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After fully realizing what kind of hopeless teammates he had, Fang Li finally grasped the correct method and, in the most ruthless manner, became the absolute ruler of the team.
If he didn't do this, he'd probably end up getting screwed over by these people all the way to his grave, forever haunted by the trauma.
Fang Li was the type of person who left psychological scars on others for life, there was no way he'd allow someone to do the same to him.
With that in mind, he could only borrow a quote from Megumin:
"Rather than dying myself, I'd rather let someone else die."
Right now, Fang Li was embodying that phrase to perfection.
And so, with four tearful and dejected teammates trailing behind him, Fang Li arrived before the ruins of an abandoned ancient castle.
Ahead of them, the massive castle gate gave off a sense of ancient solemnity. It was weathered with time, like a long-forgotten relic of the past , both majestic and terrifying.
Looking at the solemn and terrifying city gate, Fang Li clenched his palm around a sword.
It was an extremely ordinary one-handed sword.
There was no magic infused in it, nor was it some rare top-tier weapon, just an utterly plain sword.
Yet as Fang Li gripped this sword, he felt a deep sense of familiarity, as if it had accompanied him through years of battle, causing the corners of his lips to lift slightly.
"As I thought, learning those basic skills was the right choice."
This sense of familiarity naturally came from the effect of the skills Fang Li had learned.
"---One-handed Sword."
A skill that made a person more proficient with sword-type weapons.
Such skills didn't magically grant someone high-level sword techniques or instantly turn them into a sword master overnight.
Skills that enhanced weapon handling, like this one, simply increased the user's proficiency, nothing more.
Just like how, even if someone didn't know a single sword technique, swinging a sword for ten-plus years would still allow them to wield it smoothly and efficiently, enough to easily overwhelm someone who's never touched a sword.
That's what skills like "One-handed Sword" do, they refine familiarity, accuracy, flow, and effectiveness when using a specific type of weapon. But they absolutely don't let someone suddenly master advanced combat techniques out of nowhere.
That's why Fang Li chose to learn this type of skill.
After all, although Fang Li had already comprehended the essence and rules of the Nanaya Assassination Technique, allowing him to channel its core through any weapon, there was still a significant difference between using an unfamiliar weapon and one he'd trained with for a long time.
By learning skills like this, Fang Li could effortlessly express the precision and profundity of the Nanaya Assassination Technique with a wide variety of weapons.
So from the very beginning, Fang Li acquired the "One-handed Sword" and "Dagger" skills, and later on, learned skills for many other types of weapons as well.
Now, regardless of the weapon he used, Fang Li could fully unleash the combat techniques of the Nanaya Assassination Style, and thanks to his increased proficiency, their effectiveness had reached even greater heights.
"Plus, with the effect of the 'Royal Guard Knight' title being triggered, granting +10 to all attributes when using sword-type weapons, this should be more than enough."
After all, the Moonlight Dagger had already been exposed. Pretty much everyone now knew that the wanted Black Knight wielded a Waning Moonlight Dagger, so he couldn't openly use it anymore.
Bo Xie was an Ogre Lux, and using it in non-critical situations would just waste Prana, so for now, this was the best option.
Of course, if Fang Li were operating alone, this would be the only path available.
"Now then, Aqua." Fang Li spoke to Aqua, who was cautiously following behind him.
"Give us full support."
Hearing this, how could Aqua possibly say no?
So, Aqua took a deep breath and raised one hand.
"Zheng!"
A brilliant light of magical power flared from Aqua's hand.
"Arms!"
"Agility Boost (Burner)!"
"Armor!"
"Lasting!"
With each incantation, waves of dazzling light began to shine from the bodies of Fang Li, Megumin, Darkness, and even Kazuma.
"This… this is…!"
"Ama…zing…!"
"Power… it's surging from within my body…!"
Bathed in the glow, Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness all gasped in astonishment.
Fang Li also quietly closed his eyes, feeling a power he'd never felt before surging from within , his physical attributes had increased drastically.
And even then, Aqua hadn't finished casting her spells.
"Physical Resistance!"
"Magic Resistance!"
"Blessing!"
One wave of brilliance after another washed over the group, not only boosting all of their stats but even enhancing their luck.
Maybe it was because she was genuinely frightened by the consequences Fang Li had previously mentioned, but Aqua gave it everything she had, casting every beneficial support magic she could think of in one go.
Normally, any other person who burned through that much mana would've collapsed from magical exhaustion by now.
But Aqua looked completely unfazed, like it was nothing to her.
The self-proclaimed goddess who usually caused more trouble than she solved , who was generally considered useless , had, at this moment, fully transformed into a being more capable than any Arch Priest in the world.
Casting an astonishing array of support spells over the entire party, Aqua still huffed and puffed as she shouted:
"I… I was super obedient just now! You saw that, didn't you, Fang Li?! So don't you dare do anything horrible to me later! Understood?!"
Looks like Aqua was really scared this time.
"As long as you behave," Fang Li replied with a small smile, "I'll throw a celebratory banquet afterwards, and I promise you'll get a reward."
Ignoring Aqua, whose eyes were already sparkling with excitement, Fang Li slowly walked toward the castle gate.
"Alright, let's begin our assault."
As he finished speaking, Fang Li suddenly swung the longsword in his hand.
"Pū Chī--!"
With a sound like slicing through a massive physical barrier, the tall and solid city gate was slashed in two by the flash of his sword, the two halves slowly collapsing.
"Hmm?"
At the top level of the ancient castle, a chamber resembling a throne room, a dark silhouette seated upon the throne began to move.
"Has someone arrived?"
As if sensing what was happening far below, the shadow murmured.
"The kingdom's knight order? Or adventurers from the royal capital?"
"Well, whatever. Let's have some fun, shall we?"
As the figure spoke, a dense, shadowy aura like black mist began to stir around its body.
"Bring the intruders to me… my loyal subordinates."
In response, the black mist morphed into multiple shadowy figures.
Each one's eyes lit up with a feral crimson glow, devoid of reason, and emanated a chillingly sinister aura.
(End Of This Chapter)