The Transcender

With the support of numerous blessings, Olivia charged forward. She swung Cross Grace with a heavy blow, striking the first figure in her path.

Clang!

Upon impact, Olivia felt as if she had struck solid steel. The crisp sound and the resulting vibration sent a jolt of alarm through her heart.

Is this a corpse servant?

But why is it so much harder than the ones before?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the corpse servant raised its hand, using its palm as a weapon to lunge at her. Five fingers burst from its sleeve, each one appearing incredibly sharp, thrusting toward her like master-crafted swords.

The movement was lightning-fast. Any other Pilgrim might not have been able to dodge in time, but Olivia possessed extreme Body Control. She twisted her frame with raw force to evade the strike.

She immediately abandoned the corpse servant in front of her, pivoting to charge in other directions and swinging her sword at the remaining enemies.

Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In a short span of time, Olivia engaged in a rapid exchange with several corpse servants. Sparks flew as weapons collided.

Every impact made her blood churn, and she felt an immense pressure building within her.

These corpse servants were absurdly strong.

Olivia felt like she was walking a tightrope; one slip and she would fall to her death on the spot.

She darted left and right, weaving back and forth as nimble as a rabbit. Occasionally, she would bare her fangs to counterattack, but to these hardened corpse servants, her strikes were like a mere tickle.

The corpse servants were incredibly resilient, but they lacked flexibility in their movements. This was the only reason Olivia had any room to maneuver.

After several exchanges, Olivia still hadn't found a chance to break free, and her frustration began to mount.

These corpse servants had formed a circle. They didn't seem to be in a hurry to take her down, but they were strictly limiting her range of motion to prevent her from escaping.

'Magic mirror, magic mirror, the corpse servants I'm facing have become hardened. Do you know what's going on?'

Olivia immediately posed the question in her mind.

【These are not corpse servants; these are iron corpse servants. Regular corpse servants are created by a Necromancer of the Sensate class rank. Iron corpse servants can only be crafted by a Necromancer of the Transcender class rank.】

The information from the magic mirror felt like a bucket of cold water being poured over Olivia. Her hands and feet went cold for a moment.

How could it be a Transcender?

She had always assumed the Necromancer she was facing was a Sensate, believing she might be able to resist. But if it was a Transcender, what could she possibly use to fight back?

'Mirror, do iron corpse servants have a weakness?'

【Yes. Every iron corpse servant has one part of its body that cannot undergo adamantine transformation. Piercing this spot will render the iron corpse servant unable to fight for a short period. However, the location of this weakness varies for each individual iron corpse servant.】

Olivia gave a bitter smile at the answer in her head.

The good news: they had a weakness.

The bad news: the location was randomized.

With so many iron corpse servants, how could she possibly have the time to test and identify the weakness of each one?

This battle was simply unwinnable.

Furthermore, she was currently only facing these iron corpse servants. In a little while, she might be facing more than just them.

Members of the Twilight Council might arrive.

Even that Transcender-rank Necromancer might show up in person!

Every path before her seemed to be cut off.

"Sister Olivia, can't you get away?" Andre's voice came from behind.

"I can't. They've surrounded the area too tightly," Olivia replied in a heavy voice.

Her answer caused the hearts of Andre and the ordinary people in the house to sink.

If even a beacon of hope like Olivia couldn't escape, what could they possibly look forward to?

The residents didn't know about rule-grade forbidden artifacts or the King's Domain. They didn't know Olivia was physically unable to leave Huys Street.

They simply believed that if Olivia wasn't trapped, she would be able to bring more people from the Church.

Therefore, Olivia was their hope.

"We have to help too. Even though I don't know what's happening on Huys Street, I know that what the Church does must be right. Those enemies must be resisted."

It was Jessica who spoke.

As soon as she finished her sentence, she threw open the door of the house. Her small frame rushed out into the wind and rain, charging directly at an iron corpse servant. She grabbed onto one of its thighs, attempting to use her own strength to hinder the monster.

"Jessica?"

Olivia was startled by the sight.

The iron corpse servant that Jessica was clinging to lifted its leg, hoisting her up with it. It then swung its leg violently to the side, tossing Jessica's small body around like a rag doll.

Yet even so, Jessica held on for dear life to the iron corpse servant's leg. She squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, refusing to be thrown off.

Seeing this, the iron corpse servant planted its foot back down and raised its other leg, preparing to kick Jessica away.

But at that moment, a woman Olivia didn't recognize rushed out and grabbed the iron corpse servant's other leg.

Following her, more people poured out of the house, charging toward the various iron corpse servants. Some hugged their legs, some grabbed their waists, and some even climbed onto the monsters' backs, using every means at their disposal to try and restrain them.

"Run, Sister Olivia!"

Andre shouted. As a Priest, he lacked direct combat capabilities, but he too rushed out now, gripping an iron corpse servant tightly.

The sudden impact of the crowd immediately threw the iron corpse servants' encirclement into disarray, creating opening after opening.

"Everyone..."

Watching this scene, Olivia's eyes trembled with emotion.

For the first time, she truly felt the status the Church held in the hearts of the common people.

For the first time, she understood what the nun's habit she wore truly signified.

She realized the weight of the responsibility resting on her shoulders.

"Go, quickly!"

"Lady Nun, run!"

"Find more people! I believe the Church can solve this!"

"Run!"

Amidst the chorus of shouts, Olivia found a gap between the iron corpse servants and quickly retreated from the field.

A group of ordinary people, even with Andre added to their number, couldn't possibly resist a group of iron corpse servants.

However, perhaps because these people were being kept as sacrifices, the iron corpse servants were unable to kill them. They could only try to shake the people off, which was what gave Olivia her chance.

Olivia sped away, sprinting through the rain. Her hood flew back as she ran, her brilliant golden hair fluttering wildly behind her.