A Haligtree Knight drove his lightning-wreathed greatsword through Millicent's abdomen. She let out a brief cry of agony and collapsed into a pool of blood.
Once the swordswoman lay motionless, the thirteen Haligtree Knights, five Cleanrot Knights, one hundred and twenty-seven Haligtree soldiers, and three hundred and seventy retainers surrounding her gradually dispersed. The crews of the five heavy ballistae atop the walls turned their cranks and lowered their weapons, while the warriors who had rushed over at the sound of the horns returned to their posts.
Three hundred and twenty-seven corpses lay scattered across the ground, all hacked apart by Millicent's long blade. The knights' retainers transported the fallen to a cemetery filled with withered old trees. The dead had earned eternal rest, but the living still had to endure this dreadful world.
Invisible, Skyl passed through the crowd, picked up Millicent's body, and quietly returned to the interior of Elphael's walls.
She truly had placed absolute faith in him, charging a heavily defended fortress with no concern for her own survival.
Death had naturally been unavoidable. This stronghold possessed no shortage of extraordinary heroes, and even a legendary warrior who barged in recklessly would meet a bitter end. After all, they were defending two genuine divine beings.
At the boundary between life and death, the savage emotions Millicent experienced crystallized like the product of a chemical reaction, remaining forever embedded in her nervous system. The burning pain of her body's stress response and the hollow terror of feeling her consciousness rapidly fade were also permanently engraved upon her soul.
Her body and mind had surpassed their limits. It was like driving a car off a cliff, with the single instant before the fall stretching into an impossibly long eternity.
Her golden Shehai roared and surged, flooding her mind with brilliant light. It devoured those intense emotions as nourishment and expanded by thirty percent in an instant. When viewed through introspection, it appeared to be roughly the width of a large bowl, yet its true interior was as vast as an endless sea, with no apparent limit to how much power it could hold.
As she hovered on the brink of death, violent ripples swept across the Shehai. Its reaction was fierce and brutal, like the forge of Hephaestus preparing to hammer out a divine weapon capable of severing a giant. At the heart of the boundless golden sea, a long, narrow blade vibrated furiously, on the verge of bursting into reality.
In the end, however, it failed to fully manifest. Millicent could not summon her Spirit Sword and cut down her enemy in that final fraction of a second. She suffered a fatal wound and died.
Millicent's consciousness returned. She drew a deep breath and sat up inside her sleeping bag.
She examined her Shehai from within. Training at the boundary between life and death to force out her hidden potential was indeed effective, but only the first time. Any future attempt would produce much weaker results. Once she knew that Skyl could revive her after death, she could no longer possess the same absolute resolve or killing intent. Without the conviction that there was no path back, forcing herself beyond her limits would be far more difficult.
"That's strange," she murmured. "How long was I dead?"
"About four hours. Did you sleep well?"
"Very well. Better than I ever have before. I never knew sleeping could feel this comfortable."
"That was rather reckless. What would you have done if I couldn't revive you? You would have thrown your life away for nothing."
"I trust you more than I trust life itself."
"There you go again. You're always saying such depressing things."
Skyl sat beside a cluster of silver flames. They were currently inside the military passage running through the city wall. Millicent had fallen directly outside the gates, where crowds filled the streets, but the interior was deserted. No patrol route passed through this area.
Millicent looked at the silver fire before Skyl and, after examining it closely, realized it was not a real flame. It was light floating above a cluster of silver roots. The fire stood about a foot tall but produced no heat.
She recognized it.
"Grace. I haven't seen it in many years."
During the Age of the Erdtree, Grace had been a power of the Golden Order that allowed people to revive endlessly and live forever. It had also served as the guiding light that called the Tarnished back to the Lands Between. Then a certain fellow named Skyl had come along and stripped the Erdtree bare, causing those who had once enjoyed immortality through Grace to gradually die of old age. The Tarnished had likewise lost their guidance.
The Grace of the Divine Tree had not appeared in the world for quite some time.
"This Grace is different from the Erdtree's," Skyl explained. "My Law currently encompasses Doors, Traversal, Spatiotemporal Travel, and Resurrection. I still haven't obtained the complete divine portfolio of Death, so this Grace cannot grant immortality."
"Then what does it do?"
"It serves as a spatiotemporal anchor. The Silver Tree has taken root throughout countless corners of the multiverse, and these anchors will make it easier for me to pinpoint specific locations. Whenever I need to deploy travelers between worlds, I can send them directly to the marked sites of Grace. I can also combine the anchors with the Grand Symphony, isolate a segment of spacetime, and turn it into an instanced plane for future players to explore repeatedly."
Skyl explained his vision to Millicent, describing something similar to a cosmic MMO hub for players from across the multiverse.
Millicent listened to him ramble, and a smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
"I'm being a little long-winded, aren't I? Explaining it this way probably isn't very exciting. You should experience it yourself."
Skyl gestured for Millicent to reach out and touch the Grace.
The swordswoman did as instructed. She extended her hand into the silver fire. It was not hot at all. Instead, it produced a strange sensation of dampness, as though she had plunged her fingers into a thick bank of mist.
The mark of the Tower's Elden Ring seeped into the back of her hand like spilled ink. A cold current swept through her entire body, but when she examined herself carefully, she could not detect anything unusual.
Lines of information appeared across her vision. The moment she read them, their meaning naturally became clear within her mind.
"Connection established with the Silver Tree Multiversal Interactive Entertainment Network, Version 0.5 Closed Beta.
This network was jointly established by the High Tower King, the One Above All, Ao, and Eru Ilúvatar. Database support is provided by Hermaeus Mora, book-spirit of the Tower of Tomes.
A friendly reminder from the Tower of Tomes: Games are best enjoyed in moderation. Take regular breaks, manage your time responsibly, and maintain a healthy balance.
Player eligibility confirmed. Initializing data.
Please wait...
Initialization complete.
Name: Millicent
Classes: Flowing Swordswoman Lv. 15 / Sword-Singer Lv. 4
Shehai: 74/74
The Shehai is a unique power system used by Sword-Singers. Sword magic consumes Shehai energy.
Strength: 16
You may look slender and delicate, but you are anything but weak. You are strong enough to wrestle a charging bull to the ground.
Dexterity: 23
Your agility has transcended mortal limits. You can twist and circle through the air like a bird, with the kind of midair maneuverability most superheroes could only dream of.
Constitution: 14
Far superior to an ordinary person, but you should still eat more meat. Just look at yourself. You're far too thin.
Intelligence: 12
Completely unremarkable. Even if you tried to become a mage, you would probably never progress beyond 1st-level spells in this lifetime.
Wisdom: 16
Your senses are sharp enough to notice the touch of a feather before a fly can land. That is the confidence earned through mastery of the sword.
Charisma: 13
Don't misunderstand. You are genuinely beautiful, but you simply were not born to be a leader.
Class Abilities:
Flowing Swordsmanship Lv. 5, Epic Purple
A technique inherited from a mysterious swordsman in blue. Legend claims that he once used the principles of flowing water to seal away the Outer God of Rot. As its name suggests, the swordsmanship moves with the seamless grace of running water.
Each attack has an additional fifty percent chance of triggering a follow-up strike of equal force. The longer your chain of attacks continues, the more powerful your blows become. Each follow-up strike increases your damage by five percent, up to a maximum increase of four hundred percent.
Waterfowl Dance Lv. 1, Legendary Gold
Malenia the Severed encountered her mentor and his flowing blade, and in doing so gained wings of peerless strength.
You launch three consecutive assaults against a target. Each assault delivers between four and ten sword strikes. After completing the third assault, you release blades of sword energy in every direction. This ability receives all bonuses from Flowing Swordsmanship.
Way of the Sword Lv. 3, Epic Purple
The supreme philosophy through which Sword-Singers cultivate both body and mind. It clarifies the spirit and allows the body to reach its optimal condition.
You gain advantage on saving throws against charm, sleep, blindness, and confusion. You also gain advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks.
Spirit Sword Lv. 1, Legendary Gold
An idea-sword born from the soul and brought into resonance with the world. It may become hard enough to cut through anything or gentle enough to flow like water. Its true potential depends entirely upon the wielder's heart and skill.
Reaching Level 2 will unlock the Spirit Sword Manifestation ability.
Overall Evaluation:
A formidable swordswoman standing only one step below legendary rank."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.