30

The Butcher’s fist slammed into Aile’s Mystic Silver Shield, sending a shockwave rippling through it.

“Kill you all! As many as I can!” the Butcher roared, hammering punch after punch at Aile. Such hard fists… Aile blocked desperately with her shield.

“Heh! I doubt you can even kill me!” Aile taunted, but each blow sent shivers through her entire body.

“Back off—!” the Butcher bellowed, raising both fists together and slamming them down. Aile raised her shield to meet it. This deadly strike nearly overwhelmed her; her arms felt as if they’d snapped. Yet, even on one knee, she didn’t retreat an inch.

“Asking for death, huh?” The Butcher swung a punch at her right side. Aile shifted her shield instantly, but she flew backward, crashing into a nearby building.

“Where’s your god now?” the Butcher advanced, each step shaking the ground. “Call forth those silver hands to attack me?”

“Heh, I don’t need that for you,” Aile said, pushing herself up despite blood trickling from her lip and possibly broken ribs. Not a trace of fear in her eyes. “All I need is my unwavering belief!” She drew her sword, pointing it straight at the Butcher. “Look at your ugly form! The Nature’s Will you worship is just a demon with natural powers!”

“How dare you blaspheme Nature’s Will as a demon?” Rage twisted his kangaroo-like face into something grotesque. “I’ll kill you!!!”

An arrow struck the Butcher. Just a sting to his massive body, but it caught his attention—

“How could I let a girl face you alone?” said the archer.

“Yeah, yeah!” His companion drew his weapon. Other adventurers joined the fray! At least twenty shield-bearing warriors blocked the Butcher’s path, while a Priestess healed Aile.

“Our true purpose was to hunt you down—!”

Surrounded by over four hundred adventurers, the Butcher roared and charged—!

Meanwhile, at the volcanic crater, the Archdruid—possessed by the wolf’s skeleton—gathered Nature’s power, aiming to tear the continent apart!

“Do you want to destroy the world?” Leon asked.

“I’m merely reshaping this continent,” the Archdruid and wolf skeleton replied in unison, their voices clashing.

This was insane. Utterly mad. Naya had faced many bosses with Leon, but none sought world destruction. And this one was a revered Archdruid.

“Leon, you must stop him!”

“Of course I know.” Leon dual-wielded the Light Roar Sword and Mystic Silver Sword, slashing at the Archdruid—but the wolf’s hand bones blocked him! An unshakable defense… Naya watched anxiously, turning to Ruri.

“Do you have any magic left?”

“None.” Ruri flipped her spellbook. The fireball spell could only be used once.

“Then… we can only trust Leon now.” Naya gazed at him. “Do your best!”

Who’d have thought this continent’s fate rested on such a young man’s shoulders?

Leon studied the wolf skeleton—disproportionately large front claws as its main weapon, sharp but only for swinging, not grasping. Obviously, wolves can’t hold things.

Because it clung to the Archdruid, the wolf’s deadliest weapon—its teeth—was limited by distance. If the Archdruid stayed still, the skull couldn’t bite Leon.

The Archdruid himself was shielded by ribs—a double layer of protection.

The Mystic Silver Sword was light enough… it should work for that technique—

Leon silently uttered the name of the ultimate dual-blade art. In a flash, he charged—Vanessa had taught him this on their final farewell day three years ago. Leon still found the name as enigmatic as she was.

Ruri gasped at Leon’s opening stance. “Ruri saw her former master use this same technique three years ago—Forty Six Nights.”

The wolf’s claws swung from both sides—Leon crossed his swords to block—deflected them—then unleashed all forty-six combos onto the claws! Sword trails intertwined like a tangled yarn ball!

Every joint shattered instantly, scattering mid-air—Leon flashed before the Archdruid as the wolf skull crushed his Shield of Light—the final two strikes pierced through rib gaps into the Archdruid’s body.

“You’d be harder to handle if your true form wasn’t gathering energy,” Leon said, pulling his swords free.

The Archdruid tumbled into the volcanic crater—

Meanwhile, at the volcano’s base, the other battle ended. The massive Butcher collapsed with a thud. Aile delivered the final blow.

“I told you so!” Aile yanked her sword from his chest. “Justice always wins!”

Adventurers cheered.

The Irlanto Outskirts were cleared. Though the final boss was “man-made.”

Anyway, the path to the Murmuring Forest now lay open.

To be continued.