Nolan’s defense was like a bowstring stretched to the point of snapping, but he did not retreat. The Apostle’s inverted human head fixed its hollow gaze on him, while the massive lizard head had already locked onto the “prey” behind him.
Nolan spread his legs slightly, lowering his center of gravity, Mountain’s Resonance held horizontally before him.
The Apostle snatched up the heavy iron club from the ground and brought it crashing down. Boom!
Nolan did not meet it head-on. He shifted his footing, letting his blade slide along the side of the club in a reverse cut, sparks flying as he severed two of the fingers gripping it. The club slipped from its grasp and smashed crookedly into the ground, blasting out a deep crater.
But the assault did not stop. The thick tail tore through the air, so fast it left only a green afterimage.
Nolan twisted his waist and raised his sword to block.
Clang!
The tremendous force numbed his hands and drove him sliding backward several meters. Before he could regain his footing, the three tentacles stabbed upward from a diagonal angle.
From the very beginning, the battle had been a relentless dance on the edge of life and death, without a moment to breathe. Nolan was like a leaf caught in a storm, barely holding on beneath the Apostle’s torrential assault. More and more wounds opened across his body.
The Apostle was not unscathed either. The sharp edge of Mountain’s Resonance had carved several deep, bone-revealing gashes into its flesh, dark green blood flowing freely. But it made no difference. Those grotesque wounds writhed and closed at a visible speed. The monster possessed rapid regeneration. Every gain Nolan earned at the cost of injury vanished within a few breaths.
“Truly… incomprehensible.” The Guide stood in the distance with his arms crossed, watching with a deep frown. “What exactly are you holding on for?”
He watched as Nolan was once again smashed away by the iron club, crashing into the rock wall, only to kick off it immediately and charge back. In midair, Nolan unleashed a bizarre sword technique that carved a large chunk of flesh from the Apostle’s shoulder.
Again and again, the young man struggled back to his feet, swaying, yet unyielding as he stood in the Apostle’s path.
The Guide’s voice was filled with confusion. “What does any of this have to do with you? If you weren’t so stubborn, perhaps I would have been in a good mood and spared your life. You don’t even know that girl! Throwing your life away for someone unrelated, don’t you think that’s foolish? Why bother, young man? You’re just wasting everyone’s time.”
【Mercenary level increased to 15! Maximum level for current class reached!】
【Max HP increased. Current HP restored by 50%!】
【Passive Skill acquired: Assault】
In the midst of battle, Nolan had already raised his mercenary level twice, using the recovery from leveling up to replenish his nearly exhausted strength and health. He breathed heavily, chest heaving, sweat and blood sliding down from his brow.
He lifted his head and looked at the middle-aged man, a bloodstained cold smile forming on his lips. “Scum like you, hiding in the gutters, spreading chaos, trampling everything others hold dear just to chase your selfish, absurd delusions… How could you possibly understand how I feel right now?”
The Guide was baffled. He could not understand. This young man looked barely of age—why did he harbor such deep hatred for the Nihility Cult?
After all, the cult’s plans had only just begun. Most of its members were still lying low across various nations, not yet truly acting.
“Where does all this righteousness and hatred come from? You keep insulting the cult as if you know it well, but how could someone like you ever comprehend its greatness? Countless followers advance one after another for the grand vision of the Formless God. It is a cause that transcends life itself!” The Guide’s voice rose, filled with fervor. “No matter how much you know, whether for the glory of the cult or for that young dragon, today this place will be your grave.”
Nolan crossed paths with the Apostle once more. He had been forced back to the edge of the wall. Behind him lay the unconscious silver-haired girl.
His current HP stood at 1205 out of 1900. His Mercenary level could no longer increase. His body was covered in bruises and cuts, and his lungs burned with every breath. Yet he still stood straight.
What flashed through his mind was not only the unknown girl behind him. It was the final lament of the Elfin Kingdom in his previous life. The oath to defend, the nameless heroes who had fallen, and Princess Flina, who chose death without hesitation when the royal capital fell.
He drew in a deep breath, ignoring the roaring Apostle before him, and pointed the blood-soaked greatsword toward the middle-aged man. “Transcends life? Advancing one after another?”
Scenes of blood and fire flashed through his mind, the eyes of the fearless burning with defiance.
“Stop glorifying yourselves. You think you’re worthy?” His voice was hoarse, vicious. “On this path of fighting for ideals and protection, I’ll be a hundred times more resolute than lunatics like you!”
The moment his words fell, the ancient runes on Mountain’s Resonance began to light up, one after another.
Humm…
Streams of heavy, earthen-yellow energy flowed from the blade, rapidly forming a phantom suit of full-body heavy armor around him before contracting sharply and merging into his body, vanishing without a trace.
Nolan felt as though the entire world had changed.
A profoundly ancient and heavy will echoed deep within his mind, a presence whose language he could not understand, yet whose meaning came through with startling clarity. It carried recognition, goodwill, and an unmistakable sense of closeness. Even the land beneath his feet, the surrounding rock walls, and the dense earth elements in the air seemed to respond to him, as if welcoming him in quiet celebration. It was an experience unlike anything he had ever known.
The sudden change set alarm bells ringing in the Guide’s mind, an inexplicable unease tightening around his heart. He was certain that this young man’s strength was inferior to the Apostle’s; that much was beyond doubt. And yet, for some reason, he felt a growing sense of tension.
“End it quickly! Kill him and withdraw immediately!”
Unwilling to let the situation drag on, the Guide made his decision. He pulled a delicate hand crossbow from his sleeve and aimed it at the Apostle. A bolt fitted with a green syringe shot forward and pierced into its back.
Roar!
The Apostle let out a pained howl the instant the green liquid was injected. Its already grotesque body began to swell unnaturally as muscles bulged, veins throbbed, and every scale stood on end. Nolan could feel its strength surging at a frightening rate, while a savage light burst from the human head embedded within the lizard’s maw.
In the next instant, the Apostle’s massive body disappeared from where it stood.
No, not vanished. Nolan’s battle-hardened instincts screamed a warning. It was speed. Movement so fast it bordered on the extreme. He had no time to think. He immediately raised Mountain’s Resonance in front of him.
Boom! A terrifying force slammed into the blade. The impact made it feel as though the bones in his arms were crying out, his palms splitting open as the sword was driven back into his chest and forced a mouthful of blood from his lips. Even so, he continued to resist and counterattack with sheer tenacity. The abnormal gravity carried by Mountain’s Resonance repeatedly disrupted the Apostle’s balance and allowed Nolan to narrowly evade otherwise lethal strikes.
The assault did not relent. The iron club came crashing down again with a heavy roar, while the three tentacles shot in from the side like lightning, sealing off every possible path of retreat. It was a killing blow with no escape.
In that instant, Nolan cast aside all stray thoughts and roared as he poured every ounce of strength into his arms. Mountain’s Resonance traced a familiar arc, the blade slashing diagonally downward from the upper left and precisely splitting apart the incoming tentacles. Then his wrist twisted at an almost impossible angle, his left hand driving the motion as the blade carved a fierce V-shaped trajectory upward to meet the descending iron club.
Clang!
The strongest sword technique of his previous life, one he had not inherited through the system, resurfaced in that moment through pure instinct. It was the Falling Star Blade.
He managed to neutralize most of the force, but it was still not enough. The remaining power crashed heavily into his right shoulder. A clear crack of bone breaking followed, and searing pain flooded his body. Before he could even react, the cunning tail pierced straight through his left shoulder from behind, and his vision was instantly swallowed by red.
【HP: 0 / 1900】
【Unyielding has been activated】
ROAAR!
The Apostle, now fully transformed into a monster, let out its first true howl since the battle began, the sound filled with savage triumph as though it were celebrating the destruction of an enemy that refused to die.
Then the roar stopped abruptly.
It had seen something.
Behind the man it had just pierced, the man who should have died, a pair of pure golden eyes had opened at some unknown moment. At the same time, a low chant echoed out, ancient and impossible to comprehend.
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