Chapter 163 Hera

"Roar!"

Ten demons howled in unison, creating a terrifying momentum.

However, neither Pang Ding nor Luo Yong were the types to fear anything in this world. Let alone ten demons, no matter how formidable an entity might appear, as long as it could be beaten down, they would charge right in without a shred of hesitation.

"Old Luo, this won't do. You go save Hera, and leave these few pieces of trash to me," Pang Ding said.

"Why aren't you the one going to save her?" Luo Yong glanced in Hera's direction. Although the lighting was poor, her tattered clothes could barely conceal her figure. Her fair skin, stained with dark aura and webbed with bloody gashes, was a sight too tragic to gaze upon.

"I'm not going over there anyway, save her if you want! At worst, I'll quit and just walk away!" Pang Ding shouted, growing somewhat anxious as his figure flickered and he charged directly toward the ten demons.

Compared to a woman of decent looks—especially a wounded one—Pang Ding decisively chose to face the fierce and ugly demons instead.

"..."

Luo Yong rolled his eyes, thinking that this fellow's paranoia had reached such an extreme degree that he truly was a pervert.

Rescuing someone wasn't as if he was going to assault her...

After freeing Hera from the wooden stake, Luo Yong draped his own cloak over her and fed her a few restorative potions.

Though extremely weak, Hera was still conscious and had not fainted.

"You who embrace the darkness yet yearn for the light, you have finally come..."

Inexplicably, upon seeing Luo Yong and the mask upon his face, Hera suddenly uttered these baffling words.

Then, she reached out, attempting to remove Luo Yong's mask.

"No."

Luo Yong stopped her, shook his head, and said, "This won't do you any good... Besides, as an astrologer, didn't you draw a card for yourself before heading out?"

"I can only glimpse a few imminent events; I cannot propound my own fate. Yet some things must be done even when the outcome is known. Everyone wishes to alter those things, isn't that right?" Hera said.

"True, and some things can indeed be changed," Luo Yong replied, pointing at the newly spawned demons that had emerged once again after Pang Ding's previous onslaught—this time numbering a full fifteen. "How should we handle this situation? We can't just keep fighting like this forever?!"

"The goal is to completely annihilate these manifested demons, exhausting the power left behind by the ancient demon, and then reach the altar to defeat it before the ritual is completed... Unfortunately, I am not of a combat class, so I was blocked here and unable to reach the altar..." Hera explained.

"Understood. Rest here for a moment."

Luo Yong produced a handful of healing and restorative potions, shoved them into her hands, and then summoned the Guardian of Holy Light to erect a domain of radiance.

He instructed Boa to stand guard and look after Hera.

"Fatty, there's no other way—let's fight!" Luo Yong strode forward, waving his heavy spear as Pang Ding looked over, shouting aloud as he charged into battle.

"Spear-Jitter Technique!"

"Light... and darkness..."

Hera watched Luo Yong's retreating back, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes as if certain matters remained incomprehensible even to her.

"Infinite... and the void..."

Facing the waves of manifesting monsters, Pang Ding finally chanted phrases tied directly to his class.

"Take my sword!"

Pang Ding moved like lightning, rampaging through the encirclement of monsters. Wherever he passed, a rain of blood followed, his towering figure resembling a god and a demon all at once.

On the other side, Luo Yong was surrounded by a swarm of demons as he retrieved another heavy spear from his storage space.

"Dual-Spear Style! Spear-Jitter Technique!"

Luo Yong thrust forth with both spears, jittering them simultaneously. Before and behind, left and right, were nothing but spear images; wherever they swept, everything was pierced and shattered, completely unstoppable.

Dozens of monsters exceeding level 20 were effortlessly cut down.

"To possess... such combat prowess..." Hera watched the two figures mired in heavy siege yet displaying invincible valor, disbelief written across her eyes.

Judging by magical fluctuations, neither of their levels was higher than hers, yet their speed in slaughtering monsters far outpaced her own.

It was simply beyond comparison.

Though her spellcasting speed was also rapid and the destructive power of her magic could easily crush the monsters here, prolonged combat had ultimately dragged her down into the abyss of a dead end.

Had no one come to her rescue, she likely wouldn't have lasted much longer.

"Is this the fundamental difference between mages and warriors?" Hera murmured.

"Actually, I'm a mage, and my initial dream was to be a lawyer fighting for justice for the people."

Though some distance away and Hera's voice had been extremely soft, not deliberately spoken for anyone to hear, Luo Yong still caught it.

"Huh???" Hera was left in a daze, failing to comprehend what Luo Yong meant, unsure even if he was speaking to her.

"Roar!"

With a synchronized roar, several demons appeared simultaneously, surrounding them once more.

"Then witness my self-created technique: the Rotating Spear-Jitter!"

Using his own body as an axis, Luo Yong swung his heavy spear with both hands, spinning like a top or a grinding stone as he plunged directly into the enemy formation!

"His class must be the Forbidden Spell Guard, but I never imagined he'd be this strong. It makes me wonder if I'm dreaming..." Hera stared at the mercenary who surged through the sea of demons like a rotating meat grinder, falling into a daze.

When she turned her gaze toward Pang Ding on the other side, she was rendered even more speechless—

"An... Infinite Edge Swordmaster!"

The class itself was powerful, but the scene before her completely shattered her imagination.

"I never knew a warrior could be this terrifying!"

Pang Ding's figure flickered as if he were hunting down a horde of monsters several times his number. Whether there was one monster in front of him or ten, he simply plowed right through, crushing them with sheer force.

Even though these monsters were higher in level than him, and even ordinary heroes would struggle to solo these demons at equal levels...

"Could there be deities watching over this place? Evil is ultimately no match for justice and light!"

Hera observed the battle for a moment, watching as wave after wave of slain demons immediately spawned two more, appearing virtually endless.

Yet she knew this was merely a fraction of the power left behind by the ancient demon, and much of it had already been depleted.

"Just a little longer..."

After resting for a bit within the domain of holy light, bathed in its radiance, her wounds slowly began to heal, and with the replenishment of healing potions, she recovered some of her stamina.

Then, she stood up and stepped out of the holy light domain.

Whoosh!

A fierce gale swept past, blowing open the cloak draped over her shoulders. Evil magical energy once again invaded her body, forcing a muffled groan from her lips.

Swish!

A staff materialized in her hand, shimmering with holy radiance.

She began chanting an ancient incantation.

Moments later, a powerful and blinding light erupted. Immense magic surged forth from Hera's body, instantly suppressing the evil power across the entire battlefield.

The radiance washed over the demons, forcing them back into their original forms as wisps of black Qi, which rapidly dissolved and hissed away in the dazzling light.

That momentary burst of magic not only purged the lingering black Qi within Hera's body, but also caused her previously sealed wounds to burst open once more, fresh blood gushing forth.

Simultaneously, the tattered garments clinging to her body finally tore apart completely, turning into countless fragments that fluttered wildly away with the exploding magic.

Aside from the oversized, wind-billowed cloak, not a single thread remained upon her body.

The two emotionless men, who had been thoroughly enjoying their monster-slaying spree, suddenly found all the targets eradicated by her interruption.

Turning their heads, their vision was filled entirely with holy light...

This once again reminded Luo Yong of the phrase "the casual customs of this otherworld."

However, once the magical burst subsided, the cloak draped over her shielded Hera's figure as she let out a muffled groan and collapsed weakly to the ground.

Pang Ding completely ignored her, pretending to have seen nothing as he turned away to face a newly respawned batch of demons, initiating a fresh round of slaughter.

"Sigh!"

Luo Yong sighed, quickly stepping to Hera's side to assess her condition.

Aside from extreme weakness, there was nothing life-threatening; a period of recuperation should set her right.

"Stop pushing yourself. The two of us can handle this."

Luo Yong supported Hera, feeding her another recovery potion as he spoke with a helpless tone, somewhat baffled by her reckless action just now.

"There's no time..." Hera whispered, her eyes filled with desperate anxiety.

"What do you mean there's no time?! Isn't the world still standing?! Hasn't it avoided destruction?!" Luo Yong grew irritated—genuinely angry!

These stubborn women—couldn't one or two of them ever spare themselves some time instead of always acting like heroes?!

"..."

Hera stared wide-eyed at the fierce-looking Luo Yong, slightly bewildered by his sudden outburst of anger.

However, now was not the time for hesitation. She blinked, collected her thoughts, and said in a deep voice, "We must eradicate the remaining evil power here as quickly as possible and prevent the birth of the ancient demon. The ritual is nearly complete!"

In truth, she hadn't cast that spell recklessly; she had utilized that massive burst to purge the black Qi inside her body, effectively performing a self-cleansing purification.

She simply hadn't anticipated that her clothes would be entirely purified away in the process, exposing her body to two men.

The mere thought of it brought a flush of embarrassment, even to her transcendent state of mind.

Then...

She picked up a healing potion, handed it to Luo Yong, and said with a blushing face, "Please help me apply this medicinal liquid over my skin... Doing it over the cloak won't work, the effectiveness drops drastically... There is no time to waste now, I must recover quickly..."

With that, she squeezed her eyes shut with the resignation of someone facing her executioner.

"..."

Luo Yong gave her a peculiar look before handing the potion directly to the Empress.

"Boa, you do it."

"Hmph!" The Empress rolled her eyes, instantly transforming into a figurine and perching on Luo Yong's shoulder, completely ignoring the matter.

"You do it..." Luo Yong turned to the Guardian of Holy Light.

"I don't even have a name..." The Guardian muttered expressionlessly, turning around and shrinking the holy light domain slightly, though its radiance grew even brighter.