Defeating the Punishment Demon!

The wild hunters vanished from the village in an instant—they didn't return, but instead followed Wolfram out.

Their pursuit was completely different from the warning-style attacks they had when they encountered the Punishment Demon! They had indeed been lured away by Wolfram!

Although it was once a giant, it has now abandoned its name and become Punishment Demon. It can only feel schadenfreude—thankfully, it abandoned its giant body in time, otherwise it would be the one to die.

"Next, all we need to do is find that butterfly-shaped demon..."

The Punishment Demon squeezed the shackles on his left hand and snorted coldly.

Since that demon was so decisive in Self-Destruct last time, it must have the ability to resurrect or be reborn. After all, Butterfly Angel has a similar ability.

This ability is just too troublesome.

Last time, it was caught off guard and almost got blown up. Fortunately, the demon's vitality was strong enough that it wasn't killed instantly.

This time, it was prepared in advance. It would never so easily succumb to her attack again.

The last time the demon was chained, the Punishment Demon sensed it—the butterfly-shaped demon capable of manipulating fire bore the Great Sin Imprint. Although she didn't know what kind of demon she was, the presence of the Great Sin Imprint meant she had undoubtedly been granted power by the Fallen Angel. Therefore, she was powerless against the punitive spells of the Punishment Demon, who acted as a judge of demons.

Moreover, the butterfly's body was much more fragile than she had imagined. Last time, the Punishment Demon only used "Cruel Binding" for control and torture, which almost killed her outright.

This time it knew how to deal with her.

If this spell hits its mark, it will immediately pull the chains and tear the butterfly-shaped phantom into pieces!

He would never give her another chance to break free of her shackles! And having lost Greater Phantom Demon capable of contending with him, what could a mere Third Level scum do to him? "... Hmm?"

The Punishment Demon suddenly sensed something.

It transformed into a bolt of lightning, crackling and falling backward. The lightning pierced the rain, emitting a strange, acrid smell.

But at that moment, a beam of light descended from the sky—

—That was a strike of light! It suddenly raised its halberd to meet the attack, but a tremendous force was felt, accompanied by a crisp collision sound.

It wasn't that its power as a demon was insufficient, but rather that a sacred atmosphere descended, suddenly suppressing its power in every way.

Just then, a figure suddenly leaped gracefully from the sky. Her movements were so light that it was more like gliding through the air than leaping.

—Those were humans that the Punishment Demon had never seen before.

A young woman.

The Punishment Demon was much shorter than it used to be. Because of this, humans appeared much larger to it, a proportion that made it feel somewhat uncomfortable.

... Or perhaps it was the Void Holy Sword held by the other party that made him feel a sense of pressure.

"Who are you?"

The Punishment Demon let out a deep roar, "Mortal, answer me!"

"I'm the Hunter killed your mother!"

Hai Na didn't hesitate to swear.

A divine light emanated from her pupils—and the holy sword she held in her hand was the Red Hilt Sword that Iver had lent her! By paying with the power of fire, light, and wind, she could unleash the Flame Blade, the Holy Energy Blade, and the Invisible Blade!

Now, she infused her Light Attribute and Wind Attribute Mana into it, transforming the holy sword in her hand into a pure, invisible Light Sword!

On this basis, she also used the Holy Sword Art to transform the key in her hand into Gold Level "Divine Weapon".

— It wards off evil, is sharp, resilient, and light.

Hai Na pressed down with her sword, launching three more sharp, piercing slashes into the air.

Avalon Swordsmanship, Triple Slash! Three dazzling white arcs of light flew out in succession—the sense of threat made the Punishment Demon know that it had to block this attack, or something bad might happen.

It hurled the chain in its hand, intending to bind Hai Na. But it immediately switched to wielding its halberd with both hands, concentrating on blocking three slashes.

At the same time, it clearly sensed that its spell had hit Hai Na.

—Hit! The feeling of being hit without any resistance brought a sense of relief to its heart.

It's at most the Fourth Level!

The Punishment Demon suddenly gained courage and revealed a fierce look in its eyes. "You..."

But as soon as it uttered a single word, a dazzling burst of light swept past.

Despite being bound by her own body, Hai Na somehow managed to break free. Not only that, but a thin layer of silvery-white flames ignited on her body, making her appear as if she were on fire.

That was the Golden Entry that Hai Na received from this Promotion Ritual.

—Guardian Will! [Guardian Will (Gold): When you are fighting alongside teammates, you cannot be controlled by enemies. Each time this effect is triggered, the power of your next attack is doubled, and "Guardian Will" is temporarily extinguished; while "Guardian Will: Extinguished," you gain 7% damage reduction. After surviving seven hits from evil enemies, "Guardian Will" is rekindled.]

In his disheveled state, the Punishment Demon tried to raise his halberd to block, but he was too late.

—Charge Slash!

The sacred and sharp blade touched the Punishment Demon's body, slicing in without hesitation, leaving a mark as red-hot as a branding iron. A tangible, chaotic hurricane surged directly into the wound—

Countless tiny wounds burst open all over the Punishment Demon's body, and tiny spurts of black blood gushed out.

Hai Na then gripped the sword with both hands and began to gather her strength.

Even though the Punishment Demon had suffered heavy losses, it still wanted to seize this opportunity to retaliate.

But just then, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back.

It felt like a nail had been driven into my body, followed by waves of burning sensation.

This is... some kind of Curse Poison?!

Ordinary toxins are completely ineffective against demons; only Curse Poison created by powers Path of Adaptation can potentially harm them.

Judging from the fact that the poison hadn't fully taken effect, the poison maker was probably not even at the Fifth Level. However, it also felt obvious pain and weakness.

The Punishment Demon tensed his muscles, his body erupting with lightning as he indiscriminately attacked everyone around him. However, he didn't unleash any invisible attacks; instead, he ejected the two Eagle Feather -shaped throwing knives embedded in his back.

The lightning had barely faded when it immediately sensed danger again.

But this time, due to the intense pain and previous injuries, it had no time to escape. Also, because it had already unleashed its power once, it was just at the moment of recuperation.

A spear suddenly shot out from his own shadow, piercing the Punishment Demon's body from behind! "—Shadow Demon!!!"

The Punishment Demon immediately recognized the attacker's identity!

It was Aleister, the demon who made a pact with the Shadow Fiend! It roared furiously, slamming its lightning-infused fist into its own body, letting the lightning, imbued with the concepts of Sin and Punishment, shatter the shadows on its body and pour into the earth from its source.

But the Shadow Demon assassin retreated immediately upon contact. It was well aware that the Punishment Demon was able to restrain it, and it only launched one attack before fleeing and retreating.

In this stormy night, darkness and shadows are everywhere—its shadows leap and dart about at will, Punishment Demon to find its presence.

Its brief delay in searching for Shadow Fiend bought Hai Na enough time.

—A Giant Strength Strike! It was a slash using the full strength of the body, a strike without any reservation.

It was less like swinging a sword and more like throwing himself out with all his might.

The divine light stirred up a storm, and the air pressure alone tore cracks in the earth.

The Punishment Demon was not a traditional warrior. He lacked knowledge of weapon handling and was not adept at close combat. He could only rely on his reaction speed, transforming into a bolt of lightning to try and escape through the gaps in the slashes.

However, at that moment, several beams of crimson laser light shot in from the horizon—

The attack from the butterfly-shaped phantom demons severed the lightning! The Punishment Demon, having just materialized, only had time to raise its halberd before being struck directly by Hai Na's slash! The halberd, capable of manipulating lightning, was cleaved in two by the holy sword. Under Hai Na's control, the remaining power transformed into a storm, sending the Punishment Demon flying backward—it crashed into a tree, only to be bounced back by the indestructible trunk.

If Hai Na hadn't held back, she would have killed the Punishment Demon directly.

Even so, the Punishment Demon lost its fighting ability. Its entire body, like a pressure cooker spewing steam, was almost completely torn apart by the Invisible Blade.

It hadn't even realized what was happening yet. It felt like it had suddenly been attacked by a group of people—even though its energy level was much higher than theirs, the other side was incredibly well-coordinated and trained, like a pack of hunting dogs hunting prey much larger than itself.

Punishment Demon was about to run away, he felt something invisible binding him.

"Behave yourself. Stay here."

A chilling voice sounded from behind it, "Don't even think about escaping—I've remembered your scent."

The Punishment Demon turned around and saw a gray wolf that could speak human language and had blood-red pupils.

—It's a werewolf!

The Punishment Demon was almost in despair.

He knew that werewolves could indeed pinpoint their location.

Who are you all?!

It blurted out.

A knight wielding a holy sword, a demon who has made a pact with a shadow demon, a werewolf who has completed the wolf-transformation ritual, and Greater Phantom Demon who can wield the power of fire...

It didn't even catch a glimpse of Iver before being inexplicably attacked and knocked down by a group of people who appeared out of nowhere, people it didn't know at all, and people it had never seen before.

It hadn't seen these people at all when it came last time, so where did they suddenly come from! And they defeated it but didn't kill it... This unknown made it even more terrified.

When it was still a giant, it would sometimes capture living people to make ritual materials.

That was its attitude back then.

Two chapters released in quick succession, update complete! Without even a moment's mourning for the fallen JDG, WBG immediately rushed to the battlefield!

But to be honest, just as I don't know how Itachi can counter Sukuna, I don't know how Xiaohu can counter two-sided Dafei... It feels like this year's LPL is probably already over...