Boom, boom…
The ground rumbled, and John was feeling the pressure.
His strength had not fully recovered yet. Though his physical attributes were powerful, without the Power of Laws, the enemy’s ranged attacks still posed significant trouble for him.
“This is really troublesome,” he muttered as he fended off the attacks of a dozen or so Gnolls. His gaze swept rapidly across the battlefield.
“Capture the leader first,” he thought, spotting the Gnoll commander standing in a relatively safe position. However, at the moment, he couldn’t do anything about it.
“First, take care of the ranged Gnolls!” he decided in his mind. His longsword whistled through the air as he repelled the Gnolls in front of him.
Then, his figure blurred into an afterimage as he swiftly dashed toward the Gnolls positioned for ranged attacks.
“Quick, stop him!” the Gnoll commander shouted, realizing too late.
But it was already too late. John had already plunged into the ranks of the Gnolls, moving like a fish in water. His longsword cut through the air, causing chaos and slaughtering his enemies in a frenzy.
In no time, the Gnoll formation was in disarray, and cries of pain filled the air.
The Gnolls tried to counterattack a few times, but it was futile. Their efforts only resulted in more casualties.
In just a few minutes, hundreds of Gnolls had fallen.
“Damn it. Why is this human so strong?” the Gnoll leader cursed. While he didn’t care much about the casualties of his subordinates, the sudden loss of so many men would certainly draw the ire of the Strategist.
“Those two women!” His gaze turned cold as it fixed on Debbie and Spoorate.
He immediately issued a command: “Forget the human, capture those two women first.”
“You dare!” John shouted angrily, quickly dispatching more Gnolls in his path as he rushed toward the two women.
Debbie was only a one-star Awakened One. Though her Holy Light magic was powerful, it was no match for the numerous one- and two-star Gnolls attacking her. She couldn’t hold them off for long.
As for Spoorate, her strength was negligible, and she could barely defend herself.
The surrounding Gnolls immediately abandoned John and rushed toward the two women.
Debbie felt the pressure intensify. Her staff swung through the air, casting Holy Light magic spheres. She sent them flying, blocking the Gnolls’ attacks while trying to protect Spoorate as they retreated.
Her skill attacks had too little damage, barely managing to slow the advance of the Gnolls but not dealing any real damage.
With the Gnoll army pressing in relentlessly, the situation grew increasingly dire. Fortunately, at that critical moment, John charged in.
Voom!
The sword’s intent hummed, and a cold gleam flashed. With a single strike, four Gnolls were killed instantly.
Not a single Gnoll under his sword was merely wounded. Each blow was a fatal strike.
Debbie’s pressure was greatly relieved.
However, at that moment, the Gnolls quickly reorganized. The melee units moved to the front to hold John back, while the ranged units launched a barrage of attacks.
Countless magic spells and arrows whistled through the air, and this time, both Debbie and Spoorate were caught in the barrage as well.
“Master, there are too many Gnolls, we should retreat,” Debbie urged anxiously.
She and Spoorate couldn’t be of much help. They could only hide behind John, watching as he bore the brunt of the enemy’s attacks to protect them.
John, however, had no intention of retreating. To keep them safe, he had no choice but to face the oncoming attacks head-on.
“It’s fine. They can’t threaten me,” he said, frowning, as he disregarded the attacks and once again increased the speed of his slaughter, pushing forward toward the enemy’s main force, cutting through the Gnolls with relentless efficiency.
Blood sprayed in all directions, and screams filled the air as one Gnoll after another fell to his sword.
[You have killed a one-star Gnoll. Plunder ability activated. Restoring 0.0001% of base attributes.]
…
The prompt flashed, and John’s power began to recover. His four primary attributes rapidly increased, and he grew stronger with every kill. The Gnolls around him could no longer stop his advance.
Debbie and Spoorate stayed close behind him. Debbie continued casting Holy Light spells, trying to lessen the pressure on John.
Spoorate wanted to help, but her strength was too weak, and she couldn’t deal any damage to
the Gnolls.
“Who exactly is this guy?” The Gnoll commander watched John draw closer, his brow furrowing.
If this continued, they would likely be wiped out.
He clenched his teeth, turned to one of the nearby Gnolls, and ordered, “Go tell the strategist.
We’re in trouble. Have him bring reinforcements immediately.”
“Yes!” The Gnoll responded, quickly disappearing into the forest.
Meanwhile, the Gnoll commander drew his longsword and entered the fray.
He was a three-star Awakened One, even stronger than the overweight city lord, and with the
aid of the Gnoll army, he was able to bring John some serious pressure.
“Hmph, if that’s the case, I’ll kill you first!” John’s eyes locked onto the powerful Gnoll commander. His longsword flipped in his hand, and he abandoned the nearby Gnolls to focus all his attention on the commander.
Clang!
The swords collided, and the Gnoll commander was sent flying, crashing to the ground.
What kind of human is this? How is his strength so terrifying?
The Gnoll commander was stunned, his heart racing in shock. Gritting his teeth, he got back up and engaged John again, but this time, he dared not clash directly. Instead, he tried to stall for time, hoping for reinforcements.
“Master, it looks like they’re going to call for reinforcements,” Debbie noticed the
Gnoll commander’s intentions and reminded him.
“It’s fine,” John replied indifferently. He was actually glad for more enemies; it would help
him increase his strength.
Boom! Boom!
The rumbling continued, and the Gnolls grew more and more alarmed.
At first, their arrows and magic attacks were still able to inflict some damage on John.
But now, the damage was almost negligible.
This human was continuously growing stronger!
Some Gnolls were starting to have second thoughts and considered retreating, but the
commander hadn’t given the order. They dared not flee-if the strategist found out, their
punishment would be worse than death.
With no other option, they could only grit their teeth and continue their attacks.
Boom!
With a resounding crash, John sent the Gnoll commander flying once more.
Just then, the jungle erupted in noise, and battle cries echoed in the air. Tens of thousands of
Gnolls surged forward.
“Haha! Human, it’s over for you. Our reinforcements have arrived!” The Gnoll commander scrambled to his feet, wiping the blood from his mouth and laughing wildly.
“Hm?” John frowned, slowing his attacks just a moment too late and almost getting struck by
a Gnoll.
“Damn it! Everyone, stop!” a voice bellowed. The Gnolls immediately halted their attacks, all turning to look at the source of the command.
An elderly man appeared before them-a human, dressed in a gray robe, with white hair and a beard. His expression was imposing, and on his forehead, there was a brand.
A The Heaven prisoner!
John had learned from Debbie that this was a mark used to identify The Heaven prisoners, a measure to prevent them from escaping or blending in with ordinary people. “Master Strategist!” The Gnoll commander quickly ran over to greet him, bowing respectfully. “You’ve finally arrived. This human is incredibly strong. He’s killed thousands of
our brothers.”
“Damn it!” The elderly man kicked the Gnoll commander to the ground, angrily scolding, “Didn’t I tell you? When encountering a strong opponent, try to recruit them first?”
The Gnoll commander was stunned and quickly explained, “B-but, Master, he’s with the
Goddess. Clearly, he’s not on our side.”
The elderly man, seething with anger, kicked him again.
Meanwhile, John had already sheathed his longsword, watching the elderly man with a faint, mocking smile. “Long time no see, Master Strategist of the Gnolls!”
“Godslayer, don’t mock me,” the elderly man said with exasperation, glaring at the Gnoll commander. He coldly ordered, “Go, take your men and stay out of this. It’s none of
your business now.”
“Master Strategist, you… you know each other?” The Gnoll commander froze for a moment, then quickly realized what was happening. He hastily led his men to retreat to a distance. “Godslayer, long time no see!” The elderly man opened his arms, and the two embraced
warmly.
The elderly man was none other than Ben!
John spoke first, “Senior, I didn’t expect your wish to be realized here.”
Before the final battle at Shadow Star, Ben had once said that if the war ended in victory, he
wanted to become a strategist, someone who worked behind the scenes, directing the
battlefield.
“This is nothing. Just a small skirmish,” Ben chuckled bitterly, then changed the subject. “Godslayer, how did you escape?”
“I was never imprisoned in The Heaven prison. How did you get out?” John noticed the mark
on Ben’s forehead-clearly, he had been locked up and had suffered quite a lot.
Ben didn’t rush to answer. He looked over at the two women beside John, then asked
curiously, “Who are these two?”
His gaze lingered on Debbie, and he seemed to sense something unique about her. He could feel a distinct aura emanating from her-something only a Goddess would have.
The Goddess’ power came from The Heaven, making her one of The Heaven’s most loyal
followers.
John understood his concern and reassured him, “Don’t worry, they’re on our side.”
Though he was puzzled about how John had managed to subdue the Goddess, he didn’t ask
further. Instead, he explained, “I was imprisoned in the Xuandu City prison. Luckily, a powerful member of the Angel Race helped me escape.”
“Angel Race?” John asked, his confusion apparent. Was there really an Angel Race in this
world? Ben nodded and continued, “They are also fighting against The Heaven. The locals here pay
special attention to the Angel Race that controls the Law of Light. Though he’s a prisoner, he holds certain privileges. Originally, Tony and I were supposed to escape, but in the end, there was a slip-up, and he and Tony were captured.”
He glanced over at the distant Gnolls, then added, “After I escaped, I was saved by these
Gnolls. By chance, I became their strategist. Now, I’m working with the villagers in nearby towns to prepare an attack on Xuandu City to rescue Tony and the others.” “Tony’s in Xuandu City too?” John said in surprise, impressed by how quickly Ben had found
two familiar faces.
Ben nodded, “Not only that, but I’ve also gathered information about Sini and Tracy.”
He already knew the real names of the two women. “Oh?” John’s eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, “What about them?”
Ben replied, “Tracy is imprisoned in the high-level city, Golden Tiger City, but she’s under
the protection of an Angel Race member named Lincoln, so she’s not in danger. As for Sini, I’m not sure. It seems her The power of laws hasn’t disappeared. Recently, a mysterious woman with control over the Power of the Nine Nether appeared outside Golden Tiger City, but when I sent Gnolls to search, she disappeared again.”
The Power of the Nine Nether was mysterious and unique, and only Sini had mastered it.
“Sini’s Power of the Nine Nether hasn’t disappeared?” John frowned, deep in thought. The Power of the Nine Nether seemed particularly special. However, from what he understood, this was likely a good thing. Sini was already a Lord God-
level powerhouse. If her The power of laws hadn’t been affected, her strength would be comparable to a seven-star or eight-star Awakened One. As long as she was careful, there wouldn’t be any danger in this world.