

The satyr Miss Miss Ainala frowned and said: "What are you doing, Aurelio? She's a sorceress who can be revived—quick, cripple this man!"

"No! Miss Miss Ainala! This man's spell is flawed! It will consume all of Pamela's soul power in one go!"

". Just who is this guy? How does he have such power?"

Aurelio gritted his teeth: "The Forester Rod! The greatest threat in Shi Ying Town!!!"

"What?!"

Miss Miss Ainala stared at Rod in shock.

Right—her friend, the half-werewolf druid Olga, lived in Windwall Forest, and that prominent leader of Shi Ying Town, Rod, was precisely the Forester of Windwall Forest.

The people Olga could entrust this to, who also happened to be named Rod—how many candidates could there possibly be??

At this moment.

Someone happened to be reborn from the Blood Birth Pool.

They burst up from the pool water with a splash, looked around in a daze, then quickly became desperate, frantically clawing at their own throats.

They tore their skin to shreds, exposing masses of flesh and blood vessels, and ended their own lives in an instant.

Aurelio's face changed drastically.

Whatever Rod had done, it meant the Blood Birth Pool's power would be consumed faster!

Miss Miss Ainala reacted even faster.

She swiftly stirred the spiritual energy within her body, gathered it on the sulfurous ground of Purgatory, and quickly summoned two rock beasts.

She said urgently: "Quick! If we join forces to kill this man, this war can end immediately!"

"Heh heh heh heh heh—"

Before Aurelio could respond.

Rod, who had been standing calmly in the distance, had already begun to laugh.

First a low, mocking chuckle, tinged with a hint of exhilaration and ease.

Then the laughter slowly grew wild and unrestrained.

Finally, it became utterly arrogant, a full-throated burst of laughter and derision.

"Kill me? Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!"

The Despair Domain was in place; all worries behind him were gone.

The dark elves were bound to lose!

On top of having just broken through to the upper stage of Seventh Order.

How could I not be arrogant?

Rod unhurriedly stepped forward.

He raised his left hand and squeezed out the one-time sacrificial eyeball from his palm; the moment it hit the ground, it melted into a puddle of orange-red lava.

Dense spiritual energy rapidly and thickly clung to the blade of the Offering Body Sword.

Then next, only one thing needed to be done.

Kill.

Rod's eyes locked onto Aurelio.

Soul scabbage, huh

I have one move in my Gorgon Battle Soul I haven't used yet—perfect chance to try it on you

(End of this chapter)