Chapter 67: Beast Soul
The Apostle's Eye floated behind Su Xiao. The Dark Source, Azathoth, did not immediately charge forward. This was a good opportunity for Su Xiao to gather information.
[Comparing intelligence attributes between both parties... Comparison complete. Our intelligence attribute is 1.21 times that of the enemy. 98% of the enemy's data has been obtained.]
Name: Dark Source, Azathoth
Category: Ancient God
Health: 85% (Permanently reduced by 15% due to the death of Eyeless Azathoth)
Divine Energy (Ancient): 47500/47500 points
Strength: ??? (True attribute, attribute gap too large, unable to probe)
Agility: 140 (True attribute)
Stamina: 159 (True attribute)
Intelligence: 105 (True attribute)
Charm: 1
Skill 1, Mid-Rank Deity: Darkness (Passive, Lv.68): Health +65000 points, immune to all control effects, ignores dark attribute damage.
Skill 2, Blind (Passive, Lv.75): Due to the death of Eyeless Azathoth, this ability has been permanently sealed.
Skill 3, Eye of Darkness (Active, Lv.65): Azathoth releases the Black Eye, absorbing life force within 500 meters. Deals 50 points of true damage per second to all living beings within range. The Eye of Darkness will exist permanently.
Note: Originally dealt 158 points of true damage per second. Due to the death of Eyeless Azathoth, this ability has been weakened.
Note: The Eye of Darkness is extremely difficult to destroy. If successfully destroyed, Azathoth will be weakened for 3.7 seconds. After the weakened state ends, Azathoth can manifest a new Eye of Darkness.
Skill 4, Divine Body (Passive, Lv.60): Health +23000 points, physical defense +157 points.
Skill 5, Born of Darkness (Passive, Lv.60): While the Eye of Darkness exists, Azathoth recovers 240 health points per second, until Divine Energy (Ancient) is depleted.
Skill 6, Beast Soul (Basic Technique-Type Ability, Lv.45): Azathoth will fight on instinct, ignoring all sensory misdirection.
Skill 7, Due to the death of Eyeless Azathoth, this ability has been permanently sealed.
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Skill 10, Due to the death of Eyeless Azathoth, this ability has been permanently sealed.
...
Seeing the attributes of Dark Source Azathoth, Su Xiao felt a sense of relief. He was glad he had already killed Eyeless Azathoth; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to deal with Dark Source Azathoth at all.
The strength of Dark Source Azathoth lay in its immense power and the restorative and lethal effects of the Eye of Darkness.
As long as the Eye of Darkness existed, killing Dark Source Azathoth was extremely difficult. A recovery rate of 14,400 points per minute? How could anyone fight that?
Even if he managed to destroy the Eye of Darkness, Azathoth would only be weakened for 3.7 seconds, and the extent of that weakness was unknown.
Furthermore, Azathoth's strength attribute was ???. This kind of probing result was the most terrifying. With Azathoth's strength, Su Xiao couldn't withstand any of its attacks head-on. At best, he would be blasted away; at worst, his defenses would be breached, and he would be crushed to death.
Su Xiao contacted Amu through the team channel. The next moment, a chill spread from behind.
Crack, crack, crack...
The ice froze rapidly. Soon, all the seawater within the sea valley was frozen solid, with wisps of cold air rising.
Inside the sea valley, Dark Source Azathoth stood up from the stone platform. The bone spurs on its back were at least three meters long, looking incredibly ferocious.
Azathoth looked down at Su Xiao. The one-man, one-ancient-god stared each other down. Sunlight shone into the sea valley, but what was somewhat pitiful was that Su Xiao wasn't even as tall as Azathoth's shin. The size difference between humans and ancient gods was enormous.
The moment Azathoth stood up, the wooden boat beneath Su Xiao shattered, and he vanished from his original position.
With a whoosh, Su Xiao appeared three meters in front of Azathoth. No matter how huge the enemy was or how strong the pressure, Su Xiao wouldn't back down. Fighting with a blade, if your heart wavers, you are doomed to lose.
'Blade Path: Azure Demon.'
Clang!
A blue-green blade aura slashed out. Although the size difference between Su Xiao and the enemy was huge, the blade aura he unleashed compensated for it.
Pfft.
Black-red blood splattered. Azathoth's chest was slashed open, and even the bones within its torso were severed. However, it had no internal organs; inside its chest cavity were black tentacles.
Azathoth's health suddenly dropped by a noticeable chunk. After Dragon-Slaying Flash was promoted to the Holy Spirit rank, its lethality had increased dramatically. If Dragon-Slaying Flash were still at the Epic rank, Su Xiao felt it would have been difficult just to break through Azathoth's defense, let alone cut it open with one strike.
It seemed this slash had fully awakened Azathoth. It clenched its right fist, took a few steps forward, and hammered a punch down at Su Xiao.
Facing this completely unskilled punch, Su Xiao's pupils contracted as he leaped backward.
Boom!!
The ice layer within the sea valley completely shattered. Layers of shockwaves spread out, shaking the entire island. The seawater at the island's edge surged, and the Bashalo in the sea drifted backward.
Xia, standing on the ship, opened her mouth slightly. For a moment, she wondered if it was an earthquake.
Inside the sea valley, Su Xiao crouched beneath the rock wall, brushing ice chips off his head. He could now confirm that taking a direct hit from Azathoth would mean certain defeat.
Even if a dozen Sixth Rank tanks were fully armed, raised their shields, had the support of healers' buffs, and stood in a defensive line, they still couldn't withstand a single slap from Azathoth.
Clatter...
Ice fragments fell as Azathoth emerged from the debris. It raised its hand, and a pitch-black sphere appeared. This thing was about two meters in diameter.
This was the Eye of Darkness. The moment it appeared, a wave spread out, and a stinging sensation emerged all over Su Xiao's body.
The feeling was familiar, similar to being eroded by "Darkness." Su Xiao's life force was being stripped away at a considerable speed.
With a bang, Azathoth lunged at Su Xiao. Its thick right arm bent back before punching toward him.
Boom!!
The small island shook again. Dozens of boulders, the size of houses, flew out from the sea valley, arcing diagonally into the sea.
The desperados on the Bashalo all looked up, their eyes following the trajectory of those boulders. Even with their strong mental fortitude, their eyes twitched wildly, and their expressions were priceless.
"This is... too exaggerated."
No sooner had Xia spoken than the Bashalo set sail. The reason was that even half a kilometer away from the sea valley, it was still not safe.
Just then, three pale blue blade auras slashed out from the sea valley, followed by an enraged roar.
Inside the sea valley, Su Xiao leaped backward with all his might. A massive fist hammered down in front of him.
Boom!
Ice chips flew everywhere. A crystal layer formed in front of Su Xiao. With his perception fully open, he slightly tilted his body.
Bang, bang, bang!
Several chunks of ice pierced through the crystal layer, flying past Su Xiao's left and right sides. The sharp edge of one ice chunk grazed his shoulder, drawing a trickle of blood that dripped down his arm.
As soon as Su Xiao dodged the ice, Azathoth lunged at him in a pouncing posture, smashing headfirst through the crystal layer.
Su Xiao vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was standing on the back of Azathoth's neck. He took a slow breath and slashed out.
Clang~
A flash of blade light passed by. The upper half of Azathoth's head was severed. This was the power of a Holy Spirit-ranked Dragon-Slashing Flash, combined with Blade Grandmaster, Azure Steel Shadow, and numerous passive abilities.
Su Xiao landed steadily, while Azathoth crashed face-first to the ground. But then! Azathoth's massive hand grabbed the half-head on the ice and directly pressed it back onto its own head.
Tentacles writhed at the wound, and Azathoth's head regenerated. Yes, this ancient god's recovery was just that strong.
Just as Su Xiao was about to charge forward, Azathoth made an unexpected move.
With a thunderous crash, Azathoth knelt on the ground, its momentum quite astonishing. Its head slammed forward, giving Su Xiao an exceptionally loud kowtow. Its back was now facing Su Xiao, which looked ridiculous but was deadly.
Without any time to react, Su Xiao felt sharp pain in his abdomen and shoulder. Two bone spurs had pierced through his body.
Over a dozen bone spurs, each nearly five meters long, embedded themselves into the rock wall behind Su Xiao, leaving pitch-black holes.