Volume 8, Chapter 32 – This Sword Above, the Abyss Below

There was no smoke, yet in the darkness of night, the dazzling blood-red light still illuminated half the sky.

There was a saying like this… no smoke, no injury.

Although smoke and light were quite different, this rule was perfectly reflected in Tianyin.

That was—

Under the Abyssal Lord’s attack that looked world-shrouding and immensely powerful, Tianyin maintained the Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense posture and perfectly defended against the Abyssal Lord’s assault.

Yes, perfectly defended it.

When the light faded, in the Abyssal Lord’s eyes, Tianyin was still in that same Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense posture, looking adorably foolish. Not only that, the posture even seemed to have adjusted its angle just a tiny bit.

“???”

Tianyin was completely unharmed…

At this moment, the Abyssal Lord began to doubt whether what she was facing was truly Tianyin herself.

If it really was her true body and not some projection-like existence… then why was she completely unscathed under such an attack?

The situation was beyond expectation.

In the Abyssal Lord’s plan, she would suddenly appear, defeat Tianyin with lightning speed, seize the Original Sin power within Tianyin as the vessel, then let it resonate with the abyssal power within herself and awaken the power of the End.

But…

Why did it turn out like this?

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“This kind of ability? I’ve lived for so many years and never even heard of it…”

Could Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense really ignore any attack?

Unwilling as she was to believe it, having witnessed it with her own eyes, the Abyssal Lord had no choice but to acknowledge the reality before her.

However… even so, the Abyssal Lord only found the situation troublesome, not hopeless.

The reason was simple. In the Abyssal Lord’s eyes, Tianyin maintaining the Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense posture was completely incapable of fighting. As long as Tianyin lifted her defensive stance, the Abyssal Lord could unleash overwhelming attacks.

“Hmph. If you have the ability, then just keep squatting like that forever. I want to see how long you can keep it up!”

Since she had no way to deal with Tianyin in that posture, the Abyssal Lord could only glare helplessly.

She would wait for an opportunity, for the moment Tianyin stopped maintaining the Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense posture, and then deliver a fatal blow.

「Xiaoyin… something feels wrong…」

Samael quickly saw through the Abyssal Lord’s intentions.

Of course, if Samael were in the Abyssal Lord’s position, she would do the same. The defensive power of Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense was simply too unreasonable. Unless Tianyin lifted it herself, there was essentially no way to counter it.

That was the truth.

『Ah… I know… but I don’t have any good options either…』

Tianyin was also helpless.

She had only wanted to help relieve the pressure on the Dawn army defending the walls, yet she was suddenly ambushed by the Abyssal Lord who had been lying in wait.

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Although she reacted in time and used Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense to block the Abyssal Lord’s attack, if she kept maintaining this posture, it would not take long for the defenders of the Northern Fortress to be wiped out by Inferno’s demon army.

Without reinforcements, unless Tianyin defeated the Abyssal Lord in a short time, the fall of the Northern Fortress was only a matter of time.

『Since that’s the case, Samael, then we can only gamble once… The Abyssal Lord’s power is very strange. I can feel that once I leave the Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense posture, other defensive skills won’t be able to fully block her attacks.』

『But… the moment I lift the posture, the Abyssal Lord’s attack will definitely come.』

『So, Samael. My plan is to instantly activate defensive skills at that moment. Even if we can’t completely nullify the damage, we can at least try to control it within the activation threshold of Wrath.』

『Then, relying on the boost to combat power from Wrath and the other Seven Original Sins, it might not be impossible to fight the Abyssal Lord.』

Tianyin’s plan was actually very simple.

That was to use the Abyssal Lord’s power to activate her strongest state, and then defeat the Abyssal Lord with that peak condition.

One had to know that even before the Seven Original Sins were fully activated, Tianyin could already crush other Throne-tier existences. Now that the Seven Original Sins were fully activated, crushing the Abyssal Lord would hardly be difficult.

「Mm. At this point, that’s the only option, Xiaoyin.」

On the other side, the Abyssal Lord, who had been closely watching Tianyin, also noticed her movement.

The instant Tianyin lifted the Hug-Your-Head Crouch Defense posture, the crimson eyeballs filling the void launched their attacks toward her.

Countless blood-red beams carrying power that seemed capable of annihilating everything surged toward Tianyin.

However, in just an instant, Tianyin immediately activated various high-tier defensive skills she had obtained from other players and those she already possessed.

“Elemental Barrier.”

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“Wall of Sighs.”

“Holy Armor.”

“Frost Armor.”

“Flame Ring.”

“Divine Protection.”

Numerous high-tier defensive skills were released in an instant from Tianyin’s hands. At the same time, the Abyssal Lord’s annihilating attack descended.

The moment the beams struck, dozens of stacked high-tier armors that could withstand a full-force Legendary-tier attack were shattered.

In that same instant, the countless barriers and shields Tianyin had layered were torn apart under the beams’ assault.

Magic immunity, super armor, abnormal status immunity… all kinds of stacked effects were wiped away in the blink of an eye…

“Ugh…”

With a muffled groan, the beams ultimately struck Tianyin herself. But because Tianyin had exhausted all her effort to defend just moments before, she was not killed outright by the Abyssal Lord’s attack.

Her HP plummeted instantly, dropping to below ten percent, as if she would die in the very next second.

「Xiaoyin, are you okay!」

The rapid drop in HP made Samael unable to hide her worry. However, in Tianyin’s perception, Wrath within the Original Sin power was finally activated.

Not only that… within Tianyin’s eyes, the purple light grew ever more dazzling.

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『I’m fine…』

Saying she was fine was a lie. Although this was a game, ever since the first day Tianyin entered it, she had possessed a sense of pain.

So having ninety percent of her HP shaved off by the Abyssal Lord in a single strike sent pain through her body that nearly numbed her mind.

But… the more it hurt, the more excited Tianyin felt.

And along with that excitement, an indescribable fury slowly burned deep within her heart.

『It just hurts a bit… Samael.』

She lightly stated the reality of what she felt, yet Tianyin’s gaze remained tightly locked on the distant Abyssal Lord.

“Huh? You’re still fine? Then let’s do it again!”

Seeing Tianyin appear seemingly unscathed, the Abyssal Lord waved her hand.

In the next moment, blood-red light once again illuminated the heavens.

However, as the sky was lit up, Tianyin’s slightly arrogant voice rang out.

“This sword above—”

“The Abyss below—”