Category: The Azure Longsword

Chapter 23: Madness

Asker was completely at a loss.

Medea’s sub-personality was absolutely insane.

Admittedly, the new attribute of being tainted by the will of Purgatory could greatly enhance Medea’s abilities.

Normally, she was level 3 (Fire I + Mind I + Desire I). After unsealing, she became level 7 (Fire V + Mind I + Desire I). With the Pain Absorption ability bonus, she could achieve a maximum of 300% damage increase (estimated based on her description).

However, this could only be achieved by torturing the enemy and causing a lot of pain.

Therefore, Miss Insane volunteered to fight, hoping that in future battles, the team would allow her to join the fight using Medea’s body.

Just like the Alexander ghoul before, mercilessly slaughtering enemies with high-temperature flames.

Of course, she would absorb a little bit of pain as a reward for her help.

Considering the team’s morale and stability, Asker naturally rejected this request.

Torture and the like, if seen by others, at least Eleanor, the righteous knight, would definitely explode on the spot.

Since she couldn’t torture the enemy, Miss Insane proposed another solution.

Torture herself.

Before the battle, let Asker beat her up, along with vicious verbal abuse.

As long as she was “fed” enough, Miss Insane could unleash 300% of her fire power.

This… although no one would probably object, Asker couldn’t bring himself to do it.

After all, he didn’t want to awaken any strange hobbies.

So the two reached an impasse. In the words of Miss Insane, killing itself was creating pain, pursuing killing with as little pain as possible was like “taking off your pants to fart” (her original words).

Asker said that they were a mercenary group, not a bandit group, and there were some things they couldn’t do.

Whether it was torturing the enemy or abusing teammates, it fell within the scope of abnormal behavior.

Miss Insane said, okay, since you’re unwilling to treat me roughly, then a gentler method is also acceptable.

For example, holding hands, kissing, or anything that could trigger her condition.

The negative emotions and pain of hating men would become the source of her power… and spiritual food.

Asker naturally refused again, after all, he didn’t have a barbecue fetish.

Miss Insane sighed and said, how about this.

I can self-harm, right? Bring a few daggers, stab myself a few times before the battle, and then burn the enemy to ashes.

Asker was speechless. You’re so ruthless, does your main personality know about this?

After all, you’re using her body!

Can’t you just be a normal S or M? Like reading similar novels, watching small movies, and “normally” obtaining pain energy through substitution and fantasy?

Miss Insane said that she had been watching small movies for more than twenty years (God knows who she was substituting herself for) and had no interest in art, so she hoped to have a chance for actual combat.

Only then did Asker understand that this sub-personality was completely insane.

It seemed that they could only use the elimination method:

Torturing the enemy was definitely not allowed, it would upset the teammates;

Torturing herself was also not allowed, the body belonged to Medea’s main personality, and he couldn’t harm her.

Could it be that he could only go into battle himself every time, risking being barbecued, to give her a “reward” in spirit?

Miss Insane then smiled slyly and said that physical contact wasn’t necessary.

There could be many ways to play, think outside the box, for example, borrowing Asker’s clothes to wear, the kind with his scent, smelling them would give her the wonderful feeling of being held tightly by him.

Asker was dumbfounded. You’re a pervert!

…

A few weeks later, the off-road vehicle arrived in Thessaloniki.

As the second largest city in the Eastern Solomon Empire (second only to the capital, Constantinople), Thessaloniki had taken in a large number of war refugees, and simple migrant buildings lined both sides of the roads.

Everyone was waiting in line to enter the city.

Of course, due to their different levels of optimism about the war, some people, tired after their journey, tried to settle in the city, while others only planned to replenish their supplies and continue south.

In any case, it caused a lot of traffic congestion at the city gate.

“We’ve been stuck here for almost three hours!” Nuo said, hitting the steering wheel.

In front of the car, a flock of sheep was being herded across the road by a shepherd, slowly passing by with “baa, baa, baa” sounds.

“I can’t take it anymore.” Nuo said tearfully. “I’m going back to the island to lie down for a while.”

So she teleported back to Furnace Island. Eleanor, sitting in the passenger seat, looked boredly at the stretching simple buildings in the distance, the city walls of Thessaloniki, and the cloudy sky.

It seemed like it was going to rain.

As the only entrance to Furnace Island, the ancient book “Absurd Dreams” was placed in a leather case next to the car’s dome light. Although it seemed inconspicuous, if the car was empty, there was still a risk of it being taken.

Therefore, there had to be someone in the car watching over it at all times.

Eleanor was spacing out when someone knocked on the car window from the right.

She looked outside and saw a dirty little girl standing by the car, looking at her pitifully.

Her gaze fell on the little girl’s small hand clutching her stomach.

So Eleanor took a bucket of instant noodles from the bag in the back of the car, reached out the window, and handed it to the little girl.

“Wait a minute, I have hot water here.” Eleanor said as she took out the electric kettle, only to see the little girl run away like the wind.

Her small body held the instant noodles tightly, as if it were some precious treasure.

Eleanor looked at her running back, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, just sighed softly.

She could guess that the little girl’s family was probably gone, otherwise, how could they let her beg for food because of hunger, without even saying a word of pleading?

“Oh, is it going to rain?” Medea, who had teleported from Furnace Island, poked her head out from the back seat and looked at the sky outside.

“Yes, you…” Eleanor then noticed that she wasn’t wearing her usual clothes, but a simple white T-shirt and jeans.

“Oh, these are Asker’s clothes.” Medea looked at herself and said.

“You can’t set yourself on fire in the car.” Eleanor said euphemistically.

“It’s just wearing clothes, I’m not going to fantasize about anything.” Medea replied.

Actually, she didn’t know what agreement the sub-personality had reached with Asker, but based on Asker’s answer, it should be fine, right?

Although she still felt a little uneasy instinctively, at least Asker was relatively trustworthy.

As for why the sub-personality was wearing Asker’s clothes, could it be that…

The sub-personality was a cross-dressing pervert?!

Hmm. Medea bit her finger. If she was a pervert, then if she fused with the sub-personality, wouldn’t this perversion be transmitted to her?

Her conflicted and helpless expression made Eleanor a little surprised.

Medea’s expression seemed reluctant. Did Asker force her to wear his clothes?

Was the team leader a pervert with strange fetishes? Thinking of this, Eleanor also got goosebumps.

“It’s raining.” Medea said suddenly, looking at the raindrops on the car window.

Eleanor turned on the wipers.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, quickly blurring the car windows with water stains. The crowd ahead began to panic. Some people ran towards the simple migrant buildings, while more ran to the nearby woods to shelter from the rain.

So the road quickly cleared.

“I’ll go call Nuo to drive.” Medea said as she returned to Furnace Island.

After a while, Nuo returned to the real world and started the off-road vehicle again.

The off-road vehicle drove forward again. This time, there were no passing flocks of sheep, refugees, or stalls blocking the road.

Eleanor leaned against the car window, her previously depressed mood from the long wait seemingly improving.

Suddenly, she saw the body of a little girl lying by the roadside, the pool of blood showing a faint red color after being washed by the rain.

That was…

Eleanor noticed the fragments of a torn instant noodle bucket scattered next to the body, the noodles inside completely gone.

Her hands and feet turned cold.

Chapter 22: The Suffering Witch

At the northern foot of Furnace Island was a stretch of winding coastline.

Medea stood in the shallow sea, the fine white sand beneath her feet, the waves lapping against her fair calves.

In the cold seawater, even if her fire ability went berserk, it wouldn’t reach a dangerously high temperature in a short time.

Asker carefully touched her face and quickly retracted his hand like lightning.

Medea felt a buzzing in her head, as if endless negative emotions were surging up.

This time, her consciousness didn’t fall into a coma like before when she went berserk. It was just that some memories sealed deep in her consciousness returned to her mind.

“Do you understand now?” A female voice asked in her mind.

“So… that’s how it is.” Medea replied.

“Next, leave it to me.” The female voice said.

Before Asker’s eyes, Medea, standing in the seawater, began to burn.

Flames rose from her feet, and even the seawater couldn’t extinguish them.

The clash of water and fire emitted scorching white steam and smoke.

“Hehehe…” Medea, with her head lowered, let out a hysterical laugh.

“Are you?” Asker could already be sure that this wasn’t Medea herself.

It should be the sub-personality she mentioned.

“Medea.” She raised her head with a strange smile, brushed her hair aside, her eyes as if burning with a strange fire. “Look, I’m Medea.”

“I thought you would give yourself a new name after your personality became independent.” Asker said lightly.

“You’re wrong, I’m not her sub-personality.” The corners of her mouth curled up into a devilish grin. “I’m just her…”

“…dark side.”

“Dark side?” Asker asked.

The flames around Medea intensified, even the seawater seemed to boil. Asker was forced to retreat a few steps, standing on a reef.

“Do you know?” Medea tilted her head and looked at him. “For a normal Succubus bloodline, the main sequence should be Desire.”

“But me, from the moment I was born, my main sequence has always been Fire.”

“From the moment you were born.” Asker frowned. “You were already a Transcendental when you were born?”

“Yes.” Medea twirled her crimson hair with her fingers. “A Fire V Transcendental.”

“The highest level for any Sequence potion is only IV.” Asker said.

“No, it’s not a potion.” Medea sneered, seemingly bored. “So, even you, your understanding of power is only at this level?”

“I understand.” Asker said solemnly. “It’s Purgatory.”

“Your birth was tainted by the will of Purgatory.”

“Eh?” Medea stared at him. “You also know about the will of Purgatory? Then do you know what the origin of the will of Purgatory is?”

“Suffering.” Asker replied. “The origin of the Netherworld is sorrow, the origin of the Abyss is despair.”

“And the origin of Purgatory is suffering.”

“Ah…” Medea seemed to sigh. “Yes, among all the emotions, only the strongest negative emotions can sink to the bottom of the sea of the subconscious.”

“The Netherworld, Purgatory, and the Abyss are planes formed by the accumulation of massive negative emotions that have sunk to the bottom over time.”

Asker pondered.

The various settings of the three sub-planes had long been thoroughly researched by forum players. These planes were formed by negative emotions and occasionally collided and overlapped with the main plane.

For example, the descent of the Netherworld, which the Night’s Watch called an anomaly, and the players called a random story dungeon.

Of course, overlapping wouldn’t necessarily cause an anomaly.

Sometimes, the three sub-planes might just graze the main plane, leaking a tiny bit of their aura in.

This tiny bit of aura might gain sentience and transform into a strange and terrifying monster;

It might also become a cursed item, possessing special supernatural abilities and strong negative effects;

It might also possess a human, causing an increase in supernatural power and extreme personality changes.

In very rare cases, this aura would attach to a newborn NPC or a newly created player account. Players called this “contamination.”

Contamination had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that contamination would grant a high-sequence Transcendental ability.

For example, before he transmigrated, he knew a professional player whose account was contaminated by the Abyss, becoming a “Child of the Abyss.” He was level 5 from birth, possessing the Shadow V ability, while normal consumption of Shadow potions could only reach level IV.

This guy’s character was nicknamed the Shadow King, incredibly strong in darkness where light was lacking, able to exert 300% of his combat power.

The side effect was that when exposed to direct sunlight, he would get a negative status called “Depression,” reducing his reaction speed by 60%.

As a result, the entire team’s strategy was built around him, creating dark environments artificially, earning them the nickname “Blind Team.”

Because when their matches were broadcast live, the screen would suddenly go dark from time to time, forcing the director to switch to night vision mode.

To counter this, the opposing team could only use flashbangs, Radiance Sequence abilities, etc. As a result, the screen would suddenly brighten in night vision mode, and the audience would be collectively blinded…

“The contamination of the will of Purgatory caused you to be born with the supernatural ability of Fire V.” Asker said in a deep voice. “What’s the side effect?”

“It’s me.” Medea said with a smile.

“The creation of a sub-personality?” Asker asked.

This didn’t seem like a side effect, right?

“No, it’s pain.” Medea’s smile was beautiful, but there was a hint of cruelty in it. “I can draw power from pain, and I can only draw power from pain.”

Asker understood what she meant: when the enemies around her were injured, she could gain some kind of buff. If there was no damage for a period of time, then her fire damage would be pitifully low.

“Then what about the androphobia?” Asker asked.

“That’s her nightmare, the source of her long-standing pain.” Medea smiled. “She was in constant pain because of her mother’s humiliation, and she just happened to have the instinct to absorb pain. This continuous pain kept increasing her fire ability, to the point where it far exceeded her spiritual capacity.”

“So she could only choose to seal this memory, lest she be burned to death by the fire of pain in her heart one day. And I am the personality fragment she actively split off, the part of her personality that is willing to endure and even enjoy pain, responsible for keeping this memory for her and controlling the flames.”

Asker: …

Willing to endure and even enjoy this pain? Isn’t that… that?!

So, Medea had split off the S&M part of her personality, along with her fear of men, and created a sub-personality, sealing it together with these memories.

Thus, the main personality didn’t have to endure the unbearable pain, while the sub-personality reveled in it, and by the way, could continuously draw energy from the pain…

Medea, you’re so twisted!

Such a clever approach was practically a textbook example for psychics.

No wonder this girl was so strong after she went berserk. In the Paradise Mountain dungeon, she killed all the way from the foot of the mountain to the top, her fire ability seemingly endless. God knows how much pain she had absorbed since childhood to grow to this level.

“In other words,” Asker nodded, “she doesn’t have to worry about the conflict between the main personality and the sub-personality, because this was all planned by her.”

“Yes.” Medea’s sub-personality said with a smile. “She also sealed the memories about me, so she doesn’t remember my existence now, but…”

“But what?” Asker asked.

“But I want to see you, Asker.” The sub-personality said eagerly, her eyes burning as if she wanted to brand him into her gaze. “Hehe… this is the first time she has been with a man for so long since she was a child…”

“If I remember correctly, you should be the part of her personality that extremely hates men.” Asker said cautiously.

“That’s right, your existence disgusts me.” The sub-personality grinned, her smile extremely ferocious. “Every time you speak, it grates on my nerves. Your breath makes me feel dirty, just you standing in front of me makes me feel almost unbearable pain…”

“And this pain, and you yourself…”

“Make me very happy…” A blush crept up her cheeks, and her eyes gradually became hazy.

Chapter 21: Schism

“Are you saying that the deceased Alexander taught you the Undead Phantom Sword?” Asker asked in surprise back on Furnace Island.

Peggy nodded.

“From your description, this dungeon plot is quite interesting.” Asker stroked his chin. “To summarize, it’s actually divided into two parallel lines.”

“In the sea of subconsciousness is the story line. Your goal is to help Alexander resolve his inner conflict and make him willing to teach you Phantom Sword.”

“The trap here is that, in order to obtain Phantom Sword, people will subconsciously try to please and flatter Alexander. However, the real way to clear the stage is to point out his mistakes directly.”

“Outside the sea of subconsciousness is the battle line. You must prevent Alexander’s corpse, controlled by the undead demigod, from touching you.”

“Otherwise, if you haven’t completed the story line and the battle outside is lost, then the ghoul can use you to locate Alexander’s ‘superego’ through your mental body.”

“Once Alexander’s superego is forcibly fused with his id, naturally no one can teach you Phantom Sword, and the quest will fail.” Asker concluded. “Well, this dual-line quest is quite interesting, and the difficulty is also in line with the level of a Transcendental sword technique.”

Peggy only half understood, and after a while, she said:

“Although it’s in my mind, I tried to use it, but I can’t seem to use it at all.”

“That’s only natural.” Asker said. “The essence of a Transcendental sword technique is difficult to describe with words. According to what you said, he should have given you a seed of thought, parasitic in the superego of your mental body. This is the fastest way for you to learn Transcendental sword techniques, avoiding language distortion.”

“Even if you do nothing, one day you will fully comprehend it, it’s just a matter of time. Of course, if you study hard, you will comprehend it faster.”

“Then can I describe it to you, and you can try to help me understand it?” Peggy asked hopefully.

“Sure.” Asker said.

Although describing it with words would distort it, it was still better than knowing nothing at all.

So Peggy drew her short sword, stood in the open space, and said:

“The essence of Phantom Sword lies in the replication of the mental body.”

“Do you remember the Nightmare we encountered when we captured Furnace Island?”

“According to Alexander’s memory, Phantom Sword was invented by him after he conquered the Siris School of Dreams and studied the ‘Dream Puppet’ ability.”

“First, meditate on yourself in your mind.”

“Then, pull the ‘self’ you meditated on out of the sea of the subconscious.”

“The key here is how to open the sea of the subconscious.”

“Alexander’s Phantom Sword uses arcane power to calculate spatial dimensions; Hannibal’s Undead Phantom Sword uses necromancy to locate the superego of any deceased in the sea of the subconscious, and then finds the location of his mental body in reverse.”

“But I don’t know how I should open the sea of the subconscious, especially how to locate my own mind space.”

“Hmm…” Asker pondered.

In the previous life’s game, the bloodline path Peggy chose, “Lord of Impurity,” actually contained six sequences: “Flesh,” “Life Steal,” “Plague,” “Toxin,” “Rat,” and “Bat.” If there was any connection to the sea of the subconscious…

Asker slapped his head, he actually thought of an idea.

“Life Steal.” He pondered. “It is said that in the Second Age, the original name of this sequence was ‘Steal.’ In fact, it can steal not only life but also other things, such as spirituality, such as thoughts.”

“Of course, stealing spirituality and thoughts is generally useless because other people’s spirituality and thoughts are not compatible with your own, so Transcendents are more accustomed to using it to steal life force.”

“Of course, stealing your own thoughts is probably a bit difficult because you have to maintain meditation while activating the stealing ability.”

“You can try it first.”

Peggy nodded and began to meditate.

She tried to meditate on a Peggy in her mind and then activate the stealing ability on her own mental body.

However, as soon as her spirituality moved, the image in her mind blurred.

“It’s not working.” Peggy said tearfully. “I can’t multitask.”

“Practice a few more times, and you’ll succeed.” Asker said, “Do you know how I learned the Celestial Ninefold Strike?”

“How did you learn it?” Peggy asked curiously.

“Rote memorization.” Asker said. “Memorize all the formulas and possible outcomes, so you don’t have to calculate quickly in battle.”

Peggy: …

“Then I’ll try again.” Peggy said, “Asker, can’t you learn Undead Phantom Sword?”

“My current Transcendental abilities are all centered around Weapon Master and Celestial Ninefold Strike.” Asker said honestly.

It was obvious, the game company couldn’t leave this loophole, allowing a player to master multiple Transcendental sword techniques at the same time, that would be too overpowered.

The Celestial Ninefold Strike itself had very high requirements for Sequences. Just the Gladiator Sequence potion stack of “Sharp Weapon,” “Blunt Weapon,” “Projectile,” “Block,” and “Dodge” determined that he could no longer take other sequences like “Steal” or “Undead.”

Otherwise, even if he didn’t lose control on the spot, there would definitely be problems when he fused his bloodline at level 10.

However, Asker was very surprised that Peggy could directly obtain the knowledge of Undead Phantom Sword after completing the quest.

This was completely different from the Celestial Ninefold Strike. After obtaining the Celestial Ninefold Strike, the player’s memory of it was basically zero, and they had to start learning from scratch.

Well, it was all because the damn game designers nerfed Celestial Ninefold Strike.

With his rich professional experience, Asker gave Peggy some more pointers on how to use the stealing ability, and then let her practice on her own.

Then he turned around and looked at Medea, whose face was a little pale.

“I’ve seen you standing there for a long time.” Asker said, “Is something the matter?”

“Asker.” Medea said urgently, her anxiety evident. “We need to talk privately.”

…

“Split personality?” Asker asked in surprise in the small woods at the foot of the mountain.

“Yes.” Medea nodded.

“I initially suspected that it was because I witnessed Alexander’s ghoul using high-sequence Fire abilities that caused the Fire I ability in my body to mutate.”

“But as I examined my mental body, I discovered some previously overlooked signs.”

“Because of the loss of control, my Fire I potion has never been fully digested, it’s currently stored in my heart.”

“My androphobia has also been locked in the chest area of my mental body by my psychic abilities.”

“After this careful examination, I suddenly found that they have fused to a considerable extent.”

“The reason for this should be that every time I have negative feelings towards men, a part of my emotional consciousness flows from my mental body into the sealed androphobia, causing it to grow as a fragment of my mental body.”

“After so many years, it has formed a preliminary mental body, which is the prototype of another personality.”

“A sub-personality that has mastered my Fire I ability.”

“Then do you have any unusual symptoms now?” Asker asked cautiously. “For example, often suddenly finding yourself in an unfamiliar place, but not knowing why you’re there?”

“Or sudden, hysterical emotional ups and downs and outbursts? Signs of losing control of yourself during certain periods?”

“Who do you think I am?” Medea said irritably. “Of course not, I’m a Transcendental of the Mind Sequence, I’m more sensitive to mental abnormalities than anyone else!”

“This time, it was because I witnessed high-sequence Fire abilities, which greatly promoted this sub-personality’s digestion of Fire I, that I discovered the clues!”

“And judging from the current degree of fusion, this sub-personality is most likely fully mature. The reason I didn’t discover her before is because she was deliberately hiding herself! Do you understand? She already has intelligence!”

Medea tightly grabbed Asker’s arm through her clothes, her eyes filled with anxious pleading:

“Asker! You must have a way, right?”

“Let me think.” Asker pondered. “If she already has intelligence, then it’s not easy to solve.”

“Fortunately, your main personality is not in danger yet. I’m thinking, can you try to communicate with her first? If you can reach mutual understanding and consensus, then you can gradually complete the personality fusion. You are me, and I am you, wouldn’t that solve the problem?”

“But what if she doesn’t agree…” Medea hesitated.

“If she doesn’t agree, there are other ways to deal with it.” Asker said, “Do you want to call her out first, and I’ll talk to her?”

“My androphobia is all with her…”

“If she’s really as rational as you say, she won’t actively attack me.” Asker said, “Of course, maybe she wants to spar with me.”

Medea: …

Everyone knew that Asker’s so-called sparring was written as sparring, but read as “beatdown.”

“Then be gentle.” After hesitating for a long time, Medea whispered, “I’m afraid of pain.”

“I’m also afraid of being blown up.” Asker said.

Chapter 20: Undead Phantom Sword

“Lost?”

“What happened?”

“Even if Alexander’s corpse is limited to level 5 by the magic tide, it’s still a level 5 Meteor Shower.”

“With your spirituality, you could easily burn everything down, how could the Night’s Watch withstand it?”

“Tsk, miscalculated.”

“Encountered a tough enemy.”

“A demigod?”

“No, not a demigod, but his swordsmanship is very strange.”

“A supernatural sword technique I’ve never seen before.”

…

The car was traveling on the E90 highway.

This time, the novice driver Peggy was carefully controlling the steering wheel, while Eleanor sat in the passenger seat, helping her pay attention to the road conditions and traffic ahead.

The roads in this world were probably the dream racing tracks for all novice drivers. They were mostly built during the Third and Fourth Ages, standard Solomon-style four-lane or six-lane roads, incredibly wide.

After the great upheaval of the Fifth Age, technological civilization suffered a huge blow. Now, most civilian families didn’t have cars, and the slightly wealthier nobles preferred to travel by plane. As a result, there weren’t many vehicles on the roads, they were empty, and Peggy could completely let loose here, driving however she wanted.

“I feel like you’ve changed a bit.” Eleanor suddenly said.

“Why?” Peggy asked.

“Do you remember the last time you drove?” Eleanor said with a smile. “Your shoulders and neck were hunched, your back was stiff, your whole body was tense.”

“Now you have the feel of an experienced driver.”

“Oh.” Peggy said calmly. “Maybe it’s because I’ve driven more.”

She looked ahead, silent for a long time, and then asked:

“Eleanor, do you know Alexander the Great?”

“Of course!” Eleanor immediately sat up straight. “Hey, he’s one of the three classical military strategists I admire the most.”

“Three military strategists?”

“The first is Hannibal, the commander of ancient Carthage. He defeated the rising Republic of Solomon twice in a row, but ultimately failed in the third.” Eleanor introduced them as if reciting a list. “And his death brought an end to the entire Second Age.”

“The second is Caesar, Solomon the Great, who led troops to pacify Gaul and Iberia, then defeated Pompey in the civil war, and finally took control of the entire Solomon nation, declaring the end of the Republic and the birth of the dictatorship, bringing an end to the Third Age.”

“The subsequent Fourth Age was basically all monarchies.”

“You haven’t talked about Alexander yet.” Peggy reminded her.

“Of course, I’m just about to.” Eleanor cleared her throat and said, “Both Caesar and Hannibal acknowledged the influence of Alexander on their military thinking.”

“Alexander the Great was a figure from the middle of the Second Age, the king of ancient Macedonia, a peerless genius.”

“He quelled the internal strife in Siris, then conquered the East, from Asia Minor and Syria all the way to the Mesopotamian plains.”

“He also spread Siris civilization far and wide, pioneering the precedent of first conquering militarily and then assimilating other countries culturally…”

“Who was Alexander’s father?” Peggy interrupted her eloquent speech.

“I remember, it seems it was Philip II.” Eleanor pondered and said, “He was also a remarkable figure, the first to defeat the Siris allied forces and unify the entire Siris Peninsula, laying a solid foundation for Alexander’s conquest of the East.”

“How did he die?” Peggy asked.

“Uh…” Eleanor said uncertainly. “It seems he was assassinated at his daughter’s wedding by a Macedonian noble.”

“The reason for the assassination is unclear. Some say it was instigated by Alexander’s mother, Olympias, because after King Philip’s death, she immediately executed his concubine and all their children in the name of murder. Historians believe this was a clear act of silencing witnesses.”

“Alexander the Great himself claimed that it was a conspiracy by the Eastern Iranians because they were afraid that Macedonia would conquer them, and King Philip was a firm advocate of war.”

Eleanor said with certainty: “I believe this statement more. With Alexander the Great’s arrogant personality, if the assassination was really done by his mother, even if he reluctantly admitted it, he would never frame the Iranians.”

“I understand, Eleanor.” Peggy whispered. “Thank you.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Eleanor looked at her in confusion and smiled strangely. “You seem to have something on your mind, little Peggy?”

“It’s nothing.” Peggy shook her head, thought quietly for a while, and then continued to ask:

“Eleanor, is Phantom Sword a very powerful sword technique?”

“Phantom Sword is one of the three great supernatural sword techniques.” Eleanor thought for a moment and added, “Including Asker’s Celestial Ninefold Strike, there are four supernatural sword techniques in this world.”

“The so-called supernatural sword techniques are sword techniques that incorporate certain laws. The sword techniques themselves possess supernatural power and can achieve effects that ordinary sword techniques cannot.”

“Alexander the Great’s Phantom Sword, and the later Undead Phantom Sword improved by Hannibal, can create multiple attacks in a short time by splitting off phantoms. They are famous battle sword techniques for one against many.”

“You saw it when we fought the Black Knight before. Phantom Sword can easily reverse the numerical disadvantage of one against many. Although the phantom’s defense is very low, its attack power and attack methods are exactly the same as the main body.”

“The other two supernatural sword techniques, one is ‘Holy Sword’ of Charlemagne and the Twelve Paladins, which is also a very powerful battle sword technique, said to be able to achieve unstoppable effects.”

“The other is ‘Lake Swordsmanship’ of Lancelot, the chief knight of King Arthur’s Round Table. It is a mysterious assassination sword technique.”

“Legend has it that the Lady of the Lake gave the sword Excalibur to King Arthur, but taught the Lake Swordsmanship to Lancelot because she foresaw the inevitable conflict between the two.”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Peggy interrupted Eleanor’s storytelling. “Why haven’t I heard of any of these sword techniques?”

“Because they have long been lost.” Eleanor said regretfully. “If you pay attention to military history, you will know the revered status of supernatural sword techniques in history.”

“Every user of a supernatural sword technique has single-handedly reversed the unfavorable situations of countless wars in history, changing the course of history even more frequently than demigods, after all, the latter are restricted by the magic tide level.”

“There is a saying that supernatural sword techniques were designed to allow lower ranks to challenge higher ranks, to give non-demigods a fighting chance against demigods.”

“If so, why were they lost?” Peggy asked.

“Because supernatural sword techniques are not easy to record in words.” Eleanor explained. “The essence of supernatural sword techniques lies in the laws within them, and any language description of laws will inevitably be distorted, so it is difficult to pass down any supernatural sword technique through pure oral or written transmission.”

“For example, the essence of a supernatural sword technique is A. When you try to describe it, what you describe becomes B, and what the other party understands after listening is C.”

“Because of the huge gap between A and C, it is difficult for learners to understand the essence of supernatural sword techniques through language or words. For example, Asker’s Celestial Ninefold Strike, even if he is willing to teach it to you without reservation, you can’t understand it even if he explains it, and you can’t comprehend it even if you understand it.”

“There is a saying that when you try to understand a supernatural sword technique, it is also trying to understand you. If the two sides cannot establish a connection and mutual recognition, then naturally you can’t learn it.”

Peggy fell silent.

When she learned the Celestial Ninefold Strike, she did encounter a situation where she couldn’t learn it no matter how hard she tried.

So it seemed that, according to Eleanor’s words, it could be explained as “incompatibility.”

However, she had no difficulty understanding the Undead Phantom Sword in her mind.

It was as if she had recited it thousands of times.

Chapter 19: Post-Battle Report

Ten steps away.

The ghoul stopped suppressing the group, and a torrent of flames erupted, rapidly rotating clockwise and sweeping towards Asker.

Asker turned towards the front right, continuing to approach at high speed while running clockwise around the ghoul.

At this speed, before the flames reached him, his sword would pierce the ghoul’s body first.

Five steps away.

The ghoul stopped spraying flames and suddenly swelled its body, invisible gravitational ripples spreading out.

Gravity Shock.

Asker abruptly stopped his charge and thrust his sword into the ground.

The suddenly redirected gravitational waves radiated outwards from the ghoul as the center.

Asker gripped his sword, his entire body pulled sideways by the altered gravity.

The next second, a thunderous gunshot rang out.

The elephant hunting bullet hit the ghoul’s chest, completely blowing apart its upper body.

The ghoul’s spirit head glared fiercely at Asker.

With his powerful spirituality and combat experience, he hadn’t even seen clearly who fired the shot.

So he hadn’t dodged the attack at all.

The corpse fell from mid-air and stopped moving.

With its body damaged like this, it couldn’t even move its arms, and there was no chance of winning.

Therefore, the demigod behind the scenes immediately abandoned it without hesitation.

The scorching flames gradually extinguished, but Thira was still maintaining the gale.

The others also maintained their vigilant combat stances.

Because no one could be sure that the fallen ghoul wouldn’t suddenly jump up and instantly kill anyone who wasn’t on guard.

Only Asker forcefully pulled his sword from the ground, walked to the ghoul, and looked at it for a while.

Then he turned and walked away.

Only then was everyone certain that Alexander’s corpse was completely dead, and the manipulator behind the scenes had left. They hurriedly rushed forward and surrounded the corpse.

Colby took out a holy nail from the Night’s Watch and pierced the ghoul’s limbs. This would restrain the undead power within its body from flowing.

There was supposed to be another nail to be driven into its forehead, but the corpse no longer had a head.

Phoebus used his intact arm to brand the runes inscribed with the Secret Text of Rest onto the corpse’s skin.

This ensured that the corpse was completely sealed.

The runes were branded, and the matter was settled.

The Night’s Watch knights suddenly felt extremely exhausted.

It was the kind of feeling of having done countless things, but upon closer inspection, realizing they hadn’t done anything at all.

The mercenaries of Azure Longsword, on the other hand, cheered when they saw Asker return with the awakened Peggy.

Peggy was still a little dazed, as if she hadn’t woken up yet, and could only stand with Asker’s support.

Nuo hurriedly went up to examine her body, and the final conclusion was: perfectly healthy.

Of course, more detailed information would have to wait until they left this place.

After all, this place wasn’t suitable for staying long.

…

“Here, a total of 60 bullets.” Nuo said, holding a small cloth bag. “I picked them all up for you!”

The Netherworld was a special plane map. Whether it was light visibility, psychic abilities, or radio signals, they would be strongly suppressed.

If a Transcendental possessed a supernatural item that could affect the Netherworld, they could distort the Netherworld space to a certain extent, thus confusing the sense of direction of those trapped inside.

For example, you might feel like you’re walking in a straight line, but you’re actually veering sharply to the left. Or you might feel like you’re going in circles, but you’re actually spiraling forward.

Of course, for professional players, knowing how to deal with various maps was basic common sense.

The solution Asker chose here was very simple: the bullet-dropping method.

After separating from the main group, he would drop a bullet on the ground with every step he took.

If the team wanted to find him later, they just had to follow the bullets on the ground, without needing any sense of direction.

After collecting the bullets, Asker saw Nuo take out another small cloth bag and grab something from it.

“What’s that?” He asked curiously.

“Seeds.” Nuo said, “They are seeds of low-level supernatural plants, bought from the Night’s Watch, very cheap. I plan to plant them on Furnace Island, and build a big flower garden near the manor.”

“In ten years at most, they will bloom with beautiful flowers~”

“Why not buy some fast-growing flowers, such as Alpine roses or Christmas kalanchoe?” Asker said, “Ten years is too long.”

“It’s okay, I can wait.” Nuo hummed a tune and walked away, seemingly in a very good mood.

In the real world.

The teams that left the undead curtain and returned to the camp were warmly welcomed by the remaining Night’s Watch knights – although it only lasted for a few minutes.

After all, the Night’s Watch knights didn’t have the habit of holding celebratory banquets.

Soon, the Night’s Watch members began to do their own things: the knights buried the dead, the priests counted the losses, and the high-ranking members began to write reports, preparing to report to headquarters.

“Commander Bryce, this…” At the Night’s Watch headquarters in Florence, the Commander-in-Chief’s secretary received the preliminary report from the Eastern Legion and smiled wryly.

“You’re saying that an Undead demigod tried to resurrect Alexander the Great, controlled his corpse, and was finally defeated by you.”

“Yes.” Commander Bryce said.

“And the casualty rate of your Eastern Legion is less than 10%?”

“Yes.”

“And you sealed and brought back Alexander the Great’s corpse.”

“Yes.”

“If I report this, I will definitely be scolded by the Commander-in-Chief!” The Commander-in-Chief’s secretary sighed. “Also, please be cautious about this matter, Commander Bryce.”

“The other party so easily ‘handed over’ Alexander’s corpse to you, there must be some hidden conspiracy, perhaps the corpse has been tampered with.”

“I understand. What I want to explain is that the final battle to capture the corpse was not easy.” Bryce paused, realizing that this statement was completely inconsistent with “our casualty rate is less than 10%,” and quickly added, “In fact, if it weren’t for the outside help of a mercenary group, our casualty rate would have been more than half, and we might not have been able to retrieve Alexander’s corpse.”

As he said this, the overwhelming flames, heat waves, and the smell of melted earth and charcoal reappeared in his mind.

“Mercenary group?” The secretary asked for confirmation.

“Yes, its name is Azure Longsword.” Bryce said.

Never heard of it… The secretary typed the words “Azure Longsword” on the computer and was about to search online when he suddenly asked:

“This mercenary group, could it be that their combat power is concentrated in a few people?”

“Yes.” Bryce said, “Mainly thanks to Captain Asker.”

As expected, the secretary thought to himself.

This must be a famous swordsmanship master who, for some special purpose (such as training or entertainment), joined this unknown small mercenary group incognito and just happened to help the Eastern Legion in this anomaly.

The name Asker was definitely a pseudonym, there was no point in reporting it…

“Commander Bryce, could you please introduce this Asker to me?” The secretary asked.

“Well, yes.” Bryce knew that this secretary was a real social butterfly with extensive connections among the high-ranking officials of various countries, so he was happy to act as an intermediary between him and Asker.

“The person is in our camp, I’ll have Phoebus bring them over.”

More than ten minutes later.

“What? They’re gone?!”

“Yes.” Phoebus was also sweating profusely. “According to the guards at the gate, they packed up and left half an hour ago. Because they didn’t receive any orders from above, the guards didn’t stop them.”

Bryce: …

I didn’t give any such orders, but you should have some sensitivity! The biggest contributors to this undead anomaly incident, and they are outside guests, you should have kept them here and tried to win them over, how could you let them leave so easily?

However, he noticed Phoebus’ left arm in a cast and splint, and the words of reprimand he was about to say didn’t come out, turning into a long sigh of regret.

Chapter 18: Grazing Shot

Sidlipha and Eleanor immediately sped up. Clad in high-level armor, they were the first to meet the burning stones, blocking the attack for the companions behind them.

The Night’s Watch knights followed suit, using the high defense of their powered armor to form a moving steel wall, completely shielding the remaining companions.

The stone rain hit their shields and armor, making a crackling sound.

The shockwave transmitted through the armor caused considerable damage to everyone’s bodies in the first round.

Almost at the same time they were injured, everyone realized something.

The reason these stones could transform into “projectiles” was because Alexander’s corpse had the “Meteor” Sequence in its bloodline, allowing it to manipulate gravity to control these stones.

In other words, the further the distance between the two sides, the faster the stones would be accelerated by gravity, and the greater the damage they would cause.

Currently, the distance between the two sides was barely maintained within twenty steps, and everyone could still withstand the damage caused by the gravity-amplified stones.

If the distance was further, or if the stones were larger, it would be a different story.

Everyone could only sprint with all their might, trying not to be left behind by the floating ghoul.

“Split!” Asker suddenly commanded.

The girls immediately moved sideways, splitting into two formations on the left and right.

A huge stone erupted from the ground in front of the ghoul, whistling towards them with irresistible force.

The girls had just finished splitting, and the boulder rolled through the gap between them.

The Night’s Watch knights reacted quickly. Although they didn’t understand Asker’s command, they subconsciously followed the girls’ actions, thus avoiding the fate of being hit head-on by the boulder.

Only Knight Phoebus reacted a little slower and was hit on his left arm by the boulder while dodging. His entire arm went limp, seemingly broken.

“Gale, sixty degrees ahead!” Asker warned again.

Thira immediately channeled her spirituality to cast the spell, and the ghoul also opened its palm.

A torrent of blue flames erupted from its palm, like a rapidly approaching heat wave, containing immense and terrifying energy.

Two meters in front of everyone, the flames encountered the gale stirred up by Thira and were blown back with a roar.

Even through the barrier of the gale, everyone could feel the scorching heat and the terrible smell of burning air.

The light distorted, the heat raged, and everything was instantly vaporized.

If it weren’t for the hurricane blocking the flames, they, bathed in the flames, would probably have been turned into charcoal immediately.

“No, this flame is too strong!” Knight Colby roared. He watched in horror as the soil on the ground in front of him melted, the sand and gravel sintered into transparent crystals.

“This is definitely not level 5 strength!”

“It is level 5!” Commander Bryce shouted. “His power is controlled at the level 5 level, but the spirituality of the manipulator behind the scenes is far beyond level 5!”

Everyone was shocked.

It was like two players agreeing to a PK with characters of the same level, but one of them found a professional player to play for them.

Due to the limitations of hand speed and operation, one side could only exert 80% of the character’s maximum strength, while the other side’s output was directly maxed out.

Even if the characters themselves were of the same level, would the effect of the battle be the same?

Not to mention that, besides determining the ability to control supernatural power, spirituality itself was also the replenishment and consumption of supernatural power.

With the same level of Fire Sequence ability fully activated, a level 5 Transcendental could only sustain it for a few minutes, while a demigod could continuously output for days and nights.

Their actual combat power was even more incomparable.

While the ghoul was suppressing them, Asker also quickly bent down and charged, his speed instantly reaching its maximum.

There was no doubt that the manipulator’s true body was in the Netherworld.

The magic tide cap could only restrict Transcendents in the main plane. In the Netherworld, demigod Transcendents could fully exert their spirituality, using the spatial overlap channel to manipulate the ghoul without any risk of backlash.

Even if the ghoul’s power in the main plane was suppressed to level 5, considering that it was the destructive Arcane Sequence, it was still very dangerous under the control of a demigod.

So they still had to end the battle quickly.

Asker sighed inwardly. He had originally intended to take everyone on a good dungeon run to gain experience, but he didn’t expect every boss to be far beyond the team’s current ability to handle.

The Black Knight, and now Alexander’s corpse, in the end, he still had to do it himself.

The ghoul seemed to notice him, its floating body slowly turning.

Its right hand continued to spray high-temperature flames at the crowd, pinning them behind the barrier of the gale. Its left hand raised and aimed at Asker, and a large number of gravel floated up into the air.

Burning rain of stones, fire!

Countless burning stones, like a barrage of bullets, instantly covered him.

Asker, charging at high speed, changed direction and dodged with extreme speed and precision, narrowly avoiding the barrage.

The ghoul clenched its right hand, and more stones were pulled up by gravity.

This time, the number was ten times greater.

Multi-stage counter-charge? The price of ignoring physical inertia is huge damage to your body.

How many more waves can you withstand?

As if more than ten heavy machine guns were firing simultaneously, a storm-like barrage of stones once again enveloped Asker.

This time, he couldn’t dodge.

His figure was instantly covered by flames and rising smoke and dust, gravel and soil flying everywhere.

“Asker!” A shrill cry erupted from the crowd.

Nuo frantically tried to rush out, but Eleanor held her arm tightly.

“He’s not dead!” Eleanor shouted.

Asker’s figure suddenly rushed out of the scorching smoke and dust, his whole body unharmed.

The ghoul seemed puzzled and manipulated gravity again, lifting even more stones and igniting them.

Then it fired.

Another storm of meteor shower, riddling the ground with holes, smoke and dust rising, making it almost impossible to see anything inside.

A few seconds later, Asker’s figure rushed out again.

Still unharmed, only the surface of his cloth armor seemed to be scorched black.

After two breakthrough charges, the distance between the two sides had been shortened to within twenty steps. Even while resisting the ghoul’s Meteor Shower attack, Asker’s charge speed didn’t decrease at all.

The ghoul clenched its fist in the air for the third time, suspending an almost massive amount of stones, spinning violently in the air.

Layer upon layer, densely packed, enough to make anyone with trypophobia vomit.

But this time, the stones weren’t ignited, so as not to obscure the vision with smoke.

It waved its hand impatiently, and the massive amount of stones shot towards them like a rainstorm.

Facing the overwhelming stone rain, Asker raised his sword-wielding arm during his charge.

Then his arm and sword all turned into blurry afterimages, and the incoming stone rain, the moment it approached him, seemed to have its flight direction reversed, scattering in all directions.

Celestial Ninefold Strike, Third Form, Grazing Shot.

Intercepting all physical ranged attacks.

Chapter 17: The Manipulated Alexander

Asker jumped back again, perfectly dodging the ghoul’s attack.

“Give it back to me…” Alexander’s corpse began to roar. “Give it back!”

“Give what back to you?” Asker asked.

“Oh, I understand.” Seeing its gaze fixed on Peggy on his back, Asker said with a smile, “You want her, don’t you?”

“Let me guess: her mental body is gone, it should be in the sea of the subconscious, with your superego? Then you want to use her spirit body to lock onto her mental body in reverse, and then follow the trail to find your dead superego?”

“And finally, resurrect?”

The ghoul didn’t answer, just kept opening and closing its jaw, making a clicking sound.

“Then I’ll take that as a yes, okay?” Asker sneered. “What’s the point of hiding behind this corpse, can’t you come out and talk to me?”

Seeing that the other party didn’t respond, he continued:

“The reason the id is called the ‘id’ is because it’s the purest instinct of the human body and can’t do something as complex and intelligent as ‘searching for the superego.’”

“There must be a manipulator behind the scenes, manipulating this corpse to deliberately talk to me, making me think that Alexander himself wants to be resurrected, right?”

“And her previous emotional outburst, don’t you think it was too coincidental? When I noticed something was wrong with her and went back, in less than a minute, I was separated from the team in front? The Netherworld doesn’t have the property of distorting space.”

“A series of coincidences is not a coincidence. I guess this was not your original plan, but because you discovered our existence and temporarily changed your approach, you revealed so many flaws.”

Alexander’s ghoul stared at him blankly, then suddenly opened its mouth, emitting a mysterious voice that was neither male nor female:

“Hehe.”

“A demigod of the Undead Sequence, right?” Asker stared at it. “Given that the upper limit of the magic tide is level 5, you must be using some kind of item, with a small enough amount of spirituality to remotely control this corpse, to avoid damaging yourself.”

“Since you understand,” the corpse said, “then you should also know that facing a demigod manipulating from behind the scenes, you, at only level 3, have no chance.”

“Whether there’s a chance or not, we won’t know until we try.” Asker said.

Carrying Peggy, he charged towards the ghoul with his sword.

The ghoul swung its sword, splitting off three phantoms, but this time it didn’t choose to move, just charged straight at him.

Asker didn’t stop, his body twisting, passing through the three phantoms unharmed. They froze in place, then suddenly split in two, neatly sliced apart.

“Two-Stage Counter-Charge.” The corpse sighed faintly. “Exquisite movement technique, but it also consumes a lot of your stamina, doesn’t it?”

“Carrying a person on your back, how many times can you use this technique?”

“If you’re waiting for my stamina to run out,” Asker charged straight at the ghoul, “you’ll have to wait a long time.”

“Perhaps.” The ghoul quickly retreated. “But it will eventually run out.”

“And my Undead Phantom Sword is truly endless.”

He split off multiple phantoms again, taking an arc and surrounding Asker, who, one sword at a time, killed them all cleanly.

However, at the moment of the kill, the corpse increased the distance between them again.

“You can’t catch me, and you can’t exhaust me, I’m curious if you have any other methods.” The ghoul said mockingly.

Asker fell silent.

“How about we make a deal?” The corpse stared at him. “I won’t hurt your little girlfriend, I just want to resurrect Alexander. Lend her to me for positioning, and you can leave safely.”

“Alexander cannot be resurrected.” Asker said. “Even if the id and superego are fused, it’s just an emotionless living dead.”

“Ah, that’s exactly the kind of living dead we want.” The corpse sighed wistfully. “Don’t you understand? We don’t want to resurrect Alexander himself, but Alexander’s body and wisdom.”

This time, Asker finally lost his composure, and a slightly surprised look appeared on his face:

“You, the Spirit Cult, want to use him as a vessel?”

This wasn’t in the plot of the previous life’s game!

No, maybe it was just secretly completed by some guilds and not publicly announced.

“Good guess.” The corpse said calmly. “Your imagination exceeds my expectations.”

“Then let me reveal a little: The Second Age’s supernatural knowledge system has lost too much over time, and we don’t even know what parts are missing and what parts were added later by ignorant people.”

“By studying Alexander’s body, we can rediscover the ancient supernatural cultivation knowledge, especially the precious supernatural sword technique ‘Phantom Sword.’ And his outstanding military talent can also help us resist the Seljuk invasion.”

“It’s not just a vessel, but a living library of knowledge, a perfect supernatural item, that’s all I can say.” The corpse raised its sword and pointed it at him from afar. “Now, it’s your turn to decide, choose death, or compromise?”

“Choosing to compromise may be equivalent to choosing death.” Asker said meaningfully.

“Hehe, but you have no other choice, do you?” The corpse sneered without hesitation. “Refuse to compromise, and you will surely die; choose to trust me, and you can gamble that I will keep my promise.”

“I don’t like taking risky gambles.” Asker shook his head and smiled. “I prefer to be prepared and take precautions.”

“Hehe…” The corpse just chuckled.

Then its head exploded.

The headless corpse reacted surprisingly, instantly jumping several meters away. Then its body began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Desire Sequence?” The headless corpse said with difficulty, its voice seeming to come from the hollow cavity in its neck.

Emerging from the fog were the mercenaries of Azure Longsword and the Night’s Watch knights.

“This is impossible!” The voice inside the corpse screamed in disbelief, as if it had completely lost its composure. “The Netherworld blocks the sea of the subconscious and electromagnetic signals, how could you find this place!”

It turned its sword downwards and stabbed it into the back of its foot. The pain remaining in the corpse immediately freed it from Medea’s Desire control.

“Everyone, advance, distance ten!” Asker charged towards the ghoul and commanded everyone.

“Distance ten” meant maintaining a distance of about ten steps from the boss. So the Azure Longsword members rushed forward, the Night’s Watch knights hesitated for a moment, and then chose to follow immediately.

The corpse screamed, swung its sword again, and split off three phantoms.

“Sniper, air pressure, throwing axe, prepare.” Asker said quickly. “Medea, control!”

Hearing the command, Medea immediately clenched her slender hand.

Even the ghoul, which was suppressing the surge of desire in its body with pain, couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.

It was this momentary pause that allowed Miel’s sniper bullet, Thira’s air pressure bullet, and Sidlipha’s thrown axe to accurately hit the three phantoms, instantly scattering them in the air.

Facing the rapidly approaching crowd, the ghoul’s broken neck wriggled, and a translucent head quickly emerged, like an illusory spirit body.

Then the spirit head opened its mouth, as if chanting something.

The entire corpse floated up and quickly retreated away from the crowd.

“Keep charging, maintain distance, don’t stop!” Asker continued.

Everyone hurriedly continued to charge and saw many small stones rising rapidly around the ghoul, as if they had lost gravity, floating in mid-air and slowly revolving around the ghoul.

Then, flames ignited on these stones, which then shot towards the crowd at high speed, drawing red-hot trajectories in the air.

Meteor Shower.

Chapter 16: Memories

King Philip, at the head of the table, was already quite drunk. Seeing his wife enter the hall, he beckoned her over.

“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t drink so much.” Cleopatra said reproachfully. “It’s not good for your liver.”

“It’s fine.” Philip waved his hand with a smile. “Even Dionysus would be extra forgiving at a banquet celebrating victory in war.”

(Dionysus: The god of wine in ancient Siris mythology.)

Peggy was still secretly eating her crème brûlée when a Macedonian noble came up to chat, wine glass in hand.

However, Prince Alexander, with a gloomy face, stared at the head of the table without saying a word. To ease the awkwardness, the Macedonian noble could only turn to Peggy and strike up a conversation.

“I heard that Miss Andrea is from Athens? I also studied at the University of Athens, but my major was rhetoric and film studies. What does Miss Andrea think of the work ‘Troy’?”

Peggy put down her fork and smiled at him.

“Uh.” The Macedonian noble immediately felt that this was a subtle mockery. After all, Macedonia’s cultural level was far inferior to Siris’, and it was natural that the other party didn’t bother to discuss art with him.

“I think this work…” He continued, forcing himself to talk about his understanding of film and art.

Peggy continued to smile.

Under her polite smile, the Macedonian noble finally retreated in shame.

Peggy continued to eat her crème brûlée.

Suddenly, Alexander stood up angrily, instantly attracting the attention of the entire hall.

“What did you just say, Your Majesty?” He asked through gritted teeth.

King Philip, drunk, subconsciously replied in bewilderment, “What’s wrong? I told your stepmother to take care of her health, after all, she’s carrying the heir to the Macedonian kingdom…”

“He’s your heir, then what am I? A bastard? You despicable scoundrel!” Alexander flew into a rage, grabbed the wine glass in front of him, and threw it.

The wine glass hit King Philip’s nose directly. With a clang, the King’s nose immediately swelled up, and two streams of blood flowed down, scaring all the nobles and officials below into standing up.

“You unfilial son!” Having a wine glass thrown at him in public, King Philip also flew into a rage and grabbed the iron bowl next to him, throwing it forcefully.

Alexander drew his sword and deflected it.

King Philip also drew the sword of the guard next to him, intending to kill Alexander, but he tripped over the chair under his feet. Thanks to the quick reaction of the guards, he barely managed to avoid falling to the ground.

“Look!” Alexander mocked him loudly. “A king who’s preparing to sweep across the East can’t even step over a chair!”

King Philip, furious, could only throw the sword in his hand, which was once again accurately deflected by Alexander.

The clang of metal startled Peggy, who was still eating her crème brûlée.

She looked up blankly, looking at the tense Alexander and King Philip, and seemed to realize something.

Then, she grabbed Alexander’s arm and dragged him outside without a word.

Alexander, after all, was a Transcendental of the Arcane Sequence. All his supernatural power was added to his mental strength, and his physical strength was not even as good as Peggy’s. He was immediately dragged out of the palace by her.

The incident happened so suddenly that the nobles and officials present didn’t react at all, just staring at each other blankly. Even the guards at the door didn’t have time to stop them.

Only King Philip, still bleeding from his nose, was left panting and gritting his teeth, supported by his concubine Cleopatra.

…

“If I hadn’t pulled you out, you would have died in the palace!”

Under the night sky, Peggy complained as she drove, “I haven’t even finished my crème brûlée!”

Alexander’s handsome face was livid as he sat in the passenger seat, silent.

“Drive more steadily.” After a long silence, looking at the swerving road ahead, he finally couldn’t help but say, “Can you straighten the steering wheel?”

“No!” Peggy said, “I’ve only learned driving from Nuo for a short time, it’s already good enough that I can start the car, okay?”

Alexander was speechless.

“Actually, you shouldn’t have pulled me away.” After another long silence, Alexander said coldly, “I wanted to see if he, the King of Macedonia, would really attack his own son in public.”

“If he really attacked, you would be dead.” Peggy said.

“He wouldn’t dare.” Alexander said coldly.

Looking at the dim darkness enveloped by the night, scenes of past conflicts with his father reappeared in his mind, and a long-suppressed resentment coiled around his heart like a snake.

“Actually, he might dare!” Alexander squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, his voice trembling almost beyond recognition. “If this continues, I will be forced into a corner sooner or later, I must strike first…”

“You want to assassinate your father?” Peggy asked him.

“I won’t do it myself.” Alexander said, his face gloomy, staring straight ahead. “Of course, if something unexpected happened to him, then it’s hard to say…”

“I don’t think you’re suited for this kind of thing.” Peggy said.

“Why?” Alexander narrowed his eyes.

“Because of your personality.” Peggy said.

She gripped the steering wheel and looked ahead. “It’s obvious that you’re a very proud person. After all, you’re of noble birth and talented, so you have the capital to be proud.”

“I guess you’ve never encountered any setbacks since you were young, right? So when you encounter this kind of setback, your thinking immediately goes to extremes.”

“Think about it carefully. Because of a drunken remark from your father, you didn’t hesitate to turn against him on the spot, what does this mean?”

“It means you’re afraid, afraid that he will really strip you of your position as heir.”

“In fact, with your current prestige in the army and among the nobles, if he really wanted to change his heir, how could he say it so easily on the spot?”

“You’re right.” Alexander was stunned for a long time and suddenly realized, “Even if he wanted to test me, he wouldn’t do it in front of so many people.”

“Exactly.” Peggy shrugged. “See, having murderous intentions because of a single sentence is an extremely reckless act.”

“If you really put it into action, with your personality, you will definitely regret it later.”

“Indeed.” Alexander nodded. “I should go back to Epirus first, that’s my mother’s family’s territory.”

“Even if he really intends to attack me, I can calmly organize my forces to counterattack.”

“Otherwise, if it was really just a drunken remark, but I reacted so strongly, wouldn’t that prove that I’m afraid of him?”

“You are afraid of him.” Peggy retorted.

“No, I’m not afraid of him.” Alexander said firmly, his face radiating confidence again. “Listen, Peggy.”

“I, Alexander, will become a greater king than my father.”

“He conquered Siris, I will conquer the vast lands of the East.”

“If he conquers the East first, then I will conquer the whole world!”

“Becoming the King of Macedonia is just a small step in my life, it’s not worth worrying about too much.”

“And you, Miss Peggy.” He turned his head and stared at Peggy intently.

“Would you be willing to become the future Queen of Macedonia?”

“No.” Peggy said.

“Hmm…” Alexander was a little embarrassed and turned to look out the window.

“Is it because of that Asker?” After a long silence, he asked softly.

“Yes.” Peggy replied without hesitation.

“Why?” Alexander asked.

“The reason you like me is just because I pulled you out of the mud with a few words when you were in despair.” Peggy tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

“And he did the same thing.”

Alexander looked at her quietly.

“Okay.” Alexander sighed bitterly. “He’s a lucky guy.”

“It’s the lucky ones like you and me who are saved before falling into the abyss.” Peggy said.

“You’re right, I like you more and more.” Alexander shook his head. “It’s a pity.”

“Don’t feel pity, you’ll always find a better woman.” Peggy said. “Well, I’m not good at comforting people.”

Silence fell in the car for a moment.

“It seems I have to find another way to thank you.” Alexander said seriously. “Alexander never owes anyone a favor.”

“Help me find Asker, and I’ll consider the favor repaid.” Peggy said.

Alexander was silent for a moment, his voice suddenly becoming low and magnetic:

“No need to look, when you leave my memory, you will naturally see him.”

The scene outside suddenly froze, as if the whole world had come to a standstill. Peggy stepped on the accelerator in surprise, but found that the car wasn’t moving forward at all, as if stuck in some thick glue.

“To be honest, I’ve repeated this memory countless times.” Alexander’s pupils dilated as if he was looking into the infinite distance. “Every time, I ask myself, did I really have to do it?”

“Actually, when he later sent someone to Epirus to reconcile with me, I already sensed something was wrong. However, the assassination order had already been issued, and I didn’t want to admit that I was just impulsive, so I could only convince myself that this was a necessary choice for self-preservation.”

“Now it seems that I was just deceiving myself.”

“It seems that even the greatest kings cannot avoid all shortcomings. I have made a mistake, at least I cannot lose the courage to face it.”

“Thank you, Miss Peggy. Thank you for sharing your life and experiences with a dead man wandering in the sea of the subconscious, and helping him finally understand his own heart.”

“As a thank you, I will give you my ‘Phantom Sword.’ Since Hannibal died at the hands of the Solomons, this supernatural sword technique has been lost in the main world. This is not its destiny.”

He stretched out a finger and touched Peggy’s forehead. Her mind buzzed, and she felt something added to her memory.

“That… you…” Peggy hesitated. “Who are you exactly…?”

“Aren’t you quite clever, Miss Peggy?” Alexander smiled. “Still don’t understand who I am?”

“Go.” He whispered. “Let me finally rest in peace.”

Suddenly, in Peggy’s vision, the entire scene shattered like glass.

Chapter 15: Contention

After defeating the Siris allied forces, a grand celebratory banquet was held in the Macedonian palace. The city-state nobles who came to the banquet had already formed a long line in front of the palace gates.

After all, everyone could see that with King Philip’s decisive victory in this battle, Macedonia’s dominance over the Siris Peninsula was unshakeable.

As the King of Macedonia, King Philip had effectively become the master of all Siris.

It had become the consensus of the Macedonian aristocracy to curry favor with King Philip, or with his heir, Prince Alexander, whose future was bright, and thus gain benefits within the entire Macedonian-Siris system.

Moreover, it was said that Prince Alexander had not yet chosen his future queen.

Many Macedonian nobles even used their connections within the court to subtly inquire whether Prince Alexander had designated a female companion for this banquet.

The answers they received were surprisingly consistent: he had.

As for who it was specifically, no comment.

In a luxuriously decorated dressing room in a side hall of the Macedonian palace:

“I have a bit of a headache.” Peggy said, holding her forehead.

“Miss, perhaps the corset is too tight. I’ll loosen it for you.” The maid said immediately.

“Sylvia, I’ll ask again,” Peggy said irritably. “Why do I have to attend that celebratory banquet with your prince?”

“Because according to the customs of our kingdom, when His Highness attends royal social occasions, he must be accompanied by a female companion.” Sylvia said with a smile.

“Of course, this doesn’t mean that you have any relationship with His Highness, it’s just a formal accompaniment.”

“Then why not choose you?” Peggy said.

“My family background is a bit sensitive.” Sylvia still smiled. “In fact, the reason His Highness chose you is precisely because you have no background or connections, you’re as clean as a blank slate.”

“And His Highness hopes that this celebratory banquet will be a purely military celebration, not a political meeting that sends some sensitive signal, making other families suspicious and probing.”

“For His Highness, this kind of political struggle is not only boring, but also an insult to the Macedonian soldiers who sacrificed in this war.”

“I don’t understand.” Peggy sighed. “Forget it. Just don’t forget what you promised me.”

“You mean finding that Mr. Asker, right?” Sylvia said with a smile. “Of course, we will keep our promise.”

“And please remember, Miss Peggy: Your current identity is Andrea, a noble lady from Athens. Other than that, if anyone asks you about other identity information, you don’t need to answer anything, just keep smiling.”

“That’s too difficult.” Peggy said.

Sylvia: …

“Is there anything difficult about it?” Sylvia asked with a smile.

“It’s tiring to pretend to be a noble lady, and it’s even more tiring to keep smiling the whole time.” Peggy complained. “And, since it’s a banquet, why am I not allowed to eat! And I have to deal with conversations that might come up at any time!”

Sylvia was speechless.

In fact, countless noble ladies in Macedonia would be eager to be the Prince’s female companion at the banquet, and their families would be willing to pay a fortune for this precious opportunity.

But the lucky person in front of her didn’t seem to have any concept of this, just kept complaining.

As if being the Prince’s companion was a very troublesome thing for her.

“Please bear with it a little longer, after all, the banquet is about to begin, it’s not appropriate to change people at the last minute.” Sylvia could only patiently appease her.

Peggy sighed and let the maid braid her hair, boredly puffing out her cheeks at the mirror.

Half an hour later, Peggy, dressed in an evening gown, was escorted by Sylvia to the foyer before the banquet.

Prince Alexander was already waiting there. He was handsome and tall, with a polite smile on his face. He was wearing a well-fitting military uniform, his whole being looking heroic and extraordinary, even the maids standing next to him were secretly peeking and blushing.

“Your Highness, I have brought your little moon.” Sylvia said with a smile.

“Little moon?” Peggy asked.

“It’s a dialect from our hometown, used to describe a petite and beautiful young lady with fair skin.” Sylvia explained.

“Thank you, Sylvia.” Alexander nodded. After watching Lady Sylvia leave, he turned to Peggy with a smile.

This mysterious girl, who had suddenly appeared in his helicopter a few days ago, had no family background or social connections. Even after the Macedonian Ministry of Civil Affairs requested access to the Athens database, they couldn’t find any information related to her.

It was as if she had fallen from the sky.

The royal advisor advised him to stay away from this girl. However, after this period of observation, Alexander had confirmed that this Miss Peggy was just an ordinary girl.

She should have received a middle-class education, she was literate, and had some knowledge, but she knew nothing about upper-class etiquette.

She was also straightforward and without any scheming, with a bit of a temper from time to time, which made Alexander feel a little novel.

After all, in the Macedonian capital, no one who knew his identity dared to show him any attitude.

“Miss Peggy,” Alexander said politely, “you look absolutely beautiful today. I think the entire royal banquet will be enhanced by your presence.”

“Your Highness Alexander.” Peggy, following the etiquette taught by Sylvia, slightly bowed her head like a Siris lady, and then said bluntly, “You have too much powder on your face, it’s too greasy.”

“Is there a lot of powder on my face?” Alexander raised his eyebrows and touched his chin.

“Of course.” Peggy said, “It’s still falling off.”

“I understand.” Alexander nodded and said to the maid next to him, “Take me to the washroom, I need to wash my face.”

“But Your Highness!” The maid hurriedly reminded him, “The banquet is about to begin!”

“It’s okay to be a little late, after all, I won the battle.” Alexander said nonchalantly.

A moment later, Alexander returned, his face clean, and asked Peggy, “How about now?”

“It’s much fresher now.” Peggy frowned at him. “But you still look a bit effeminate.”

She took the ceremonial sword from the pillar next to her, handed it to Alexander, and said:

“Hang it on your waist and hold it with one hand, that will make you look more handsome.”

“Like this?” Alexander tried it.

“Yes.” Peggy looked him over. “Now you finally look a bit manly.”

“The Asker you often mention, does he usually dress like this?” Alexander asked casually.

“Yes, he’s a mercenary.” Peggy said, “Of course, mercenaries have to carry weapons with them to deal with all kinds of unexpected dangers.”

“But this isn’t a battlefield.” The maid next to her covered her mouth and smiled. “This is the royal palace of Macedonia.”

“So what if it’s the royal palace, can’t there be danger in the royal palace?” Peggy retorted. “Caesar was assassinated in the Senate!”

Who is Caesar? The maids looked at each other.

“Alright, alright.” Alexander said with a smile. “I’ve done as you said, Miss Peggy. Can you accompany me to the banquet now?”

Peggy frowned unhappily, feeling that this man was like dough, no matter how she attacked him with words, she couldn’t hurt him at all.

“After this banquet, you have to help me find Asker.” Peggy emphasized.

“Naturally.” Alexander nodded in agreement.

In fact, the people he sent out had almost turned the entire Thracian plain upside down, but they couldn’t find a mercenary named Asker.

Alexander gracefully offered his arm, and Peggy, with an unnatural expression, lightly placed her hand on his arm. Accompanied by the maids, they entered the banquet hall.

As the Prince of Macedonia and his female companion, the moment they entered the banquet hall, they were bathed in the gazes of all the guests.

After all, he was the tall and handsome Prince Alexander, known as the “Golden Noble.”

After a brief and appropriate speech, Alexander took Peggy to the main seat at the banquet table.

Peggy stared at the bowl of crème brûlée in front of her, stunned for a moment, and quietly asked Alexander:

“Can I eat this?”

“Yes.” Alexander also whispered to her, “As long as no one sees.”

So Peggy picked up a spoon and, while everyone around them was chatting and mingling, began to secretly eat the crème brûlée in the bowl.

Alexander watched her sneaky movements, finding it extremely amusing, and a smile appeared on his face.

A moment later, his expression darkened because a luxuriously dressed woman entered the banquet hall, accompanied by maids.

It was Cleopatra, his father King Philip’s concubine.

His so-called “stepmother.”

Chapter 14: Meteor Shower

Peggy opened her eyes again.

The ground… was shaking?

“You’re awake.” A male voice came from behind.

Peggy sat up and realized she was inside some kind of vehicle.

Through the open cabin door, she could see the distant mountains and valleys.

Was she… in the air?

“What, never seen a military helicopter before?” The male voice chuckled.

“Who are you?” Peggy looked up and saw the source of the voice, a young man sitting in the back of the helicopter.

He was wearing powered armor, but no helmet, revealing a pair of clear eyes.

“Insolent!” The knight beside him immediately rebuked. “Show some respect to His Highness!”

“It’s alright, Seleucus.” The young man said gently. “After all, she just woke up from a coma and doesn’t recognize me.”

“My name is Alexander, Prince of the Kingdom of Macedonia.” His tone was casual, as if saying “I’m just a worker.” “I’m currently helping my father quell the rebellion in the south.”

He sighed and continued, “Yes, we are currently on a military operation. And you suddenly appeared in my helicopter.”

Peggy was silent for a moment and whispered, “I don’t know why I’m here either.”

“Do you think we’ll believe your lies?” Knight Seleucus sneered. “Your Highness, this must be an assassin sent by Thebes to assassinate you…”

“If Thebes had the ability to make someone suddenly appear in my helicopter,” Alexander said, “then that person would have to be at least level 10 or above, specializing in solo combat, an assassin-type bloodline, such as a Spartan Weapon Master.”

“What’s the use of sending a level 2 little vampire? To mock me? At least have her wear a suicide vest. The Thebans aren’t that naive.”

“As for you, young lady,” Alexander looked down at her and said, “Although I believe you are harmless, it is wartime after all, and we must impose certain restrictions on your freedom.”

He spoke kindly, and Peggy suddenly felt as if her body didn’t belong to her anymore.

Her spirituality was imprisoned, and all her supernatural abilities were unusable. Her limbs also became unresponsive. Like a puppet, she walked to the back of the cabin and sat down in a seat.

A woman in an Athenian robe sat next to her, giving her a friendly and slightly apologetic smile.

A few minutes later, the helicopter suddenly started shaking violently.

“Your Highness…” Knight Seleucus was about to speak, but his gaze fell on Peggy sitting at the back, and he hesitated.

“Speak freely.” Alexander raised his hand. “She is safe for now.”

The woman in the robe also chuckled and said, “Don’t you trust my abilities, Knight?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Knight Seleucus pointed to the radar screen in the cabin and said seriously, “Look, the Siris army has fallen for the trap as you predicted. It’s time for us to act.”

“Wait a little longer.” Alexander said calmly. “According to my calculations, in about fifteen minutes, their right-wing cavalry will be completely separated from their left-wing air defense. That will be the time to strike.”

“Your Highness, being too outstanding on the battlefield is not a good thing for you.” Knight Seleucus said euphemistically.

Everyone in the cabin fell silent.

Peggy was confused, but Alexander understood Seleucus’s implication.

In fact, his relationship with his father, King Philip of Macedonia, was not very harmonious. If he showed too much military talent, he might be even more wary of him.

Knight Seleucus was advising him to hide his abilities.

“There’s no need for that.” Alexander shook his head after a long silence. “If the price of hiding my abilities is the unnecessary sacrifice of more of my subordinates, then I’d rather not be the commander of the left wing.”

Everyone in the cabin was speechless. Peggy rolled her eyes and saw the woman in the Athenian robe next to her put her hand on her forehead helplessly and sigh.

Prince Alexander was good in every way, always gentle to his friends and subordinates, and always courteous to women (this alone was better than most Macedonian nobles).

His only flaw was his pride.

Of course, with his background and talent, he did have the capital to be proud. But it wasn’t wise to have a strained relationship with King Philip just because of his temper.

Everyone stared at the radar screen in the cabin, the red and blue dots representing the enemy and their own forces entangled.

It could be seen that King Philip had ordered the right wing to retreat, thus luring the left wing of the Siris allied forces, led by Thebes, to pursue.

Because they had been pursuing for too long, they were clearly separated from the allied forces’ right wing – out of the firing range of the right wing’s mechanized troops.

Everything was as Prince Alexander had predicted.

“Companion Cavalry, prepare for battle.” Alexander stood up and said in a deep voice.

“Yes, sir!” The commanders of the various detachments responded quickly in the cabin and on the radio.

The helicopter formation began to descend, passing through the clouds that obscured their vision and quickly appearing on the battlefield.

The entangled left wing of the Siris allied forces below immediately showed signs of panic.

Before they could react, Alexander had already reached the cabin door, his hands outstretched towards the battlefield below.

From the sky, dense, fiery streaks descended.

A burning meteor shower covered the mechanized positions of the allied forces’ left wing in seconds.

First, a huge shockwave exploded, accompanied by flying mechanical debris and bloody limbs. Then came a thunderous explosion, dust and smoke rising nearly tens of meters high.

Finally, the low whistling sound of the meteor shower cutting through the sky arrived belatedly, as if playing a mournful dirge for these mechanical vehicles.

Alexander, at only 18 years old, was already a high-ranking Law Rank “Meteor Shower” Arcane Mage. With just one strike, he destroyed the air defense forces of the allied forces’ left wing.

Then it was time for the “Companions” to enter the stage. They jumped from the helicopter formation. Just as they were about to land, the high-ranking knight Ptolemy clenched his hand in mid-air.

Etherealization.

As one of the three high-ranking generals under Alexander, Knight Ptolemy was a Transcendental of the Undead bloodline, possessing the ability to transform his physical body into an ethereal form.

The powered armor landed with a loud crash, the buffer joints absorbing the impact on the armor itself, and the etherealization made the knights’ bodies briefly immune to the damage from the landing impact.

Following this divine tactic, the landed knights quickly launched their attack. With the fire support of the armed helicopter formation in the sky, they quickly completed the division, encirclement, and annihilation of the allied forces.

The overall situation was decided.

…

Asker carefully laid Peggy’s body on the ground.

Just now, Peggy’s body had suddenly gone limp, as if she had lost consciousness and collapsed.

After carefully checking with his spirituality, Asker found that her physical body was intact, and her spirit body was also normal, but her mental body…

Her mental body was gone.

If Medea were here, she might be able to use her psychic abilities to follow the trail and find some strange clues.

However, Asker, as a “Weapon Master” with a supernatural bloodline that focused on strengthening the physical body, knew nothing about the spiritual realm.

This was troublesome.

Just as he was frowning in thought, he suddenly noticed that the surroundings had become dark.

As a space overlapping with the Netherworld, the light here was already dim, and now it was pitch black.

Asker stood up, put one hand on his sword, held his breath, and calmly waited for the anomaly to come.

A few minutes later, two points of light appeared ahead.

The points of light grew closer and closer, and Asker saw that they were two glowing pupils.

It was a corpse, medium build, with glowing eyes, dry and wrinkled skin, and faint traces of medicinal corrosion. It walked over silently and eerily.

“Who?” Asker asked.

The corpse didn’t answer, but just drew the sword from its waist, its finger bones making a grating sound against the hilt.

Asker keenly noticed that its gaze was fixed on Peggy.

“I can’t give her to you.” Asker said calmly, picking up Peggy with his left hand and drawing his sword with his right hand.

The corpse’s jaw moved slightly, making obscure syllables.

Then its sword vibrated slightly, instantly splitting into three phantoms, rushing towards him from three directions!

The left phantom charged, its sword dragging on the right side of its body, ready to launch a waist-slashing attack.

The right phantom took an arc, also charging at high speed, its sword subtly held at its waist, making it impossible to predict its next move.

The middle phantom jumped high, its sword stabbing straight down.

Earth Splitter!

The sword pierced the ground, and an invisible shockwave exploded from it, sending surrounding gravel flying like bullets.

Earth Splitter? Asker understood.

This was a sword technique from the Meteor Sequence, incorporating gravity manipulation into swordsmanship. The identity of the newcomer was self-evident.

It was most likely Alexander’s own corpse.

He jumped on the spot with Peggy in one arm, perfectly avoiding the ground-level shockwave. His right-hand sword had already swung, slashing at the phantom charging from the left in mid-air.

The moment the two swords collided, Asker’s sword pressed down sharply, pinning the phantom’s sword to his shoulder. He used the force to flip directly behind the opponent.

At the same time, the phantom rushing from the right suddenly flicked its left hand, which was hidden under the hilt.

A stone.

In the Arcane School of the Second Age, a technique popular among Transcendents of the Meteor Sequence was to use readily available small stones, accelerating them with gravity and turning them into extremely destructive projectiles.

Asker’s aerial maneuver perfectly dodged this sneak attack projectile, and he had already flashed behind the phantom.

The phantom drew its sword and turned around, backhanding a stab from its waist.

As if he had anticipated it, Asker spun again, dodging the stab while slashing with his sword, hitting the phantom’s neck directly and shattering its entire body.

Phantom defeated, 1.