Chapter 290 - 57: Legend! Legend! (Part 5)

An unimaginably violent explosion erupted from inside the worm’s neck!

Destructive Thunderbolt Power and Holy Energy worked in tandem from inside and out, instantly enlarging the wound several times over and nearly tearing its head from its body!

Dark-red, almost black, lava-like bodily fluids mixed with charred fragments of internal organs spewed madly from the massive gash, like a volcanic eruption!

The Giant Earth Rock Worm’s mountain-sized body suddenly went rigid. Then, as if drained of all its strength, it crashed sideways to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust and rubble. It twitched a few times, then fell silent.

Around the tower, both the surviving defenders and the monsters still on the attack seemed stunned by the earth-shattering blow, and a momentary silence fell.

Through the swirling dust, Murphy’s figure descended from mid-air, staggering a step before regaining his footing.

His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath. The power that had surged through him from the Holy Blessing was now receding as quickly as the tide.

Faint sparks of electricity flickered and danced beneath his skin. A tearing soreness spread through his muscles, and his meridians throbbed with a dull ache.

The Triple Magic’s enhancement had granted him explosive power, but the burden on his body was immense, and the backlash was now beginning to set in.

But he had no time to recover.

The brief, deathly silence on the battlefield was shattered by the renewed roars of the monsters.

The remaining large Scorching Beasts, Earth Rock Worms, and the Frenzied Flying Cockroaches circling in the sky seemed to have recovered from the shock of the Extraordinary creature’s death. However, their attacks had clearly lost all coordination, revealing a sense of panic and bewilderment.

The first Giant Earth Rock Worm—the one that had been grievously wounded by Quentin earlier and had been writhing in agony ever since—stopped moving abruptly at the tremendous crash of its companion’s fall. Its bloodshot compound eyes turned toward Murphy, revealing a primal, instinctual fear.

It no longer thrashed about, madly attacking everything around it. Instead, it began to struggle, using its remaining strength to desperately crawl away—away from the tower, and away from Murphy.

Its massive body plowed a crooked, deep trench in the scorched earth. Dark-red fluid streamed like a brook from the horrifying wound on its neck. Every movement looked agonizingly difficult, and its life force was visibly fading.

"They’re scared!" On the tower platform, Quentin keenly sensed the subtle shift in the battlefield’s atmosphere.

Although he himself was nearly collapsing from exhaustion, using his Longsword to support his body, he still roared hoarsely to the remaining defenders below:

"Look! The monsters are retreating! Their leader is dead! Warriors, follow that Legendary Knight! Drive out the remaining evil! For Oriane!"

His voice was hoarse yet full of power, like a spark thrown into boiling oil.

Murphy suppressed the exhaustion and pain racking his body, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

’The effects of the Holy Blessing are fading fast,’ he knew. ’I have to make the most of this last bit of time and maximize our gains!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, he flicked his wrist and pulled the Dark Gold Longsword from where it was embedded in the ground.

The residual violet-black lightning on the blade had dimmed considerably, but it still crackled audibly.

With a single movement, he transformed into a dark-blue hurricane of death, fearlessly charging into the monster horde ahead, which had been thrown into disarray by the death of its leader!

His blade flashed, and thunder hissed.

A large Scorching Beast tried to block him, but Murphy dodged its claws, and with a backhanded strike, precisely thrust his sword into the gap in the carapace between its compound eyes. Thunder Power erupted, killing it instantly.

Another Earth Rock Worm spat a cloud of poison, but Murphy, still boosted by the residual effects of the [Divine Movement Technique], moved with astonishing speed. He ghosted around to its side and rear, his Longsword, wreathed in the last vestiges of white Holy Light and Thunder, slicing deep into its relatively soft flank and gutting it!

His movements were still swift and sharp, but upon closer inspection, his steps were no longer as ethereal, and his breathing had grown heavier.

With every swing of his sword, the soreness in his muscles intensified.

But his advance never faltered. Wherever he passed, monsters fell like harvested wheat, as he single-handedly tore a gap through the chaotic enemy ranks!

"Follow Lord Melfield!"

"For Blackstone Fortress! Kill!"

The defenders on and around the tower—be they the battle-scarred Temple Knights, the soldiers of the Peric Clan, or the private armies of other nobles—were all ignited by the momentum of this desperate counterattack, their last reserves of courage flaring to life.

They saw the god-of-war-like Legendary Knight leading the charge, they saw the once-invincible Giant Earth Rock Worm slain, and they saw fear in the monsters’ eyes!

The instinct for survival and the fury of the counteroffensive overwhelmed their exhaustion and fear.

The remaining Warriors let out hoarse but resolute cries. Raising their broken blades and shields, they followed Murphy’s dark-blue back like a surging flood breaking through a dam. They poured out from every breach in the tower’s defenses and from behind cover, launching a fearless counter-charge against the disordered monster horde!

A Temple Knight’s Attendant with a severed arm held his blood-soaked Longsword in his one remaining hand, roaring as he knocked over a Scorching Beast.

Several Long Spear Soldiers of the Peric Clan, supporting one another, formed a tiny spear phalanx and riddled several charging, smaller Scorching Beasts with holes.

As one side’s morale fell, the other’s rose!

The monsters’ battle line completely wavered.

They had been driven and organized by a higher existence in the first place. Now that their strongest combatant had been slain, their command structure seemed to have descended into chaos.

Faced with the sudden, desperate counterattack from the unified human defenders—and especially cowed by the intimidating presence of the dark-blue figure still wreaking havoc in their midst—many monsters began to instinctively shrink back, shoving one another and letting out chaotic screeches.

The rout had begun.

First were the weaker, less intelligent Scorching Beasts and Earth Rock Worms. They stopped advancing and turned to flee back across the open wilderness from where they came.

The swarm of Frenzied Flying Cockroaches in the air also lost the courage to dive. They circled high above, turning and letting out uneasy shrieks as they began to fly away into the distance.

Even more heartening, the rout seemed to trigger a chain reaction.

In the distance, along other sections of the city wall where fighting still raged, the previously deadlocked battle lines also began to give way.

The defending soldiers saw the Giant Earth Rock Worm fall. They saw the monsters near the Central Tower suddenly begin a large-scale retreat, which in turn caused the monsters on their own front to fall back. Hearing the heaven-shaking roars of their fellow humans from that direction, their morale soared, and they too summoned their remaining strength to counterattack.

For a time, the signal fires of counterattack lit up along multiple points of Blackstone Fortress’s outer wall. The once-overwhelming tide of dark red now showed several distinct gaps and fractures.

Meanwhile, the Giant Earth Rock Worm that had been grievously wounded by Quentin, now on the verge of death, struggled to crawl slower and slower.

Its massive body came to a complete stop on a scorched slope about half a mile from the tower. Its last shred of life rapidly dissipated along with its constantly leaking fluids.

It let out a final, faint, and painful screech. Its enormous body convulsed one last time, then went completely still, becoming another massive, slowly cooling corpse on the open plains.

In the end, it failed to escape back to Eagle’s Beak Peak, dying halfway through its retreat.

Murphy stopped, leaning on his sword as he gasped for breath.

The holy radiance on his body had completely faded, and the flickering electricity under his skin had subsided. His face was an unnatural shade of pale, and his forehead was beaded with cold sweat.

The backlash from the enhancement and the high-intensity, non-stop battle caused a tidal wave of weakness to wash over him.

But he still stood with his back straight, his cold gaze sweeping over the torrent of fleeing monsters.

In the distance, amidst the dust and smoke, there was a third Giant Earth Rock Worm, its form colossal, like a moving mountain range.

Just then, it let out a low, long roar, filled with indignation and ferocity, yet also tinged with a clear intent to withdraw.

Immediately after, the massive shadow began to move slowly, heading in the direction of Eagle’s Beak Peak. It, too, began to retreat, eventually disappearing into the thickening smoke and the gathering dusk.

’Even a monster of that level... chose to retreat.’

On the battlefield, aside from a few scattered monsters that hadn’t gotten far and were being hunted down by the defenders, most of the dark-red figures had vanished like an ebbing tide into the distant, scorched lands and rocky mountains.

Around the Central Tower, all that remained was a devastating mess of corpses, burning ruins, and the surviving defenders, who leaned on one another, letting out cheers of victory mixed with sobs of grief.