Chapter 308: Ex

Her hand gripping the sword froze midair, and the Wind King Barrier almost failed to hold.

Her emerald eyes widened into round balls, her small mouth slightly ajar, her face showing a wounded worldview and a hint of bewilderment.

In this moment, she could not describe it in words.

Stench?

No, it had already surpassed the realm of "smell"; it was a multilayered pollution.

Power? It was bizarre enough to make one's hair stand on end, yet its effect was immediate.

(What… what on earth is this?!)

(Caster's Master… does he normally fight with this?!)

(In my knightly career… I have never seen… nor ever wish to see such a scene again!)

She suddenly understood why, along the way in, those corners and walls were littered with so many oddly shaped insect corpses…

It turned out they weren't cut down, but… died of stench?!

At that moment, from a smaller side passage nearby came heavy footsteps and a hearty voice: "Hahaha! Looks like The King is the first to find—uh?! *pfft*—!!!"

Conqueror Iskandar, bearing his short sword and a bold grin, strode out of the side passage; before he could finish speaking, a "death aura" ten‑hundred times more terrifying than the original smell of the underground insect nest, mixed with the nest's own foul odor, slammed into his nostrils like a battering ram!

"Ugh—!!!"

Even the Conqueror King was blinded by the sudden, brain‑piercing, horrific blend of stench, his stomach churning wildly!

He stepped back two paces, covering his mouth and nose, his face turning blue; the breath he had just inhaled almost made him vomit on the spot!

"What the hell! What is that?!"

Rider's voice changed pitch; he stared uncertainly at A Xing and Saber standing with his back turned, at the Insect Swarm being cleared by the gray‑green "stench", and at the bizarre Salted Fish in A Xing's hand exhaling death aura.

The exit of his passage aligned with the edge of the platform where A Xing and the others stood, only at a slightly higher angle.

Clearly, both passages ultimately led to this Mother Insect's nest.

A Xing glanced back at Rider, nodded as a greeting, then continued to focus on "activating" the Immortal Salted Fish's stench, clearing the remaining stray insects.

Saber cast a nearly sympathetic glance at Rider, as if saying, "Welcome to hell… the hell of scent."

Soon the path from the platform's edge to the Mother Insect was cleared, the ground covered with countless dead insects.

The Immortal Salted Fish seemed to have "exhausted" its spray; the terrifying stench subsided considerably, yet the Remaining Might lingered, forming an invisible "restricted zone".

The three reunited.

Rider, still shaken, kept his distance, pointing at the Salted Fish in A Xing's hand, his tone on the brink of collapse: "What… what exactly is that thing?!"

A Xing looked at the Salted Fish and calmly replied, "A strange object. Immortal Salted Fish."

As naturally as introducing "this is a sword".

Rider: "…"(Strange object? What is it?!)

Saber took a deep breath, forcing herself to refocus on the matter at hand.

She turned to the massive Mother Insect still half‑dormant at the nest's center, and to the new batch of small insects beginning to stir and hatch from the Insect Carpet; her emerald eyes sharpened.

"We must strike the core in one blow, or it will keep hatching," Saber said gravely, raising her sword again. "I will use Noble Phantasm."

Ailisi Feier's voice faintly came through the Familiar, bearing concern and resolve: "Saber, I grant you permission to use Noble Phantasm. In the name of the Command Spell, amplify this strike's power!"

A warm sensation rose on the back of her hand, a faintly glowing trace of the Command Spell flickered then dimmed.

A surge of magical power flooded her body.

A Xing nodded, gestured to Rider, and the two retreated toward the safer rear of the platform edge, giving Saber room to act.

As Rider withdrew, he couldn't help glancing again at the Salted Fish now back in A Xing's grasp, his mouth twitching.

(This thing… is scarier than The King's army…)

Saber stood alone at the front of the platform, raising the invisible sword high above her head with both hands.

The wind coiling around the blade whirled violently, revealing the golden, radiant true form of the holy sword!

Blazing light burst from the blade, dispelling the cavern's dim green gloom; sacred, overwhelming magical energy gathered like a storm!

"Ex——"

The holy radiance illuminated her resolute face.

"——calibur!!!"

A dazzling golden torrent, like dawn's light tearing through darkness, erupted from the tip of the Sword of Covenant Victory!

It formed an immensely thick stream of light that slammed into the massive Mother Insect at the nest's core, cleaving it with a thunderous strike!

The light devoured every small insect on the path, smashing into the giant insect's heavy carapace!

Boom—!!!

The deafening roar was accompanied by the sound of carapace shattering and flesh vaporizing!

The entire Underground Space shook violently, debris raining down!

The glaring light forced A Xing and Rider to squint.

The light gradually faded.

Where the Mother Insect had been, a charred deep pit appeared.

On its massive body, a terrifying sword scar, nearly cutting through it and with edges seared and melted, ran across; dark‑green viscous blood streamed out like a creek.

Most of the surrounding small insects were dead or wounded, and a large section of the Insect Carpet was torn away.

However…

The giant insect was not completely destroyed!

"Roar—!!!"

A piercing, pain‑filled screech, like countless glasses grinding, erupted from the Mother Insect's snarling maw!

Its massive body began to convulse violently, its compound eyes flashing a ferocious crimson light!

At the wounds on its body, flesh and blood writhed wildly, as if trying to regenerate, and even more ferocious small insects surged madly from the Insect Carpet beneath it and the surrounding cracks!

It was utterly enraged!

It awakened from semi‑hibernation and entered a berserk combat state!

Saber breathed lightly, watching the Mother Insect that had not been killed in a single strike, eyebrows tightly furrowed.

(The hardness and vitality of the shell far exceed expectations…)

Rider spat, gripping the short sword: "Looks like it's not that simple! Kid, get ready!"

Perspective shift.

Yuanban Shichen felt as if he had been drifting in a cold darkness for a long time, then was abruptly pulled back to reality.

The moment his consciousness returned, he was first seized by dull throbs from an unspeakable part of his body, followed by whole‑body weakness and a lingering tightness in his chest.

(Am I… still alive?)

He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, and in his blurred sight were his daughters' anxious little faces—Lin in front, Ying behind, the two jointly hauling him, trudging laboriously through a dim, secluded street‑corner alley.

"Father, Lord Father! You're awake!"

Lin was the first to notice, his sapphire‑like eyes flashing instantly, a mix of surprise and dread.

"Lord Father…" Ying whispered as well, tears still wet in her violet‑dark eyes.

Shi Chen opened his mouth, his throat so dry it could not produce a full sound.

He looked around; it was not the familiar surroundings of the Yuanban Residence, but a narrow lane piled with a few bits of junk, looking long unattended.

"We… escaped?"

His voice hoarse, he asked, his last memory lingering in the side corridor: Yan Feng Qili's cold stare, the Assassin's silent encirclement, and the terrifying throb inside him that seemed ready to burst through his chest.

Lin and Ying exchanged a glance, a barely perceptible awkwardness flashing across their little faces.

What just happened… is truly hard to speak of.

"Hmm… we escaped."

Lin nodded vigorously, skirting the details, "Over there… it seems there was an internal conflict! The Assassin didn't know why they suddenly went mad and attacked their own, so we seized the chaos to run out!" She spoke quickly, trying to make the explanation sound reasonable.