The dry wind's breeze gave him the look of a savior-hero emerging from despair. His hair and cloak continued to flutter.
Theron extended his large hand toward Erenor to help him to his feet, a smile on his face as his white teeth showed, as if saying, "Don't worry, now everything will be all right."
Erenor smiled and reached out his hand to Theron as well.
Erenor saw a spark of hope for victory in Theron's face, even though Theron was still weak; but at least life had returned to Erenor and the others.
Selin was weeping tears of joy, and Aretha held her, soothing her: "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
Theron's arrival had filled their hearts with renewed enthusiasm.
Erenor gripped his sword and smiled. "Ah, I'm ready now."
Theron placed a hand on Erenor's shoulder and said, "You can leave this to me. Go and help Rin."
Erenor nodded with a smile, setting off to aid Rin with high spirits.
Rin's attacks on the Winged Serpent King grew fiercer. An undying flame of zeal burned within him.
Erenor reached Rin's side. Rin spoke as he launched lightning-based strikes: "So, what's your plan?"
Erenor laughed: "A plan? Haha—my sword is my only plan."
Rin smiled back. "Yes, you're right. There is no plan so long as our blades are charged with the will of unquenchable fire."
Together, Rin and Erenor spun around the Winged Serpent King like a spiraling tornado.
The Serpent King staggered, its horned head swaying to the right and left, forward and back.
Their speed was terrifying; they moved in perfect harmony, as though they shared one mind.
In that moment, countless razor-sharp wind blades shot outward from within the vortex, sending the Serpent King's blood spraying everywhere.
The flames covering its body began to dim, revealing part of its crimson skin, darker than that of the other winged serpents.
Rin and Erenor's attacks remained cohesive with no weak points, maintaining the same initial momentum—unlike the Serpent King, which was in a pitiable state.
The flames around it had been extinguished entirely. Fire had been its invincible shield, yet even that could not withstand their strikes.
Theron was still hacking at the winged serpents. All of his pent-up rage had finally erupted, transforming him into a beast that tore into flesh without pausing to breathe.
He slashed and slashed, never stopping for a moment. His face, clothes, and entire body were stained, as if he had bathed in their blood.
His massive frame gave him the appearance of a gorilla driven by instinct.
Even more horrifying was the way he absorbed their blood—cutting and drinking it at the same time.
Selin looked at him in shock, as if the man now fighting was not her gentle father who had always protected her; yet she did not know how he truly felt about these demonic beasts.
He had longed for vengeance against them, but had never had the strength to kill even one.
And now that he finally possessed that power, could he not fulfill the desire he had always dreamed of—indulging in the pleasure of revenge and slaughter?
With every demon he killed, his thirst for blood grew stronger. Veins popped on his forehead as he fought in a fury, shouting,
"How dare you lay a hand on my only daughter! I will leave not one of you alive! I'll kill you all, I'll kill you all, I will never stop!"
In that moment, his axe blazed with a bloody crimson flame. He swung it back, readying a final strike.
Before him lay hordes of winged serpents. He began to count as they advanced: "One… two…" The flame's spark surged, "Three!"
Swoosh! Every winged serpent within a ten-meter radius was incinerated into charred corpses.
But that did not mean the bodies contained no blood—Theron had been absorbing it the entire time.
He had now reached a tally of 2,500 kills—a staggering number. Not even Rin, Leon, and the others could dispatch 2,000 in a single day; yet he shattered all expectations, achieving a figure perhaps unmatched in the history of this demonic catastrophe—and still climbing.
Rin glanced at Erenor. Erenor nodded—an unspoken signal to end the battle.
The storm's momentum ceased. Both warriors landed on the ground, while the Winged Serpent King lay unable to move.
Exhausted and soaked in its own blood, it teetered on the brink of death—yet someone must deliver the final blow to claim the power gain.
Rin and Erenor began to argue over who would kill the Serpent King first:
"I'll do it!"
"No, I will!"
"I said I would!"
"No, I will!"
Their bickering grew until Rin spoke, "Then what do you suggest? Whoever reaches it first kills it."
Erenor replied, "Fine, it's yours."
With that, Rin darted toward the Serpent King to finish it off, while Erenor stood still for a moment to process—and then sprinted after him.
After a strenuous effort, Erenor finally drew level with Rin, and they pushed against each other:
"You know that's not fair!"
"Shut up! You know there's no time to wait on the battlefield—either you kill them or they kill you!"
Rin answered as he accelerated to pass Erenor again.
Seeing this, Erenor increased his speed further, yet still fell behind.
At that moment, Rin smiled as he drew his sword, poised to launch his final attack. Erenor, too, ran ready for his decisive strike.
Rin called out, "Victory will be mine—this demonic monster is mine!" Then he glanced back to sneer at Erenor.
Erenor's anger flared and he boosted his speed, but just then, as Rin turned his head to continue his charge, he tripped over a stone. Confused, he fell forward onto all fours like a lifeless corpse, the sand cushioning his fall as he sputtered mouthfuls of grit.
Erenor leapt beside him to deliver his final blow to the Serpent King's head.
Erenor shouted, "Final attack… Lightning Blade!" He swung his sword, forming a crescent of lightning that lifted the Serpent King's head into the air, while hot blood sprayed like a fountain.
Both Rin and Erenor were drenched, as if caught in a rain of blood.
Erenor absorbed all the blood, forging a small symbol—the lightning bolt. Erenor's primary element was lightning.
Erenor dropped to the ground beside Rin, who remained on his knees, coming to terms with having lost the contest to Erenor.
Erenor spoke as he performed the blood-absorption ritual, "I won and you lost. You must accept that outcome."
He extended a hand to Rin. Rin looked up, smiling, and reached out to take it.
"Yes, you're right. A loss is still a loss—no excuses. I admit it, I lost."
"All right, let's help the others."
When they looked toward Theron and Leon, shock registered on their faces. Theron was still slashing, breathing heavily, while Leon lay under the claws of Raar, the Beast King, drenched in his own blood.
Rin did not hesitate; he and Erenor rushed toward Leon. Theron signaled that he could manage on his own, as Leon was fending off Raar alone. Rin and Erenor, chastising themselves for their foolish bickering, could not forgive themselves if Leon suffered serious harm.
Raar saw them coming, withdrew his claws from Leon, unfurled his wings to slap the air, and soared into the sky to launch a long-range attack.
In a frenzy, he opened his mouth and began to form a ball of light in his throat, which grew larger with each moment he opened it.
Rin and Erenor halted in place. Rin called out, "Watch out! He's preparing a long-range attack!"
Erenor replied, "Yes, we mu—"
Before Erenor could finish, he found himself lying on the ground. Their expressions were grim: terror, fear, shock.
Raar's attack was incredibly swift; if not for Rin's quick reflexes, Erenor would have been turned to ash that scattered in the gale. Raar's assault was a flash of yellow lightning that incinerated everything in its path—even the golden sand vaporized—leaving a colossal crater that pierced to the earth's core, with smoke rising relentlessly.
Erenor remained drenched in sweat; he realized that without Rin at his side, he would have been dead.
Rin stood speechless, unsure what to say—what had just happened was utterly terrifying.
Theron, shocked, halted his own attacks; a torrent of thoughts assailed him: "This is getting worse—can we even win?"
He forced the thoughts aside to steel himself anew for the extermination of these demonic beasts.
Beside Rin, Erenor challenged him, "Can we beat him? If that orb of light had struck me, I would have been nothing but a charred corpse."
Rin looked at Erenor and replied, "We saw it all—but do we have any choice but to face him? We have no escape and nowhere to hide. All around us is this desolate desert—no caves or shelters to flee to. Even if we tried to escape by air, we couldn't carry the girls and the others. Think carefully; we have no option but to fight—victory or death."
Erenor nodded, "Yes, you're absolutely right. There are no choices left; we must try to defeat him."
But Raar could not wait for their "victory or death" debate to conclude. As Rin and Erenor finally resolved to move, Raar was already charging up another assault. Cold sweat dripped from their brows.
Rin spoke quickly, "Let's split up to distract him!"
Erenor moved swiftly to hover in the air, while Rin circled
Raar, attempting to divert his attention.
But Raar paid him no heed. He focused his attack on Erenor, who was twisting and turning to lure Raar away.