Ed sensed the murderous intent behind him. He quickly rolled and dodged, narrowly avoiding the Undead Hunter's longsword as it scraped past his body, tearing his clothes.

With the strength of a high-tier Silver Hunter, the Undead Hunter Knight had a clear advantage in battle against Ed, who was only a mid-tier Silver Hunter. Especially with the dense moonlight energy surrounding them, which enhanced the monsters, giving them an even greater advantage.

Ed gripped Leon's golden longsword tightly in his hand, dodging as he tried to get closer to the blood-red orb.

However, the Undead Hunter Knight was not going to let Ed's actions go smoothly. He spurred his Skeleton Warhorse and leaped high into the air, landing directly in Ed's path, blocking his way forward.

With a cold look, the Undead Hunter Knight swung his steel sword, a symbol of the Hunter, and sneered at Ed. His withered face displayed an eerie contempt.

Slowly, he spoke: "Boy, stop trying to struggle. You're nothing but a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. A mid-tier Silver Hunter, daring to be so reckless, it's laughable."

This wasn't just the Undead Hunter Knight's opinion; even the other Hunters from Dorey City shared the same thoughts.

To them, the gap between Ed and the Undead Hunter Knight was massive. Moreover, the environment here was weakening the Hunters but strengthening the monsters.

The Hunters, who had briefly felt hope when seeing Ed's actions, were now silent. Some closed their eyes, quietly awaiting death.

Others, though unwilling to accept this fate, bit their lips, their eyes fixed on Ed, hoping for a miracle, perhaps the Undead Hunter Knight would suddenly fall, allowing Ed to seize the opportunity and kill him with a single strike.

Even though such a hope seemed absurd, at that moment, it was a tiny flicker of hope in the depths of despair.

Eng, who had been battling Philoctetes, couldn't help but take a deep breath when he saw the Undead Hunter Knight catch up with Ed. He glanced back at where Finniel was.

He knew that the mission was doomed to fail. Finniel and Melissa still had a chance to escape safely since they had not directly joined the battle. Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to destroy the blood-red orb.

Eng felt immense pain in his heart, not just from the lack of hope, but also from the concern for the Holy City. If they couldn't obtain the Undead Crystal, something terrible might happen sooner than expected.

As for Leon, there weren't many Undead Monsters around him at this moment. He had fallen into a dazed state, his body trembling as he muttered to himself:

"No, no, I don't want to die, I can't die. I haven't become the heir of the family yet. How can I die in a place like this?"

"Who will change all of this?"

"Please, save me!"

Just as everyone was sinking into despair, Ed's voice calmly rang out. He slowly said, "Sorry, you've said something wrong."

The Undead Hunter Knight froze. He stared at Ed, his face full of confusion.

At such a life-or-death moment, he saw calmness on Ed's face, like the ocean itself—no panic, no fear.

And what had he said that was wrong?

The Undead Hunter Knight, feeling puzzled, countered, "What did I say wrong?"

Ed didn't respond immediately. He was looking at the information prompt before him:

[99% to breaking through high-tier Silver]

Seeing that Ed didn't answer right away, the Undead Hunter Knight sneered, a look of disdain crossing his face. He said scornfully:

"It seems I overestimated you. Right now, your heart is filled with fear of death, but you're just forcing a calm mask."

"Boy, you..."

Before the Undead Hunter Knight could finish his sentence, Ed slowly raised his longsword, glowing with golden light, the tip pointing at the Undead Hunter Knight. His eyes were full of eager excitement.

The Undead Hunter Knight saw the fighting desire in Ed's eyes. His previous look of disdain gradually disappeared, and he became serious. He dismounted from his horse and said:

"I've seen many people, when facing death, overwhelmed with fear and despair, striking out recklessly. But your eyes tell me you're not one of those who will break under it."

"You deserve respect. My name is Harrison Dean, Hunter. Tell me your name!"

Ed's excitement grew even stronger, as the progress bar moved up again.

[99% to breaking through high-tier Silver]

He slowly answered, "Hunter, Ed Lucifel."

The situation here made other Hunters take notice. Those who had closed their eyes in despair now opened them, watching Ed's frail yet still upright figure.

The longsword glowing with golden light stretched Ed's shadow, creating an indescribable sense of awe.

Even in the face of despair, even with less power than the enemy, even knowing the outcome would likely be failure, Ed still chose to continue the fight.

An invisible atmosphere spread among the Hunters of Dorey City. Originally, due to the surrounding environment, their bodies had weakened, and they had fallen into various negative states. Many Hunters who had dropped their weapons now clenched their fists, gritted their teeth, and picked up the weapons from the ground, their eyes fixed on Ed's back.

Philoctetes, who was fighting Eng, sharply sensed the change in the battlefield. With one powerful blow, he sent Eng retreating, then turned to glance at Ed. Afterward, Philoctetes sighed:

"It's a shame. No matter how unwilling you are, you still can't make up for the gap in strength. This world is not some laughable fairy tale. Strength is everything…"

As Philoctetes spoke, a slight smile appeared at the corner of Ed's mouth.

[100% to breaking through high-tier Silver]

[Successfully broke through to high-tier Silver Hunter]

[Progress towards breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 1%]

[Reward received: Spirit Wind Seal]

In an instant, Ed felt a massive change within his body. A surge of power filled him, and his legs felt slightly warm. He could sense a Seal pattern being drawn on his legs.

In a mere instant, under everyone's watchful eyes, Ed's aura grew even stronger.

The first to notice this was, naturally, the Undead Hunter Knight closest to him. A look of indescribable surprise contorted his withered face.

Just moments ago, Ed had been a mid-tier Silver Hunter. In just a few breaths, he had become a high-tier Silver Hunter, his strength now on par with the Undead Hunter Knight's?

The other Hunters from Dorey City were equally shocked. They all froze for a moment, then their expressions shifted from despair to a glimmer of hope.

This sliver of hope seemed almost too unreal to be true, like a dream that they dared not even touch.

It wasn't until Ed moved that the illusion was shattered. He swung his longsword, glowing with golden light, and struck the Undead Hunter Knight's sword with great force, pushing the Undead Hunter Knight back three or four meters.

At that moment, the Hunters of Dorey City realized that it wasn't an illusion. Ed had truly broken through to become a high-tier Silver Hunter, capable of fighting the Undead Hunter Knight!

In an instant, all the Hunters from Dorey City, as if in unison, raised their longswords high and shouted with all their might:

"Great job, Ed!"

The most emotional reaction came not from the Dorey City Hunters, nor from Eng and his group, but from Leon.

From the despair of death to the hope of survival, Leon nearly broke down in tears. He shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Ed, you'll be my good brother from now on! Damn it! I really wasn't human before for what I did to you!"

"Ed, kill that Undead Hunter Knight! Hurry!"

At that moment, the focus of the battle between the Hunters and Undead Monsters shifted from Eng and the Elf Undead Philoctetes to Ed and the Undead Hunter Knight.

Everyone knew that if Ed could defeat the Undead Hunter Knight and get close to the blood-red orb to destroy it, Philoctetes would no longer be able to suppress Eng and the others.

At that point, the situation would change completely!

The most critical part of the battle, Ed versus the Undead Hunter Knight, was unfolding with intense combat.

The sounds of clashing swords rang out constantly. The Undead Hunter Knight, with his high-tier Silver Hunter strength, began to show his true power, opting for the most aggressive strategy: trading injury for injury.

Instead of dodging or defending against Ed's attacks, the Undead Hunter Knight didn't hesitate to attack back fiercely!

As long as Ed's golden longsword struck him, he would retaliate by stabbing his own sword into Ed's body.

Even though he knew that the golden sword, glowing with light, had a restraining effect on him and would cause him serious harm, he chose to risk it.

As for Ed, he constantly adjusted his angles of attack, trying various approaches.

After becoming a high-tier Silver Hunter, Ed's desire to fight seemed to diminish somewhat, because he realized that the moonlight energy here could continue to enhance his progress.

[Progress towards breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 2%]

Although the rate of progress had slowed significantly, it was still increasing. Ed hoped to delay as much as possible, trying to buy enough time for his progress to improve further.

But just as he was thinking this, the situation with Eng and his group worsened.

Philoctetes suddenly erupted with power, launching a torrential storm of attacks on Eng and the others. Eng and his group were forced back, sustaining severe injuries!

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