It was clear that Ed's sudden increase in strength had made Philoctetes, who had originally underestimated him, feel a sense of unease. That's why Philoctetes had suddenly erupted, aiming to end the battle as quickly as possible.

Ed also knew very well that if Philoctetes seized the opportunity to deal with Eng and the others, it would be dangerous.

Therefore, while battling the Undead Hunter Knight, Ed didn't hesitate for a second. He attempted to activate the Seal patterns on his legs.

Spirit Wind Seal, activate!

In an instant, it felt as if an invisible wind surrounded Ed's body. He could clearly feel that his body had become much lighter.

At that moment, the Undead Hunter Knight's longsword swiftly and accurately lunged toward Ed's chest.

This time, Ed didn't block the attack with his golden-glowing longsword. Instead, he moved his feet, dodging the Undead Hunter Knight's attack at incredible speed.

Not only that, but after using the Spirit Wind Seal, Ed's speed had greatly increased. While evading the attack, he quickly shifted his position and swung his longsword, striking fiercely toward the Undead Hunter Knight's head.

The Undead Hunter Knight's murky gray-white eyes widened in shock.

During their previous fight, he had already gotten used to Ed's speed. He hadn't expected Ed to get even faster, fast enough that he couldn't react in time!

"Crack!"

The sound of the sword slicing through flesh rang out. The Undead Hunter Knight's shriveled head fell heavily to the ground, but his body remained standing, as though still trying to dodge the attack.

It wasn't until this moment that the Undead Hunter Knight finally reacted. His mouth moved as he slowly managed to speak, "So fast!"

Without hesitation, Ed stomped down with his foot, completely crushing the Undead Hunter Knight's head.

Silence. Absolute silence.

The entire battlefield fell eerily quiet. All the Hunters from Dorey City couldn't believe what had just happened. Just moments ago, Ed had been engaged in an intense, evenly matched battle with the Undead Hunter Knight.

How had he managed to decapitate the Undead Hunter Knight and win the fight in the blink of an eye?

It all felt like a dream. It wasn't until Leon's excited voice rang out that the Hunters from Dorey City finally snapped out of their daze.

Leon couldn't control himself and shouted, "Well done, Ed! Oh my God, you're a hero!"

At that moment, the emotions within him were indescribable. From his initial disdain and hostility to his current excitement and joy, the transformation was overwhelming.

As Eng and the other three guards of the Morton Family saw Ed defeat the Undead Hunter Knight, their expressions first turned to excitement, but quickly became serious again.

This was because Philoctetes was trying to rush toward Ed's direction, aiming to deal with Ed first and ensure no unexpected outcomes.

Fortunately, Eng and his team reacted quickly and, at any cost, blocked Philoctetes' advance.

Philoctetes, in a sudden burst of power, landed a heavy punch on Eng's longsword. The resilient sword bent sharply, and the other three Morton Family guards seized the opportunity to launch a fierce counterattack on Philoctetes.

Eng then turned his head to look toward Ed and shouted loudly, "Ed! Hurry!"

"It all depends on you now!"

At this moment, all hope was placed in Ed. Although he had defeated the Undead Hunter Knight, there was still a massive skeletal spider rapidly chasing after him.

Ed focused his internal energy and once again activated Spirit Wind Seal!

He then ran toward the blood-red orb at incredible speed, moving so fast that it was as if he were leaving afterimages behind!

Seeing Ed's speed, Philoctetes' unease intensified. He shouted loudly to Eng and the others:

"Even if his strength has risen to that of a high-tier Silver Hunter, so what! He can't get near the blood-red orb!"

"Even a high-tier Gold Hunter cannot withstand the intense moonlight energy there!"

"He simply cannot..."

Philoctetes stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide in disbelief. He saw Ed, with barely a pause, rushing toward the blood-red orb with a determination that nothing could stop.

Philoctetes couldn't believe his eyes. He stood frozen for a moment, completely stunned by Ed's actions, which shattered his understanding of the situation.

Eng, however, had known Ed was capable of such feats, so his shock was somewhat diminished. Seizing the opportunity when Philoctetes was distracted, Eng's Hunter steel sword slammed into Philoctetes' chest.

A deep wound, exposing bone, immediately appeared on Philoctetes' body.

At that moment, Philoctetes realized the true danger. He completely abandoned Eng and the others, unleashing all his speed and charging toward Ed.

Naturally, Eng and his team wouldn't let Philoctetes escape, using various tactics to block him.

By this time, Ed had reached the area near the blood-red orb. He stood frozen, staring at it.

[Progress toward breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 3%]

[Progress toward breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 4%]

[Progress toward breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 5%]

...

The moonlight energy here was incredibly dense. Even though Ed, who was able to absorb moonlight energy through the Moonlight Meditation Technique to increase his strength, was used to it, he could still feel a bone-deep cold radiating from within him.

However, he didn't care about this painful cold in the slightest. He kept his eyes fixed on the constantly updating information before him.

After his breakthrough to high-tier Silver Hunter during the battle with the Undead Hunter Knight, the progress had slowed significantly.

But here, the speed of progress was almost outrageous!

Ed even felt that if he stayed here for about half an hour, he could break through from high-tier Silver Hunter to low-tier Gold Hunter!

The feeling of watching his strength increase little by little was simply addictive!

Ed wasn't sure whether destroying the blood-red orb floating in the air would alter the surrounding moonlight energy, or whether it would affect the speed of his progress.

A thought began to form in his mind. The temptation of progress was too strong—should he wait a little longer before destroying the blood-red orb?

Ed's mind raced, with countless ideas flashing through. He even considered deliberately pretending to be unable to withstand the strong moonlight energy, in order to deceive Philoctetes.

That way, he could buy more time and allow his progress to increase further.

However, when Ed turned to look at Philoctetes, who was desperately pushing forward despite the attacks from Eng and the others, Ed quickly discarded that thought.

He knew that such an opportunity for rapid strength improvement was rare. If it were anyone else, they would likely ignore the danger behind them, becoming consumed by the allure of progress.

Ed took a deep breath, preparing to use the Blue Fire Seal. His gaze was no longer on the blood-red orb but was fixed firmly on Philoctetes, who was disregarding Eng and the others' attacks and moving quickly toward him.

On one side was the intense danger of the Elf Undead Philoctetes, constantly closing in, and on the other side was the steadily growing progress. Ed was clear-headed. He could try to push his limits!

[Progress toward breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 9%]

[Progress toward breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 10%]

...

[Progress toward breaking through low-tier Gold Hunter: 17%]

There was no more time to waste!

When the progress hit 17%, Ed didn't hesitate for a second. He activated the Blue Fire Seal and, to ensure everything went perfectly, he used all of his Moonstone marks as well!

"Boom!" The blue flames immediately engulfed the blood-red orb, followed by an explosion of the Moonstone marks.

The blood-red orb, which had been floating in midair, suddenly exploded like fireworks, scattering countless amounts of blood and flesh in all directions!

The red threads that had been wrapping around Philoctetes instantly vanished, and his presence became much weaker. He stood in a daze, feeling the blood and flesh raining down on him, and he screamed in despair:

"No! No!"

"I was supposed to break free from my undead identity and become a Blood Elf!"

"How could this happen?"

"How could this happen?!"

At that moment, Philoctetes was only about seventy or eighty meters away from Ed. Without any hesitation, Ed activated the Spirit Wind Seal again and ran wildly toward the distance, shouting:

"Eng! Hurry up and seize the opportunity! That guy definitely wants to kill me now!"

Ed remained fully aware of his situation. Using the Lucky Dice earlier, he had managed to elevate himself to low-tier Gold Hunter and was well aware of the gap between Gold-level and Silver-level Hunters.

Even though Philoctetes was severely injured now, Ed knew that if Philoctetes made a move on him, he would be killed in a very short amount of time!

Unfortunately, after the explosion of the blood-red orb, Ed could clearly sense that the moonlight energy around them was gradually weakening.

The progress was still growing, but the rate had slowed down, and it was slowing down even more with each passing moment.

As for Philoctetes, Eng and the others had already surrounded him once again.

Without the blood-red orb, Philoctetes should have no way to turn the tide.

However, just as Ed thought it was all over, Philoctetes, with his remaining left hand, drove it forcefully into his chest.

Everyone froze, unsure of what had just happened.

Philoctetes lifted his chin and softly said, "The real Undead Crystal has always been in my heart. I will destroy it, and when I do, everything here will be destroyed. No one will survive."

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