I'll risk it!
He hadn't wanted to leave in the first place.
Now he had a reason to convince himself to stay and fight to the death!
"Awwoooo—!"
The most powerfully built Third-order Demon Wolf King threw back its head and roared, ordering the attack.
Dozens of Demon wolves turned into streaks of gray, surging in from every direction!
The stench of blood hit him head-on.
In Long Xuanye's pupils, dozens of intersecting gray lines of death were reflected.
He didn't retreat.
He couldn't retreat.
If he didn't even dare take this risk, if he wouldn't fight for this chance within his grasp or for his desire to stay alive, then how could he talk about taking Revenge on Long Xingyu?
Take the gamble, and he might have a chance to soar to the heavens!
Behind him, Saint Cai'er clutched the hem of her clothes with her tiny hands. For the first time, those empty gray eyes held such intense emotion.
She still didn't understand what a marriage proposal was.
But she understood this much.
This boy had used his not-so-broad back to shield her from all the malice in the world rushing toward her.
That slender figure looked so small before the surging beasts, as if the tide might swallow him at any moment.
And yet, Saint Cai'er couldn't stop seeing the smile on the boy's face when he had looked back at her one last time.
He was smiling.
Why was he smiling?
Deep in the woods, the White-robed figure's expression froze.
"Madman!"
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
The approval in his eyes vanished, replaced by shock and regret.
The admiration he'd just begun to feel for the boy was instantly doused.
Was he moved?
A little, perhaps.
But more than a softhearted knight, he needed a genius who knew when to make sacrifices and how to survive!
Foolish kindness was worthless!
The White-robed figure sighed heavily. His aura stirred as he prepared to intervene.
In his eyes, the boy was already a dead man.
In the next moment, he'd be torn to pieces.
Squish—!
The sound of claws tearing through flesh rang out clearly.
The Demon wolf at the front rushed past Long Xuanye.
A deep gash, down to the bone, opened across his arm, and blood poured out.
Long Xuanye grunted and thrust his blade behind him, stabbing it precisely into the Demon wolf's eye!
One for one!
But he wasn't facing just one enemy!
The second, the third...
The pack swallowed him in an instant!
Saint Cai'er leaned weakly against the tree trunk, watching helplessly as that figure fought amid the pack, drenched in blood.
His movements grew slower and slower. His wounds grew more numerous.
Another Demon wolf had its fangs clamped around his calf, tearing at it with all its might!
"Ah—!"
A piercing scream burst from Saint Cai'er's throat.
It was a heart-rending cry, filled with boundless despair.
She called out with all her strength.
"Save him! Please... save him!"
She didn't know who she was calling to. It was simply instinct.
But the wilderness remained silent. Apart from the wolves' howls and the sound of flesh being torn, there was no answer.
But she couldn't speak now.
All the emotion she felt could only become a hoarse cry.
Why?
Why hadn't anyone come?
Tears spilled from Saint Cai'er's eyes.
She even opened her tiny mouth and bit down hard on her own arm, trying to use pain and blood to draw the attention of the guardian who might be out there!
Nothing.
There was no response at all.
Once again, hope was mercilessly crushed.
High above, in the shadows of the treetops, the White-robed figure watched it all impassively.
He came from Assassin's Sanctuary.
He had heard every word Saint Cai'er had cried out.
But he wouldn't intervene.
This was a trial the Reincarnation Saintess had to endure. The forging of her resolve was far more important than comfortable protection.
As for the boy...
A glint of amusement passed through the assassin's eyes.
His talent was indeed impressive, and his combat instincts even more so.
It was a shame to see him die here.
Then again, he could let the boy hold on a little longer.
Let Saintess Your Highness see a little more clearly.
Let her see the world's truest despair.
And let him see just where this boy's limits lay.
Pff—!
A cloud of blood mist burst into the air.
But it wasn't Long Xuanye's blood.
Three Demon wolves, each lunging from a different angle, abruptly froze in midair.
The next instant, a thin line of blood appeared across each of their throats.
The lines widened rapidly, and steaming wolf blood gushed out like a fountain!
Their three corpses crashed to the ground, lifeless.
In the treetops, the White-robed figure's pupils shrank.
"This is..."
His gaze locked onto the broken dagger in Long Xuanye's hand.
For just an instant, he'd seen a blur weave between the pack's fangs and claws, carving a perfect cross!
[Cross Slash]!
This wasn't a technique a Rookie Knight could master!
No—this had already gone beyond the realm of technique!
This was the most basic Knight combat technique, honed through countless repetitions until it became a Killing instinct ingrained in the bones!
After landing his strike, Long Xuanye didn't pause for a moment.
His body twisted like a ghost, and his left shoulder suddenly dipped forward.
[Shield Bash]!
Even without a shield, that shoulder check still captured the essence of a Knight charge!
"Awwoooo!"
A large, powerfully built Demon wolf staggered, its head spinning, its attack brought to a halt.
That brief pause became the end of its life.
The broken dagger rose from below, piercing its lower jaw with unerring precision and driving into its brainstem!
A pull, a stab, a slam, a kill!
The movements flowed seamlessly, without a single wasted motion.
Each time he swung his blade, the wound on his arm split a little wider. Blood streamed out, soaking his clothes ever darker.
Every step sent stabbing pain through the calf the wolves had bitten through, yet his pace remained rock-steady.
His face was pale as paper, but his eyes were terrifyingly calm.
There was no anger, no fear, not even bloodlust.
All he had was absolute reason and complete control over the battle.
Thanks to the proficiency in countless skills the system had once rewarded him with, Long Xuanye was terrifyingly strong now!
Far beyond any ordinary genius!
After all, someone who trained bitterly to master techniques would have shaky foundations without the strength to support them—like water without a source or a tree without roots!
The system's rewards, on the other hand, were solid to the core, as if Long Xuanye had gained them through countless real battles!
Put someone with the same level of strength in his place, and they'd already be dead!
Yet he remained standing!
In his eyes, these ravenous Demon wolves were nothing more than a mass of moving data.
He instinctively evaded every attack, effortlessly judging the angle of each strike and the distance of each dodge.
[Charge], [Block], [Pure White Blade]...
One after another, the Knight Temple's most basic skills—even some that were considered second-rate—became the most efficient killing machines in Long Xuanye's hands.
The pack began to falter.
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