As expected, the Demon King, who was extremely tricky due to too many methods, has been successfully resolved, but it was Lin Ke, who was thought to be not much of a threat, that unexpectedly posed unforeseen difficulties.

...

The midday sun hung high in the sky, its blinding light concealing the two figures in the air.

Louisa, adorned with luxurious S-Class Demon Crystals, spread her Blood Crystal Wings, basking in the sunlight, while holding the agitated and nervous Ming, who was constantly dripping with some unknown sticky liquid.

[Sunlight Resistance LV10]

Louisa sincerely thanked her Blood Race compatriots continuously offering themselves at the Extreme North Pillar, for they gave her the chance to walk in the sunlight once more.

Of course, sunbathing was just a minor matter; the most important thing at the moment was the boss's grand plan.

...

Lin Ke looked at the panel of the Split Body in his hand and finally realized he had fallen into a trap.

And to catch this Split Body, he had already taken several hits of [Soul Touch] attacks during the intrusion.

However, unlike the Demon King, whose large sections of the body would collapse upon touch, Lin Ke's Soul Cloak bore these attacks for him.

Moreover, this caused the Attributes on his panel to decrease slightly, but they were still at a non-human level.

"Uwaaa——!"

As Lin Ke crushed the Split Body in his hand, he heard an attack coming from the sky.

A pale figure of the Blood Race, dressed in bizarre clothing, swung a Demon Race youth towards him.

Lin Ke wanted to rub his eyes. He even opened his panel to confirm that it was indeed a Demon Race youth and not any humanoid forged weapon.

Then, he saw it.

"Physical... Immunity?!"

Ming crashed into the sword Lin Ke instinctively swung in retaliation.

The blade that could cut through mountains merely grazed the boy's collar, unable to penetrate any further.

But Ming clung tightly to Lin Ke's right arm, even trying to grab Lin Ke's thigh, but Lin Ke dodged just in time.

And this wasn't the end. Ming, who was holding onto Lin Ke's arm, opened his mouth, spraying blazing Dragon Breath directly at Lin Ke.

The damage was secondary; the continuous flames directly affected Lin Ke's perception.

Although Lin Ke wasn't powerless in Magic, he obviously couldn't cast instantly like the Demon King.

He grabbed Ming, attempting to pull him off, but besides Ming desperately wrapping his limbs around him, there was some sort of sticky liquid on him, making him as stubborn as a sticky candy, difficult to remove without effort.

And Little Pig wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

The Blood Crystal Greatsword drew from the power of full-body S-Class Demon Crystals, glowing blood-red, slashing towards Lin Ke's neck.

Then it sliced heavily into Lin Ke's raised left arm!

The Blood Blade tore through flesh, embedding in the arm, but was firmly stopped by the bone, going no further.

"You think you can win with just this?"

Lin Ke gripped the Longsword with his right arm, swinging Ming along, forcing Little Pig to draw back to defend.

With one swing, the Blood Crystal Greatsword was covered in cracks, and the second swing shattered it completely.

Due to Ming's fiery obstruction, Lin Ke's posture wasn't well-suited for a third swing; he switched to a left-handed punch, swinging it towards Little Pig's Battle Armor.

Where the punch landed, the Blood Crystals on the armor, and even the energizing Demon Crystals shattered completely.

If not for the armor's protection, this punch would have pierced Little Pig right through.

Yet Little Pig, who was blasted away, bit on a mouthful of blood, excitedly clenching his hand towards Lin Ke!

[Blood Manipulation]

In the brief exchange, the blood voluntarily spattered around Lin Ke condensed into dense blood threads, layer upon layer, binding him in place.

With a strong tug, Lin Ke broke and scattered a large swath of blood threads.

This nearly life-risking entanglement by Little Pig, against an already injured Lin Ke, could only bind him for less than half a second.

But that was enough.

The center of the Divine Wood Dungeon's spiral space had long been filled by a gargantuan tree blocking the heavens.

On an unremarkable branch of that giant tree, the Divine Artifact Yesheng Wood Core was embedded at the tip, as if it belonged there from the start.

Vast Life Force gathered along the tree trunk to the branch tip, where the tip of the Yesheng Wood Core illuminated a brilliant green light!

As the Life Energy turned into an attack, shooting out in an instant, the grand trees of the Elf Forest turned yellow, leaves falling in unison, as if autumn had come prematurely.

In the past, the captain of the Silver Thorn Squad sacrificed part of his life using a fragmented Yesheng Wood Core to instantly kill the Flame Demon.

But now, the complete Divine Artifact, relying on the Divine Wood's vast Life Force, unleashed this even more lethal strike.

With almost no reaction time, it enveloped Lin Ke, who just broke free from the bind!

Ming, who was also shrouded in it, collapsed almost instantly.

His body withered and cracked, as if the Life Force was completely dissolved, and shattered into pieces upon hitting the ground.

But death was not the end; as per plan, he was to live Puki's life next.

Yet Lin Ke did not die quietly as planned.

"Uh, ahhhhh!"

A sword light forcefully split the green glow, swiftly cutting through the Divine Wood.

Puff—

After a muffled sound, the entire forest of Elves witnessed the terrifying scene of the giant Divine Wood slowly tilting and collapsing.

The dissipating Life Force transformed into starlight, merging into the surroundings.

Countless sprouts emerged from the ground, displaying unprecedented vitality.

Yet the source of this Life Force fell heavily at the edge of the dungeon spiral— the Divine Wood was severed at the waist by a single sword stroke.

Although the panel remained, the Divine Wood was severely damaged.

On the other side, Lin Ke wasn't faring well either; half of his body lost its vitality, and the Longsword in his hand dropped to the ground after that slash, with his body swaying even while standing.

"Amazing, amazing! To counterattack from such a hopeless situation, truly 'the strongest' indeed."

Insufficient conditions

In the distance, a Marshal Puki strolled leisurely, shaking its mushroom cap towards the direction of the Divine Wood.

"Sigh, Old Deng is only so-so, ultimately I have to rely on myself~"

With a gentle slap from Marshal Puki's tentacle, a cacophony of Puki sounds gradually approached from afar.

Countless Puki Masters from the Fungus Castle, with their Puki army, surrounded the solitary Lin Ke layer by layer.

"Come on, show me how long you can last?"

As Marshal Puki waved its tentacle, waves of Pukis rolled towards Lin Ke from all directions.

Facing the dire situation, Lin Ke picked up the Longsword from the ground with his still-active left hand.

"It's not over yet!"

The next moment, a chill radiated.

Those sword lights, compared to before, were countless times weaker, yet still sharp and obstinate.

Lin Ke's figure stood firm in the endless sea of mushrooms.

Lin Jun was somewhat surprised by Lin Ke's resilience, but that couldn't change the outcome.

With declining Attributes, and having lost half his body and mobility, Lin Ke was nothing but a live target; no matter how tenacious, how many Pukis could he slay?

Right now, his rate of killing Pukis couldn't even keep up with Lin Jun producing them nearby.

Merely a futile struggle.

[Computation Furnace Soul Insufficient, Entering Harvest Phase]

"What...what's this?" Lin Jun stared at the words suddenly appearing on the panel, her mushroom cap tilted in confusion.

Before Lin Jun could figure out what was happening, an unfamiliar yet powerful aura suddenly erupted from Lin Ke, who was severely besieged.

[Courage Value (√), Harvest Phase (√), Triggerable Race (√)]

[Judgment Successful]

[Acquired Title: Virtue of Heroism (Lost Life is proportionally added to Attributes, body governed by will, as long as will doesn't falter, action faces no limits)]

Under Lin Jun's stunned gaze, the Hero Lin Ke switched the sword back to his withered right hand...

"It's... still not over."

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