Withering in the Human World - Boy vs. Man

"Hurry up! The Rebel Army are inside!"

An army of about two thousand men was moving at high speed. They were divided into dozens of small teams and approached the target from different directions. All the teams were headed to the facility where the large teleportation array was located.

Other nearby major cities were unable to provide support due to the chaos caused by the Rebel Army, and the only hope— the Cathedral of the True God— was also cut off because the Great Teleportation Array was controlled, preventing the Vatican's reinforcements from reaching the city.

Therefore, now we can turn the tide of the battle simply by recapturing the large teleportation array!

"Hurry, hurry! May the Most High God bless us and let us reap the fruits of victory!"

Seemingly to boost morale, a squad leader shouted out a commonly used slogan, though it was just a few phrases repeated over and over.

But he didn't hear the usual response of "Praise the Most High God," which made him realize something was wrong.

Where are they?

"Hey, you guys--"

He turned his head and saw his men's corpses scattered all over the ground.

Everyone died silently; the only wounds on their bodies were scratches on their necks, a clean and swift operation.

Before he could even roar, a sharp, transparent dagger plunged into the squad leader's throat.

He only realized at the last second that a girl had gotten close to him.

What's going on?

It was so close, yet we only realized it when we were about to die. Can a human being's sense of existence be suppressed to such a low level?

Dorothy drew her dagger, adding another chapter to her record.

As the saying goes, conquering a city is easy, but defending it is difficult. The Seventh Division had successfully captured the large teleportation array, and the remaining task was to hold onto their gains. Although every member of the Seventh Division was a master of stealth and assassination, their small numbers and insufficient frontal combat strength made this an extremely challenging task. Fortunately, by the time Nid entered the city, the Revolutionary Army's reinforcements had arrived, and the additional thousand or so troops joined them in defending the city, so nothing went wrong.

"Hmph, even though I've had such a comfortable life at the Central United Academy for so long, my skills haven't gotten any worse!"

"I was quite worried when I saw you running out without a clue, but it seems I was overthinking it."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?"

The sudden sound behind her startled Dorothy, who instinctively thrust her dagger behind her, only to have it caught between two fingers.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is the second time you've stabbed me, don't get agitated."

"Ah! Ms. Xiao Wu, I'm so sorry!"

"It's nothing, it's nothing... Oh, someone else is coming."

A new wave of enemies charged forward. Dorothy immediately gripped her dagger, minimizing her presence as much as possible, preparing to act.

Xiao Wu had already leaped into the air.

"Form 270 - Sky Fall!"

Ding!!!

She fell like a meteorite, and a second later, a large crater appeared on the ground, along with a group of Papal soldiers lying motionless on the ground.

So strong...

Although Dorothy is very confident in her ability to control her own presence, she would still have to put in a lot of effort to assassinate enemies one by one if she used it in combat. Xiao Wu, on the other hand, doesn't need to worry about those things and can just unleash her power to her heart's content.

"Sigh... it seems these guys aren't as troublesome as I thought. I guess I'm pretty redundant..."

She looked at the Papacy soldiers lying on the ground, some unconscious and some dead, and muttered to herself. Indeed, this was the first time she had taken action since the start of the defensive battle. Before, even if she hadn't taken action, the Revolutionary Army hadn't let a single enemy in.

"How could it be superfluous? Xiao Wu is—"

"Don't flatter me, I hate hearing it. Actually... since this place can be well protected without me, it's okay if I leave for a bit."

"... Huh? Why?"

"I'm sorry, I know this might be a bit difficult for you, but for some reason, I've been feeling a little... uneasy since just now."

"Uneasy?"

"It's like intuition. My perception of danger is dozens of times stronger than that of an average person. My heart has been beating really fast since just now, and I have a feeling that something is about to happen in the city center."

"Don't scare me, Ms. Xiao Wu!"

"Who scared you... tsk... I really should leave here and check things out!"

Having said that, before Dorothy could answer, Xiao Wu leaped up and disappeared in a few quick movements between the buildings.

Dorothy was left behind to hurry to the next ambush location.

"Heh--whoosh! Hmm, you just stay here obediently, little Saintess. We'll deal with you when we get back."

The sudden burst of darkness and the sharp sword light in the distance were truly captivating and hard to ignore, not to mention that her beloved Xiao Ye might also be in trouble. Hao Yue had no reason not to go and check on him.

As for this sluggish, unconscious Saintess? We'll just have to make do with her for now, tie her up and hide her somewhere, and then retrieve her later.

After wiping the blood off her hands, Haoyue was quite satisfied with her technique.

As the saying goes, "Hidden trees are best kept in the forest." If you just throw them in the trash or lock them in Black Ghost, there's always a chance they'll be discovered. But if you're among the same "people," it's much safer.

Goodbye~

After confirming that the Virgo Saintess, who had been stuffed into the pile of corpses, would not be discovered, Haoyue immediately rushed to the scene.

"Hoo... almost all of them are dead..."

I leaned against the blood-stained city wall, panting heavily. I was so tired. Although they were all small fry, and those generals weren't that powerful—just like elite monsters in a dungeon—it was still quite exhausting.

As for courage, having cleared high-level dungeons (Northern Realm Rally), defeated high-level bosses (Sick Spider), and obtained divine drops (fruits, flowers, eggs), it's practically an easy feat for me.

"... Then, what should we do with all this dead flesh? It's a bit of a waste to just throw it away..."

Before us lies a fiercely contested battlefield.

The ground was entirely red.

Countless enormous Crystal Spike and Crystal Pillar were stuck into the ground like tombstones.

Then came corpses, corpses, and more corpses—dismembered corpses, charred corpses, minced corpses, thousands upon thousands piled together, the stench of blood filling the air.

"I suddenly understand why Blood Fiend never hesitates to suck up all the blood after each fight, it would be such a waste... Heave-ho!"

I grabbed the nearest corpse and instantly drained its life Blood Energy, turning it into a dried-up corpse. But for me now, these kinds of small fry are practically useless; I'd need to suck up hundreds to even fill a tooth gap.

After all, the main purpose of absorbing the Blood Energy of others for me is to repair my body and heal my injuries. The same was true in the battle with the Sick Spider. When I smashed through more than twenty floors, I absorbed the blood and energy of more than a dozen corpses and returned to normal. However, I only recovered the large amount of physical strength I lost by later using the Rakshasa True Word.

"Honestly, why do I always have to have direct physical contact to suck blood? In Blood Fiend's memories, she could suck blood from a distance..."

With a thought, I can drain the blood from every animal within a few kilometers—it's practically a self-healing, monster-killing divine skill! But until now, I can only suck blood through physical contact; even turning my blood into tubes or tentacles doesn't work.

"One has to admire Loxue's precise timing..."

Generally speaking, strategically important cities like Sadington would not only be garrisoned by elite troops, but also commanded by powerful Templar Knight- level commanders. However, our attack coincided with the annual return of Templar Knight stationed abroad to Gloria, and the garrison was numbed by the joy of the Holy Spirit Festival, which is why it went so smoothly.

The Templar Knight' return to report coincided with the Holy Spirit Festival, presenting a golden opportunity.

Etc.

How did Loxue know that the Templar Knight would leave during this time?

Now I have a better understanding of the internal rules of the Holy See. The Templar Knight' return to the Holy City is never fixed, making it difficult for outsiders to predict. Could it be that Loxue is truly so shrewd? Or... is it really the work of intelligence agents? The latter is clearly more likely, but only the high-ranking officials of the Holy See in the Holy City would know information related to the Templar Knight. Could it be that the Revolutionary Army has successfully planted spies within the high echelons of the Holy See over the past two hundred years?

At this moment -- "!!"

Suddenly sensing something, I looked towards the city center and saw a thick plume of black smoke rising into the sky, clearly visible even from this distance!

"Hey, wait, no way... something went wrong with Nid's side?"

Did I trigger a hidden storyline that summoned the boss? Or did something go wrong with the plan?

Anyway... let's go take a look!

Sadington Central Park.

The grass is lush and green, and the shade is dense.

However, this beautiful scenery was destroyed in the next instant.

A figure billowing black smoke plummeted into the forest like a meteorite, instantly turning hundreds of trees into wood chips and carving a trench several meters deep into the solid ground. The billowing black smoke enveloped the figure like a cocoon. A young man carrying five enormous blades, who had also fallen from the sky in pursuit, gave his opponent no chance to breathe. He snatched the broadsword he had been carrying on his back and hurled it at the ground, the point of impact precisely where the billowing black smoke ended in the trench! Before the trail of light across the sky had even faded, another massive crater, several meters in diameter, exploded in the ground, and the black cocoon shattered into pieces!

But in the next instant, the black smoke coalesced into a flowing black river, spreading wantonly through the air and onto the earth and rocks. The blackened wood and stone fragments shot out in all directions like exploding arrows, propelled by the black air! The pursuing boy was also enveloped in the scattering range, with nowhere to hide!

"The sword that slays the emperor--"

With his left hand wielding a cleaver, he cleaved through the air, the resulting attack traveling through the air to other locations, and naturally, it also returned to the sword, becoming a reaction force propelling him forward! Using this immense force, Nid spun rapidly like a top, deflecting all the incoming black objects. At the same time, dazzling patterns of light appeared on the fragments of the Emperor Slaying Sword- Slaying Sword, which, as he spun, drew brilliant slashing waves!

Go!

A dazzling rain of wind swept downwards, further fragmenting the already ravaged ground into a jumbled mess! At the same time, Nid finally landed, struggling to catch his breath.

Nid's attacks couldn't penetrate the medium assimilated by Yu Jie, so he changed his approach—instead of using the blackened solid-liquid gas as a "medium," he attacked it as "part of the target." This made it a simple matter of attack power versus defense. Everything assimilated by Yu Jie became extremely tough, but that toughness wasn't absolute; it could be completely destroyed by a weapon that activated the fragments of the Emperor Slaying Sword.

In that smoke and dust--

"You're just a kid, but you've got some skills! I'm impressed!"

"Hateful--!!"

The ground beneath Nid's feet suddenly turned pitch black, and Yu Jie's figure shot out from the darkness! He could move freely within the matter he had assimilated!

The Greatsword thrust out fiercely in the next instant, but the air, assimilated to the extreme, was endowed with a defensive power far exceeding that before, covering Yu Jie's body like armor and forcefully deflecting his thrust! With a flick of Yu Jie's finger, a jet-black wind blade pierced straight at Nid's joint—until now, Yu Jie had only controlled the objects he had assimilated to attack, and had not yet wielded any real weapon!

Don't underestimate me!

Suddenly, Nid swung his goose-feather saber, which he hadn't used before, and not with the blade but with the back! The blunt, lifeless strike wasn't aimed at Yu Jie, but at Nid himself! Using the blunt impact, Nid instantly widened the distance to more than ten meters, and at the same time—

His finger gently hooked.

Then, the broadsword he had thrown at the beginning came to life, flying in circles toward its master on its own! And Yu Jie was right in the path of the broadsword!

"Cut!!!"

Yu Jie reacted in an instant, not expecting that this kid's weapon had some other functions!

"But—it's not enough!"

Suddenly, he kicked up a fallen lamppost! He caught the flying lamppost in his hand, and in that instant, a thick, dark substance mixed with pinkish-purple patterns burst forth, instantly staining the entire lamppost! Those pinkish-purple geometric patterns were more dazzling than ever before! Yu Jie spun around sharply, without any fancy techniques, and swung the pole backward as if it were a weapon—

Boom!!!!!

The colorless slashing wave of the goose feather saber clashed violently with the pinkish-purple radiance of the lamppost, and after a brief entanglement, the outcome was decided! The goose feather saber flew out in an arc, only to be knocked away by the lamppost! Meanwhile, the lamppost, having undergone advanced assimilation, remained completely unharmed!

"No way..."

The goose-feather saber flew back into Nid's hand in an arc. What he had just witnessed made his eyelids twitch. A precious saber containing fragments of the divine weapon, the Divine Artifact -Emperor Slaying Sword, had actually been knocked away by a lamppost? Even though it had been assimilated and enchanted, it was still too outrageous!

Yu Jie twirled a fancy sword flourish on the long, bulky-looking lamppost—yes, a sword flourish, and a very standard one at that. The lamppost, with its liquid darkness as a base, was covered with eerie pinkish-purple patterns, possessing a strange beauty; an unsuspecting person might mistake it for an unknown piece of modern art.

"That's an exaggerated ability..."

"Same here, aren't you Hybrid Ability User too?"

"..."

"Right? One is the ability to transmit attacks through a medium, and the other must be something like physical enhancement, right? Otherwise, your body would have been torn to pieces in that anal confrontation just now."

"So what if I am? Aren't you the same? Since you can 'strengthen' the matter that you've assimilated into, you can use that ability on your own body too, right?"

"Bingo~~ Things are getting interesting, aren't they, kid?"

The Chief Templar Knight grinned.

"... Sorry, I don't find it funny at all."

The Bloodblade Chieftain curled his lip.

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Likes for the intense physical contact.

However, constantly writing about battles involving men with a strong odor of sweat is getting a bit tedious. Let's shift the focus to Spirit Sacrifice-chan in the next chapter.