Episode 0

"Hey, hey, can you stay in this place, come out and let me help you out!"

He is armed with armor made of white crystal, and holds a crystal weapon similar to a katana. The long flawless knife body is inlaid with seven blue crystals, as if it were made in nature, and there is no trace of processing at all.

The man strode into the depths of the cavern. While looking around vigilantly, he shouted, "What are you hiding? I never saw you so good at hiding back then!"

Although there is no guarantee that the other party can understand his words. But he continued to shout like this, first, to embolden himself, and secondly, to lure the snake out of the hole with the help of sound.

"Where are you hiding...... I should have killed him on the spot when I knew that was going to happen......

Now the man is chasing an enemy who had fled from his hands a few days ago. At that time, I felt that I had to hurry back to the guild first, so I decided not to pursue this monster that felt no threat.

As a result, it was only after talking to the association that he realized how terrible the enemy he let go was.

"Hey, President, is this guy really that strong, why do I feel like a normal monster?" the man lowered his voice, feeling like he was talking to himself.

"So you're still too far behind when it comes to accurately judging the strength of your enemies. 』

A voice sounded in the man's head. This is the famous [Salvation Armor] on his body in play, and he has a dialogue with the [Observation Crystal] in the association.

And the person who is qualified to wear the Holy Armor of Salvation is naturally self-evident - the strongest person of the Demon Hunting Association, the current heir of the Holy Armor of Salvation, [Punisher].

The voice on the other side paused, and continued, "This monster destroyed a team of more than ten people more than ten years ago. The Vice-President, the Punisher at the time, fought against it. Even if the power of the [Seven Stars] was used, it was barely able to repel it. 』

"Then it can only be said that the vice president should be old and strong......" The man muttered to himself, "Hey, it seems to be a fierce battle." ”

"Why, you, known as the strongest punisher in history, are also afraid?"

"Just listen to them, how can you be as strong as you were back then. The man pretended to be relaxed.

The corner of his eye caught the stupid killing intent in the shadows.

The Punisher immediately stopped, turned to the darkness deep in the cave on the left, and roared in a deep voice, "I've caught you." ”

Hiss!!!

A black shadow sprang out of the darkness at a rapid pace, and the red light in his eyes was like a river of blood gushing from hell, forming a terrifying passage in the gloomy space, like two mortal spears, piercing the disrespectful intruder.

The man leaped swiftly to the side, dodging the first attack of the enemy, swinging his long knife diagonally upwards and slashing at the enemy who passed in front of him.

Clang...... The sound of collisions between hard objects echoes through long, narrow cavities.

The recoil force sent the man's body back a few steps.

"You can't be wrong. The Punisher thought to himself.

There are only a handful of monsters that can resist the edge of the [Seven Stars] head-on, and the giant python in front of him who is ready to attack again is counted as one.

"I won't let you run anymore, monster!"

Before the python could fully turn around, the Punisher clenched the long knife in his hand and took the initiative to charge at the enemy - he could not give it time - he would kill with one blow!

"[Strength Increase] [Weakness Penetration], [Armor Penetration]. As the punisher spoke, the armor on his body seemed to respond to his master's words, shimmering again and again.

This is one of the important reasons why the Armor of Salvation has become famous all over the world - the buff magic for the bearer. Legend has it that the Emperor of Eternal Life added an effect when he created the Sacred Armor.

The flawless blade, which reflected the slightest ray of sunlight outside the cave, was not bounced off by the hard scales as it had just done, but smoothly passed through the seven inches of the giant python and successfully decapitated it.

The Punisher who put away his posture quietly watched the huge head fall to the ground, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Squatting down, with the help of subtle light, observe the snake's head with wide eyes.

"It's solved, it's not difficult. The man said.

Although he used almost all his strength with the sword just now, he still couldn't believe that he could really kill the monster described by the chairman as being so strong in one blow.

"Oh......" The other end was silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly shouted loudly, "Duck!

"What ......!"

Before the man could fully stand up, the originally paralyzed snake body around him suddenly writhed, entangled the half-squatting man to death, and kept shrinking!

After a while, a new head that grew out of nowhere appeared in front of the man who only showed his helmet, spitting out bloody snake hyacinth, his eyes strange and excited.

"Hey, the look in your eyes makes me very unhappy. The man felt the pressure on his body mount, and the sound of broken scales was constantly heard around him.

Soon after, the enemy python seemed to realize that it was helpless with this set of armor, so it let go of its body a little, and opened its bloody mouth, intending to devour the prey in front of him, which seemed to have no power to fight back!

"It's getting more and more presumptuous. The Punisher muttered alone as if he were a child. Then he sang again: "[Lightning Strike]." ”

In the next second, countless lightning bolts exploded from the surface of the Holy Armor, and the cave was lit up by terrifying electric light in that instant. With the stench of burning, the python's body was all released, its head tilted back, and it fell for the second time.

The Punisher moved his arms and walked up to the python's head without saying a word, holding down the head of the snake that was still dying with his left hand, which was not holding a sword: "[Flame Burst]. ”

Once again, the glow of red fire enveloped the pitch-black space, accompanied by a terrifying explosion that echoed repeatedly in the closed cavern, making it difficult to disperse.

The man looked down at the carbonized head and stood up heavily. Instead of starting the inspection directly the first time, he took a few steps back vigilantly and asked, "How is it, is it dead this time?" and he expected an affirmative reply.

After the "rebirth" just now, he realized that the strength of the other party was not the same as he had estimated. At least in terms of ability, it was completely unexpected.

Sure enough-

"No! far from it, the magic is ......."

Before he could finish speaking, the man witnessed the regeneration of the python's head: a small ball of flesh began to appear on the right side of the carbonized head, followed by two, three, four...... The ball of flesh slowly grew larger, deformed, and coalesced, but in a few breaths, a new snake head was born in front of him, different from the carbonized head.

"Damn!" the Punisher raised his sword to slash again, but with the new head's glare, he felt like he was being held back by an inexplicable force.

"Magic!" the Punisher looked down, only to see that his feet were already wrapped in a clump of hard dirt.

"What do you say? magic! what magic!"

At that moment, the elder on the other end let out a burst of exclamation.

It's a bit too much, isn't it? the Punisher thought, but didn't care.

Although the sword in his hand and the holy armor he wears are magic items, he is still very surprised when he encounters an enemy who can use magic. After all, the only human beings in history who could use magic without relying on external objects were those two high souls.

And the only monster that can use magic is the [Origin Demon Race] - the race that marks the birth of monsters from this world, each individual has a different kind of magic, and has reason, which is the capital of that race to fight the Emperor of Immortality;

Coupled with the few races that are born with magic, there are only a dozen or so. Anyway, there has never been a serpentine race in the information that can use magic.

In other words, the enemy in front of you may actually be one of the monsters who have been fighting against the Immortal Emperor and the Great Mage for decades!

"So, the hard scales are probably the effect of magic."

Regardless of whether this monster is the monster of the original generation or not, there is no doubt that its strength has surpassed the records of history. With two or more spells at the same time, this is definitely the most formidable opponent the Demon Hunter Guild has encountered since its establishment!

The Punisher recalls the way the python unleashed its magic:

It appears to be an instant release of magic, but it has not appeared in the records of the past dynasties. Even the Grand Magician who enlightened the Immortal Emperor was only able to achieve a short period of non-chanting, or a quick release in a very short time, but it was already terrifying, nearly twice as fast as the Immortal Emperor, and it was of great significance in that decisive battle.

Magic like a giant python that takes effect with just a glance is obviously beyond the common sense of the punisher - or rather, the magic of monsters does not need to be chanted, or it is just a simple chant for a very short time, because I have heard that the great magician also has magic similar to [high-speed chanting] or even [non-chanting], but there is no mention of a monster society in the record.

The Punisher noticed that the python was beginning to make a move, and hurriedly shook off all the speculations in his mind and concentrated on the fight.

The new head of the giant python didn't seem to wait for the other head to recover, and directly pounced forward, relying on the extremely strong flexibility of the long neck, went around to the dead corner of the punisher's attack, and tightly bit the right wrist of the punisher holding the long sword.

The punisher tried hard to break free, but the strength of one hand was still far from the strength of the monster's entire head and neck, and he was successfully restrained.

"Look for death!" the Punisher waved his left hand to grab the newborn's head, and thought to himself, "As long as the [Lightning Strike] charge is finished, we will kill you together!"

The next moment, his left hand was also intercepted in mid-air by a brute force - the punisher suddenly turned around, and the third head came into view!

"Three-headed!" the Punisher cried out in surprise.

The punisher tried harder to break free, but to no avail. Even, the carbonized head began to fall off, and the flesh balls reappeared—to be reborn!

Finally, at this time, a voice came from the Elders' side, but the tone was much more solemn.

"The fifth-generation punisher has fought against this multi-headed monster, but the opponent can't do magic......

"Tell !! point," the punisher shouted eagerly.

He saw that the head of the snake that had bitten his left hand began to secrete venom, and the dark purple viscous liquid dripped on the ground, which instantly corroded into it, and there was a foul smell. I don't know how long this armor will last.

"Cut off all of the opponent's heads at the same time. 』

"Request to use [Seven Stars]!"

"Permission! Kill it!"

"[Frozen Water Ling]!"

Seeing the resurrected carbonized head hit his head, he probably wanted to take off his helmet, but-

The magic of the holy armor had already taken effect, and the cold air extending from the wrist instantly froze the heads on both sides, upward, the ice gradually covered the middle head and neck, and downward, devouring the giant python's thick body, and even connected to the ground with the venom One small hole after another.

The Punisher savagely pulled out his hands, and by the way, pulled out a dozen frozen teeth.

He took a few steps back, picked up the long sword in his hand, and gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands, facing the python that was beginning to break through the ice: "It's an honor, mongrel. It actually forced me to use the special technique almost all over again. ”

The magic began to infuse, and the longsword began to unleash a holy light. This is not the light of electricity and fire just now, but the light of determination and hope that condenses the watchmen of the world.

Realizing that things were starting to be bad, the python increased its efforts to break free, and the ice broke faster and faster......

The Punisher stared at the mighty python, and his words began to be solemn: "In the name of the Punisher, admit that you are the most tricky monster I have ever seen. But ......" His arms began to lift up until the hilt of the Seven Stars was raised above his head, and the divine light grew brighter and brighter......

"Supreme Immortal Emperor, please lend me your power - [One-Star Slash Sky Split] !!"

The shining blade roared down, and a slender edge that seemed to be formed by air flew forward quickly, and the six pupils of the giant python expanded and contracted because they sensed the threat of death—this seemingly ordinary wind blade was completely more powerful than the slash from that weapon more than ten years ago.

As if cutting into the water, it passed through the neck of the enemy who had not yet broken free from the ice and struck deep into the cavern unabated.

All three heads hit the ground at the same time - from freezing to killing, everything happened in a matter of seconds.

Immediately afterward, there was another dull thud on the ground: the Punisher was also half-kneeling on the ground. And the seven spars embedded in the sword body of the long sword, which shimmered softly at all times, gradually extinguished one of them.

This is the price of using the long sword [Seven Stars]. While there is a limit to the number of times, the user also has to bear the damage caused by the powerful magic pressure. Using six at the same time is the limit of the current Punisher, which is one of the reasons why he is called the "Strongest Punisher".

Even if he didn't reach the limit, but coupled with the loss of magic buffs and spells used in the previous battle, this man still fell to his knees with some physical strength.

It would take several days to wait for the hedron to recover its mana, and it would take at least two days for him to return to his peak state if he had to recover such a level of mana oppression.

This means that if the enemy does not die directly at this time, as the chairman said, he will be in bad luck.

After a moment's pause, the Demon Hunter Association hadn't sent a confirmation, so the man spoke, panting and asking, "Hey, has the enemy's reaction disappeared?"

"It's made the enemy unresponsive. The words from the other end were not as serious and uneasy as if they had just won a great victory.

The man naturally listened: "What's wrong?"

"Hurry back, the situation here is getting more and more serious, just now, I saw [him] appear. 』

"......" The punisher stopped panting, got back up with all his might, and staggered towards the hole: "He? Good...... Got it...... Come back right away. ”

As the cave returned to silence again, the sound of armor clashing faded away, and two small red dots suddenly appeared in the darkness in the depths......