Vol 3. Chapter 94: The ‘Savior’ in a Miserable State
I’ve clearly already released the third shackle?!
Why is this happening?!
Xue Tianao found it impossible to accept the reality before him! His pale golden eyes were filled with madness and hysteria. His brows twitched violently, veins bulged across his forehead, and even countless blood vessels had appeared in his eyes.
However,
before Xue Tianao could remain stunned for long, what happened next shocked him even more.
?!!
Th-This... What is going on?!
At this moment,
reflected within Xue Tianao’s eyes, a strange black demonic power gradually began seeping from the black demonic spear. Under the influence of this power, Xiao’s demonic power also gradually transformed from gray-white into the horrifying, detestable black of the abyss.
Not only did his aura become incomparably deep and eerie, but his presence also began rising continuously. In the blink of an eye, the demonic aura that had just been shattered by divine power returned with a vengeance. In an instant, the ultimate pure black once again suppressed Xue Tianao’s golden radiance.
In addition,
under the influence of the black demonic power, Xiao’s appearance gradually began changing as well. According to Xue Tianao’s understanding, a boss corrupted by such an eerie power should gradually transform into a hideous, grotesque, and vicious monster.
However, Xiao did not grow anything like fangs or claws.
Surrounded by demonic power, Xiao’s ink-black short hair gradually transformed into waist-length gray-white hair, while his pitch-black eyes slowly became pale blue. More importantly, his already somewhat androgynous facial features became even softer, vaguely revealing an indescribable heroic beauty.
?!!
‘What... What the hell is going on with this guy?’
Xue Tianao was utterly confused.
However, he no longer had time to contemplate the changes occurring to Xiao. As Xiao’s transformation completed, his power became increasingly terrifying. Surrounded by black light, the demonic spear also grew increasingly sturdy.
As the violent black demonic power gradually calmed, the demonic spear slowly stabilized. Countless barbs and blades emerged across the shaft, making it increasingly vicious and horrifying. The dark-blue gemstone at the tip of the demonic spear twisted and transformed into a deep, eerie eye...
And the gaze of that eye locked directly onto Xue Tianao, instantly sending a chill down his spine.
?!
N-No, this is bad!!
That demonic spear is actually alive?!
Realizing something was wrong, Xue Tianao hurriedly increased his power output! The golden energy surrounding the divine sword and divine axe intensified even further! Clearly, Xue Tianao wanted to immediately destroy this bizarre weapon that filled him with unease.
However, no matter how much force he exerted, Xue Tianao’s ultimate attack could not advance even a single inch.
‘Wh... Why is this happening?!’
At that moment,
the dark-blue eye on the demonic spear narrowed slightly and gave Xue Tianao a contemptuous look.
The next instant,
under Xue Tianao’s disbelieving gaze, the powerful golden energy surrounding the two divine weapons gradually broke free from his control. It began being forcibly stripped away without end and poured directly into the demonic spear!
Having received the enhancement of divine power, the violence within the demonic eye became even more intense.
‘This spear... can actually absorb my power?!’
Before Xue Tianao could recover from his shock, Xiao’s eyes abruptly narrowed, and dark-blue light blossomed from his pupils.
With a sweep of the demonic spear,
Xue Tianao’s attack was directly shattered.
Black demonic power roared toward the disbelieving Xue Tianao like an abyssal beast that had broken free of its restraints.
“BOOM!!”
Black light spread like lightning, instantly blasting Xue Tianao’s golden aura into countless fragments! The terrifying energy struck Xue Tianao’s body without the slightest restraint!
His body, which had only just healed, was once again riddled with wounds. The violent impact churned the Child of Destiny’s stomach so badly that
blood and stomach acid surged from his mouth.
Yet the moment they sprayed out, the violent storm of black demonic power forcibly blasted them straight back into his stomach.
Xue Tianao himself was violently sent flying by the impact. Like a homeless dog, he crashed miserably into the distant ruins.
At the same time,
the dark-blue eye on the demonic spear abruptly contracted.
Dense gray mist appeared without warning around the Imperial Palace, completely surrounding it. The mist utterly isolated the palace from the outside world, preventing anyone outside from investigating what was happening within and eliminating any possibility of reinforcements from the Royal Knights arriving.
Clearly, it was now time to shut the door and beat the dog.
Holding the black demonic spear and having entered his power-release state, Xiao began walking toward Xue Tianao one step at a time.
Such slow footsteps...
Perhaps he was being cautious of Xue Tianao’s counterattack.
Or perhaps,
there was some other reason?
But regardless,
with every step Xiao took, overwhelming pressure descended from the heavens and slammed onto Xue Tianao’s shoulders. The Child of Destiny’s complexion became increasingly ugly, to the point that even breathing became difficult.
The Child of Destiny’s heart was already in complete turmoil.
No.
This is impossible.
I clearly released all three shackles! Why can he still send me flying?! Why can he still... suppress me...
Slowly rising from the ruins, Xue Tianao was already covered in blood from head to toe. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the approaching ‘God of Slaughter.’
At this moment, the immense confidence that had only just swelled within Xue Tianao was completely shattered...
But even so,
he still refused to believe that he had been suppressed. His eyes were filled with resentment and hatred.
“What the hell did you do?! Just what is that demonic spear?!”
Xue Tianao demanded unwillingly.
However,
Xue Tianao’s intention of using conversation to stall for time and recover some of his stamina was instantly seen through by Xiao.
“You don’t need to know.”
Replying indifferently in his slightly androgynous voice, Xiao realized that his opponent had no means of counterattacking and instantly transformed into a streak of black light. Carrying overwhelming momentum, he rushed directly in front of Xue Tianao and, without another word, thrust the demonic spear straight toward the Child of Destiny’s heart!
His opponent’s decisiveness left Xue Tianao both shocked and furious, while an unprecedented sense of danger overwhelmed him.
‘Damn it!’
Cursing inwardly, Xue Tianao hurriedly tried to evade Xiao’s attack.
Divine power surged. Using golden light as propulsion, Xue Tianao suddenly leaped to the left!
At the very last moment, he avoided Xiao’s attack that descended like the arrival of the Grim Reaper.
Although he ultimately escaped the fatal strike, Xue Tianao’s arm was unfortunately pierced by the demonic spear.
In an instant,
blood sprayed everywhere.
The vitality and divine power contained within his arm were immediately absorbed by the demonic spear. Xue Tianao’s right arm rapidly withered, becoming shriveled like the limb of a dried corpse.
The intense agony also assaulted Xue Tianao’s brain like madness.
His handsome face twisted beyond recognition from the excruciating pain.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”
After unleashing a furious roar, Xue Tianao immediately made a decisive choice. To prevent all of his vitality from being absorbed, Xue Tianao violently swung the Heaven-Splitting Sword in his right hand and severed his own left arm with a single slash!
Afterward,
the panting Xue Tianao hurriedly retreated, attempting to create distance between himself and Xiao so he could gain more time to recover.
Unfortunately, how could a battle-hardened existence like Xiao possibly fail to understand Xue Tianao’s intentions?
The Black Rose Duke had absolutely no intention of giving Xue Tianao time to breathe. After withdrawing his demonic spear, he once again transformed into black light and flashed directly in front of Xue Tianao.
“Devour him, Puls.”
As Xiao’s words rang out, a deep, oppressive voice filled with intense murderous intent and madness immediately emerged from the demonic spear.
“Got it, Master!!!”
The next moment,
under Xue Tianao’s utterly terrified gaze, the head of the demonic spear rapidly expanded before suddenly splitting open, revealing a vicious bloody maw filled with fangs!
An unprecedented feeling of terror and danger immediately overwhelmed him.
Watching that enormous bloody mouth rapidly enlarge within his vision, Xue Tianao understood perfectly well
that if he were bitten by it this time, his vitality would probably be sucked dry in an instant, leaving him nothing but a desiccated corpse!
No!
How could I possibly fall here like this!!
“DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT EATING ME, YOU BASTARD!”
Facing the demonic spear rapidly closing in on him, Xue Tianao mobilized all of his remaining power to form a protective barrier while roaring violently at Xiao!
Amid his furious roars, golden divine power began spreading wildly in every direction!
As Xue Tianao sent out his signal, the mountain beneath the Imperial Palace suddenly began trembling.
The next moment,
the earth split apart, and two silver figures suddenly leaped from underground! Catching Xiao completely off guard, they instantly rushed to his side.
“BOOM!!”
Amid an earth-shaking explosion, silver demonic power erupted violently, blossoming into dazzling fireworks in midair.
The two figures simultaneously launched powerful energy attacks toward Xiao.
“Hmm?”
Faced with the coordinated assault of two unexpectedly powerful forces, Xiao was forced to interrupt his attack and temporarily retreat to avoid their edge.
After the smoke dispersed,
Xiao narrowed his pale-blue eyes slightly and calmly looked ahead, toward Xue Tianao’s position.
At this moment,
the heavily panting Xue Tianao slowly rose from the ground.
Yet beside the Child of Destiny, two unknown silver figures had somehow appeared.
Both figures were surrounded by dense demonic power. Their entire bodies were covered in dazzling silver armor, upon which complex and ancient golden runes had been engraved.
Although humanoid in shape, judging by the ruby-red eyes beneath their armor, these two humanoid existences were not humans.
They were alchemical puppets powered by mana furnaces.
“Alchemical puppets... So these are the guardian gods of the Sky Dome Imperial Palace?”
“Heh, looks like you know quite a lot. But these aren’t ordinary alchemical puppets!”
Glancing at the two silver puppets standing beside him like his left and right guardians, Xue Tianao revealed a sinister smile.
Originally, the Imperial Palace guardians had merely been two rare Peak Seventh-Tier alchemical puppets.
Although the puppets were powerful, they were clearly insufficient for dealing with truly top-level powerhouses.
However,
after Xue Tianao exchanged for special materials from the System Shop and modified the two puppets, their strength had already reached the Eighth Tier!
If it were not for the fact that activating these things required enormous quantities of Soul Pearls or vast amounts of energy, Xue Tianao probably would have sent the two guardian puppets onto the battlefield from the very beginning.
But given the current situation, there was no longer any need to hesitate.
Since even he, after releasing his divine power, was not confident that he could defeat the Black Rose Duke, then he could only have the two guardian puppets attack together with him!
No matter what, he had to kill this bastard!
Revealing a vicious smile, Xue Tianao’s divine power once again surged violently.
Countless rays of golden light gathered around Xue Tianao and converged around the stump of his severed arm, reconstructing themselves into a glittering golden arm.
At the same time, responding to Xue Tianao’s divine power, the divine axe flew back into the Child of Destiny’s hand.
Meanwhile,
the two puppets beside Xue Tianao also erupted with overwhelming auras, clearly entering combat mode.
The terrifying demonic power erupting from the two puppets, combined with the vast golden divine power constantly leaking from Xue Tianao himself, formed powerful hurricanes of energy that continuously battered Xiao in the distance.
“Don’t blame me for ganging up on you!”
The moment those words left his mouth, Xue Tianao kicked off the ground and instantly transformed into a golden cannonball, charging directly toward Xiao!
At exactly the same moment, the two alchemical puppets attacked Xiao from two other directions!
However,
faced with such an overwhelming three-way assault, the corners of Xiao’s lips rose slightly with profound meaning.
“Ganging up on me?”
Hehe.
Which side has more people?
That’s not necessarily decided yet~