Chapter 609: One Round

Chapter 609 -523: One Round

No movement was required, no complex Spiritual Energy constructs were needed.

‘Strike the core motor nerve cluster with condensed Spiritual Energy to paralyze its Charge. Then, pierce its secondary energy nodes with a control tentacle to dismantle its crude surface defenses.’

‘Finally, execute the standard harvesting procedure: siphon its shallow surface memories, which might contain recent spatial coordinates.’

In the Heartstealer’s mind, this method of combat—relying on physical limbs and low-level Element enhancements—was the struggle of uncivilized Races and lesser creatures.

Its Spiritual Energy was the true essence of evolution and Power, an absolute Order that transcended flesh, blood, and Elements.

It didn’t even adjust the aim of its short wand. One of its four thick tentacles merely lifted, a dangerous yet stable point of ethereal blue light coalescing at its tip.

A silent contempt, conveyed by the imminent Spiritual Energy spike, was already locked onto the charging “Rock Giant.”

But upon seeing the ethereal blue light gathering at the tip of the Heartstealer’s tentacle, and the cold, piercing intent of the Spiritual Energy within, a sliver of icy mockery flashed in Roland’s gilded, vertical pupils.

The momentum of his Charge didn’t slow in the slightest. In fact, in the final few steps, his speed unbelievably surged.

At the same time, the skin on the right arm holding the Dagger suddenly transformed.

Dense, hard Scales, shimmering with the metallic luster of Dark Gold, surged from beneath his sleeve like a tide, rapidly spreading to cover his entire forearm and the back of his hand.

His knuckles bulged slightly and his fingertips sharpened into vicious claws, yet his reverse grip on the seemingly ordinary Dagger remained precise.

And just as the Dragon Scales manifested, a pinpoint of incandescent white light, tinged with pure gold, suddenly flared from the hilt of the Dagger he gripped.

This Dagger, bearing only a basic sharpening Enchantment, now became a perfect conduit for Energy thanks to its material’s excellent conductive properties.

The moment the glimmer appeared, it was like a spark dropped into boiling oil, instantly flaring, surging, and coalescing.

Holy, scorching, golden flames, imbued with the power to purge evil, erupted from the Dagger’s blade. This was not an illusory light but a tangible, highly concentrated form of Order Energy.

The light extended crazily, shaping itself.

In an instant, the short Dagger was replaced by a slender blade over four feet long, forged purely from dazzling golden Holy Light.

The air around the edge of the Light Saber warped from the intense heat, radiating waves of Purity that would make undead and evil creatures tremble instinctively.

“Is that… Su… Supreme Slash?”

Holland’s cry of surprise escaped his lips, his brown eyes filled with disbelief.

As a former Holy Light Walker, he was all too familiar with this kind of technique that highly condensed Holy Energy.

But a form of Holy Light so solid, so…

“brutish”… it nearly shattered his understanding of it.

As for the High Tier Heartstealer, the moment the Dragon Scales appeared on Roland’s arm, its Spiritual Energy Scan blared with a shrill warning.

‘Biological Energy Field signature has fundamentally changed!’

‘Re-evaluating threat Level…’

‘Rapidly escalating!’

Then, the instant the Longsword of pure Holy Light materialized, a violent ripple, something akin to “terror,” surged through the Heartstealer’s cold, efficient consciousness for the first time.

‘This type of Energy…’

‘It’s extremely effective at suppressing and destroying the very essence of my Spiritual Energy.’

It could no longer maintain its silent contempt and standard response procedure.

Its raised tentacle twitched violently. At the last possible second, the condensed, ethereal blue Spiritual Energy spike—originally intended for paralysis—was forcefully altered.

More Spiritual Energy was frantically drawn and injected. The ethereal blue light flared, transforming into a thicker, more solid torrent of Spiritual Energy carrying the dual Attributes of a powerful psychic blast and physical impact, which it fired directly at Roland.

It tried to interrupt this dangerous approach with its strongest possible Spiritual Energy output!

However, facing the roaring torrent of ethereal blue Spiritual Energy, Roland made no move to block or dodge.

His arm, enhanced by the [Stone Skin Technique] and covered in Dragon Scales, along with the massive body enlarged by the [Giant Transformation Technique], crashed directly and defiantly into the Spiritual Energy torrent!

“HSSSSSS!”

The piercing hiss of corrosion and the boom of colliding Energy erupted simultaneously.

The ethereal blue Spiritual Energy crashed against him like a furious tide against a reef, violently scouring and eroding the rocky sheen and Dark Gold Dragon Scales on his body.

It tried to drill into his Spirit and tear his flesh.

But a rock-like, grayish-brown sheen shimmered beneath the Dragon Scales, weakening and dispersing the physical impact of the Spiritual Energy layer by layer.

The [Dragon Scale Armor] had extraordinary resistance to Energy Shocks.

As for the psychic blast trying to bore into his consciousness, upon reaching Roland’s soul—dually protected by the [Sanctuary of Indomitable] and the [Master of Shadows]—it simply vanished without a trace, failing to cause even the slightest ripple.

Roland’s charging figure only experienced an extremely brief, almost imperceptible stagnation in the Spiritual Energy torrent.

The intermingling light of the Holy Light and Dragon Scales on his body dimmed for a fleeting instant before he ripped through the violent Energy Shock as if tearing through fabric.

His speed hadn’t even decreased in the slightest.

And now, he was less than five feet away from the High Tier Heartstealer.

For the first time, a clear flash of Spiritual Energy, reflecting “shock” and “danger,” glinted in the Heartstealer’s dark eye sockets.

It simply could not comprehend why its strongest Instant Cast Energy Shock had failed to stop this seemingly reckless “fleshing.”

It wanted to retreat, to cast a more complex Spiritual Shield, to call for its allies… But it was too late.

Roland’s arm, covered in Dragon Scales and wielding the brilliant Light Saber, had become a golden Thunderbolt tearing through the darkness.

It carried an unstoppable and overwhelming momentum.

Simple, direct, and moving faster than the Heartstealer’s psionic senses could track, the blade slashed down from above.

“KSSSHHH!”

It wasn’t the dull thud of flesh being cut, but a piercing shriek—the sound of a hot knife slicing through ice, of holy judgment cleaving filth, a sound mixed with the violent Annihilation of Energy.

The short wand the Heartstealer hastily raised to parry, along with the thick tentacle wreathed in ethereal blue Spiritual Energy that tried to intercept the blow, were instantly severed and purified upon contact with the Holy Light Longsword, obliterated by the supremely condensed Power of Holiness and Order.

The murky crystal on the short wand shattered into dust, the severed tentacle charred and withered.

The Light Saber, completely unimpeded, continued its downward arc and slammed into the junction of the Heartstealer’s head and neck, a spot covered in a thick, dark purple carapace.

“CRUNCH!”

The sharp crack of the shattering carapace and the muffled thud of Energy invading its body erupted at once.

The dazzling golden Holy Light, as if it had found an outlet, crazily poured into the Heartstealer’s body.

Under its slimy, dark purple skin, it was as if countless golden cracks instantly spread and expanded.

The Heartstealer’s entire body began to convulse violently, emitting a silent, agonizing psychic shriek.

In its inhuman eye sockets, the ethereal blue light of Spiritual Energy rapidly dimmed and dissipated like a candle in the wind.

On the carapace covering its body, the complex Spiritual Energy patterns crumbled inch by inch, and the flowing ethereal blue glimmer was completely extinguished.

Just one strike.

This High Tier Heartstealer, which just moments ago was exuding a cold pressure, efficiently slaughtering Guards, and viewing ordinary Transcendents as “inefficient resources,” now resembled an empty shell drained of all life. It paused rigidly for a moment, then fell back heavily.

It crashed onto the cold, slag-covered ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

On its broken body, tiny golden Holy Light Embers still sizzled, purifying the last traces of tainted Spiritual Energy.