Drawing the Hero's Holy Sword

"So it's basically out of reach for ordinary people!"

Stark understood.

Anyway, probably, maybe, this sword was so grand and impressive that he was definitely never going to have anything to do with it. He shouldn't even think about it.

The group entered the village chief's house, where Xuezhi passed her grandmother's last words on to Frieren and complained about how little regard Frieren had for time.

Having received her old friend's last words, Frieren finally found peace. She nodded without speaking.

Xuezhi told them about the village's recent circumstances and asked Frieren to eliminate the Mountain Lord, a monster intent on destroying the Sacred Sword.

Frieren agreed and decided to set out the next day.

The four ate a casual meal, then went their separate ways and retired to their bedrooms.

After resting for a while, Dugu Qing took a stroll along the mountain path in search of good food.

He bought a few snacks and ate as he walked, enjoying the scenery and skiing over the snow.

On his way back, Dugu Qing stumbled upon a cave.

The ground here was steeped in an ancient aura and covered in dust. Clearly, no one had been here for a long time.

Dugu Qing peered curiously into the deep shadows of the cave and strolled forward. At the end, he found a dusty longsword.

The sword was embedded in a rock. Its deep-blue guard was exquisite and bright, its silvery-white blade seamless and natural, its form solemn and dignified, brimming with an ancient air.

There was no telling how long it had rested here in silence since its creation.

Dugu Qing raised his eyes and looked around, wondering who had left their sword here, then casually reached for the Hero's Sword.

When his fingertips touched the hilt, a bone-deep chill greeted him at first.

A moment later, a gentle warmth quietly spread from his palm throughout his body.

A strange pulse suddenly rippled through the Sacred Sword. Deep-blue divine radiance rose from its blade, enveloping Dugu Qing from head to toe in layer after layer.

Dugu Qing gripped the Sacred Sword and pulled gently. In an instant, it was as though mountains and rivers overturned and heaven and earth split apart. Ripples spread through the void.

The Sacred Sword, masterless since its creation, had finally welcomed its child of destiny.

Dugu Qing drew the Sacred Sword, looked ahead unhurriedly, and gave his wrist a light flick.

Vast, boundless divine power surged from the Sacred Sword and swept through his body.

Deep-blue divine light erupted into the sky around Dugu Qing, and his eyes suddenly grew sharp and commanding, as if he had transformed into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan.

The veins of the earth, the patterns of mountains and rocks, the laws of space, the course of time, the heartbeat of the planet—all the mysteries of the world appeared before Dugu Qing with unprecedented clarity.

Dugu Qing's eyes widened slightly as he gazed in surprise at everything around him. Like a dry sponge greedily soaking up an endless sea, his realm of understanding rose rapidly.

Energy from heaven and earth poured madly toward Dugu Qing. A thousand brilliant colors and ten thousand streams of light flowed as wind and clouds gathered around him.

With all those mighty powers upon him, Dugu Qing's mana rose miraculously.

A hundred and fifty years, a hundred and sixty years, a hundred and seventy years... two hundred years.

An immensely powerful force arose within Dugu Qing. It seemed that, if he wished, he could shake heaven and earth and split open the world with a single thought.

The amount of mana rose wildly, and Dugu Qing's cells seemed barely able to withstand it. A slight feeling of tension spread through him, and the rise in his mana gradually came to an end.

Dugu Qing put down the Sacred Sword, and the wondrous sense of connection vanished at once. The world fell silent again.

He crouched down and gave the old rust on the Sacred Sword a quick wipe with his sleeve, arriving at a rough conclusion.

This sword was probably the legendary Hero’s Holy Sword.

If the Hero of the South and Himmel, the hero who defeated the Demon King, found out that Dugu Qing had casually pulled out the Hero's Sword they had longed for, they would surely faint with anger!

"Wait! I pulled out the Sacred Sword, which means... the World-Destroying Calamity might, probably, have already come into being, or be coming into being right now?"

"Me... be the savior? You've got to be kidding!"

The young Dugu Qing stepped back and raised his hand in a panic, plunging the Sacred Sword back into the rock.

Ever since he set out on his journey, Dugu Qing had only one goal: to eat more, play more, and see more.

It was all about taking it easy and living carefree.

Now the sword in the stone had suddenly been pulled out, inexplicably, leaving Dugu Qing completely unprepared.

Dugu Qing felt terrible, and even thought he had been set up.

He pursed his lips and left without looking back once.

Peace returned to the cave, save for a slight change in the angle at which the Hero’s Holy Sword was embedded in the rock.

The next day.

Sword Village, the village chief's house.

Dugu Qing had endured too much the day before, so he slept an extra two hours before slowly waking up.

When he opened his eyes, Frieren, Fern, and Stark all looked over.

"You all know about that too?!"

Dugu Qing was shocked, thinking everyone had found out that he had pulled out the Sacred Sword.

He wasn't mentally prepared yet!

Asking a carefree wanderer who loved life to save the world was far too much!

"Dugu Qing, what are you talking about? Didn't we agree to go fight the Mountain Lord?"

Stark looked at Dugu Qing, oblivious.

"So that's it!"

Dugu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, put his mind at ease, and got dressed.

"Dugu Qing, something's not right with you!"

Frieren looked at Dugu Qing quietly and pointed to the mana around him.

Dugu Qing believed in the principle that mana was justice and couldn't be bothered to use magic to conceal it, so Frieren noticed it at a glance.

Overnight, Dugu Qing's mana had suddenly risen to the level of two hundred years.

If there wasn't a secret behind this, Frieren would eat her suitcase on the spot...

"I'm fine, Frieren. Let's hurry and set out! I can't wait to defeat the monster."

Without answering Frieren's question, Dugu Qing picked up the Clear Radiance Sword and pushed open the door.

Seeing this, Frieren could only keep her doubts to herself. Dugu Qing's increase in strength wasn't a bad thing anyway, so if he didn't want to talk about it, so be it!

When Xuezhi saw Dugu Qing, she put on a warm cloak and led the four of them up the mountain.

The group reached the mountaintop, where gleaming white snow covered the mountains in every direction.

A pack of a dozen or so wolf-like monsters blocked the cave entrance. They circled the entrance, howling madly, their eyes bloodthirsty, as if a sworn enemy were inside.

"Isn't this... the cave where the Hero's Sword was yesterday?"

Dugu Qing quietly took a step back, placing the others protectively in front of him.

"Dugu Qing, don't you dare fight me for them. I can beat these monsters."

To prove he was no coward, Stark boldly raised his battle-axe and leaped into the wolf pack.

His axe slammed into the ground, stirring up a fierce blizzard that drove the entire pack back.

A burly, giant-wolf-like beast, as large as a giant, swooped down through the air straight at Stark.

"That's the Mountain Lord," Xuezhi said, pointing it out.

Before she had finished speaking, Frieren had already swept into the air with her staff in hand. She raised a hand and cast an exquisite spell, defeating and killing the Mountain Lord with a single strike in an instant.

The Mountain Lord turned to ash and vanished without a trace.

Frieren turned and looked back, smiling calmly, graceful as an orchid.

"Dugu Qing, would you like to see the Hero's Sword in the Sacred Domain?"

Dugu Qing gently shook his head.