Chapter 43: Confronting the Guardian

  Eyes?

  An uncontrollable itch emanated from deep within his eye sockets. Wolf instinctively raised a hand to rub them. The warmth from his fingertips brought no relief; instead, it made the itch clearer, deeper—as if something was slowly wriggling behind his eyeballs.

  He lowered his hand and reopened his eyes.

  Lia stood before him.

  Not floating, not translucent, but almost corporeal, standing silently. She looked at him, her lips slowly curving upwards into a smile he had never seen before, one of extreme tenderness.

  No sound, no movement, just that smile.

  A cold, chilling dread instantly seized Wolf’s heart, rapidly climbing his spine.

  Just then—

  Rustle... rustle...

  A faint, grating sound, enough to set teeth on edge, came from the shadows of the half-withered garden on the other side of the annular corridor.

  Wolf’s pupils contracted. He should have checked there first, that place most likely to conceal danger. But just now, all his senses had been drawn to those smiling eyes, as if the entire world consisted only of Lia, making him oblivious to everything else.

  "Annih—!!"

  A hoarse, inhuman roar tore through the air! A dark shadow erupted from the withered bushes, moving far faster than any they had encountered before! It moved on all fours, yet almost upright in its charge, its tattered white mage robe flapping wildly in the wind, revealing muscles that hadn’t completely atrophied beneath. Dryness and power were eerily combined in the same body, rushing straight for Ethan, who was bent over his notes, his back to the creature!

  "Watch out!!"

  Wolf roared, his body launching forward like a taut bowstring. The greatsword was not swung to cut, but held with both hands like a shield, interposing itself between the monster and Ethan!

  Clang—!!

  The sharp claws collided violently with the steel blade, producing a fierce tremor. The immense impact numbed Wolf’s arm; the monster’s strength far exceeded his imagination, and the stone slabs beneath his feet even cracked slightly.

  The monster let out a muffled "Annih, Annih, Annih" from its throat, its hollow eye sockets "gazing" at him, as if endless darkness and hunger swirled within. Wolf’s eyes sharpened, his core muscles tensing, and he exhaled sharply: "Get lost!"

  The sword vibrated, and a powerful force suddenly pushed back! The monster lost its balance, thrown backward by his sheer strength, crashing heavily onto the floor several meters away with a dull thud. It rolled halfway, then crouched in a twisted posture. Beneath its tattered robe, faint traces of intricate embroidery were still visible, and its neck and fingers even bore gem-encrusted ornaments—though now covered in filth, they still hinted at its owner’s once extraordinary status.

  Wolf slowly regulated his breathing, his sword tip pointing steadily at the monster, but his gaze swept coldly towards the shaken Ethan.

  "Ethan," his voice was very low, yet exceptionally clear in the suddenly silent top floor, "you said the only way to this floor was the magic elevator."

  Ethan’s face was pale, his lips trembling slightly. "Yes... theoretically, only the magic elevator. Or..."

  "Or fly over?" Wolf interrupted him, his gaze locking back onto the monster, which was beginning to growl and prepare for another charge. "This thing shouldn’t be able to operate the magic elevator, right? Or do you think they could have climbed up from below? Or can they fly?"

  Ethan’s breathing suddenly quickened; he seemed to understand Wolf’s meaning, and an expression of incredible fear appeared in his eyes.

  Wolf took a half-step forward, shielding everyone behind him, and asked the question they had all already realized. "Then, this thing wearing a mage robe, adorned with jewelry, and ‘living’ in the top garden... could it be the ‘great’—"

  He paused, enunciating each word, which hammered into everyone’s eardrums: "—Master Harrog Bernardo?"

  Before Ethan could answer, the monster’s figure tore through the air again, lunging forward. Though these maddened beings attacked fiercely and with terrifying speed, they ultimately lacked strategy, full of openings in Wolf’s eyes. He merely seized the opportunity, shifting his feet lightly, his body sliding away like a fish, causing the deadly lunge to miss. The monsters’ fighting style was almost monotonously straightforward, requiring no complex tactics to deal with.

  Now!

  Wolf’s eyes flashed with cold light. Taking advantage of the monster’s instability from its charge, he swiftly stepped, instantly circling to its side. He twisted his waist, pouring all his strength into his arms, and swung his greatsword in a heavy arc, powerfully slashing horizontally at the connection between the monster’s neck and spine—

  Clang—!!!

  A resounding crash, utterly unlike what a flesh-and-blood body should produce, exploded like the tolling of a giant bell! The blade did not cut into the body as intended; instead, an inch before it touched the monster, it was firmly blocked by a suddenly glowing, incandescent screen. A ring on the monster’s finger was emitting a strong magical aura.

  Wolf felt an incredibly powerful recoil from the sword, his tiger’s mouth numb, and he was involuntarily pushed backward. He stumbled back three or four steps before barely regaining his footing, leaving deep footprints on the ground.

  The monster was no better off. Although the magical shield blocked the sharpness of the blow, it couldn’t completely dissipate the immense impact. It was violently thrown backward, crashing like a ragdoll into the withered garden behind, breaking several dead trees before coming to a stop amidst shattered wood and branches.

  "Annih—!!!"

  A roar of anger, not pain, erupted again. The monster struggled to its feet in a twisted posture, its limbs splayed on the ground, its murky eye sockets "staring" fixedly at Wolf, then it charged again, its speed seemingly undiminished.

  "Tsk!" Wolf shook his numb arm, spat, and grumbled, "Even when people turn into this ghostly state, these things still try to protect their master! What exactly are they protecting?"

  He shouted without looking back, "Ethan! Can you figure out their trick?"

  Ethan’s tense voice came from behind him, a faint blue glow flashing in his eyes. "It’s a shield spell, solidified onto the ring, and it has an auto-activation rune! The grade is quite high!"

  As he spoke, the monster closed in again, its claws tearing through the air. Wolf parried with his sword, and the clash of claw and steel sent sparks flying. Blocking itself wasn’t difficult for him, but whenever he tried to switch from defense to offense, just before his blade could touch the body, that annoying white light shield would appear on time, nullifying any counterattack.

  "Say something useful!" Wolf urgently demanded in a low voice after another ineffective strike. "Is there a way to break it?"

  "...The spell structure is complete, and the energy supply seems to come from this... Harrog himself. The ring automatically draws his mana to power the spell," Ethan spoke rapidly, with an almost mechanical professional judgment. "Unless his mana is exhausted, or it’s overloaded with a stronger force instantly—theoretically, it can be forcibly broken!"

  "If it can be broken by brute force, that’s fine." Wolf licked his slightly chapped lips, his eyes sharp like a predator about to pounce. He re-gripped his sword hilt, his knuckles slightly white. "Then it’s simple. Emma, you keep watch around us, be careful of other monster ambushes, and protect the two mages. I’ll handle this thing!"

  Outwardly calm, his heart was taut—mana supply at an Archmage level? This was absurd! A faint, ethereal glow quietly appeared in Wolf’s eyes. Almost simultaneously, a similar shimmer flowed across the broad blade of his greatsword, like the low growl of an awakened beast.

  He sharply stepped back with his left foot, stomping heavily on the ground. "Crack—" The stone paving instantly fractured with spiderweb cracks. The next instant, Wolf’s figure surged upwards, leaping high into the air, swinging his greatsword with both hands, his body twisting in mid-air with thunderous force, bringing his full weight down onto the connection between the monster’s neck and spine—a ferocious downward chop!

  Boom—!!!!

  The moment the greatsword struck the light shield, the entire tower seemed to emit a muffled groan of unbearable strain, and the floor trembled. The light shield fluctuated violently but still did not shatter. The monster, protected within, let out a hoarse, wheezing roar, and incredibly, it turned to counterattack Wolf, ignoring the lingering impact!

  Wolf’s eyes narrowed. The instant he landed, he kicked the side of his sword with his right foot, and with that momentum, he swung his hands upwards—

  Bang!

  The blade struck the monster’s abdomen squarely, sending it flying like a ragdoll again.

  No pause. Wolf pushed off the ground again, pouring all his strength into his arms, his muscles bulging like rocks beneath his coarse cloth. He pursued the flying monster like a shadow, swinging his greatsword a third time with full force, slashing downwards from an angle!

  Rumble—!!

  This collision felt as if a small meteorite had truly struck the tower. A shockwave erupted, debris flew, and thick dust instantly engulfed half the corridor. Wolf landed, leaning on his sword, panting heavily, his chest heaving, sweat already trickling down his forehead. But there was no hint of relaxation on his face—that last strike, the sensation transmitted through the blade was still the dull resistance of being firmly blocked, not the smooth cut of flesh and blood.

  Indeed.

  Before the dust could fully settle, the twisted figure wrapped in a tattered mage robe charged out again! Its claws fiercely struck Wolf’s hastily parried greatsword, the violent force numbing his tiger’s mouth, and he involuntarily slid back two steps.

  "Damn it!"

  Wolf spat out a mouthful of dusty saliva, staring at the light shield that had stabilized again, squeezing words through gritted teeth: "—I’ve never heard of a mage’s defense being this tough!"

  Wolf retreated swiftly, bursting out of the lingering dust, his voice laced with rare urgency: "Ethan, my attacks can’t break his defense! If this drags on, my stamina will run out first!"

  Before his words finished, the sound of rushing wind pursued him from behind! The monster, like a persistent maggot, burst through the dust cloud, its claws striking the sword’s spine again with afterimages.

  Clang! Clang—!

  Two deafening explosions erupted consecutively, and Wolf’s parrying stance was heavily pushed down.

  "Do you have any powerful spells? Prepare them now!" He stomped his foot, stubbornly resisting the impact, and roared without looking back, "I’ll create an opportunity; we’ll break it with one strike!"

  "Understood!" Ethan’s reply was short and clear.

  Wolf immediately felt the airflow around him tremble slightly—Ethan had begun chanting. The mana in the air seemed to be drawn by an invisible vortex towards the mage, and the temperature plummeted. Before Ethan, a point of cold light rapidly expanded, instantly transforming into a giant ice cone nearly two people tall, its edges jagged, emitting a chilling white mist.

  At the same time, Wolf suddenly felt lighter, as if a burden had been lifted, and the glow on his greatsword flowed more brightly and brilliantly. He glanced sideways; it was Mary—she was softly chanting a brief amplification spell, her hands glowing with a gentle light.

  Wolf gave her a quick nod, then focused completely. While continuing to parry and maneuver with the monster with exquisite footwork and sword techniques, keeping it firmly engaged in front of him, he used a warrior’s intuition to sense the increasingly surging and dangerous ice magic behind him.

  The violent fluctuations of mana clearly agitated the monster. Its hollow eye sockets suddenly "turned" towards Ethan, letting out a sharp shriek, and it tried to pounce recklessly at the chanting mage!

  "Don’t even think about it!" Wolf roared, his sword light forming a wall that blocked its path. With Mary’s assistance, his speed and strength had both increased, and he now displayed the art of entanglement to its fullest, each interception precise and forceful, compelling the monster to redirect its attention back to this troublesome warrior.

  Spotting an opening, Wolf spun and unleashed a powerful upward slash that sent the monster flying backward again, landing precisely in the "bullseye" area he and Ethan had designated.

  "Now!" Ethan’s chanting abruptly ceased.

  The suspended giant ice cone suddenly let out a low shriek, transforming into a pale white stream of light, and blasted towards the monster, which had not yet landed, with astonishing speed!

  Boom—!!!

  The ice cone struck the white light shield squarely, exploding into a dazzling burst of icy light and scattering crystal fragments. The light shield twisted violently, dented inwards, yet stubbornly refused to break.

  However, Ethan’s attack was not over. The instant the giant cone shattered, the countless scattered ice crystals seemed to come alive, pausing in mid-air, then transforming into hundreds of palm-sized, incredibly sharp ice shards. Like an enraged swarm of bees, they launched a second volley from all directions towards the same spot—the location on the light shield that had just taken the heaviest blow!

  Thwack, thwack, thwack—!

  A dense barrage of impacts rang out. The sturdy light shield finally emitted a strained hum, its glow rapidly flickering and dimming, becoming thin and unstable.

  Now!

  Wolf’s eyes blazed with sharp light, his entire body and the flowing sword energy seemingly merging into one. He burst out of the lingering ice shards and cold mist like a leopard, his greatsword trailing a brilliant light trail, and with the force to split mountains and crack stones, he slashed down at the weakest point of the flickering, already subtly cracked light shield—

  Slash!

  Crack—!

  A distinct shattering sound echoed! A massive fissure erupted on the surface of the light shield, spreading like a spiderweb, on the verge of complete collapse.

  But just as victory seemed within reach—

  The second ring on the monster’s withered finger lit up.

  At the very instant Wolf’s sword sliced through the shield and the cracks spread, an even more brilliant light rapidly coursed along the spiderweb-like fissures! The collapsing light shield suddenly erupted with intense light from within its cracks—not a repair, but more like the collapse itself transforming into a terrifying explosion!

  Boom—!!!

  An impact wave, far more violent and concentrated than any previous collision, suddenly exploded from the center of the nearly shattered shield! It wasn’t scattered energy, but like an invisible heavy hammer, it struck Wolf squarely in the chest, without any fancy moves.

  "Ugh—!"

  Wolf felt as if his internal organs had been violently displaced, and blood rushed to his throat. He was sent flying off the ground by the immense force, propelled backward.

  In that critical moment, relying on his honed combat instincts, he plunged his greatsword into the ground!

  Clang—Screech—!

  The sword tip furiously scraped against the stone floor, producing a series of ear-splitting screeches and dazzling sparks, carving a deep sword mark several meters long into the ground before he barely managed to halt his retreat. Wolf knelt on one knee, propping himself up with his sword, his chest heaving violently, a metallic taste in his throat, his sword-holding arm trembling uncontrollably.

  He gasped, looking up.

  The dust was swept away by the residual energy. There, the shield, which had been covered in cracks and flickering as if about to extinguish, was now restored to its original state, even more solid and thick than before, emitting a despairing, eerie glow.

  And within the absolute protection of the light shield, the monster in the tattered mage robe slowly, and with extremely human-like movements... raised its twisted head. It faced Wolf, and within its hollow eye sockets, a trace of mad, lingering consciousness seemed to remain, as it let out a prolonged, hoarse, and twisted howl from deep within its throat.

  It was as if it carried a chilling, triumphant declaration of victory.