Chapter 256: Chapter 43: A Flash of the Flying Sword Through the Chest

A streak of light flashed and vanished in an instant.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling clash of Energy.

Only an extremely soft, yet utterly distinct TSS sound.

As if teleporting, the streak of Dark Gold light vanished into the Wizard’s chest, piercing his Magic Robe and two invisible Force Fields before exiting through his back.

Trailing a nearly invisible wisp of dim purple light, it returned to Murphy’s side in a heartbeat. It hovered there, humming softly, revealing itself to be a Dark Gold Flying Sword of ancient, simple design, its radiance contained within. The blade was immaculate, as if it had never moved at all.

Time itself seemed to have been completely severed by this one strike.

The Wizard remained frozen in place, his hand slightly raised in a gesture of Casting.

Beneath his hood, those eyes that had once gleamed with a profound light were now filled with incredulous shock and confusion. His pupils contracted violently, reflecting Murphy’s cold, statue-like face.

He slowly, with extreme difficulty, lowered his head to look at his chest.

On his dark green traveling cloak, a scorched, black hole the width of a thumb was clearly visible. Its edges were impossibly smooth and clean.

No blood gushed out immediately, but the fine fabric fibers around the sword hole were carbonizing at a visible rate, turning into a circle of scorched black powder that trickled down. It revealed a dark inner lining beneath, which also had a sword hole and was embroidered with complex, silver protective runes.

The faint glow that had once flowed across those runes was now completely dim, extinguished like burnt-out filaments.

Immediately after, dark purple lightning burst forth without warning, erupting simultaneously from inside and outside the piercing wound!

Countless fine, spiderweb-like serpents of violet-black lightning instantly swarmed over the Wizard’s body, erupting with a sharp CRACKLE!

They were violent and chaotic, possessing a quality of annihilation. Wherever they passed, clothes, skin, and even deeper Energy structures rapidly dissolved and disintegrated!

"Urgh—!"

The Wizard finally let out a short, shrill scream, the sound so twisted and distorted it was barely human.

He tried to gather his remaining Spiritual Power. The residual defense runes on his body flickered violently, attempting to resist the destructive Energy coming from within, but it was all too late.

The violet-black lightning serpents brutally tore apart the last barrier of Defense Magic. Like maggots clinging to bone, they burrowed madly into every corner of his body.

His body began to convulse and tremble violently, as if countless invisible needles were churning wildly inside him.

He staggered back half a step, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Im... pos... sible..." he managed to force out a few words, his voice hoarse and broken, filled with extreme pain and disbelief. "You... a mortal... Thunder Steel... sword... You..."

Before he could finish, an even more terrifying disintegration began.

With the piercing wound in his torso as the epicenter of the rampaging Thunder, the muscles under his skin squirmed and bulged unnaturally. Then, with a series of soft POPS, they split open into a web of fine cracks.

The cracks spread and widened rapidly!

Thick, dark red, almost black blood mixed with shredded pieces of internal organs gushed from the gruesome fissures, splashing onto the scorched ground with a SIZZLING sound.

The blood was still mixed with shimmering fragments of Energy structures, like broken glass in a river of blood. But mostly, it was filled with scorched, carbonized muscle fibers and the jagged white shards of bone that had been torn and shattered by brute force.

The violet-black lightning was like a frenzied school of piranhas, tearing through the sea of flesh and blood. Wherever it passed, healthy muscle was instantly electrocuted into twisted char, and exposed bone exploded into dust amidst the blinding electrical light. Scalding fluids hissed and evaporated in the intense heat, releasing a pungent smoke thick with the stench of burnt flesh, blood, and ozone!

His hood had long since been reduced to ash by the raging lightning, revealing a face completely contorted by excruciating pain and the backlash of Energy.

His once neatly-trimmed beard was now scorched and curled. His skin was covered in cracked, charred marks and bloody gashes. The light in his eyes faded rapidly, leaving only the hollow emptiness of impending death and residual horror.

His throat bobbed violently as if he wanted to say something, but only black blood mixed with chunks of organs spilled out.

"Pawn..." Using the last of his strength, he stared death at Murphy, a ragged, wheezing sound escaping his throat. "You... too... won’t esca..."

His final words were cut off by a series of dull explosions from within his body.

His chest and abdominal cavities suddenly swelled like an overinflated leather bladder, the outlines of his ribs clearly visible beneath the skin, before abruptly collapsing inward!

Violet-black light shot out from his seven orifices and every open wound, tearing apart and destroying the last vestiges of life and physical structure.

SPLAT!

BOOM!

A muffled sound, a mixture of bursting flesh and an Energy explosion.

The Wizard’s kneeling, mangled corpse went completely rigid, then, like a sack of rags torn apart by an internal explosion, it collapsed forward with a crash.

When it hit the ground, his head was nearly severed from his torso, connected only by a few strands of charred flesh. His limbs were splayed at grotesque angles, and blood gushed from the severed points, only to be quickly cauterized and congealed by the residual sparks.

Upon contact with the ground, the fragments and gore disintegrated even further. Flesh turned to char, bone to dust, leaving only a blurry, twisted, humanoid stain soaked in blackish-red filth on the ground, and a nauseating stench that lingered in the air—a mix of burnt flesh, ozone, and the aftermath of a strange Energy explosion. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

The wind kicked up fine dust and a few flakes of charred skin, sweeping over the bloody, ravaged ground and across Murphy’s impassive face.

The Dark Gold Flying Sword trembled slightly, retracting all its light before silently returning to its sheath.

The depression returned to a deathly silence, broken only by the mournful whistle of the hot wind blowing through holes in the distant rocks.

’The reason for killing him was simple.’

’Following someone else’s orders into an unknown land is the height of foolishness.’

’Even if it meant exposing some of my strength, attracting unwanted attention or even danger, it was far better than placing my own safety in the hands of another.’

’In this world where the strong devour the weak, entrusting your hopes to another’s "integrity" and "fairness" is no different from suicide.’

’Besides, what if I had safely retrieved the Erosion Core?’

’Would he have truly honored that loophole-ridden Soul Oath?’

’A Wizard who could so easily speak of the Church Court’s secrets about stealing the World Origin, who viewed the struggles between multiple factions as a chess game—how could someone with such a cold heart and deep-seated cunning truly care about the life or death of a temporary ally?’

’The day I handed over the Erosion Core would likely be the day he turned on me without mercy. He might not even need to show his hand; a slight manipulation of information or the path forward would be enough to ensure I died a "reasonable" death.’

’This Wizard was even less trustworthy than the Church Court.’

’Saint Cyril Cardinal never promised anything about the consequences of failure or dying here for nothing, yet most of the Great Knights still entered this place without hesitation.’

’Why?’

’Because the Church Court, as a colossus that has ruled the Continent for a thousand years, has a kind of credibility born from a millennium of accumulated faith and order.’

’Even if they died here and the mission failed, the Church Court, in order to maintain its credibility and its ability to mobilize forces in the future, would never mistreat the families they left behind.’

’This was a tacit guarantee, a baseline proven by the test of time.’

’It was like in my past life, in ancient times. The best source of soldiers came from good families, because they knew that if they died on the battlefield, their families would receive pensions and preferential treatment from the Court.’

’The Church Court’s title of Holy Protector and the permanent protection that came with it was the "upper limit"—the visible reward that was inquired about. But the basic guarantee of their family’s continuation was the "lower limit"—something already known and needing no explicit mention.’

’The combination of the two was enough to make these Great Knights, who stood at the pinnacle of the mortal world and bore the responsibility of their families, willing to take the risk.’

’But this Wild Wizard of unknown origin, all alone out here—what guarantee could he offer?’

’Nothing but empty promises.’

’It was better to trust the edge of my Flying Sword than to trust his sincerity.’

’As for exposing my strength...’

Murphy’s fingers unconsciously brushed against the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The medicinal power of the Heart of the Fierce Sun he had consumed last night had been completely absorbed by his formidable physique.

Although the total amount and quality of his "Qi" had not increased, his "Essence," which was already as high as 3.0, had been forcefully refined once more by that tyrannical medicinal power, steadily rising by 0.1 to reach 3.1.

An increase of 0.1 might seem insignificant, but for his physical foundation, which was already far beyond his peers, it meant a greater carrying capacity, faster Recovery Power, and a higher tolerance threshold for various extreme Energy impacts.

This gave him a much more solid foundation for dealing with the harsh environment of the Deep Red Wilderness and any sudden battles.

And as for the Flying Sword.

After fusing with the Spiritual Material refined from the giant beast’s carapace, the Flying Sword’s enhancement was initially complete.

’Refined Gold for its Immortal Sword Bone, Thunder Marrow for its Thunder Sword Soul, and the newly added Spiritual Material for the Sword Veins that flow between them.’

The three components complemented each other, not only solving the previous issue of the Thunder Marrow’s Dao Patterns being fragile but also elevating the Flying Sword’s overall power to a new level.

Now, the Flying Sword’s attack intensity had steadily reached 7.6 degrees.

Don’t be fooled by the mere 0.1 increase. This enhancement was a holistic leap based on a completely optimized structure and the elimination of internal conflicts. It meant more stable output, greater sustained combat capability, and more reliable killing power against high-intensity enemies.

The Thunder Punishment Dao Pattern would no longer risk shattering after being fully activated twice. Instead, it could now stably and continuously exhibit its "Rapid," "Piercing," and "Annihilation Burst" characteristics.

And an attack intensity of 7.6 degrees surpassed the threshold for an Official Wizard by 0.6 points, which was equivalent to a fifty-percent increase.

’But it was only fifty percent...’

’That’s why I couldn’t hold back.’

’When facing an Official Wizard with malicious intentions and unknown methods, once I struck, it had to be with the force of a thunderbolt to ensure a decisive kill.’

’Any probing or holding back could have given him a chance to breathe, to trigger some unknown life-saving measure or a trump card for mutual destruction.’

So, from the moment he appeared, he had been gathering his power.

The verbal spar was both to gather information and to observe and judge, searching for the safest moment to strike.

The moment the Wizard thought he had control of the situation, using coercion and pressure, was also the precise instant his mind was most relaxed and a tiny gap appeared in his defenses.

When the Flying Sword left its sheath, it was with his full power.

The Thunder Marrow Power was unleashed without reservation, imbued with the sword’s enhanced sharpness and explosive force. The goal was to pierce a vital point in a single strike and use the rampaging Thunderbolt Power to utterly destroy his life force from within, along with any possible means of spiritual escape.

And the result was just as he had expected.

Except...

"This weak?" Murphy stared at the scorched stain, a trace of doubt flashing through his mind.

’Although the Flying Sword’s power has greatly increased, and it was a sneak attack, he was still an Official Wizard. His Spiritual Power should have been at least 4.0, and he should have had an endless array of Protective Magic and life-saving techniques.’

’But in reality, aside from what seemed to be two layers...’

’...perhaps there really were two layers of barrier defenses...’

In any case, Murphy hadn’t observed them closely before he successfully pierced the hastily assembled defenses. The Wizard had barely been able to mount any effective resistance or counterattack.

This wasn’t much different from the strength of the Shadow Hunter he had encountered before.

"Another... Wild Wizard?" Murphy mused.

’Wild Wizards, who lack a complete heritage and a deep foundation, who advance by relying on chance or fragmented knowledge, often have real combat power far below members of large organizations of the same rank.’

’They have the realm but not the corresponding foundation, knowledge, or combat experience. Just like this one—he had his schemes but underestimated his opponent and overestimated himself. Once he was ambushed by the Flying Sword, his defeat was as swift as a landslide.’

’It seems Wizards inside the Holy City and those outside are two different breeds.’ Murphy reined in his thoughts, no longer dwelling on the matter.

In any case, the threat had been eliminated.

He walked over to the scorched stain and swept it meticulously with his Spiritual Power, confirming there were no residual soul fragments or hidden tracking marks.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, his gaze was drawn to a faint glint of light at the edge of the scorch mark, within a puddle of charred gore.

Murphy’s eyes narrowed, and he stopped in his tracks.

’This seems similar to the relic on the Shadow Hunter’s body?’