Chapter 104: In the Assassination (Third Update)
No one knows when the assassin appeared.
Even Soren did not notice this. The enemy’s strength was somewhat beyond his estimation. It was only at the moment the enemy struck him that Soren realized someone was ambushing him. His powerful evasion abilities and astonishing physical quality made him want to avoid the ambush from behind, but it was already too late. At the moment he prepared to dodge, the enemy had already hit his back because he lacked the necessary specialty.
The tip of the knife pierced his back, and evasion was no longer possible!
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Soren’s mind, but ultimately the will to survive dominated his body. As the enemy struck his back, he instantly activated the Stone Skin Spell. However, the tip of the knife still pierced through the muscle layers, aiming for his heart. Soren could only activate it at that moment. Then, in the next moment, his body began to undergo an astonishing transformation. His pounding heartbeat squeezed the blood, enhancing his overall physical quality significantly in less than a millisecond, and then entering transformation.
The tip of the knife pierced his heart.
Soren’s entire body stiffened for a moment. The feeling of his heart being penetrated was so painful that it made some of his continuing strength dissipate. However, the abilities attached to transforming into the Son of Slaughter had already activated. The one assassinating Soren seemed to be a legendary-level assassin, as only a legendary assassin could approach Soren without anyone noticing. Yet, as an assassin, the enemy’s strength did not seem that high. The tip of the knife, which should have pierced through Soren’s heart and emerged from his chest, was surprisingly stuck after hitting his heart due to the effects of the Stone Skin Spell and the Slayer Form transformation. Soren’s muscle layers trapped the dagger, and as the enemy prepared to twist the knife and exert force to crush his heart, Soren, who should have been on the verge of death, suddenly manifested a cold light in his palm, and the Legendary Curved Blade Icebane appeared in his grasp, directly cutting toward the enemy’s throat.
This attack, akin to a dying counterattack, was quite fierce, clearly causing the legendary assassin who had been attempting to murder Soren to hesitate. In his mind, Soren was almost a certain target for death. So he was unwilling to perish along with Soren.
Thus, the enemy took three steps back, dodging Soren’s attack while withdrawing the dagger!
“Tsk tsk!”
The assassin emitted a mocking gasp. He seemed unremarkable from the outside, just an ordinary sailor, but Soren knew that this was not the enemy’s true appearance; before him stood an assassin skilled in disguise. This was a side type among basic skills. Compared to magic that could undo disguises, this kind of craft-based disguise was far more exquisite.
The legendary assassin stared at Soren, licking his lips, and said, “To think you survived being stabbed in the heart! Your vitality is quite strong! No wonder that person was willing to pay a high price for me to act! But how much longer can you hold on with such injuries?” He felt a hint of danger from the Slayer Form transformation!
Soren’s pupils turned blood-red, and blood gushed from his back, but controlled muscles temporarily sealed the major bleeding; in the short term, Soren would not die from excessive blood loss. He was now akin to the werewolf predator he had successfully assassinated back then. Soren had also stabbed the opponent’s heart, but due to the opponent’s strong vitality and constitution exceeding 20 points, they did not die instantly, and only succumbed after holding out for a while due to blood loss.
A line of blood-red data appeared:
“Attacked!”
“You were backstabbed by the enemy!… You received 126 points of piercing damage!… You received 21 points of shadow damage!… You were hit in a vital area!… Triggered death saving throw!… You successfully passed the death saving throw!… You are in a severely wounded state!… You are in a state of major bleeding!… Your remaining vitality will rapidly deplete!…”
—————–
A knife backstab.
Even with Soren’s extraordinary constitution at 22 points, plus a 2-point boost from the Slayer Form transformation, along with the protective effect of the Stone Skin Spell, he still could not effectively reduce the damage taken from the enemy. This single knife thrust directly plunged him into a severely wounded state. Even though he temporarily passed the death saving throw, being struck in the heart meant he would soon enter a dying state, ultimately leading to death!
“I cannot die here!”
This was the only thought in Soren’s mind, and the will he had trained over time began to take effect. Soren suppressed the pain in his body, also suppressing the fear of death. His brain operated at high speed for an instant, quickly finding a glimmer of hope, while also looking for an opportunity to counterattack the enemy.
Ocean Temple!
As long as he could escape to the Ocean Temple, the Naga Priestess could heal his injuries. This fatal wound, while terrifying, could be treated with a Restoration Spell, pulling Soren back from the brink of death. The damage to his heart could be completely healed, and the bleeding was not a significant issue. As long as Soren reached the Ocean Temple, even if his heart were destroyed, he would not die, because high-level Restoration Spells could even regenerate the heart. The Naga Priestess would definitely not sit idly by and let him die; they were currently on the same frontline. Without Soren as her blade, the Naga Priestess would ultimately find herself isolated and her situation would only worsen.
Run!
He had to escape!
Only a high-level priest could heal his fatal injury!
But where would the opportunity to escape come from? How could the enemy allow him to run away? He was so severely injured! The chance to escape from the enemy’s hands was incredibly low! Not to mention that there was still some distance to travel to get to the Ocean Temple!
——”Fear Spell!”
——”Summon Shadow!”
——”Hide from Sight!”
——”Shadow Travel!”
In an instant, Soren activated several abilities in succession, first initiating a fleeting Fear Spell brought forth by his weakened divinity, then summoning a shadow to appear, and finally slipping into the shadows. However, this time Soren was not aiming to counterattack the enemy but rather to evade the enemy’s attack. His figure materialized from a distant shadow, then he quickly downed an expensive healing potion and fled toward the Ocean Temple.
The Naga Priestess had provided a high-level healing potion; it could temporarily prolong Soren’s time before death!
