novelraw Chapter 461: The Empire’s Defeat
Chapter 461: The Empire’s Defeat
Everyone stood frozen like puppets, their eyes fixed on the scene unfolding on the War Ship.
Sea beasts and warships were locked in a chaotic melee, while the Black Hunter alone faced off against the Blood Lion's vast army.
Fifty thousand against one man!
"Can the Black Hunter win?"
"Help me up! My leg is broken, I can't see what's happening on the battlefield!"
"Hey! What are you all doing, provide covering fire—"
Madame Oli slammed her fists against the city wall, her voice hoarse.
The Black Hunter was buying them precious breathing room, not putting on a show for their entertainment.
However, very soon, a special prompt echoed in everyone's minds.
[You have entered the domain 'Abyssal Echo.'][All of you are currently under the gaze of the Abyss.]
[The Abyss has arrived. Please close your eyes and secure your clothing!]
"A domain... The Black Hunter has already mastered a domain..."
Madame Oli blinked, her eyes reflecting raging flames.
For a long time, she had been handling Noah's Wall and conscription matters, unaware that Chen Qi had mastered a domain.
"It's a Blade-Phantom Affinity domain!"
"It's a large-scale area-of-effect domain! Run!"
"The War Ship is on fire!"
Many who had stepped into Chen Qi's ring of fire immediately regretted it.
It must be understood that even though they possessed considerable offensive power thanks to the Black Blood Divine Soldier potions and War Beast enhancements, the War Domain's buffs did not include physical fortification.
Large-scale area damage was their bane.
Abyss, open—
Chen Qi raised his longsword, engulfed in roaring flames.
Above the sea, a dimensional rift unfurled. The ring of fire forged from blade energy transformed into a giant eye spewing abyssal flames.
"Encountering massive impact! Activating Third Alert Mode—Maximum deployment of defensive shields!"
"The Abyss is pulling on the ships! Activating Second Alert Mode, Airship Mode!"
"Mentalists, move! Detected large-scale mental contamination!"
"Something is watching me! It's looking at me inside my head, digging into my brain!"
The mobile fortress, the War Ship, instantly erupted into chaos. The abyss beneath their feet was devouring their massive mobile fortress!
Fortunately, the War Ship was a war-fortress mobile city-state that the Empire had poured all its resources and countless materials into obtaining, possessing formidable defensive capabilities.
However, faced with the Deep-Sea Twelve-Tentacles, the Coastal Apex Predator, the Black Lantern Dragon, and the power of the Abyss, this colossal vessel with three hundred years of history also began to sway and crumble.
"General Blood Lion! The War Ship can't hold on! We must defeat the Black Hunter to protect our ship!"
The roaring abyssal flames burned incessantly. Aside from the Black Blood soldiers on the War Ship, nearly all the Black Blood soldiers who had stepped into the black ring were buried within the abyss.
Facing Chen Qi, who had activated his domain, the Blood Lion also swiftly created distance.
On the War Ship, everyone also continuously retreated, looking towards the center of the flames.
"Hah..."
Chen Qi exhaled a mouthful of scorching black fire. The blade in his hand scraped across the icy deck as he stepped out from the flames.
"Not coming any closer?"
Chen Qi gave his blade a light flick, transforming it into a massive flame.
Meanwhile, a prompt also popped up in the Blood Lion's mind.
[The 'War Meat Grinder Mountain' domain has been damaged from within and can only operate at forty percent effectiveness.]
The one who activates a domain first suffers a severe disadvantage.
"To think it was this fast."
The Blood Lion frowned deeply.
However, the reduced domain effect was a minor matter.
What was truly terrifying was fear itself.
The moment Chen Qi activated his domain, the berserk Black Blood soldier-warriors all suffered severe mental contamination.
People gathered around him like startled ants.
The Black Blood Empire's mentalists immediately used Holy Light spells to resist this immense mental contamination.
His domain was one reliant on soldiers. Without soldiers, his own combat prowess fell far short.
Even with the rewards of War Glory, they were still afraid.
While the mentalists purified the Black Hunter's domain's mental contamination, they also purified his berserk power along with it.
Everyone looked towards the Black Hunter within the flames, unwilling to act.
"Is anyone going first?"
A two-meter-tall Blood Lion bodyguard clad in heavy Black Blood Lion armor spoke timidly, like a little kitten:
"You go first! I feel like the Black Hunter seems weaker now! This strike could earn a fourth-tier profession card!"
The soldier beside him took a step back:
"You first!"
The Blood Lion's brow furrowed tightly.
The Black Hunter's Abyssal Echo possessed a powerful fear effect, perfectly suppressing his berserk state.
"The first hundred brave souls to charge! Reward: a manor! One hundred war merit points!"
The Blood Lion drew the sword at his waist, gritted his teeth, and cut down a soldier beside him whose legs were trembling:
"Deserters! Must die!"
Blood splattered!
The Blood Lion used War Howl once more.
"Do not fear the Black Hunter! I'll go!"
"He's just a mere fifth tier!"
The Blood Lion's bodyguards gripped their weapons, charging swiftly towards the Black Hunter amidst the flames, unleashing a slash.
"Huh? Where is he?"
The charging soldiers heard a thunderous roar.
The Black Hunter had suddenly vanished.
Drip! Drip!
They lowered their heads only to discover that their chests already bore an extremely sharp wound.
"Blood Lion, your turn."
Chen Qi appeared before the Blood Lion, flicking the blood off his Rift Blade.
One of the core aspects of Abyssal Echo was a 100% enhancement of all skills and items with negative mental effects.
Before activating it, he had already consumed the Witch's Abyss Potion and the Banshee Potion—two Grand Sage-level potions with extremely potent negative side effects.
Add to that the Crimson Form, the Book Saint's protection, Ember's Bloom, and more.
At this moment, Chen Qi felt nothing but immense comfort throughout his body.
Since advancing to the fifth tier, this was the first time he felt the hunger in his body being satiated.
And this speed was undetectable in the eyes of third-tier Transcendents, even some fourth-tier Transcendents.
There wouldn't even be an afterimage!
Black Wave Slash—
Chen Qi wasted no time, immediately unleashing a slash.
Whoosh!
A hundred-meter-long slash of pitch-black fire covered the Blood Lion's body, riddled with countless wounds.
Within the domain, this casual slash of his was comparable to a Release.
"Block it for me!"
The Blood Lion roared, spreading his arms wide, unleashing all his personal enhancement techniques and commanding his soldiers.
Seizing this moment, he took out his second trump card—the Phantom Affinity rift unique item 'Hive Heart'.
The Hive Heart was a treasure the Empire obtained from a fifth-tier Beast Tamer of the Goldenfinch Kingdom. It could command allied units and grant them special Hive power.
Although it wasn't a perfect fit for him, at this moment, it was his only method to free his soldiers from fear.
He alone could not withstand the BOSS before him.
The firepower was too intense!
The Blood Lion shouted loudly:
"For the Empire! For your comrades, for your future! For glory! You must not lose to the Black Hunter!"
"You absolutely cannot lose!"
"The Empire is eternal!"
"Take care of my wife in the dungeon!!"
The Black Blood Empire's soldiers shouted words of glory, brotherhood, the Emperor, and the like, charging forward in unison.
Whoosh—
Chen Qi casually swung his blade.
The gap in speed and power was too vast. Even with special effects like [War Wound] that allowed the weak to overcome the strong, they could no longer harm Chen Qi in the slightest.
Casualties, casualties—
A constant stream of casualties!
Soon, there were no more bodyguards left beside the Blood Lion, leaving him utterly alone.
The BOSS named Black Hunter had arrived before him, the general on this chessboard!
The Black Hunter's speed and power already surpassed Hayer's.
The Blood Lion glared with furious eyes:
"It's too late! Black Hunter!"
"My soldiers have already forged a high wall for me! Forged a knight!"
The Blood Lion erupted with blade energy. A massive knightly silhouette manifested behind him.
The current strength of the Black Hunter far exceeded his imagination.
As the Empire's famous Blade Affinity domain, the War Meat Grinder Mountain did not have just one effect!
When the War Heat was sufficiently high, he could also summon powerful War Knights based on that heat.
Now, the heat was enough!
"War Meat Grinder Mountain, Second Blade Release. War Knights!"
The Blood Lion roared.
The crimson qi force behind him suddenly coalesced into a twenty-meter-tall suit of blood-red armor.
The armor was forged from meteorite iron and dragon bone. Dark red runes flowed like magma between its joints. Every plate was engraved with remnants of Ragnarok!
From behind the visor, a crimson gaze fell upon Chen Qi.
[You have encountered the gaze of the War Knight incarnation of the Blade Domain!
Run! Kneel! Fear the will of war!]
Finally here... Chen Qi gently wiped his finger, coating the longsword with abyssal fire.
The War Knight was one of the ancient Valkyrie's most beloved knights in the legends of the Black Blood Empire.
Although it had fallen, it could absorb the will of soldiers at the moment of their death.
The more will it absorbed, the stronger it would become, eventually reaching a divine state.
In legend, during the founding war of the Black Blood Empire, tens of millions of soldiers died. Yet, upon those millions of corpses, the War Knight condensed and ultimately secured the Empire's victory!
"He's here!"
Madame Oli gritted her teeth.
Like the Lantern Reaper, the War Knight incarnation was also one of the Empire's deities, summonable through domains.
Its figure could be seen in almost every major battle.
Its strength was no less than the Lantern Reaper incarnation encountered by the long-lived individual at a hundred years of age.
"Hmm?"
The Ice Witch in the distance couldn't help but look back.
The spiritual energy field from the other battlefield had already exceeded her imagination.
"I shall slay your final enemy for you."
The War Knight formed a spiral spear made of crimson tree roots in its hand and thrust it towards the Black Hunter!
A piercing shriek tore through the air!
Clang!
Chen Qi raised his sword horizontally to block.
A surge of blade energy pressed down on him, raising countless bloody gashes.
Under this force, the War Ship, made of ancient rift alloy, also began to fracture.
The deck, made of ancient alloy, developed hundreds of terrifying cracks.
"Hah..."
The Blood Lion hid behind the War Knight, letting out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the War Heat was sufficient, and the War Knight's strength barely managed to suppress the Black Hunter!
The Blood Lion looked back at the arrogant Deep-Sea Twelve-Tentacles and Black Lantern Dragon on the battlefield.
"Once we deal with the Black Hunter, we'll deal with you."
Dong—
Suddenly, without any warning, the entire Eye of the Abyss emitted a bell toll that resounded through the heavens.
More precisely, a strange echo sounded in everyone's minds.
"!!"
Madame Oli blinked.
The Black Hunter's domain effect was an indiscriminate attack.
[You are echoing in the Abyss, suffering massive mental contamination!]
"This battle is over, Blood Lion."
Chen Qi used his longsword to deflect the War Spear before him.
The Abyssal Echo domain inflicted massive mental damage every minute.
Furthermore, when sufficient mental damage was sustained, he could release an additional Release.
Crimson Form. Reopen!
The flames on Chen Qi's body expanded once more. His body emitted thunderous cracking sounds.
The mental contamination caused by his Abyssal Echo greatly hindered the sublimation of War Heat.
The War Knight summoned by the current War Heat could not yet contend with him!
Now, his stats held the advantage!
The War Knight was immune to mental damage;
it had to be killed first.
Chen Qi took a deep breath, then his entire body's muscles erupted as he unleashed another Rift Slash.
After activating the domain, the Rift Slash turned from blue to black.
After activation, Chen Qi's stats had increased more than tenfold. The original Thousand Slashes had astonishingly transformed into Ten Thousand Slashes!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Clang!
Sheathe the blade!
While everyone was still listening to the Abyss's echo, the War Knight suddenly shattered.
[You have activated Release and defeated the War Knight.]
"……"
The Blood Lion raised his head, eyes vacant, still unable to emerge from the negative status of the Abyss Echo.
Chen Qi tossed a Hunter's Mark at the Blood Lion, then gripped his longsword and charged forward.
Slash!
Chen Qi's blade struck directly at the Blood Lion's neck.
Intense pain made the Blood Lion's eyes widen as he regained his senses.
Unlike the last time at the Book Tower, this was a death match between fifth-tier Saints.
The Blood Lion clutched his bloody neck, watching the War Knight shatter.
"War Knight!"
Before the Blood Lion could even mourn the War Knight, the next blade slash was aimed at his head.
Left with no choice, he could only take out his hidden Backpack Card and use all his life-preserving weapons.
Spartan War Shield, Flesh Regeneration Potion Type X, Teleportation Card…
However, Chen Qi did not give him that chance.
Whoosh!
Chen Qi swung his blade, severing the right hand that was about to use the Teleportation Card, then cutting off the left hand holding the Backpack Card!
Countless wounds struck his body.
Both arms severed!
"No!"
The Blood Lion wailed, unable to believe the scene before him.
More terrifying than the defeat of the War Knight or his own decline was the fear of losing the entire campaign.
If he lost, the Empire's all-out offensive, launched with immense resources and multiple Rift Gates, would all come to nothing.
Such a colossal failure!
As the pride of the Empire's navy, was he about to be defeated?
Defeated by a tiny city while a great crisis brewed within Beiguo!
A poor place on the sea that only knew how to dig moonstone ore!
Even if he survived, he would only be fit to become fuel for other fourth-tiers' ascensions.
Thwack!
The blade flashed.
The severed arms landed on the deck with a crisp sound.
"I! I! I!"
"It's not over!"
"Blade-Cup Release. Black Blood Eternal Flame. Undefeated Lion!"
The Blood Lion's eyes turned bloodshot. He bit his tongue, drawing blood, and let out a roar.
At the cost of permanently consuming his Spiritual Core and a one hundred percent chance of contracting the mutation disease—with a seventy percent chance of death within two months—he activated Release once more.
A lion manifested behind him as he prepared for a final showdown with Chen Qi.
Chen Qi watched all this calmly.
Preparing to resist this move.
Black Blood Eternal Flame was an extremely common last-ditch technique in the Empire.
Using this move could indeed injure him, causing significant damage.
But once the technique ended, the Blood Lion would have no hope of turning the tables.
Crackle!
A blue snowflake gently landed on Chen Qi's face.
"It's already over. The Empire has been defeated."
Just as the Blood Lion prepared to counterattack, a sapphire-blue figure materialized out of thin air and spoke softly.
The Blood Lion's eyes widened, his entire body trembling.
His desperate, final attack had vanished.
"It's already over."
Drip! Drip!
"The Ice Witch…"
The Blood Lion's lips moved slightly.
The Ice Witch's gaze rested on his body, riddled with countless wounds, showing no extra emotion.
As if the person before her was merely an insignificant foot soldier.
The Blood Lion lowered his head, not daring to meet the Ice Witch's eyes.
That gaze was the victor's disregard for the defeated.
No matter what, he could not change the facts. He had to admit it.
In this campaign, the Empire had been defeated.