Upon hearing Nolan's words, the three girls reacted differently.
Shenhe felt there was no issue and leaned forward, preparing to hug him. Yun Jin thought it over briefly and nodded, reasoning that hugging a friend to deal with a demon wasn't a big deal.
Hu Tao, however, furrowed her delicate brows, her plum-blossom eyes showing a hint of suspicion.
"You… you're not trying to take advantage of us, are you?"
"Of course not! Do I look like that kind of person?" Nolan replied with an innocent expression, feeling misunderstood.
If Lumine and Fischl had been there to see him, they would've immediately exposed him, knowing full well that this guy definitely had some thoughts about taking advantage of the situation!
"Hmm, I don't know, something about what you said sounds a little untrustworthy." Hu Tao puffed out her pale cheeks, letting out a small "hmph."
Still, realizing that he did genuinely need energy, Hu Tao reluctantly agreed to hug him, albeit with some hesitation.
Though her personality was carefree, lively, and full of jokes, she still wasn't entirely comfortable with physical contact like hugging, especially with the opposite gender.
Soon enough, Shenhe had wrapped herself around Nolan's right arm, while Yun Jin took a similar position, covering the left side of his back.
This left Hu Tao with no choice. She knelt on his lap, her legs pressed against his, her body leaning into his chest, and her arms wrapped around his neck.
Finally, Hu Tao puckered her lips, softly pressing her light pink lips together. She leaned close to Nolan's ear and whispered a threat:
"You'd better take care of that demon! If you succeed, consider the hug your reward. But if you fail, I'll bite your ear!"
Having said that, Hu Tao blushed slightly, her face and ears turning red. She wasn't sure why she had said such a thing—her heartbeat was a little fast, and her emotions were unsteady.
"Ahem... Don't worry, there's no way I'll fail!"
Nolan, full of confidence, reassured them.
All of this seemed to fuel him, giving him even more motivation.
Come to think of it, getting bitten by Hu Tao—couldn't that also be considered a reward?
Nolan smiled secretly.
Though he was only able to absorb one-tenth of the elemental energy they transferred, having more points of contact compared to just holding hands did indeed improve the energy conduction efficiency.
And, since there were three of them, even just one-tenth of their energy was enough to sustain him and keep the "Lumine's Sword God" going for much longer.
It was during this brief moment that the foundation for victory was laid.
Under the continued assault of the "Lumine's Sword God," the purple toad demon could no longer hold out.
Its powerful spiritual storm, unleashed by burning through its soul, was strong but couldn't last forever.
Now that Nolan, with the help of the three girls, had successfully blocked the attack, the moment the toad demon's assault faltered, its defeat was inevitable!
The wait didn't last long. In less than a minute, the toad demon began to panic:
"Wait, human! There's no need to be so ruthless. Spare my life, and I will serve you! Release me, and I'll do whatever you ask!"
Nolan didn't bother responding, commanding the "Lumine's Sword God" to continue unleashing sword energy attacks.
A demon is still a demon—deceitful, malicious, and extremely dangerous to humanity. Only fools would believe a single word it said.
"Stop, stop! I'll tell you where all of Sea Gazer's treasures are hidden!"
By now, the toad demon's body was in tatters. Its blood was dripping onto the ground, staining it purple and emitting a corrosive sizzling sound.
Its blood was highly toxic.
Come to think of it, the demon's main methods of attack were all venomous—poisonous gases and liquids. If it weren't sealed within that space, Nolan wouldn't have had such an easy time suppressing it.
No matter what the demon said next, Nolan remained unmoved.
He fought on until the demon was utterly defeated!
"Argh! I hate humans!" The toad demon let out a final, hateful curse before succumbing to its fate and dying.
[Defeated a powerful enemy. Gained 86,009 Adventure EXP.]
When this notification popped up on his character screen, Nolan knew the demon was truly dead.
With over 80,000 Adventure EXP added to his total, plus what he already had, his Adventure EXP now looked like this:
[Adventure EXP: 220,282]
Two hundred and twenty thousand points. It seemed like a lot, but it was only enough to level up twice.
Ugh... When will I have enough Adventure EXP to be truly free?
Nolan sighed, then turned his attention back to the sealed land, examining it once again.
Even though the demon was dead, the black smoke it emitted — the demon's lingering resentment — continued to seep out endlessly from its corpse. Now, this resentment had no master.
Before long, this demonic energy might spawn new demons within the realm, or it could attach itself to the existing magical mechanisms or creatures within the realm, transforming them into new demons.
If Nolan wanted to deal with this, he could continue using the "Lumine's Sword God" to attack it, as its "Sharp Intent" trait was perfect for clearing it away.
The problem was that there was too much of it. Clearing it all would be more exhausting than fighting the toad demon again.
Anyway, without decades or even centuries of accumulation, it's unlikely that many demons would form, and even if they did, they wouldn't necessarily be able to escape from the realm. So, there was no need to worry too much.
At that moment, Nolan noticed that the "Lumine's Sword God" had also become coated with a similar black smoke.
As he looked at it, it seemed as though he could hear the demon's curses and insults, and it even started to slightly affect his mind.
"Could this be the 'karma' of killing demons?"
Nolan had a guess.
When a demon is killed, it naturally dies with hatred, leaving behind endless resentment toward its killer.
If the demon was strong enough, it could attach this resentment to its killer, forming "karma." A small amount might not have much effect, but if it accumulated, it could result in something like the "Great Demon Slayer" Xiao, who constantly suffers immense pain.
"Luckily, the 'karma' is attached to the 'Lumine's Sword God.' Once it dissipates, it should be gone. There's no way it could find its way to me," Nolan thought with relief.
He also considered that since the "Lumine's Sword God" could attack the "karma," it might be possible to sever it completely.
If that were the case, perhaps Nolan could help Xiao cut away his own "karma" as well. After all, in the game's storyline, seeing Xiao struggle with the burden of his "karma" was quite painful.
Helping out would naturally be the right thing to do.
And after lending such a big helping hand, Xiao would probably reward him with some special Adeptus arts, right?
Just because he didn't have cultivation talent now didn't mean he wouldn't have it in the future!
With that thought, Nolan immediately began experimenting with the "Lumine's Sword God," slashing at himself with the golden sword.
Sure enough, the "Sharp Intent" trait worked.
Whatever the sword targeted, it would hit. Even though the "karma" was tightly clinging to his body, as long as the sword didn't touch his actual body, it could attack the "karma" alone without causing any harm to him.
It seemed that helping Xiao sever his "karma" was a sure thing. He would just need the right opportunity to seek him out.
This "opportunity" had to come naturally, without being too abrupt.
At the very least, he would need to run into Xiao by chance, see the "karma" on him, and then offer his help.
After all, deliberately seeking him out might cause suspicion or end up ruining the good intentions.
By now, Hu Tao was so exhausted that her chin rested on Nolan's shoulder. Her elemental energy had been completely drained.
Yun Jin was similarly leaning against his back, having run out of energy even faster, as she was the weakest of the group.
Shenhe was different. Though she had run out of elemental energy, she still had Adeptus energy, so while she was tired, she was in relatively good shape.
"How's it going? Is the demon taken care of?"
Suddenly, Hu Tao asked, hearing Nolan's sigh.
"Ah… not yet. We were so close, but that demon was just too powerful, almost like an Adeptus. We should probably retreat for now," Nolan sighed again.
"Damn it! Didn't you say it wouldn't be a problem? Now you've wasted our efforts for nothing!" Hu Tao grumbled angrily, "Don't think I won't bite you!"
"Okay, okay, I know I was wrong. Hall Master Hu tao is magnanimous, please don't hold it against me," Nolan replied, deliberately flashing a smile.
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a sharp pain in his ear. Something warm and soft brushed against his earlobe, and in the next instant, Hu Tao had pounced on him, pinning him to the ground.
It was a mix of pain and pleasure, as if he had just received a double reward.
(End of Chapter)
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