Lin Qingyue's dismissive remark, "Not even worth a sneer," acted like a fuse, igniting the Corrupted Treant Tina's final descent into madness.
She glared venomously at the blindfolded, pink-haired woman.
It wasn't disdain or contempt.
It was an absolute suppression originating from a higher level of existence, like a natural predator gazing down upon prey destined to be crushed.
This was annihilation on a fundamental level!
Unwilling!
Vicious!
Insane!
A maelstrom of emotions erupted within Tina's chest, her twisted face contorting into an even more grotesque mask of fury.
"Aaaargh—!"
"I'll... entomb... you... here... with me!"
An inhuman shriek tore from Tina's throat. Her massive body instantly transformed into a bottomless black hole, greedily devouring every wisp of purple-black Fel Energy in the plaza.
The residual energy within the frozen Enhanced Treants was forcibly stripped away, surging back as torrents of dark power that poured into her body.
A colossal shadow vortex, dripping with foul, viscous slime, rapidly formed with her at its core.
The space around it groaned under the strain, threatening to drag the entire plaza into a rotting abyss.
Yet, behind her colossal form, in a corner overlooked by all, the nearly forgotten Marcus's eyes flashed with a sinister, fanatical gleam.
Taking advantage of Tina drawing everyone's attention, Marcus swiftly chanted an ancient, evil incantation in a barely audible whisper, his hands forming strange sigils before his chest.
Tina's desperate resolve for mutual destruction caused City Lord Punk's expression to change drastically. He instinctively pushed his shield to its maximum.
Zhou Yi's team was forced to retreat repeatedly, the aura emanating from the vortex tearing at their very souls.
Yet, Lin Qingyue, the target at the storm's center, merely frowned slightly.
Tsk, what a pain.
A flicker of impatience crossed her mind. She had originally intended to spare the Treant's life, hoping to interrogate it for information about the so-called "Deity."
But now, "Jingliu's" killing instinct surged like a raging flood, relentlessly battering the dam of her rationality.
An overwhelming, instinctual hatred for the "Abominations of Abundance" screamed in her mind.
Purify!
Destroy!
Erase!
Wipe this ugly, foul monster—this blasphemy against the beauty of life—from the face of the world!
Icy killing intent seeped into every fiber of her being. Her fingertips began to tremble uncontrollably.
It wasn't fear, but an indescribable excitement!
An instinctive craving to sever karmic ties and slay evil!
Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, Grandma Jingliu! Leave it alive! Alive! So we can interrogate it and find the mastermind! Show some mercy!
Lin Qingyue screamed internally, desperately fighting her body's instincts.
She knew perfectly well that a single "Transcendent Flash" wouldn't just kill the target—it would turn it into a one-of-a-kind ice sculpture, rendering any hope of gathering intelligence utterly lost.
I'll just use a minor skill to inflict a serious injury, she decided.
Holding the sword of pure ice crystal in one hand, she pointed its tip diagonally toward the ground, her posture so elegant it seemed out of place in a life-or-death battle.
Her eyes, covered by a black silk ribbon, "locked onto" the wildly expanding mass of foul energy.
Her voice, as clear and cold as ice water dripping onto a jade plate, softly uttered five words:
"With moonlight as my blade."
Yes, yes, that's the right amount of power! Perfect! Wounded but not dead—just right!
However, just as the sword qi was about to be released...
Her sword arm was instantly seized by an older, more ancient will. With a precision beyond human limits, it abruptly adjusted the blade's angle and the way power was channeled into it!
Wait! No! Holy shit, my hand! It has a mind of its own! Stop!
Alarm bells blared in Lin Qingyue's mind, but her body had already reacted.
Several slender, graceful crescent-shaped blades of ice qi silently detached from the sword.
There was no earth-shattering roar, no piercing shriek tearing through the sky.
Quiet, light, and imbued with a tragic, artistic beauty, they drifted toward the massive shadow vortex.
The sword qi was so thin, so restrained.
But under the horrified gazes of City Lord Punk, Zhou Yi, and the others, these seemingly fragile moon arcs, upon contact with the shadow vortex powerful enough to tear steel, displayed an incomprehensible, ultimate sharpness.
Ssshh—
There was no explosion, no clash of opposing forces.
The massive shadow vortex was effortlessly sliced through the middle by the crescent-shaped sword qi, shattering into pieces!
The dispersing Fel Energy didn't even have time to scatter before it was frozen into a sky full of ice crystals by the extreme cold, which then rustled down like snow.
After tearing through the vortex, the sword qi's momentum remained undiminished as it passed through Tina's enormous body like phantoms.
One second.
Two seconds.
All of Tina's movements froze.
Her face was still locked in the final trace of madness and ferocity.
The next moment, extremely fine ice-blue lines spread rapidly across her massive body, originating from the points where the sword qi had passed.
Crack!
Terrifying cold energy erupted from within, instantly destroying all life force and Fel Energy inside her.
Like a giant ice sculpture with all its support removed, she collapsed to her knees with a thunderous crash, her breath of life flickering like a candle in the wind—already on the brink of death.
"..."
Lin Qingyue felt the outcome, her heart turning ice-cold. She just wanted to slap herself.
Fuck! I promised not to kill! Why can't I control my own hand?! Grandma Jingliu, your muscle memory is just too ridiculous!
The power of this insane beauty was far harder to control than she had imagined.
The scene of her "accidentally" one-shotting the BOSS left Zhou Yi's team in the distance completely unable to process what had just happened.
It wasn't just shock; it was a profound sense of powerlessness.
Just moments ago, they were struggling to survive against a sea of Enhanced Treants. Now, in the blink of an eye, the final BOSS had been insta-killed in a single move?
This was beyond absurd!
Meanwhile, Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian all wore expressions that screamed, "As expected."
Lin Xiyue even wanted to applaud her sister, but seeing her in that cold, aloof Sword Immortal attire, she felt it would be inappropriate and forced herself to hold back.
Su Wan calmly pushed up her non-existent glasses, her eyes flickering rapidly. She was clearly analyzing the data from that last sword strike and comparing it to her own [Karula's Greatsword].
Above the plaza, the ridiculous BGM continued to echo relentlessly. Just then, a new line of lyrics rang out:
"Ahhh~ Jing Yuan tosses his seniority aside! Ahhh~ Rallies the Bishop to f*ck up Abundance!"
Xia Lian's cheeks flushed even redder. The lyrics, combined with Sister Qingyue's "I one-shot her, got a problem?" posture, pushed the cringe factor off the charts.
Just as Lin Qingyue was about to step forward to see if she could pry some information from the dying Tina...
A sudden change occurred!
Marcus, who had been skulking behind Tina all this time, finally completed his insidious and lengthy chant!
His face twisted with fanatical fervor, he dropped to his knees, thrusting his hands high into the sky. With all his strength, he offered a sacrifice to some unknown entity!
"Great Mother of Rebirth! Your loyal servant begs for your divine miracle to descend upon this place!"
As he cried out, his entire Magic Power, along with a portion of his life force, erupted into a towering pillar of black and red light that pierced the heavens!
In an instant, he aged several decades, his skin sagging and his hair turning withered and white.
Above, the dark clouds already tainted by Fel Energy were instantly torn asunder.
A colossal spatial rift was violently torn open from the other side by an overwhelmingly tyrannical force!
The sky was falling.
It was the only thought in everyone's mind.
An immense, primordial, chaotic, and terrifying pressure, saturated with tyrannical killing intent, crashed down like a trillion tons of seawater!
The air grew thick and viscous. Every breath felt like swallowing scorching blades.
The weaker guards instantly turned deathly pale, their legs giving way as they collapsed to their knees. An invisible hand seemed to seize their hearts, making even breathing an impossible luxury.
The members of Zhou Yi's team also paled drastically, hastily activating their defensive Skills just to remain standing under the suffocating pressure.
"Is an un-nerfed BOSS really something we can fight right now...?"
Everyone stared in horror at the ominous rift in the sky.
Suddenly, two terrifying wolf claws, covered in thick black fur and tipped with razor-sharp nails, shot out from the rift!
The claws dug into the edges of the rift, easily stabilizing the space.
Then, they ripped it violently apart!
ROAR—!!!
With a deafening roar, a terrifying figure, ten meters tall, forcibly squeezed its way through the spatial rift
It was a colossal bipedal werewolf, its entire body radiating a terrifying aura of Corruption, Chaos, and Slaughter. Its crimson bestial eyes burned with tyranny and madness.
The instant it appeared, a glaring, blood-red warning flashed simultaneously on the game panels of Lin Qingyue and the other three.
[Howling Moon Werewolf · Chieftain (Corrupted) · Modu]
[Level: Lv. ???]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil]
[Note: A brute that pursued power and willingly pledged itself to an Evil God.]
Three question marks for the level again!
The expressions of Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian instantly turned grave.
However, something even more unexpected happened.
The newly arrived Werewolf Chieftain Modu swept its tyrannical crimson eyes across the battlefield.
It ignored Marcus, who had sacrificed himself, and the Cat-eared City Lord. Instead, its gaze instantly locked onto Lin Qingyue, whose aura was the most unique—and the most dangerous.
Its nostrils flared violently, as if discerning a unique "scent" in the air.
The next second, a flicker of human-like astonishment crossed the werewolf's ferocious face, instantly transforming into overwhelming rage.
It was a bone-deep hatred for its natural enemy, surging from the depths of its soul and the brand upon its bloodline!
"This sword intent... this foul stench... Impossible!"
"You lingering dogs of Order!"
It let out a roar that shook the entire Blackrock Stronghold, its voice laced with incomprehensible shock, fury, and hatred.
"How dare you set foot in my Lord's hunting grounds?!"