Bear School Astartes

The three centipedes on the old monk's body only stiffened for a moment under the [Residual Oil] upon initial contact, and then seemed to adapt to it.

Capable of slaying ordinary parasite-infested insects, [Residual Oil] here seemed either not concentrated enough or not potent enough. In any case, the three centipedes didn't care.

"This is really troublesome."

Iwami Yixin sighed with a smirk at the corner of his mouth, then charged forward once more.

When faced with an enemy that cannot be killed by ordinary means, most people, upon realizing this fact, would have only one option in mind—avoid battle.

However, today, there were no 'ordinary people' standing here in this hall of thirty-three spaces.

One was the former [Sword Saint] who single-handedly repelled the forces of the Inner Mansion, the other two were a warrior and a ninja who had nothing left to lose in the world, and then there was...

...then there was the Demon Hunter, who was used to facing all sorts of demonic entities and had come for a blood debt!

Can't kill?

Then hack away while thinking!

Iwami Yixin slashed away at one side of a centipede's appendage, as if peeling the skin off sugarcane, sparks flying everywhere.

Another centipede took advantage and attacked his back, but the old man didn't glance at it.

"Alder!"

"Boom!"

The massive insect that was launched was directly knocked back by the shockwave, and as it persistently tried to return, Lann's blade sliced through the air.

With a single strike, the centipede's body was shortened by a segment.

"Mind telling me what 'too late' means?"

The Demon Hunter parried the frenzied claws of the remaining centipede limbs with a battered sword, calmly questioning the Immortal Peak Master.

"'Cradle'... the 'cradle' that can bear the Divine Dragon is nearing completion... the Abbot... the Abbot is going to realize the danger I've posed."

Abbot?

This word made Lann's eyes suddenly widen.

He realized an issue he had overlooked all along.

In the East Japan temples, 'Master' is a high-level title. Although it's high-ranking, it's not the highest.

For example, the Immortal Peak Master's official title is 'Preacher Master.' In Immortal Peak Temple, there are several masters overseeing different areas.

The equivalent title to 'Abbot' in his hometown's temples is referred to as 'Seated Master' or 'Mountain Master' in East Japan.

How did the Immortal Peak Temple end up like this... where did their Abbot go?!

"For the sake of swallowing the fish and housing the Undying Insect... ageless, immortal... the one who guards the Divine Dragon..."

The Immortal Peak Master murmured dryly, the short blade piercing from his skull to his chin making a teeth-grinding sound as it rubbed against his brittle bones.

"The Abbot's name is... Eight Hundred Nuns."

"Lann! Behind you!"

The slow, arduous tone of the Immortal Peak Master unexpectedly overlapped with the urgent warning of Black Conical Hat at the last moment.

At this moment, Lann suddenly felt a sharp, needle-like pain pierce through his right flank.

His two hearts began to operate involuntarily at high efficiency, the genetic seed automatically coordinating his organs to maximize their function.

His sensory acuity heightened, and the cat's eye on his eyeball narrowed into a slit!

Vaguely, Lann seemed to hear a low, eerie cackle from behind.

"Ho ho ha."

Reacting almost instinctively without thought.

Lann's sword-wielding instincts drove him to pull the blade to the right side of his torso.

Not a leisurely one-handed block, but with one hand on the hilt and the other bracing the blade back in a full-force defensive stance!

"Clang!!! Ka-la!"

Only when the force and weapon struck his blade did Lann realize what he was blocking.

It was a phantom-like, scarily long glaive! Just by its sapphire glow and size, you could tell the wielder was at least as large as a beast.

And the force was even more exaggerated.

Lann's battered blade shattered, the Demon Hunter relying on the blade's rear impact force to push himself away before it completely disintegrated, narrowly avoiding the ghostly blade from touching him.

Even so, Lann could only thrust the remaining hilt into the ground ferociously, leaving a menacing gouge at least five meters long on the smooth temple floor before he stopped being flung backward.

Raising his head to look.

From the reflected shadows of the temple's candlelight, golden foil, and brass Buddhist statues, a massive figure emerged, clutching Buddhist Beads in one hand, holding a long glaive in the other, with a sinister grin.

She had a surreal presence akin to a holographic projection, leaving traces of purple flames in the air as she moved.

Adorned in a splendid kasaya and monk's robes, yet wore a bone-white Hannya mask on her face.

Merging compassion with malevolence and grotesqueness, just looking at her chills the spine.

Is this the... abbot of Vajra Mountain Immortal Peak Temple?

Like a dance, the Eight Hundred Nuns' voluminous monk's robes and enormous physique would rotate fully when wielding that oversized glaive.

Centrifugal force, gravity, and her own physical strength combined, every slash, every posture executed with intimidating power!

... How many years has she honed her blade?

The phantom-like long glaive slashed at Lann and, due to position, aimed straight for Old Robert.

Lann backhanded the discarded hilt and drew the Aron Dite from his back, charging forward.

Though the glaive's blade had a steel texture, it seemed undoubtedly phantasmal. Lann couldn't believe it lacked any peculiar properties.

Old Robert's armor was indestructible purely due to the quality of the ores and superior craftsmanship, but had no mystical protection.

Even if the Eight Hundred Nuns' phantom blade was no different from a real one... her skill and strength were entirely sufficient to cleave Old Robert inside the armor!

Before Lann could arrive, a samurai sword with burnt patterns nimbly blocked the glaive.

The size contrast was like blocking a club with a pen!

"Brilliant swordsmanship! Nothing innovative, but so solid it's terrifying, Master Abbot!"

An emaciated old man laughed heartily.

Lann charged in from the side, his normal-height horizontal slash aimed precisely at the opponent's waist.

But at the moment of crossing blades with Iwami Yixin's Golden Iron Dragon-Slaying Blade, a ring of sparks erupted, and the Eight Hundred Nuns seemed to predict Lann's move.

She swiftly floated upward without hesitation.

The slow ascent, the jump height defying logic, the lingering airtime... this one's Light Body Skill was more outrageous than most ninjas!

Her leap looked just like a slow-motion stage effect, full of dissonance.

The Eight Hundred Nuns had no intention of a drawn-out battle with Lann and Iwami Yixin; she drifted directly towards the Immortal Peak Master.

There, Old Robert and Black Conical Hat Li were grappling with three ferocious centipedes.

The two of them were already not at the level of Lann and Iwami Yixin; Black Conical Hat was still heavily injured and had just taken medicine, barely holding on.

The Eight Hundred Nuns descended like a paper sheet, slashing out a blade path that left a massive fan-shaped mark in the air.

Though her blade lacked an air blade, her solid foundation still caused distinct air refraction along the path after slicing through.

This change in air density persisted for over a second mid-air, striking fear into onlookers.

Black Conical Hat even felt he couldn't escape.

But then the dancing glaive-wielding phantom seemed to suddenly sense something.

The fan-shaped arc only swung halfway before hastily retracting beside her head, the blade edge outward, blocking something.

With a "clang!" sound, sparks flew. A special bullet ricocheted off the narrow blade surface of the glaive.

Before the Eight Hundred Nuns could react, Lann had already followed the trajectory of his own projectile and rushed in close.

Even greater metallic collision and sparks!

Lann wielded the Lady of the Lake's Sword, the blade pressing against the long shaft of the glaive, pinning the mid-air levitating Eight Hundred Nuns utilizing Light Body Skill to the ground!

Black Conical Hat Li quickly leapt aside, barely restraining a snarling undying insect.

The situation was dire; those three undying insects that emerged from the Immortal Peak Master's body seemed even more frenzied by the arrival of the abbot.

Their writhing bodies roared, less like venomous serpents spitting, more like venomous dragons howling skyward!

Black Conical Hat Li's eyes twitched with fear and panic.

The appearance of the Vajra Mountain abbot and her exceptional combat prowess left him completely unnerved.

Immortal Peak Master and Eight Hundred Nuns' pincer attack... even if there were four of them, fatigue was inevitable.

Iwami Yixin was already gasping for breath, yet the undying ones never tired, and they still hadn't found a way to kill advanced undying beings.

Sooner or later, they'd be worn down... What to do? What to do?!

"Black Hat."

In the moment of Black Conical Hat Li's confusion, Lann's calm tone pulled him back to reality.

"Undying Slash."

"The three of us will hold them off; you go find the Undying Slash!"

"That thing is very important; the Immortal Peak Temple wouldn't place it in a remote area, it's nearby! Go find it!"