Chương 137: Battle!

The soldiers of the 10th Guard Company firmly executed Li Qinwu's will. With resolute and rapid strides, they charged the enemy, pressed their musket muzzles against the chests of human soldiers, and fired—every single shot precisely shattering the plate armor of a heavy infantryman. Their momentum did not falter after firing. With bloodshot eyes, they leveled their bayonets and skewered the lightly armored or unarmored militia behind the frontline soldiers.

Armor was torn asunder, blades clashed in a metallic symphony, and men screamed as they struck each other, splashing blood across the battlefield. Two kilometers behind the front line, the beautiful girls stood in a formation, singing in unison.

"The light of the Divine shines upon the world."

"Dispelling pain and darkness."

"Guiding lost souls on their path."

"Leading the stray lambs to the true Divine Kingdom!" Saintess Vivienne stood before the choir, leading the harmonic chorus. Whenever every syllable of a stanza was sung with absolute precision, the pure pendant on Vivienne's forehead radiated a brilliant, pristine white light. This pendant and Vivienne served as the core of the magic array; the 100 choir members acted as living runes, their singing driving the flow of mana and intensifying the concentration of Light magic in the surrounding space.

The beautiful, holy singing spilled from their lovely lips, forming a stark, jarring contrast with the men slaughtering each other on the front lines just two kilometers away. It was a scene of surreal, fractured reality. On the battlefield, Li Qinwu was a raging beast. He plunged into the enemy ranks, swinging his greatsword with reckless abandon. His eyes were bloodshot from the slaughter. The intense Light magic made every breath feel like inhaling boiling water through his nasal passages.

The itching, prickly pain on his skin had evolved into a burning, searing agony. His tear ducts worked overtime, causing his eyes to feel as if they were being pricked by needles.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!! Glorious Punishment Army!! Brave 10th Guard Company! Never retreat! Kill! Kill! Kill!!" Li Qinwu rampaged through the formation. With one swing of his greatsword, he shattered the skulls of three men. In less than three seconds, he followed up with four or five more slashes, decapitating over ten unarmored soldiers. He dared not stop. If he stopped, he would be forced to focus on the all-consuming pain radiating from his skin.

He had to transform himself into a killing machine, hacking away at the enemy to vent the agony of his flesh. The soldiers of the 10th Guard Company were the same. They turned into feral beasts, butchering the enemy one by one. They dared not stop; a moment's pause would mean being overwhelmed by the excruciating pain! In that moment, the maddened 10th Guard Company unleashed an unstoppable momentum, inflicting horrific casualties upon the enemy in the blink of an eye. The human soldiers broke again.

With morale already shattered and suffering catastrophic losses—their dreams of glory and wealth reduced to rubble—the enemy soldiers discarded their weapons and armor, scattering in a panicked rout. The only ones left standing to fight the 10th Guard Company were about 200 men—the personal guard of Count Fischer, the elite of the elites, who had enjoyed the patronage of the Fischer family for generations. Those who eat the king's food must be loyal to the king.

In this final hour, the personal guards risked their lives, desperate to repay the debt of favor to the Fischer house. Yet, before the maddened soldiers of the 10th Guard Company, even these elites dissolved like snowflakes. Bayonets thrust from every direction, rifle butts smashed skulls, and musket balls tore through flesh, extinguishing their lives. Glory and loyalty were ripped apart, mixing with the mud to rot into waste. Li Qinwu roared various rallying cries while swinging his greatsword.

His entire body was drenched in blood; over twenty enemies had died by his hand alone. Seeing that the main body of enemy soldiers had fled, but the core target was still chanting in the distance, he knew he couldn't afford a moment's delay. He bellowed:"Warriors! Follow me! Eliminate the running dogs of the False God! Bring them the punishment of death!!" Without looking back to see how many were following, he strode boldly toward the choir.

Knight Captain Tor, guarding Vivienne, was shocked to see the monster charging their way. As a high-ranking military officer of the Church of the Goddess of Life, he knew better than anyone how powerful the choir's sacred arts were. No monster should be able to approach while the sacred art was active—the sensation of burning like one was being incinerated by fire was something no monster could endure. Yet, before his eyes, a goblin army was doing exactly that.

A force of less than a thousand, the lowest and weakest of goblins, were relying on sheer willpower to resist the pain of the sacred art and launching such a resolute attack! For a split second, he actually felt a sense of respect for his formidable enemy!

"Paladins! Engage!" Knight Captain Tor roared. 300 paladins drew their swords and raised heavy, pure-iron round shields, moving to intercept Li Qinwu's force. They were the glorious Paladins, the messengers of the Goddess of Life, the sword and shield protecting the world from demonic infestation. As long as they stood, the choir would not suffer a single scratch!

The 300 paladins, already massed together as the final defensive line for the choir, raised their shields and drew their steel upon receiving the order, charging toward the oncoming goblins. Only about 500 men followed Li Qinwu, including the Ogre, Dang-Dang; the other Punishment Army soldiers were still locked in combat with Count Fischer's elite guards. The 500 men were being driven insane by the intense Light magic.

The agonizing pain had reduced their brains to a single-tracked process: listen to the Boss's orders. If the Boss told them to charge, they charged. If the Boss told them to kill, they killed. If the Boss told them to die, they would die. The pain had stripped away their ability to think!

"Kill! Glorious 10th Guard Company, destroy everyone before you! Scatter the shadows the False God cast upon the goblin race! Brandish your weapons at the evil dogs of the False God! Use everything you have to carve out our future!!" His roar echoed across the field, driving the maddened goblins to scream in unison. A moment later, the black tide and the green wave collided with a sickening thud, erupting into the most brutal slaughter yet.

Muskets fired at point-blank range shattered plate armor, Paladins swung blades to sever limbs, and the Ogre smashed bodies into the dirt. Li Qinwu found himself face-to-face with Knight Captain Tor—or rather, Tor had targeted Li Qinwu, the largest and best-equipped of the goblins. He believed this must be the special leader mentioned in the intelligence reports; if he killed him, the other goblins would panic and their morale would collapse.

As they closed the distance, Knight Captain Tor thrust his blade at Li Qinwu. But Li Qinwu, already pushed beyond his limit, felt as if he were under a permanent adrenaline buff. He gathered every ounce of strength in his body and brought his massive greatsword crashing down. That terrifyingly large sword, one that an ordinary human could use for bench presses, was swung with the speed of a rapier.

The sheer intimidation made Tor's hand tremble; his thrust veered off-course, and he frantically raised his left shield to save his life. CLANG! A thunderous sound rang out as the greatsword struck the iron shield, throwing brilliant sparks into the dark night. Tor groaned as the massive force drove him to one knee. His shield, strapped to his left arm, absorbed the brunt; his left hand immediately went numb, and the iron shield was left with a massive dent. Knight Captain Tor was horrified.

How does this goblin possess such terrifying, monstrous strength? He had no time to think, for Li Qinwu had already raised his greatsword again, ready to split his skull. Even with a helmet on, that kind of force would flatten the metal and pulverize the head underneath. He scrambled to raise his shield to block. CLANG! Another deafening roar. The shield was deformed beyond recognition, and Tor let out a pained cry as he felt the bones in his left arm snap. Li Qinwu raised the greatsword for a third strike.

Tor panicked—another hit like that and he would surely die. He frantically swung his sword, sending three beams of light slashing out. Li Qinwu's heart skipped a beat when he saw the light beams. He remembered the Hero Leon—that bastard could use his holy sword to fire beams that were lethally vicious, shattering armor and bodies with ease.

"Dammit! Is this guy also on the level of a Hero?" Li Qinwu stepped back and raised his greatsword to block. The three beams struck the greatsword, producing three metallic ringing sounds. Li Qinwu quickly checked his blade and saw only three faint scratches—very shallow, causing no real damage. Li Qinwu exhaled, relieved. That's it? The Hero Leon could snap his greatsword in two with a casual swipe, but this guy barely left a dent? He was a weakling! Li Qinwu smiled contemptuously and swung his sword again.

As long as he took out these 300 heavy infantrymen, he could slaughter those 100 defenseless women! If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. Li Qinwu closed in on Tor and swung a heavy blow. Tor raised his sword to parry. He tried to block Li Qinwu's two-handed chop with a one-handed parry, which failed miserably. The greatsword smashed through the parry and slammed onto Tor's shoulder guard, deforming the metal and shattering the bone beneath.

Tor screamed. Li Qinwu instantly raised the sword for a second strike. Tor was despairing, but what terrified him even more was looking around to see the 500 goblins fighting his Paladins—they were actually suppressing the Paladins! Even when the Paladins thrust their swords into the goblins' stomachs, the goblins would latch onto their arms and bite down with their teeth. With such terrifying combat resolve, they were shaking the foundation of his 300+ men.

Was the Paladin of the God actually going to be routed by monsters? As Li Qinwu was about to crush Tor's skull, Saintess Vivienne, commanding the choir behind them, opened her eyes. She gracefully drew the sword at her waist, pointing the tip directly at the goblins locked in melee with the Paladin Corps.

"Oh, Goddess! Please grant your power to this humble servant, to smite the evil, wipe away the darkness, dispel the shadows in men's hearts, and take away the suffering of the world! Holy Light!" The 100 choir members chanted in unison: " Holy Light!" A pristine beam of white light, as thick as a small finger, descended from the sky into the center of the melee. Then, the beam expanded into a 50-meter-wide ring of brilliance.

The night was instantly illuminated as bright as day, and a massive surge of Light energy slammed down, enveloping the main battlefield. The Paladins under the holy light felt a warm embrace; their exhausted stamina was restored, and the wounded were rapidly healed. Knight Captain Tor's broken arm was knit back together, restoring him to full health. The goblins, however, suffered catastrophic consequences. The overflowing Light magic reacted violently with the Dark mana inside their bodies.

Every single one of them felt unimaginable pain. Although the Holy Light lasted only a fraction of a second, the instantaneous damage was equivalent to being doused with 100-degree boiling water. The goblins caught in the Holy Light dropped to their knees, screaming in agony. Many burst into flames on the spot. All the goblins caught in the radius died instantly, falling in rows like burning campfires! Within that 50-meter radius, every goblin was wiped out—except for Li Qinwu, who remained standing.

"ROAAAAAAR!!!" The sheer magnitude of the pain forced a scream from Li Qinwu. As the strongest existence in the goblin clan, he frequently practiced magic, giving him ten times the Dark mana of the others. The reaction of the opposing mana within his body was the most intense. If one listened closely, one could hear a faint crackling sound—the friction of Light and Dark mana rubbing together! The consequence of this friction was combustion. Li Qinwu was engulfed in raging flames.

The pain he felt was ten times greater than when he had simply been "bathing" in the Light magic before!

"ROOOOAAAR!!" Li Qinwu howled again. Knight Captain Tor watched the flaming Li Qinwu with flickering eyes, feeling a sense of lucky reprieve. After that brief clash, he knew clearly that the monster before him was beyond his ability to defeat! Thank goodness for the Saintess, he thought. Otherwise, we would have fallen here. This tough guy should be going down now! Just as he thought that, he saw Li Qinwu, covered in flames, stop struggling.

Li Qinwu raised his left hand, and a massive water ball condensed above his head. When the water ball reached a certain size, Li Qinwu released it. Hiss! The flames on his body were extinguished, and a massive cloud of white steam rose up.

"You bastard! You can still fight?!" Knight Captain Tor swallowed, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He can still stand after taking a hit of Holy Light? This guy is truly something else! He signaled to the surrounding Paladins, and over 100 Paladins immediately swarmed to surround Li Qinwu. The other Paladins continued to fight the remaining goblins and the Ogre Dang-Dang; for the moment, no one came to reinforce them.

Facing the encirclement of over 100 men, Li Qinwu simply grabbed a handful of mud from the ground, smeared it onto his face to patch up the dry, flaking clay, and hoisted his greatsword onto his shoulder. He bent his knees, burst forward, and launched himself like a cannonball into the enemy ranks.

"So fast!" Tor's pupils dilated. He instinctively wanted to raise his shield, but the memory of Li Qinwu shattering his bones with two swings filled him with fear. Just as Li Qinwu rushed in front of him and brought down the sword, Tor dove to the left, dodging the strike. But the moment he dodged, those beside him paid the price. Li Qinwu's strike missed, but he immediately followed up with a rapid, heavy slash that cut a Paladin clean in half at the waist.

The unlucky bastard didn't even realize what happened before he was dead. Li Qinwu then charged at the surrounding Paladins, hacking indiscriminately. His greatsword was heavy and sharp, and with his monstrous strength, the plate armor the enemies wore was nothing more than thin tin; he cleaved through it in a single blow, spilling entrails everywhere. He killed four Paladins in quick succession and roared angrily at the sky: " It hurts so much!!!" With that, he kicked a Paladin who was rushing him.

The man flew backward, chest armor caved in, ribs shattered, vomiting blood before he even hit the ground. Li Qinwu was like a god of slaughter, swinging his greatsword with such force that it created a trail of shattered corpses. This consumed his stamina heavily, but the blessing of the Goddess of Earth poured a constant stream of energy from the ground into his body, replenishing his reserves and driving this machine of war!

"Quick! Attack! Stop him! Stop him!!" Knight Captain Tor yelled for the other Paladins to block him. He noticed that although Li Qinwu was slaughtering everything, his movements were consciously drifting toward the choir. He knew exactly what this monster was thinking—he absolutely could not allow him to break through the line! If this monster reached the choir, he couldn't even imagine the horrific consequences. The other Paladins understood Li Qinwu's intent as well, swarming in to block his path.

Knight Captain Tor stood at a safe distance, relentlessly firing beams of light at Li Qinwu's back, carving gouges into his plate armor. The Paladins proved worthy of the Goddess of Life's service; they were exceptionally brave. Despite being butchered like this, not a single one showed a hint of fear. They surrounded Li Qinwu from all sides, dozens of blades thrusting at him simultaneously. But these blades, lacking any special enchantment, couldn't even penetrate Li Qinwu's heavy-duty plate armor!

Facing these ant-bite attacks, Li Qinwu actually felt great. He understood exactly what the Hero Leon must have felt when he was surrounded by the Punishment Army's old 10th Company.

"So, I've become this strong already?" Li Qinwu allowed himself a tiny moment of pride. He smashed the head of a Paladin in front of him with his sword, then turned and cleaved another Paladin in two. He slashed left, stabbed right, leaving a trail of corpses. In the blink of an eye, he had killed over twenty men. He found the guy firing light beams at his back from afar incredibly annoying, so he picked up a round shield from the ground and flung it at him.

Knight Captain Tor dove to the side, dodging the flying shield, and continued to channel magic to fire another beam, leaving a scar on Li Qinwu's armor. Tor felt a wave of dizziness; firing consecutive light beams was draining his mana rapidly. He screamed internally:"Goddess above! Doesn't this monster get tired?!" Just as he thought this, he saw a Paladin smash a heavy two-handed warhammer onto Li Qinwu's back.

Li Qinwu stumbled forward, coughed up blood, turned, and cleaved the warhammer-wielding Paladin in half. His footsteps became sluggish, and his sturdy frame began to sway.

"Aha! He's tired!!" Knight Captain Tor shouted excitedly. Li Qinwu was tired. Even with the blessing of the Goddess of Earth funneling energy into him from the ground, the drain of facing 100 experienced heavy-armored Paladins was simply outpacing the replenishment. Worse, his skin was searing from the Light magic, his respiratory tract was swollen and bleeding from the burns, and every breath felt like fire in his lungs! His gait was unsteady, his body swaying.

His swings were no longer clean kills but crushing, bludgeoning strikes. Knight Captain Tor yelled to his soldiers: "He's exhausted! Warriors of the Goddess! Strike him down in one go!!" He charged forward, intending to be the first to take Li Qinwu's head. But Li Qinwu merely brought his sword down on the man's shield, and Knight Captain Tor was sent flying back the way he came. Tor slammed into the ground, pain radiating from everywhere. He was horrified: How does this guy still have the strength?!

Li Qinwu swung his final strike, squeezing out every last drop of energy. He could no longer hold the greatsword; he stabbed it into the ground, breathing like a bellows, ears buzzing, brain dizzy from oxygen deprivation. Li Qinwu glanced at the distant battlefield; the 10th Guard Company was still locked in combat with the remaining Paladins. As for the Ogre, Dang-Dang, he was surrounded, spinning in circles, trying to smash the enemies running behind him.

But the Ogre's reactions were slow; his great hammer only hit the ground, and he couldn't do a thing against the agile Paladins.

"It's up to me. If I can just rest for 10 seconds, I can build up enough strength to fight again!!" Li Qinwu felt the energy flowing from the soles of his feet into his body, thinking this to himself. But the enemy knew he was nearing his end and would give him no time to rest. They screamed and charged forward. Li Qinwu snorted coldly, pulled two hand-cannons from his inventory, and fired at the Paladins lunging at him. BOOM! BOOM! Two deafening roars.

A hail of lead balls slammed into the Paladins, shattering their armor, tearing their flesh, and turning them into screaming corpses. Li Qinwu fired two shots and killed 3 Paladins. He tossed the empty hand-cannons, pulled out two more, turned, and fired at the Paladins charging from behind. Another round of lead rained down, and the Paladins behind him were also mowed down. Li Qinwu continued to pull out hand-cannons pair after pair, pouring lead into the surrounding Paladins.

In a flash, over 30 Paladins had died under his firearm barrage! Knight Captain Tor climbed up from the ground again, his eyes filled with terror.

"Why are you so hard to kill, you monster? Why are you so hard to kill!!" Li Qinwu emptied his inventory of hand-cannons, scattering the surrounding Paladins. Feeling a slight recovery in his stamina, he pulled his greatsword from the ground and sprinted toward the distant choir.

"Asshole! Where are you going?! Stay here!!" Knight Captain Tor was shocked. The choir was not only a vital force for the Church of the Goddess of Life, but his lover was among them. He would absolutely not allow this! He tossed aside his severely deformed shield, picked up his sword, and chased Li Qinwu's back. The other Paladins, stunned by Li Qinwu's slaughter, regained their courage and charged after him.

Li Qinwu sprinted toward the choir, listening to the footsteps of the pursuing troops getting closer and closer. An evil smile spread across his face. Suddenly, he pulled a musket with +10 accuracy from his inventory, turned, and fired at the man in the lead! This feigned retreat was a trick he had learned from the Hero Leon; it had shocked him just a little bit back then. Now that he used this skill himself, the effect was spectacular.

The guy who appeared to be the leader of the Paladins was hit in the chest, screaming as he fell. A chest shot like that was a death sentence. The other Paladins panicked, calling out "Captain!" and rushing to help him. In truth, they were terrified of Li Qinwu and didn't dare to engage him anymore; they were just finding an excuse to help the leader so they wouldn't have to keep charging.

This was hardly their fault—having lost over 50 men to a single person without breaking formation despite the losses, they were elite indeed. Li Qinwu watched as 50 men stopped to help one and let out a mocking chuckle, knowing they were afraid. He seized the opportunity to rush toward the choir. But before he could take a few steps, the concentration of Light magic in the surrounding air surged again. A beam of holy light descended from the sky, and the night was once again illuminated as bright as day.

"WTF! Again?!" Li Qinwu howled, but he could do nothing but lower his head and cover his eyes with his hands. Saintess Vivienne was directing the choir while keeping an eye on the battlefield. When she saw her lover, Knight Captain Tor, fall and vomit blood after being struck by the monster's special weapon, her heart was gripped by intense pain. For the sake of her lover, she cast Holy Light once more.

Such large-scale sacred arts took a heavy toll, and the entire choir felt a heavy, throbbing sensation in their heads. The second Holy Light's range was only 20 meters, but it perfectly enveloped Knight Captain Tor and Li Qinwu. Bathed in the Holy Light, Knight Captain Tor felt the injury in his chest heal, the pain dispersed, and he felt as comfortable as if he were soaking in a hot spring. Li Qinwu, on the other hand, was scalded from head to toe by boiling water again.

The flames that had just been extinguished ignited once more, turning him into a human torch.

"ROAAAAAAR!!!" Li Qinwu wailed in madness. The flames were licking at his skin, tearing his flesh apart, and he no longer had the strength left to cast Water Ball to extinguish them. The agony of being burned by fire was beyond measure; Li Qinwu thrashed like a demon from hell, screaming in an endless, inescapable torture. Knight Captain Tor, with a hole in his chest armor, was helped to his feet by his men. He looked at Li Qinwu, now swallowed by raging flames, and sighed once more.

"He should be dead by now, right? He's definitely dead, right?" Then, he saw Li Qinwu, now a human torch, produce a small glass tube in his hand. Inside the glass tube was a crimson potion. Li Qinwu threw the vial into his mouth and crunched it, the red potion flowing into his gut. Instantly, his eyes turned blood-red, his strength doubled, and all pain was banished!