Sacrifice's Rise: I Became Invincible After Entering Godslayer Temple

After equipping Shadowflame, John turned his gaze back to Yggdrasil lying on the ground. 

His eyes were calm as water, showing no signs of agitation. 

Although he didn't speak, John's eyes had already put considerable pressure on Yggdrasil.

Yggdrasil didn't dare to lift its head, and tentatively asked, "Mighty minion of the King, is there anything else that the loyal servant Yggdrasil can do for you?"

John frowned, snorting lightly, "Weren't you just calling yourself the great abyssal serpent? Now you're saying 'great King.' Are you implying you and the King are on equal footing?"

With these words, Yggdrasil's massive body trembled continuously. 

All three heads were pressed directly against the ground, not daring to move. 

Seeing such a gigantic undead Boss acting so timid, John found it a little amusing for a moment.

Yggdrasil shook its head like a rattle-drum, frantically explaining, "Not at all, not at all. Your Majesty is as noble as the heavens, and I'm merely a loyal servant."

"Whatever you ask of me, I'm willing to give my life for you, Your Majesty."

John chuckled, "Don't worry, I don't plan on taking your life. I just need something else from you."

Yggdrasil quietly breathed a sigh of relief, hastily declaring its loyalty, "Please, speak freely. Anything you need, it's yours."

John stroked his chin, "In that case, I'll have a bit of your essence blood. Not much, a few hundred liters will do."

Yggdrasil had barely caught its breath when it nearly fainted at the words. 

It laughed bitterly in response, "Sir, you must be joking. Even if you killed me, you couldn't extract that much essence blood."

Essence blood, in fact, was the fundamental energy of these lord-level bosses, and the basis of their growth. 

Normal lord-level bosses would only possess about a hundred liters of essence blood. 

John's request for several hundred was just him speaking off the cuff.

Seeing Yggdrasil being so earnest, John waved his hand, "I'm just messing with you. I don't need much, just twenty liters."

Naturally, Yggdrasil was reluctant to give away such a large amount of its essence blood. 

That's basically one-fifth of its original energy. 

It was about to negotiate when it saw John's eyes, smiling but not smiling.

Yggdrasil immediately shivered, its newfound courage evaporating instantly. 

Dejected, it bowed its head, lightly blowing at the center of its chest. 

The air was like a blade, cutting through flesh and forcing out a ball of dark red blood. The blood floated in mid-air, slowly flying towards John.

John, without being polite, waved his hand to put the essence blood into his bag.

[You've obtained Yggdrasil's essence blood, Quantity: 19.5 liters]

Although it was short of 0.5 liters, John didn't quibble. 

After all, Yggdrasil had been pretty cooperative. 

Otherwise, it would have cost it more than just twenty liters of essence blood.

Seeing the noticeably deflated Yggdrasil, John waved his hand in satisfaction, "Thank you for your generous assistance and congratulations on earning the right to keep living."

"I'll be leaving now. We'll see each other again if fate permits."

Yggdrasil's three heads looked respectful, but inside, it was cursing John to high heaven. 

It never wanted to see John again in this lifetime. 

Thinking about the essence blood it had handed over, Yggdrasil couldn't help but want to fight John to the death. 

This was one-fifth of its original energy! 

It would take hundreds of years to recover.

At this moment, Yggdrasil's status had significantly changed.

[Abyssal serpent Yggdrasil (Lord-level boss) (Weakened): From the unknown depths of the abyss... Due to unknown reasons, it has suffered severe damage and its strength is less than a tenth of its peak.]

[Level: 150] 

[Race: Undead] 

[Attributes: ...]

"So, essence blood can make these bosses drop in level... No wonder this stupid snake looked so pained," John noted the changes and mumbled to himself.

But these details weren't his concern.

John nodded at Yggdrasil, crushed the teleportation scroll, and disappeared right before Yggdrasil's eyes. 

When he reappeared, he was outside the Dark Cavern.

Doing some mental calculations, John figured that the auction should be starting soon. 

Mounting his swift steed, he began to race towards Silverglow.

... 

By this point, it was approaching evening, and the fiery sunset painted the vast grassland a vibrant crimson. 

A gentle breeze blew over, carrying with it a refreshing coolness. 

The feeling was incredibly pleasant.

Humming a little tune, John was in high spirits. 

After all, his search for the abyssal serpent Yggdrasil had not only yielded a sufficient amount of essence blood but also the unexpected Embers of Shadowflame. 

It was essentially hitting two birds with one stone.

He galloped across the grassland, easily shaking off the small monsters drawn by his movement. 

Speeding along, he arrived once again at the valley.

Suddenly, John reined in his steed and dismounted, promptly stowing his mount away. 

The smile on his face was now completely gone.

The warning effect of the Eye of Artemis was triggered, automatically activating his skills. 

Within his line of sight, more than a dozen shadowy figures were seen lurking in the valley.

"Really, who taught you how to lay an ambush? Leaving your tail exposed like that," John retorted, his mood plummeting from the constant targeting.

Realizing they'd been spotted, the figures hiding in the valley sprang out, surrounding John in the middle.

A cold voice echoed from the back of the crowd, "Galewind, long time no see."

John's eyebrows furrowed, recognizing the familiar voice and his mood worsened. 

Seeing the burly figure stepping through the crowd to stand in front of him, he scoffed, "If it isn't SoulSong, the ex-guild leader who climbed up by clinging to someone's coattails. Oh, my mistake, you're not the guild leader anymore. I heard you're doing pretty well in your new guild, even became their top player. Congratulations."

SoulSong frowned, his face expressionless, "We may not be friends anymore, but there's no need for such sarcasm, is there?"

John sneered, "Sarcasm? You think too highly of yourself. I have no intention of belittling you. Ever since you betrayed me, we have no connection whatsoever. Now! Move aside!"

SoulSong stood there in silence. 

John didn't want to waste any more words and strode forward. 

Seeing him approach, SoulSong's followers quickly gathered.

"What, you plan on fighting me? Seems like you're short on manpower," John tilted his head, his tone casual.

SoulSong sighed and lifted his silvery greatsword, "Galewind, we were once brothers. I didn't want to cross swords with you, but you've offended the young master, and I have no choice."

John was getting tired of SoulSong's pretense and said mockingly, "If you want to fight, then let's fight. Stop trying to act innocent and virtuous. There's no audience here, who are you trying to impress?"

Seeing SoulSong's face darken, John continued, "Back in the day, you betrayed me, you betrayed our whole guild, just so you could suck up to the young master. Now that you've got what you wanted, do you ever think about the brothers you betrayed?"

John's voice wasn't loud, but each word was a stab in SoulSong's heart.

SoulSong's face changed several times, then he gritted his teeth and said, "People strive to reach higher, just like water naturally flows downward, that's how society is. You, Galewind, have extraordinary gaming talents, and you can always maintain your pride, looking down on everyone else. But I can't, I'm just average, and all I want is to earn enough for my retirement while I'm still able. What's wrong with that?"

John waved dismissively, saying impatiently, "Spare me your excuses, they hold no merit to me, and I frankly don't care."

"You want to kill me? Well, come on then."

Once again, John stepped forward, moving closer one step at a time.

Watching John approach, SoulSong's face gradually regained its calm, his gaze becoming icy once more, "Attack."

As his command fell, his followers launched their attack on John. 

The heavily armored soldiers took the front, backed by mages and support classes. 

Two assassins vanished, ready to strike a lethal blow when the opportunity arose.

SoulSong had expected John to strike first, but even as they arranged their formation, John made no extra movements. 

His face was expressionless as he continued to walk forward.

The heavy shield of a soldier was about to hit John. 

The mages had finished chanting, their spells ready to be unleashed. 

The assassins skulked at the edge of the battlefield, their dark daggers edging ever closer to John.

John's stride didn't falter, his gaze didn't waver. 

He just kept looking at the silent SoulSong. 

His eyes were filled with a mix of sorrow and mockery.

In the next second, a pale blue glow burst from John, sweeping across the entire valley.