Chapter 156: Everyone is Stunned

Chapter 156: Everyone is Stunned



Inside the dilapidated Mother Tree Sect Temple Hall...

Due to Rain's impressive display of power when slaying the Demon Knight earlier, the two Temple Knights couldn't help but believe his words, even though they seemed skeptical.

Their stiff and stunned expressions seemed to say, 'Although your strength is formidable, Rain, please don't talk nonsense!'

Archdeacon Rudolf, standing nearby, also doubted Rain's warning.

He knew all too well the power of the Advanced Divine Art 'Sword of Judgment' sealed within the scroll Rain had torn apart earlier.

As professionals of the church, Rudolf and Machini exchanged glances, their faces filled with bewilderment.

All three of them stared intently at the rapidly moving sphere of sword blades, knowing that once it stopped, Machini and Rudolf would unleash their final killer move.

However, for now, the opponent's swift actions and powerful attacks left Rain with very little time to cast his spells.

"This is the brave sea swallow, soaring proudly amidst the roaring ocean and lightning!"

They watched in disbelief as Rain, with his 'Breaking Limit' activated, took on the Carnage Tree Spirit.

"Is it the Carnage Tree Spirit again? Have the fallen ones of the Mother Tree Sect risen from the ashes?"

This was the second time she felt such helplessness.

Even with Rain's exceptional physical power, he could only maintain the 'Breaking Limit' state for about two minutes.

It was agonizing to watch her teammate struggle while she felt powerless to help.

High above in the temple hall, a pair of sharp eagle eyes watched Rain, their expression shifting from nonchalance to awe as the minutes ticked by.

"Hmm?" Rudolf and the young Temple Knight, Machini, exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Rain managed to hold his ground against the overwhelming onslaught of the Carnage Tree Spirit's roots with his 'Breaking Limit' and advanced swordsmanship.

The black-haired elf hesitated, unsure whether to join the fight.

She had three choices: increase her physical power for endurance, boost her agility for speed and safety, or enhance her mental energy.

Even if she successfully cast the spell 'Scorching Touch,' its short duration might not inflict significant damage on the enemy.

After such a prolonged battle, they couldn't just retreat after shaving the Carnage Tree Spirit's roots.

Archdeacon Rudolf and Temple Knight Machini were stunned, like students in a class of dozens running a kilometer, only to witness one student sprinting at full speed from the start.

Fortunately, Rain had already reached Level 6 in Great Bear Swordsmanship before this battle.

A single person had turned the tide! But soon, Rudolf's eyebrows furrowed.

The elf, also possessing the Dark Vision talent, quickly assessed the situation in the hall.

Among them, Lagra's expression was the least shocked, as she had witnessed Rain's endurance during their training sessions.

Currently, the Carnage Tree Spirit was still severely injured, and Rain had to inflict continuous and substantial damage.

He had three options for allocating his points.

It was better to survive than to die.

Seeing Rain's exceptional performance, Rudolf and Machini wouldn't foolishly charge into battle against the Carnage Tree Spirit.

Lagra had overheard Rudolf and the Temple Knight discussing their last resort, and she was determined to step in and shield Rain with her own body if he was in danger.

Machini's expression resembled that of a struggling student encountering an extremely difficult exam question.

She vowed that if she survived this incident, she would participate in the Life and Death Trial.

The two Temple Knights, aided by 'Holy Power Float,' descended gently to the ground like feathers.

Upon engaging in combat, Rain realized the Carnage Tree Spirit's strength was formidable, if not outright overwhelming.

Even in its injured state, its root attacks were powerful and relentless, and the varying sizes of the roots made them incredibly resilient.

As Rain fought and contemplated, he decided to enhance his mental energy.

Unfortunately, the weaker Temple Knight was beyond saving, his internal organs and bones reduced to a bloody pulp by the Carnage Tree Spirit's attack.

Rain wondered if the Carnage Tree Spirit, being a tree spirit, might be vulnerable to flames.

"Archdeacon Rudolf spoke with a heavy heart, "Returning to the embrace of the Goddess is my lifelong wish. Sacrificing myself to purge the world of evil is my honor!"

Witnessing their astonishment, Lagra's expression softened as she recalled something, "Rain has incredible endurance. Sometimes, after practicing with him all day, I'd be exhausted, but he'd still be full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue!"

Rudolf, Lagra, and the surviving Temple Knight were left speechless by this revelation.

They had witnessed Rain's exceptional hammer and sword techniques when he slew the Demon Knight, but they never imagined he could be this powerful.

"Divine Art: Radiant Healing!"

How could he still be full of energy when they were all exhausted?

Two minutes later, what will happen? Waiting for him is only the outcome of defeat!

Her beautiful eyes were completely focused on Rain.

The eagle at the top of the hall had just been about to fly down to rescue him.

The eagle that came was naturally the black-haired elf.

Recently, the manpower in the hall was too tense. The situation around Maister County was becoming more and more unusual, with various mystical incidents erupting. The hall couldn't gather enough people.

So, time passed minute by minute, and another two minutes had gone by. Added together, this was already six minutes later.

By this time, Rain had gained a deeper understanding of Great Bear Swordsmanship. Although his swordsmanship was still at the proficient level, he had made obvious progress.

As a result, just as he was about to take flight, the situation stabilized again!

Although it couldn't be verified immediately, as long as Rain could get close to the opponent's main body, with the two fire-elemental magics 'Scorching Touch' and 'Inferno Field' that he mastered, he could attack the opponent.

Due to the special effect of the Radiant Greatsword's 'Exorcism' and the speed increase after 'Breaking Limit', Rain's Radiant Greatsword in his hand was like a laser greatsword at this moment! So, a line of light spheres composed of rapidly swinging blades, darted left and right, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. Wherever it passed, various sizes of carnage roots were broken and fell.

Machini's face turned solemn, and he immediately knocked heavily on his chest with his right hand, which was wearing an iron glove, and said firmly:

At this moment, the battle scene in the hall was Rain's continuous rapid movement. Every step was either a slash or an evasion, responding to the hundreds and thousands of surrounding carnage roots.

At this moment, Rain was wielding the greatsword in his hand, and his sword stance was once again in an unusually stable state! It was as if, at the beginning of the battle, it was filled with a sense of power and fluidity, continuing to 'shave' the carnage tree spirit like a razor! The young Temple Knight Machini, who witnessed this, had his mouth wide open, his eyes suddenly grew two circles, and his face was in a daze.

"If this continues, it won't work. Because before the numerous roots of the carnage tree spirit are cut off, Rain's physical power is highly likely to be exhausted first!"

In simple terms, it was a strike that, even if it didn't directly kill, could cause continuous blood loss and eventually kill you! But the next second, Father Rudolf's mouth was wide open, and his face was horrified! The warning words had just reached his throat, but it was already too late. The two Temple Knights were like golf balls, and suddenly, they were swept away by the carnage tree forest's tail, which was like a giant python.

The other Temple Knight, who was more powerful, managed to survive. With the help of the divine art 'Radiant Healing', he was struggling to recover his damaged internal organs, but for a short time, he was completely unable to take action.

Once it hit, it not only instantly dealt a one-time, powerful penetrating damage to the enemy, but also, the surging energy flowing on the 'Sword of Judgment' would leave a portion of it at the enemy's wound, causing continuous damage to the wound.

Rain felt as if he had experienced the Great Bear Swordsmanship for several years of hard training!

These carnage roots came in various sizes and speeds, and their attack methods were diverse. Some stabbed with their pointed tips, some swept horizontally, and some were drawn from above.

"I'm sure that Rain's physical power is extraordinary."

It was like one person fighting the carnage tree spirit alone! One person turning the tide!

Rain couldn't help but sigh in his heart!

In the dimly lit temple hall, Rain, after improving his swordsmanship, performed the Great Bear Swordsmanship with extreme speed. Each move was extremely fierce, and the smooth transitions between moves gave people the feeling of watching a scene of strength and beauty fast-forwarded four times!

Alas! A favorable situation had turned into an unfavorable one!

"This is the cry of the prophet of victory!"

Rudolf and Lagra hurriedly went forward to check the injuries of the two Temple Knights.

After a brief thought, Rain quickly made a decision!

"Huh? Where are the people from the church?"

The originally slightly fatigued Rain, who seemed to be about to collapse at any moment, suddenly, as if he had been affected by some kind of time-reversal divine art, recovered to the state he was in three minutes ago, when he had just activated 'Breaking Limit'.

Two consecutive divine arts were cast by Father Rudolf, but this also exhausted the little mental energy he had left.

But after careful thought, this seemed to be unavoidable.

If that were the case, Rain would probably be in a much more difficult situation than he was now!

Only in that way would it be possible to interrupt the opponent's self-healing, and subsequently find the opponent's weakness and kill it.

At this time, a mighty eagle flew over the ruined temple.

"In that case, our chances of killing the carnage tree spirit are also greater.

"Just as the young Temple Knight named Machini was about to cast a secret art, Father Rudolf stopped him, saying, "Let Rain eradicate some of the roots and create the best combat conditions. Once he's exhausted, we'll take over!"

Occasionally, the Carnage Tree Spirit would launch an attack, summoning a giant face basin-sized root to strike Rain, and at that moment, the sword blade sphere emitting a white glow would immediately dodge.

"Let the storm rage even more fiercely!"

Could I say I don't believe it?

Machini nodded heavily, while Lagra, standing by his side, had a solemn expression. She pursed her lips, gripping the Bloodstained Steel Shield tightly, her fingers so clenched that her knuckles turned white.

Although the advanced divine art 'Sword of Judgment' that Father Rudolf had just used was incredibly powerful, it also consumed a significant amount of his mental energy. Even as an archdeacon, he was struggling to hold on.

Within seconds, the situation reversed.

It had come to this! The Church had underestimated the intelligence about the Night Song Forest.

Even if she could only withstand a little, she would rush forward without hesitation! At this moment, Rain's physical power was almost at its limit, but he remained calm.

Additionally, these two were either dead or severely injured; they couldn't be relied upon. After all this time, only Rain was left to fight in close combat, a 'lone warrior'. As for Lagra, not yet having reached the extraordinary level, she might even struggle to handle the roots of the Carnage Tree Forest.

If Rain were here, he would have been able to discern from the Black-haired Elf's tone that she clearly didn't have a good impression of the Mother Tree Sect.

Fortunately, his Radiant Greatsword, forged with Star Iron and Radiant Stone, was incredibly powerful. Otherwise, even with Rain's 'Breaking Limit' activated, it would have been difficult to cut through these roots.

Father Rudolf patted the shoulder of the remaining Temple Knight, sighing inwardly.

The various human churches considered their Druids heretics, so they avoided appearing before church personnel.

Rain, on the other hand, was getting more and more comfortable in the fight. The Lv7 Great Bear Swordsmanship memory fragment he had just received was now fully absorbed after the practical battle! Rain also had new idea about how to use his skill points.

"There was a strong divine energy fluctuation just now, and from its nature, it seemed to be the divine energy of the Goddess of Wind and Sea."

Father Rudolf and Lagra looked up, gazing at Rain not far from them.

It seemed that for skills like swordsmanship and hammer technique, which appeared to be very basic, once they were raised to a higher level and then given additional skill points, the benefits gained were no less than those from rare skills.

The sharp-eyed eagle now had a confused expression.

"Machini, perhaps... it's time to use that move!" Father Rudolf spoke solemnly, gazing at the severely injured Temple Knight Machini by his side.

But Lagra seemed not to notice that her words had caused a misunderstanding among the two beside her.

It was necessary to find a way to defeat the opponent! Rain suddenly had a guess in his mind.

In the eyes of Father Rudolf and the Temple Knight, Rain's situation seemed hopeless.

"I thought I could watch a good show."

However, regarding the issue of increasing the power of wizardry, Rain only knew of one option: to increase his mental energy.

Even the experienced Father Rudolf was no better off than Machini at this moment.

Your practice... is a proper practice.

As Rain's mental energy increased from 20 to 21 points, he felt a surge of heat flow from his heart to his limbs! This instantly revitalized Rain, erasing the fatigue and exhaustion from using 'Breaking Limit'! Rain's mind suddenly recalled the famous prose poem 'The Sea' by the great writer Gorky from his previous life.

Especially his agility, which increased significantly from 16 to 26 points, made his movements swift. This was the reason Rain could stand firm in the perilous battle.

Adams' body should have withstood the 2000-degree high temperature.

Therefore, increasing the power of wizardry was crucial.

Machini immediately added a skill point to Great Bear Swordsmanship, and the panel showed: Great Bear Swordsmanship lv6 (345/3000) → Great Bear Swordsmanship lv7 (345/5000).

This had been proven in their previous encounter with Adams.

She had no intention of holding back against such a formidable opponent.

With a 'slap', both were knocked into the air, flying over ten meters high! Even in mid-air, the sound of 'cracking' from their strained muscles could be heard.

Facing such a formidable enemy, Rain immediately activated 'Breaking Limit', increasing all three attributes by over 60%.

She had never heard of 'tired bulls'! And you're not an ordinary woman, you're a barbarian woman! Can't you withstand the physical exertion? They thought.

The horse took a dive, landing on the top of the temple, and from the gap in the collapsed area, it quietly peered inside.

Rain gazed at the dense Carnage Roots attacking from all angles, resembling the storm faced by the sea gull, and Rain himself was like that brave and tiny sea gull!

"How has Rain managed to hold out for so long?"

This is taking way too long!" Machini couldn't help but exclaim.

"Oh, it seems he's injured?"

Little girl, you said that Rain is very persistent. But this is too persistent! Father Rudolf's face twitched a few times, but he remained silent, his mind screaming.

It's imaginable that if the Carnage Tree Spirit wasn't injured and was in its prime, the number, attack power, and defense of its Carnage Roots would most likely reach a whole new level.

And these roots, even when cut, didn't lose their vitality instantly. They continued to twist and turn in the air and on the ground.

Father Rudolf held a book and aimed it at the two Temple Knights in mid-air, quickly casting a rescue divine art.

Its sharp eyes first looked down at the temple, showing a very humanized expression of surprise. The next moment, it seemed to hear the intense fighting and energy fluctuations coming from the temple below.

However, Rain soon realized that his current swordsmanship wasn't strong enough. Many of the root attacks couldn't be purely blocked with his swordsmanship, and he could only dodge them by moving at high speed! This led to a fatal problem! That is, Rain's physical power was being consumed very quickly! Based on the current consumption rate, Rain estimated that he could only maintain the 'Breaking Limit' state for about a minute, and even with the three remaining attribute points, it was like a drop in the bucket, not enough to support him for long.

"Forget it, I'll help them when this young knight gets tired." The black-haired elf frowned, weighed the situation, and muttered.

At this moment, he was about to face the storm and the tsunami! The next second, in the eyes of the three people and one eagle watching from the side.

However, before returning to the embrace of the goddess, he would take down this Carnage Tree Spirit!

"That's right, he has already activated the Breaking Limit state but is afraid to use his extraordinary trait, probably because he's worried about exhausting his physical power too soon and falling out of the Breaking Limit state."

Adding points restores! He was hesitating, wondering how to allocate his points.

Seeming a bit embarrassed, the two immediately turned their heads and looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

In front of them, the only one who could interfere with the Carnage Tree Spirit seemed to be Rain. Facing the gradually healing Carnage Tree Spirit, Rain knew he couldn't wait any longer and had to take the initiative.

"Divine Art: Holy Power Float!"

"And once he slows down, Rain is done for. Those massive root attacks are not something a human body can withstand!" The Temple Knight beside him, also heavily injured, saw this as well, his expression growing even more grim.

Every time Rain slashed with his sword, it felt like he was cutting through rubber tires, making it extremely difficult to cut through.

Rain, holding the Radiant Greatsword, charged fearlessly towards the countless Carnage Roots in the air.

But if he added points to his mental power, the power of his magic would increase, which meant he would have a higher chance of defeating the Carnage Tree Spirit.

Lagra glanced at the two people beside her, her face expressing, 'I told you Rain is very persistent, but you didn't believe me.'

Instantly, scattered fragments of Great Bear Swordsmanship training flashed into Rain's mind, synchronizing with his muscle memory.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!"

Ever since reaching Level 6, Rain felt that his Great Bear Swordsmanship had entered the next level of mastery, as Hamilton had put it.

After a few seconds, Father Rudolf and Temple Knight Machini, their mouths wide open, finally closed them, swallowing their saliva, and looked at Lagra beside them.

"Breaking Limit!"

As for why there was an option to add points to mental power, it was to prepare for the subsequent attack on the Carnage Tree Spirit's main body.

The sharp eagle eyes continued to search, and the black-haired elf finally spotted Father Rudolf and the others in a dim corner of the hall.

After Great Bear Swordsmanship reached Level 7, Rain's ability to withstand attacks increased significantly, from only being able to hold out for one minute to at least two minutes or even longer.

Almost everyone believed that for a boy to maintain this speed for even half a kilometer would be impressive.

But Rain sprinted at a hundred-meter dash pace for four hundred meters, and then, still in this high-speed sprint, he glanced at his panel and thought of adding points!

As his mental power increased from 21 to 22 points, another surge of energy pumped from his heart, quickly spreading to his limbs! This made Rain feel like he was 'fully restored' once again! Instantly, his body was filled with vitality, and his fatigue disappeared, allowing him to continue fighting the Carnage Tree Spirit for 'three hundred rounds'! Rain's seemingly 'perpetual motion machine' state finally caught the attention of the Carnage Tree Spirit, which was now surprised and took him seriously.

Although the Carnage Tree Spirit had many Carnage Tendrils, it couldn't withstand Rain's persistent 'shaving' attacks. In fact, Rain had already shaved off several 'bald' patches on the ten-meter-long body of the Carnage Tree Spirit.

In other words, as long as Rain could maintain his current state for a few more minutes, the Carnage Tree Spirit would be shaved down to a 'Bare Tree Trunk' by Rain.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end