Chapter 1007 - 648: Tombstone Spirit Fragment 2
A shadowy figure almost merging with the darkness slowly crept toward the battlefield without a sound. Its aura completely restrained, deathly silent, perfectly blending into the shadow of the rocks, undetectable even to a Tier Six powerhouse passing by.
The shadow lay prone on the cliffside, its cold, emotionless eyes gazing quietly at the battle below. A dense black mist churned and condensed in front of it, its intangible aura stealthily locking onto Ran Tu, fiercely battling at the center of the battlefield.
In an instant, Ran Tu’s hair stood on end, a deadly sense of crisis surged from the depths of his soul, his scalp tingling, like falling into an ice cave.
He didn’t dare hesitate for a moment, bellowing fiercely, as his entire spiritual energy surged wildly, forming a thick protective barrier on his body, ready to withstand an ambush at any moment.
At this critical juncture
Boom!
A purple-gold thunderbolt struck down from the void without warning, precisely hitting the concealed shadow.
No piercing screams, no struggle or resistance, the eerie shadow was instantly shattered by the thunder, dissolving into a wisp of black smoke and dispersed by the wind.
Almost at the moment the shadow was destroyed, the bone-chilling sense of crisis in Ran Tu’s heart dissipated instantly.
There was no need to think; it was the Military Lord who intervened to block this lethal strike for him.
Recalling the previous overwhelming sense of crisis, Ran Tu still felt lingering fear, cold sweat faintly oozing from his back.
Steadying his mind, the fighting spirit in Ran Tu’s eyes no longer held back, as his Heaven-piercing Halberd burst forth in a dazzling cold light, launching a torrential assault as the leader of the Stele Demons relaxed its old defenses.
The shadows of the lance danced wildly, tyrannical beyond compare, viciously cleaving down, splitting the body of the Tier Seven Stele Demon once more.
Not allowing the opponent time to regenerate, the spiritual energy in Ran Tu’s palm exploded violently, the raging force engulfing the entire Stele Demon, shattering its demon core and body together, completely dissipating into scattered black mist.
In mid-air, Qin Tian and the other officers gazed down at the battlefield, their brows furrowed with deep concern.
"The strength of the Stele Demons is much greater than I anticipated," Old Ghost spoke solemnly.
Everyone nodded slightly, their expressions becoming increasingly serious.
It’s well known, the White Tiger Legion is the most elite and seasoned force among the Four Symbols Legion, already an experienced frontline troop even before joining the Ice Extreme Pass.
This time, Ran Tu meticulously selected the core elites of the legion to participate in the battle, and with the added support of Armed Armor, their combat strength stood among the top of all participating forces, no doubt first-rate.
Yet even so, the White Tiger Legion, faced with a nearly equal number of Stele Demons, found victory not particularly difficult, but couldn’t showcase an overwhelming advantage.
This fact far exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Secretly on guard in their hearts, if they encountered a situation where the number of Stele Demons far exceeded their own, the battle could become rather bleak.
Qin Tian glanced downward, his gaze resting on the scorched ground in the distance struck by Celestial Thunder.
The Stele Demon that just attempted to ambush Ran Tu was undoubtedly above Tier Seven in strength, already at high Tier Seven, just a step away from Tier Eight.
Fortunately, his Holy Blood Level talent, "Thunder Ancestor," is the bane of all evil beings—dealing 2000% extra damage to dark element enemies such as evil spirits, demons, and ghost spirits, and applying the "Heavenly Might" effect, reducing enemy all attributes by 10% to 30%.
The thunderbolt just now was enhanced with six-fold damage from "Celestial Punishment Critical Strike," and the combined might of these two talents was unbearable even for a true Tier Eight demon, let alone that Tier Seven Stele Demon.
At this moment, Qin Tian’s gaze shifted to the Talent Light Sphere dropped by the Tier Seven Stele Demon, slowly raising his hand to summon it to him.
[Name] Shadow Demon Body (Orange)
[Type] Composite Type
[Introduction] You possess the source of demonic qi and a formidable body, combining stealth and mystery with tough defense and brutal offense, transforming into a shadowy Asura. Core abilities as follows:
1. Shadow Stealth: Manipulate the black mist to restrain your aura, merging into shadows entering a "traceless" state, immune to conventional detection, stealth speed unaffected, only briefly visible during active attacks.
2. Demon Armor Protection: Condense demonic qi to form a Shadow Demon Armor, reducing 40% physical damage, 30% elemental damage, immune to most demonic qi and spiritual shock, reassembles 3 seconds after being shattered; increases defense by 5% per attack received, stackable up to 8 layers, lasts 10 seconds.
3. Nether Devour Strike: Attacks imbued with nether demon qi, dealing extra dark damage, causing opponents to continuously lose life force for 5 seconds, converting it to self-sustain; attacks in stealth mode double damage, 30% chance to paralyze enemy for 1 second, suppresses enemy attack and defense speed by 20% within demonic qi range.
"Golden Level talent."
Qin Tian squinted slightly, a hint of seriousness in his eyes.
A Tier Seven Stele Demon, paired with a Golden Level talent, its combat prowess is almost comparable to descendants of the Golden Bloodline. Plus, it comes with inherent stealth capabilities, no wonder Ran Tu failed to detect its ambush.
Subsequently, Qin Tian waved a large hand, several thin Spirit Threads silently extended, lightly touching all the bodies of the Stele Demons below. In the next second, many blue and purple Talent Light Spheres floated out from the corpses, all surging towards him.
These Talent Light Spheres, Qin Tian did not choose to absorb.
For him, such magical talents infused into himself wouldn’t bring a significant boost in combat strength, but would only add unnecessary complications.
However, these talents serve as excellent references, allowing him to more accurately assess the strength and talent level of the Stele Demons.
Judging from the level of the Talent Light Spheres, the talents of Stele Demons are generally above blue, with purple talents accounting for more than two-tenths, which is an extremely terrifying proportion.
Looking at any team, it’s impossible to have more than two-tenths of Spiritualists with Silver Bloodline.
Fortunately, the human advantage lies in tacit cooperation, precise command, paired with the support of weapons, armor, and various tools, enabling overall combat power to far exceed that of a single Stele Demon.
Yet, in the Celestial Stele Secret Realm, the number of Stele Demons far surpasses humans. Overall, humans are still at a distinct disadvantage, only through reasonable tactical coordination and flexible battlefield responses can they successfully complete the task of clearing them out.
As the Stele Demon leader fell, Ran Tu charged into the camp, and the Stele Demons were swiftly routed. Soon, all Stele Demons were slaughtered completely.
Qin Tian, along with the officers, slowly descended.
Ran Tu quickly ran over, steam rising from his body as he removed his armor, clasping his fists, he said, "Military Lord, all the Stele Demons have been annihilated by our troop."
He paused, then gratefully added, "Thank you for your assistance just now, Military Lord."
With the deadly threat he sensed earlier, he realized that if the Military Lord hadn’t intervened then, he might not have died, but he certainly wouldn’t have escaped severe injury.
After experiencing the great battle, he deeply understood the terror of the Stele Demons. The White Tiger Legion was an elite force of the Empire, and this time he had drawn elites from the legion, plus the protection of Armed Armor, yet they couldn’t easily achieve a crushing victory.
On the other hand, he himself, fully armed, was nearly severely injured by a stealthy Stele Demon.
It was evident that both the high-end combat power and average power of the Stele Demons exceeded their expectations.
Henceforth, they must be more cautious, otherwise, there is indeed a risk of total annihilation.
Qin Tian nodded slightly; Ran Tu was a battlefield veteran, and after this battle, he would undoubtedly be even more cautious moving forward.
He glanced over the battlefield; there were no deaths in the White Tiger Legion, though some were injured, none were gravely harmed. He cast a green light, and soon, the injuries of all the wounded were fully healed.
Next, Qin Tian raised his hand, and within moments, dots of light of varying sizes rose from the ground all over the battlefield, converging towards his palm like fireflies, eventually merging into a fingernail-sized light sphere.
Ran Tu and the others approached, watching the light sphere in Qin Tian’s hand with curiosity.
"This is a Tombstone Spirit Fragment."
Qin Tian said slowly, "The demons under the Celestial Stele steal the power of the stele, and after eliminating them, you can obtain Tombstone Spirit Fragments. The final contribution of each camp will depend on the size of these spirit fragments."
Ran Tu said, "Military Lord, I heard these Tombstone Spirit Fragments can also merge directly with oneself, providing a temporary increase in comprehension and improving physique."
Qin Tian shook his head, "They indeed have that effect, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the bigger picture. By obtaining enough Tombstone Spirit Fragments, all our soldiers can bathe in the Celestial Stele Light."
"Alright, the first battle was splendidly fought by the White Tiger Legion. Next, let us continue on."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison.