Chapter 47: The Hero in Desperation (Second Update, 7000 Words)

The knights swung their holy swords with all their strength, unleashing brilliant silver light.

This opponent was unquestionably true evil.

Beasts themselves are hard to judge as good or evil, but humans tainted by “bestiality” have almost all fallen.

“Exorcise.” The familiar sword technique, a first-rank divine spell, sent a silver arc of light slicing through the air.

Li En himself hadn’t expected his silver sword to radiate such dazzling brilliance.

Before the blade even touched the monster, the entire cave was utterly illuminated.

“Holy light—this enemy is worth fighting.”

The deeper the darkness, the brighter the light.

What kind of evil must this creature be, to make a knight’s Exorcise Zhan reach such heights, radiating light at its absolute upper limit?

The blades of the other knights shone the same way—their holy power had grown so strong they could barely control it.

This wasn’t necessarily good; if the battle ended quickly, it was beneficial, but knights had limits—both physical and in holy power.

Yet Li En was somewhat special.

“So satisfying.”

He struck faster with each swing, fiercer with each blow.

At this point, not only was the holy power on Li En’s blade absurdly bright, as if he wielded a blade of pure light.

Overflowing holy energy even pierced through his body, directly scorching any opponent who came too close.

The classical Oathbound Knight, nearing his end, had no need to consider what came after.

“Exorcise.” The man-eating demon before him had clearly enraged the ancestral spirit—each of Li En’s strikes felt divinely perfect.

Faced with this ultimate evil, the ancestral spirit seemed to guide his arms, driving him to deliver exquisitely precise slashes.

As for power? Each slash sent forth flames that carved suffocating arcs of light through the air!

“Is this… the full power of Senior Li En?”

Larry, who joined the assault, had never imagined he’d be driven back by the radiant heat radiating from a fellow knight’s holy sword.

Beneath the swinging blade, this was no longer mere Exorcise—it was physical heat so intense it warped the air and choked those nearby.

“Aaaaaaah!”

The human-shaped demon continued screaming—it could not block this brutal light-blade, and was slashed into constant wails of agony.

Its formidable regenerative ability only prolonged its suffering.

The towering demon tried to resist, tried to block with its claws—but could not stop the precise, rapid holy sword.

The Exorcise slash burned like the sun to evildoers; the wounds brought a numb, searing pain.

And the occasional “Judgment Strike” added even more enduring torment.

“Your sins will never be forgotten—they will cling to you forever.”

The effect of the Sin-Cutting blade refused all forms of healing, just as a criminal cannot deny or forget his own past crimes.

Soon, the monstrous beast was reduced to a bloody mess, with the faint scent of roasted meat lingering.

“Why won’t it die?” Under normal circumstances, wounds of this severity—even for a troll famed for regeneration—should have killed it multiple times over.

Yet this monster still held on.

It could still scream, as if it could endure much longer.

Li En’s sword did not pause—he knew the reason: he was merely a temporary second-rank Holy Knight, using only a first-rank Exorcise.

“The quantity is sufficient—even overflowing—but the quality…”

The unknown evil before him was so blinded by light it might as well have been blind.

The penetration effect from his soul ability had already taken hold—the monster’s iron-hard skin was as fragile as paper before his blade.

It was covered in wounds, burning and bleeding profusely—his attacks were always effective, yet this monster refused to die.

Its incredibly potent regenerative trait continuously spawned new organs to compensate, a bizarre ability that made Li En realize his current output was still insufficient.

“A class-level issue?”

Quantity might transform into quality, but when the opponent’s quality is several tiers higher, no amount of quantity becomes lethal.

It’s like a paper cart can’t kill a person, or cotton can’t crush a stone.

Continuing to drain energy was pointless—Li En’s time was precious.

“Heal Minor Wounds.”

Larry’s healing spell landed on Li En again—he felt much lighter, the effect far superior to Dimon’s.

Li En turned back, realizing he couldn’t rely too much on them.

For a monster sustained purely by vitality, Larry’s magic blade was ineffective, and Dimon’s class ability still needed cultivation.

“Aooooo!”

The first to change tactics was Heik, who had been stunned and taking hits.

“Boom!”

Its single eye, already blinded by light, slammed its long leg down, sending out a shockwave.

That terrifying brute strength made the cave’s rocks tremble.

Its backward-jointed legs, strained beyond limit, cracked extensively.

To avoid it, Li En’s group was forced to retreat.

“Aoooooo!”

At this moment, the monster’s roars were no longer meaningful—they were pure bestial howls.

It seemed that, through constant regeneration, it had gradually lost its last shred of reason.

It wildly swung its claws; one blow struck the wall, and the solid rock beside it crumbled away like tofu.

Faced with this chaotic assault, even Li En had to retreat and create distance.

He dodged with his sword, certain the monster couldn’t sustain this.

“Li En!!”

At that moment, a cry from behind made him whirl around.

One glance sent chills down his scalp—two small beasts had silently appeared behind him!

“Damn—it called them over?! That roar was a distress signal?!”

Li En swung his sword instantly to intercept—but the two small beasts ignored him completely.

They charged straight for Heik.

“Crunch!” The horned beast Heik opened its massive maw and bit down hard on one of the small beasts.

Crunch, crunch—in mere seconds, it tore and swallowed the creature whole.

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

What chilled the witnesses was that even as it was being devoured, torn limb from limb, mouthful by mouthful,

the small beast remained utterly motionless, its beautiful, pure eyes silently watching them.

“...What the hell is this thing?”

As it consumed the nourishment, two new heads sprouted on Heik’s shoulders.

Resembling the small beasts’ canine heads, they lacked other features—only a single eye each, grotesquely twisted.

“Crunch!” But Heik wasn’t satisfied—he opened his jaws and bit into himself!

In an instant, he devoured the two newly grown heads.

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

He was about to regain his sight.

“Holy sword!”

Seeing the increasingly bizarre monster, Li En knew he couldn’t wait—he had to take a risk.

Li En loudly invoked the name of his holy sword—the light blazed fiercely.

Heik instinctively turned away his newly grown eyes, avoiding being blinded again.

And that gave Li En the chance to close the distance.

“Dragon Claw.”

His right hand, gripping the sword, lit up the cave; his left hand, transformed into a dragon’s claw, had already slipped silently to Heik’s chest.

“Got it!!”

Where Li En’s fingers touched, the flesh felt as soft as tofu.

The once unbreakable steel-like muscle was pierced effortlessly by the man’s left hand.

The flesh beneath his fingers rapidly blackened, withered, and turned to ash.

This sight made Li En exhale in relief—the dragon attribute’s suppression still existed, and seemed even more effective!

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

“Li En Sudar!”

A sudden roar revealed Heik’s sanity had returned.

As Li En killed the beast’s nature, Heik’s nearly shattered humanity seized this moment to return!

“Damn Holy Knight—die!”

He lunged out with both arms—his reach stretched at least three meters—and the hand that had pierced Li En left him no room to evade.

The next instant, immense force slammed through his back, through his armor.

The expensive full-metal armor trembled under the terrible power, cracking outright.

Li En let out a pained groan, struggling to break free, but could not tear himself loose.

At this moment, the sturdy armor became his prison.

“Aaaaaaah!” Pain accompanied his screams.

As Li En strained with all his strength, the massive maw snapped down!

At this moment, the wound on his shoulder pierced his heart.

The steel fangs of that maw shattered the steel plates outright, crushing flesh and metal together.

Even so, Li En did not give up.

He could feel his left Dragon Claw still exerting force, killing the “beast” before him.

His left hand writhed inside the monster’s body, trying to destroy more organs—it was a race to see who died first!

Li En gritted his teeth and dug wildly with his claws.

“Dragon! Dragon!”

But at this moment, an unforeseen change occurred.

Heck’s roar carried surprise.

And the withered, dead flesh, upon tasting the sweetness of the Dragon-blooded flesh, began regenerating at high speed!

“The antidote to the Dragon poison that kills beasts… is Dragon blood. What a bitterly ironic truth.” In an instant, Li En understood the situation.

One side regenerated; the other could only endure. If this continued, he would die first.

The reason didn’t matter now—what mattered was how to respond.

He struggled, turning his eyes toward his companions, begging for help.

But what he saw was even more despairing: the beast pack summoned to aid had surrounded Dimon and Larry—they too were barely holding on!

“Is this the end?”

At this moment, as the massive maw descended again above him, Li En felt the premonition of death.

Perhaps, this would be his final moment.

Would he die again? Did reincarnation truly exist? Would there be another Li Ensu?

“No, never!”

The youth gritted his teeth and roared, twisting his body with all his strength to avoid the bite.

“Crack!”

The fatal strike meant for his head instead tore into his other shoulder.

Despairing pain surged from his left shoulder; Li En screamed in agony.

Massive loss of flesh had left him mentally dim.

Was there still a way out? Did he still have any cards left?

Li En tried to reach for his Codex—but in this posture, he could not move.

Misfortune often strikes at the last moment: in his despairing gaze, the book fell straight to the ground.

The force binding him grew stronger; Heck, having consumed Dragon blood, had become vastly more powerful—his withered horns now gleamed with luster.

The overwhelming despair awakened his resolve.

“Am I… going to die?”

His left shoulder lost sensation; the left claw, his weapon, lost control. In Li En’s slowly numbing eyes, it reverted to a flesh-and-blood hand.

The malicious beast opened its maw once more, its foul saliva dripping onto the youth’s face.

In this second, Li En knew his death was likely imminent.

He had no cards left. Nothing could save him.

Will my adventure, my legend, end here?

Will Li En Sudar die in this Wurenzhixiao cave, slain by a beast no one has ever heard of, in his rebirth?

I… I can’t accept this.

But as the massive maw closed, Death itself smiled at the motionless Li En.

He no longer had the strength to struggle.

“No, never!”

“I absolutely will not fall here.”

The chaos of the dock district flashed through Li En’s mind—if he died, the changes about to begin would halt abruptly, and all would return to the old cycle.

Then came more scattered thoughts.

“I still have too many things I want to do.”

After crossing into this other world, I’ve only suffered.

I haven’t experienced its exotic customs, learned its strange magic, or enjoyed a single moment of comfort.

At this moment, Li En realized he was just an ordinary man—when death loomed, he thought only of his own petty desires.

“If I die now, no one will mourn me.” He felt more and more resentment, more frustration.

“Senior Li En!”

“Master!”

And his companions’ cries still echoed in his ears.

Li En jerked his head sideways and saw they were forcing their way through the beast pack to save him.

It seemed… this new, brief life of mine wasn’t entirely a failure.

But don’t come— you still have hope. Run away!

He tried to shout, but only spat out a mouthful of blood—his vision was darkening.

Facing death, countless thoughts flooded his mind.

Past memories flashed before Li En like a panorama—he was kissed once more by Death.

“I… I can’t die. Never.”

His pupils reignited with willpower. Even if he must die, let him fall on the path of charge!

He snapped his head up and bit into the monster’s body, tearing off a chunk of flesh!

“Tch, tastes awful…” It seemed he couldn’t absorb it.

The youth offered a bitter smile. It seemed no miracle would come.

I’m going to die.

When he had accepted his death, when he refused to accept it, when he was willing to fight for himself, for others, for the world—something activated.

“Clang.”

The Hero’s Sword, which he had been holding in his right hand all along, suddenly glowed again with a faint light.

Unlike the holy silver or the judgmental crimson, this time the blade glowed a warm orange-red, like sunlight.

【Solheir, the Courageous Sword of the Desperate Watcher (Unknown Rank)】

It gave the despairing “Hero” a trickle of warmth, a sliver of strength, a faint guiding light.

This gift was weak, minimal—but it gave Li En a new chance to resist.

It made Li En calmer, stirred his entire spirit and power, and drove him to struggle to his final moment.

“What else do I have?”

“What can I still give?”

“To live, I will give everything.”

At this moment, the transmigrant Li Ensu and the warrior Li En finally merged completely—he became one with this world.

He tried to twist his right wrist, the only part of his body still movable.

But in this position, any resistance seemed meaningless.

“No—there is one sword technique that doesn’t require much bodily coordination.”

The despairing maw descended again. Even with a one-in-a-thousand chance, Li En activated the technique he had never succeeded in before.

In desperation—he gambled!

“Shatter Blade. Break the Boundary!”

Light illuminated the entire cave.

(End of Chapter)