“**[Shield Bash]**!”
As Sains raised his shield and initiated a charge, Qiaolin and Gabriela followed closely behind him, plunging into the enemy ranks.
The cave was pitch black.
Qiaolin summoned a Light Spirit, and in the area illuminated by its glow, Goblins swarmed from all directions like locusts.
Even Qiaolin couldn’t help but frown; the number of monsters here far exceeded expectations.
Without additional support, Setus’s team wouldn’t have been able to handle a mission of this magnitude with their current strength.
That captain had rushed in blindly without sufficient intelligence.
If this were the past, Qiaolin would have at least tried to stop them.
“Sains!”
At Qiaolin’s warning, Sains pulled his shield to his chest, his body shrouded in a red aura.
**[Spiked Taunt]**—this was an innate ability of his weapon.
It converted half of the damage taken by the user into magical spikes to attack surrounding enemies, while also carrying a taunt effect.
Affected by the skill, the Goblins swarmed toward Sains.
In an instant, the man’s body was hacked until he was a bloody mess.
He gritted his teeth, enduring immense pain.
Meanwhile, the spirit floating in the air, radiating a bright and warm light, rained down sparks of starlight.
As they touched Sains, his wounds healed at a pace visible to the naked eye.
The Goblins continued their frenzied assault, but then red spikes erupted from Sains’s body, impaling all of them.
Within a few breaths, more than half of the Goblins were killed or wounded.
The more frantically they attacked, the more damage they sustained.
Gradually, they stopped their assault and scattered in retreat.
Aside from his tattered clothing, Sains’s injuries were fully healed with the help of the Light Spirit.
“Master Qiaolin, your Healing Magic really is powerful!”
“Unfortunately, I can’t do anything else besides help you recover from your wounds,” Qiaolin said flatly.
“That’s more than enough. Once we rescue all of them…”
*Roar—*
Before Sains could finish his sentence, a roar echoed from deep within the cave, startling him.
“That’s… the sound of an Ogre!”
Qiaolin reached out, letting the Light Spirit scout the path ahead.
The group continued deeper into the cave until an Ogre wielding a massive wooden club peeked out from the darkness, swinging it toward Qiaolin.
“Master Qiaolin, watch out!”
“**[Dauntless Charge]**!”
Sains used his martial technique, his speed suddenly increasing as he dashed in front of Qiaolin, bracing himself to tank the Ogre’s attack.
*Thud!*
Under the heavy blow, Sains’s body instantly collapsed on one side, and blood sprayed from his mouth and nose.
**[Dauntless Charge]** allowed him to accelerate toward a target that needed protection, but the damage taken afterward was doubled.
If it were a normal Goblin attack, he could have endured it, but the Ogre’s strike had severely wounded him.
“**[Spring Revivification]**, Resuscitate.”
A concise incantation accompanied by a surge of vibrant life force from his fingertips flowed into Sains.
The man’s dwindling presence surged instantly.
Not only were his injuries restored to their original state, but he also felt a continuous stream of strength flowing through his body.
“Hah!”
Sains performed a massive leap and delivered a **[Shield Bash]** to the Ogre’s head, shattering it!
“Wa-wa-wa-wa!” The Ogre shrieked in agony from the heavy blow.
Soon, heavy footsteps echoed as two more Ogres surrounded them.
‘Dammit, if three Ogres attack at once…’ Sains couldn’t help but worry.
With Qiaolin’s support, he was confident he could take down one Ogre.
If he had to deal with two, he could still protect Qiaolin.
But against three, he feared he wouldn’t be able to pull away.
Facing the encroachment of three Ogres, Qiaolin didn’t show a hint of panic.
He said to Sains, “When they get within a certain distance, use **[Dauntless Charge]** and **[Spiked Taunt]** in my direction.”
“Wh… what?”
Sains was certain his ears were working correctly.
**[Dauntless Charge]** doubled the damage taken by the user, while **[Spiked Taunt]** converted half of that damage into a counterattack.
Sains understood that Qiaolin wanted to use this method to achieve multiple goals at once, but being attacked by three Ogres simultaneously in a short period… he wasn’t sure if his body could handle it.
Could Qiaolin’s magic really bring him back?
“Don’t worry. You won’t die. None of you will die.”
Sains looked at Qiaolin’s calm and composed face.
A firm, resolute expression surfaced in the other man’s eyes—it was an aura forged through countless challenges, making one believe in him instinctively.
Sains stood ready.
He had already resolved himself to face death for this request, hadn’t he?
“Now, do it!”
Sains activated his skills.
The three Ogres raised their great clubs simultaneously, smashing them down onto his body.
“Argh!”
As Sains was flattened into a mass of flesh, the shield’s skill activated.
Massive spikes erupted instantly, piercing through the bodies of the three Ogres.
“**[Spring Rain and Dew]**.”
A lush aura of life exploded from around Qiaolin, then suddenly condensed into a single drop of nectar.
It flowed from his fingertip and fell onto Sains’s body, restoring him to his original state.
Watching this scene, Gabriela’s face was filled with shock.
In her view, when that human was smashed into meat paste, he was as dead as could be.
Yet he was actually revived by Qiaolin’s magic.
More importantly, even as the Demon King, she didn’t seem to have ever seen this kind of magic.
‘Is this a magic you created yourself?’
Gabriela asked Qiaolin via telepathy.
‘Of course. The principle is basically converting mana into life force. Speaking of which, don’t the Succubi in your Demon Race have this ability too?’
‘That’s completely different!’
Any life force provides a nourishing and amplifying effect to any living creature.
While mana and life force can indeed be converted into each other through special means, the ratio between the two differs by several hundred times.
Even a Succubus can only achieve a mana-to-life-force conversion of 100 to one.
Based on Gabriela’s years of experience, the life force displayed by the magic Qiaolin just used was enough to feed ten Succubi or restore nearly 100 humans from the brink of death to full health.
‘I had no choice. If I wasn’t serious, he really might have died. I won’t allow that kind of situation to happen under my nose again.’
‘The Hero is truly merciful,’ Gabriela teased.
When Sains realized he wasn’t dead, he was overjoyed and once again awestruck by Qiaolin’s incredible healing abilities.
If Qiaolin hadn’t left the team, given time, their party would surely have become the most famous adventurer group in the region!
Although Sains desperately wanted Qiaolin to return, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
For now, he had to rescue Clara and the others!
After thanking Qiaolin, Sains continued deeper into the cave.
He saw the young girl’s blood-stained body, and…
“No… no!”
In a fit of rage, Sains sent the Goblin behind the girl flying with a **[Shield Bash]**.
Ignoring the various foul stenches emanating from her, he pulled her into his arms.
“Ugh…” Gabriela covered her mouth.
She had long heard that monsters like Goblins would capture females of other races to use as breeding vessels.
She hadn’t expected the reality to be even more cruel—not only being violated to death but also becoming their rations.
“What a pity. We were one step too late after all,” Gabriela said regretfully.
The girl in the man’s arms had already stopped breathing.
No matter how strong a healing magic was, there shouldn’t be a way to bring someone back from the dead.
Sains had held onto a sliver of hope; even if Clara had been subjected to those horrors, he would still love her.
But now she…
“Sigh…” Qiaolin sighed helplessly.
He approached the weeping man and slowly crouched down.
“Let me.”
“Huh?!” Gabriela’s eyes widened. Could it be that he really had magic to bring the dead back to life? How was that possible?
Sains looked up.
He didn’t expect Qiaolin to be able to save Clara anymore.
The dead couldn’t return to life. He was already grateful enough that Qiaolin was willing to help him recover Clara’s remains.
“Yeah… there’s also the Captain and Todd. Those two might also be…”
“What are you talking about? I said I’m here to save her.”
“Ah…” Sains’s jaw hung open as if it were dislocated, and he froze.
Qiaolin opened his palm, and holy light surged.
A **[Golden Book]** materialized in his hand, emitting a radiance that illuminated the entire cave.
“Ow, my eyes!” Gabriela half-covered her eyes.
This piercing holy light was nearly blinding her.
“**[Golden Book]**, **[Universal Divine Light]**: Rewind.”
‘This is actually… Time Magic?!’ Gabriela’s jaw also dropped in shock.
The golden divine light shone upon Clara’s remains.
At that moment, it was as if time itself was flowing backward.
The girl’s body restored rapidly; the marks of violation vanished in an instant, as if they had never happened.
Before Sains’s unbelievable eyes, the girl’s chest began to rise and fall slightly.
“This… she’s alive?” Amidst Sains’s trembling words, Clara opened her eyes.
“What… happened to me?”
The girl saw the man’s expression of joy mixed with tears.
“Sains?”
“Master Qiaolin saved you! We failed the Goblin extermination request. I begged Master Qiaolin to come save us!”
“Qiaolin? That guy who only knows Healing Magic, how could he… ugh! My head hurts. I can’t remember a lot of things.”
“It’s not necessarily a bad thing to have some memories be unclear,” Qiaolin said, crossing his arms.
Sains briefly explained to Clara how they had fought Goblins and Ogres in the cave, all thanks to Qiaolin’s magic.
“You’re actually this powerful?
I’m sorry… I underestimated you,” Clara apologized.
“It’s nothing. Sains was the one who withstood the pressure. We reached this point because we trusted each other. He endured a lot of pain to save you,” Qiaolin said with a smile.
“Thank you, Sains.”
Clara’s face flushed slightly, then she turned to Qiaolin.
“Thank you for your help, Qiaolin. I owe you my life. I was the one who wanted to kick you out of the team before. I was short-sighted.”
“It’s fine. You weren’t wrong. My Healing Magic really is useless in many situations.”
‘Hey, does Time Rewind even count as a healing spell?’
Gabriela asked via telepathy.
Even though she had remained expressionless earlier despite the bloody scenes, she now looked horrified after witnessing Qiaolin casually use high-tier Time Magic as a healing spell.
Qiaolin twitched his lips, his expression seemingly telling Gabriela, ‘Just tell me if she’s healed or not.’
“You are simply the incarnation of a Celestial Hero, Master Qiaolin… no, Lord Qiaolin. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, how could I ever believe a person could be brought back from the dead?”
Sains knelt before Qiaolin in sincere devotion.
A person like this being in their small team was simply a waste—a casting of pearls before swine.
No wonder he had never made a move before; the requests they had taken previously simply weren’t worthy of him using his magic!
Sains understood everything now.
“If they’ve been dead for too long, I can’t guarantee I can save the others.”
“Oh! Right, I understand!” Qiaolin’s reminder snapped Sains out of his awe.
There were still two others they needed to save.
Just as Sains picked up Clara, a massive silhouette slowly loomed behind Qiaolin.
Sains’s pupils constricted suddenly.
“Watch out, Lord Qiaolin! Behind you… get away from there!”
Sains roared.
He wanted to use **[Dauntless Charge]** to reach Qiaolin’s side immediately, but he was still holding Clara.
By the time he set the girl down and prepared to rush over, it was already too late.
The Ogre’s massive club was about to descend on Qiaolin’s shoulder.
With his body, he would likely be flattened in an instant.
Qiaolin turned his face slightly. His eyes were calm and unruffled, appearing completely indifferent to the Ogre’s attack.
The blonde girl with red highlights standing beside him didn’t show a hint of panic either.
The man raised his hand and clenched his fist—
*Boom!*
A massive hole was instantly blasted through the Ogre’s body.
Blood flowed over Qiaolin’s fist.
‘You’ve grown weak, Hero,’ Gabriela teased him through telepathy.
‘Well… it’s been a long time since I used Taijutsu. In a fistfight, I might not even be able to beat you now.’