Free Web NovelTen seconds is short—barely enough to pour a glass of water, not even enough for two sips before it’s gone.
But for Vieya at this moment, ten seconds was more than sufficient—enough for her to personally resolve every difficulty before her.
She didn’t know what method Flaviel had used to let her briefly return to her peak state, but right now she could clearly feel the surging, overwhelming power filling her body.
And the Holy Sword in her hand seemed to be cheering in that very instant. Even the rust mottling the blade began to melt away. It actively resonated with its master, affectionate and intimate, entrusting all of its sacred power to the pair of hands gripping it now.
It’s back. Everything is back!
“Run! Run! The aura on this monster girl is blazing like the sun—her magic is burning hotter and hotter. She’s no longer something of the mortal world!”
The laughing black shadow seemed to panic.
Vieya spun sharply, slashing a sword strike toward the direction the shadow was fleeing.
Clang!
A piercing sword chime rang out. Under that single strike, the dim sky that still lingered between night and day suddenly became a rising sun, radiant clouds filling the heavens. Heaven and earth were split cleanly into yin and yang by that sword.
The world fell silent for an instant.
Monsters, humans, and even the elves—every one of them was violently shaken by that single sword.
Aislin stood there blankly, supporting the Elven Queen, her beautiful eyes fixed on the sky without blinking. She knew Vieya was strong—an existence leagues beyond the rest of this world—but she still hadn’t expected her to be this strong.
With her own strength alone, a single sword had driven away the night and forced dawn to arrive early, and she wasn’t even out of breath—casual and effortless, like drinking water or eating a meal.
“So strong...” Aislin murmured.
The next second—
Those who had been shocked into a cold sweat, both humans and monsters alike, came back to their senses. Looking up at the monster girl in the sky, they simultaneously formed the same thought: cooperation.
“Hahaha! Looks like the Sword Master of this generation isn’t any weaker than the last one. Perfect—let this old man test your level!”
The man in black robes suddenly flung his cloak aside, revealing a weathered face and a sturdy, muscular body. He focused his spirit and assumed a stance, like a ferocious tiger lying in wait.
“It’s the grand leader of the Vineyard Slave-Hunting Group. As expected, the largest human slave-hunting alliance has set its sights on us too,” the Elven Queen said softly. “I suspect that incident from your childhood had their shadow behind it as well.”
“......”
Aislin fell silent for a moment. She opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing.
“Hahaha! If you’re going to fight, then fight together. Duels are the conduct of noble souls—completely incompatible with our values!”
Laughter rose from many voices within the forest, overlapping and echoing, carrying a manic joy, a strange sense of lament.
They sounded like countless people hiding in the woods, yet when they reached everyone’s ears, the first impression was that all those voices belonged to the same person.
The elven soldiers looked around the forest in terror. The woods that had once been their closest companion now inspired fear from nothing at all.
Within the forest, there seemed to be countless pale shadows, encircling one another, laughing wildly.
“You already guessed the final outcome—so why did you still come? Why? Why...?” a voice spoke from beyond the forest.
‘Quiet.’
Vieya suddenly caught the stench of blood on a rushing gale. She glanced sideways—and saw the massive blood-red three-headed hellhound that had been lying in wait lunging at her, jaws snapping.
Yet Vieya remained unhurried.
She formed a seal with her fingers and pointed. Several strands of golden sword qi instantly fused into a blazing sword light that shot forward, cleaving straight toward the hellhound.
The next instant, two of the hellhound’s heads were severed. It let out a wail as blood sprayed across the sky.
Seeing this, the remaining head grit its teeth and transformed its form. Its true body was far too massive—before the monster girl, it was nothing but a living target.
Then the hellhound produced a blood-red bead, holding it in its mouth. Its wounds rapidly regenerated, and a solid blood-qi barrier formed around it.
This item was the 【Blood Liu Bead】, bestowed by one of the Seven Demon Kings, 【】.
The blood qi on the bead looked thin as gauze, yet was as solid as an impregnable fortress. Sword qi capable of carving thousand-meter trenches into the earth crashed against the barrier with thunderous roars, golden light scattering in all directions.
The hellhound let out a heavy breath. It had been scared out of its wits earlier, nearly believing it would die on the spot.
But now it seemed that with this Demon King–bestowed treasure in hand, it could at least hold out for a bit. With that thought, it turned its gaze toward the remaining allies of other races who had formed a united front, seeking support.
What it saw instead was the sturdy old man who had earlier boasted about testing the monster girl’s strength—already turning tail and fleeing.
“Damn human! I—!”
Crack!
A fissure appeared on the 【Blood Liu Bead】!
The hellhound’s soul nearly left its body. It immediately abandoned any thought of fighting and bolted in the direction the fleeing old man had gone.
It had to escape!
But seeing this, Vieya smiled. “Trying to run?”
As her words fell, the sea of clouds churned like boiling water. A snow-white spell sword tore through the clouds, dozens of zhang long, flashing across the sky above the Elven Forest.
That overwhelming sword chased from forest to grassland, slaying the hellhound outright. It continued onward to the western coast, piercing the heart of the Vineyard Slave-Hunting Group’s grand leader—who had disguised himself as an ordinary boarding passenger—then reversed and beheaded him in a second strike, extinguishing all vitality.
The slave-hunting leader collapsed unwillingly on the deck, blood pooling everywhere. The ordinary passengers around him screamed in terror, their cries alerting the patrolling guards.
They didn’t know who the man was, nor how he had died—only that they were staring at a headless corpse, screaming uncontrollably.
The western coast docks shut down for a day.
Vieya recalled the snow-white spell sword, a look of nostalgia surfacing in her eyes.
Back then, she had been a dual-wielding Hero. Using two swords at once was her complete form. But after this snow-white straight sword had been crushed into fragments by an evil dragon gnawing on it like a chew toy, she had believed she would never touch it again.
She never expected that after all these years, she would have the chance to wield it in battle once more.
It had to be said—the evil dragon’s teeth were truly impressive. Impressive enough to make even Vieya feel envious.
Pulling her thoughts back, Vieya turned her gaze to the last masked man, who had raised both hands in surrender. At the same time, the ten seconds of peak state finally came to an end.
The snow-white small sword dissolved into specks of light in her palm.
Once the invincibility time expired, the slime girl’s entire body went limp, an overwhelming wave of weakness spreading through her limbs and bones.
She couldn’t be bothered to force herself anymore.
She directly recalled the Holy Sword, dispersed the magic power wrapping her body, and let herself fall freely through the wind.
Smack!
Vieya dropped from the sky and landed on a broad bird’s back.
“Hey, youngster—what was the name of that sword move you just used?” Phoenix asked while flying.
“It’s called Thirteen Life-Stealing Swords. My master taught it to me,” Vieya replied, lying on the warm bird’s back and glancing sideways. “Ten seconds is still too short. I only managed to use the first sword.”
“The first sword?” Phoenix was shocked, eyes widening.
“Yeah.” Vieya sighed softly. “There are thirteen swords in total. Each one is twice as powerful as the previous. When you draw the sword, blood must be shed—the enemy’s blood is fine, my own blood is fine too. Once the sword is drawn, there’s no turning back. So? Want to learn it? I’ll teach you.”
“You’re kind of... extreme,” Phoenix clicked his tongue. “No thanks—I’m not learning that!”
“......”
Vieya lay there blinking, saying nothing. She nudged the bird’s back with her elbow, intending to ask whether the elves had a way to hatch dragon eggs—but her voice suddenly grew hoarse.
“Um, you guys... cough, cough...”
“Hey now. You should stop talking for the moment,” Phoenix flapped his wings. “I’ll take you down to rest first. Anything else can wait until you’ve recovered... sigh, thanks for today, really. Those humans were nowhere near as reliable as you.”
“Cough cough... your attitude changed fast,” Vieya said, closing her eyes. “But... you’re welcome.”
“I have to thank you. I’m not some heartless, ungrateful bad bird.”
Phoenix muttered under his breath and carried the slime down, landing steadily in front of the ruined Elven Royal Court.
The masked man who had surrendered had already been fitted with anti-magic shackles and, under the threat of blades, was escorted by the elves into the underground death prison.
For the elves, matters were temporarily settled. Yet even in victory, an invisible layer of dark clouds still hung over their heads.
After seeing Vieya safely brought back by Phoenix, the Elven Queen collapsed for reasons unknown. As a result, only Aislin could take on the responsibility of post-disaster reconstruction, as well as the task of consoling the families of the fallen elves. freēwēbnovel.com
......
Three days later.
Vieya forced her eyes open, but only managed a narrow slit. Her eyelids felt so heavy they seemed glued together.
“Mom’s awake!” someone said in a low, delighted voice.
Following the sound, Vieya turned her head. The speaker stood by the bed in bright sunlight. She could only see a small, blurry silhouette, but she could still tell—it was her daughter.
“Mom, you slept for three days and three nights.”
Jasmine grabbed Vieya’s hand and pressed her cheek against it, rubbing gently like a little beast clinging to its mother’s warmth.
“Aislin-sis has been really busy lately—she can only come by in the mornings and evenings. And that big elf auntie also fainted and still hasn’t woken up.”
“Jasmine... are you okay?”
Vieya’s eyes gradually adjusted to the light. Seeing her daughter looking unharmed, she still couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m fine, Mom.” Jasmine smiled slightly. “These days, Fish-sis has been keeping me company and helping take care of you too. Ah—if only I could grow up a bit faster, then I could take care of you all by myself.”
Toward the end, Jasmine’s voice carried a trace of disappointment—but it vanished in an instant, replaced again by concern for Vieya.
“Oh right—Mom, are you thirsty? Hungry? I’ll pour you some water and bring you food!”
Vieya nodded.
Before long, Jasmine returned to [N O V E L I G H T] the infirmary with fruit and milk, followed by a flustered Isabelle.
“Master, you’re finally awake! I made some soup.”
“Fish-sis, be careful! Don’t burn Mom!”
“I—I’ll be careful!”
“Ah, Fish-sis, let the soup cool a bit first before feeding her. It’s hot right now—I’ll give Mom the milk first.”
Jasmine squeezed Isabelle aside and picked up a spoon to feed the slime some milk.
This makes it the second time my daughter’s fed me, Vieya thought.
After filling her stomach, Vieya began asking Isabelle about the situation at the Elven Royal Court. Learning that reconstruction was still underway, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
“By the way—how is Dorothy doing?” Vieya asked.
Isabelle looked puzzled. “Dorothy?”
“The Elven Queen,” Vieya said. “Didn’t you say she became my fellow patient too?”
Isabelle shook her head, sitting down in the empty spot beside the bed. She picked up a rosy fruit and began peeling it.
“The Elven Queen’s condition isn’t optimistic. Old injuries and new injuries, exhaustion piling on exhaustion. That red, foolish bird stays by her side day and night without even eating. Only when that little elf Aislin supervises does he eat a bit. Sigh, Master—you’ve only just woken up. You should be more concerned about yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
Vieya braced herself against the bed and pushed up, then paused. Turning her head to Isabelle, who was peeling fruit, she spoke seriously.
“Help me up. I want to go see the Elven Queen in her room.”
