Homeland Defense Battle

The most notable characteristic of a D-Rank Weird Calamity was its ability to control black fog.

Black fog was a manifestation of Dark Energy. It corroded anything it touched, destroying its essential structure and accelerating decay.

These Weird Calamities were far more dangerous than Anomaly Calamities. Without a way to counter them, death was the only outcome.

Lincon took a deep breath and stared at the pale-eyed corpse before him, not daring to let his guard down in the slightest.

Creak...

The Weird Corpse's teeth ground against each other, their sharp edges scraping together with a grating sound.

Suddenly, it stepped forward.

Buzz buzz buzz...

The darkness surged like boiling water, violently crashing against the Purification Shrine.

The air seemed to ripple. The candle flame inside the Shrine swayed violently, as though blasted by a fierce wind and about to go out at any moment.

Lincon knew he could wait no longer. Once the Runes on the Purification Shrine disappeared, he would have even less chance of stopping it.

He strode forward and raised the Shadow Sword.

Black radiance burst from the Shadow Sword's surface as it came down upon the Weird Corpse with Lincon's terrifying strength behind it.

Clang!!

The Weird Corpse's neck was cleaved in two beneath the blade, and its head flew high into the air.

Yet something unbelievable happened. After the head hit the ground, a second head rapidly grew from its severed neck.

At the same time, the hairs on the back of Lincon's neck stood on end. An invisible sharp slash was cutting toward him.

Whoosh—

Lincon shifted his footing and swiftly retreated half a step.

He touched his neck. A thin, straight wound was seeping blood that carried a faint rusty smell.

Lincon frowned at the Weird Calamity, a trace of shock appearing in his eyes.

If he had not happened to raise his Plant Cultivator profession to Level 4 today, strengthening his mental power again and allowing him to sense the danger in advance, his head would already have been separated from his body.

When I attack it, I suffer the same damage myself. I've never seen such a bizarre Dark Creature.

Lincon had guarded fortresses with his comrades and faced the Black Tide several times before, but this was the first time he had encountered a Weird Calamity that reflected its opponent's attacks.

Is this its characteristic?

Every Weird Calamity and Anomaly Calamity had its own characteristic, equivalent to its innate ability.

Weird Calamities with powerful characteristics could easily destroy an entire city.

The characteristic of the Weird Corpse before him was not particularly powerful, but it had practically maxed out its defenses.

It would not die when cut down, and the attack would be reflected back at the same speed and power without weakening in the slightest.

If an ordinary person had done what he had just done, they likely would not have had time to react before their head was instantly severed.

What should I do? Weird Calamities can't be without weaknesses, so where is its weakness?

Although the head cut off by the Shadow Sword regenerated quickly, the sword aura still dealt substantial damage to Dark Creatures.

Lincon's gaze shifted toward the Weird Corpse's previously raised foot. It had now been placed back down.

At the same time, he noticed that the black fog under its control had weakened somewhat compared to before.

If it was cut a few more times, its strength should continue to weaken.

Lincon launched himself forward, his body shooting out like a cannonball.

This strike was aimed at the Weird Corpse's arm.

The instant its arm separated from its body, Lincon was already prepared to dodge.

Rip!

Accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh, Lincon completed his evasive maneuver. The invisible blade only sliced open his sleeve and did not injure him.

However, before he could celebrate for long, several bluish-gray corpse spots eerily appeared on his arm.

Like sulfuric acid, those corpse spots began corroding the flesh on his arm and spreading at a bizarre speed.

No, aside from the damage from my own attack, there's also corrosion from its own power.

Lincon had never touched the Weird Corpse with his own hands, so the corpse spots had corroded their way over through his previous slash.

He touched his neck again. Though he could not see it, Lincon felt that his neck was probably already covered in corpse spots.

In an instant, pain from corroding flesh spread throughout his body. It felt as though countless ants were gnawing at him from head to toe.

"Creak, creak..."

The Weird Corpse ground its teeth faster. Its pale eyes passed over Lincon and landed on the Dark Shrine standing on the table inside the room.

Lincon's eyes narrowed sharply when he saw this.

It had been drawn here by the Dark Shrine!

The Dark Shrine had been created by using an Infusion Rune to fuse a Dark Matter Crystal with a Shrine, effectively enchanting the Shrine.

However, because this enchantment was characterized by Dark Energy, the Shrine's properties had changed as well.

It had become a Shrine that attracted Dark Creatures.

If I'd known keeping it in the house would attract Dark Creatures too, I should've smashed it right away!

Lincon's eyes darted from side to side. He knew he could not drag this out any longer and had to quickly find a way to deal with the Weird Corpse before him.

His body did not possess the Weird Corpse's ability to regenerate endlessly. Once the corpse spots corroded too deeply, he would die immediately.

Lincon's mind raced madly.

The Weird Corpse before him seemed to have grown impatient as well, suddenly erupting with black fog that slammed into the Shrine.

Thud thud!!

This time, it took two steps forward.

Boom!

Thick darkness surged in like a tide. The surrounding Sunlight Sunflowers lowered their blossoms, and the light in the courtyard suddenly dimmed.

Hiss hiss hiss...

An extreme chill coiled around Lincon's body like a venomous snake, and intense pain flared from the corpse spots on his body.

At the brink of death, Lincon's peripheral vision suddenly caught the candle flame atop the Shrine, which was on the verge of being extinguished.

I'm going for it!

He raised the Shadow Sword and flicked the candle flame out of the Shrine, suspending it over the tip of his sword.

Since the Runes are created by using my mental power as ink, whether I have a pen or not shouldn't make much difference.

He tossed aside the lantern in his left hand and swiftly used his hand as a pen, pouring out his mental power to draw a Purification Rune in the air.

Buzz!!

A brilliant azure illusory Rune suddenly lit up in the air. It flashed past and flowed into the candle flame.

Boom!!

The wavering candle flame suddenly swelled at that moment. Crimson fire blazed fiercely, releasing a purifying force even more violent and domineering than that of the Purification Shrine.

At the same time, the Shadow Sword's faintly pained consciousness entered Lincon's mind, making his nerves tense.

Bear with it.

Lincon let out a long breath and brushed his left hand upward along the tip of the Shadow Sword.

Flames flickered. The burning wax wrapped around the Shadow Sword's blade like a living thing. The surging Purifying Fire dispelled the black fog, and wherever the blade pointed, the dense black fog boiled even more violently, hissing as it was burned away.

The Weird Corpse seemed to sense the threat as well. For the first time, its pale eyes turned, staring fixedly at the burning sword in Lincon's hand.

"Creak, creak..."

Its teeth ground rapidly as it retreated a step.

Lincon's gaze sharpened, and his body shot forward, plunging headfirst into the darkness.

Boom...

The flames carved a perfect arc through the darkness. The black fog burned away, and searing light pierced the darkness at that moment.

Sizzle!

The instant the blade touched the Weird Corpse, countless Purifying Fires surged over its body. Its head was sent flying high into the air once again.

Yet this time, Lincon did not suffer reflected damage. The Weird Corpse was bathed in blazing Purifying Fire, black vapor constantly pouring from its body, only to be burned away completely in an instant.

[You killed a D-Rank Weird Calamity. Obtained Sunlight +100, main profession experience +100, secondary profession experience +100.]

[As a Lord, you have bravely defended your territory for the first time. Main profession experience +200.]

[Quest Prompt: Clear the Dark Creatures invading your territory.]

[Quest Reward: Seed of Life.]