When Evan noticed everything, it was already too late.

The massive figure enveloped him in shadow, his body was pushed aside, and in the moment of losing balance, he instinctively turned his head to see Miriam's tear-filled eyes.

In that instant, those brown eyes flashed with too many mixed emotions.

Gratitude, reluctance, relief, acceptance...

These emotions blended together, finally converging into a gaze filled with love.

Her life had been too bitter, but fortunately there was that encounter during her most fragmented emotional state, which became the only beam of light in her perpetually dark world.

That day she found the courage to keep living, gained expectations for the future. Although the final outcome didn't seem perfect... perhaps this was enough.

At least during those days, she had truly "lived."

So she smiled, giving him one last deep look as if wanting to carve that figure into her soul.

"Miriam—!"

In the youth's hoarse cry, that giant axe, like all the cruel realities of the past, fell upon the girl without any mercy.

Her body flew out like a wisp of broken cotton, light and weightless.

In that moment, something seemed to explode in Evan's mind.

It was something he had always dreamed of, finally coming true at this moment, yet Evan's heart felt only profound sorrow.

He climbed up from the ground, tightly gripping his sword, letting out a low roar from his throat that sounded inhuman.

Following instinct, filled with rage and deep grief, he unleashed the most perfect, most fierce strike of his life—

"Clang—!"

The sword blade collided with the giant axe, lasting only an instant before being sent flying back without any resistance.

Reality was ultimately not a movie, and burning rage couldn't bridge the gap in strength. Even with skill enhancements, Evan's feeble power remained utterly vulnerable before the Minotaur.

Evan felt as if his entire body had been shattered, countless bones broken, blood streaming from all seven orifices, his consciousness gradually fading.

Hearing the sounds around him, Lin Mo's eyes flashed with fierceness as he unleashed a full-power "Slash Attack." The fully swung Wolf Bone Sword severed several cat demons besieging Bern at blinding speed.

Bern struggled to his feet, picking up his sword and shield from the ground, apparently still intending to fight.

"Take Evan and go, quickly!"

Lin Mo's warning snapped him out of it. Stumbling, he rushed to the fallen youth, dragging him toward the secret realm's exit.

The remaining cat demons tried to pursue but were blocked by Lin Mo. One "Slash Attack" instantly severed four heads.

Meanwhile, Cody was also nearing collapse. The assault from several cat demons left him completely overwhelmed, and moreover...

From the corner, a sinister gaze quietly fell upon him.

The Cursed Pattern Cat Demon had lost an arm but wasn't dead. Without Lin Mo's restraint, the closest Cody naturally became its target.

Lin Mo noticed this, but the Cursed Pattern Cat Demon's speed surpassed even his. At this distance, rescue was simply impossible.

Lin Mo gritted his teeth, preparing to make a futile attempt, when his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of something.

He immediately shouted: "Cody, get down now!"

Hearing his voice, Cody hesitated for a moment before choosing to trust him. Ignoring the several cat demons attacking him, he directly threw himself to the ground.

This movement completely exposed his back to the demonic creatures' sharp claws. The cat demons swarmed forward, about to use their razor-sharp claws to pierce through his already badly damaged leather armor and dig out his heart!

However, at that moment, a giant axe came flying over with a heavy whooshing sound.

The heavy axe Lin Mo had brought from the previous secret room played a crucial role at this moment. The tremendous force combined with its terrifying weight made it like an armored truck running over a speed bump—it effortlessly sliced those cat demons in half.

Even that Cursed Pattern Cat Demon, unable to dodge in time, had a small portion of its body sheared off.

Opportunity!

A gleam flashed in Lin Mo's eyes. He glanced at the approaching Minotaur, completely ignoring it, and rushed toward the severely injured Cursed Pattern Cat Demon at maximum speed.

During the previous battle, he had been simultaneously restraining the Cursed Pattern Cat Demon while finding opportunities to kill other cat demons and relieve his teammates' pressure. His stamina consumption had been severe, so he hadn't dared to casually use "Cross Slash." But now...

"Cross Slash!"

The already severely injured Cursed Pattern Cat Demon had no remaining strength to dodge or resist Lin Mo's attack, directly being cut into four pieces by the fierce sword light!

Without needing Lin Mo's reminder, Cody forced his battered body up from the ground and ran toward the secret realm's exit.

Simultaneously, a notification flashed before Lin Mo's eyes.

[Cross Slash] proficiency +8!

"Skill [Cross Slash] Lv2 (20/20) leveled up!"

"Current skill [Cross Slash] Lv3 (0/40)"

"Gained attribute points Strength +2!"

At this moment, Lin Mo's originally exhausted body seemed to instantly come back to life. The suddenly increased strength gave his body, which had reached its limit, some additional reserve power.

This was enough!

Lin Mo turned to look at the Minotaur charging toward him while swinging its giant axe, his eyes filled with rage.

"Beast, give me your life!"

The next moment, the Wolf Bone Sword in his hand fiercely slashed out. Two intersecting sword lights crashed against the giant axe.

This time, the Cross Slash upgraded to level 3, combined with the 15 points of strength enhanced by the Wolf Bone Sword, allowed Lin Mo to momentarily overpower his opponent. The giant axe flew from the Minotaur's hands, and the remaining sword light cut open its chest, causing gushing blood to pour out.

The Minotaur staggered back several steps, finally stabilizing itself, but Lin Mo's figure had long disappeared from before its eyes.

Before it could pick up the nearby axe, Lin Mo suddenly appeared behind it the next moment, using his last bit of stamina to unleash another "Cross Slash."

The sword edge cut through the rough skin, sinking into the Minotaur's solid flesh. The strong resistance almost stopped Lin Mo's attack there, but as the sword edge brushed past the spine, the second sword light following closely behind struck almost simultaneously. The physical damage bonus from [Stealth] also took effect at this moment, finally completely shattering the Minotaur's defense and severing its spine!

[Stealth] proficiency +8!

[Cross Slash] proficiency +8!

Moments later, as the two notifications floated before his eyes, Lin Mo finally lowered his sword and fell backward onto the ground.

His chest rapidly rose and fell as he gasped for breath heavily.

Since coming to this world, this was the first time he had fought to such extremes...

Unfortunately, he ultimately couldn't save everyone.

Lin Mo lifted his head, looking toward Miriam who lay fallen in the distance.

In his upside-down perspective, a look of astonishment suddenly appeared on his face.

Because he had been in intense combat until now, he hadn't noticed this point... Given the Minotaur's tremendous strength, the leather armor on Miriam's body couldn't possibly withstand that several-hundred-pound heavy axe. She should have been unquestionably cut in half.

But—

Miriam's body lying in the pool of blood remained completely intact.