Resurrection from Despair

The icy wind howled past the cliff edge, sweeping away the newcomer named Xia Lin.

Kasimir's gaze remained steady, like the stiletto in his hand, not following the falling figure.

In his world, only two things remained at this moment: the unadorned rapier in his hand, which seemed to carry his entire being, and the monster bathed in an eerie golden light before him.

A Duelist.

In the world of Adventurers, they were undoubtedly an anomaly.

They were the kings of the arena, the grim reapers of confined spaces.

They viewed combat as a deadly dance, dodging within millimeters, thrusting within instants, achieving the most lethal results at the smallest cost.

Elegant, swift, deadly.

But also fragile.

Their nimble footwork and extreme pursuit of precision meant they sacrificed heavy defenses.

Especially when facing heavily armored units, like knights in full plate armor, or... the monster before him, clad in scales comparable to divine blessings, the Duelist's rapier often struggled to be effective.

Every attack was like throwing an egg against a rock, every mistake could lead to eternal damnation.

But Duelists were not helpless.

Everyone who embarked on this path was taught a technique, one that required compressing and condensing all of their strength, speed, skill, and even mental will into a single point to unleash a skill.

Duelists called it—[Breaking Army].

It was said that legendary Duel Masters could even use this technique to pierce ancient dragon scales and penetrate the core of adamantine golems.

Kasimir, this Duelist from Brevor, was only one step away from being a true professional.

This meant he could use this move, but it required a longer preparation time than a true Duelist.

And Xia Lin, with his own body and his nearly shattered longsword, had bought him this precious time.

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

Kasimir's voice was as cold as the edge of the rapier in his hand.

His breathing became long and slow, his heartbeat like a precise metronome.

All his strength gathered like a stream, flowing down his arm and into the stiletto.

He stood perfectly still, like a statue brimming with power, while the rock beneath his feet couldn't withstand the silent pressure, cracking and spreading like a spiderweb.

All his strength, all his will, surged like a raging torrent towards the rapier in his hand, finally converging at the tip, which trembled as if it would melt at any moment.

The air in front of the sword tip was extremely compressed and distorted, emitting a piercing shriek like tearing metal, and even generating a colorless vortex.

The Kobold God-Chosen seemed to sense this threat as well.

It stopped in its tracks, its golden eyes fixed on Kasimir, letting out a low, menacing growl.

A cold glint flashed in Kasimir's eyes, severing all hesitation and stray thoughts.

He stomped his right foot forward!

"Bang!"

The hard stone ground exploded as if struck by an invisible hammer, and a shallow pit instantly formed beneath his feet, scattering debris!

Immediately after, the muscles in his arm tensed, and he thrust his wrist forward—a short, stable, yet power-packed stabbing motion.

Whoosh--!

The energy, condensed to its extreme, seemed to find an outlet and instantly left the sword tip.

A nearly colorless and transparent, yet devastatingly powerful compressed shockwave tore through the air, traveling faster than sound, shooting straight towards the Kobold God-Chosen's head!

The ground around Kasimir, due to the terrifying power unleashed in that instant, violently collapsed downwards, forming a pit several feet in diameter.

Whoosh--Boom!!!

The shockwave flashed past, its momentum undiminished, even piercing through the cave ceiling tens of meters high.

The hard rock layer was easily penetrated, leaving a smooth, circular hole.

A ray of sunlight, carrying the scent of dust, shone down like a holy beam from the cave ceiling, landing precisely on the monster's location, illuminating the swirling dust and smoke in a golden hue.

"Hoo... ha..." Kasimir panted heavily, sweat trickling down his temples like a stream, soaking his immaculate clothes.

His sword-holding hand trembled violently from exhaustion, and he swayed precariously.

That single strike of [Breaking Army] had almost completely drained him of his strength and spirit.

He raised his head, looking towards the smoke-filled area, waiting for the sound of the monster falling.

However...

As the sunlight dispersed the last of the dust, the Kobold God-Chosen...

It was still standing!

Just before the unstoppable [Breaking Army] sword energy struck, the monster, relying on its reflexes amplified to an insane degree by divine power, had managed to deflect its head by a minuscule angle.

This tiny deflection allowed it to avoid being completely blown apart.

Only half of its ugly head remained.

But it still didn't fall.

For the first time, Kasimir truly felt despair.

He was exhausted, let alone able to activate Breaking Army again; he found it incredibly difficult just to lift the stiletto in his hand.

And the monster, with less than a third of its head left, was still moving, supported by its residual divine power.

It slowly turned its misshapen head with a nauseating sluggishness.

Its single eye, burning with golden flames, locked onto Kasimir.

Then, it took heavy steps, one by one, dragging its broken body towards the Duelist who had lost all ability to resist.

The aura of death, cold and viscous, like the darkest tide, completely engulfed Kasimir.

He could even smell the burnt stench and the smell of blood emanating from the monster.

"Monster!!!"

Just as Kasimir closed his eyes, preparing to welcome death, a hoarse but infinitely furious roar suddenly sounded from the edge of the cliff not far away!

The monster, staggering forward, froze abruptly and instinctively looked towards the sound.

What greeted it was a small glass bottle whistling through the air in an arc under the sun.

It was Xia Lin!

The moment he was thrown off the cliff, he used his last bit of strength to activate Levitation Spell, which came with the Ring of Swift Wind.

Although it only slowed his descent briefly, it was enough for him to grab a protruding rock on the cliff edge and scramble back up.

He was covered in wounds, bleeding profusely. The wound on his right shoulder had burst open again from climbing, but he was alive.

And he had thrown his last trump card—that bottle of Potent Ant Acid.

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound rang out.

The glass bottle landed with pinpoint accuracy on the kobold God-Chosen's battered head, exposing all sorts of tissues.

The liquid, emitting a pungent, sour smell, poured down like venomous revenge.

Sizzle sizzle—!!!

It was like boiling oil poured onto a red-hot iron, or like sulfuric acid dripping onto rotting flesh.

White smoke, carrying a pungent burnt smell, rose from the monster's head like a volcanic eruption.

The exposed brain tissue rapidly dissolved and carbonized under the terrifying erosion of the strong acid, at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Roar... Ugh...!!!"

The kobold God-Chosen let out a final, short, and piercing, distorted howl!

Its "massive" body convulsed violently as if its spine had been removed. In its only remaining eye, the burning golden flames flickered wildly, before finally extinguishing with a "puff," like a candle flame blown out by a strong wind.

Deprived of its strange divine power, the monster's movements abruptly stopped.

Thump!

The heavy thud echoed in the cave like the tail end of a war drum, kicking up dust.

This time, it didn't move again.

Only its head, half-corroded, still emitted a nauseating stench.

Kasimir slumped to the ground, looking at the white-smoking corpse in the distance, then at Xia Lin, who had also collapsed by the cliff, gasping for breath and covered in blood.

They won...

They actually... won.