Chapter 53: Retribution

The surrounding dust and smoke were gradually dissipating. Aside from the small area where Miss Vilyric stood, the ground within a radius of several dozen meters had transformed into a sunken valley, pitifully pockmarked.

This combined attack was actually within her expectations.

After all, Miss Vilyric had heard the commander’s cries earlier; the other side couldn’t just randomly come at her with a snare. Even in games, restricted skills serve to pave the way for future attacks; the principle holds true here.

She truly did not expect that a force of about a thousand troops sent from Demon Town would manage to launch more than ten attacks comparable to legendary levels at the same time—one of which even surpassed a single strike’s standard.

But then again, attacks merely on par with legendary level are still just that—on par. In combat of the same tier, unless one simply refuses to resist, achieving an instant kill on the opponent is quite difficult. Not to mention, these obvious precursor strikes weren’t hard for powerful individuals to evade.

So they only had a bit of utility under specific conditions, and that didn’t mean every bone cannon was truly equivalent to a legendary strongman.

From the dust, the sound of scattering footsteps could be heard. It seemed some troops had been ordered to come check the situation.

Waving away her armor-like light shield, Miss Vilyric touched the shield-shaped amulet hanging from her neck that was emitting a faint glow, shaking her head in resignation.

She had indeed been overly cautious. This was merely a minor scuffle with humans. With her Lv80 base attributes, even without any equipment boosts, she was well-equipped to handle it. This sanctified-grade protection gear was probably unnecessary.

She focused her gaze on the approaching figures.

“…Demon Hunters, huh, Demon Hunters?”

Remembering what Alvins had told her earlier about the true nature of these so-called Demon Hunters, and thinking of those tragic magical beast slaves in the underground black market, Miss Vilyric’s gaze turned cold.

When dealing with such scum, there was probably no need to hold back.

A faint conversation echoed from a distance, captured by Miss Vilyric’s sharp hearing.

“Hey, do we really need to be this careful? Setting aside everything else, that thing launches a super demon cannon that wastes a 5th grade magical core with every shot. Even the toughest guy should have been turned to ashes by now, right?”

“Shut the hell up! Didn’t you see that monster wipe out the shield guard brigade? That’s something a legendary demon couldn’t possibly do! The opponent likely still has fighting strength. If you want to die, fine, but don’t drag me down with you!”

So they were using shattered legendary cores as a cost to fuel this. No wonder they could exhibit power surpassing a single blow.

Miss Vilyric smiled, like a flickering shadow. Amidst the smoke and dust, she suddenly appeared beside the enemy who had just spoken.

“Too bad, I’m still here and not ash yet~”

“Ugh!!”

“She’s right there! Don’t panic! Just throw the demon dust and prepare for battle!!”

Startled cries and furious yells erupted. The surprised Demon Hunter reacted without hesitation, immediately tossing a handful of white, powdery particles from his bag, charging forward while swinging a dual-pronged spear in the direction of where Miss Vilyric had spoken!

Yet his furious, full-attack strike only met empty air. Miss Vilyric had already evaded using the still-causing dust clouds, moving faster than him to reposition to the other side, and with a crackling sound, the electrified end of her three-section whip struck him right at the waist.

“Bang!”

The Demon Hunter with dual harpoons flew backward without a doubt, convulsing violently in the air as sparks of electricity crackled all over him. By the time he crashed through several large trees and finally came to a stop, he was scorched black, dead beyond all hope.

“Holy crap, she’s still that strong?!”

“Why is the demon dust even ineffective against her? Isn’t this creature a slime?!”

“Damn it, I can’t see anything! What’s happening?!”

“Don’t panic! Nobody panic! She can’t be unharmed! She’s definitely holding on! Clear away the annoying dust and keep your eyes on her. Watch out for her trying to escape!”

The Demon Hunters who had witnessed one of their own get taken out swiftly fell into temporary chaos. Meanwhile, the troops outside, disoriented by the dust, didn’t dare to make any reckless moves.

And after dispatching the guy with the harpoons, Miss Vilyric didn’t immediately attack again. Instead, she wiped off the slight residue of dust from her body, frowning slightly.

What’s this stuff? They called it demon dust?

It’s a bit strange… this thing…

In fact, the hunters had misjudged; this strange white powder did have some effect on her current slime body. However, Miss Vilyric had sensed something amiss and managed to dodge, so she hadn’t been hit outright. Coupled with her high-level resilience, the effects weren’t very pronounced.

Although she only brushed against a bit during her dodge, Miss Vilyric still felt that this temporary body experienced a bit of disarray when in contact with that dust, as if her inner magic had momentarily surged, giving her an uncontrollable sensation.

Since this wasn’t her true body, it was hard for Miss Vilyric to articulate more detailed feelings, but this sensation seemed to be a kind of instinctual reaction, and it definitely wasn’t only aimed at the slime race—demon dust… magical beasts?

The Demon Hunters carried this powder with them and tossed it around wantonly, suggesting that the demon dust must have no effect on humans.

What exactly is this stuff?

While she was somewhat puzzled, now was clearly not the time for slow contemplation.

After all, this body belonged to Xiao Lan. It would be best to take quick action while the opponent was distracted; Miss Vilyric wasn’t sure what negative impacts inhaling a lot of that demon dust would have on this body.

With sparks flashing, Miss Vilyric once again appeared beside another Demon Hunter, who frantically rummaged for a gem with a hole in it—as if planning to absorb the surrounding dust—wrapping her electrified three-section whip right across him.

“Bang!”

The other side didn’t even have time to react with their weapon to resist, flying through the air once more like a cannonball, colliding against a distant cliff face, just as the previous one had.

“There! There! Don’t hold back, just go all out!”

Several shimmering blades of various forms shot through the air simultaneously, but Miss Vilyric merely took a step, easily dodging the clearly poison-laced projectiles, and once again disappeared.

“Bang!”

Another body, reduced to charcoal by electric shock, was hurled away.

The girl, having successfully struck, moved with a blank expression, turning back to face the horrified gaze of the man nearby. With a swift motion, she smashed the round shield he had raised, the force not lessening as it slammed right into his protected chest.

“Bang!”

“What the hell are you doing, just standing there! Let loose with everything you have!”

“Bang!”

“Aaahhh! Die!!”

“Bang!”

“What’s that idiot Ahybern doing? Just watching?!”

“Bang!”

“No, we can’t do this! Let’s run!!”

“Bang!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!”

Sparks flew as the sounds of hard objects colliding with flesh resonated like rain, like a symphony of drums.

The Demon Hunters—experts with deep knowledge in fighting magical beasts, or rather, those whose hands were soaked in the blood of innocents—were tasting, for the first and last time in their lives, the fear of being ruthlessly crushed where even fleeing became a wishful luxury.

Before this lightning-wrapped golden slime girl, they were nearly utterly defenseless.

The wheel of causality spun backward, as if fate were inescapable at this moment.

“Monster, monster! Don’t come over here, don’t come over here ahhh!!!”

“Bang!”

   

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