Number 10 was like a ghost, only revealing his figure at the moment of attack, and that was provided Zesshi Zetsumei could block that strike; otherwise, this ghost would lurk in the shadows without leaving a trace. Facing such an enemy, Zesshi Zetsumei calmly swung her Divine Spear, her airtight defense forcing the ghost to reveal himself time and again. Sword and spear clashed, sparks flying in the air, their eyes looking at each other without a hint of emotion, like cold statues. The next moment, the two separated again; the ghost quickly vanished into the air once more, followed by Zesshi Zetsumei's counter-thrust.
But the ghost had already swiftly left the spot and continued to move within the shadows. Even though Zesshi Zetsumei possessed the world Blessing [Never Be Ambushed] and could faintly sense the ghost's killing intent, the ghost's ability wasn't completely negated; its effect was just not as good as before. The fact that Zesshi Zetsumei's counterattacks missed several times was the best proof; even if she could sense the killing intent, she couldn't immediately discover the ghost's position. For now, the battle between the two was a draw.
The next moment, both dashed again. Number 10 easily dodged Zesshi Zetsumei's thrust and turned to throw a dagger. While Zesshi Zetsumei blocked the dagger, Number 10's true attack struck from another direction. Instantly, a wound was carved into Zesshi Zetsumei's abdomen, accompanied by a stiffness in her movements. Just as Number 10 intended to follow up, a violent gust of wind howled; the Divine Spear slammed heavily into Number 10, smashing him into the wall. Simultaneously, Zesshi Zetsumei looked expressionlessly at her abdomen, where the power of life was flowing as the self-healing Blessing took effect.
"Cough!"
The sound of Number 10 coughing echoed in the air. As the dust settled, only the indentation where he had been smashed remained on the wall. To be able to move again so quickly after taking an attack of that magnitude was not a feat a human could perform. Moreover, Zesshi Zetsumei felt the impact was somewhat hard, as if the opponent's body were made of some kind of metal. She began to suspect that this Bishop wasn't human at all. It seemed another piece of intelligence from "Ainz Ooal Gown" was wrong; the Goddess Cult was not incapable of accepting other races.
Zesshi Zetsumei's external injuries looked quite severe, but compared to that, Number 10 had quite a few bones shattered by that last blow. Had he not been a physical-enhancement type Zombie, that hit would have been enough to kill him. Although the gap between level 80 and level 90 doesn't seem very large—in a game, a pro player might even use a smurf account to crush a max-level newbie—in reality, there isn't that much room for technical maneuvering. If the attribute values are even slightly stronger, it can result in a complete suppression.
It's like a fight between an untrained civilian and a strongman; both are ordinary humans, and the gap in attribute values isn't actually that massive. However, under normal circumstances, the civilian would be knocked unconscious by a single punch from the strongman. While professionals have class Skills to correct the gap between attributes, if the difference in ability isn't very large, the correction won't provide much of a boost.
Currently, Zesshi Zetsumei's
Class level was above Number 10's. Had the Goddess's Gospel not been a higher-level ability, Number 10 wouldn't even have the right to stand before Zesshi Zetsumei. But Zesshi Zetsumei also had cheat-like Skills like world Blessings; for Number 10 to fight her to this extent was already a remarkable feat.
However, Number 10 had not given up on the idea of winning.
He still had a chance of victory.
He hadn't used his advanced Gospel Skill yet. If he used that Skill, even the world Blessing possessed by Zesshi Zetsumei wouldn't be able to find him. But there was only one chance; that Skill had a cooldown because it was essentially a "deception" that tricked the world. After one use, it would be rejected by the world. If used multiple times regardless of the consequences, he might truly vanish because of it.
He did not have the ability to survive in the void.
That was a domain only gods could touch. Once he entered that domain, he would likely dissolve instantly, and his very existence would be erased.
Meanwhile, all of Zesshi Zetsumei's hair had turned red. Blessing—[Sword Saint]. Rather than saying she gained the talent of a Sword Saint, it was more like she directly became the "Legendary Sword Saint" himself. This was one of Zesshi Zetsumei's trump cards, allowing her to use the power of past Sword Saints from before her birth, including the power of the First Sword Saint. The red hair wasn't a change in hair color, but merely light formed by mana; in reality, Zesshi Zetsumei's own black-and-white hair color remained unchanged.
Although those who knew of Zesshi Zetsumei mistakenly thought she had a Blessing for [Sword Technique Bonus], in truth, Zesshi Zetsumei's swordsmanship aptitude was only barely excellent. Compared to swordsmanship, her talent for spear techniques was higher. Even so, her swordsmanship was still an existence that the ordinary geniuses of this world could only dream of catching up to, but facts were facts.
Zesshi Zetsumei was indeed not good at swordsmanship.
Yet, she possessed a Blessing like [Sword Saint], which allowed her to obtain the experience and Skills of past Sword Saints and execute them in this state. Combined with her physical constitution as a half-elf, her strength in this state was already very close to the First Sword Saint. In the eyes of some, Zesshi Zetsumei's power had even surpassed the First Sword Saint.
After all, the First Sword Saint was a pure human.
But people who thought that were too naive.
Because the strength of the First Sword Saint was not due to attributes or levels at all, but world Blessings.
The God of Death of the Theocracy stated that the Sword Saint's own attribute values and level were actually not high, but world Blessings allowed the Sword Saint to remain undefeated in battle. If attributes were insufficient, they would be boosted; if the level was too low, it would be raised. If he still couldn't win, the world would unreasonably grant a Blessing of not being defeated. There would even be Blessings like a 60-40 split, where you get 40 and I get 60. Therefore, whether it was the six great gods or the Eight Desires Kings, none were a match for the First Sword Saint. After all, That Person was a god-tier cheater. What did a max-level player matter in front of a cheater?
In this state, Zesshi Zetsumei could only obtain part of the First Sword Saint's abilities and couldn't perfectly replicate his Blessings. This was because those Blessings only appeared when the Sword Saint wanted them; normally, the First Sword Saint might even be a blank slate. How could something that didn't exist be copied? But the First Sword Saint wasn't so stingy; at the very least, he allowed Zesshi Zetsumei to choose one of the Blessings he had used in the past.
Before Zesshi Zetsumei, there were over ten Sword Saints including the First (all of whom were short-lived), so Zesshi Zetsumei could use more than ten types of Blessings in this state. This was one of her strongest forms.
If not for the time limit.
She could slaughter all the Dragon Lords alone.
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