Ed put up his guard after noticing the change in this floor. Ed had been killing nonstop lately. But, an even larger number of monsters was strolling around. Ed also noticed that they were more aggressive than usual. Any monster that noticed Ed would attack him immediately. Usually, they would take their time, but now they seemed impatient. Monsters being highly active usually meant one of two things. The tower was supplying them with a higher amount of QI increasing their abilities. Or the boss monster was out.
Ed didn't notice this situation before in earlier floors. The monsters weren't strong enough to pose a challenge. But, on this floor, their number and their cultivation level meant a dangerous outcome. This was also one of the reasons why people from the Central Government would go as far as hiring a person with a high cultivation to kill boss monsters. If they are left alone, it would spell trouble for lower leveled cultivators.
Ed got Raikou to enter his shadow while he recalled Suika and the others. If the boss monster had indeed appeared, then he needed to find it quickly. In order to do so, he was going to run around the floor in high-speed movement.
Many monsters tried to block Ed when they notice him moving around. Some of them ran behind him at full strength while others actually threw themselves in front of him. Ed didn't pay attention to any of them; he activated Ren and ran at full power. Be it trees or monsters, whatever was in front of him was thrown away. Even Wraiths, who could fly, weren't spared. They were almost crushed by the sheer amount of the wind that surrounded Ed as he was running.
Suddenly, while running, Ed crossed paths with a frightening aura. He felt it as he clearly was using Nen which made him extra sensitive to auras. As soon as Ed registered the aura, he was filled with fear. This wasn't because of its strength or anything; it was simply due to the nature of the aura. Ed could only describe as a massive accumulation of the hate and regrets of people. A mere fraction of a second made Ed remember the worst moments of his life. Especially the most recent one.
Ed was now sure that the boss monster had spawned. No normal monster would make him experience this. He was also sure that the monster this time was far more dangerous than anyone he had met before. Even the killing intent of the mysterious man that appeared after the tournament at the academy seemed incomparable to this one. 'Their cultivation should be far apart from each other, so why?'. Ed thought while moving towards the origin of the aura. He had no choice but to kill the floor boss in order to move ahead.
While following the trail of the aura, Ed noticed that the area he stumbled upon hasn't been in his Map until now. It was as if it appeared exactly this night. 'Perhaps the boss appears only during a blood moon night,' Ed thought while looking at the sinister moon in the sky.
The area where Ed was didn't help with the mood either. He was now inside a cemetery, with tombstones scattered around. 'Who put these tombstones here? And why…'Ed was wondering about the reason for the existence of these tombstones. If someone lost their comrades in this place, it would be obvious to carry their bodies in a spatial ring. Then, give them a proper burial after leaving the tower. There was no reason why they would bury them in a place where undead roamed around. Especially since this place seemed like the area of the boss.
After walking for a little longer, Ed was now in an open space. He could see a cloaked figure standing in the middle while facing the other way. Ed approached carefully as he could confirm that the aura belonged to the figure. After only a dozen or so meters were left between Ed and the figure, it spoke. "Welcome," A crackling voice sounded and echoed in the area. It seemed to be a voice that didn't belong to this world, or rather, shouldn't belong. Every time Ed heard the echo, his body hair would stand up in fear.
'It can speak…' This fact alone spelled trouble for Ed. Monsters that could converse would usually have an advanced cultivation and intelligence. It was also the first time Ed was able to meet one that belonged to this category of monsters. The figure turned around slowly to meet Ed. After looking at it, Ed could identify its species. It looked like a skeleton that was yet to lose its skin. Yet its nose was missing and its eyes were replaced with a red glow. It was similar to a mummy without the distinct bandages. Its red cloak gave it an even more menacing feeling.
Ed had to make sure of the true nature of the monsters, so he scanned it.
Name Elder Lich.
Cultivation: Heavenly Establishment level 1.
'As expected…' Ed could feel cold sweat rolling down his back. Although the monster was only level 1, this was enough to strike fear in the heart of many. Especially since the system confirmed that its rank was Legendary. This meant that its abilities would be able to outclass any monster that was Earth Establishment level 10 by a lot. The gap between those two levels was not easy to overcome. This was evident as even Raikou couldn't easily attain such a level. Ed was able to achieve cross-ranking kills before, but he wasn't as confident this time. The monster was too imposing.
"You've come to advance to the next floor, right?" Ed's train of thought was interrupted by the frightening voice of the Elder Lich. "First you have to defeat me," The Elder Lich released its QI and Ed immediately withdrew his Katanas. He also summoned Suika and the others. Raikou got out of Ed's shadow and looked tense. Much more compared to the time when they fought the Kyuubi. "First let's warm you up" The Elder Lich spoke and seemed to use some kind of magic.
Ed put his guard up and suddenly noticed that undead monsters were appearing one after the other. They weren't walking here; instead, they appeared out of thin air. "Be sure not to disappoint me." The Elder Lich spoke like a classical villain. While the undead monsters were approaching Ed and the others.
Hello everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter.
"Get behind me!" Ed told his companions. He gripped his Muramasa hard as he concentrated fire magic on it. The heat was so intense that it began to make the air around the sword warp. "Blazing Blade!" Ed used another one of his original techniques. A sea of flames erupted from his sword and engulfed all the undead monsters. With the undead being weak to fire, Ed decided to capitalize on this element in this fight. At least until he is able to kill the scrubs.
Most of the undead monsters that were summoned were weaker than the ones who were already on this floor. The skill alone killed them in an instant. However, Ed didn't care about those monsters. His only target was the Elder Lich, who wasn't even touched by a lick of flames. It was as if a barrier surrounded its body, making it impenetrable. Ed was baffled at this. Granted, this skill wasn't the strongest he could use. But, it not being able to even approach the body of the Lich was abnormal.
'I guess we're in for a long fight.' Ed thought to himself while activating his Sharingan. He didn't plan to use the Mangekyo Sharingan from the start as he didn't know how long this fight would last. Plus, trump cards should be kept until a critical moment. "How about these for a change!" The Elder Lich spoke as he activated another one of his magic abilities. This time, instead of the feeble zombies and ghouls, he summoned armored skeletal warriors. All of them looked like Legendary warriors that were summoned back to this world in order to wreak havoc.
Everyone in Ed's team started to take things seriously. Due to the number of skeletons that were summoned, every one of them was fighting at least three of them. Ed and Raikou planned to finish their opponents quickly and go to help the other. But, this proved more difficult than they thought. The armor that the skeletons wore had a weakening effect, making them take less damage. 'No way around it!' Ed activated his Nen. His increased attack power was able to overcome the armor's defenses. The rest of his teammates were able to slowly overcome their enemies.
'How can they be this strong…'. Ed had more difficulty with these Skeletons than he did with any other non-boss monster. The opponent this time was definitely in a class of his own. "Not bad! Not bad at all! Then try to overcome these guys!!" The Elder Lich continued to speak in high energy. Ed could only think about how an undead could be so energetic. Ed, this time, didn't stand around without doing anything. He attacked the Elder Lich by some flying slashes in order to get him to stop his magic. Regretfully, The barrier stopped the attacks.
"You know, it's proper manners to let someone finish their magic before attacking. I didn't stop you when you used that fire skill…" The Elder Lich had a sad and confused face. It seemed like his feelings were hurt. 'What now, are we in a manga?!' Ed retorted in his mind and stopped attacking. Even if he could break his barrier, it would be embarrassing if he did attack after being told by a Lich. "Then let me continue." The Elder Lich finished his magic and this time, something terrifying came out.
Six headless horsemen came out one after the other. 'Dullahan…' Ed could recognize them as he knew about this type of creature before. However, the ones in front of him lacked a distinct feature. They didn't have a head in their hands. All of them were pitch black in color, their horses included. Each one of them stood in front a member of Ed's team. It was now a one on one battle. "Everyone, don't hold back!" Ed couldn't let his teammates die because of them conserving their power for the Elder Lich. Even if they were exhausted after the fight, Ed would figure something out.
Ed engaged in battle with the enemy in front of him. Being at Earth Establishment level 8, the Dullahan was further ahead than Ed considering only cultivation. But Ed planned to finish this fast. He charged straight at his opponent. Before either the horse or the horseman could react, Ed was in front of them. Ed planned to cut the horse's legs fist in order to make the Dullahan lose its advantage over Ed. But as he was slashing, he felt an attack coming towards him. The Dullahan's spear cut through the air while aiming at Ed. If not for Ed's Sharingan, he would not have been able to read its trajectory.
Ed used Shusui, which was hanging on his wait, and blocked the attack. Ed was pushed back a couple of steps. Although Ed was not using Nen, it was still surprising to make his retreat. 'Guess I really can't hold back' Ed started taking his own advice and used Ken. Along with both of his swords, Ed was able to slowly overwhelm the Dullahan. His ability to parry the spear attack, even though the Dullahan had the advantage, gave him the upper hand in the fight. Even the horse tried to injure Ed, trying to bite him or hit him with its front legs. But, to no avail.
As Ed felt the Dullahan weakening, he crossed both of his swords in front of him. He used Fire magic on both of them and slashed upwards. A small explosion occurred once the flames connected with his enemy. Ed was finally able to win his battle. But, as he turned around to check on his teammates, he didn't see the Elder Lich anywhere. Ed got a bad feeling and activated his En, Ryūsui Seikūken, and Observation Haki. The three skill being layered on top of each other allowed Ed to perceive everything. Even the leafs falling down from the nearby trees were within his reach. His En could now be maintained at a constant distance of 40 meters.
'There!' Ed was able to catch the Elder Lich while it was teleporting. It could use space magic as well. The Elder Lich was targeting Gobuta who was still fighting his opponent. Ed used a short teleport and intercepted the Elder Lich who was about to attack Gobuta. His two swords struck the barrier and pushed him back.
"You bastard! You kept talking earlier about how unfair it is to attack someone while they're using magic. And now, you're attacking someone who is fighting!" Ed pointed one of his swords at the Elder Lich who broke his own rule.
Hello everyone! Some good news! I successfully passed my exams(barely)!. Now I won't have to repeat a year xD. Now all that remains is my internship, which will end at the beginning of August. After that, I'll have some free time, and I should be able to do another mass release!
Thank you for your support for the novel and I hope you continue to be able to like it!
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