Holy Flame! One Sword Wipes Them All Out!

"Damn it!"

"There are more of them?"

"Those bastards..."

"There are way too many!"

"We're done for... We're really done for this time!"

"..."

Another wave of Zombies surged toward them like a tide, far larger than the last. Even more alarming, dozens of Tyrants were mixed in among them.

"We're in serious trouble!" Huang Xin's brow furrowed as he sighed. "What kind of enemy are we facing? How could they create a Zombie army this massive?"

"Huang Xin, this is far beyond what we can handle," an Investigator said grimly.

"That's right. This disaster isn't just F-grade anymore. It's beyond E-grade!" Another Investigator sounded ready to retreat.

"This..."

Huang Xin was at a loss. He couldn't think of any way to deal with dozens of Tyrants.

Even for junior Investigators like them, taking on a single Tyrant alone was a struggle!

What he found even harder to accept was that monsters strong enough to be bosses were only elite enemies!

"I'll hold them off. Use the time to rebuild the defensive line."

Li Hongyou addressed the others. "If I can't stop them, call the Investigation Bureau for bombing support immediately. We cannot let these Zombies into the city. The consequences would be unthinkable."

"Understood."

Bzzzz!

The moment she finished speaking, a strange sound came from the sky!

It was so piercing that everyone clapped their hands over their ears.

"Damn it! What now?"

"That sound... Are the Zombies behind it?"

"Bastards! Make it stop!"

As everyone tried to work out where the sound was coming from, Bai Yu noticed Li Hongyou swaying in midair, as though she could barely hold herself up.

"Oh no!"

Bai Yu rushed forward. At that very moment, Li Hongyou fell from the sky and landed right in her arms.

"What's wrong?" Bai Yu asked urgently.

"This isn't ordinary noise... It's a wave of mental energy. It's interfering with my ability..."

Li Hongyou bit her lip, her face contorted with pain.

"How can this be?"

"We're finished! Without Li Hongyou, how are we supposed to stop these Zombies?"

"This really is the end! There's no hope left!"

Seeing Li Hongyou collapse, despair spread across every face.

Without her power to support them, they could barely handle ordinary Zombies breaching the defensive line, let alone dozens of Tyrants!

"Take me to Liu Qian..."

Li Hongyou mustered the last of her strength to tell Bai Yu, "I'll get the two of you out of here!"

"Okay."

Bai Yu nodded and was about to carry Li Hongyou to Liu Qian when a pink glow suddenly appeared beside them.

"What's going on?"

Before anyone could react, two figures appeared before them.

"What's that noise? Why is it so loud?"

The instant Bai Xuan appeared, his mask shifted into an angry expression.

The powerful wave of mental energy left his head buzzing, but when he saw Bai Yu unharmed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"What are you two doing here?!"

Everyone stared at Bai Xuan and Xilin in disbelief.

But the question was clearly beside the point.

"What happened to her?" Bai Xuan asked Bai Yu.

"The wave of mental energy is interfering with Red Pomelo's ability," Bai Yu replied.

"A wave of mental energy..." Bai Xuan murmured, then looked into the distance.

Thousands of Zombies were surging toward the Military Base, with dozens of Tyrants among them.

"That's a lot of Zombies..."

Bai Xuan frowned slightly.

"Leave them to me."

Before Xilin had even finished speaking, she gripped the Lightless Sword and strode toward the dark mass of Zombies.

"Wait! How can she possibly take on that many Zombies alone?" Huang Xin shouted. "Even Li Hongyou might not be able to—"

"Please trust us, Investigator Huang Xin," Bai Xuan replied calmly. "She'll take care of everything."

"This..."

Huang Xin had no answer.

Everyone turned to watch Xilin walk alone toward the thousands upon thousands of Zombies.

It looked as though she were walking into hell.

Yet a faint golden light began to shimmer around her.

"Souls unable to reach heaven, left to wander this world!"

Xilin stopped and gazed calmly ahead, slowly drawing the Lightless Sword from her waist.

At the same time, the little white rabbit on her shoulder transformed into a cape and rabbit-ear headpiece, settling lightly over her armor and stirring in the breeze.

"I, in the name of the Holy See—"

Xilin raised the sword before her chest with both hands.

Vast magical power gathered in an instant. White-gold flames coiled around the blade and rose, forging a sword of justice!

"Grant you—"

"The path to the afterlife!"

"Holy Flame—Burn Eternal!"

Before her words had faded, Xilin swung her sword!

White-gold flames burst from the blade and swept forward like a raging tide, spreading as they went!

In the blink of an eye,

the blazing sea of fire swallowed everything ahead!

Thousands upon thousands of Zombies writhed and wailed in the flames before crumbling to ash and vanishing completely.

Even the seemingly invincible Tyrants disappeared in that light.

The flames died away, leaving only stillness and peace.

"This..."

Everyone stood dumbstruck, unable to gather their thoughts.

It had all happened too fast!

Before their fear could even fade, the battle was over.

They hadn't even had time to see what happened.

A flash of white light had swept past, and then the world had fallen silent...

After a long silence, thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd.

"We won! We won!"

"Is it... over, just like that?"

"Thank goodness! I'm still alive!"

"I really thought I was going to die!"

"What was that move? How did she do it?"

"That's power no ordinary person could ever wield! Not even a bomber strike could have achieved anything like this!"

"She's an angel! She has to be an angel!"

"..."

"That was ridiculous!" Huang Xin said with a laugh, shaking his head.

He had never doubted the female knight's strength, but he hadn't imagined it could reach such an absurd level.

The power of that single strike had even surpassed Li Hongyou, the strongest junior Investigator!

The other two Investigators looked equally stunned, but their surprise soon gave way to a hint of concern.

After all, the strength the female knight had just displayed was beyond anything they could control.

Bai Xuan, however, wasn't surprised.

That strike had drawn on all the energy of the Flame of Justice and the Source of Life to unleash a sacred fire across an enormous area!

Sacred power was naturally effective against the undead, and fire was ideal for fighting Zombies. Its power spoke for itself.

Still, Bai Xuan hadn't expected the battle to end so quickly.

He had thought a few might slip through and give him a chance to try his own hand.

While Xilin had been clearing out the Zombies, Bai Xuan hadn't been idle. He had already reached the special protection room where Liu Qian was staying.

Liu Qian stood by the window. She had witnessed everything that had just happened.

"Wow! Is that the Holy Knight who saved me three times? She's amazing!"

Liu Qian cheered excitedly.

Then she turned with a smile toward Bai Xuan, who stood in the doorway, and asked softly:

"Mr. Slime in the mask, are you lost?"

"No, I'm not lost."

Bai Xuan shook his head and walked slowly into the room.

"There are just a few things I hope you can answer for me."

"I'd love to answer you, but..." Liu Qian was still smiling.

"This might not be a good time. I have another guest to see."

"A guest?"