novelraw Chapter 402: Armor Donned, Fierce Battle
Chapter 402: Armor Donned, Fierce Battle
In the Fungus King's territory, the air was thick with a nauseatingly sweet, cloying scent mixed with the smell of decay and humus.
Vast quantities of fungi grew densely on trees, on the ground, everywhere.
Yet today, this land of deathly silence that had been ruled by fungi for decades was violently torn apart by a completely different power.
A figure strolled leisurely within, as if walking through his own backyard.
The legendary Sword Saint, the "Unfinished Sword," Kailos.
He hadn't even drawn his sword, merely hovering a few feet above the ground, walking with ease and composure toward the area where the fungal carpet grew thicker and the colors became increasingly bizarre.
An intangible yet substantial Domain enveloped his surroundings.
—The Kaleidoscopic Sword Domain.
This was the name he had given his Domain, signifying the flow of sword light, as dazzling and deadly as a kaleidoscope.
Walking at the forefront, the Sword Saint's body was bombarded by countless attacks.Spore clouds spat wildly by fungal monsters, carrying potent corrosive properties; active mycelium that suddenly thrust from underground, sharp as spears; nerve toxins, colorless and odorless yet fatal, permeating the air... the types were numerous.
However.
All these attacks were completely blocked by an invisible barrier before they could even touch the Sword Saint's body.
Every attack seemed futile, only serving to highlight the Domain's indestructibility.
Simultaneously, centered on Sword Saint Kailos, without any visible motion of drawing or swinging his sword, the fungal monsters lunging at him from all sides were instantly torn to shreds, as if simultaneously sliced by countless invisible blades, scattering into drifting dust.
The thick fungal carpet beneath his feet was also plowed open layer by layer by invisible, sharp sword auras, revealing the long-concealed soil underneath.
As the fungal carpet shattered, countless fungal spores, as fine as dust and barely visible to the naked eye, drifted toward the Sword Saint, attempting to attach and parasitize. Yet, like the other attacks, they too were blocked by the Domain, utterly unable to touch even the hem of his robe or a single inch of his skin.
Even though the surroundings were already a mess of wreckage, fungal corpses littered the ground, and the earth was broken.
This human legendary powerhouse himself remained spotless, his robes pristine, his demeanor calm and elegant, completely different from the filth and chaos around him.
"Follow up, clean it all up, don't leave any hidden dangers!"
Kailos's voice reached the ears of the human legion behind him.
Upon receiving the order, the human legion immediately advanced rapidly along the safe path opened by the legendary Sword Saint.
Heavily armored soldiers swung their sharp blades, cutting down subsequent fungal monsters that lunged; alchemical golems with glowing muzzles marched with heavy steps, spewing scorching flames that ignited swathes of still-writhing fungal carpet, turning them into raging seas of fire.
The pungent smell of scorching mixed with the strange fungal aroma, forming an even more foul-smelling toxic gas.
Low-level warriors felt dizzy and disoriented after just one whiff.
Fortunately, this toxic gas was quickly dispersed by magic cast by the legion mages.
A war involving a legendary powerhouse followed a completely different pattern from ordinary battles.
Lacking legendary-level military equipment or strategic-grade magical devices of the same tier, the role of ordinary legions was often more supportive. They could not directly participate in legendary-level confrontations; their main tasks were to somewhat deplete the enemy's basic forces or handle tedious cleanup, occupation, and stabilization work.
Just like now.
The purpose of Kailos's legion was to clear the fungal carpet and any stragglers, and to clean up and take over this place immediately after the battle ended.
Kailos's gaze swept over the depths of the territory, and he suddenly stopped walking.
Although the attacks from the fungal monsters posed no threat to him, they were indeed wasting his precious time.
Besides this elusive Fungus King, there was also a so-called Lord of Molten Iron on the list that he needed to deal with.
That Mountain King, who had caused less damage to the kingdom's base and behaved relatively quietly, was no exception; he was also on the Divine Kingdom of Theo's purge list.
The kingdom would never show mercy to a monster just because it behaved itself.
Kailos did not want to waste too much time in this disgusting fungal land.
After a brief contemplation, he decided to use more forceful means to force out that Fungus King who persistently refused to reveal his true form.
The legendary Sword Saint reached out and placed his hand on his sword hilt.
In an instant, an even more chilling and vast power surged from within him.
The Kaleidoscopic Sword Domain surrounding him suddenly blazed with intense light, becoming visible to the naked eye from its previously intangible, formless state.
It was a domain composed of countless fragmented, dazzling, constantly appearing and disappearing miniature sword auras, breathtakingly beautiful yet overflowing with killing intent.
"Hiding and skulking, merely wasting time."
Kailos murmured softly to himself.
The next moment, the beloved sword hanging at his waist, the magical weapon named [Sun-Chaser], emitted a clear, melodious hum on its own. The sword body trembled slightly, and the blade slid three inches out of its sheath on its own.
Legendary equipment was rare and expensive. Even Kailos, who had recently advanced to legendary status, did not yet possess a true legendary-grade weapon.
However, this Sun-Chaser sword of his was already among the top-tier equipment below the legendary grade.
Enhanced and amplified by his own legendary Domain, its power was not to be underestimated.
With just three inches of the blade revealed, an indescribably sharp aura shot into the sky.
Even the dark clouds in the sky were sliced apart and dispersed.
Dust-Cleansing Sword Rain!
With a clear, melodious hum, countless sword auras, as fine as dust and as dazzling as stars, instantly surged and boiled, converging like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, attaching themselves to the exposed blade of Sun-Chaser.
The light condensed on the blade was so blinding it was impossible to look at directly.
Suddenly, countless sword energies, condensed as if solid, as fine as ox hair yet incomparably sharp, erupted from the blade.
They did not fly out randomly but, as if possessing life, transformed into a torrential rainstorm sweeping in all directions, indiscriminately covering all fungal carpets, fungal monsters, and even the twisted earth and forests within sight.
*Swoosh—!!!*
The sound was as dense as rain beating on plantain leaves, yet as sharp as ten thousand blades scraping, merging into a single cacophony.
Wherever the sword light passed, it was both magnificent and terrifying.
The originally thick, tough, and constantly writhing fungal carpet was instantly cut and shredded as if thrown into a meat-grinder, turning into dust dancing in the air.
Those fungal monsters lurking in the carpet or hanging on withered trees disintegrated under the torrent of countless sword energies before they could even utter a wail.
Further away, patches of twisted, fungus-parasitized forests were also shaved down to bare trunks by the sword rain, and then the trunks themselves, covered in sword marks, collapsed with a crash.
A wide area centered on Kailos seemed to be purified in an instant.
All fungal creations, whether living monsters or stationary fungal carpets and forests, were swept clean, leaving only pockmarked land crisscrossed with sword marks and fallen, shattered remnants of wood.
The nauseating smell in the air also seemed to be diluted and dispersed by the all-cleansing sharpness.
The human legion advancing behind couldn't help but stop, gazing in shock at this scene.
Even though they already knew legendary powerhouses possessed unparalleled, immense strength, witnessing it firsthand each time still made it difficult to remain calm within, leaving only deep awe.
Kailos's wrist moved slightly.
Sun-Chaser emitted a satisfied, soft hum as it slid back into its sheath, as if what had just happened was merely an insignificant, effortless act on his part.
His robes remained as clean and new as ever, unstained by dust.
The Sword Saint hovered in mid-air, his cold and sharp gaze sweeping over the instantly cleared area and the still-fungus-covered core region deeper within.
"Still unwilling to show yourself?"
"Continue to turtle in hiding, and I will keep swinging my sword like this, completely erasing your lair and all your disgusting creations from this land. When that time comes, you will lose all your barriers and reliance, and even the last shred of possibility for resistance will cease to exist."
He spoke calmly.
At the same moment.
As if provoked by his arrogance and destruction, a low, drum-like roar came from the depths of the swamp.
Immediately after, the fungal carpet ahead exploded violently, and a massive figure emerged.
It stood nearly five meters tall, its body structure appearing thick and clumsy, similar to an ogre, but its skin was a grayish-white like necrotic tissue, densely covered with bizarre mushrooms that continuously opened and closed, spewing spores of various colors as if breathing.
Its head resembled a deformed mushroom covered in folds, crevices, and deep holes, with a constantly opening and closing slit in the center, emitting a hoarse, inhuman roar.
Its limbs were thick, with tendril-like fungal root extensions at its fingertips, whipping up foul-smelling gusts of wind as it waved them.
The moment this "Spore Ogre" appeared, all the surrounding fungal monsters seemed to be invigorated, becoming even more frenzied.
The remaining fungal carpet lit up with streams of light, flowing toward its feet, which resembled both roots and soles.
Its aura surged once more, reaching a very powerful level below legendary, exceeding that of ordinary level 20 creatures.
"This is the so-called Fungus King? Truly ugly and disgusting."
A flash of undisguised disgust passed through Kailos's eyes.
Opposite him, the Spore Ogre spoke through the slit in its mushroom head in a twisted yet clear manner, uttering human language: "In...truder...my terri...tory...die!"
The Spore Ogre took heavy, earth-shaking steps.
It swung a fist covered in thick fungal shell, enveloped in a dense spore cloud capable of instantly corroding steel armor, and smashed it fiercely toward Kailos.
Kailos still did not dodge or evade, nor did he even adopt any defensive posture.
The fist's speed drastically reduced the moment it entered the three-meter radius around him. The violent spore cloud dissipated instantly as if crashing into an invisible meat-grinder wall.
The Spore Ogre's massive fist seemed to have struck the hardest barrier in the world, unable to advance an inch further.
Moreover, at the point of contact between the fist and the Domain, countless hair-thin cutting marks instantly appeared, with grayish-white fungal fluid seeping out.
"Is this all? Truly disappointing."
Kailos shook his head slightly, a sigh tinged with boredom in his tone.
The instant his words fell.
*Clang!*
Another incredibly clear and melodious sword hum suddenly rang out, overpowering all the noise and roars.
Sword light flashed and vanished!
Fast! Extremely fast!
No one could see how he drew his sword; not even the trajectory of the blade could be caught. It seemed only an extremely thin, extremely bright silver line, as if capable of splitting light itself, flashed through the air and then disappeared.
The Spore Ogre, which had just raised its other fist to launch a second attack, suddenly froze, its massive body rigid.
Its movement ceased abruptly.
The next second, starting from the very center of its large mushroom head, a straight and smooth silver line rapidly extended downward, passing through its broad chest, thick waist and abdomen, all the way to its lower body!
However, this was not the end.
No blood flowed from the incision on the Spore Ogre's body, only writhing mycelium frantically extending, merging back together in the blink of an eye.
It leaped up violently, its right arm covered in mycelium suddenly deforming and stretching, spinning rapidly to form an extremely sharp fungal spear. With a piercing sound of tearing through the air, it once again fearlessly stabbed toward Kailos.
The result was exactly the same as before.
The Kaleidoscopic Sword Domain remained indestructible. The fungal spear was instantly shredded by invisible sword auras the moment it touched the Domain.
Simultaneously, Kailos merely casually raised his hand.
Sword light once again swept across the Spore Ogre's body.
This time, it wasn't just one silver line.
One silver line appeared on its body, then ten, a hundred... countless crisscrossing sword lights seemed to erupt in the same instant, completely enveloping the Spore Ogre's form.
The Spore Ogre's massive body suddenly disintegrated into pieces of varying sizes, clattering to the ground in a heap.
But it still had not died.
The scattered pieces writhed frantically on the ground. More mycelium surged from the fragments, seeking, connecting, and entangling each other as if alive. Meanwhile, the surrounding remnants of the fungal carpet seemed summoned, converging here in waves. The fragments absorbed energy transmitted from the carpet, rapidly swelling.
In the blink of an eye.
Three Spore Ogres, each exuding equally formidable auras reaching level 20, stood up on the spot.
They surrounded the Sword Saint in a triangular formation.
Their bodies morphed into various weapons.
Their attacks covered every angle.
The Sword Saint at the center of the storm merely curled the corner of his mouth upwards and smiled lightly.
The Kaleidoscopic Sword Domain's light flowed steadily, firmly blocking all the violent attacks from all directions without even a ripple expanding.
"Let me see how many times you can split."
As his indifferent words fell, sword light sketched through the air like a brush of death once more.
The bodies of the three Spore Ogres were almost simultaneously covered again with crisscrossing sword marks, then, with a roar of unwillingness, simultaneously crumbled and shattered.
However, at the very moment before their bodies were about to completely collapse and disintegrate.
The residual consciousness of these three Spore Ogres seemed to reach a consensus. They simultaneously emitted deafening roars and violently crashed into each other.
Bodies full of sword marks, on the verge of shattering, fused together upon impact.
Countless mycelium strands frantically intertwined, compressed, and underwent qualitative change.
An aura far more powerful than any before, almost reaching the absolute peak below legendary, erupted explosively from the fused entity.
"DIE!!!"
The fused Spore Ogre, its form twisted and ugly, having expanded in size once more, let out its final roar.
A pair of arms, whose forms were now difficult to distinguish, merged together, transforming into an enormous fungal blade, concentrating all its current power, and hacked down from above toward Sword Saint Kailos.
*Clang—!!!*
This time, it was no longer silent.
With a crisp yet heavy impact sound, the Sword Saint's Kaleidoscopic Sword Domain finally rippled for the first time, like water disturbed! Although the Domain remained stable and unbroken, the previously indifferent look in Kailos's eyes instantly became focused and sharp, brimming with killing intent.
He took a step forward.
His Sun-Chaser sword completed two interweaving motions before him in an instant, drawing a perfect "cross."
Simultaneously, a cross-shaped sword mark appeared out of thin air on the Spore Ogre's massive body.
Immediately after, its body neatly split into four large pieces along that cross-shaped mark, collapsing with a crash.
At the severed surfaces, countless mycelium strands still frantically sprouted, attempting to reconnect.
However, this time, a layer of condensed, lingering destructive sword light hovered over them, stubbornly suppressing its regeneration.
Kailos gave his opponent no further chances.
With a thought, the Kaleidoscopic Sword Domain suddenly expanded, completely enveloping all the Spore Ogre's remains.
At the same time, he gave his wrist a shake, and Sun-Chaser swung out once more.
In an instant, scorchingly hot flames rose from within his Domain, transforming into countless crimson sword lights that swept across all the Spore Ogre's remains. The remains were further cut and shredded by the sword light while simultaneously being ignited by the terrifying flames, emitting popping and crackling sounds, rapidly turning into charred coal, and finally becoming a pile of ashes.
This Spore Ogre, which had briefly battled the legendary Sword Saint, was now truly dead.
Almost at the exact same moment it completely turned to ashes.
All writhing fungal carpets lost their vitality, their colors dimmed, and they visibly dried up at a rapid pace.
The remaining fungal monsters, whether lunging at soldiers or emerging from the fungal carpet, simultaneously froze in their movements. Then, as if their souls had been sucked out, they collapsed limply, turning into ordinary corpses and withered fungal bodies.
An officer stepped forward to inspect the remains of the Spore Ogre lord and respectfully reported to Kailos, "My lord, all monsters have lost their vitality! It seems this ogre monster was the true body or core of the 'Fungus King'! You have already slain it!"
Kailos gave a slight nod, then sheathed his sword.
"It appears so."
"Clean the battlefield, collect all valuable samples, especially the remains of that ogre. Then, send a message back to the royal capital, informing the Far Regions Strategy Office that the 'Fungus King' of the southern region of the Ser Wilderness has been purged."
His tone was flat, as if he had merely accomplished a trivial, insignificant task.
The legion soldiers erupted in cheers and began efficiently cleaning up the aftermath, burning the remaining fungal corpses. Kailos leisurely returned to the legion's encampment.
He only handled the killing, not the management.
Tedious tasks like battlefield cleanup, sample collection, and subsequent defense arrangements were naturally handled by the legion under his command, requiring no attention from a legendary powerhouse like him.
"Next, it's the central region, the northwest, and the northeast... the so-called Lord of Molten Iron, and that Mountain King."
Inside the main tent, Kailos stood before a huge military map of the Ser Wilderness. His finger slowly moved across the map and finally lightly tapped on the central region.
"Then, the next target for cleanup will be this Lord of Molten Iron."
His reason for this choice was simple.
The Lord of Molten Iron's territory was the closest to his current location, making cleanup most convenient and maximizing time savings.
The Fungus King was dealt with first for the same reason.
At the same time.
Not long after Kailos departed, in an extremely secretive, utterly inconspicuous corner.
A grayish mushroom, about the size of a fingernail, looking like an ordinary, common mushroom, silently poked its head out from the scorched earth. It gently swayed its cap, as if confirming something, then swiftly retracted back underground, disappearing without a trace, attracting no one's attention.
Clearly, the Spore Ogre that died earlier was just a puppet.
The Fungus King had decisively abandoned its territory, cutting its losses to escape.
Elsewhere.
In the northwestern part of the Ser Wilderness, within the territory under the jurisdiction of the phoenix Antianya.
Garoth arrived at this place and took the oddly named 'I Alone Am Supreme Dragon Emperor Armor' from the foreclaw of Gold Dragon Nasha.
He was now fully prepared.