Thunder Blade Shadow

"Swish!"

"I've said it before, I'm an assassin, not a berserker!"

Lu Qiming appeared beside Aili and Ailin, reaching out to gently stroke the golden hair of the two little ones.

"Senior, you're here!"

Aili and Ailin stared in disbelief at the smiling Lu Qiming who had suddenly appeared before them. Feeling the warmth on their heads, they immediately threw themselves into his arms and burst into tears.

The events of today had been far too stressful for them. They had simply come along with their captain to watch other adventurers challenge the floor boss, only to be pleasantly surprised to find it was the berserker senior they had met just yesterday.

Then, the monsters rioted, relentlessly charging the tunnel they were in. Their captain and the other seniors had sacrificed their own chances of escape to hold the line for them.

"Alright, alright, stop crying."

Lu Qiming calmly stroked the little girls' heads, continuously soothing them. After all, this situation was caused by him; while he didn't care about the deaths of other adventurers, he was quite indulgent toward the little girls who idolized him.

"Berserker senior, our captain and the others..."

"Them? They're fine. Look, aren't they coming now?"

Lu Qiming smiled and released the two little ones. Behind him, the members of the Aili Familia were walking toward them, supporting one another.

"My lord, thank you for saving us!"

The captain, covered in wounds, walked up to Lu Qiming with the help of his teammates and bowed in gratitude.

"No need. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. It was my carelessness that caused this."

Lu Qiming waved his hand, signaling them not to worry, and turned to walk toward the exit. He had already collapsed all the other tunnels where adventurers were located, leaving only this one, and the surviving adventurers from the other paths had all managed to escape.

"Senior, where are you going?"

Aili watched Lu Qiming walk toward the tunnel exit, confused as to what he intended to do.

"Obviously, to finish off the rest of these monsters!"

Lu Qiming still wore that same gentle smile, but a pale red killing intent coiled around him, making him look like a demon god.

"Roar! Roar, roar, roar!"

Before him, an endless tide of monsters surged into the tunnel, shrieking as they lunged at Lu Qiming.

"Watch out!"

Ailin had just started to warn Lu Qiming, but before she could finish, he had already vanished from his spot. The monsters lunging at him stopped in mid-air, instantly exploding into black ash as piles of magic stones rained down.

Outside the tunnel, the dying screams of monsters and Lu Qiming's manic laughter intertwined, echoing into the ears of those inside.

"Captain, what do we do now?"

Mili walked up to their captain and handed recovery potions to the group that had just returned.

"Let's go, we're heading back!"

The captain drank the potion, his wounds beginning to heal. He raised his greatsword and walked toward the tunnel entrance, knowing he wouldn't be of much use in the coming battle.

Besides, with Lu Qiming nearby, the safety of his team was guaranteed. Even if he couldn't help, he didn't want to just leave. After experiencing this, he wanted to obtain greater strength.

This was his chance to see just how strong a true powerhouse was. Only by knowing the heights of the strong could he strive in that direction!

The others followed the captain, especially Aili and Ailin, who sprinted to the front and were the first to reach the tunnel exit.

At the exit, Aili and Ailin stood frozen, staring blankly downward.

"Aili, Ailin, what's wrong?"

Mili looked at the two stunned little ones in confusion; given their personalities, they should have been jumping and cheering by now.

The others noticed something was off and accelerated to the tunnel mouth. They looked down, and in an instant, they were just as stunned as the two sisters.

Below them, an endless swarm of monsters continued to charge the tunnel, but not a single one could get within a hundred meters. The moment they approached, they were swept away by a flash of sword light, and blood and severed limbs rained down like a storm.

In the vanguard, Lu Qiming laughed wantonly, his body flickering in and out of existence. Terrifying sword light erupted wherever he passed, and the ground was already carpeted in a thick layer of magic stones and loot.

"Is this what a true powerhouse looks like?"

The captain watched Lu Qiming slaughter the monsters like he was mowing grass. For the first time, he understood the power possessed by the top-tier existences among adventurers. He lowered his head to look at his own blood-stained greatsword.

He knew that was a level he could never reach. However... his familia had geniuses!

The reason he had insisted that Mili take Aili and Ailin away at the end was because the two little ones possessed talents entirely different from his own. They possessed the top-tier berserker talents: Battle-Hardened and Born for Battle.

With such top-tier talents, the two of them would surely become powerful adventurers no less capable than Lu Qiming in the future!

"Captain, look!"

Just then, the werewolf youth Elio nudged the dazed captain and pointed downward, shouting. The captain quickly followed his gaze.

Down there, Lu Qiming had stopped his high-speed movement and stood calmly in front of the monster horde.

"Three minutes left."

Lu Qiming looked calmly at the shrieking mass of monsters standing not far away. After his slaughter, the number of monsters that had filled the 17th Floor had been cut in half.

At this moment, his Musou duration had only three minutes remaining. This was only because his magic power had increased after leveling up during the slaughter; otherwise, his Musou would have expired minutes ago.

"Since there isn't much time left, I won't play with you anymore!"

Lu Qiming's calm face was completely different from a moment ago; the wild, manic grin had vanished, replaced by a countenance as still as before, filled with dead silence and coldness.

Thunder Blade Shadow: Modified

As the whisper sounded, endless lightning enveloped Lu Qiming. He crouched, and terrifying bolts of lightning spread onto Divine Judgment, the blade formed of lightning continuously extending the sword's original fifty-centimeter length. (Total 0.7m, guard plus hilt 0.2m, remaining blade 0.5m)

Crackle, pop.

With the sound of dancing lightning, the blade had transformed into forty meters in length. This was only because it was Lu Qiming's first time testing this move; according to his expectations, the lightning should have coated the blade of Divine Judgment without extending it, merely concentrating power upon the edge.

However, there was no time to worry about that now; in any case, it was more than enough to slaughter the swarm of monsters before him.

"Dance!"

The moment Lu Qiming vanished from his spot, the sound of a thunderstorm erupted throughout the 17th Floor. Endless sword light rose in tandem with the lightning, and within a few short seconds, the lightning vanished, leaving behind only a floor covered in magic stones and loot.

I have some things to attend to today. If I have time tonight, I'll write another chapter; if not, I'll make up for it tomorrow.