The Game Is Underway

Congratulations, Miss Nisi.

Holding her staff, Nia floated in the air, looking calmly at the panting elven mage. Most of her magical defenses were broken, leaving only a faint glow. Just now, the elven mage had finally used her Magic Tattoo to unleash a powerful spell. Although this attack hadn't completely defeated Nia, it had severely weakened her previously intact magical defenses. At this rate, with the support of her primal power, it was only a matter of time before the elven mage triumphed.

"You're finally starting to get the hang of using Magic Tattoo."

"But this is only the beginning, Miss Nia."

Raising her head, the elven mage's expression finally softened with confidence at her successful attack. In truth, she had only achieved this through sheer desperation. Nia had virtually sealed off all her spellcasting abilities, leaving the elven mage with no choice but to cling to the lifeline of her Magic Tattoo, which she ultimately managed to cast.

Now, Nia's magical defenses have been breached; a few more attacks will allow her to...

Nisi's good mood didn't last long.

Under her watchful gaze, the shattered defenses around Nia instantly healed, and several more golden lines slowly rotated around her, forming an even stronger defense. At the same time, Nia raised her staff again, a cunning yet gentle smile appearing in her eyes.

"Then, we can move the course to the next stage..."

For Nisi, she clearly had no choice.

Nisi was still enduring grueling training, and Li Lin was in a similarly difficult situation. In fact, even though he was mentally prepared, he still couldn't help but gasp when he saw the enormous, black creature in front of him.

A large, robust black bear roared as it charged out of the woods. Judging from its rotting pelt, it was clearly one of the undead creatures. But compared to the wolves, this massive bear was obviously much more difficult to deal with. Moreover, judging from its size, this black bear had clearly just finished eating its winter provisions and was planning to find a place to sleep until spring. As a result, its weight was naturally exceptionally heavy.

"Let me handle this! You all step back!!"

All three present were well aware of the consequences if the black bear charged in. Geligao Li shouted and then turned to face the bear, while Li Lin and the priestess changed their directions and positions accordingly. Li Lin began to focus on dealing with the wolves that were likely to "take advantage of the chaos," while the priestess had to take care of both sides at the same time—to prevent Geligao Li from being overwhelmed by the bear's immense force and to prevent Li Lin from taking too many attacks.

Sometimes, what you fear most is exactly what happens.

Geligao Li's greatsword met the black bear's massive paw, but his usually infallible techniques were useless at this moment. Geligao Li felt a jolt in his hand, almost dropping the entire sword. He hurriedly retreated several steps before regaining his footing. Almost simultaneously, several wolves attacked Li Lin from all directions. Even with his lightning-fast swordsmanship, he couldn't face so many threats at once.

It seems I have to show my true skills.

Faced with this critical moment, the three (actually, it should be two) had made a decision in their hearts, even though they hadn't communicated.

"The Light of Judgment!!"

The priestess raised her hands, and a bright, dazzling light emanated from them, shooting outwards. The holy light immediately repelled the undead creatures that had intended to surround and attack, causing them to scream and retreat. However, this had little effect on the black bear. After all, Holy Light is more effective against the purer the undead creature. The wolves had been dead for many days; their bodies were completely lifeless. But this black bear was clearly still "fresh," having been dead for relatively short time, and therefore its resistance to holy light was much stronger than that of the undead creatures.

However, it was clear that the female priest's strength was limited. If it were Catherine, she could have continuously cast that level of holy light for a long time. But for this female priest, even a single moment had already depleted a significant portion of her power. Nevertheless, she had achieved her goal. Due to the influence of the holy light, the undead creatures' previously continuous, surging attacks became slightly chaotic, and this slight chaos was enough for the other two.

"Drink it!!"

With a single stroke, Geligao Li deflected the black bear's massive claws, dragged his greatsword back to the ground, and then roared as he slashed forward with tremendous force. The stalk of his sword sprang to the surface, clearly indicating the considerable power he was using. This time, the black bear was unable to deflect Geligao Li's greatsword as before. Perhaps sensing the danger of this attack, it actually chose to retreat. However, Geligao Li clearly had no intention of letting the matter rest. The greatsword, which had been sweeping through the air, suddenly changed its force and direction, thrusting straight forward. This move clearly caught the black bear off guard, and at that moment, the weakness of undead creatures was also revealed—no matter how powerful they were, they were still dead creatures, unable to move nimbly. Using its wisdom and experience, the bear retaliated. Faced with Geligao Li's sudden change of direction, the bear could only instinctively reach out to block. However, this time, the powerful impact clearly exceeded the bear's defensive capabilities, and its paw was pierced by the greatsword. Geligao Li, having succeeded, immediately twisted the hilt. With a flash of cold light, one of the bear's massive paws instantly became a bloody mess, spurting out foul-smelling blood. This caused the bear intense pain. Although it had only recently died, it was still considered an undead creature. Its outer skin could offer some protection, but the pain from the greatsword, imbued with divine power, piercing its body was unbearable.

The black bear, having lost a paw, was clearly enraged, yet instinctively felt fear. The damage from the divine power forced it to re-examine its enemy. But at that moment, Geligao Li seized the opportunity, charging into its arms with his sword. The sharp greatsword sliced through its soft belly without resistance and pierced its body.

Even undead creatures cannot remain alive and kicking after being disemboweled by a weapon imbued with divine power, let alone one that had only recently transformed into an undead. Soon, under the influence of divine power, the necromantic power was dispelled. And at that moment, the black bear's massive body collapsed with a crash.

Although the process was extremely thrilling and exciting, no one present had time to pay attention to the scene. Because at this moment, the danger that Li Lin and the female pastor were facing far exceeded that of the black bear they had just encountered.

Although the holy light had forced the wolf pack to change their fighting style, they seemed to have realized that this was just a paper tiger, all show and no substance. Soon, the wolves charged again. But this time, they focused their attack entirely on the female priest.

What is Angela up to?

After once again driving away the surrounding wolves, Li Lin looked at the female priest beside him with some confusion. The holy light he had just used had already consumed a lot of her power. Now, she still had to maintain the holy power and protection on her weapon, and she had no extra energy left. But the more she did this, the more the wolves wanted to kill her. Sometimes, they would even attack the female priest without any deceptive movements, pouncing straight at her. Although Li Lin would always manage to deflect them at the last second, this clearly put the female priest in a dangerous situation.

This can't go on.

Thinking of this, Li Lin sheathed his sword again, then grabbed the female priest beside him and took a few steps back.

"Mr. Li Lin? What is this...?"

The female priest was extremely surprised to see that Li Lin had actually given up the fight. She couldn't understand why this man would put away his weapon at such a critical moment.

"Stand still. No matter how dangerous it is, don't move!"

Li Lin's voice was deep and steady, not at all like someone who had been fighting for a long time. His words gave the female pastor a sense of reassurance.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you. You definitely won't get hurt."

As he spoke, Li Lin gripped the sword hilt again, intently observing the pack of wolves before him. Just then, the undead creatures drew closer, howling. Sensing the presence of the living, they were aroused by their voracious appetite, attempting to devour all life and claim it as their own.

"Awooo--!"

With that howl, dozens of wolves pounced on the two from all directions. There were no blind spots, no place to hide; the wolves' sharp teeth and claws seemed to be their only fate.

Faced with this dangerous and terrifying scene, the female pastor instinctively wanted to resist; she wanted to hide and defend herself. But Li Lin's words seemed like a spell, freezing her in place. She didn't know why she trusted this suspicious man. Perhaps it was just her instinct, sensing that only in this way could she be saved.

Then, the whistling sound of swords and the swirling blizzard obscured the priestess's vision. It was as fierce as a sudden blizzard, but this terrifying scene lasted only a moment. Soon, the snowflakes whipped up by the wind began to dance again, slowly settling back to the ground. At this moment, the dozens of wolves surrounding the two were all decapitated. The only thing the priestess could see was Li Lin maintaining a sword-wielding stance, but that was all.

"Call..."

Gazing at the wolf carcasses around him, Li Lin slowly straightened up, sheathed his longsword, and gave a concealed yet somewhat disgruntled glare into the depths of the forest before turning to look at the female priest.

"Miss Priest, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, this is..."

Staring dumbfounded at the wolf carcasses before her, the priestess felt disbelief. Although she had gradually grown accustomed to Li Lin's rapid sword-wielding movements over the past few days, the speed and precision with which he beheaded dozens of wolves in an instant completely exceeded the limits of human capability.

"I never imagined that you, Mr. Li Lin, possessed such power."

"While it is very powerful, it is not without its price."

Li Lin stretched his arms, then looked at Geligao Li was struggling to crawl out from under the black bear.

"I think we'd better leave here as soon as possible; our current situation doesn't seem very satisfactory."

Li Lin's statement is entirely correct.

After leaving the hillside, the group quickly conducted an examination, and the results were not good. Geligao Li's wrist had suffered considerable backlash from forcibly changing the direction of the greatsword, and the muscles had been torn. Even with divine healing, it would take a day to recover, and during that time, he would be unable to use his wrist for anything, otherwise his hands would be completely useless. Moreover, the black bear's death throes had also injured his internal organs, all of which were significant injuries.

The female priest's condition was also not optimistic. The holy light she used to disperse the wolf pack was a dangerous technique that forcibly gathered a large amount of energy and released it instantly, which caused considerable damage to her body. She also needed time to rest and recover her strength. Only Li Lin seemed to be fine, but after seeing his hand, which had already revealed flesh and blood (of course, it was an illusion), the two obviously didn't say anything more.

Clearly, the undead creatures' power exceeded everyone's expectations. Both the wolves and the bears were new types of undead never encountered before. Even experienced adventurers would suffer greatly when facing these unknown creatures. If the three of them hadn't been elites among elites, they would probably be buried here by now.

Given this situation, the three dared not be careless any longer. They found a cave that was easy to defend and difficult to attack to rest temporarily. Now, Geligao Li and the priestess were beginning to vaguely sense that this mission was going to be somewhat difficult.

"These undead creatures are truly unprecedented."

The pastor glanced at Geligao Li, who was fast asleep, and sighed softly. She reached out and threw a piece of firewood into the fire, watching the boiling water on it.

"I've been in the Temple for many years, and I've traveled extensively, but I've never seen such an undead creature before..."

"The world is always changing."

Li Lin gazed at the snow-covered landscape outside the cave and said calmly.

When you think the world hasn't changed, it's actually constantly changing in ways you can't see... Sometimes, we need to distance ourselves from those changes to become aware of their existence. If we're always around them, we won't be able to see them clearly.

"You make a very good point, Mr. Li Lin."

After hearing these words, the female pastor remained silent for a moment before responding.

"To be honest, I never imagined that a wandering swordsman would have such thought-provoking views."

"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

As Li Lin spoke, he pointed to his head.

"There are two ways for humans to accumulate wisdom: time and journey. Long periods of time can change a person's thoughts, and so can long journeys. The more you travel, the more you naturally understand. Personally, I prefer the second method. After all, the first is far too time-consuming, and... I don't want to be saying these things when I'm an old man."

"Indeed... Even within our Temple, those priests who frequently travel abroad are always better at handling affairs than those who only know how to stay in the Temple and pray."

At this point, the pastor's face suddenly became radiant.

"Do you know, Mr. Li Lin, that my teacher was a paladin? He didn't like to stay in his room praying all the time; instead, he wandered around. Although my colleagues always criticized him for not showing enough respect for the great deity, in fact, in the area my teacher was responsible for, the faith in the great deity was the most devout, and the number of people was the largest. Every Sunday, they would come to church to praise the greatness of God. My teacher also once said that one cannot simply sit there and wait for God's blessings—so-called blessings are rewards that one is only entitled to after making one's own efforts."

"That's a very wise statement."

Li Lin changed his posture.

"He must be a remarkable paladin. Am I fortunate enough to know his name?"

"Of course, his name is Walast, and he's currently in charge of affairs in the Southern Diocese."

"Oh?"

The name wasn't exactly familiar to Li Lin, but it wasn't entirely foreign either. He raised an eyebrow and quickly recalled the image of the elderly knight with the terrible scar on his face from his memory.

"So it was him?"

Have you seen him?

"I met him several times while I was in Kudel, and he left a very deep impression on me. In my opinion, he is a very principled paladin."

As Li Lin spoke, he stretched.

"So, Miss Pastor, tell me how you are?"

"I?"

The female pastor was slightly taken aback by Li Lin's question.

"A beautiful young woman like you, why would you become a pastor? Please forgive my rudeness, but I've traveled extensively, and I rarely see ordinary families allowing their daughters to become pastors..."

As he spoke, Li Lin turned his gaze to the female pastor.

"If you don't mind..."

"I think this isn't a good time."

Faced with Li Lin's sudden question, the female pastor was clearly a little embarrassed. She turned her head shyly to glance at the man who was still fast asleep deep in the cave, and then turned back.

"Besides, my life is very boring, there's not much to say."

"I don't think so."

As Li Lin spoke, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the female pastor's wrist. His movement was so fast that the pastor didn't even have time to react. Then, he turned her wrist over, revealing numerous ancient scars on it.

"This... this is just an injury I sustained during a previous adventure."

The pastor then realized what was happening and quickly freed her right hand from Li Lin's wrist, looking down at the fire.

"I'm sorry, I have nothing to say."

"It's nothing, I was the one who offended you."

Li Lin smiled slightly and withdrew his hand.

No one noticed the magical radiance that flashed across the back of his hand for a fleeting moment.