The Eclipse

The hellish scene before my eyes was completely incomprehensible.

How did things turn out this way? Where did these monsters come from? Why is Guts roaring like that?

A strange and oppressive atmosphere flooded into their minds almost instantly. The dark mass of monsters turned to look at Sally and Elsa, their eyes flashing with cruel emotions.

Sally's panic reached its peak at that moment; if she were in a horror park, she would probably get a "soul-destroying" rating.

Each of these monsters looks different. Some can be vaguely identified as resembling animals, but many more are completely indescribable. They are all just like Changchang, and the only thing they have in common is that they are all filled with an extremely dark and evil aura.

The evil aura emanating from these monsters is completely different from that of demons. While demons are indeed powerful, ferocious, and tyrannical, capable of destroying everything, they are also living beings, and some of them will show a gentler side when facing their own kind.

The monsters that exist here seem to be entities formed from the evil of humanity, and just looking at them is enough to make one nauseous!

It was simply overflowing with demonic energy.

Sally drew his sword, but he glanced at the endless monster and then at the rapier in his hand.

Sometimes, losing a sense of security is that simple.

"Bass--"

With a loud sound of swords being drawn, he suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from beside him. Turning his head, he saw that it was Elsa who had drawn her sword. The wind pressure from the two greatswords alone was enough to startle him.

Was Elsa always this strong? Sally was momentarily stunned. Elsa's petite figure, still developing, seemed somewhat disproportionate as she wielded both a greatsword and Sword Remains Greatsword. Yet, it was precisely this disproportion that gave Sally a familiar sense of security!

Sometimes, a sense of security can disappear quickly but also return just as quickly.

"Hide behind me."

Elsa said simply, preparing to face the first wave of monsters' Charge.

However, things didn't seem to be as simple as she had imagined.

The monsters glanced at them, but did not immediately attack. Instead, they shifted their gaze elsewhere, and as their large or small bodies swayed, they revealed something familiar to the two.

It's the Band of the Hawk, the Band of the Hawk surrounded by monsters!

These were all familiar faces that Elsa and the others had seen in the footage. They knew that these were people who had formed deep friendships with Guts. Although the footage before the Eclipse was not as exciting as before, the two of them still had some affection for these distinctive characters.

However, why does it feel like the number of Band of the Hawk here has decreased significantly compared to before?

Accompanied by a bewitching red light, a strange-looking shape suddenly appeared in the sky. It shot out countless tiny red "meteors" that struck every member of the Band of the Hawk at a speed that ordinary people could not react to, leaving marks on their skin.

Only the sacrificed offerings are branded!

The monsters were more excited than ever before. The appearance of the brand seemed to be a command to act. They laughed wildly and pounced on the Band of the Hawk.

What followed was a bloody feast, with monsters slaughtering the Band of the Hawk in a cruel way that was unimaginable to ordinary people. It was definitely not suitable for children. The sky was filled with people's screams and monsters' savage laughter, and the already scarlet world became even more blood-red.

With both Griffith and Guts absent, the remaining Band of the Hawk were utterly powerless against the monsters.

"Elsa, let's go save them!" Sally said immediately. "Perhaps protecting the Band of the Hawk will allow us to conquer this Painting World!"

I originally thought this Painting World would be a relaxing place, but I never expected it to be so eerie.

"Um."

Elsa had already moved before she even said those words.

As a large, seemingly honest-looking man Deathmatch the monsters that surrounded him, the Sword Remains Greatsword descended from the sky, cleaving a monster resembling a giant Snot Slug in two, spraying out massive amounts of blood and an unidentifiable liquid!

Elsa descended from the sky, swinging her greatsword to Execute the surrounding monsters while grabbing the Sword Remains Greatsword with her other hand. Using the momentum of her body, she effortlessly hurled the Sword Remains Greatsword again, carving a straight path of flesh and blood through the monster horde.

She grabbed the dazed giant and tossed him toward the location of the Band of the Hawk, telling him not to fight alone, while Sally was already on her way.

His combat efficiency is far lower than Elsa's, but dealing with two or three monsters at the same time is not a problem. Moreover, he has a talent that Elsa does not possess—command.

He loudly commanded the Band of the Hawk to gather together and fight off the monster; many hands make light work, as long as everyone could unite as one...

His command had just begun to take effect when the hastily assembled defensive perimeter was instantly blocked by even more monsters, collapsing at a visible speed.

The Band of the Hawk has too few members and too many monsters, and their strength almost completely overwhelms all the mercenaries. No matter how hard they try to unite, it will be useless.

At this moment, Sally could only protect a few people besides herself, and she appeared so precarious in the face of the flood of monsters.

The number of the Band of the Hawk was still decreasing, and at this critical moment, flames ignited!

Flames suddenly ignited on Elsa's greatsword. She dragged the greatsword around the Band of the Hawk at an indistinct speed, and the towering flames instantly formed a defensive shield.

Sally was shocked, thinking, "When did you learn this trick?!"

The moment Elsa finished drawing the wall of fire, she extinguished the flames on the greatsword. Although she had some affection for the Band of the Hawk, it didn't mean she would burn away all the emotions she had accumulated over the years here. She wanted to save as much as possible.

Leaving her outside the firewall to fight the enemy might be more efficient!

A swift figure flashed past her, tearing a chunk of flesh from her shoulder in the process. When the incredibly fast monster returned, Elsa used all her strength to smash it to the ground with her greatsword.

She has now figured out the strength of these monsters.

Judging from the experience of adventuring in the Zane Dungeon, most of the monsters are stronger than regular enemies but not quite elite, with only a few reaching elite level. Their sheer number is enough to overwhelm Silver Rank teams, but for Elsa...

At least she won't die anytime soon!

At the same time, she also discovered a problem.

That is, from beginning to end, she didn't seem to see people using any magic in this Painting World!

Not only did they lack magic, but these people also seemed quite ordinary to her, just slightly stronger than ordinary people. Therefore, she had no chance to fight back against these monsters.

What's going on? Not only does he not have magic, but his physical abilities are also just average.

Elsa suddenly remembered something Sally had told her.

The earliest magic originated from the blessings of the God of Magic and was called Original Magic. Each one was incredibly powerful. So, some scholars have asked, what was life like for people before the God of Magic bestowed magic upon them?

It's simply unimaginable, given how deeply magic has permeated everyone's lives.

So what's going on in this Painting World? Whether human or monster, everyone who sees her flames acts as if they've seen a ghost.

Surely this couldn't possibly be some era before the God of Magic bestowed Original Magic, could it?

People only felt that the "history" that Saien showed was very distant, but they were still vague about exactly how distant it was. This time, in the Painting World Sword Wind Legend, they suddenly had a concept of it.

That's really incredibly far!

Just then, Elsa discovered that the Band of the Hawk wasn't just in one place; many Band of the Hawk were scattered in other locations as well. Regardless of whether magic existed in this era, mortal strength was simply no match for monsters. If she didn't go to their aid, things could get very bad—

A furious roar rang out, and the emotion it contained immediately drew Elsa's attention.

It's Guts!

She saw the strong man surrounded by monsters, covered in blood and in very bad condition. Just as she was about to rush over to help him...

Guts pierced the head of a monster with his short sword, then roared as he Execute monster. The short sword was completely damaged, but he broke off a monster's horn to use as a weapon and continued to fight, piercing the monster's chest, neck, limbs, and even when he was struck hard by a monster, suffering an attack that would kill an ordinary person, he would get up and continue fighting!

In a short period of time, more than five monsters have died at his hands!

Elsa's mouth dropped open slightly. Guts' performance was simply incomparable to the others. He was like a god of death, a killing machine completely driven by rage.

It's obvious at a glance that his physical abilities are at the pinnacle of humanity. His body, honed through countless trials, allows him to fight even against hordes of monsters, making him a born and strongest Warrior.

Unfortunately, the human body has its limits. Under the relentless attacks of the monsters, he gradually couldn't hold on any longer, and Elsa immediately joined in to help him fight.

Elsa had just Execute a monster when this scene suddenly flashed before her eyes.

The members of the Band of the Hawk were devoured by the monster, and all their former friends were reduced to pieces. Guts fought his way out and staggered along with a desperate expression, searching for survivors. Just when he thought no one had survived, he suddenly saw a friend standing not far away.

Despair instantly turned into hope. When he ran over and called his friend's name, the latter suddenly split in two, revealing the monster hidden behind it. It turned out that his friend had already been hollowed out and eaten, leaving only an empty shell.

Elsa suddenly woke up.

Guts's friend, who had been completely emptied out and eaten, seemed to be the big guy she had just rescued.

What did she just see? Could it be that she and Sally didn't come here, so this is what would have happened?

The scene where all his companions are dead, leaving him all alone, is simply too despairing.

She suddenly felt pity for this man who also liked to use heavy weapons, and swung her greatsword to Execute monsters to relieve his pressure.

While watching the video, she suddenly had a feeling that she and this man looked very similar.

But she quickly dismissed the idea, after all, her relationship with Iliphis wasn't as close as Guts's with Griffith.

Moreover, Iliphis Griffith.

At least in Elsa's current memory, Griffith wouldn't betray his comrades and make them take the hits for him like Iliphis in the battle against the illusion of Pontiff Sulyvahn!

Speaking of which, where did Griffith go, and why did the Band of the Hawk's numbers decrease?

With questions lingering in her mind, Elsa continued fighting, attempting to rescue the Band of the Hawk.

However, the battlefield was too vast and the Band of the Hawk too scattered, so the number of mercenaries continued to decline steadily.

During the battle, the way she looked at Guts changed.

While watching the video, she found everyone's performance unremarkable, with Guts occasionally standing out. But what she really wanted to say was:

Where is your fighting spirit and Weapon Skill as Warrior? Why can't you even jump five meters?

But now Elsa suddenly realized that Guts was fighting with strength that had reached the limits of humanity but was still within the realm of mortals, surviving those brutal battles, and now fighting in this hell full of demons and monsters.

She was immediately struck by a sense of astonishment, as if to say, "How did you even survive all those battles?!"

And now, with her continuous fire healing, Guts' speed in Execute monsters is only slightly slower than hers!

This.

Elsa couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if she only had the physical constitution of an ordinary person.

The answer is that a teenage girl simply couldn't survive here!

The two fought continuously, with bits of flesh and blood flying everywhere, and the monster called the Apostle let out a hoarse howl.

After an unknown amount of time, the monsters' corpses had piled up into a mound of heads, but as far as the eye could see, the enemy still seemed endless.

Elsa didn't feel despair, but she felt a sense of oppression, an oppression called "endless"!

Moreover, the strength of these monsters is constantly increasing!

Even she felt a little anxious; when would this end?

How exactly do you conquer this Painting World?

The torment, the endless torment, the battle with no end in sight, brings an inescapable sense of physical and mental exhaustion.

I don't know how much time has passed.

Guts was exhausted; his Sword Remains Greatsword had been sprinkled with Repair Light Powder, and Sally's rapier had broken completely.

Elsa's eyes were almost numb.

Does this mean we have to keep fighting forever?

"Boom!"

The ground, which was made up of human faces, suddenly shook. Elsa seemed to sense it and looked up.

All that could be seen was a giant fist clenched tightly, standing on the ground.

It is slowly opening.