I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Mason was the first to spring up from the table, his chest heaving violently. "I want meat!"

Bruno shouldered his greatsword. "The dwarves want to drink!"

Anna picked up the Bible and said softly, "I just need a cup of hot milk."

Alex smiled and pushed open the door.

The candlelight in the corridor flickered, casting long, long shadows of several figures.

They walked down the stairs and through the hall of the Adventurers' Guild.

The hall was still bustling with activity. Several adventurers were turning in their quests at the counter, some were arm wrestling in a corner, and others were drinking and bragging.

No one knew that they had just touched a sacred relic powerful enough to destroy the entire Western Region.

Stepping out of the association's gate, a night breeze swept over me, carrying the dry, dusty scent of the wasteland.

The main street of Kolde was brightly lit, and the signs of taverns and inns swayed and jingled in the wind.

Occasionally, patrolling guards would pass by, their boots making a rhythmic sound as they trod on the stone pavement.

Mason suggested, "Let's go to 'Golden Acorn'. The food there was pretty good last time, and it's nearby."

Seeing that no one else had any objections, Alex nodded and said, "Okay."

They walked along the main street toward "Golden Acorn".

As I turned a corner, I heard a child's shout from ahead.

"Take this! Evil dragon! I am the hero, I will destroy you!"

A little boy stood in the middle of the road, holding a sharpened wooden stick in his hand—one end of the stick was wrapped with colorful strips of cloth, which fluttered in the night wind, serving as a kind of "holy sword".

Standing opposite him was another, even smaller child, draped in a gray sheet, hands on hips, roaring and gesturing like a dragon.

The two children were engrossed in their own "Dragon Quest" world and were completely unaware of the four people approaching.

Alex stopped in his tracks.

Mason stopped too, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Haha... Hero," she lowered her voice, chuckling as she nudged Alex with her elbow, "your colleague."

Alex ignored her teasing and simply watched the little boy waving the stick quietly.

The child's movements were exaggerated and clumsy. With each swing, he would shout "Ha!" and then look back at the "audience" behind him—actually just a few passersby and a cat perched on the wall watching the commotion.

But his eyes were very serious.

That kind of seriousness wasn't feigned.

Alex recognized that look in his eyes when he was a child.

The little boy's "holy sword" struck the "dragon's" bed sheet, and the "dragon" fell to the ground, rolled twice, and then lay still.

"I won! I am the hero!" The little boy shouted, holding up his stick and looking up, his face full of pride.

Then he saw Alex.

To be precise, he saw the white-sheathed longsword at Alex's waist.

The Holy Sword.

Even when sheathed and undrawn, the sword's presence is like a torch in the night, impossible to ignore.

The little boy's eyes widened instantly.

He opened his mouth, the wooden stick in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud," and then walked closer step by step, each step feeling like he was walking on clouds.

"Is this...is this the Holy Sword?"

Alex crouched down to look him in the eye.

"Yes."

The little boy opened his mouth even wider, as if he wanted to say something, but the sound got stuck in his throat and he couldn't get it out.

He was so excited that he couldn't make a sound.

His voice trembled slightly, "I...can I touch it? Just once, gently, it won't break."

Alex looked at him and smiled.

With a warm and gentle smile, he nodded and said:

"Of course you can, but be careful not to hurt yourself."

He untied the holy sword from his waist and held it horizontally in front of him; the holy runes on the scabbard gleamed with a soft golden light under the moonlight.

The little boy reached out his hands and caught the sword as if it were a sacred object.

His fingers gently glided across the scabbard, feeling the unevenness of the runes and the slight warmth emanating from the blade.

His eyes reflected the flowing golden patterns on the sword sheath, as if they contained the entire starry sky.

"So heavy..." he murmured, his hands trembling slightly, but he still held on tightly.

Alex didn't urge him.

Mason leaned against the wall beside him, arms crossed, watching the scene with a smirk; Bruno, carrying a greatsword, grinned, revealing a set of white teeth; Anna stood a little further away, holding the holy book in her hands, her gaze gentle.

After a long while, the little boy reluctantly handed the holy sword back.

He raised his head, his voice clear and crisp, "Thank you, hero. I will practice my swordsmanship diligently. When I grow up, I will become a hero and defeat the Demon King."

Alex took the holy sword, hung it back at his waist, and spoke in a gentle voice with a smile:

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

The little boy looked up, his mouth stretched from ear to ear.

He turned and ran back to the "dragon," picked up the stick from the ground, and held it high above his head.

"I've touched the Holy Sword! The real Holy Sword! The Hero said he'd wait for me to defeat the Demon King!"

The "dragon" got up from the ground and looked at him with adoring eyes.

The two children, laughing and joking, ran into the alley.

Alex stood there, watching the two small figures disappear into the darkness.

"Let's go." He turned and walked towards the "Golden Acorn".

A night breeze blew from the wasteland, causing his blond hair to flutter slightly.

……

Achoo!

A burst of dragon breath erupted from the red dragon's mouth, destroying a small patch of forest. Ji Tian's Emperor Banner inexplicably gained a dozen more Dao Souls.

"What's wrong with you?" Ji Tian opened his eyes and looked at the red dragon who had come to his side and was observing his disciple together.

The red dragon shook its head, its head almost knocking over the pine tree Ji Tian was leaning against. "It's nothing, maybe a dragon is cursing me... But your apprentice is really patient, even with only one spider left, he still resorted to a sneak attack."

Ji Tian retorted, "What do you know? This is called 'Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit'!"

The nest of the rotten wood spider is at the end of the valley, where several withered trees are huddled together crookedly, their canopies covered with grayish-white spider webs, like tattered tents.

The last, slightly larger spider was lying on the largest web, its eight hairy legs curled up, dozing off.

Unbeknownst to it, its kind, as well as other spiders in the vicinity, had all been ambushed by the same person earlier that day.

In the grass, a ball of silver-white hair was swaying slightly.

Lilith crouched behind the bushes, her hands gripping the thick branch that had been broken three times and repeatedly wrapped with hemp rope, her purple eyes fixed on the dozing spider.

She was covered in grass juice, dirt, and spider fluids. Her hood had been torn off by a branch, her long, silvery-white hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and there was a grayish-white mark on her face from where she had been stuck with spider silk.

But she doesn't care.

At that moment, she had only one thought in her mind—to knock on it.

This is the last goal set by the master.

She killed the seventeen small ones and the two large ones one by one.

From the moment she was knocked unconscious by the first assassin and jumped back three steps in fright, to later being able to accurately circle behind her, aim at the junction of the head, chest and abdomen, and kill her with a single blow, she even felt that she had become a mature assassin.

She took a deep breath, bent over, and moved closer step by step with silent steps.

The spider's leg twitched slightly.

Lilith froze, holding her breath.

The spider did not wake up.

She continued to move, one step, two steps, three steps.

The branch is raised, and the aim is taken.

"ha!"