No one knew how much time had passed.
Su Yun’s mana gradually recovered a little, though she was still frightened and on edge.
“Ugh… is this not over yet?” Su Yun felt the violent upheaval outside, as if the sky itself might be torn asunder, and sighed wearily.
Hiding in this wretched place was no real solution.
She was like a mouse hiding in a dirt hole by the roadside, while countless giant elephants trampled madly outside—she could be discovered at any moment.
But what was even more likely was being flattened, along with the entire pit, into indistinguishable meat paste by some sudden, terrifying attack.
After all, her mother in this life had died exactly that way.
The risk was too great. She didn’t want to gamble her life on a sliver of luck.
Feeling the gentle stream of mana coursing within her, Su Yun decided it was time to make a run for it.
The playful gaze of Mo Qingqing flashed through her mind. Su Yun hesitated for a moment, but her survival instinct quickly overwhelmed her fear.
Even if she got a brutal beating from that hateful witch when she returned, it was still better than dying here for no reason.
She still had enough mana to use Shadowstep twice, each lasting about five minutes. As long as she kept running toward the rear, away from the battlefield, she should be safe.
Su Yun took a deep breath.
The air was thick with the scents of scorched earth, blood, and the bizarre smell left by burning mana.
She activated Shadowstep, her form melting into a shadow that slipped silently out of the hole.
Corpses.
Broken, twisted, charred corpses littered the ground, painting a nauseating scene straight out of hell.
Su Yun even saw the mutilated remains of that strange lifeform Mo Qingqing had tossed out earlier.
Its body was now in several pieces, scattered in the mud, all trace of vitality gone.
Even a creature with a monstrous healing ability like her own had died here.
Su Yun couldn’t help but feel a chill of fear and relief at her wise decision.
She never believed that simply possessing such a powerful regenerative ability made her invincible.
This was a world of magic—a place where reality itself could be bent with ease.
If someone had the power to turn her into what she was, then there must be others with the power to utterly destroy her in that state.
Sovereign? Opportunity…
Su Yun wanted nothing to do with any of that; those things were far too distant from her.
All she wanted was to survive, nothing more.
To reduce the risk of being exposed—and of being scolded when she returned—Su Yun moved in stops and starts, nimbly weaving and hiding within the shadows cast by massive limbs and shattered armor.
Everything was going perfectly.
She even managed to loot a few corpses along the way, filling every nook and cranny of her spatial devices.
However, just as she was feeling a bit smug about her caution—
A golden holy sword, stained deep red with blood, pierced the shadow before her with a sharp “whoosh” and a soft “puff.”
“Ahhhhh!!! No, please don’t kill me!”
The divine aura emanating from the sword was a natural enemy of shadows; Su Yun was forcibly yanked out of her shadow state.
Terrified out of her wits, she scrambled away on hands and feet, trying to flee as far as possible.
A knight stood before her, covered in blood and grotesque, bizarre wounds.
His once dazzling golden-white armor was battered and broken, revealing charred flesh and bone in many places.
The holy sword in his hand was tattered and riddled with cracks.
One eye was completely blind, reduced to a hollow, bloody cavity, while the other barely managed to open a sliver.
“Heretic…”
He gritted his teeth, growling from the depths of his throat, voice full of endless hatred.
“I-I’m not! I’m innocent! Look!” Su Yun panicked, hurriedly pointing at the slave collar around her neck.
Are you kidding?
This guy… this half-dead guy…
Why is he… Level 78?
The knight glanced at the collar where her trembling finger pointed, a flicker of hesitation in his remaining eye.
The code of justice he believed in told him he couldn’t harm innocent civilians.
But his reason and experience were howling in protest, refusing to believe it.
Could anyone who appeared on a battlefield like this really be an ordinary person?
“….”
But only a few seconds passed before the flicker of hesitation was drowned by deeper hatred and resolve. The knight’s gaze hardened once again.
“Heretic, you will not deceive me again!”
The knight staggered forward, raising his holy sword with what remained of his flesh-stripped arm, putting all his strength into a fierce swing at Su Yun.
It should have been a thunderous blow, certain to cleave her in two.
Yet, due to his severe injuries and the lingering effects of various strange magics, his strike missed by a wide margin.
Even his strength had dwindled; the sword only poked a small, unimpressive hole in the ground with a feeble “clang.”
And even that tiny hole instantly healed, thanks to the power of the Rule Sovereign.
Seeing this, the knight trembled with rage, his blackened teeth grinding together.
Damn witches, damn sorcerers, damn evil gods!
Su Yun, witnessing his hollow display of strength, gulped nervously. Her wildly pounding heart managed to calm down a little.
It’s fine.
He’s finished.
Of course, Su Yun had no intention of taking advantage of his weakness.
That was too dangerous—best to leave it to someone else.
After all, the level difference between them was like that of an ant and a dying elephant.
She didn’t want to risk being crushed by the elephant’s last kick just to finish the job.
And even if she really killed the knight, so what?
At most, Mo Qingqing might give her a perfunctory compliment—or nothing at all.
But if she died, she’d be dead for real.
Run!
However, as soon as she lifted her foot, she felt a sticky, swamp-like sensation.
Horrified, she looked down to see a thick, golden light spreading from the spot where the holy sword had struck, binding her feet fast.
“Tap, tap…”
Leaning on his sword, the knight dragged his broken body closer, leaving bloody footprints with every step.
Su Yun struggled desperately to break free, but the holy light clung to her like maggots to bone—she couldn’t move at all.
“I really am innocent! Please, believe me!” Su Yun pleaded, trying one last time to reason with the knight.
But the knight was deaf to her words now.
The hole in his chest, still leaking holy light, was left there by a girl who seemed even more pitiful and innocent than her, after he was tricked by a moment’s mercy.
Because of that one instant of kindness, he gained a hole in his body—
And beside him lay the corpse of a comrade he should have protected.
“If you truly are innocent, then there’s no need to worry.” The knight raised his holy sword, his voice hoarse but calm.
“The Holy Sword will bless you, and send you to the paradise personally forged by Father God. There, you’ll know eternal happiness.”
At this range, he could not possibly miss.
“Don’t worry. Though I’m wounded like this, my sword is still swift—it won’t let you feel any pain.”
With that, he swung down with the last of his strength.
Vmmm—!
Pure, dazzling holy light erupted from the sword, blasting away the surrounding darkness and illuminating Su Yun’s despair-filled face.
Staring at the ever-nearing radiance, Su Yun suddenly felt her chaotic mind go blank. Realization struck her.
She was going to die.
If she was struck by that sword, even her vast, oceanic life force would be completely nullified by the holy light’s purification.
Such a wound was something she could never recover from!