This Blade is Called "Ten Years"

on the corpse of the stitched monster.

The Corpse Demon, revealing its true form, began to cast spells continuously.

Its casting speed was extremely fast.

The "cooldown" between spells was also very short, likely due to the bonus from other metamagic techniques.

The first wave of spells were all defensive.

Accompanied by rapid incantations, colorful glows rose and fell upon the Corpse Demon itself.

In the blink of an eye.

In addition to the magical armor from its transformation, it now had three more spells: Mage Armor, Air Shield, and Frost Ring.

The stacking effect of these spells was very powerful.

Now, even if the Corpse Demon stood still and let Dorothy or Terry attack, it would probably take more than ten seconds to barely break through its defenses.

"This Corpse Demon is such a coward."

Roger touched the tip of his nose, feeling a sense of exhilaration, as if he had met a worthy opponent.

Following this was the second wave of spells.

A second-circle spell—"Multiple Summoning: Skeleton Soldier"! The casting time for this spell was longer than all three previous spells combined.

Unfortunately, everyone was a bit far away and couldn't interrupt it, so they could only watch as it summoned skeleton soldiers one after another from the Netherworld! These skeleton soldiers were slightly different from the ones that had been eliminated earlier.

Their bones were thicker and sturdier, and their levels were also a bit higher.

However, the number of these skeleton soldiers exceeded everyone's imagination.

With a simple second-circle spell, it actually summoned 48 skeleton soldiers!

This not only broke the adventurers' understanding but also subverted the rules of summoning spells!

As everyone knew, summoning spells had an upper limit on the number of summons, and it was generally a multiple of 6:

A first-circle mage's summoned creatures could not exceed 6.

A second-circle mage could summon 12.

And so on.

"Is this multiple casting? Four times the number of summoned creatures?"

Roger couldn't help but be a little astonished.

This metamagic feat was too monstrous, no wonder Qi Divination Technique had listed it separately!

The summoned skeleton soldiers did not attack the adventurers, but instead surrounded the Corpse Demon in layers.

Without wasting words with the adventurers, the latter cast its third spell.

Another second-circle spell—"Pool of Corruption"! The ground beneath everyone's feet, which had been cold and hard, suddenly became muddy and soft.

A faint black mist drifted in from an unknown source, gradually thickening.

Some people began to cough violently.

Others developed itchy and swollen skin.

Various minor but troublesome negative effects began to afflict everyone one after another.

"Pool of Corruption (Second-Circle Spell)"

"Overview: Creates a continuously decaying space, using air and land as mediums, to gradually corrode all living or non-living things within that space."

"Effect 1: Every 30 seconds, creatures within the Pool of Corruption must make a negative effect saving throw. If the resistance fails, symptoms such as coughing, fever, swelling, itching, tearing, and weakness will occur randomly."

"Effect 2: Every 60 seconds, it casts 'Bone Imprisonment'. Those who fail the resistance will suffer the binding effect of Bone Claw."

Qi Divination Technique had thoroughly explored the characteristics of the Pool of Corruption.

It seemed the Corpse Demon was very patient.

It did not act rashly due to overconfidence, but instead chose a strategy of slow attrition.

Perhaps, this was its plan from the very beginning.

Skeleton soldiers were the most suitable summoned creatures for a war of attrition.

Throughout the entire process.

What impressed Roger the most was the Corpse Demon's fluid casting technique.

He wondered how many times it had practiced in private to achieve such a smooth effect.

Roger's gaze was fixed intently on the Corpse Demon.

In the latter's eyes, only Roger seemed to remain.

A moment later.

Facing the restless Skeleton Soldiers, Dorothy covered her mouth and called out muffledly, "Roger! What do we do now?"

Roger drew the Crimson Moon Blade, gripping the hilt with both hands, his eyes gradually becoming sharp and clear:

"Cover me!"

With those words, he walked step by step towards the Corpse Demon, holding the Crimson Moon Blade.

Dorothy didn't hesitate. She nodded at Terry, then sharply commanded, "Everyone, cover Roger's advance!"

"Don't let the Skeleton Soldiers stop him!"

"Watch out for the Bone Claws emerging from the ground, just dodge them!"

The members of the Subjugation Squad responded in unison.

Their morale reignited, they surrounded Roger and charged towards the Skeleton Soldier formation!

Soon, the two sides clashed, marking the beginning of a chaotic battle.

Roger's steps were not fast, but they were exceptionally steady.

He believed his teammates could create the space for him to kill the Corpse Demon.

In his eyes, there was only the Corpse Demon itself!

As he took each step, the aura emanating from Roger quietly began to change.

A large number of magic crystals formed around him.

Then they quickly collapsed and disappeared.

This repeated several times.

If everyone hadn't been engaged in close combat with the Skeleton Soldiers, they would have noticed this scene long ago.

But the Corpse Demon saw it.

The Ghost Fire in its eyes flickered rapidly, showing confusion and unease.

"So, an adventurer has also hidden their strength like me!"

"Heh heh heh, you won't succeed!"

The Corpse Demon sneered and lightly pointed a claw at Roger.

Suddenly, the dense black mist grew even thicker.

The Black Mist seemed to solidify, and the members of the Subjugation Squad instantly lost their sense of direction.

Before Dorothy could speak.

Roger had already made his move.

Every action of the Corpse Demon was locked onto by the Qi Divination Technique.

"He can't escape."

As soon as Roger finished speaking, a bright yellow luminous mark descended from the sky, directly hitting the Corpse Demon's head! "Extermination Order!"

This was the first time he had used another special ability of the Hidden Hero class.

<strong>[Extermination Order: You can lock the Extermination Order onto a humanoid creature. By killing this humanoid creature, you will gain some unexpected excess rewards.]</strong>

<strong>[Restriction: Only applicable to Elite templates and above.]</strong>

With the guidance of the Extermination Order, the united adventurers once again broke through the Skeleton Soldiers' defenses, escorting Roger towards the Corpse Demon.

Meanwhile, Roger adjusted his own state to its optimal level.

For the Hidden Hero class.

The most important thing is "Charge Up"! The longer the accumulation.

The stronger the burst.

Now, Roger's momentum had reached its peak!

He glanced at his status bar.

<strong>[Your level has increased to LV9]</strong>

<strong>[Your attributes have increased]</strong>

<strong>[Your level has increased to LV10]</strong>

"Your attributes have been slightly improved."

"You have gained 1 attribute point."

"Your level has been increased to LV12."

"Your attributes have been slightly improved."

By investing the experience points accumulated over ten years.

Roger instantly completed the leapfrog upgrade from LV8 to LV12!

What Roger needed most wasn't the attribute bonuses from leveling up.

It was the extra layer of "Charge Up" that the Hidden Hero gained within one minute of each level-up.

With four consecutive level-ups, that meant four layers of "Charge Up" were stacked.

Combined with the four layers of "Charge Up" attached to the "Ten Years One Sword" specialty.

Now, on the Crimson Moon Blade in Roger's hand.

Eight layers of "Charge Up" were stacked.

Brewing a power of 900%! ...

"How is this possible?!"

"Quick, stop him!!"

The Ghost Mage felt a strong sense of unease, and a fear that hadn't surfaced in a long time enveloped it. It wanted to use a cantrip to conceal itself, but the existence of the Extermination Order left it nowhere to hide!

It could only place its hope in the Skeleton Soldiers and the Pool of Corruption to hinder Roger's advance.

It needed to rest for a while before it could cast other spells.

After all, that last round of spell combinations had already exceeded the limit that a normal second-ring mage could withstand!

Besides cantrips, it didn't even have the strength to channel scrolls anymore! "Do I have to use the Forbidden Item?"

"This person is too dangerous."

"But if I use the Forbidden Item, I'll also be doomed..."

Due to its hesitation, the Ghost Fire in the Corpse Demon's eyes flickered more erratically.

Over at the Subjugation Squad.

The group finally noticed something different about Roger.

They were inspired by the continuously rising aura emanating from Roger.

With the charge led by Dorothy and the others, the Skeleton Soldiers suddenly began to retreat, and with one careless mistake, a large gap was opened!

"Now!"

Roger let out a low shout: "Make way!"

Without waiting for the people in front to react, he leaped directly forward.

On the muddy ground, he began to run! He broke through all the Skeleton Soldiers' tight defenses in one go! His figure was like lightning, and the Crimson Moon Blade in his hand was like fire!

A faint killing intent ignited on the blade.

"Crimson Moon: Eye Cut" activated! In an instant.

Roger's body left behind a series of afterimages.

The distance of about thirty meters was covered in a breath.

Before the Corpse Demon could make any effective counter, the blade light, as red as a blood moon, sliced in as if cutting tofu.

Magic Armor.

Mage Armor.

Air Shield.

Frost Ring.

In front of the Crimson Moon's 9x power, they shattered on contact! After a moment of daze.

The Corpse Demon blankly turned its head to look at the Hidden Hero who had already sheathed his blade. As the Ghost Fire in its eyes slowly extinguished, as if a century had passed, it finally heard the muttered words that lagged behind due to the excessive speed:

"For Tongma Town, for Kane."

"This strike is called 'Ten Years'."

Whoosh! A cool breeze passed, and the Ghost Fire died out.

Far in the pass, the last ray of sunset also completely disappeared.

A vast darkness swallowed everything.

The first small climax is complete. I don't know if there are any readers, but I hope for a few recommendation tickets.