Chapter 47: Desperate Heroine (Second Update, 7000 Words)

The holy swords wielded with all their might by the knights erupted with blinding silver light.

This opponent was, without a doubt, true evil.

Beasts themselves are hard to judge as good or evil by the standard of evil, but humans tainted by "beastliness" have basically all fallen.

"Break Evil." It was still the familiar sword technique; a Tier One divine art sword skill drew forth a silver arc of light.

Li En himself hadn't expected his silver sword to erupt with such brilliant radiance.

Before the sword even touched the monster, the entire cavern was completely illuminated.

"Oh, holy light, this enemy is worth a fight."

The deeper the darkness, the brighter the light shines.

To make a Paladin's Break Evil slash sharpen to this degree, erupting with maximum-level radiance, just how evil is this creature?

The blades of the other Paladins were the same; the holy power on their sword edges was so strong they could barely control it themselves.

This wasn't necessarily a good thing; if it could be resolved quickly, it would certainly be beneficial, but dragging it out, the knights had their limits, whether physical or in holy power.

Yet Li En was somewhat special.

"So satisfying."

He struck faster with every swing, and harder with every strike.

At this moment, let alone the unholy radiance on Li En's sword, it was as if he were wielding a lightsaber.

The overflowing holy power even pierced through his body, directly scorching opponents who got too close.

A Classical Oath Paladin nearing the end of his days simply had no need to consider what came next.

"Break Evil." The Ogre Demon before him seemed to have thoroughly enraged the Heroic Soul; every slash Li En made was perfect as if aided by the gods.

Facing this ultimate evil, the Heroic Soul seemed to hold his arms, guiding him to unleash strike after strike of extremely exquisite cuts.

As for strength? Every slash he unleashed carried a flame that drew a suffocating arc of light through the air!

"Is this... Senior Li En at full power?"

Larry, who participated in the siege, never imagined he would one day be forced back by the heat and light added to the holy sword swung by a fellow Paladin.

Under the swing of that lightsaber, it was no longer a simple Break Evil attack; the high heat in the physical sense distorted the air and suffocated those who approached.

"Aaaaaah!"

The demon disguised as a human continued to scream endlessly; it simply could not withstand this overly brutal lightsaber, cut down into continuous wails and agonized cries.

Its formidable regeneration ability only became the source allowing it to endure longer and suffer longer.

The towering demon tried to resist, tried to block with its twin claws, but it simply could not stop that exquisite, fast holy sword.

The Break Evil slash, for evil-doers, was as scorching as the sun; the wounds brought burns so painful they numbed the senses.

And the "Condemnation Strike" that joined in from time to time brought even more enduring pain.

"The crime cannot be forgotten; it will cling to you forever."

The effect of the Sin-Cutting Blade's strike rejected any form of healing, just as a criminal cannot deny or forget their own past sins.

Soon, that evil beast had been cut into a bloodied figure, with the faint smell of cooked meat wafting out.

"Why does it still not die?" Under normal circumstances, wounds of this level, even for a Troll famous for its regeneration, should have killed it many times over.

But this monster still held on.

It could still scream endlessly, seemingly able to endure for a long time yet.

Li En's sword did not stop; he knew the reason: in the end, he was currently only a temporary Tier Two Paladin, and the Break Evil slash he used was still Tier One.

"The quantity is sufficient, even overflowing, but the quality..."

The unknown evil before him was blinded by the light, unable to open its eyes.

The armor-piercing effect added by the Soul Ability had been achieved; the opponent's skin, hard as iron, was fragile as paper before the blade's edge.

It was covered in wounds, burning on one side while blood flowed like a pillar on the other; his attacks had always been effective, yet this monster still would not die.

That overwhelmingly powerful regeneration trait, even constantly spawning new organs to compensate for the required strange characteristics, made Li En realize his current output was still insufficient.

"Is it a class level problem?"

A quantitative change might lead to a qualitative change, but if the opponent's quality is several tiers higher than yours, no amount of quantity becomes lethal.

This is like a paper car hardly killing anyone, or cotton unable to smash a stone.

Continuing to consume energy like this was meaningless; Li En's time was precious.

"Heal Minor Wounds."

Larry's healing spell landed on Li En again; he felt much lighter all over, the effect clearly far better than Dimon's.

Li En turned back and also confirmed he could not expect too much from them.

For a monster relying on vitality to stubbornly hold on, Larry's magic sword's effect was not very good either, and Dimon's class ability still needed cultivation.

"Awooo!!"

The one to change tactics first was Hake, who had been dazed and taking beatings.

"Bang!"

With its single eye already blinded by the glare, it stomped its long legs fiercely, stirring up a gust of wind.

That terrifying brute force made the cavern's rocks tremble.

Those reverse-jointed long legs, due to the excessive force, even showed massive cracks.

To avoid it, Li En and the others were inevitably forced back.

"Awooooo!"

At this moment, the roaring monster emitted purely meaningless beastly howls.

It seemed that the constantly regenerating one had gradually lost its last shred of reason.

It wildly swung its twin claws; one strike collided with the wall, and the surrounding hard rock walls were easily gouged out in a large chunk as if they were tofu.

Facing such reckless assault, even Li En could only retreat to create distance.

He held his sword to evade, not believing the opponent could sustain this.

"Li En!!"

At that moment, a startled cry from behind made him whip his head around.

With just one glance, his scalp went numb; the two small beasts had silently reached his back!

"Damn, did it call them over?! Was that roar actually a call for help?!"

Li En hurriedly swung his sword, trying to block the two small beasts, but they simply ignored him.

They charged straight at Hake.

"Crunch!" The Horned Disciple Hake opened his blood-filled maw and bit down hard on one of the small beasts.

Crunch, crunch; in mere seconds, it was torn apart by several bites and swallowed whole.

All that remained on the ground was a pool of blood and shredded meat.

What made the witnesses shudder with cold dread was that, even while being gnawed into bloody pulp, even while being torn apart bite by bite and swallowed.

That small beast remained completely motionless, only its beautiful, pure eyes silently staring at you.

"... What the hell is this thing?"

As it consumed to replenish nutrients, two more heads appeared on the Horned Disciple Hake's shoulders.

Resembling the small beast's canine-shaped heads, they possessed no other facial features, only a single eye each, looking grotesquely twisted.

"Crunch!" Hake, still unsatisfied, opened his blood-filled maw and tore at himself!

In an instant, Hake devoured those two newly grown heads.

Then, two eyeballs grew out from his shoulders, silently staring at Li En.

It was about to regain its sight.

"O Holy Sword!"

Watching the increasingly bizarre monster, Li En knew he could not wait; he had to take a risk.

Li En chanted the name of the Holy Sword aloud, and its radiance blazed forth.

Hake instinctively shifted the newly grown eyeballs away to avoid being blinded again.

This gave Li En the chance to close in on it.

"Long Zhao."

His right hand, holding the sword, lit up the cavern, while his left hand, transformed into a dragon claw, had quietly reached Hake's chest.

"It worked!!"

Where Li En's hand touched, the sensation was as soft as tofu.

The steel-hard muscles that had been unbreakable just moments ago were pierced so easily by the man's left hand.

The flesh and blood where his fingers touched rapidly turned black, withered, and crumbled to ash.

This sight made Li En sigh in relief; the dragon attribute suppression not only still existed but seemed even more effective!

But this moment of relaxation gave him a lesson he would never forget.

"Li En Sudar!"

A sudden roar declared Hake's return to sanity.

While Li En was killing the beast within, Hake's nearly shattered humanity seized this moment to return!

"Damn paladin! Die!"

He suddenly reached out to grab; with an arm span of at least three meters, the embrace made it impossible for Li En, who had a hand piercing the opponent, to evade.

The next moment, brute force transmitted from his spine through the armor.

The expensive full-metal armor trembled under the terrifying power, even cracking directly.

Li En let out a pained groan, trying to break free, but he could not pull away at all.

At this moment, the sturdy armor had instead become a cage imprisoning him.

"Aaaaaah!" Pain accompanied the wails.

While Li En struggled with all his might, the blood-filled maw bit down!

At this moment, the wound on his shoulder was agonizingly sharp.

The steel teeth of that blood-filled maw actually bit straight through the protection of the steel plate armor, shattering both flesh and steel together.

Even so, Li En did not give up.

He could feel his left-hand dragon claw still exerting force, killing the "beast" before him.

His left hand tried to thrash inside the monster's body, attempting to destroy more of the opponent's organs; it was nothing but a desperate struggle, seeing who would die first!!

Li En gritted his teeth and dug wildly with his claw, exerting even more effort.

"Dragon!! Dragon!!"

But at this moment, an entirely unexpected turn of events occurred.

Hake's roar carried a note of delight.

And that withered, dead flesh, after tasting the sweetness of dragon-blooded flesh, actually began to regenerate at high speed!

"The antidote to the dragon poison that kills the beast is actually dragon blood; what an ironic reality." In an instant, Li En understood the situation.

One side could recover while the other could only endure; if this dragged on, he would definitely be the first to die.

There was no need to pursue the reason now; the focus was on how to respond.

He tried to struggle, his eyes shifting to look at his companion, attempting to call for help.

But the scene that met his gaze was even more despairing: the beast pack, summoned by the cries to support, had already surrounded Dimon and Larry; they too were struggling desperately!

"Is this the end..."

At this moment, gazing at the blood-filled maw descending once more from above, Li En felt the premonition of death.

Perhaps this would be his final moment.

Was he to die again? Did reincarnation truly exist? Was there another Li Ensu?

"No, absolutely not!"

The youth gritted his teeth and roared, mustering all his strength to twist his body and desperately struggle to avoid the bite.

"Crack!"

The fatal strike meant to swallow a human head turned into a bite on the other shoulder.

Despairing pain surged from his left shoulder, and Li En let out a pained wail.

The massive loss of flesh and blood had already begun to cloud his consciousness.

Was there still a way to break through? Did he still have any trump cards in hand?

Li En tried to reach for his Grimoire, but in this posture, he could no longer move.

Misfortune often struck at the very last moment; within his despairing gaze, the book simply fell to the ground.

The power binding him grew stronger; Heik, having swallowed dragon blood, had clearly become far more powerful, and his branch-like horns even began to gleam.

This crushing, overwhelming predicament gave him resolve.

"Am I... am I going to die?"

His left shoulder lost sensation, and his left claw, used as a weapon, lost control; in Li En's gradually numb gaze, it reformed into a hand of flesh and blood.

The malicious, ferocious beast opened its blood-filled maw once more, and foul drool dripped directly onto the youth's face.

In that second, Li En knew his Death phase might be right before his eyes.

There were no cards left; there was nothing left to save him.

Could my adventure, my legend, end right at this moment?

Li En Sudar, about to die in this unknown cave, his new life ended by a beast he had never even heard of?

I... I cannot accept this.

But as the blood-filled maw closed, Death itself smiled upon the immobilized Li En.

He no longer had the strength even to struggle.

"No, absolutely not!"

"I absolutely cannot fall here."

The chaos in the Dock District flashed through Li En's mind; if he died, the changes about to begin would halt in shock, and everything would return to the old cycle.

Then, even more distracting thoughts arose.

"I still have so many things I want to do."

Having rarely traveled to another world, it seemed he had only suffered hardships.

He had not yet experienced the customs of this foreign land, had not learned strange magic, nor enjoyed even a moment of comfortable daily life.

At this moment, Li En confirmed he was merely a vulgar person; truly facing death, he thought only of his own vulgar matters.

"If I die now, no one will grieve for me." He felt even more unwillingness and dissatisfaction.

"Senior Brother Li En!"

"Senior!"

And the urgent cries of his companions still echoed in his ears.

Li En suddenly turned his head and saw that they were actually forcing their way through the beast horde's attacks to come save him.

It seemed this new, brief segment of his life was not entirely a failure.

But do not come; you still have hope, you must leave quickly.

Just as he tried to shout it out, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and his vision began to darken.

Facing death, numerous distracting thoughts flooded his mind.

Memories of the past suddenly made Li En see a life review in an instant; he was kissed lightly by Death once more.

"I... I cannot die, absolutely not."

Willpower flared in his eyes again; even if he must die, then let him fall in the midst of the charge!

He suddenly raised his head, first biting into the monster's body and tearing off a piece of flesh and blood!

"Tsk, tastes terrible..." It seemed he could not absorb it.

The youth showed a bitter smile; it seemed there was no miracle.

I... am going to die.

When he had already accepted his Death phase, when he refused to accept his Death phase, when he was willing to fight for himself, for others, for the world... a certain object was activated.

"Clang."

The Hero's Sword, which had always been "a good sword" held in his right hand, suddenly radiated a faint light once more.

Unlike the holy silver light and the crimson of judgment, this time the blade was an orange-red warm color, like sunlight.

【Solheil: Sword of Courage for the Watcher of Despair (Unknown Rank)】

It granted the "Hero" in despair a little warmth, a little strength, a little guidance.

This gift was weak, scant, yet it gave Li En the possibility of resistance once more.

It made Li En calmer, stirred all his spirit and strength, and allowed him to struggle in this predicament until the very last moment.

"What... what else do I have?"

"What else can I give?"

"To live, I am willing to give everything."

At this moment, the transmigrator Li Ensu and the warrior Li En finally completely overlapped; he had completely merged with this world.

He tried to twist the sword in his right hand with his wrist, the only part of his body he could move.

But in this posture, any resistance was meaningless.

"No, there is a sword technique that requires little coordination from the body."

The maw of despair tore down again; even with only a one-in-a-thousand chance, Li En attempted to activate the ultimate art that had never succeeded before.

In this desperate situation, he gambled!

"Sword Collapse: Realm Breaker!"

Light illuminated the entire cave.

(End of this chapter)