Chapter 26: Cracking
Gask was closest to the Life Dragon Essence, so he grabbed it first, but the moment he seized it, black-red tentacles coiled around his body.
In his feral state, Gask's body surface rapidly dried and withered. Being entangled by the Gourmet's black-red tentacles was far from a pleasant experience.
With a crackling sound, Gask's arm, which held the Life Dragon Essence, dried up and shattered. Yet he paid it no mind. His other arm extended claws, reaching for the Gourmet's head.
Gask's arm suddenly thickened by a full circle and stretched half a meter. He grabbed the Gourmet's head and squeezed with all his might, intending to crush it.
The black-red tentacles exploded. The Gourmet's entire body shattered into thousands of black-red tendrils. These tendrils twisted together, their tips forming a small hand that snatched at the Essence floating in midair.
Before the Gourmet's tentacles could grasp the Essence, Su Xiao, his left arm wreathed in smoke, seized it. His Devouring Core activated at overload.
Bang!
The crystal layer clinging to Su Xiao's side shattered. The Tank slammed into him, sending him flying sideways with a rush of wind.
Midair, Su Xiao's left hand suddenly felt empty. The Life Dragon Essence was yanked away by some energy. None of them dared grip it too tightly—if crushed, the life energy inside would disperse into the surroundings, its purity plummeting and rendering it worthless.
The Essence floated before the Priest. He pointed a finger at it. Seeing this, Gask's eyes bulged with fury. This old bastard, for whatever purpose, was about to destroy the Life Dragon Essence. Gask guessed he intended to sacrifice the energy within to some deity or similar entity.
Before Gask could act, the Gourmet slammed one hand against the ground. Black-red tentacles surged across his body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Spikes half a meter thick and several meters long erupted, enclosing the Priest. He had to withdraw his pointing hand to avoid having his arm impaled. He lacked the monstrous constitution of Gask or the Gourmet.
With a rumble, the spikes were shattered—by the Tank. There seemed to be nothing he couldn't break.
Zzzzzt—
The Realm Severing Thread shot out, latching onto the Life Dragon Essence. Su Xiao yanked his arm, his other hand's long blade blocking his side.
Clang!
Dragon-Slaying Flash deflected three hook-like claws. Gask's vertical pupils locked onto Su Xiao. Flesh surged at his severed arm, and a new limb grew in an instant.
"Bai Ye, I won't hold back."
Black-red tentacles coiled around Su Xiao's left hand but didn't drain his life force—after all, they were allies. Su Xiao pulled his hand free from the tentacles, but the Essence was seized by the Gourmet.
Bang!
Black-red tentacles scattered. The Tank, eyes bloodshot, crashed into the Gourmet. This guy was stubborn to the extreme—whoever held the Life Dragon Essence, he rammed them.
The black-red tentacles coalesced. The Gourmet, blood streaming from his mouth and nose, staggered back. Wind pressure surged from his side—the Tank. The bio-armor on his back had transformed into two rows of exhaust vents, spewing brown-yellow energy.
With a boom, the Tank charged into the distance. The momentum was so fierce he was practically flying low.
"Destruction Cannon!"
The Tank, mid-charge, halted abruptly. He tossed the Life Dragon Essence into the air, caught it in his mouth, and clasped his hands together. All his bio-armor concentrated on his hands, forming a cannon barrel nearly half a meter thick. The pursuing Gourmet, Gask, and Priest were directly in his sights.
The Gourmet and Priest vanished—one used a spatial item, the other had innate spatial abilities. Only Gask lunged forward. When it came to sheer recklessness, Feral Beast Gask was unrivaled.
Thump!
A beam over ten meters wide blasted through. It carved a straight line for several kilometers before the violent energy slowly dissipated.
A semicircular trench, ten meters wide and several kilometers long, scarred the ground. Inside, it glowed red-hot, sparks flickering.
The Gourmet lay on the ground, half his body gone. Dozens of meters away stood Gask, reduced to bones and organs. Before him was the Tank, his entire arm missing from the shoulder—the wound jagged, as if bitten clean off.
"ROAR!!"
Gask howled at the sky. The Essence had been swallowed into his stomach.
Seeing this, the Tank, clutching his stump, cursed under his breath and turned to retreat. Gask had gone mad, going all out on the third day. On the seventh and tenth days, purple supply crates and Holy Spirit-ranked sets would still drop.
Gask's flesh rapidly regenerated. Despite seeming fully berserk, he turned and charged toward the water source area—quite rational.
The Gourmet, black-red tentacles writhing across his body, stood up. His smile was gone. A smiling Gourmet wasn't dangerous; it was when he stopped smiling that the real threat emerged.
Rumbling echoed from afar. Su Xiao didn't continue fighting for the Essence. He had already absorbed four-fifths of its life energy, now stored in his Devouring Core.
As for the Essence requiring 24 hours to claim ownership, he had lost interest. Fighting over the remaining fifth with over 200 contractors wasn't worth it.
From the start, Su Xiao never intended to take the entire Life Dragon Essence. The odds were too low. Now that his goal was achieved, leaving was the wisest choice.
He glanced at the hundred-meter-tall tree stump in the distance. For some reason, he felt it was extremely dangerous. He didn't even want to fight a strong enemy nearby.
Two hours later, at the edge of the swamp zone, Gask, his body noticeably thinner, stopped. Confirming no one was chasing him, he made a retching motion and spat out a fist-sized Essence.
"It's cracked... What did that guy do?"
Gask examined the cracks on the Essence's surface. The outer crystal shell sealed the energy inside perfectly. Using the cracks, he extended his perception inward.
Suddenly, Gask's eyes snapped open. The life energy inside the Essence... seemed a bit scarce.
Realizing this, he recalled the earlier scene of Su Xiao shrouded in dark blue smoke.
"Gask, handing it to me would be wiser. You're badly injured."
The Priest waded through the swamp's muddy water toward him. Which Paradise he hailed from was obvious.
"Fine."
Gask tossed the Essence. Facing this old rival, he knew that fighting in his current state meant certain death—and it wasn't worth it.
The Priest caught the Essence, a puzzled look on his face. He knew Gask wouldn't give up so easily.
"Most of the energy inside has been absorbed. I'm not interested in being hunted for 24 hours over an empty shell."
Gask, visibly annoyed, strode deeper into the swamp.
"Old friend, are you on the verge of complete feral transformation?"
"Complete feral transformation? Hah."
Gask sneered, walking on without looking back.
"Use this to suppress it first. Don't let your own power overcome you."
The Priest tossed the Life Dragon Essence. Gask, back turned, raised a hand and caught it firmly.
"I don't believe you old bastard would be so kind."
"I don't quite believe it myself. Stay away from me, lest I change my mind."
The Priest shook his head with a smile and turned to wade into the swamp.
Gask stared at the Priest's back, snorted, and sat down in the muddy water. Holding the Life Dragon Essence in both hands, he prepared to use its pure life energy to restore his own vitality, then find a safe place to absorb it slowly.
A wisp of life energy peeled from the Essence's cracks. Gask absorbed it into his body. His skeletal frame visibly recovered, returning to its original form in seconds.
"Pure enough to make you want to swallow it whole."
Gask exhaled slowly. Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire body felt like it was tearing apart. Disbelief filled his eyes—he had checked; the life energy was flawless.
"Priest!"
Gask's roar echoed far and wide. Not only had the Life Dragon Essence cracked, but so had his composure. The energy inside the Essence was tainted.
In truth, the Priest was innocent. The energy within the Essence had been mixed with "Dissociative Vitality Extract," a substance derived from a certain plant in the Void, existing in an energy form.