Chapter 62: Killing Intent Sends You to the Path of Annihilation
It wasn't until the tentacles formed from black water swept in with a gale-like force, seemingly intent on utterly destroying and devouring the man in tattered armor before it, that Joshua, the target of the attack, finally reacted.
This was a true, silent ambush. No sound, no movement of air, not even a trace of killing intent. The perfectly concealed black water revealed no flaw except for the thunderous momentum it unleashed at the very last moment.
*Puchi.*
Having fought for so long, Joshua's mind was beginning to tire. His instinct for predicting danger, which usually served him well, failed this time. Even though his body's reflexive dodging was swift, he couldn't completely evade this surprise attack. A black tentacle flashed like a blade, blood sprayed forth, and Joshua's left shoulder was severed.
The warrior's shoulder blade, along with the tattered iron plates still attached to it, arced through the air and fell into the black, muddy water. The mud churned. Although a Gold-rank warrior's body was tough, without the protection of Battle Qi, it was no more durable than anything else. In just two seconds, the flesh and bone were rapidly corroded and devoured.
"Damn it."
Having long since deactivated his Avatar of the Divine state, and to prevent the chaotic mana from invading his body again, Joshua immediately retreated. He used Battle Qi to cauterize the massive wound on his left shoulder, compressing the muscles and blood vessels to stop the bleeding. Frowning, he stared at the black water that had retracted before him.
"Sha sha sha..."
A squelching sound arose, the noise of earth, flesh, and bone being dissolved. After devouring Joshua's flesh and blood, the black water coalesced into a massive, semi-circular, writhing mass of mud. Countless distorted, agonized faces of magical beasts covered its black surface, as if they were struggling and wailing, begging for true death.
As this mass of black mud writhed, it continuously transformed into various shapes: a rhinoceros, a winter wolf, a magical insect, a wild boar, and even the fleeting silhouette of a Black Dragon. The faces on its body twisted and contorted along with the changes in the black water, hideous beyond compare.
Countless distorted mental fluctuations emanated from these magical beast faces—the wails of their very souls.
"Is it a Child of the Invisible or an Abyss Mire Monster?"
Stopping the bleeding from his shoulder, Joshua didn't dwell on being attacked. Instead, he calmly analyzed the form of the monster before him.
Chaos monsters from the Void, spawn of the evil god known as the Invisible One, and the formless Mire Monsters born from the corpses of powerful Abyss monsters that died after failing their evolution—only these two similar yet different creatures possessed the ability to grow by devouring flesh and souls, and only they had the tenacious vitality to survive his previous attacks.
He suddenly recalled the tentacles that had emerged from the Black Dragon's body during their aerial battle, and how, after severing the Chaos Dragon's head, the fluid flowing from its neck wasn't blood, but a corrosive mud.
"I see. It was lurking inside the Black Dragon from the start, waiting for its host to be killed and my concentration to lapse before launching a sneak attack..."
He showed no distress over his own injury, but his tone grew increasingly cold. Veins bulged on Joshua's right hand as he gripped the Divine Mechanism tightly. A hint of genuine anger crept into his voice. Through their shared contract, the consciousness of the girl within the Divine Mechanism couldn't help but shiver.
This deep, profound killing intent... was something his master had never released before! Even when he seemed furious earlier, his heart had still reveled in the exhilarating battle—but this was different!
He was truly enraged!
By now, the bones in Joshua's left hand were completely shattered, rendering it useless. With the loss of his shoulder blade, his entire arm was only attached by a few shreds of remaining flesh and muscle. He couldn't even channel Battle Qi through it. This was extremely inconvenient, especially since his right hand still had to wield the heavy greatsword, Ying. The intense pain and physical damage made it difficult to maintain balance.
All around, the frenzied beasts continued to slaughter each other amidst the ice and snow. The corpses of the losers were constantly absorbed by the black mud, causing it to swell to over ten meters in height. Joshua watched all this in silence, but within that stillness, Ying sensed a soul like a flame, roaring silently.
Why must such disappointing things always appear after a satisfying fight!
He took a single step. A swift streak of light flashed as the warrior's body crossed several tens of meters in an instant, arriving before the amorphous monster. He swung his sword down. The immense force, combined with the fierce wind, blasted the monster's shifting form into pieces. The black mud, never a solid substance, was immediately scattered into flying black water. The monster seemed to try to corrode the Divine Mechanism, but the flame-like light burning on the greatsword incinerated it into nothingness.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Swinging the greatsword with one hand, Joshua silently and violently hammered the tide of black mud before him. He struck again and again, chopping the mud, which was trying to form tentacles for a counterattack, into fragments. Under this relentless and merciless assault, the Chaos monster had no power to resist. It trembled, attempting to conjure various forms for a counterattack, but each time, it was completely scattered midway.
How could a mindless monster predict a warrior's strength? If it had hit his right shoulder, it might have been troublesome, but his left hand was already completely shattered. Even if it were severed entirely, it wouldn't affect Joshua's combat ability.
However, despite slashing it to pieces over and over, defeating this formless monster time and again, it would always writhe and wail, then restore itself. The Dragon-Slaying rune patterns on the Divine Mechanism greatsword and his Battle Qi could consume a portion of its existence, but it was of little use against its ten-meter-tall body.
"Troublesome."
During a brief pause to catch his breath, Joshua muttered to himself, frowning.
This was the nature of Chaos. Even though it was clearly dead, it refused to dissipate. Like the most stubborn and disgusting sticky candy, it was utterly nauseating.
Behind him, a rumbling roar shook the heavens and earth. Without turning around, Joshua knew that the activated Space-Time Gate was releasing a thick black pillar of light, piercing the sky. The surging aura of another world was pouring out, gradually transforming the Black Forest near Moldova into a domain of Chaos.
This nauseating, murky feeling was like being trapped in a filthy mud pit, making one want to vomit.
"No time to waste on you... Brandon alone definitely can't destroy the Space-Time Gate. I need to get there quickly."
True Chaos could only be burned away by fire.
On the silver greatsword, the originally crimson Battle Qi began to dim, shifting towards black. As the relentless slashing continued, the writhing mud monster struggled even more violently. This black-red Battle Qi seemed far more damaging to it than before. Each strike consumed a large amount of the black water—its very life force.
A deathly stillness shone in Joshua's eyes. Black-red Battle Qi rose around him like steam, blazing with the light and shadow of flames.
Fire is the beginning of civilization, the source of order. It gave rise to life and made order manifest, but it is by no means a gentle presence. Fire can also bring destruction, death, burning all things to ashes.
Just like Battle Qi, it originates from life, yet can also destroy it.
And so, soul and will burn, releasing a profound power that reaches deep into the heart! Amidst this protracted battle, phantom images of the countless monsters Joshua had slain appeared around him. The desire for battle was slowly condensed, transforming into a miracle unique to him.
Killing intent and battle, never ceasing—this was the light within his heart!
**[Glory Force: Killing Intent Wave!]**
*Boom!*
A sound like a great fire suddenly igniting rang out. The remnants of Joshua's armor, melted by dragon breath and magma, all exploded. As the powerful force from within erupted, metal shards flew in all directions. The black-red Battle Qi finally transformed completely into an ink-black wave, enveloping his body.
The annihilating force that burned everything to ashes, after lying dormant for so very long, was finally unleashed by its master at this moment!
"If one strike can't kill, then ten, a hundred, a thousand."
Temporarily ceasing his attack, facing the writhing, unkillable monster before him, the warrior, now wreathed in black waves, raised his greatsword high above his head. A pillar of black Battle Qi flame shot into the sky. The dissipating power caused the stones and blood on the ground to rise as if losing gravity, orbiting slowly around him.
Joshua's expression was utterly cold.
"Annihilate!"
The deathly darkness instantly swallowed the Chaos. Killing intent, mixed with a terrifying wave, coiled around the silver Divine Mechanism. The warrior roared. In that instant, the world dimmed, becoming as quiet and dark as a starless night—but then a flash of light erupted, streaking forth with countless afterimages, tearing through the profound silence!
**[One·Instant·Thousand·Slash]**
In the darkness, the greatsword swung down violently. The reflection of its edge created countless afterimages. Empowered by the Killing Intent Wave, the warrior's exhausted body was pushed to its absolute limit. Nearly infinite slashes were unleashed, mercilessly tearing this Chaos monster into ragged, broken chunks!
Annihilate!
The Killing Intent Wave, condensed to its utmost point, surged like a torrent with those thousand slashes, drowning the Chaos monster's body, destroying everything tangible and intangible. Even Chaos, under such an assault, would never rise again!
As the darkness faded and the killing intent dispersed, Joshua sheathed his greatsword. He no longer paid attention to the monster's remains, but turned his gaze towards the direction of the Space-Time Gate.
The Azure Orb slowly rotated and burned before his chest, releasing restorative power. As the black waves flickered around him, the warrior floated into the air, then flew rapidly towards the black pillar of light that still stood between heaven and earth, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.
(To be continued.)