[Ding! Command confirmed!]
[Ding! 2000 bloodstone consumed, purchase successful!]
The cold, mechanical voice of the system echoed.
In the next instant, time seemed to freeze in Raine's perception.
The claws swung by the gargoyle, Gore's desperate roar, the flames burning...
A surge of potent blood energy instantly shattered the Trainee-level barrier!
Power!
A tidal wave of strength surged from his limbs and bones!
The weakness brought on by battle and blood loss vanished, replaced by the illusion of being able to punch through mountains!
He saw the energy enveloping his body.
It was the blood energy transformed from bloodstone, unique to him!
[Ding! Temporary level purchase completed!]
[Current rank: Formal Level 9 (Temporary).]
[Duration: 59 minutes and 58 seconds... 57 seconds...]
The world suddenly resumed its normal flow!
The gargoyle's claws were now only 20 centimeters from Raine's face!
The gargoyle had already imagined the scene of crushing the ant-sized head before it!
But the next moment, it saw a pair of eyes suddenly open wide, with an abyss seemingly spinning in their depths!
A hand suddenly grabbed its wrist!
"Huh?"
Before it could react.
Crack!
A bone-chilling cracking sound echoed!
The gargoyle's arm, strong enough to tear steel, was forced to crack open!
"How is this possible...?"
Before the gargoyle could respond.
Raine moved!
A simple, straight punch!
But this punch, infused with the newly awakened blood energy and surged strength, was faster than imaginable!
Boom—!!!
The fist landed solidly on the gargoyle's chest!
There was no dramatic scene of the gargoyle being sent flying.
Instead, its entire chest caved in at the point of impact!
Cracks spread like spider webs across its body in the blink of an eye!
Hah!
Hah hah...
The gargoyle stared at Raine in disbelief, seemingly trying to say something.
But the golden flame in its eyes was quickly dimming!
Crack!
The next moment, this Trainee Level 9 gargoyle exploded from the inside out!
Countless pieces of rubble and dust scattered to the ground.
[Ding! Killed Trainee Level 9 gargoyle, bloodstone+260]
The might of a single punch, terrifying!
The transformation brought by reaching Formal Level far exceeded Raine's expectations!
This was a preliminary leap in life tier!
But right now, he had no time to savor it, as there was less than an hour remaining!
Raine's eyes instantly locked onto the three most urgent points.
Old Gore was being overwhelmed by the Boulder Beetles and Shadowclaw Beasts, with life hanging by a thread.
Kyle was being relentlessly pursued by a Formal-level gargoyle!
Pros and Matthew were exposed to the gaze of another Shadowclaw Beast that had circled around.
The priority was clear in an instant!
Rescuing Gore was the easiest and would immediately free up one more fighter.
Raine pushed off the ground, causing a shallow pit to explode beneath his feet.
His figure blurred into a shadow, reappearing next to Gore in the blink of an eye.
"Gore, old man, lower your head!"
Gore instinctively lowered his head, only catching a glimpse of a dark red curtain of blades above him!
Whoosh!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Four Shadowclaw Beasts pouncing in mid-air were instantly dismembered into several pieces.
The stench of blood and severed limbs splattered everywhere!
[Killed Shadowclaw Beast×4, bloodstone+230!]
One Boulder Beetle was sliced in half like paper by a flash of the blade!
Its green blood splattered everywhere.
The other Boulder Beetle, seeing this, immediately retreated in terror.
Raine's left hand reached out, grabbing its hard shell at the seams, and then he yanked!
Riiip—!
The shell, along with chunks of flesh, was torn open!
The Boulder Beetle let out a dying wail, and Raine casually tossed it away, sending it crashing into a low wall.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
The blood-soaked Gore felt the pressure lighten, and the alien forces surrounding him were instantly wiped out!
When he looked up, still dazed, he saw Raine standing tall like a spear.
"Re...n?"
"You..."
Gore muttered, almost unable to believe his eyes.
"Old Gore, can you still move?"
"If you can, go help Pros and Matthew!"
Raine's calm voice came through.
"Don't worry! It's nothing, I'm not dying just yet!"
Gore was inspired by the calmness, and a fierce determination surged in him again.
Without another word, he grabbed his sword and rushed toward Pros.
Meanwhile, Raine's gaze turned toward Kyle.
Facing a Formal Level 9 gargoyle, Kyle, at Trainee Level 8, had no ability to fight back.
The two claws were less than half a meter from Kyle's head!
It was about to tear this poor insect apart!
Kyle's eyes reflected the increasingly large stone claws, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.
Was this the end?
Such a pity...
It felt like he hadn't killed enough yet!
At this critical moment, a figure violently cut between the two!
Raine, with both hands gripping a blade, swung his Iron Cutter sword with dark red blood energy, almost turning it into a solid substance!
All his strength poured into the slash, making it a reverse cut from bottom to top!
"Get away!"
Clang—!
The blood-colored blade light clashed with the stone claws with a deafening crash!
A visible shockwave exploded!
The gargoyle's two once unstoppable claws were actually forced to stop in mid-air!
In the gargoyle's golden eyes, there was a clear expression of human-like confusion.
It could clearly feel the violent, unfamiliar energy surging from the blade, carrying a domineering and corrosive force!
But what truly terrified it was that this human, who had once been as weak as an ant, was now unleashing pure strength that could actually rival it!?
It was a high-level gargoyle, renowned for its strength and defense!
Even in the entire alien army, the gargoyle clan ranked high in terms of power!
No!
Not just resisting!
Raine's eyes turned crimson.
The blood energy on the Iron Cutter sword surged wildly, gradually forcing the gargoyle's claws upward!
"Kyle, uncle!"
Raine gritted through his teeth, "Attack its right wing joint!"
Having just escaped the clutches of death, Kyle was shaken to his core by the sight in front of him.
But he was an experienced mercenary, and in the blink of an eye, he seized the opportunity!
Enduring the pain in his chest and abdomen, he roared.
The fire on his greatsword flared up, and he struck at the gargoyle's right wing and body joint!
This was the key point for the gargoyle's flight and balance, and also a relatively weak spot in its stone skin defense!
The gargoyle tried to defend, but Raine's blade kept its claws pressed against its chest, immovable!
"Hiss—!"
The gargoyle let out an angry scream, its stone wings sweeping toward Kyle!
Pshhh!
Kyle's flaming sword struck first, piercing the gargoyle's right wing!
The red flame surged into the wound, clashing violently with the gargoyle's internal stone energy!
Boom!
The gargoyle's right wing exploded!
The entire wing immediately hung limply, and the intense pain caused the gargoyle's movements to stiffen fatally.
And Raine was waiting for this moment!
"Die!"
He roared, pouring all his blood energy into the sword!
The blood energy on the Iron Cutter blade instantly doubled, forming a burning blood-red crescent!
The gargoyle hastily tried to block with its claws.
Sizzle—!
There was no earth-shattering crash, only the soft sound of a hot knife slicing through butter.
The gargoyle's invincible claws were severed at the wrists!
Its chest was slashed open with a deep wound!