Immortal Paladin-021 Strongest Strike
021 Strongest Strike
What kind of skills would a Paladin lack? Movement skills. I had two or three that could boost my speed, but none of them would let me zip around like a sword cultivator or an assassin. Attacking fast wasn’t the wisest move either, especially since Jiang Zhen seemed confident in his speed.
Jiang Zhen smirked. "What are you waiting for? The festival might be over before you even get your first strike in."
I ignored his taunting. Back in
Lost Legends Online
, skills were divided into three categories based on restrictions:
Cooldown Restricted
– Skills that were limited only by time before they could be used again.
Resource Restricted
– Skills that depended on mana, stamina, or other expendable resources.
Both + Extra
– Skills that had both cooldowns and resource costs, plus additional limitations.
Ultimate Skills like
Divine Word
and
Judgment Severance
belonged to the third category—with even harsher conditions. They consumed a unique resource called a
Spell Slot
. Raising a Spell Slot was brutally difficult. I only had three of them, meaning I could only use an Ultimate Skill three times in a single instance. Worse, Spell Slots took over 24 hours to regenerate, making them a massive pain to manage.
I had just used
Judgment Severance
, and it had an innate eight-hour cooldown. The game devs were truly masochistic. If I had my way, I’d spam
Judgment Severance
three times and beat this old man senseless, but clearly, I couldn’t. This restriction had ingrained a habit in players—especially those who used Ultimate Skills—to hoard their best moves like a dragon guarding treasure.
Jiang Zhen yawned, stretching his arms as if waiting for me was the most boring thing in the world. The bastard was acting like I had taken ages, when in reality, it had only been a few seconds.
I exhaled, letting my mind slow down. My Level 275 Intelligence and Wisdom compressed time, giving me the ability to think through my approach with eerie clarity. And the funny thing? I wasn’t nervous at all.
If anything, I was
curious
.
This was as good a learning opportunity as any.
I drew
Silver Steel
from my
Item Box
.
Jiang Zhen had given me permission to strike him, so I decided to test my stronger skills. If I accidentally killed him, I’d just resurrect him.
Lost Legends Online
had
dozens
of resurrection-type items. While I didn’t have every single kind, I had plenty—enough to revive this guy three times over.
Of course, there was the issue of
cultivation
. If I revived him, would he lose his realm? If my items didn’t work, I could always use a resurrection skill. If
that
didn’t work either? Well… then I’d just say it was
stupid bad luck
and move on.
I crouched slightly, raising my sword with intent. No point in wasting this opportunity—I’d unleash the strongest non-Ultimate skill combo in my arsenal.
"Designate Holy Enemy."
A reversed red cross flickered into existence above Jiang Zhen’s head. It was a debuff spell that marked the target as a
Holy Enemy
, treating them as impure, undead, fiendish, or simply of an evil alignment. Jiang Zhen’s relaxed expression faded as he took on a more serious demeanor.
"Blessed Weapon."
A golden radiance engulfed
Silver Steel
, making it glow like a miniature sun.
"Divine Might."
I had a passive skill called
TriDivine
—a three-state ability that granted different boosts depending on activation. The three states were:
Divine Might
– Boosted Strength.
Divine Speed
– Boosted Agility.
Divine Fortitude
– Boosted Endurance.
For this fight, I chose
Divine Might
, instantly raising my Strength to match my second-strongest stat.
"Holy Wrath."
Golden and blue radiance manifested around me, forming feather-like wisps that floated upwards.
Holy Wrath
empowered my next attack and
doubled
its effect if the target was a
Holy Enemy
. My mana dipped slightly—nothing major, but enough to remind me that I was layering buffs like crazy.
"Zealot’s Stride."
A golden streak erupted beneath my feet as I surged forward, my entire body infused with speed. I
felt
my Agility stat—every atom of movement fine-tuned to perfection. The world blurred as I closed the distance in an instant.
Inside range.
I swung my sword down with both hands, channeling everything into the
highest single-strike skill in my arsenal
—the one with the most brutal crit multiplier.
"DIVINE SMITE!"
I didn’t know for sure, but I
felt
like space ruptured. Or maybe it was some weird interaction between my skill and Jiang Zhen’s technique.
My sword passed
through
him—like he wasn’t even there.
The ground behind him
wasn’t
so lucky. The dirt exploded, scorched and torn apart, forming a deep trench that stretched several meters.
I smiled, nonchalantly hefting my sword. “How’s that?”
Blood dripped from Jiang Zhen’s lips.
The stubborn old goat, of course, refused to acknowledge anything. “I would have conceded if we had agreed on the
impress me
part, but alas, you never made me move.”
He said it with charisma, but I somehow doubted him.
Indeed, I hadn’t made him flinch or step back even once. But…
man
, this guy was a
tad
too pale compared to a few seconds ago.
I pulled an
Extreme
Health
Potion
from my
Item Box
and held it out to him. “Drink.”
Jiang Zhen uncorked it, sniffed the contents, then gave me an amused look. “Hoh~! You are surely arrogant!” Just by smell alone, he deduced what the effects of the potion was.
“Then don’t drink it.”
Before I could snatch it back, he
chugged
it.
After downing every last drop, he wiped his mouth and smirked. “As your senior in life, I have a responsibility to keep. Gifts are important, after all—and not accepting them would be
rude
.”
This
silly
old fool.
I chugged an
Extreme Mana Potion
without a second thought.
Jiang Zhen looked like he wanted to complain, but ultimately held back—probably remembering that he had just guzzled an
Extreme Health Potion
himself.
I had two
Spell Slots
left.
Players hoarded
Ultimate Skills
for two reasons: greater versatility or sheer paranoia about getting caught with their best moves still on cooldown.
LLO
had a
brutal
PVP culture, so resource conservation had become an
obsession
for many.
I took a few steps back, hefting my sword over my shoulder, considering which
Ultimate Skill
to test first.
Jiang Zhen was still marked as a
Holy Enemy
, and my weapon was still blessed. No reason to
waste
those buffs.
I exhaled and activated another amplifier.
“
Holy Wrath.
”
Brilliant gold and blue feathers floated upwards around me, the divine energy gathering in an ethereal glow.
I smirked. “I will show you my
strongest
attack… You can still say no.”
Jiang Zhen folded his arms. “
BRING IT!
”
I pointed my sword at him. “
Hea-
”
Dark clouds
instantly
gathered above us, crackling with ominous thunder.
Jiang Zhen’s expression
twitched
.
“
-ven-ly-
”
A golden radiance formed around my blade as I aimed it at him.
Jiang Zhen
visibly
tensed.
“
-Pu-nish-
”
That was when he
ran
.
“
YOU WIN, FUCKING SMURF!
”
I finished the chant.
“
-ment.
”
~HEAVENLY PUNISHMENT~
A
massive
divine sword materialized in the sky, descending like the wrath of a vengeful god. It homed in on Jiang Zhen, crashing down with a blinding pillar of golden light.
It was
Heavenly Punishment
—my strongest
Ultimate Skill
.
Cooldown:
72 hours.
I arrived at the site where
Heavenly Punishment
had struck. A massive scorch mark stretched across the earth, the ground still sizzling with divine embers.
My eyes scanned the wreckage.
No corpse.
No trace of Jiang Zhen.
No way he got
disintegrated
, right?
That… wasn’t something I was
used
to.
Back in
LLO
, player characters, NPCs, and even monster spawns didn’t just
vanish
. Their bodies always remained, whether to be looted, revived, or mocked in victory.
“…Ah, shit.”
I frowned, cupping my hands. “Old man? Changcheng? Where are you? How am I going to resurrect you if you don’t have a corpse?”
A muffled groan answered me.
Jiang Zhen crawled out from beneath the dirt, limping.
“It’s
Jiang Zhen
, damn it! Not Changcheng!” he spat, shaking off soil like an enraged mole.
I blinked. It was impressive that he survived.
If I had to guess, his
karma value
must not have been
that
high.
Jiang Zhen wheezed, glaring at me like I’d just kicked his favorite pet. “
Were you trying to kill me?!
I never thought I’d have to use that
stupid earth-burying technique
just to
save myself!
”
I tilted my head. “Well, you said
BRING IT
with so much emotion. Would’ve felt bad if I held back, you know?”
“
FUCK YOU!
”
I waved a hand dismissively. “Aren’t you supposed to be, like, a
sage-like
figure? A
powerful hidden expert
or something? Are you sure this is fine?”
Jiang Zhen gritted his teeth, still struggling to stand.
I smirked. “You know what? Let’s just
void
that attempt and
do it again
. Of course, it’d be the
third
try by then—”
“
MOTHERFUCKER, YOU WANT TO KILL ME!
”
“Whoa, whoa,
hold your horses!
” I said, raising my hands innocently. “Let’s
do it again
and count it as the
third
try. Maybe you’ll
succeed
this time! After all, I
did
expend a
lot
of energy on that attack, you know? Come on, it’ll be
fun!
”
Jiang Zhen
trembled
with rage. “FUN? FUN?! WAS IT SO FUN TO BULLY AN OLD MAN?!”
“Don’t be
so
harsh on yourself,” I said with a grin. “You look like someone in his
middle age
, you know?”
Jiang Zhen
snapped
.
“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! I THOUGHT YOU WERE JUST
SOME CHUMP!
” He pointed a trembling finger at me. “FINE! YOU’LL HAVE YOUR MEETING WITH THE
ISOLATION PATH SECT
AS REQUESTED!”
I returned my sword to the Item Box, satisfied.
“Well,
why didn’t you say so sooner?
”
021 Strongest Strike
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