Lord: I can see loyalty.

Heinrich's gaze fell on Vio.

The old man's deep blue eyes lingered on Vio for several seconds before his brow twitched slightly.

"Count Vio," Heinrich began, his voice low, "how...how did you manage to get to the monster's flank just now?"

Vio was slightly taken aback. He certainly didn't have the habit of showing off, but the old man's words were clearly not a test, and he had no need to hide anything.

"It's a breathing technique," he replied briefly. "I've mastered the first level of sand breathing."

Heinrich's eyebrows instantly rose.

He didn't speak immediately, but instead examined Vio carefully again, not at his magic ore longsword, nor at his striking dark skin.

He was watching the rise and fall of Vio's chest as he breathed, observing the rhythm of his breathing.

"...First tier."

The old man repeated the word, his tone calm, but his eyes held a hint of approval.

"Our Grand Master of the Holy Knights has practiced the Holy Light Breathing Technique for twenty years, and only broke through to the first level in his third year..."

He didn't continue speaking, but his calm gaze said it all.

Vio was neither modest nor exaggerated; he simply gripped his sword hilt, stared at his enemy, and maintained his steady breathing.

"...The younger generation is truly formidable." Heinrich uttered these four words.

Jimmy, covered in the blood of his enemies, grinned upon hearing this, as if he were the one being praised.

Albright wiped the grime from his face, and although he didn't understand what breathing techniques were, he still spoke up: "Count Vio is a brother of our Cooper clan! What's this little skill of his!"

Vio didn't turn around to look at the others, but simply raised his sword slightly: "Lord Heinrich, I'll leave the control of the situation to you. That monster dares not approach the Holy Light."

Heinrich showed no displeasure at the imperative tone.

He simply nodded, slowly lifting the warhammer from his supporting position, gripping the handle with both hands, and exerting force with his shoulders and back, causing the aged muscles beneath his armor to bulge instantly.

"clear."

The moment the sound faded, his body moved.

The burly figure transformed into a golden lightning bolt and charged out. With each step Heinrich took, the black mud remaining on the ground shrank instantly as if it had been exposed to a raging fire.

The enormous black mud monster let out an even more piercing scream!

It tried to retreat, but its massive body was stuck too tightly at the cave entrance, so it could only try to spew out black mud. However, Heinrich's raised warhammer was like a moving shield of light, and any attack of black mud would disintegrate into dust the moment it touched the light.

"roar--!!!"

"Now!" Heinrich shouted.

Vio was already prepared, his entire body covered in a dark black color, and his internal breathing was in full swing.

He rushed to the flank, reaching the wounds exposed by the monster as it frantically tried to avoid the holy light.

A glimmer of light appeared in the will of the South.

Slay him!

With the first sword strike, the severed tentacle flew off!

The second strike! The monster's eyeball exploded, and black mud splattered everywhere!

The third strike! Vio stepped on the monster's body, which was contracting in agony, and used the momentum to leap into the air, passing over the giant maw that had once spewed death.

Since the monster had no leader, there was no such thing as beheading.

His attack reached deep into the black mud.

"Roar—!!!" The monster roared again, and several barbarian warriors appeared out of nowhere, trying to stop Vio.

But it was too late.

Glenn had already strode forward, his greatsword sweeping across the area, clearing out the last three totem warriors who tried to block Vio's landing point.

Heinrich swung the warhammer burning with holy light with both hands, leaped high into the air, and slammed it down hard into the very center of the monster's black mud core, which was gathering and trying to make a last-ditch effort!

"boom----!!!"

Two figures landed, and this black mud monster, which had been corrupted for hundreds of years and devoured countless lives, began to disintegrate from the inside under the dual crushing force of holy light!

Its enormous body, which almost filled the entire cave entrance, split open in the middle, with black mud flowing out to both sides.

The tentacles that had been waving wildly drooped down one by one, wriggled for a moment, and then stopped moving.

The countless eyeballs that covered the body's surface, opening and closing erratically, also closed one by one and lost their vitality.

The giant mouth was also knocked askew, and the once upright mouth became a paralyzed, horizontal mouth, like a human.

A brief silence fell over the battlefield.

"...We won?" A young militiaman, leaning on his shield, asked, his voice hoarse from exhaustion.

"We won!" Someone shouted first.

Then came the second and third cheers, and finally a continuous burst of applause!

The Southern Militia raised their swords, the Cooper Hunters pounded their chests and howled, and the Blue-Crowned Knights hammered their weapons, the dull metallic sounds echoing through the mountains and forests.

Jimmy gasped for breath, his wide grin pulling at the wound on his face, making him wince in pain, but he still laughed heartily. Albright grabbed Valerie beside her, but was pushed away and burst into laughter as well.

Glenn remained motionless, simply hanging his greatsword and silently watching the lifeless corpse.

Xavier slumped to the ground, and Zinya knelt beside him, opening the first-aid kit to bandage the wound on his arm.

Heinrich stood side by side with Vio in front of the monster, leaning on his warhammer. He glanced at Vio, said nothing, and simply nodded slightly.

Vio stood still, his breathing gradually calming, his dark skin returning to its natural color. He didn't join the cheers, but stared at the monster's corpse and what lay above it...

The system panel that hasn't disappeared yet.

[Status: Absorption complete, recovery complete, change imminent]

Change? Completion?

Vio's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately sensed something was wrong.

What change? The monster is already paralyzed, its core is shattered, what else can it transform into?

A soft "ho" sound.

The sound was very soft, almost drowned out by the deafening cheers behind them.

But Vio heard it and he suddenly looked down.

The giant mouth, which had been twisted and distorted like a human mouth, suddenly stopped flowing with black mud, and even began to flow backward.

Instead, the corners of her mouth began to curve upwards.

That enormous mouth, filled with broken teeth and previously only spewing black mud, was now slowly opening in a way that was completely unlike that of a monster.

The curves were stiff and awkward, like a baby trying to control their face for the first time, but you could still tell it was a smile.

He was imitating.

Then, the voice rang out again.

Heh, heh heh heh, heh heh heh heh.

First came a strange laugh, then the entire coalition fell silent again, dumbfounded.

Then the voice became soft and strange as it was squeezed out of that giant mouth, word by word.

"I remember……"

Countless pairs of eyes that had been closed opened simultaneously.

The gigantic, laughing mouth continued to utter, each word distinct: "Is this how you humans laugh?"