Taking You as a Substitute to Vent My Anger, Resurrection, End

My mouth tastes like blood.

In a daze.

A thin layer of fog obscured the view.

Inside the Paladin's helmet, Zesshi Zetsumei was panting heavily, his expression excited, swinging his fists with a hint of madness.

With each punch landed.

The cracking of bones mingled with the splattering blood, accompanied by the increasingly weak screams and groans of the Elf King.

The taste of blood in my mouth was from the injury I had just sustained.

The slightly blurred vision was probably due to heavy breathing, which made the air inside the helmet stale.

As he thought to himself, Zesshi Zetsumei raised his fist, which was imprinted on the Elf King's bloodied face, the Platinum Rank armor gauntlets stained red with blood.

Tick-tock!

Drops of blood dripped from between the fingers of the Platinum Rank gloves.

Why have you stopped struggling?

Zesshi Zetsumei stared at the Elf King, whose proud demeanor was now unrecognizable as he was, his face a bloody mess, and spoke in disappointment:

"Even the screams have stopped... Hey, scream one more time!"

"Cough... Ooh... Oh..."

The Elf King's upper lip had disappeared, and all his teeth were shattered. He opened his mouth, which was constantly overflowing with blood, and made strange sounds from his throat.

Along with that!

The Elf King's limbs twitched uncontrollably.

"Tsk~"

The excitement on Zesshi Zetsumei's face gradually faded, and he let out a slightly disdainful and disappointed click of his tongue. He stood up and stretched.

"That's so disappointing, but he should still be breathing."

During the continuous barrage of punches, she actually held back slightly, not out of kindness, but simply because she was afraid of using too much force and accidentally killing the person.

Click?

The Cross-Spear War Scythe danced in mid-air, leaving black afterimages and emitting a sharp screech, before being Zesshi Zetsumei.

Looking at the Elf King, who still retained some consciousness.

Whoosh--la--

Zesshi Zetsumei raised both hands, pressed down on both sides of the Paladin's helmet and pulled it off. A tuft of white hair tied at the end of her hair, and she leaped out first, letting it fall naturally behind her.

A delicate, fair-skinned girl's face, her forehead damp with sweat, was exposed to the air, her striking heterochromatic black and white eyes revealing indifference.

"Finally, you've been removed from my mind."

Zesshi Zetsumei smiled as usual, staring at the Elf King on the ground, and tilted his head:

"Well, I don't actually hate you. After all, you haven't done anything to me."

"Perhaps I can criticize you for not fulfilling your responsibilities as a father, but judging from your expression, you don't even know I exist..."

"To be honest, it's my mother who hates you; this hatred of mine was instilled in me by her."

The words "Zesshi Zetsumei" seemed to be spoken both to the Elf King and to himself, and the smile on his face deepened.

"The person I hate... the person I want to vent my anger on should be my mother, but unfortunately, she died young, so I have no way to take it out on her."

"So you're the only one I can use to vent my frustrations. Ultimately—the strong can do whatever they want to the weak."

You agree, don't you?

Click!

After saying "Zesshi Zetsumei," he reached out again and pulled the Cross-Spear War Scythe out of the ground.

"Hmm? Are you casting some kind of magic? You're really persistent."

Goodbye, Dad~

Zesshi Zetsumei deliberately made a sweet, cloying sound, but her hands moved swiftly, thrusting out her weapon.

Puff!

The black blade at the top of the Cross-Spear War Scythe pierced precisely into the Elf King's heart.

With a smile on his face, Zesshi Zetsumei twisted hard, and a stream of blood gushed out from the wound cut by the blade, completely pulverizing its heart.

The Elf King trembled, and his once bright and clear eyes completely lost their light.

Whoosh--!

Zesshi Zetsumei drew his Cross-Spear War Scythe, flicked it to let the blood slide off, and lightly raised his right arm to rest it on his shoulder.

"Boss, your plan is going to fail."

Zesshi Zetsumei turned around, her gaze sweeping across the distant jungle. She wasn't sure where Tang Zheng was hiding, so she simply grinned smugly and shouted:

"Then let's go with my suggestion!"

Before the battle began.

Zesshi Zetsumei knew that Tang Zheng had the idea of taking the Elf King into the [Crown], and the specifics would depend on the outcome of the battle.

Now!

Since the Elf King was killed by her, we must take her advice and reject the decision to have the Elf King join the [Crown].

Boss?

What kind of ridiculous title is that?

Tang Zheng was in stealth mode under the "Ninja Concealment" spell when he heard the Zesshi Zetsumei shouts coming from ahead, and his eye twitched.

"Crown," Lord Tang, Your Excellency Tang, Blackie, Boss, etc., these are the names that Zesshi Zetsumei uses to address him.

As for which title to choose?

It depends entirely on Zesshi Zetsumei's mood at the time; it's as unpredictable as the other person's personality and emotions.

No!

Now is not the time to worry about how you address someone.

Tang Zheng looked towards the location of the Elf King's corpse, his eyes narrowing like blades. "For battles of this level, death doesn't necessarily mean the end."

"Call"--!

A faint breathing sound.

Zesshi Zetsumei's ears twitched, his smile froze instantly, his pupils dilated slightly, and he turned around quickly in disbelief to look behind him.

And there it was!

In the pit.

The Elf King had sat up; his previously mangled face had returned to normal, but now, pale and filled with resentment and fear, he stared at Zesshi Zetsumei.

"Seventh-Tier Magic: Shining Burst!"

Boom!

As if the Sun Anglerfish had been ignited, its Radiance and scorching heat spread rapidly, creating an astonishing wave of heat.

The magic was activated extremely quickly.

Furthermore, given the Zesshi Zetsumei, they never even considered the possibility of the Elf King being resurrected.

Before they could even mount a defensive stance, they were thrown out by the shockwave and the scorching heat.

The spell has been cast.

The Elf King scrambled to his feet in a disheveled state, turned, and ran away, without any intention of seeking revenge.

It hurts!

It hurts!

Even if they have been resurrected.

The excruciating pain in his face and the agonizing agony of having his chest pierced and his heart shattered were still vividly etched into his body's memory.

The Elf King's heart pounded wildly, his trembling legs regained their strength, and he fled with all his might into the depths of the jungle.

"Escape... We must leave here immediately."

The intense fear that arose from the experience of death made the Elf King have no intention of returning to the Elf King City.

He no longer cared about anything else; the only thought in his mind was to survive!

Behemot has been killed.

We can't summon her at all now, and our magic power is severely depleted. We no longer have the strength to fight that bastard daughter.

"Thank goodness... yeah, that bastard can't be caught."

The Elf King's figure darted through the forest like a flying arrow, displaying unprecedented speed under the stimulation of fear.

Even as Druid, Magic Caster, in a jungle environment, if one's only thought is to escape...

He was confident that his bastard daughter couldn't catch up to him!

"Hello?"

Suddenly, a faint voice rang out from ahead of the escape route.

The Elf King was so frightened that he almost fell off the branch he was standing on. He quickly looked up and saw a figure in a white Priest's robe blocking his way.

Who is this?

People from the Theocracy?

Never mind, just kill them!

The Elf King paused briefly before lunging at Tang Zheng. He believed that apart from his bastard daughter who had inherited his bloodline, the rest of the Theocracy were no threat.

Even in my current state... I could kill someone like you with a single punch while you're chanting magic!

The Elf King's eyes flashed with intense killing intent. He rushed to Tang Zheng's side in one breath, looked at Tang Zheng who seemed to be standing there dumbfounded, and threw a punch.

--at the same time!

On the battlefield.

Under the shockwave of the "Shining Burst" heat wave, Zesshi Zetsumei's body crashed through three large trees before finally coming to a stop.

"Cough..."

Zesshi Zetsumei's face flushed crimson instantly, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his throat. The blinding sunlight made his vision completely white.

"Get out here! I'm going to kill you!"

He quickly got up from the ground.

Zesshi Zetsumei wiped the blood from her mouth, roared, and her vision was temporarily "Blindness," making it impossible for her to see anything around her.

Even so!

In that brief moment, without a second magical attack, Jue Zesshi Zetsumei deduced that the Elf King had already escaped.

Hateful!!

Zesshi Zetsumei cursed the Elf King's cunning in his heart, and at the same time realized what had just happened.

According to the knowledge imparted by Tang Zheng, there are only two possibilities for this situation to occur:

Resurrection items or Resurrection Magic!

It's too late to regret it.

"You can't escape!!"

Zesshi Zetsumei's expression turned ferocious and manic. He roared again, and his vision began to gradually return.

The moment you can see things around you clearly.

Bang!

The ground shook.

Zesshi Zetsumei had already rushed out, but before he had run a few dozen meters, he suddenly stopped.

Due to the glaring sunlight just now.

This made it impossible for her to determine which direction the Elf King had fled in. In the vast "Great Forest of Evasha," finding the Elf King, who was determined to escape, was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

That's why!

The reason for this was that they deliberately waited until the Elf King was lured out before making their move.

"That's right!"

Zesshi Zetsumei seemed to remember something and turned to look at the figures who had been standing on the outermost edge:

"Cerberus!"

As a top-tier monster, Cerberus, being related to "dogs," should have a keen sense of smell and might be able to track down the fleeing Elf King.

However.

Under the scrutiny of Zesshi Zetsumei's gaze, apart from two Elf, no trace of Cerberus was found on the outermost edge of the battlefield.

"Have they already left?"

The thought popped into Zesshi Zetsumei's mind, then she shook her head in denial:

"The time must have come; the summoned monster has disappeared."

This battle has lasted for about an hour since it started, long before the normal summoning time for monsters has expired.

Step~

Step~

The sound of footsteps crunching on the damp ground drifted slowly from the outskirts of the battlefield.

Just as Zesshi Zetsumei was about to randomly choose a direction to give chase, she looked up, her tense nerves relaxed, and then she curled her lip in displeasure:

"What the heck~"

And there it was!

Tang Zheng carried the Elf King, whose body was charred black and whose limbs were obviously twisted and broken, out of the jungle ahead.

Those charred wounds were probably from a lightning-type magical attack.

Zesshi Zetsumei made a mental judgment, his heterochromatic eyes sweeping over her limbs, and he was slightly puzzled, unable to guess what kind of magic had caused it.

but.

She didn't take it to heart. Her knowledge of magic was extremely limited, and she was far from proficient in it.

What Zesshi Zetsumei was concerned about now was something else entirely—had the Elf King truly been defeated by her?

This could involve the other party's decision on whether or not to join "The Crown"!

"Tang!"

In the distance, Imina huddled under a broken tree stump, her amber eyes wide as she stared at the figure that felt both familiar and suddenly strange.

"Really."

Tang Zheng grabbed the Elf King by the scruff of his neck, dragging him along the ground, and warned Zesshi Zetsumei:

"It seems you haven't adjusted yet. The opponent you're facing now is no longer the weakling you once taught a lesson."

"Whether it's him or you, what you consider 'rich combat experience' is actually just 'playing with the weak,' which hardly qualifies as experience."

"You've never fought against opponents of equal strength, which is why you made all sorts of tactical mistakes."

Tang Zheng's voice turned serious as he finished speaking; he needed to make Zesshi Zetsumei understand some facts.

Zesshi Zetsumei's lips curled downwards, his arms crossed over his chest, and his head turned to the side.

He put on a displeased expression, but in reality, Zesshi Zetsumei listened attentively without offering any rebuttal.

As the guardian deity of the Theocracy, she seemed to have never been reprimanded like this since she defeated everyone!

but...

Zesshi Zetsumei could still sense Tang Zheng's care and concern for her.

Heh~

"Who told you to be stronger than me? Oh well," Zesshi Zetsumei thought to herself.

"This guy ended up like this."

"It was a series of misjudgments. At the very least, when the Root Earth Elemental couldn't deal with you immediately, preparations for evacuation should have been made."

Tang Zheng lifted the Elf King and threw it away with a flick of his wrist.

With a "bang".

The Elf King crashed to the ground, splashing up a cloud of mud.

"If you don't know how much stamina and magic power the enemy has, it's not shameful to retreat once you're at a disadvantage."

"The key is to set a stop-loss point for yourself."

Tang Zheng emphasized the words "stop-loss point" and, in more colloquial terms, addressed Zesshi Zetsumei:

"In other words, you need to have the physical strength to ensure your own retreat. Of course, you'll need to make that judgment yourself."

Even so.

Tang Zheng believed that it would still be difficult to achieve this through Zesshi Zetsumei, given the opponent's personality; they were likely to get carried away in battle.

"Okay, okay."

After listening, Zesshi Zetsumei nods vigorously like a primary school student, then stares intently at Tang Zheng with his heterochromatic black and white eyes:

"What are you planning to do next, buddy?"

The Elf King is currently unconscious but not dead. Since Tang Zheng didn't kill him, then...

"He was defeated by you in a way."

"This guy doesn't deserve to join [The Crown], but he's still useful, and I need to make use of him."

Tang Zheng glanced at the unconscious Elf King and spoke directly.

Zesshi Zetsumei's eyes lit up, and a look of joy appeared on her delicate face.

(End of this chapter)