novelraw Chapter 458: The Little Crow Who Wanted to End It All
Chapter 458: The Little Crow Who Wanted to End It All
Two fifth-tier fighters against one fifth-tier!
In such an extreme situation, not even a domain could be unleashed.
Hayer spread his spiritual energy like a vast ocean, continuously dispersing it across the entire sea area.
"The one who unleashes their domain first will be the one to lose~"
Blood Lion rested his axe on his shoulder and said mockingly.
When fifth-tier fighters unleash their domains against each other, it means a fight to the death.
Hayer frowned and asked,
"Blood Lion, which great general of the Black Blood Empire is behind you?"
"You think I'll look back?"
As soon as Blood Lion finished speaking, a chill ran down his neck. A sinister, cold aura, like a slippery tentacle, coiled around his throat.Hayer hadn't lied to him! There really was something behind him!
And at that moment, everyone on the deck looked up at the sky.
The War Messenger Aili, whose entire body was shattered and no longer human-shaped, struggled to raise her right hand:
"Reporting to General Blood Lion! A special fifth-tier spiritual energy signature detected, Lamp affinity. Highly likely a high-tier monster from an A-rank rift!"
"General Blood Lion, be careful! I'm going to die for a bit first..."
You can still play dead and come back, truly worthy of being the War Messenger with the highest approval rating below fifth-tier in the Black Blood Empire... Blood Lion complained internally, then looked up at the sky before him.
At some point, the War Ship had been enveloped by a thick fog.
The fog slowly dispersed, revealing a giant, burning eyeball that slowly emerged, lowering its twisted body to peer down at their ship!
Blood Lion looked down.
Beneath the raging flames was a body woven from countless twisted ribbons and intertwined tentacles.
Although composed entirely of tentacles and ribbons, they were arranged perfectly, resembling a tall, slender female figure with an uncanny, beautiful allure.
"What a dazzling lightbulb!!!"
Blood Lion couldn't help but try to lighten the mood.
Their soldiers were also frozen stiff, unable to describe their current feelings.
It must be known that the War Ship was a small, mobile city-state, standing a full one hundred and twenty meters tall.
In their wars, they had encountered countless ferocious beasts and natural disasters.
Brutal, bloody—
However, the colossal beast before them was the first monster to give them this strange feeling.
It held no bestial killing intent, looking down upon them from a lofty height.
This feeling was very peculiar.
It wasn't as if they were facing a monster, but rather—
A god!
Blood Lion took a deep breath.
The moment this monster appeared, everyone suffered a degree of mental suppression.
Even Hayer could not avoid this intense sensation.
The mysterious colossal beast before them might be stronger than Hayer was at this moment.
It might even be able to contend with Hayer if he unleashed his domain!
I'm probably the only one here who can face it, what should I do... Blood Lion was stunned.
Originally, it was a battle between him and Hayer, a clash of domains. But suddenly, the appearance of a high-tier exotic beast had completely disrupted the plan.
"You... hello, you may call me... the Ember... Beast!"
A clear, crisp female voice came from within the dazzling flames.
Her voice was fragmented, as if pieced together from two people.
An intelligent being! Blood Lion's eyes widened.
Within collapsing A-rank rifts, intelligent creatures were not uncommon.
And he himself had encountered many highly intelligent monsters, such as the Shadow-Weaving King of the Shadow affinity, the Scale Manager of the Scale affinity, the Collector of the Book affinity...
Within the large rift dungeons of the Black Blood Empire, there was no wonder that didn't exist.
But this was the first time he had encountered a Deep Sea Monster on the wild, untamed ocean that could converse with him.
Blood Lion asked loudly,
"Ember Beast, what do you want?"
Although he didn't know the monster's purpose.
Right now, he and Hayer were locked in a death battle. No matter what, he had to minimize the threat posed by this monster.
The war was still ongoing!
The eye within the flames spoke again with its fragmented voice:
"I want... delicious food, very tasty delicious food..."
Delicious food... Blood Lion was taken aback.
Although its appearance was filled with a sense of divinity, in the end, was it just like those other monsters, wanting to devour human flesh and blood?
"Fine!"
Currently, among the tens of thousands of shadow figures on this War Ship, some were exchanged by the Whale Father from the Great Whale, and some were mutated from taking the Black Blood potion.
These were not his soldiers;
sacrificing them was acceptable!
Blood Lion manipulated two thousand shadow figures and placed them before the Ember Beast.
The next second, the tentacles beneath the flames wrapped around themselves, like a shy maiden, and spoke haltingly:
"I don't want humans... give me... delicious food... I can help you solve... your problem."
The moment the words fell, an unprecedented Lamp-affinity spiritual energy flashed.
Everyone on the War Ship felt a unique spiritual energy within their minds.
[Your bodies have been tainted by the aura of the "???" rift...]
This is... Blood Lion's eyes widened, involuntarily recalling the Emperor's words:
"When A-rank rifts continuously collapse, at the peak of the waves, a forbidden rift will be born!"
Just as the Emperor said, a forbidden rift was being born!
The monster before them was not a high-tier creature from an A-rank rift, but one born from an even more terrifying forbidden rift!
Forbidden rifts were the ultimate goal of the Black Blood Empire!
At this moment, they had accidentally obtained a clue to a forbidden rift.
It must be known that not all monsters from rifts were enemies;
sometimes, they were also opportunities.
The War Messenger Aili, who had just been instantly killed by Hayer with one move, had also become the War Messenger with the strongest perception below fifth-tier in the Black Blood Empire precisely because of a special entity within a rift.
Blood Lion swallowed and asked,
"What do you want to eat?"
Hayer watched this scene.
Blood Lion wanted to win the support of this monster called the 'Ember Beast'.
Hayer hurriedly spoke up:
"What do you want to eat? I can give it to you too! I have high-tier resources of all affinities!!"
The battle between the two Saints was not over. Whoever could win the favor of the Ember Beast would gain a tremendous advantage!
The outcome of their fight rested entirely on the whim of this colossal beast!
The flames burned even more fiercely:
"No... I want delicious food with a Deep Sea... flavor..."
It slowly looked at Hayer and said coldly:
"You... don't have it..."
What counts as Deep Sea-flavored delicious food? Does seaweed count? Does the grilled fish I make count? Hayer was dumbfounded.
Deep Sea-flavored delicious food... Blood Lion pondered for a moment.
From the very beginning, the Ember Beast's eye had been fixed on him.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him!
What the Ember Beast had its eye on was the Great Whale blood!
Nothing was more imbued with the essence of the Deep Sea than the blood of the Great Whale!
Blood Lion did not hesitate. He immediately took out the Great Whale blood and held it high:
"Take it! Ember Beast!"
The moment the Great Whale blood appeared, the Ember Beast's giant eyeball erupted with dazzling radiance!
It extended a slender, ribbon-like hand, took the Great Whale blood, and placed it within the flames.
The sacrifice was successful! Blood Lion smiled.
Blood Lion also immediately launched an attack to prevent Hayer from escaping.
Hayer could only watch from within the shadows as Blood Lion satisfied the desires of the colossal beast before them.
Crunch, crunch—
The bright flames gradually became tainted with black.
The Ember Beast raised its head, lowered its hands, and murmured in a human voice:
"It's not as I imagined..."
"So strong a blood taste... unpleasant..."
Unpleasant! Blood Lion was startled.
However, the Ember Beast soon said:
"Equivalent exchange, I shall fulfill your agreement..."
The colossal beast before them was unexpectedly honorable.
Blood Lion was about to state the agreement when he saw that Hayer had already defeated the shadows and was preparing to unleash his domain.
He immediately roared:
"Everyone! Stop Hayer from unleashing his domain!"
"Don't even think about it!"
Hayer clenched his right fist, and the ghosts around him let out piercing shrieks!
"Release Domain. Hayer's Invisible Hand!!!"
Whoosh—
The spiritual energy Hayer had spread across the entire sea suddenly sublimated!
A giant rift tore open in the sky, and from it emerged a pale, gigantic hand.
Everyone on the battlefield was shocked.
"The Invisible Hand is descending!"
"Hayer unleashed his domain first;
it's General Blood Lion's victory!"
The domain of a fifth-tier powerhouse was enough to instantly turn the tide of battle.
A cold prompt appeared in everyone's mind.
[You have entered Hayer's Invisible Hand domain.
The Invisible Hand will subtly guide the course of all events.]
[Everyone gains the 'Invisible Hand is Everywhere' effect: Any attack, any move you make has a 20% chance of being obstructed by the Invisible Hand.]
"Lord Hayer..."
Madame Oli lowered her Magic Bullet Gun.
Just moments ago, a sudden rising fog had covered the entire War Ship.
They had no idea what had happened inside...
However, the one who unleashed their domain first was usually the one at a disadvantage.
"I pray Lord Hayer's domain can win."
Behind Noah's Wall, Little Crow looked up at the invisible giant hand and couldn't help but join the tens of thousands in prayer:
"You must win!"
However, suddenly, the invisible hand in the sky instantly turned into white dust.
Once again, a prompt appeared in everyone's mind—
[The Invisible Hand domain has ended.]
"How is this possible..."
Hayer looked up. His spiritual energy was being diluted.
He stared blankly at the dazzling flames in the sky.
The Ember Beast was watching him!
He saw the flames, like a semi-transparent mirror, slowly reflecting the image of a person!
It was his own image!
Only, the him within the flames was older, more weathered.
And the real him was also aging rapidly as the flames burned.
I'm getting old... Hayer felt a powerful sense of weakness wash over his body.
If an A-rank rift was a giant world.
Then a forbidden rift was a world capable of realizing miracles.
And the monsters within forbidden rifts were also Transcendent beings possessing miraculous powers.
The genetic evolution of the Cup, the complete freezing of time of the Ice, the void traversal of the Void, the charm of all things of the Flower, the Indestructible Steel, the prophecy of the Lamp...
Mastering a forbidden rift meant mastering a kind of miracle.
The forbidden rift of the Witch Sea remained a mystery to this day.
Was it the aging power of the Cup? Or a time-related ability similar to the Ice Witch's? Hayer watched his body continuously grow old, guessing at the Ember Beast's ability.
But no matter how he guessed, he could not change the fact that he had already been altered by the Ember Beast's power.
Soon, Hayer's hair turned completely white, his body covered in wounds, his face stubbled, and he forcibly terminated the Invisible Hand domain.
To be precise, he was already unable to use the Invisible Hand domain!
The Ember Beast's flames gradually grew dim:
"Your wish, I have fulfilled it..."
Like a gentle breeze, the Ember Beast and the fog softly dissipated over this sea filled with the smoke of battle.
"This is the power of a monster from a forbidden rift..."
Blood Lion looked at Hayer before him and couldn't help but laugh.
"Hayer, luck is on my side!"
Although his current understanding of the Ember Beast was minimal.
Undoubtedly, on this battlefield, this special high-tier monster from a forbidden rift was on their side!
And this power directly caused the scales to tip!
A fifth-tier fighter without a domain was like a stray dog with no home.
Despair flashed in Hayer's eyes.
And an even more terrifying despair flashed in the eyes of everyone on the front lines.
"Hayer! Your doom has come!"
"This is the Empire's victory!"
Blood Lion erupted with unprecedented blade energy from his entire body:
"My soldiers! Run wild!"
The shadow soldiers beneath Blood Lion's feet surged towards Hayer like a dense black tide.
At this moment, Hayer couldn't just not unleash his domain.
To be exact, his physical strength and spiritual energy strength had both dropped by fifty percent!
He was like a man who had aged twenty years!
Thwack!
Under the powerful negative buff, Hayer was pummeled by the dense swarm of shadows.
Punch after punch—
Slash after slash—
Axe swing after axe swing—
Enhanced by Blood Lion, each of these impacts was like a fourth-tier fighter's Release.
Hayer continuously used Ghost Hands to block the shadows.
However, under the enhancement of the War Beast, these soldiers held no reverence for the fifth-tier powerhouse in their eyes, only the purest killing desire!
Kill!
Endless, inexhaustible!
The weakened Hayer simply could not resist such a massive army.
Soon, everyone saw the blood of a fifth-tier Transcendent, his body covered in wounds!
"No..."
On Noah's Wall, Madame Oli clenched her fists, despair flashing in her eyes.
If Hayer's Release was interrupted and he was defeated by Blood Lion.
It would directly lead to the collapse of the entire battlefield.
The entire Moonstone City would instantly become hell.
"Farewell! Hayer! Lion's Dominating Fist!"
Blood Lion's entire body erupted with blade energy as he threw a punch.
A massive amount of blade energy lit up the sky, carving a blood-red trail thousands of meters long through the air—
"No..."
Hayer coughed up blood. He had no choice but to use his final move, 'Survival in the Cracks'.
Every fifth-tier Transcendent was connected to a Phantom-affinity rift.
The rift Hayer himself was connected to was the B-rank "House of the Void Merchant" of the Shell affinity.
It was an extremely dangerous rift.
Hayer could enter that rift with his body, gaining permanent evasion.
However, staying in that rift would also consume him.
Most importantly, his defeat would lead to the fall of Moonstone City!
With Moonstone City's current defenses, without him, the entire city, no, the entire sea would collapse.
Besides me, no one can face Blood Lion.
I cannot leave everything to the invisible hand... Hayer steadied himself in mid-air, preparing to unleash his Release again to fight back—
However, he was too slow!
Blood Lion consumed the Black Blood Divine Soldier potion and threw another Blade Release punch:
"Hayer! Die!"
Boom—
Hayer's body crashed into a weak point of Noah's Wall, creating a huge crater.
At this moment, everyone on the battlefield looked towards the source of the sound.
The bombardment from the Black Blood Empire, combined with Hayer's impact, had already created a massive breach in Noah's Wall.
And behind that breach were clearly fifty thousand support troops and wounded, along with hundreds of thousands of civilians.
"How is this possible..."
Madame Oli looked down at Hayer in the ruins.
Hayer was already a bloody mess, with only fourth-tier spiritual energy remaining.
A fifth-tier Transcendent had been defeated—
She gritted her teeth and commanded:
"All forces! Prevent the enemy from entering the city!"
Blood Lion immediately used an even louder lion's roar:
"Everyone! Obey my command! Sack the city!"
"Charge aaaaaah!!!"
In just ten seconds, Black Blood soldiers poured in like a black tide.
Their armor was stained with blood, their eyes flashing with inhuman red light.
Moonstone City's defenders tried to block the breach, but the Black Blood Empire's fourth-tier Transcendents, as if possessed by demons, instantly annihilated the defenders.
Without Hayer, many of the hired fourth-tier Transcendents also developed severe combat anxiety.
Some fourth-tier Transcendents even knelt down directly, performing the defeat ritual, begging for Blood Lion's forgiveness.
The Black Blood Empire's army swaggered into the positions behind Noah's Wall.
Where they stepped, only severed limbs and blood remained.
Many wounded listened to the cold sound of boots, their eyes filled only with despair.
Thump, thump, thump, thump—
Little Crow stood up and looked at the twenty-five blood-soaked fourth-tier Transcendents walking from the breach.
The leading Black Blood Empire Knight Captain said:
"Hey, should we leave some people alive?"
"Find a wheel! Kill those taller than the wheel! Let go of those shorter than the wheel! Don't forget to put them on the ground!"
"That won't do! Women should be kept too! Of course, only the pretty ones!"
"Hey! There's a fourth-tier physician here! This is a rare prize! Hahahaha!"
"That little black-haired one over there, I've taken a liking to you! Do you want to come back to the Empire with me and be my tenth wife!"
"Get lost! My unit happens to be short a physician."
A tall fourth-tier Blade-affinity Transcendent said to Little Crow.
For twenty Transcendents like them, killing one fourth-tier was as easy as pie.
In their eyes, Little Crow was already a prize to be claimed.
Little Crow looked up, swallowed, and said resolutely,
"I refuse!"
"Is that so?"
The fourth-tier Blade-affinity Transcendent shook the blood off his large blade.
Little Crow looked down at her feet, slowly being stained by blood, and silently took out the Banshee Potion from her waist.
The Banshee Potion, the world's most terrifying mutation potion!
As long as she consumed this potion, she could trade her life for the power of a banshee!
If not for Chen Qi and the Ice Witch's help, she should have died long ago.
She had troubled Chen Qi and the Ice Witch far too much.
She owed far too many people.
It was also time to repay them.
"I should die..."
Tears streamed down Little Crow's face as she placed the Banshee Potion into her mouth, preparing to swallow it directly—
Slap!
However, the next instant, a tentacle forcefully inserted itself into her mouth and took out the Banshee Potion.
"Cough, cough, cough!!!!"
Little Crow, suddenly having a foreign object shoved into her mouth, coughed incessantly, her eyes filled with tears.
What was that thing that just went in?
So slippery!
She turned her head and saw a familiar figure.
A strong, powerful arm firmly pulled her into an embrace.
"Little Crow, without mine and Big White Hair's permission, you are not allowed to die."
Chen Qi held the Little Crow who was about to end her life, taking the Banshee Potion in his hand to examine it:
"Banshee Potion, I almost forgot there was such a good medicine..."
Everyone was suddenly shocked.
The person before them was none other than Red Dragon General's opponent—the Black Hunter.
"Retreat!"
"Run! It's the Black Hunter, scatter the formation!!"
Swish—
The Ember's Touch behind Chen Qi gripped the Flesh Cleaver Bone Breaker and, in an instant, sliced the ten fourth-tier fighters and one thousand Black Blood soldiers before him in half at the waist.