Chapter 40: Thousand Moon Extermination Flying Bird Transcendent Sword |
"Is that... the Church?" Nemus paused for a moment, quickly identifying the direction of the loud noise.
He then looked up at the others standing around him.
Meeting the eyes of the Watchman, Purr, and Downs, he signaled for them to get ready before sprinting toward the Church.
The villagers who had joined the search froze in their tracks, hesitating over whether they should follow after hearing such a commotion.
Nemus moved at a blistering pace. Despite the rugged mountain paths, he covered the distance rapidly until the Church loomed before him.
The sight of the Church, however, caught him slightly off guard. Things had escalated beyond his expectations.
Although he had sent Isabella out to test the waters, he never imagined she would draw out a monstrosity like this.
More than half of the Church had collapsed. A massive, humanoid creature covered entirely in black hair-like strands—Big Black—was crouched on all fours near the ruins, its crimson eyes locked fiercely onto Isabella on the other side.
Big Black stood roughly five meters tall, and the black hair covering its body bore a striking resemblance to that of a Nest Beast.
''Sure enough, everything has been orchestrated by the Old Priest,'' Nemus realized after a brief moment of thought.
''When Opper offered me a house and urged me to move out, it was highly likely that the Old Priest pushed for it.''
The Church had actually been heavily modified by the Old Priest. Beneath it lay a hidden base for his Bloodline Experiments.
Otherwise, an old man with limited mobility who stayed inside the Church all day would have nowhere else to hide his secrets.
That was exactly why the Old Priest had figured out a way to force Nels to move out in the beginning.
He had even acted magnanimous by turning a blind eye to Nemus breaking the rules.
Isabella had clearly connected the dots as well. Furthermore, unlike Nemus, she possessed additional intelligence confirming that the Old Priest was still conducting Bloodline Experiments. Thus, upon confirming that something was amiss with the old man, she had come to the Church to investigate.
Just a moment ago was the perfect opportunity. When she returned, she had originally intended to seek out Nemus first, but she learned from the villagers that the Old Priest had uncharacteristically left the Church.
Having lived here for about ten days, she had a general grasp of the Old Priest''s daily routine. Knowing how rare such an absence was, she immediately slipped into the Church to search.
She quickly discovered the entrance to the basement inside the Confession Booth. But the moment she opened it, she came face to face with Big Black.
Catching the scent of a stranger, Big Black flew into a violent frenzy, instantly snapping the restraints binding its massive body.
Had Isabella not been fast on her feet, she would have already been snatched up and swallowed whole by the monstrous beast.
Isabella then drew upon her Faith in the Church to cast Divine Arts, but even those failed to restrain Big Black.
Despite radiating a thick aura of Evil, the creature possessed an incredibly strong Sacred Resistance against Divine Arts.
Isabella was forced to stack every buffing Divine Art she knew onto herself, enhancing her mobility and defenses just to survive this long by dodging its attacks.
"A massive physique and Sacred Resistance. This thing isn''t a Black Iron Rank; it''s a malnourished Iron Rank!" Nemus immediately called out Big Black''s true nature.
He raised the Divine Holy Sword. As both of his hands gripped the hilt tightly, the Holy Script engraved on the blade lit up one by one. Nemus felt a surge of power course through his entire body, instantly invigorating his spirit.
This was the sword''s "Inspiration" trait. It bolstered morale and, in turn, stimulated the wielder''s latent physical potential.
Without a shred of fear, Nemus charged straight at the monster.
The sudden threat forced Big Black to temporarily abandon its deadly fixation on Isabella. Despite its colossal size, the creature was by no means slow.
Its body sprang upward like a coiled spring. Raising its massive arms, sharp claws protracted from beneath its thick black hair.
In the next instant, the gleam of its slashing claws flashed through the air.
Several massive streaks of black light crashed down toward Nemus from above, looking as if they were trying to tear the Great Earth itself asunder.
Slashing upward to parry, his blade collided with the beast''s claws, sending a shower of sparks flying. The sheer force forced Nemus''s raised arms to buckle slightly.
Using that heavy downward pressure to his advantage, Nemus retreated. He spun around, swinging his blade just in time to clash with Big Black''s other incoming claw.
His boots dragged heavily against the dirt, sliding backward for several meters before he finally stabilized his stance.
''This thing''s Attribute Value is around eighteen,'' Nemus judged inwardly. Just as he had estimated, it was a stunted Iron Rank creature.
"Support me!" Nemus shouted, taking the initiative to charge at Big Black once more.
His blade dragged along the ground before launching into a brutal diagonal upward slash!
Facing the attack, Big Black merely raised its arm. The dense black hair on its limb writhed like living creatures, weaving together layer by layer to entangle Nemus''s blade.
It was attempting to completely bind Nemus''s weapon.
As the black strands squirmed right before his eyes, Nemus finally realized their true nature—they were blood vessels.
Spinning his body, Nemus flicked his blade to slice through the black strands. At that exact moment, a brilliant white radiance cascaded over him.
Divine Art: Sanctuary had descended upon him.
The protective spell caused Big Black''s swinging claw to sluggishly deflect, allowing Nemus''s spinning horizontal slash to catch up in time. His blade slammed into the claw, successfully parrying the fatal blow.
''Just as I thought. One of the Old Priest''s research results is the Nest Beast.'' The black hair of a Nest Beast was actually its embryo.
In order to supply nutrients to these embryos, the black hair was directly connected to the Nest Beast''s blood vessels.
However, the black hair on the Big Black before him had completely lost its embryonic properties, fully assimilating into exposed blood vessels.
''The Nest Beast calamity from eight years ago wasn''t entirely an accident.''
''It was because the Old Priest''s research on Nest Beasts had reached a critical juncture and something went wrong, leading to a containment breach.''
''Opper was also parasitized by a Nest Beast during that incident. That was likely when he was bought off by the Old Priest.''
''So, what is the exact purpose of this Big Black?'' Nemus retreated, narrowly dodging another pounce from the beast. He raised his hand slightly and rubbed his palms together, causing the longsword in his grasp to begin spinning rapidly.
Secret Sword: Spinning Swift!
Even though it was a long and broad Knight''s Sword, its high-speed rotation transformed the blade into a blinding blur of white light.
That streak of white light shot forward, violently colliding with the descending claws once again.
Black hair went flying in all directions. A massive hand was launched into the air—Big Black''s claw had been cleanly severed.
Standing behind Nemus, Isabella watched the scene in utter disbelief, murmuring, "Thousand Moon Extermination Flying Bird Transcendent Sword?"
Isabella had a profound impression of this eccentrically named Secret Legendary Sword Art. That was why she instantly recognized it the moment Nemus executed one of its stances.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect Nemus to know this specific Sword Art, a technique that had forged a legendary reputation just a few years ago.
This Sword Art had been developed by a genius Holy Knight. It possessed the terrifying ability to draw out two hundred percent of a person''s Attribute Value in combat power.
Although the technique had been passed down, very few had ever successfully mastered it.
Rumors claimed that successfully grasping this Sword Art required a level of spiritual and mental control no less than that of a cultivator practicing a Meditation Method on the Soul Path.
That genius inventor was widely believed to be capable of reaching extraordinary heights even if he had chosen to cultivate as a Priest.
Isabella had only ever seen one Priest, who had a peculiar fondness for physical training, perform this move before.
To think that she would witness it once again here today.
Gurgle, gurgle...