Corpse Demon Slayer

The firelight feebly climbed over that tall, gaunt shadow.

The moment he looked up, a chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head, and Li Wei's scalp exploded with goosebumps.

Before Li Wei could collect himself, the twisted, grotesque mummy suddenly let out a shriek and lunged at him.

The piercing scream, so close at hand, nearly froze his blood. Li Wei mustered the greatest courage of his life to break free from that state, rolling to the side with a thud. Turning back, he saw the Crafting Table behind him smashed to pieces by the bizarre thing.

Such strength!

By the dim firelight, Li Wei finally made out the intruder's appearance.

Ragged clothes, a body like a tall, gaunt shadow, faint glimmers in its eyes, and ancient jewelry clinking against itself.

Connecting this to his current location, a word instantly popped into Li Wei's mind:

Barrow-wight!!

Holy crap!

I deliberately avoided the barrows and the Old Forest, how did I still run into this thing!

Don't come near me!!

Gulp.

His throat moved with difficulty, and Li Wei could clearly feel his breathing go ragged.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

The tall shadow let out an unpleasant laugh, like a broken bellows forced to pump air.

It smelled a sweet scent...

Fear.

That fear, like a spider's web, pressed down hard on Li Wei, pinning him to the ground, leaving him unable to move.

The Barrow-wight was pleased.

Realizing he had become a plaything for the Barrow-wight's amusement, Li Wei instinctively gripped the Stone Sword in his hand, feeling a surge of humiliation.

How could I, an MC Player, take this lying down?

No matter what, I'm taking it down today!

Swoosh—

A Burial Sword, covered in a Tetanus Enchantment, was slowly drawn. The Barrow-wight raised its withered arm, about to strike down—

"Ahh—!!"

The figure on the ground roared, gripping his sword tightly, scrambling to his feet and swinging forward!

Clang!

A crisp clashing sound rang out.

Li Wei's wrist went numb, feeling as if he had struck iron.

If this were really just an ordinary Stone Sword, the blade would probably have shattered from that blow.

The attack was effective.

[-3]

A line of text floated across Li Wei's vision.

As if completely caught off guard by the resistance, the Barrow-wight stumbled back, looking at Li Wei, then incredulously at the gash on its own body.

A mere Stone Sword had actually cut through its magical protection and rusted armor to wound it.

What kind of stone is your sword made of?

"Sss—!"

A sharp screech rang out, and Li Wei knew he had enraged this Wraith.

He straightened up, focusing intently on the Barrow-wight.

The next moment, a marker appeared above its head.

[57/60]

A health bar.

Damn it, this thing has a full sixty health points!

Three times his own!

And it has natural armor!

Having never seen other humans, Li Wei could only use himself and the Hobbits he'd met recently as references.

He had 20 health, while the average adult Hobbit ranged between 15 and 18, rarely exceeding that.

Hard to imagine how the Kingdom of Arnor dealt with these Barrow-wights back in the day.

[+1]

A small green text suddenly floated past the Barrow-wight.

[58/60]

"?!"

No, how did you—

No time to think, smack!

A crashing sound rang out as the Ancient Longsword met the Stone Sword. Li Wei only felt his arm go numb.

Such great strength!

And recovering health this fast!

"Hah!"

Li Wei exerted force with all his might, barely managing to parry the longsword away.

My system-crafted Stone Sword isn't something to scoff at either!

Shiiing—

Another swing, and another small notch appeared on the Barrow-wight's body.

-

4.

[54/60]

Good, even though its health is thick, as long as I can keep cutting...

Whoosh—

A gust of wind sounded by his ear. Before he could react, he saw the Barrow-wight's other hand hurtling toward him, slapping right into Li Wei's waist and sending his entire body flying. For a moment, Li Wei lost consciousness entirely, his vision going black. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the ground.

[-7]

[13/20]

His waist ached like hell.

[14/20]

The Grave Goods Rings packed densely on the Barrow-wight's hand had successfully played the role of brass knuckles in that moment. When that long, skinny hand came swinging over, the metallic sensation was unmistakably clear.

[16/20]

[17.5/20]

Yet within just two seconds, the wound healed rapidly as his Hunger Bar dropped. Seeing the next attack coming, Li Wei scrambled to his feet and hastily blocked another swung sword.

[20/20]

But in the brief moment it took to stand up, his health had already fully recovered. His waist, which had nearly been broken, no longer hurt, as if the severe injury just now had been an illusion.

The price was that a small half of the second row of stored Hunger Bar had been consumed.

Li Wei took a deep breath.

Calculating it this way, he actually had 60 health too.

If he counted the food reserves in his inventory, it was even more.

If that was the case, what was there to fear? Come on, let's trade blows!

To be honest, their swordsmanship was about evenly matched. Li Wei didn't know any proper technique at all, and the Barrow-wight's swordsmanship wasn't particularly refined either, limited by its twisted limbs. This fight was basically just brute force.

Clang!

Forcefully shoving aside the ancient sword, Li Wei swung again with all his might. Numbers kept floating off the Barrow-wight— -3, -3, and occasionally a burst of -4 or -5. Under the constant forced knockback and real damage, the Barrow-wight was actually pushed back two steps.

But this momentary burst of unexpected ferocity only went so far. Having seen its share of storms, the Barrow-wight quickly recovered.

Wasn't it just a Stone Sword that could break its defense with some special power boost? It had seen similar things when fighting the Dúnedain.

Shiiing—

Soon, the recovered Barrow-wight swung its sword down. In a panic, Li Wei only managed to twist aside to avoid a fatal hit, but still got a large gash.

[-6]

Just six damage—it would be back to full in no time!

Just as he thought that, his heart suddenly cramped violently.

[-1]

Li Wei snapped his gaze to his Status Bar.

The red heart representing his Health Bar had suddenly cracked, and its color was gradually darkening.

[-1]

Wither?

No, this is—

[Cursed: 2s]

Corpse demons, also known as evil spirits, are servants of darkness—their very existence represents some form of malice.

In that instant, Li Wei was caught between advance and retreat, instinctively feeling a surge of cowardice.

Facing a monster that outclassed him in every stat and carried a persistent damage buff while he had zero armor was really tough.

How did he used to deal with these stat-check enemies when playing games?

Positioning, terrain abuse, beating stats with mechanics and traits.

Traits...

Thud.

Another sword swing came. Li Wei rolled on the ground like a donkey, narrowly dodging, and casually scooped up a handful of dirt.

Eat dirt, you old bastard!

—When it came to footwork, if this were a game with keyboard controls, Li Wei's positioning would be decent. But this was reality, and Li Wei was experiencing combat for the first time. To be honest, just suppressing the fear in his heart and managing to counterattack was already pushing him to his limit.

So he had to rely on... traits!

Li Wei stood up. After stumbling and rolling on the ground for several seconds, his health had already recovered to full.

The pre-stored line of Hunger Bar was also completely consumed.

"Ugly thing, look at me!"

The taunt took effect instantly. The corpse demon's eyes lit up even more, and it lunged straight at him with fury.

By the time it was within a meter, its sword had already cut into Li Wei.

The next moment.

Li Wei endured the pain and suddenly raised his hand.

Slap.

A Rough Stone, exactly one meter in length, width, and height, materialized out of thin air, blocking the way. The corpse demon stumbled into it.

Li Wei naturally didn't let this chance slip. He raised his sword and slashed repeatedly. Caught off guard, the corpse demon lost its balance and fell to the ground.

[-3 -3...]

[27/60]

"Roar—!"

Sensing its power steadily draining, as if it might truly dissolve into nothingness, the corpse demon erupted in desperation, scrambling frantically across the stone.

But Li Wei simply stepped back, pulled out another stone with his other hand, and placed it down, once again sealing the corpse demon's path.

The corpse demon was furious. Normally, it could even phase through a stone with some effort, but the stones this man conjured out of nowhere were exceptionally strange—its power couldn't penetrate them at all.

Thud!

A figure descended from above, an axe cleaving into the corpse demon's skull.

This Leaping Cleave actually chopped off 10 HP outright.

Having landed the hit, Li Wei immediately switched to his Stone Sword and slashed rapidly.

[-4 -4...]

By now, the corpse demon finally recovered and pulled out its ancient sword.

Shing—

It thrust the sword straight into Li Wei's chest.

But Li Wei ignored it, grabbing the ancient sword and wedging it inside his own chest.

Then, he greedily pressed the attack.

Bang!

"Aaaah—!!!"

As the final sword stroke fell.

A piercing shriek spread across the wilderness. A wisp of black energy rose from the corpse demon, exploding and dissipating midair the next moment.

The dried corpse lost all momentum, collapsing to the ground, its eyes empty.

[Achievement Unlocked: "Monster Hunter"]

"Condition met: Defeat a hostile creature."

[Special Achievement Unlocked: "Corpse Demon Slayer"]

"Condition met: Defeat one corpse demon."

[Title System Activated]

[Title Unlocked: Corpse Demon Slayer]