Thirteen Heroes Dead? An Accident? Zesshi's Challenge

One hundred thousand troops!

While it sounds like a massive undertaking, when divided among the troops drawn from the six noble families, each of the six marquises mobilized an average of less than 200 soldiers.

Ten thousand people.

If we add the military forces controlled by the Royal Family, the number of people would be even smaller when spread out.

"The perfunctory troop strength and the slow pace of advance, does that mean the Blue Sky Dragon Lord doesn't care?"

Tang Zheng, in the dark environment of the valley, stood with his arms crossed, casually leaning against the rugged mountain wall:

"Continue to monitor the movements of that Blue Sky Dragon Lord."

"Yes, Master," came Lainas's clear and sarcastic voice.

Remove the "information"!

Tang Zheng pondered quietly.

In this absurd and sudden war, the Kingdom certainly did not intend to exert its full strength.

It should be noted that in the future battle on the Katze Plains, Bolog alone will deploy 50,000 troops, and this is only a part of the Left Wing Corps.

Left Wing Corps?

That's the army that was sacrificed by Ainz Bone Lord's Super-Tier Magic "Dark Harvest," resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 soldiers.

"...·ah!"

Painful groans came from the darkness.

Tang Zheng looked up in the direction from which the sound came, and saw a "Flame Archangel" that served as a light source and also possessed "Night Vision" capabilities.

Deep in the Jet Black valley.

Under Tang Zheng's eyes, as if it were daytime, he easily spotted the agonizing groans of the Zesshi Zetsumei.

The magical ritual, covering an area of nearly 100 meters, emitted a deep, faint blue light, continuously drawing out the cursed energy from the surrounding environment and converging it towards the center of Zesshi Zetsumei!

"What the hell is this thing?!"

Zesshi Zetsumei was drenched in sweat, his fists clenched, kneeling on the ground, his entire body covered in a black curse.

"Blackie! You just wait!"

"Ugh, can we try something easier?!"

Another painful groan.

Beads of sweat dripped uncontrollably down his chin.

Zesshi Zetsumei pain of her clothes being torn apart, she felt as if the cursed energy was gnawing at her skin like invisible ants, even burrowing into her bones.

"Your strength is Fast Recovery, isn't it?"

Tang Zheng's tone was anything but comforting.

"Strange? It has such a big impact."

Tang Zheng frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "It shouldn't be a problem with my profession."

The Zesshi Zetsumei situation he was facing surprised him somewhat.

He remembered that he didn't feel any pain when he absorbed the cursed energy to upgrade his [Cursed Knight] class.

Perhaps it's because he has [Player]!

Evileye didn't encounter this situation either—oh, I almost forgot.

The Evileye is Undead. He absorbs Negative Energy that resonates with him, and as Undead, he does not experience the negative states of a normal living being.

"The energy of the curse is ' Negative Energy.' Forcibly inflicting it on a living person in their desperate struggle for survival, shouldn't the pain be considered normal?"

Tang Zheng smiled, casually reached into the air, took out a bottle of medicine from his Item Box, and tossed it towards the direction of Zesshi Zetsumei. "Drink this medicine directly; it will alleviate the pain!"

Zesshi Zetsumei stared intently, his heterochromatic eyes slightly bloodshot, and snatched the potion, gulping it down. The pain throughout his body immediately lessened considerably.

"Why didn't you take it out sooner?!"

"Cough."

Tang Zheng shrugged. "This medicine was just prepared."

This is one of several potions recently made by Nfirea, a potion made with herbs that have a similar paralyzing effect to relieve pain.

"Oh, I see."

The angry voice of Zesshi Zetsumei suddenly turned sweet, "Then thank you, Lord Tang."

"You're welcome," Tang Zheng.

Zesshi Zetsumei's eyelids twitched, he closed his mouth, sat cross-legged, and carefully sensed the changes within himself.

I've endured a lot of painful "training" during this period!

If it can be called "training".

Blackie wasn't lying; he really was getting stronger.

"His strength should have been greatly reduced due to death, but he feels stronger than before?"

"That's amazing!"

"And how exactly does this method of absorbing curse energy work? How can one become stronger through such a special method?"

Zesshi Zetsumei was inwardly amazed, but could only attribute it to Tang Zheng, and was filled with excitement:

"As expected of the man who could easily defeat me," Lord "Crown"!

The curse energy is gathering and becoming increasingly concentrated!

After nearly a month of continuous infusion of cursed energy, the intensity of Zesshi Zetsumei's aura has gradually returned to normal.

"Almost there."

Tang Zheng sensed the aura of Zesshi Zetsumei, feeling both satisfied and somewhat surprised:

"The cursed energy that has corrupted this valley is still sufficient; there shouldn't be any problems."

He originally thought that the cursed energy in the valley wouldn't be enough for Zesshi Zetsumei to level up the [Cursed Knight] to the maximum level.

Tang Zheng even planned to secretly channel his own affinity energy into the ritual.

The result is not required!

Who exactly owns that huge, grayish-black scale?

"The cursed energy leaking from the scales alone shouldn't be enough to pollute this valley so severely."

Tang Zheng initially suspected that the scales were from the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord or even the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord, but he has now ruled that out.

I've seen the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord before; although it wasn't his true form, I could still tell from the Golem clone.

More than 200 years ago, the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord had already transformed into Undead, and there is no record of him appearing in the northwest corner of the continent.

There is another, even more important, piece of evidence.

The Dark Knight, one of the Thirteen Heroes, died here!

"Speaking of which, the Thirteen Heroes aren't just human. Even excluding those deliberately erased by the Theocracy, there are also Elf, Dwarf, Giant, and other races."

"Based on normal life expectancy, these people should be alive by now."

Tang Zheng's heart skipped a beat as he realized something he had overlooked before. "So far, of the Thirteen Heroes who have survived, besides the Platinum Dragon Lord disguised as Silver Knight..."

"Only ' Necromancer ' Rigrit remains!"

How did those Thirteen Heroes die?

Tang Zheng's eyes suddenly narrowed as he remembered the Dryad Pinison, who had told him something before.

The first time the Evil Tree was defeated and sealed, it was done by the Thirteen Heroes, who also made a pact to defeat the world-destroying Evil Tree again.

The Dryad Pinison witnessed this scene.

The legendary tale also includes "The Story of the Twisted Treant".

You need to know!

The Evil Tree broke free of its seal in this era, since the Thirteen Heroes made this agreement back then.

This shows that they have survived to this day and never thought they would die!

"The Platinum Dragon Lord?"

The thought immediately flashed through Tang Zheng's mind, but he quickly shook his head.

"The possibility is low. It's possible that Player Riku died at the hands of the Platinum Dragon Lord. The hatred between the Eight Greed Kings and the Dragon Race runs too deep, and the Platinum Dragon Lord has a reason to take action."

"Taking care of the other Thirteen Heroes as well would be too blatant."

"Furthermore, given that Rigrit is still alive and has a close relationship with the Platinum Dragon Lord, the possibility is even lower."

Boom!

Suddenly.

A surge of power emerged, and the curse energy drawn by the magic device ceased at that moment.

"This is exactly Zesshi Zetsumei's entire body glowed with a white light, her face filled with disbelief as she felt the powerful force suddenly surging within her, which made her feel a little horrified."

What happened?

By absorbing cursed energy, the [Cursed Knight] was strengthened, and the extent of this strengthening was quite significant, which surprised her.

But just a moment ago!

It was as if she had broken through some kind of bottleneck, and the increase in her strength far exceeded her expectations!

Zesshi Zetsumei was certain that she hadn't fully recovered to her previous level, but her overall strength was far greater than before.

In the darkness.

Zesshi Zetsumei sensed some kind of information, quickly Calmness down, and began to carefully comprehend it again.

A moment later!

Ta Jue Zesshi Zetsumei flipped himself up, clenched his fists, and casually swung them a few times before looking up at Tang Zheng:

"You knew all along, didn't you?"

"Oh."

Tang Zheng smiled. "You've already sensed it. Yes, you should know better than most that certain rare professions possess killers who can decide the outcome of battles."

"And I happen to have fairly detailed information about the assassins you have in your possession,"

"From the last battle onwards, I was certain you hadn't truly mastered the power of this class; otherwise, the battle wouldn't have ended so easily."

Zesshi Zetsumei felt the surge of power suddenly increasing within his body, the corners of his mouth gradually turned up.

"I did guess a bit of that."

"I just didn't expect it to be a unique way to improve my strength."

Zesshi Zetsumei squatted slightly, her hands gripping the hems of her trousers, performing a somewhat unorthodox aristocratic gesture, her tone tinged with a hint of fanaticism:

"Thank you for your generosity, sir!"

The next moment.

Zesshi Zetsumei lightly leaped and stretched his limbs in place.

A sudden change.

It's like transforming from a noble lady into a savage village woman—a completely different feeling.

"What are you doing?"

Tang Zheng felt something was off.

"I was very unwilling to accept my defeat in the last battle, sir."

While moving his limbs and performing warm-up-like movements, Zesshi Zetsumei's face shone with a sickly light as he stared at Tang Zheng with excited and fiery eyes:

"So, could you... fight me again!"

"This is not merely a challenge, but proof that I have become stronger, sir!"

The string of honorifics and rapid tone of voice proved that Zesshi Zetsumei Ming was extremely agitated at this moment.

Faced with this abrupt request!

Tang Zheng wasn't sure if Zesshi Zetsumei really just wanted to show off his strength, or if he was preparing to get revenge for the painful training methods he had been undergoing recently.

"All right."

Faced with those intense, heterochromatic eyes, Tang Zheng shrugged and smiled, "Don't cry, okay?"

Bang!

Zesshi Zetsumei stopped his leaping motion, his feet firmly planted on the ground, and he raised his head. "I'm not a child!"

Whoosh~

He lifted the corner of his clothes.

On either side of Zesshi Zetsumei's waist hung a magic belt, and he wiped his hands across the item.

Clang! Clang!

A crisp yet deep sound rang out instantly.

A full suit of pure white armor, radiating a soft glow and adorned with gold patterns, appeared beside Zesshi Zetsumei.

One of the Six Great Gods, the "Wind God" Glorious Angel Cat Meow, wields the Divine Tier full-body armor "Heavenly Radiance, Light of Dawn"!

Right behind!

A matching golden longsword and shield appeared simultaneously at his feet.

Legendary Tier Item | Radiant Sacred Gold Sword!

The Legendary Tier item "Dawn Wall Gold Shield"!

Seeing this scene...

Tang Zheng paused briefly, then chuckled wryly at the smug look on Zesshi Zetsumei's lips, "You were prepared all along."

Of course!

Zesshi Zetsumei made no attempt to hide his smugness; on the contrary, his expression became even more triumphant. "Last time, you were easily defeated by the master."

"Besides my own carelessness, it was also because I wasn't fully armed!"

"This time..."

Splash!

Zesshi Zetsumei moved swiftly and nimbly, instantly equipping himself with all his gear.

"This time they're fully armed!"

As the entire set of equipment was put on, Zesshi Zetsumei herself seemed like a radiant Angel, with the entire set of weapons emitting a soft, shimmering white light that illuminated the surrounding dark area.

"I'm going!" Zesshi Zetsumei seemed unwilling to give Tang Zheng any chance to react.

Bang!

"Flow Acceleration!"

"Windstride!"

"Greater Windstride!"

The ground beneath Zesshi Zetsumei's feet trembled, and his body transformed into a white streak of light as he charged forward.

The two weren't far apart to begin with!

In the blink of an eye, Zesshi Zetsumei had rushed to within five meters of Tang Zheng. Such a close distance was quite dangerous for Magic Caster!

"Monster Summoning: Cerberus!"

Tang Zheng reacted indifferently, waving his hand and chanting softly.

"Roar!" The massive Cerberus appeared instantly, blocking Tang Zheng's path, baring its fangs and Zesshi Zetsumei.

Just as I expected!

Zesshi Zetsumei's eyes lit up. The previous battle had also given her information about Tang Zheng. She quickly raised the Dawn Wall Gold Shield in her hand:

"Threefold Paradise!"

Wow!

Golden light emanated from the Dawn Wall Gold Shield, transforming into three phantom shields that surrounded Zesshi Zetsumei.

Cerberus's attack made contact with the shield phantom first. At the moment of impact, the massive figure was uncontrollably deflected by the rotating shield.

Three dog-head-shaped objects revealed surprise.

The Cerberus, Zesshi Zetsumei and Cerberus, passed each other in an instant and rushed in front of Tang Zheng, their excited laughter ringing out. "At this distance, there's no way to dodge, sir!"

"Silent Magic Casting Conversion - Teleportation."

Tang Zheng's figure vanished instantly, reappearing a hundred meters behind Zesshi Zetsumei:

"You're too smug. If they can't limit my Teleportation ability, this battle will only repeat the outcome of the last one."

A calm and composed voice came from behind.

"Roar!" Cerberus roared, turned around and pounced on Zesshi Zetsumei.

Tang Zheng's eyes already showed interest.

This time, Zesshi Zetsumei was clearly well-prepared, not using the Cross-Spear War Scythe, but instead equipping himself entirely with the Wind God "Glorious Angel Cat - Meow".

"Is this combination a move to utilize the [Chosen Knight' ] trump card?"

Tang Zheng grinned, thinking to himself, "He's not telling the truth, is he? Zesshi Zetsumei."

Last time.

When Tang Zheng came into contact with the Six Great Gods' Equipment, he asked the [Chosen Knight] what the assassin was, and the answer from Zesshi Zetsumei was ambiguous.

In short, it means they didn't understand.

Regarding this answer...

Tang Zheng didn't think much of it. Zesshi Zetsumei's Innate Talent could unleash assassins, but the specific effects were unknown, and he could only figure it out himself.

It now appears that the claim of a lack of understanding was not unfounded.

"Judging from their usual preference for using ' The Goal of All Life is Death,' a killer weapon capable of deciding the outcome of a battle, this [Chosen Knight] is an assassin."

Tang Zheng quickly thought, "It shouldn't be the type of game where the outcome is decided in an instant."