Daily Rewards! Transmigrating into a novel as a side-character!

The approach was working, but I needed to maintain this pace while conserving enough energy for whatever final challenge awaited me after defeating all the guardians.

With six opponents remaining, I leaped backward to regain my footing and create some distance. The stone guardians had closed in around me during my assault on their fallen companion, and staying surrounded in the middle of their formation was becoming increasingly dangerous.

Whoosh! Thud!

I landed several meters away, immediately assessing the positions and conditions of my remaining enemies. My vision quickly identified the most promising target.

Clang! Dent!

The statue closest to me was the trickiest opponent I had faced so far, it carried a large stone shield that it had been using effectively to block several of my blood spear attacks. The shield showed significant damage from our previous exchanges, with deep cracks running along its surface.

The shield was clearly on the verge of complete failure, making this the perfect opportunity to eliminate this particularly defensive opponent.

I charged directly toward the shield-bearing statue, my enhanced speed allowing me to close the distance before it could properly coordinate with its companions.

My sword struck the damaged shield with tremendous force, finally shattering the stone barrier completely. Fragments of enchanted stone scattered across the shrine floor as the guardian's primary defence crumbled.

Slash! Slash!

With the shield destroyed, I immediately began targeting the statue's head with repeated strikes, each blow creating deeper fractures in the stone construction.

CRACK! Chip!

The head was beginning to show serious structural damage when the other five statues forced me to reconsider my position.

They had closed in rapidly, surrounding my position and launching a counter-attack to protect their damaged companion.

Multiple stone weapons struck my Stone Armor in rapid succession, testing the limits of my defensive capability. The Stone Armor absorbed the impacts effectively, but I could feel the echo's energy slowly being drained with each blow.

I was forced to retreat several steps to avoid being completely overwhelmed by their assault. The partially damaged shield-bearer managed to stumble away from me, its head cracked but still functional.

While my echo was still providing protection, I couldn't afford to let it break. Once the armour shattered, I could lose access to my Echo ability entirely, and that wasn't something I could afford to sacrifice in this situation.

The remaining six guardians had learned from their fallen companion's fate and were now fighting with improved coordination.

More blood spears began taking shape above my head as I prepared for the next phase of this increasingly challenging battle.

For the first time since the battle had begun, I decided to activate my {Blood Enhancement} ability on the rare-rank sword that my father had given me. The blade had served me during this fight, increasing the damage I had been dealing.

I channelled my bloodline power directly into the weapon.

Once again, I pushed forward aggressively, moving so quickly that I appeared as little more than a shadow weaving between the stone guardians. My improved speed and the weapon's enhanced cutting power gave me decisive advantages.

I faked a direct assault on one of the attackers positioned to my left, causing several statues to shift their defensive positions to intercept what they perceived as my primary target. At the last moment, I diverted and attacked the same damaged statue that still carried the remnants of its broken shield.

CRASH! SHATTER!

My blood-enhanced sword struck the shield's weakened structure with devastating force, finally obliterating the defensive barrier completely. Stone fragments exploded outward as the guardian's last protection crumbled to dust.

The other five statues immediately recognized the danger and took advantage of my momentary focus on destroying the shield. They closed in rapidly, positioning themselves for what appeared to be a coordinated, full-scale assault designed to overwhelm my defences.

Stone swords, axes, and maces all prepared to strike simultaneously from multiple angles. They perceived that this was their best opportunity to land decisive blows while I was engaged with their companion.

WHOOSH! CLASH! THUD!

The coordinated attack launched with tremendous force, all five weapons converging on my position with lethal intent.

"Null Strike."

The familiar sphere of negation erupted around me just as their attacks entered my immediate range. The devastating coordinated assault that should have shattered even enhanced armor simply ceased to exist the moment it encountered my own strike.

The five attacking statues found themselves completely off-balance as their weapons met absolute nothingness instead of resistance. Their momentum carried them forward into vulnerable positions.

Opportunity!

I immediately took advantage of their confusion to focus all my attention on the now-defenceless shield-bearing statue. Without its protective barrier, it had no way to prevent my assault.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

My blood-enhanced sword carved through the statue's stone neck, each strike creating deeper fractures until the head finally separated completely.

The head hit the shrine floor with a heavy thud as I immediately began searching for the power source within the torso.

After several precise strikes, I located and extracted the brilliant crystal core, its red energy pulsing with concentrated magical power.

The valuable component joined the first crystal in my storage ring, adding to my growing collection of rare crafting materials.

With its power source removed, the second statue crumbled into lifeless rubble.

Without pausing to catch my breath, I immediately charged back toward the five remaining guardians, who had recovered from their confusion and were repositioning for continued combat.

What followed was an intense three-minute period of fighting. My blood-enhanced weapon carved through stone constructions, while my Null Strike technique continued to neutralize their most dangerous coordinated attacks.

CRASH! SHATTER! CRUMBLE!

One by one, the ancient guardians fell to my relentless assault. Each statue followed the same pattern, targeted strikes to disable mobility, focused attacks on the head and torso, extraction of the power crystal, and final collapse into rubble.

Three more precious crystals joined my collection as I dismantled the remaining defenders.

The last guardian collapsed with a thunderous crash that echoed throughout the shrine, its red eyes finally going dark as I extracted its power source.