A stream of light streaked across the sky.
The Nen arrow accurately hit its target.
Crack!
The giant snake's scales shattered. This attack directly broke the scales in that area, creating a weak point in its defense. Although for a colossal giant snake like this, it was just a tiny area.
"Well done, Gowen."
"Sister..."
This arrow directly exhausted all of Gowen's Nen reserves. Surrounded by the evil spirits, his stamina also rapidly drained. At this moment, he only felt cold and utterly weak. All the ethereal equipment on him completely vanished.
In a daze, Gowen seemed to see his sister. He heard the laughter from their childhood in the garden. It wasn't that he didn't remember his time with his sister; he just never wanted to revisit it, much less recall the cruel reality of her passing.
"You've grown up and become a true knight."
"Yes... is that so?"
In his confusion, he felt as if his sister was standing right in front of him. But when he tried hard to open his eyes, the figure gradually faded away.
"Gowen, are you alright?"
Kevin now stood before Gowen, forcefully swinging his fists to disperse the surrounding evil spirits. He was already starting to babble.
Gowen snapped back to reality, attempting to stand up, but found his entire body limp and powerless.
"Alright, that's enough. You've done an excellent job. Leave the rest to me," Kevin said.
Gowen looked at Kevin and nodded.
Kevin picked up Gowen and, with a few leaps, placed him in a safe area. Then, Kevin turned to look at the struggling giant snake, which was slowly getting back on its feet. The single spot where the scales were shattered on the giant snake's midsection was particularly conspicuous.
"Excellent work, Gowen! You are truly a role model for knights!"
As the giant snake gradually regained control of its body, a tidal wave of evil spirits swarmed forward, clinging tightly to Kevin. They frantically stimulated the Nen surging from him, while also subtly draining his stamina.
Kevin had already realized that these evil spirits were essentially the souls of villagers who had died from the curse.
"Enslaving souls and not letting the dead rest in peace—you beast are utterly heinous!" Kevin was furious.
In the world and country he once lived in, only those who committed heinous crimes were wished to never rest in peace after death. Yet this detestable beast not only cursed these villagers but also allowed their souls to be controlled by resentment after death, turning them into this state.
Looking at these evil spirits, Kevin's heart was filled with pity. Goodwill spread with the hot wind.
"All of you, rest in peace!"
Kevin thrust both palms forward, and a fierce hot wind, imbued with goodwill, swept forth. The evil spirits swayed unsteadily in the scorching gale, eventually dissipating.
"Now it's your turn, beast. You will surely die today!" Kevin was seething with rage, extreme malice coiling around him with his Nen.
[Dancing Wind Cloak] !
The Nen coiling around him transformed into ribbons, wrapping around his body and fluttering wildly. The wind practically pushed Kevin forward, his speed instantly reaching its maximum.
In the blink of an eye, Kevin lunged in front of the giant snake.
The "gift" that had always been stored within Kevin was activated, granting him a pure enhancement. It was power. Pink Nen merged into his body.
"Get down!"
Kevin clenched his fists and slammed them downward, like a heavy hammer weighing a thousand pounds crashing down, striking the giant snake's head. The giant snake was instantly smashed to the ground, its head deeply embedded in the earth, creating a large crater. Falling from the sky, Kevin was like a nail, his legs stomping hard on the giant snake's back. Although the impact failed to break through the opponent's defense, the powerful force still pressed the giant snake deeper into the ground.
[Hot Wind, Suppress] !
A large amount of heat-laden wind coiled around the giant snake, layer upon layer of hot wind pressing down fiercely. These hot winds swirled and entangled chaotically, suppressing the opponent's movements.
Having just endured multiple impacts and now disoriented, the giant snake was temporarily unable to get up, only able to thrash its massive tail wildly behind it.
Kevin nimbly leaped away, his gaze fixed on the spot where the giant snake's scales were shattered. He pressed his right palm together, his entire body radiating scorching heat, even emitting steam. A large amount of Nen began to forcibly contract, and the temperature of the Nen enveloping his right hand sharply increased, distorting the surrounding air. The high temperature even caused a slight burn on Kevin's right cheek.
It should be noted that high-temperature Nen can also resist high temperatures, so it was clear that the temperature on his right hand at this moment far exceeded that of other parts of his body. This situation occurred because he couldn't evenly counter the heat.
"Go to hell, you beast!"
[Thrust] !
The air was instantly torn apart, and the momentary extreme speed made Kevin's world seem to fall silent.
His arm protruded like a sharp blade, directly penetrating the damaged scales, his entire arm deeply plunging into the giant snake's body. A large amount of Nen poured recklessly into the giant snake's body.
"Roar, roar, roar!"
This blow clearly struck a weak point of the giant snake, which began to struggle frantically. The hot wind coiling around its body was completely unable to suppress it. The giant snake fiercely lashed out at Kevin's back, and various attacks formed from resentment rained down on Kevin.
But Kevin did not flinch, enduring all the attacks without moving. The clothing on his back was ripped to shreds by the powerful impact, leaving numerous marks on his skin. A tremendous force surged through him, causing blood to trickle from Kevin's lips, but all of this was within his tolerance.
"You're going to die. Struggle all you want, you bastard beast." Kevin now loathed this creature that toyed with souls and prevented the poor villagers from resting in peace after death, to the extreme.
Finally, Kevin's Nen seemed to have completely pulverized this part inside the giant snake's body. Although the wound was deep, in terms of wound size, it seemed insignificant compared to the giant snake's enormous body. But it was clear that the spot Gowen attacked was some kind of weak point for the giant snake—though he didn't know how Gowen had determined it, it could be confirmed by the giant snake's reaction at this moment.
"I've touched it. This resentment is so heavy. You're dead."
The Nen Kevin injected extended, and as the potion's effect wore off, his exceptional control over Nen allowed him to immediately determine that he seemed to have found the giant snake's core.
Enveloped in Nen, Kevin pulled sharply, like cutting off a power source.
The giant snake, which had been thrashing and struggling wildly, instantly collapsed to the ground, and the surrounding evil spirits that had not yet dissipated vanished instantly. Kevin forcefully pulled something out of the giant snake's body: a palm-sized round bead covered in dense black patterns forming various indecipherable designs, making one feel a little dizzy.
Resentment, condensed to its extreme, enveloped Kevin's hand like a swamp. Kevin's arm began to visibly wither, the resentment frantically draining his Nen and life force from his hand.
The effect of the [Surging Potion] had worn off—which was not good.
Kevin hastily took out a spare potion, gulped it down, and simultaneously materialized the alchemy table. Time was short, so Kevin unhesitatingly placed the black-patterned white-based orb on the gold scale, then took out the prepared auxiliary materials and fusion agent.
[Gold Scale: Resentment Snake Orb (whole — 561 grams) ]
[Silver Scale: Three-Flower Tai Water Grass (dried — 15 grams) ]
[Copper Scale: Gold-Patterned Petal (dried — 10 grams) ]
[Effect: The main ingredient is stored, perfectly preserved as a liquid. ]
Feasible. Completely feasible.
I love Melusine.
This was the formula Kevin had previously devised. He had actually always had this idea, but to be honest, he hadn't found a suitable formula before, only narrowing down the range of materials. He had thought for a long time about what materials to use and how to ultimately destroy and fuse the core of resentment. To be honest, with such precious materials, who would be willing to simply destroy them without gaining any results? If possible, it was natural to strive for perfection.
Long ago, Kevin had planned to create a potion, essentially preparing for the future. This was also the "Double Refinement" that Qi Duo had previously suggested. It must be admitted that some materials are best only in a specific state, and methods like drying and grinding are often a last resort, especially for parts from freshly slaughtered creatures. While auxiliary ingredients and fusion agents can be used this way, it would be a great pity if the precious main ingredients lost their medicinal efficacy.
Therefore, Kevin has always wanted to create such a potion, aiming to perfectly preserve the medicinal efficacy of the main materials, and even enhance them to a certain extent. The current emergency made it even more urgent. Melusine's previous use of her Nen ability gave him an idea. However, due to different main materials, some attempts succeeded while others failed. So this was also a risky attempt, but it was better than pure gambling.
And now, he succeeded.
As the potion entered his stomach, combined with his previous ability enhancements, Kevin's potential Nen temporarily increased to a staggering 100,000.
Begin production.
Instantly, Kevin entered a state of intense focus.
"Kevin succeeded! Protect him!"
Kevin, sitting cross-legged beside the giant snake's corpse, was now in his most vulnerable state, and this was the critical moment for Menchi and the others to bear their heavy responsibilities.
"Griffon!"
Menchi called out, and a Griffon appeared before her, circling Kevin and tearing apart any creature that tried to approach.
As the production began, as if sensing the danger, the grievance was making its final struggle. At this moment, the village's boundaries no longer existed, and the curse erupted wildly, but soon began to dissipate. However, as the potion was being made and the curse dissipated, it still required some time, and with many villagers present, the creatures that had been waiting outside for a long time, as expected, frantically rushed into the village.
The targets of these creatures were not only the villagers but also the corpse of the giant snake in the middle. The giant snake's frantic actions before its death also drove these creatures into madness. The accumulated greedy grievances throughout the village and its surroundings now came into play.
"We are free! We cannot fall at this last moment!" Rabik shouted loudly, desperately blocking the creatures. The feeling of chains breaking within their bodies invigorated them. Their morale was higher than ever before. All the villagers were like they had been injected with a stimulant, their morale high, fighting even more wildly than these creatures.
They were finally free. The cage that bound them had disappeared. These damned beasts still wanted them to fall at this last moment before dawn? Absolutely impossible! Even if they died, they would enjoy this brief freedom. Their frantic will was also strengthening the Nen on their bodies.
"Drink, drink, let's celebrate properly!" The vagrant who had been acting crazy at the edge of the village now fell into an even more deranged state. He frantically sprayed from his wine gourd, and the wine, with its extremely strong alcoholic scent, spread around, causing many weaker beasts to fall one after another, swaying as if drunk.
"Get lost! This old man still has some fight in him!" The village chief's emotions were also exceptionally high at this moment. He used his walking stick as a baseball bat, continuously striking the beasts. His Nen ability seemed to be of the Transmutation type; after the baseball bat struck, Nen formed something resembling a soft whip, causing these creatures to scream. No wounds—pure pain.
With the giant snake's suppression gone, the white python dragged Melusine to Kevin's side. At this moment, Melusine's Nen was extremely unstable, sometimes surging, sometimes weakening.
"Don't come near Kevin!"
A giant eagle from the sky swooped down at extreme speed.
A Nen beast, dressed as a maid but with a body like a pure white doll, appeared in mid-air, with fairy-like wings on her back and an exaggerated meteor hammer in her hand. She swung it hard, sending the giant eagle flying.
[Love Strategist Group] .
This new Nen ability had just emerged. After the death of the giant snake and the end of the ritual, Melusine seemed to break free from some kind of lock, and her Nen ability was inexplicably enhanced. [In Love Phase] gained an additional Nen ability.
[Love Strategist Group] —this ability can materialize four different Nen beasts dressed as maids, who can exist in a normal state and assist Melusine in matters related to love. The birth of this Nen ability essentially originated from Melusine's four good friends, the "Maid Group." Their attire, and even their height and build, corresponded one-to-one with the Maid Group.
"That looks like you," Lorian said.
"Nonsense! I'm not like that!" The slightly shorter maid girl next to her responded discontentedly.
Lorian glanced at the blood-stained meteor hammer in the other party's hand.
The effect of the curse was rapidly fading, and in less than ten minutes, it was almost completely gone. This meant Kevin succeeded—even if he failed to refine the potion now, this vengeful giant snake could no longer be reborn from grievance.
Some weaker beasts seemed to have awakened and started to flee in all directions. But the powerful beasts didn't care about these things and continued to wreak havoc. Without the environmental suppression, these humans still had to be killed.
Menchi and Buhara had already drunk the potent potion. Their previous Nen had been exhausted, and they couldn't continue fighting without drinking the potion. Bisky was also somewhat disheveled at this moment.
"They're all so big. It's really troublesome."
"Quick, get out of the way!" Menchi in the sky shouted loudly.
But Bisky couldn't get away at the moment. The mantis-like creature in front of her was wildly waving its arms, and if she gave up resistance and dodged, she would definitely be hit by the mantis blade. And the other monsters rushing over wouldn't give her a chance either. An exaggerated wild boar rushed over recklessly, directly breaking one of the mantis's arms, and also knocking Bisky flying.
After Bisky was sent flying, she crashed into a villager's house.
"Bisky!" Menchi shouted, her voice full of worry.
She hadn't expected Bisky to be knocked flying directly. To be honest, although it was hard to say explicitly, she felt that Bisky's strength did not seem as powerful as she had imagined. But at this moment, neither she nor Buhara could spare a hand. Fortunately, Bisky should also have the potion Kevin prepared.
"Oh my, oh my. I hate pigs the most."
From the dust of the collapsed house came Bisky's voice, still a clear girlish tone. But then, her voice suddenly became rough: "You beasts, I really don't like myself looking like this. Now you all have to atone for it."
The rough voice was full of anger.
When the dust settled, a giant muscular woman wearing pink clothes, which were clearly completely ill-fitting, appeared in the ruins.
"Ha!"
"Who are you?"
"Transformed?"
"Oh my goodness!"
The surrounding villagers were stunned. Seeing Bisky being knocked over, they originally wanted to go in and save her, but when the dust settled, what appeared was such a sight. The exaggerated transformation instantly froze them in place, not knowing what to do. They had never seen such a situation.
Menchi in the sky had also been paying attention to this side, and when she saw this scene, her eyes almost popped out.
"What a perfect body," Buhara said, unable to help but praise Bisky.
In his opinion, this was simply the perfect sculpting of life by the body. As a Nen user of the Enhancement type, although Buhara appeared fat, the muscles hidden beneath his fat were absolutely exaggerated. Therefore, he understood how much time and cost Bisky, as a woman, had to spend to cultivate such a perfect body, and how strong her willpower needed to be to succeed. At this moment, he admired Bisky immensely. Indeed, she was a seasoned Two-Star Hunter.
Facing the gazes of those around her, Bisky's veins on her forehead throbbed.
"That's why I hate situations like this the most. Die and atone for your sins!"
Bisky roared, and with her massive size, she began chasing those giant prey, running around as if in an uninhabited land.
The battle ended quickly. The giant beasts that had originally intended to rush over, seeing this scene, scattered and fled without hesitation. Bisky grabbed a giant monster in each hand, swinging them around like toys, fully venting her anger.
Terrifying.
An angry woman.
Even more terrifying.