Lin Qingyue transformed into a pink streak of light, her twin swords shimmering with a cold brilliance as she lunged at the staggering Undead Warhorse.
A simmering rage burned within her—a mix of fury toward "Melody Beyond the Strings" and that damn scam of a milk tea, compounded by the frustration of being suppressed by the Death Knight for so long.
Now, all that pent-up fire channeled into the razor-sharp edge of the Hunt!
Man and sword moved as one!
Empowered by the group acceleration buff, her figure moved so fast it left a trailing pink afterimage.
The Undead Warhorse had just shaken off Mo Chen's entanglement and was attempting to charge back to its master when it suddenly sensed an incomparably sharp sword intent closing in from the side, locking onto it instantly.
Its eye sockets, burning with eerie blue Soul Fire, reflected a crimson-and-white figure approaching with the speed of lightning.
Lin Qingyue hadn't even fully reached it yet.
A clear ding resonated in her mind, and a torrent of insights—countless revelations about the flaws and essences of sword techniques—exploded within her consciousness.
It was as if a stern master had forcibly poured a lifetime of knowledge directly into her mind.
The talent belonging to March 7th of the Hunt—[Master, I've Ascended!]—was fully charged!
No thought was needed; her body moved instinctively, guided by the infused knowledge.
With a flick of her wrist, her twin swords crisscrossed in a swift strike!
"Master, I've Ascended!"
A girlish voice, brimming with both cringe-worthy embarrassment and the genuine joy of sudden enlightenment, once again escaped her lips uncontrollably.
Lin Qingyue: "..."
Enough! This is really enough! This damn performative streak!
Her mind roared in protest, but her movements remained fluid and precise.
Accompanying her cry, three condensed pink sword energies, solid as reality itself, shot out in a triangular formation!
Three soul-reaping, life-stealing crescent blades tore through the air!
Hunt Skill—[Brows Be Smitten, Heart Be Bitten]!
The sword energies didn't aim for the literal "brow" and "heart"—what brow could a skeletal horse possibly have?
Instead, their targets were unerringly precise, all three slashing at the Undead Warhorse's already heavily damaged foreleg joint!
Shhh! Shhh! Crack!
The first two sword energies instantly deepened the cracks Mo Chen had previously inflicted.
The third sword energy struck even more viciously, slicing into the bone connection. The bone groaned under the unbearable strain and shattered on the spot!
Bone fragments and Soul Fire splattered everywhere
The Undead Warhorse let out a silent scream. Its massive skeleton lurched violently to the side, nearly collapsing to its knees on the spot.
The eerie blue Soul Fire in its eye sockets flickered wildly, its light dimming by more than half.
With a stumble, the warhorse's speed plummeted. As it moved, a harsh kacha-kacha grinding sound echoed, its mobility severely reduced!
It wanted to flee, to return to its master for protection.
But the excruciating pain and structural damage in its leg severely hampered the speed and agility it prided itself on.
"Trying to run? Did you ask your grandpa's permission first?!" the Berserker roared. His [Recklessness] aura glowed a brilliant red as his great axe, swung with mountain-cleaving force, hacked relentlessly at the horse's legs.
Mo Chen remained silent as a mountain, but the Unsealed Greatsword in his hands struck faster and heavier!
Crimson sword energy crisscrossed the battlefield, no longer aiming for a single killing blow but forming an unbreakable cage, sealing off all the warhorse's possible escape routes.
"Good chance!"
Zhao Shihao's eyes lit up. With no time to even comment on the bizarre battle cry, he waved his staff, and a scorching [Solar Blast] shot out, striking the Undead Warhorse's wound with pinpoint accuracy.
Boom!
Flames erupted, and the already fragile bone connection was blasted apart, spewing black smoke.
"Focus fire on the horse!" Mo Chen's command was brief and to the point. He charged his greatsword, then brought [Mountain Cleave] crashing down!
The Death Knight sensed its mount's peril and let out an anxious roar.
The runes on its eerie blue greatsword flared wildly as its attacks grew three times more ferocious, trying to force back Lin Xiyue and Wang Lei to rescue its steed.
"Your opponents are us!"
Lin Xiyue shouted, the Holy Light on her [Immovable Mountain] shield shining brighter than ever before.
Boosted by the all-around acceleration from [Master, It's Tea Time!], her blocks and deflections became smoother and more fluid, allowing her to withstand the onslaught.
Wang Lei gritted his teeth, the earthen-yellow light on his shield as heavy as a mountain. He channeled the Death Knight's immense force into the ground beneath his feet, refusing to yield an inch!
The two of them were like the sturdiest wedges, driven firmly between the Death Knight and its warhorse!
A tactic formed in an instant.
With Lin Qingyue's precise strike as the signal and Wang Lei and Lin Xiyue as the bulwark, every other damage dealer unleashed their most powerful single-target attacks without reservation, pouring them all onto the heavily wounded Undead Warhorse
From the backline, Jiang Xue unleashed her Frost Domain at full power, while the Order Mage's Law Auras stacked layer upon layer.
The two Assassins moved like phantoms, their daggers striking relentlessly at the gaps in the warhorse's joints and its Soul Fire core.
And then there was Lin Qingyue, dual-wielding swords, her sword energy slashing wildly as she focused all her damage on the horse's legs...
Under the terrifying attack speed boost of [Master, It's Tea Time!], skills that normally required casting or charging now activated almost instantly.
Countless flashes of light—both physical and magical—wove together into an inescapable net of death, completely overwhelming the Undead Warhorse.
No matter how intelligent or agile the warhorse was, it was now a tiger trapped on the plains, a dragon stranded in shallow waters.
The frost encasing its body grew thicker, its movements slowing to a crawl. The wounds on its legs multiplied, and its Soul Fire dimmed visibly.
Finally, after a powerful vertical slash from Mo Chen, a devastating [Thousand Army Sweep] from the Berserker, and three perfectly timed sword strikes from Lin Qingyue...
CRACK—BOOM!
The Undead Warhorse's battered foreleg shattered completely!
The massive skeleton lost its balance and crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
It struggled, trying to rise, but the party's attacks rained down like a storm.
A great axe shattered its skull, a greatsword severed its spine, and daggers shredded the last embers of its Soul Fire...
[Undead Warhorse · Elite · Lv. 30 — DEFEATED!]
The moment the notification appeared, the incredibly tenacious Undead Warhorse completely fell apart, collapsing into a pile of lifeless, shattered bones.
"We did it!" Lin Xiyue cried out in delight.
However, before anyone could celebrate...
"ROOOOAR—!!!"
A soul-shattering roar, filled with endless rage, agony, and madness, erupted violently from the Death Knight's chest!
The pale white Soul Fire in its eye sockets instantly turned blood-red!
Dark red, blood-like energy seeped from the seams of its menacing black armor. The temperature inside the church plummeted once more, and the air filled with a nauseating stench of blood and decay.
Its attack power skyrocketed!
But at the same time, the luster of its armor dimmed slightly.
"Watch out! It's enraged!" Wang Lei roared, his arm numb from the Death Knight's subsequent, power-boosted strike. He stumbled back three steps, unable to control his momentum.
Lin Xiyue grunted, feeling as if she'd been struck head-on by a battering ram. Her [Immovable Mountain] shield hummed, straining under the immense force.
Having lost its beloved mount, the Death Knight had gone completely berserk!
Its attacks lost all form, reduced to the purest, most savage slashes and sweeps.
Each strike carried an annihilating will. As the eerie blue greatsword swung, the resulting wind pressure carved deep scars into the church's stone pillars and walls.
But as a trade-off for this ultimate attack power, the thick layer of death energy armor surrounding it grew thin, and its Anti-Magic Shield flickered more violently.
An opportunity!
Danger and opportunity coexisted!
"Its defenses are failing! Full DPS!" Zhao Shihao's eyes blazed with sharp light as he squeezed out his last reserves of Magic Power. The incandescent beam of his [Phoenix Cry: Solar Impact] grew even more concentrated, scorching the Anti-Magic Shield with a sizzling sound as cracks spread across its surface!
Mo Chen remained silent, the dark red runes on his greatsword glowing like branding irons. He surged forward again, his sword qi aimed directly at the weak points in the Death Knight's armor joints!
Lin Qingyue brandished her twin swords, feeling the [Master, I've Ascended!] skill slowly begin to recharge within her. Her gaze locked onto the gaps in the Death Knight's armor.
The time to slay the "dragon" had come