In the strange forest of the Shared Domain, amidst the giant tree jungle, the Ancestor of the Dead Apostles, the Avenging Knight Anhalt, sped like a black-red leopard, following the direction of the Black Princess's aura. Just as he was a few hundred meters in a straight line, a distance that could be crossed in an instant, several flashing red snakes suddenly shot out from behind a giant tree directly in front of him!
They weren't snakes; they were arrows! Arrows that automatically tracked their targets!
Anhalt, always known for his close-quarters combat and mobility, reacted incredibly quickly. While running, he raised the gun-shaped holy scripture, "Holy Burial Cannon," in his Dead Apostle's left hand and fired instantly! He directly detonated the projected Red Plains Hounds, and at the same time, his human right hand drew the Dead Apostle's sword from his back.
Anhalt is a very special existence among the Dead Apostles. He is not a pure Dead Apostle. Because he still retains a part of his humanity, every time he uses the demonic sword Avenger, which he snatched from the previous Ancestor, the nerves in his right hand are damaged. At the same time, because he is a Dead Apostle, every time he uses the Holy Burial Cannon created by the Church, his left hand gradually rots.
Even so, it cannot be said that he is masochistic, because which hand holds the sword and which hand holds the gun is very important. If he were to forcibly switch hands due to pain, Anhalt probably would not have become an Ancestor of the Dead Apostles.
Boom!!!
The explosive Mana Power directly destroyed the giant tree in front of him. The flying dirt, wood chips, and the loud explosion severely affected visual and auditory senses. However, Anhalt, with the Avenging Sword in his right hand, inexplicably swung it upwards in front of him.
"Ping!!!"
A black Mana greatsword pierced through the cover of the Mana explosion, striking down from above onto the blade of the Avenging Sword… The two swords collided, immediately producing a deafening clang of metal! However, this sound was immediately covered by another, even greater sound… The compressed Mana on the sword instantly erupted! Like an overwhelming force, an invisible shockwave spread outwards from the point of collision of the two swords… At that moment, sand and stones flew, and a fierce wind roared! Centered on this, the ground within a hundred-meter radius was torn apart and exploded! Countless dirt, sand, stones, giant trees, and flowers were instantly thrown high into the sky, crushed into mud! And scattered far away.
In the giant crater formed by the explosion, a tall, white-haired young man held his sword to block the greatsword swung down by a small girl in a black trench coat. Behind the girl was a blonde loli, entangled with the girl by a black chain.
Anhalt frowned, looking at the unexpected girl who had appeared before him, and asked in confusion, "A human? And a dragon's aura? Why are you helping the Black Princess?"
Rin, with her battle spirit burning, gripped the black Knight's greatsword with both hands, suppressing the Eighteenth Ancestor of the Dead Apostles, who was parrying with one hand. "I'm just an innocent passerby who accepted the Vampire Princess's invitation to temporarily act as her Knight. Sir Eighteenth Ancestor of the Dead Apostles, could I ask you to retreat now?"
"I cannot. This is an unprecedented opportunity to kill the Black Vampire Princess. If you retreat, I do not wish to trouble a human."
"That suits me perfectly! To fight an Ancestor of the Dead Apostles, even if it's by relying on external power, it won't be in vain for my time in this world!"
The End Magic, solid as substance, once again erupted and materialized. The original azure blue had been compressed and thickened into an indigo color. The roaring Mana seemed to form a giant mountain behind Rin, and the unparalleled immense power that erupted suppressed the Ancestor of the Dead Apostles!
"Ping!"
Anhalt vibrated his sword and retreated, breaking free from Rin's suppression. His movements were as swift as a gale yet as fluid as water. As he pulled back, he spun around, and the Avenging Sword slashed at Rin's slender neck from the side.
"Ping!..."
The blades intertwined again, and the crisp clang of the swords and the fluctuations of the Mana Burst reverberated throughout the entire Shared Domain!
Rin finally understood what it meant to be an Ancestor-level warrior.
It wasn't simply a combination of strength, Mana, speed, eyesight, stamina, endurance, and mental reflexes that made one powerful. It was the ability to make the most correct judgments and responses without hesitation, or even without thinking, in any situation, any danger, any circumstance. Every attack found the shortest distance, never missing an opportunity or gap for attack.
This was not a technique, but experience honed through countless life-and-death struggles, experience deepened into consciousness, and consciousness integrated into the unconscious depths of the soul.
At this moment, Rin, who was running Mana Burst at nearly 300 times the conventional level, could be said to have surpassed Anhalt in every ability statistic. However, this experience of life-and-death struggle was a chasm that Rin could never bridge!
Narrowly avoiding the Holy Burial Cannon's shot by relying on her extremely keen mental reflexes… Rin quickly disengaged the blade stuck with Anhalt and swiftly retreated a hundred meters. Anhalt did not rush to pursue either; the continuous, full-power battle had forced the Ancestor of the Dead Apostles to adjust his state.
Even with the infinite Mana and stamina granted by treading on the earth, Rin was still panting heavily, her hot breath forming white mist in the air. Even with the earth's support, she still felt her body subtly on the verge of collapse.
The reason she didn't use fist arts was because Rin truly did not possess the ability to fight an Ancestor of the Dead Apostles bare-handed, even if she projected Unmatched Strike. Or rather, even if Li Shuwen himself were present, he couldn't guarantee a stable victory against Anhalt.
Moreover, the Avenging Sword in Anhalt's hand was a demonic sword of the Dead Apostles. If she were to touch it with both hands, she would be highly susceptible to corrosion by death energy. Furthermore, Dead Apostles themselves are not living beings and do not possess the vital energy of the living, so Unmatched Strike's greatest killer move, "Qi swallow" (Qi Swallow), would be ineffective against them. Therefore, Rin had no choice but to use the Knight's greatsword, which she usually didn't, to clash with Anhalt, hoping to win by the force of Mana Burst. This is why the opening scene occurred. Now it seemed this path was unfeasible.
"Al, can the earth's bounty be even stronger?" Rin, her eyes fixed on Anhalt a hundred meters away, asked the Black Princess behind her.
"No, after all, it's not my body directly touching the earth. The gifts generated through you are negligible compared to what I could do myself." Altrouge told Rin the bad news with a serious expression.
"Is that so? Well, this is truly a great crisis!" Rin unexpectedly smiled at this moment. Even though the recent battle was incredibly perilous, Rin showed no sign of retreating.
Altrouge looked at the girl from behind, both puzzled and serious. "Why are you fighting so desperately for me, a Dead Apostle?"
"No, I'm just borrowing your abilities to fight for myself." Rin smiled cheerfully, then looked at everything before her with a serious and earnest expression.
"Al, do you know that all of us living in this world are connected? Not just our own strength, but we move forward by using the strength of people from ancient times to the present. No life can be absolutely isolated from the world."
"Every day, I learn the wisdom left by our ancestors, practice the skills developed by our predecessors, and exchange my own time and sweat for this nourishment. Every day, when my training ends, I always feel as if I'm being asked: 'Tell me, what have you accumulated?'"
"Even with your power, Anhalt is still stronger than me because he has accumulated a foundation far surpassing mine through countless life-and-death struggles in his past years. And I haven't. Therefore, I must accumulate. If I retreat today, then I will not be able to face the future tomorrow. On the path ahead, I still have endless life-and-death trials. Now, this is just one of them!"
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