Chapter 82: Slaying the Guards

A single sword thrust, its brilliance compressed by a speed too swift for the eye, sliced through the air without a sound. Not until the tip of the blade emerged from his chest did the broadsword guard realize what had happened. Li Ren, meanwhile, was already retreating rapidly, twisting his body to narrowly evade a flying arrow before landing lightly on the ground. The assaulted guard’s health was nearly depleted.

A strike to the weak point, a sudden assault from behind, compounded by a five-star charge—Li Ren’s sword unleashed devastating power. The broadsword guard, unable to react or make a single move, was grievously wounded. The system verdict: severe injury, all attributes reduced by fifty percent, with a bleeding effect that drained one percent of health per second.

Li Ren gazed at his handiwork with immense satisfaction. After all, these broadsword guards were nearly invincible—at least to ordinary players and monsters, not counting the super lords. To personally fell a broadsword guard was a dream cherished by countless players. Yet no one had ever accomplished it. He still remembered the shock that swept through the virtual gaming world when the first broadsword guard appeared in the legendary inaugural game industry.

But today, in the Land of the Gods, this broadsword guard—faithful in appearance to the original—was about to be the first to fall at Li Ren’s hands.

In the blink of an eye, two more arrows shot toward him. Li Ren braced himself with one hand, flipping his body to dodge through the narrow gap between them. The arrows whistled past, their sound leaving his head ringing.

The broadsword guard who had first attacked Li Ren—and failed—seized the moment, using a blink to close the distance as Li Ren dodged the arrows.

As the broadsword threatened him, Li Ren showed no fear. His extraordinary agility allowed him to respond faster than most. At the instant the blade drew near, his sword flashed out, and with a resounding clang, their weapons collided.

Li Ren, wielding his sword single-handedly and still recovering his balance, was forced back by the impact. But this was just as he intended. He had already calculated the trajectory of his retreat. The direction he was forced to move led him straight toward the injured broadsword guard. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot; with the guard’s attributes severely weakened, Li Ren would be foolish not to seize the opportunity.

As he staggered backward, his eyes never left his quarry. When he saw the guard raise his broadsword, Li Ren smiled.

The two closed rapidly. Just before Li Ren entered the guard’s attack range, his sword tip tapped the ground. With this single tap, Li Ren performed a contorted midair spin, tapping the ground three times, each producing a burst of stone dust.

In that electrifying moment, he landed at the guard’s side. Before the guard could adjust his broadsword for another attack, Li Ren struck. His sword pierced the guard’s side, the tip driving through the heart. Under the force of the five-star charge, the attack was so powerful that the guard’s insides were pulverized in an instant.

The last sliver of the guard’s health vanished. Li Ren smiled to himself, reached out, and transformed the corpse into a blood essence, which he promptly consumed. Now only a single broadsword guard and two archers remained—no real threat.

Li Ren blinked, instantly appearing before the surviving broadsword guard. His sword flashed, and the guard’s health fell sharply.

Two arrows sped toward him; he clenched his fist, and the massive hand of the Voodoo Lord blocked them completely. He took considerable damage, for the archers’ attack power was not to be underestimated.

Taking such hits was not without purpose. Now, Li Ren had the remaining broadsword guard pinned, pummeling him relentlessly. Truth be told, this foe was manageable, as long as one could get close.

Before attacking, the guard always performed a blink. Without that blink, he couldn't launch his next assault. In other words, as long as Li Ren could withstand one hit and close the distance—without interference from others—victory was almost assured.

Li Ren was intimately familiar with the mechanics of blinking, predicting the guard’s arrival point was a simple matter. With these conditions, each time the guard appeared, Li Ren would circle behind him, and soon enough, the foe would be felled without much danger.

During this, the two archers whittled his HP down to less than half, but what did it matter? The players watched Li Ren’s ferocious display: single-handedly taking on two broadsword guards and two archers, not to mention his hundred minions slashing away. They were in awe—if the threats of the broadsword and archer guards were gone, they would surely be the next victims.

Thus, the skeleton minions’ tally of kills rose ever higher. Li Ren’s blood had dropped by half, but it was easily remedied. With a blood essence from a broadsword guard in hand, one gulp restored five percent of his health.

Against the remaining two archers, he felt no pressure. All they did was stand and shoot; even if he approached, they would simply continue firing arrows. Li Ren blinked behind them, relying on his lightning-fast movement to strike from behind. Soon, both archers fell in defeat.

Four units of such high-level guard blood essence enabled Li Ren to level up once more!

Now at level seventy-eight, Li Ren regarded the surrounding players with complete indifference.

Only an hour remained before the quest deadline. In this forsaken place, danger lurked everywhere, and he had no allies. To finish the quest early was already a fortunate outcome.

Li Ren cared little for the state of the other players. Like a whirlwind, he swept up all the loot scattered on the ground, storing it in the Ashes. Leading the charge, he pressed onward toward his quest objective, leaving a stark vacuum in his wake—soon filled by curious players eager for scraps.

It was as if they were unaware of what had just transpired; following in his footsteps, perhaps hoping for an easy gain. In this manner, Li Ren drew ever closer to his quest destination.