Behind Ed, Finniel, Eng, and the other Hunters who had been inside the sealed land slowly stepped out. They all stood behind Ed, their expressions stiff, as though they had been terrified by something.

Some of them quietly cast a glance at Ed's back, then quickly looked away, fearful of drawing his attention.

No one knew the shock and fear that these Hunters were feeling in their hearts. They had witnessed Ed's rise in power while inside the sealed land—not from a mid-tier Silver Hunter to a mid-tier Gold Hunter—but far beyond that...

The vampire stared blankly at Ed, feeling the pressure emanating from him. He wanted to retreat quickly, but it was already too late.

Ed's longsword, like a cold, venomous snake, had already completely locked onto the vampire's figure.

Before the vampire could even retreat, a golden flash of light appeared before everyone's eyes.

Then came the vampire's shrill scream as his arm fell to the ground, followed by the sound of blood flowing.

Instantly, everyone's eyes were fixed on Ed and the vampire, as well as the severed arm lying on the ground.

Especially the Hunters guarding the Golden Gate, who were frozen in place, their eyes wide, mouths agape, their expressions frozen in shock and disbelief.

Some remembered Ed and knew that before he entered the sealed land, he was just a Silver level Hunter. How was it possible that now he could sever the arm of a Sun Level vampire with a single strike?

What had happened?

Such questions filled the minds of countless guards.

The vampire, who had been retreating frantically, watched his arm's wound slowly begin to heal. He stared at Ed, fear clearly evident in his eyes, and sharply demanded, "Who are you? Holy City should have no third Sun Level Hunter! Who are you?!"

The werewolf's expression grew serious. He knew very well that even he would need a lot of time to sever the vampire's arm.

Clenching his circular scythes, he asked the same question: "Who are you?"

Ed didn't answer. His gaze passed over the vampire and the werewolf and fell on the broken corpse.

At that moment, the Delphilis Eye he had absorbed began to stir uneasily. Ed's right eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

This sensation made Ed uncomfortable. He recalled what Giant Hound Soth had said—that he hadn't merged with the Delphilis Eye, but rather absorbed it in the manner of someone in a higher position.

Taking a deep breath, Ed focused on his right eye, trying to calm it down.

Soon, the twitching eyelid returned to normal.

Only then did Ed carefully observe the broken corpse.

At that moment, the vampire and werewolf nervously stared at Ed as they approached the shattered body. The vampire took a deep breath before speaking slowly:

"I was careless earlier, but with this body here, no matter who you are, you cannot escape death!"

"This body is made from pieces of Delphilis's remains. A Sun Level Hunter would find it difficult to contend with!"

Amelia stepped behind Ed, took a deep breath, and nodded, saying, "He's right. I was attacked by this corpse earlier, and the strength behind that attack is not something a typical Sun Level Hunter can withstand."

Ed nodded slightly, his attention fixed on the broken body. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that he wanted to get closer to it.

It felt similar to when he had absorbed all the Specters of Giant Hound Soth in the sealed land earlier.

Wait. From now on, there would be no more Giant Hound Soth in this world.

Ed looked at the now static message notification in front of him:

[Progress toward high-tier Sun Hunter breakthrough: 75%]

That's right. After absorbing all the Specters in the sealed land, Ed had broken through from mid-tier Gold Hunter to mid-tier Sun Hunter.

In other words, upon entering the sealed land, his strength had immediately jumped from mid-tier Silver Hunter to mid-tier Sun Hunter!

Unfortunately, perhaps because of how fast his strength had increased, or because he had absorbed so many Specters, there were no new rewards when his power surged.

For Ed, there was a sense of unreality. It felt as though everything that had happened today was a dream. His power had increased so quickly that it felt surreal.

And this surreal feeling was mixed with a subtle sense of longing—a longing for the broken corpse not far away.

Ed instinctively swallowed and shook his head, trying to suppress that feeling of desire.

He looked at the vampire, the werewolf, and the broken corpse, then turned to Evan Morton and Amelia, saying:

"Since this corpse is the strongest, leave it to me. You two take care of the other monsters."

Evan Morton and Amelia nodded. They had no objections to Ed's words now.

When they first met Ed, neither Evan Morton nor Amelia had given him much thought. To them, Ed had just been an ordinary Hunter.

But after a series of events, both of them finally realized that Ed was something extraordinary. Without him, they wouldn't have been able to solve the danger they were facing.

However, as the ruler of Holy City, Amelia couldn't help but look at Ed with a hint of concern.

She truly didn't know what kind of being could increase their power from a mid-tier Silver Hunter to a mid-tier Sun Hunter at such an unbelievable speed.

At this moment, the thought that Ed was not human, but rather some kind of special monster, occupied most of her mind.

Amelia pushed her concerns aside. The most important thing now was to follow Ed and help him eliminate the monsters in front of them to prevent Holy City from facing even greater danger.

Meanwhile, the vampire and werewolf, upon hearing that Ed had voluntarily chosen to fight the broken corpse, couldn't help but reveal a smile.

In their view, even if Ed's strength was that of a Sun Level Hunter, and he was able to sever the vampire's arm with a quick strike, he would never be a match for the broken corpse.

They just needed to wait for Ed to be defeated, and then they would join forces with the broken corpse to deal with Evan Morton and Amelia, completing the mission perfectly.

The battle was about to begin, and suddenly two halos appeared behind Ed. However, these halos were somewhat different from the ones behind Evan Morton and Amelia.

Ed's halos had a unique quality, almost like the first light breaking through the darkness at dawn—distinct and extraordinary.

But at this moment, hardly anyone noticed this detail. Everyone was focused on the battle ahead.

Ed gripped his golden longsword and charged toward the broken corpse, while Evan Morton faced off against the werewolf, and the vampire, still recovering from an injured arm, fought against Amelia.

The focal point of the battle wasn't on the other fighters, but rather on Ed and the broken corpse.

Though the others were also engaged in combat, they couldn't help but shift their gaze toward Ed.

Under their watchful eyes, Ed pushed off the ground with force. Instantly, cracks appeared across the floor, and a small pit formed where he had pushed off from. Then, Ed's body shot into the air like a missile.

The golden longsword radiated with golden light, descending toward the broken corpse like a meteor from the sky.

Just as the broken corpse was about to make a move, Ed's right eye suddenly emitted a black light.

In an instant, the movements of everyone in the vicinity were halted by the black light. Strange sounds filled their ears, and the scene before their eyes began to distort.

Unlike everyone else, the broken corpse was not affected by the black light.

Its movements were bizarre. Never assuming an offensive or defensive stance, it simply leaped from where it stood, deliberately charging straight into Ed's attack.

In the next moment, the golden light left the broken corpse, and Ed landed steadily on the ground, while the corpse shattered into pieces and crashed to the floor.

Everyone—vampire, werewolf, Evan Morton, and Amelia—stared in stunned silence.

No one had expected this outcome. Just moments ago, the broken corpse had only made one attack, causing Amelia's longbow to shatter and injuring her in the process.

So why had the corpse seemed so weak when facing Ed?

Before anyone could react, the shattered pieces of the corpse on the ground began to tremble as if something was pulling them in.

Then, the pieces started to float in the air, slowly moving toward Ed.

Ed immediately recalled the time in Dorey City when he had absorbed the Delphilis Eye. The scene felt eerily similar.

Could it be that these Delphilis fragments were also going to be absorbed by him?

He thought for a moment and didn't resist the floating fragments. Absorbing the Delphilis Eye had brought him many benefits, and so far, he hadn't experienced any negative side effects.

Moreover, now that his strength was at mid-tier Sun Hunter, even if there were some side effects, he should be able to handle them.

Just as Ed was about to absorb the Delphilis fragments, a panicked voice called out from a distance.

Someone shouted, "Stop! You can't absorb these now!"

"I am a princess from the Empire, a communicator with the gods! Ed, you have to trust me!"

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