Chapter Forty-Four: The Ferocious Crocodile (Part One)

"Why do you also have that hard, unyielding armor? How troublesome! It's so inconvenient to take a bite!" Seeing Yin Seventeen don his sacred attire, Recton grumbled in frustration.

The two saints he had slain earlier were not particularly strong, but their armor was exceptionally tough. Especially that one belonging to the constellation of the Great Whale—even his teeth had been chipped trying to bite through it.

"You want to eat me?" Yin Seventeen narrowed his eyes.

The creature’s half-human, half-crocodile appearance was already revolting, and if he harbored cannibalistic tendencies, it only made him more disgusting.

Recton replied with absolute conviction, "Lord Sobek said that humans are our food. We eat whichever ones we please. You are no exception!"

He licked his lips and immediately lunged forward.

"Gamian, leave this to me. You and Ruolan handle the remaining Crocodile Fighters!" Yin Seventeen quickly sent a mental message to the Crow Constellation, then advanced fearlessly.

From his observations, there were only five silver-level combatants in this underground city. Of those, three had already been slain by him, one had been incapacitated by the monster before him, and the last one was this very creature. With Gamian’s silver-level strength and Ruolan’s assistance, they were more than capable of dealing with the remaining bronze-level Crocodile Fighters.

"Holy Sword—Slash!"

Noticing the enemy entering his attack range, Yin Seventeen raised his hand and unleashed a wave of sword energy.

Unfortunately, this monster was much stronger and faster than the previous three Crocodile Fighters. With a slight twist of his body, he dodged the sword energy.

Swish!

The sword energy struck the crowd behind, instantly slaying three Crocodile Fighters lined up in its path.

Witnessing this, the Crocodile Fighters who had intended to assist were terrified, fleeing to the sidelines and not daring to approach.

Having evaded the sword energy, Recton leaped upward, raising both arms and concentrating his cosmos in his hands, manifesting a crescent-shaped axe.

"Tyrant Rampage!"

Gripping the axe tightly, he brought it down fiercely upon Yin Seventeen below.

Faced with this savage blow, Yin Seventeen felt no fear; instead, he focused his cosmos in his right arm and countered with a hand-strike.

This time, he did not unleash sword energy as before, but kept its sharpness concentrated in his hand.

To him, sword energy was like a blade, while his arm was the sword itself. The blade, however sharp, lacks power without the sword’s body—like a source without roots. Only when blade and body are united does a sword become complete, revealing its true cutting edge.

"Holy Sword—Slash!"

Boom!

Yin Seventeen's right arm, gleaming like a silver sword, collided with Recton's axe. The tremendous impact radiated outward, shattering the ground in a radius of several hundred meters and even collapsing the entrance to the nearby temple.

The unfortunate old priest, already gravely wounded and barely able to rise, was struck again by the shockwave, sent flying and left in even worse shape.

The axe and sword clashed—after a brief stalemate, cracks appeared on Recton's axe.

"Impossible!" Recton stared in disbelief.

This was a technique taught to him by Lord Sobek, capable of splitting mountains in a single blow, yet it had been cracked by such a mere "ingredient." It was simply inconceivable.

Swish!

The cracks on the axe spread rapidly. Yin Seventeen exerted sudden force, cleaving it in two and slashing toward Recton behind.

Yet, his hand-strike seemed dulled and blunt, no longer possessing its previous invincibility. When it landed on Recton's neck, it only cut a shallow line, unable to go further.

Bang!

The half-human, half-crocodile was sent flying.

"What tough skin!"

Staring at his opponent not far away, Yin Seventeen was astonished. "Are you human or crocodile?"

Although his "Holy Sword" was far from perfected, among his peers, no one could withstand his blade with their body. Yet, when it struck this monster’s neck, it merely grazed the surface.

Such a body was terrifying!

Recton quickly scrambled up, dusted himself off, touched his head, and replied confusedly, "I was originally a crocodile in the Nile, but Lord Sobek took a liking to me and transformed me into this form."

"If you ask whether I'm human or crocodile, even I can't tell!"

"But, speaking of which, that move you just used was amazing! Can you teach me?"

His eyes gleamed with longing.

"Ah?"

Hearing this unexpected request, Yin Seventeen nearly dropped his jaw. Seeing the creature’s dumb, honest expression, he quickly devised a plan.

"It's not impossible to teach you, but you must come with me back to the Sanctuary in Greece!" Yin Seventeen said seriously.

This monster was not weaker than he, with a body of extraordinary toughness. The outcome was still uncertain. If he could stall him and lure him back to the Sanctuary, everything would be much easier.

"That won’t work!" Recton shook his head. "Lord Sobek ordered me to stay here. I'm not allowed to go anywhere!"

"Then don’t stop me—let me dismantle this underground city instead!" Yin Seventeen suggested again.

"That's also impossible! Lord Sobek told me to protect everything here, not let anyone destroy it!" Recton counted off his fingers as he spoke.

Hearing this, Yin Seventeen felt a headache coming on.

This fool wasn’t very bright, but he was stubborn, refusing to abandon his post.

It seemed that to destroy this underground city, there was no avoiding this monster.

"In that case, you’ll just have to die!" Yin Seventeen charged forward.

Seeing the sudden attack, Recton exclaimed in confusion, "Hey? Didn’t you just say you’d teach me that move? Why have you changed your mind?"

"Because I no longer wish to teach you!" Yin Seventeen sent a wave of sword energy toward Recton's eyes.

No matter how tough his opponent’s body was, there were always weak spots. The eyes were one of them.

He didn’t need to rack his brains to cut through the creature’s body—he just had to target those vulnerable places.

Hearing this, Recton erupted in rage.

"You liar! How dare you deceive the great Lord Recton!" he roared, charging forward.

Meanwhile, the gravely wounded old priest heard a strange and majestic voice within his mind.

"Offer your soul to me, mortal!"

"Who…who are you?" the old priest asked, dazed.

"Between life and death lies immortality, and I dwell with death!"

Sensing he had encountered something extraordinary, the priest hesitated. "But I’ve already decided to dedicate my soul to Lord Sobek…"

At the mention of that name, the voice seemed to pause, then continued, "Offer your soul to me, and I shall grant you immortality!"

"Do not test my patience, mortal!"

"Well…alright then!"

As soon as he spoke, a blue flame ignited in the old priest’s heart.