Chapter 438 387: But I Have Never Yielded! Power Breakthrough, Holy Fire Evil Extermination

Lu Jia looked up at the sky, snowflakes landing on her cheeks and slowly melting.

The mockery and ridicule she had once endured in the Lower City District echoed in her ears, like voices from behind a curtain, emerging from the surrounding darkness.

Swine, trash, lowlife...

It all felt so real in her mind.

She had longed for a warm home, for the care of her parents, for a soft bed and delicious food...

But now.

She was no longer the girl who rummaged through the garbage heaps of the Lower City District for food.

Though suffering had been her constant companion, she had never yielded.

Because she was the daughter of the Emperor.

Exhaling a long breath, Lu Jia looked toward the woman in the distance, her conviction firm and unwavering. "You who hide in the shadows, put away your tricks and illusions, Demon!"

As her voice fell.

All the warm illusions collapsed in an instant, like a shattered mirror. The gentle woman standing in the candlelight transformed into some terrible creature hiding deep within the blue-purple neon glow.

"Heh heh heh..."

The Demon's laughter dripped with cruelty and scorn, mocking her for overestimating her own strength.

"Don't you understand? All the suffering you've endured is because of the corrupt Emperor's ambition and desires…"

But before it could finish, the Demon's taunts came to an abrupt halt.

A sliver of silver light tore through the enveloping darkness, illuminating Lu Jia's spirit. At the same time, a hazy, silver-glowing figure appeared.

「Back in the real world.」

Lu Jia gasped, her vacant pupils snapping back into focus. She felt her body jostling and turned her head to see the old Navy veteran carrying her. As her gaze went past the veteran, she saw a Defender Army soldier, over two meters tall and built like a human tank, charging right at them!

"Watch out."

For some reason, Lu Jia's grievously wounded, near-death body was suddenly filled with strength. She wrapped her arms tightly around the veteran's waist as her Divine Element·Punishing Fire instantly reignited. Using her Knight's Physique and strength, she abruptly threw their combined weight forward and down. The two of them tumbled forward, dodging the enemy's assault.

The moment they hit the ground, she used her arms to brace herself, twisting her body to cradle the veteran in her embrace. Her back hit the floor, and she skidded forward.

Lu Jia knew that if she hadn't, the sheer weight of her Power Armor would have crushed the mortal soldier to death. She had to act.

But this only bought her a fleeting moment. Seeing the enemy close in, she kicked the veteran out of her arms and away from danger. Using the momentum, she slid sharply to one side just as the enemy's Power Sword whistled past, grazing her hair as it slammed into the ground!

Lu Jia rolled to her feet. The broken Power Sword was still embedded in her abdomen, but the bleeding had stopped. Even the Witchcraft Energy that had been rampaging through her body had vanished without a trace.

"Lu Jia! Catch—!"

Having paid the terrible price of her left arm to slay the elite enemy, Caroline hooked the tip of her boot under the Knight's Broadsword Lu Jia had dropped. With a flourish, she kicked the sword straight into Lu Jia's hands.

The moment she gripped the Knight's Broadsword.

Lu Jia felt a surging power thrumming within her. She gripped the hilt, and with a single thought, her Knight Power·Punishment Fire erupted into a blazing inferno.

'Is this the power of a Five-star Military Rank?'

Furthermore, her Knight Power had awakened a new Special Ability: Holy Fire Evil Extermination.

For an Imperial Knight, Knight Power is the fusion of their spirit and Physique—a power that originates from within themselves.

Unlike Combat Techniques, which required vast experience to develop, a Special Ability for a Knight was like growing a new limb. Its capabilities, traits, and applications... once awakened, they became second nature, as ingrained as instinct.

Lu Jia single-handedly yanked the broken Power Sword from her body. Excruciating pain seared through her nerves, but the torture she'd endured in the secret prison had long ago conditioned her body and mind to agony that would make others pass out or suffocate.

After pulling out the broken sword, a dazzling, golden flame cauterized the wound. Her muscle and skin began to mend at a rate visible to the naked eye.

And this was just one of the abilities of Holy Fire Evil Extermination.

In fact, rather than just a simple boost to her combat power, activating the Holy Fire Evil Extermination state gave Lu Jia a massive, across-the-board enhancement to her stamina, speed, strength, healing ability, and reflexes!

Compared to the unpredictable combat styles of other Elemental Knights, Divine Element·Punishing Fire lacked versatility. All of its Special Ability enhancements were concentrated on one thing: destructive power.

In exchange.

Punishing Fire possessed a destructive force far beyond that of other Imperial Knights of the same Level.

And now, with the awakening of Holy Fire Evil Extermination, this Divine Elemental Fire possessed a terrifying destructive power against any profane creation tainted by the Demon Void Realm—a power that surpassed the Official Knight Level!

Lu Jia exhaled slowly, closed her eyes, and held the Knight's Broadsword vertically before her with both hands.

The next instant.

The fully activated state of Holy Fire Evil Extermination transformed into a Golden Fire that instantly engulfed her body, burning fiercely!

The dazzling light that radiated from her was like a scorching sun.

When Lu Jia opened her eyes, her hair billowed upwards, writhing like a Golden Holy Flame. Then, a massive, golden Sun Ring—a symbol of the Emperor and the Empire—blazed into existence behind her head!

Holy Fire Evil Extermination: Ring of Radiance.

In that moment.

The brilliant, dazzling light displayed a level of power far beyond that of an Official Knight. Wherever the golden radiance touched, the blue-purple Spiritual Power Spectacle vanished like snow under a scorching sun.

Confronted by this dazzling light infused with Knight Power, all the blasphemous creations of the Shadow Temple that had stormed the bridge let out soul-shattering wails, clutching their heads as they fell to their knees.

Like raw flesh searing on a fire, thick smoke billowed from the skin of these wicked creations, whose bodies were fused with demonic structures. In an instant, the demonic parts within them shattered and melted.

One after another, they dropped dead.

Battle Sister Caroline, who had just tossed the Knight's Broadsword to Lu Jia, felt as if she was seeing her for the first time—this sister from her Monastery, once the purest and most naive among them.

Her eyes were wide with shock.

Especially the massive golden Sun Ring that now dominated her vision.

Caroline wasn't the only one to notice this sudden turn of events.

Battle Sister Delanxi, who was cradling the Technician Priest, stared blankly at Lu Jia's back. Bathed in holy radiance, exuding boundless divinity, she looked as if she were ascending to godhood.

She couldn't believe that after so many years apart, her former sister from the Monastery had grown this powerful.

'No... this was more than a simple promotion in Military Rank.'

Feeling the faint echo of Radiant Power emanating from the Sun Ring, Delanxi was deeply shaken. This was beyond the power an Imperial Knight was supposed to wield.

Because this was the Mighty Power of the Emperor.

'Oh, most high Emperor! What is all of this...'