Escape

The boss's mouth hung so wide open that a fist could fit inside, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

He suddenly recalled the scene of haggling with Bai Xuan just now.

The other party had claimed that two gold coins would keep the post house safe. At the time, he had only thought he was bragging, believing that if fewer people died, it would already be a blessing from the Goddess.

But looking at it now, not only was Bai Xuan not bragging, but he was also hiding his strength incredibly deep.

The archer on the roof also forgot to release the arrow in his hand, staring blankly at that white back, his eyes filled with awe.

The guard captain finally ran back to the entrance of the post house, slumping heavily onto the ground. He panted heavily, his chest heaving violently, lacking even the strength to raise his hand and wipe his sweat.

He subconsciously looked back at the battlefield, where that white figure still stood firmly in place.

The staff and the ogre's wooden club were locked in a tight deadlock, and he did not show the slightest sign of being overwhelmed.

The ogre looked down at this tiny yet exceptionally resilient creature before it.

A low, angry growl rumbled from its throat, clearly infuriated by the situation.

Bai Xuan and the ogre still maintained their previous posture of the staff holding up the wooden club, as if the air had frozen at this moment.

After a moment of deadlock, Bai Xuan suddenly exerted force with both hands, parrying the staff to the side.

The thick wooden club resting on the staff's body instantly lost its support, sliding down along the staff to the ground.

With a loud “boom,” the ground trembled slightly, sending dirt and stones flying.

Taking the opportunity, Bai Xuan took two steps back, gripping his staff tightly once more to confront the ogre, his aura growing increasingly steady.

The ogre was already at the peak of the Practitioner Rank, and with the boost from the curse, its actual combat strength had long touched the threshold of a Transcendent.

With Bai Xuan's current strength, he stood absolutely no chance in a direct head-on clash.

However, with the Staff of Guidance in hand, his skills' enhancements, and his agile body, it was enough for him to deal with it.

He gripped his staff tightly. His arm still felt the residual tremors from blocking the ogre's club just now, leaving his right arm slightly numb.

Waves of dull pain radiated from the webbing of his hand. The power of that strike was far more shocking than he had anticipated, though he never let this distress show on his face.

He couldn't face it head-on; he could only use hit-and-run tactics to slowly wear it down.

Bai Xuan quickly decided on a strategy in his heart, but his gaze never left the ogre's movements.

At this moment, the surrounding monsters also gradually recovered from the ogre's previous roar, charging frantically toward the post house once more.

Although the guards' legs were still weak, they still grit their teeth and held the line.

The archers on the roof dared not rest for even a second. Arrows whistled through the air, accurately piercing through a goblin that was about to pounce on a guard.

The ogre stared at Bai Xuan, a low growl escaping its throat as its murderous aura grew increasingly dense.

It raised the thick wooden club once more, charging fiercely toward Bai Xuan with heavy, giant strides.

Bai Xuan's figure flashed as he sidestepped to dodge the heavy blow of the first swing. Seizing the momentum, he thrust upward, the spike at the end of his staff slicing a gash on the ogre's calf.

Hissing in pain, the ogre swung its club back in a horizontal sweep. Bai Xuan hastily retreated, the head of the club barely brushing past his chest.

After stabilizing his stance, Bai Xuan attacked again, another precise thrust landing on the ogre's thigh, leaving a second bloody gash.

Yet the ogre merely glanced down at the wound, completely unfazed.

It swung its club, unleashing a barrage of heavy blows. Bai Xuan dodged left and right, narrowly escaping each strike in a series of close calls.

The club slammed into the ground, smashing pit after pit, sending dirt and stones flying as dust filled the air.

Catching an opening, Bai Xuan swung his staff again, carving another gash into the ogre's flank. Dark brown blood slowly trickled down from the wound.

But the ogre's movements did not slow down at all; instead, it became increasingly frenzied.

Heavy blow after heavy blow forced Bai Xuan to keep dodging. The occasional strikes he managed to land only left minor, insignificant wounds.

To the ogre, it was nothing more than an itch, as insignificant as a mosquito bite.

Bai Xuan nimbly maneuvered and dodged, constantly searching for an opportunity to counterattack.

Suddenly, the ogre swung its club. He was a fraction of a second too slow to dodge, and the head of the club grazed his left shoulder, a burning pain instantly spreading.

Enduring the pain, Bai Xuan stabbed back, adding a new wound to the ogre's arm.

Growing annoyed, the ogre let out a roar as its other massive hand clawed fiercely at Bai Xuan.

Five thick fingers swept forward with fierce momentum, but Bai Xuan leaped back, barely dodging the grasp.

The battle raged on for a long time. Every time Bai Xuan dodged, he would seize the opportunity to inflict a new wound on the ogre.

By now, the ogre's body was covered in over a dozen wounds.

The dark brown blood dyed its originally grayish-brown skin dark red. Its movements remained fierce, but its breathing had already grown heavy.

Though the wounds were not deep, they bled continuously, and its physical strength was slowly draining away.

While dealing with the ogre, Bai Xuan caught a glimpse of a guard being pounced on by two Shadow Cats, his life hanging by a thread.

He immediately threw the staff in his hand toward them, adjusting its weight to the maximum the moment it left his hand.

With two squelching thuds, the two Shadow Cats were instantly crushed into bloody chunks, successfully saving the guard.

But because of this distraction, the ogre seized the opportunity to swing its club. Bai Xuan dodged hastily, crashing heavily to the ground and rolling twice to avoid the follow-up attacks.

The ogre pursued him closely, its wooden club raised high, about to crash down.

Unable to stand up in time, Bai Xuan rolled on the spot. The wooden club slammed ruthlessly into where he had been just a moment ago, instantly cracking a fissure into the ground.

Using the momentum of his roll, he leaped to his feet, calling back his staff and thrusting forward in one fluid motion, carving a deep gash into the ogre's belly.

Blood gushed out instantly, coating its legs.

The ogre let out an angry roar, its movements finally starting to slow down.

Although those wounds were not fatal, having lost so much blood, its physical strength could no longer keep up. Its breathing grew heavier, and the swings of its wooden club became smaller.

Another swing came. The wooden club grazed past Bai Xuan's back. Bai Xuan suddenly flipped over, supporting himself with his left hand on the ground while gripping the staff tightly with his right, slamming it ruthlessly against the ogre's calf.

The ogre let out a miserable shriek, its massive body stumbling.

Seizing the opportunity, Bai Xuan scrambled to his feet. The golden light of Holy Light Catalyst lit up, instantly covering the wound on his shoulder, and then he applied Pain Empowerment to himself.

A hot current instantly surged through his entire body, and his overall strength received a significant boost.

Looking at Bai Xuan, who still stood tall before it, the ogre felt a seed of doubt grow in its heart for the first time.

After fighting for so long, not only had this human not fallen, but it had instead lost a vast amount of blood and exhausted its strength.

It stared fixedly at Bai Xuan, the thought that this prey is not right surfacing in its mind for the first time.

It subconsciously took a small step back.

It was this tiny step that Bai Xuan caught.

It was afraid.

Bai Xuan slowly exhaled. No longer passively dodging, he actively charged toward the ogre instead.

When monsters pounced on him along the way, he swept them aside with his staff, his footsteps never stopping for a second.

Seeing this, the ogre grew increasingly panicked. It wanted to continue retreating, a clear flicker of hesitation passing through its eyes.

And it was this split second of hesitation that exposed a fatal opening.

Bai Xuan seized the opening and unleashed 【Arcing Strike】 without hesitation, the staff slamming heavily into the ogre's flank.

This skill was specialized for armor penetration and was not as powerful as Redemption Strike.

Although Bai Xuan inwardly sighed with regret, this strike was still incredibly powerful, directly caving in a section of the ogre's abdomen.

The ogre let out a painful roar, clutching its side as it stumbled backward, pure terror appearing in its eyes for the first time.

This human was too bizarre, completely different from the one who was only dodging just now. It no longer dared to continue fighting.

It suddenly opened its mouth and let out a piercing shriek. Instantly, rustling sounds echoed from the forest.

Dozens of monsters surged out from the darkness, pouncing toward Bai Xuan recklessly—goblins, Shadow Cats, and rotting treants.

There were also many monsters that Bai Xuan had never seen before, densely packing the area and surrounding him.

From the corner of his eye, Bai Xuan saw that the ogre was using the distraction of the monsters to stumble back toward the forest.

He knew in his heart that he couldn't wait any longer. Once the ogre escaped into the forest, it would be extremely difficult to catch up.

Bai Xuan slammed his staff hard against the ground and activated the skill 【Concussive Field】. A shockwave rippled outward with him as the center.

The weaker monsters were instantly blown away, and the remaining ones were stunned in place. Even the massive ogre was shaken by this force, freezing for a brief moment.

This fleeting moment was more than enough.

Bai Xuan lunged forward and unleashed 【Redemption Strike】. With dazzling golden light swirling around his staff, he adjusted its weight to the absolute limit and swung it ruthlessly toward the ogre's head.

Just as the staff was about to strike, the ogre finally snapped back to its senses.

It keenly sensed the fatal threat coming from behind. It knew that if this blow landed squarely, it would undoubtedly die.

It desperately dodged to the side while raising the wooden club in its hand to block behind its back.

“Bang!”

The staff slammed violently against the wooden club, sending wood splinters flying. Although the thick club did not break, it was driven by the immense force and crashed heavily into the ogre's head.

The ogre's massive body instantly flew sideways, rolling several times on the ground and kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

Prostrate on the ground, the ogre struggled to climb back up. However, one of its legs had gone weak, and it collapsed heavily back down halfway through pushing itself up.

It shook its head. Its vision was blurry and filled with double images, and blood continuously flowed from its forehead, coating half of its face.

It slowly raised its head to look at Bai Xuan. In its turbid eyes, there was no longer any of the previous frenzy and arrogance—only pure terror remained.

Immediately after, it opened its mouth again and let out a piercing shriek. The monsters in the forest grew even more frenzied, surging toward Bai Xuan like a tidal wave.

Taking advantage of this gap, the ogre struggled to its feet once more, stumbling as it quickened its pace to retreat into the forest.

Bai Xuan wanted to pursue it, but the monsters had already lunged right before his eyes.

He swept one away with his staff, but another bit down hard on the staff's body. He shook it off with force, only for three more monsters to surround him in an instant.

After finally clearing the monsters in front of him, he looked up and saw that the ogre had already run more than twenty paces away.

He exerted force in his legs to give chase, but two more Shadow Cats pounced, biting hard onto the hem of his robe and slowing him down.

By the time he completely broke free from the monsters' entanglement and looked up again, the ogre's massive figure had already retreated into the forest.

It was gradually disappearing into the dense shadows of the trees.

Right at that moment, Bai Xuan raised the staff in his hand, pointing the tip at the ogre.

Images involuntarily flashed through Bai Xuan's mind.

The sensation of throwing the staff at enemies time and time again, and every single trajectory of mana flowing through his body, slowly carved themselves into his being.

Just then, the mana in his chest suddenly grew restless.

The mana spread from his chest to his arms, steadily pouring into the staff.

The staff instantly began to heat up, a warmth spreading from his palm to his entire body.

Red patterns, like living veins, coiled and surfaced on the staff, glowing with a dull red light.

Bai Xuan adjusted the staff's weight to the absolute limit. The staff suddenly grew incredibly heavy, its massive weight pressing down on his arm.

Concentrating his mind, he suddenly spun around, swung his arm, and threw the staff out with all his might.

The moment the staff left his hand, a powerful sense of emptiness swept over him, instantly draining more than half of the mana in his body.

The staff transformed into a streak of red lightning, cutting through the chaotic battlefield at a speed so fast that its trajectory was a blur.

The monsters in its path didn't even have time to shriek before being instantly crushed into pieces.

The ground was violently plowed into a deep trench, sending gravel and flesh flying together.

Even on either side of the staff, the monsters could not escape the impact of the shockwave, getting torn to shreds as severed limbs and broken bodies littered the ground.

Sensing the commotion behind it, the ogre not far away suddenly turned around.

It only had time to see a red light rapidly expanding in its pupils before, in the next second...

...a bone-chilling cold pierced through its chest.

The staff's momentum did not decrease in the slightest. Carrying the residual mana, it continued to fly forward,

smashing straight through several trees as thick as bowls before finally disappearing into the depths of the dense forest. Soon after, the loud rumbles of falling trees echoed from afar.

The ogre slowly lowered its head, looking at the massive hole in its chest in utter disbelief.

The edges of the hole were completely charred black, emitting a pungent burnt smell, without a single drop of blood seeping out.

The blood that should have flowed had already splattered onto the ground behind it, blooming into a large, eye-catching patch of crimson.

It tried to raise its hand to touch that horrific wound, but before its arm was even halfway up, its massive body fell straight forward.

With a loud “boom,” the ground shook slightly, kicking up a cloud of dust.

【Successfully executed Crushing Blow! Killed "Ogre"】

【Exp +90, Pleasure +86】

Bai Xuan stood in place, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

His right arm hung limply at his side, trembling uncontrollably. The mana in his body was almost completely depleted, and his mind was a complete blank.

His gaze was fixed in the direction where the ogre had collapsed. Only after several seconds did he slowly snap out of it.

He stood there, completely motionless.

The firelight from the battlefield reflected on him. His plain white robe was covered in bloodstains and dust, and his entire body exuded an air of aloof coldness.

The entrance of the post house instantly fell into a dead silence, where even the sound of the wind blowing could be clearly heard.

The guards' mouths were wide open, so stunned that they couldn't speak for a long time.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Bai Xuan, their gazes filled with an emotion called admiration.

The remaining monsters seemed to have their souls sucked out, freezing in place.

A moment later, they shrieked and scattered in all directions. Some fled frantically into the forest, some trampled over one another, and others simply collapsed to the ground, completely stripped of their former ferocity.

Just like that, the surging monster tide receded.