Anbaixiu had truly never considered assassinating this group of paladins. He had always felt the chances of success were slim, and doing so would prematurely expose his true depth.
His estimate of Fanxing's strength was quite accurate; even against a single paladin, Anbaixiu might not prevail. Putting aside victory or defeat, the gear Fanxing wore alone magnified his combat prowess tenfold. Truly killing him would be exceedingly difficult.
With ten paladins gathered together, Anbaixiu leaving his castle to launch an active assault was practically suicidal.
Not to mention those bastards in the City of Alchemy weren't helping in the slightest, acting like spectators while harboring who-knew-what schemes.
Therefore, taking advantage of the castle's terrain to mount a defense had always been Anbaixiu's plan.
Mages simply shouldn't leave their mage towers; that was the proper way of things.
Yet a few days ago, Rose of Decay had sent him a message detailing Fanxing's move to recruit mortals and warning him that the Ryan Empire had methods to harness their power.
Anbaixiu didn't care about their training of mortals. No matter what power they brought, it would ultimately clash head-on with the castle's defensive systems. Either it would hold, or it wouldn't; there was nothing more to say.
But how did Rose of Decay know what those paladins were up to?
After a private chat, Anbaixiu discovered that Rose of Decay actually had a way to monitor their every move. He quickly inquired about the paladins' recent activities.
To his surprise, Fanxing had actually dared to go drinking alone—and more than once.
All one could say was that the youth was still too green.
This was the City of Alchemy, a melting pot of diverse races. How could he dare visit a tavern by himself?
Evidently, these paladins lacked experience. Did they truly think that just because Anbaixiu was building a castle outside the city, he couldn't step inside?
Fanxing had been too careless, assuming that since the Alchemists' Council had agreed to let them rescue their men, it implicitly guaranteed protection for their actions within the city.
In their eyes, the city's rulers ought to stand united with those within the city walls, which was why Fanxing had lowered his guard.
Then again, skill bred audacity. Had Anbaixiu not possessed sufficient trump cards, this assassination attempt would have been utterly meaningless.
Now that Gareth had stepped into the fray, however, the situation was completely different.
A four-meter-tall giant, clad in gear even more luxurious than Fanxing's, with martial skill refined over hundreds of years to the mortal pinnacle.
Gareth's first slash brought Fanxing to both knees, the ground shattering beneath him into a spiderweb of cracks.
The power of a legendary Headless Horseman was beyond Fanxing's ability to withstand. With a single strike, Gareth had shattered most of the defensive spells enveloping him, and cracks even appeared along the paladin's longsword.
The chain wrapped around the serrated blade's hilt pulled taut; as it was wrenched back, it scraped showers of sparks across Fanxing's blade and nearly dragged him along with it.
Fanxing had no choice but to roll across the ground. Seizing the moment the giant drew back the greatblade, he downed two magical potions: a Healing Potion and a Hill Giant Strength Potion.
That first slash had nearly pulverized his internal organs; only after chugging the Healing Potion did he feel slightly better. The second potion, the Hill Giant Strength Potion, was a truly high-grade concoction capable of drastically boosting his physical strength, allowing him to hold out against the opponent's attacks... hopefully?
Grasping the cracked longsword, Fanxing felt little confidence.
What if that previous strike had merely been a probing blow?
Fanxing had no idea just how terrifyingly immense this giant's strength was.
Gareth retrieved the blade. In his massive grasp, the two-meter-long weapon looked almost diminutive, making him seem like an agile skirmisher.
Yet as Gareth swung the chain, the thunderous roar produced by the spinning blade shattered the glass along both sides of the street. The edge grazed the pavement, carving a deep groove in a burst of sparks with greater ease than slicing through bean curd.
Witnessing this, Fanxing hastily cast Bear's Strength upon himself. This monster was too horrific—not even a hill giant could match his raw power.
A dark purple gleam flared within the pitch-black helmet. Gareth swung his greatblade once more, this time wrapped in crackling purple lightning.
Enchanted with thunder and lightning and backed by monstrous brute force, the blade cracked the air with a sonic boom, carving a distinct trail of turbulence.
This was the true might of a legend. If mere mortals encountered such a behemoth on the battlefield, even the wind from his blade would tear them to pieces.
Fanxing's pressure mounted all the more, for this strike was aimed straight at him.
In this moment, Fanxing truly understood the meaning of thunderous momentum. He had no choice but to gather the power of the Holy Light and unleash Divine Smite against the lightning-wreathed blade. Holy Light and blazing flames spiraled around the longsword, radiating an even more dazzling brilliance as it surged upward to clash against the purple lightning, instantly erupting in an explosive roar.
The violent shockwave shattered the buildings on either side.
Watching from the sidelines, Anbaixiu sighed inwardly. Compared to Gareth, a lightweight like himself lagged far behind. If that lightning blade came crashing down, even his castle and its defensive arrays wouldn't hold out for long.
He truly lived up to being the powerhouse nailed to the Ryan Empire's pillar of shame. This unadorned, absolute might was genuinely terrifying.
Fanxing couldn't withstand such an assault. After the second strike, his longsword shattered completely, and his body was hammered deep into the earth. Had his armor not been exceptionally high-grade, that single blow would have cleaved him in two.
Even so, Fanxing was severely injured. Not only was his weapon destroyed, but his armor had warped out of shape, and countless bones were broken.
Retracting his greatblade, Gareth muttered in annoyance, "I haven't even put my back into it."
Anbaixiu thought to himself, *It's bad enough this brute tries to kill him, but rubbing it in is going a bit too far.* This was a hostage, after all, someone who could be ransomed to the City of Alchemy for gold. One had to show proper respect to money.
Anbaixiu floated over, just about to seize Fanxing, when dazzling Holy Light suddenly erupted from the crater.
Startled, Anbaixiu dodged away in a panic, narrowly avoiding being bathed in the radiance.
Fanxing's grievously wounded body floated slowly out of the deep pit. His twisted armor repaired itself within the Holy Light, sprouting runes even more ornate and intricate than before. The shattered enchantment arrays reignited, growing even more potent under the Holy Light's blessing.
Fanxing's flesh rapidly regenerated as well, completely healing all his injuries in the blink of an eye. Even his eyes turned a platinum hue, making him seem like an entirely different person.
Seeing this, Anbaixiu was not surprised. Instead, he spoke in a pitying tone, "Young paladin, you are seeking your own destruction. Burning your lifespan to briefly breach the legendary rank—how long can you keep that up? A minute? Or thirty seconds?!"
Enveloped in the Holy Light, Fanxing laughed aloud. "I told them that to defeat evil, one may sacrifice one's life. As a paladin, if even mortals can do so, how could I fear it? It is nothing more than death."
Fanxing raised both hands high, and a greatsword forged purely from Holy Light coalesced in his grip.
"Holy Light, grant me the strength to purge evil!"
Roaring his declaration, he channeled that life-burning might to unleash a strike toward Gareth like a rainbow piercing the sun.
This was a true paladin! This was a true Divine Smite!
The blinding Holy Light illuminated half the City of Alchemy, leading many to believe the sun had risen early.
Pushing open doors and windows, onlookers could see a colossal holy blade piercing the heavens, cleaving downward with world-splitting fury.
Holy Light rained down, engulfing Gareth's entire body.
The violent collision of light and darkness triggered a barrage of explosions, billowing clouds of smoke and dust that blanketed the avenue.
The once-youthful lad in his twenties now possessed a full head of white hair, his face lined with deep wrinkles.
Fanxing spat a mouthful of blood. The Holy Light around him rapidly dimmed, and he collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
That strike had nearly burned away all of his life force, but the power it gathered had transcended the mortal realm. Even if that giant was a legend, that single blow was enough to slay him.
It was only a pity that the lich had fled too quickly; unable to perfectly command this legendary power, Fanxing could not lock onto a lich who possessed so many tricks up his sleeve.
As the dust gradually cleared, the giant's silhouette remained standing, but everything above his neck had vanished.
Fanxing's all-out strike had finally cleaved off this formidable foe's head. Surely that vast Holy Light had utterly destroyed his body and purified his soul.
Wait... why was the giant still moving?!
Chapter 65