The End

The several Spirit Realm Travelers took advantage of this moment to launch attacks against one another.

Although some had already prepared their defenses, they were still caught off guard while their attention was diverted by the person who had previously ambushed Fran.

"Ah!"

In an instant, two people were killed by their 'companions,' and the targets were those whom they had observed and confirmed to be carrying jade stones.

They snatched the jade stones and bolted immediately, not sparing a glance for what was happening behind them.

While some reacted in time and were not taken out by their 'companions,' they grew anxious that others might now covet the jade stones in their own possession.

Consequently, they scattered in all directions, distancing themselves from the crowd.

Fran watched the people around her fleeing, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Why had they turned on each other in an instant? She began to understand why Velint had ignored so many others to seek her out for cooperation.

It turned out they were all thinking of killing those around them to seize the jade stones they carried.

Velint had drawn her weapon the moment Fran was ambushed, remaining on high alert.

Only after seeing Fran resolve the situation and the surrounding crowd disperse due to the chaos did she speak up:

"Are you alright? There are always some who think that robbing others is the way to go."

"I'm fine..."

Fran noticed that after she killed her attacker, a small pouch had dropped when the person vanished, so she tucked the pouch away.

Velint did not notice Fran picking up the small pouch; she hesitated before saying:

"That... do you have any high-powered spells? Can you cast them multiple times?"

She hadn't harbored this doubt initially, but after seeing Fran counter-kill an ambusher in the blink of an eye, questions had arisen in her mind.

At the apprentice stage, it was fundamentally impossible to reach the pinnacle of both melee combat and spellcasting, as it was not cost-effective.

When one ascended to the official rank, training in the other discipline would yield far better results than trying to master both as an apprentice.

Even the Sword Chant School operated this way, focusing apprentices solely on swordsmanship while teaching only auxiliary spells.

"I do, and I can cast them multiple times."

Fran answered with great confidence; after these few battles in the Spirit Realm, her Wind Blade had reached the mastery level, which certainly met Velint's requirements!

Seeing Fran claim she could, Velint had no choice but to believe her and continued walking toward the platform.

Fran was her only option; she felt she could no longer find anyone else she could trust.

Regardless of whether Fran truly possessed magical prowess, she had to act as if she did.

Seeking out others now might lead to a backstab, and since both she and Fran already had two jade stones each, there was no motive for betrayal.

At worst, they would settle for the reward of just two jade stones, which was still better than approaching others and potentially ending up with nothing at all.

The two walked onto the platform, maintaining a safe distance from the stationary Vine Giant.

"I'll hack at the vines over here, and you aim your spells at the areas without vines."

The two briefly coordinated their upcoming attack strategy.

Velint held her breath and focused, a surge of power gathering in her arms.

"Hah!"

She activated her Breathing Technique, her muscles twitching as her greatsword seemed to take on the weight of ten thousand pounds.

With a heavy, powerful slash, the greatsword cut through the air, leaving an afterimage before slamming into the rock with a terrifying boom, as if the stone itself had been dented by the impact.

The sound of vines being sliced by the blade accompanied the strike, though it was masked by the collision of steel against rock.

The Vine Giant sensed it was under attack, and with the ground rumbling, it began to stretch its body.

Before it could even extend its arms, a Wind Blade whistled through the air, striking its shoulder where the vines were sparse.

The Vine Giant recoiled as if struck by a heavy blow; a large chunk of rock was sheared off its shoulder, and the arm attached to it fell away.

"It's working!"

Velint hadn't expected the effect to be this significant—it had actually dismantled the opponent's arm in a single strike.

"Keep going!"

However, she also noticed that as the arm fell, the vines at its neck began to grow rapidly, gradually covering more of the area.

Velint had no time to look back; she had to keep a constant watch on the Vine Giant's movements to prevent being struck and knocked off the Spirit Realm, which would render all her efforts futile.

She raised her greatsword and swung toward the Vine Giant's other shoulder.

She wanted to hack through the vines there first so Fran could follow up and dismantle that arm as well.

This would make her melee environment much more comfortable; a stone giant without arms would struggle to execute agile attacks.

The giant seemed to possess intelligence, realizing she wanted to make its arm fall off again; it dodged backward, causing the sword to miss its shoulder.

But its size was simply too massive, and Velint's greatsword struck its abdomen, shaking off a large patch of vines and revealing a smooth, black-stained rock surface beneath.

Fran seized the opportunity, unleashing another Wind Blade charged with powerful energy, aiming it straight at the Vine Giant's abdomen.

It seemed that the rocky parts of the Vine Giant were extremely weak to magic, which led to an unexpected result.

A massive hole appeared on the side of the Vine Giant's abdomen, leaving its upper and lower torso connected only by the remaining jagged edges.

This caused great inconvenience to the Vine Giant's movements; it could feel that if it moved too vigorously, its upper and lower halves might just separate entirely.

Right now, it desperately wanted to curse the Lord of the Jade Corridor who had designed it this way—why add such a weakness? Couldn't you just let me fight them relying on this sheer size?

"Nice spell!"

Velint observed the Vine Giant's movements for a moment and realized it was struggling to maintain its balance; this was a prime opportunity.

She immediately stepped forward, making no unnecessary movements, and slashed her sword into the other side of the Vine Giant's abdomen.

She then unleashed a spell she had acquired while exploring the Spirit Realm: Lightning impact. Her hand erupted with a dazzling white light as she lunged toward her target.

She believed this would be the final blow; after this hit, the Vine Giant would essentially fall apart and be unable to continue fighting her.

However, her strike only shaved off half of the rock, with some still clinging to the frame.

Her pupils constricted in shock; this was something she hadn't anticipated. She had assumed that if Fran's spell could cause such massive destruction, her own power, while slightly lesser, wouldn't be that far off.

At the very least, it should have shattered the remaining connection, right?

But she hadn't expected the power to be so meager, and a terrifying thought surfaced in her mind.

That Lai not only surpassed her in physical strength but was also leagues ahead of her in magic.

A Wind Blade grazed past Velint's hair and struck the Vine Giant, causing its upper and lower body to finally part ways; the rocks tumbled onto the ground, the sound only ceasing after rolling for a while.

And within the Vine Giant's chest, which had split open at some point, lay a green jade stone, now fractured into two halves.