Chapter 29: Come Out, Face Me
Everything was abhorrent.
Stepping across the scattered dust and smoke, Joshua entered the dimly lit room. With a single glance, he took in everything within.
The hall was a mess. Tables, chairs, vases, and other debris were strewn about haphazardly. The eerie red glow and withered corpses were far too conspicuous, not to mention the blasphemous ritual array and rotting entrails beneath them. At the center of the array, an infant's skeletal remains were wrapped in mold-covered swaddling clothes. Its tiny heart had long since merged with the black water, assimilated into the still-pulsating black viscera.
Such a familiar, abhorrent scene.
For a moment, the warrior felt as if he had returned to the era of his past life, when the Abyss invaded and the world teetered on the brink of extinction. Back then, the land sank, crimson blood soaked the earth, pale bones piled into mountains, and mournful wails were everywhere.
—The stars fell, and the demons awakened.
"You still succeeded."
He muttered softly, his gaze gradually turning icy cold, until only two flickering red glints remained in the darkness. "I shouldn't have hesitated."
Blood-colored Battle Qi, carrying a will as frigid as an iceberg, radiated outward from Joshua's body in all directions. The black-robed figures present were instantly jolted awake. Previously, they had been overwhelmed by the warrior's aura and spiritual shock, unable to react in time, even forcibly plunged into mental illusions. But now, this piercing killing intent dragged them back from that terrifying dream, returning them to reality.
"Kill him!"
Without time to ponder why the supposedly flawless barrier had failed, or to assess the strength of the man before them, the lead elderly black-robed figure shrieked in a sharp, withered voice: "Don't let him interfere with the summoning!"
The other cultists reacted swiftly, pulling various weapons and staves from their long black robes. As elites capable of infiltrating the Imperial Capital, they were fanatical but also possessed corresponding strength. Before the elderly black-robed man's words had even faded, a dark red, gloomy light flared from his side. A cultist wielding a staff rapidly chanted a spell, summoning the sinister power of another world.
This light resembled the sunset at dusk, carrying an aura of deathly stillness and desolation, yet also a scorching heat that could incinerate everything. The next instant, the rapid incantation ended. The light detached from the staff-wielding cultist, transforming into a raging firestorm that surged toward Joshua. In the blink of an eye, it engulfed the warrior. The surrounding floor and scattered furniture spontaneously combusted from the dissipated high heat, turning into ashes. Even a steel vase melted into a pool of molten gold-red liquid metal, flowing across the softened stone floor.
But before they could rejoice at the direct hit, the black-robed figures were stunned to find the blazing storm easily torn apart by a human silhouette. The flames dissipated, revealing Joshua standing unharmed before them. A layer of black fluctuation, like smoke, surrounded him, effortlessly dispelling all the hot wind.
Impossible—
Their hearts seemed gripped by the hand of fear. Even the black-robed figures, who cared nothing for their own lives, were shocked by this sight. That attack was a Gold-rank Blasphemous Divine Art, [Abyss Flame Burst]. Even a Gold-rank cultist needed a staff's assistance to cast it quickly. As a trade-off, its power was formidable—even a defensive spell of the same rank might not block it.
Yet this warrior had taken it with his face!
His expression shifting unpredictably, the clearly leading elderly black-robed man could not fathom why. The opponent was obviously not at the Ultimate-rank, yet his strength was equally, incomprehensibly powerful. As he gritted his teeth, preparing to issue further orders to buy time, the black-robed man's vision suddenly blurred. Joshua, who had been standing at the door, vanished without a trace. At the same time, a hand, as if forged from steel, pressed directly against his face.
A terrified scream was trapped in his throat. Even the sweat of fear had no time to flow. The warrior's blow snapped the cultist's neck, killing him instantly. His five fingers clamped together like iron pliers, the black-robed man's cheekbones emitted a crunching, grinding sound. Then, under immense force, his entire face was crushed into a bloody pulp of bone and flesh. Eyeballs and brain matter burst from their sockets, splattering to the ground.
A second later, the other black-robed figures reacted. They drew in sharp breaths. Bone-deep fear and chill invaded these cultists' bodies. The heavy pressure made them dare not utter a single sound, and even breathing became difficult.
—Impossible! He killed the High Priest in an instant?!
—A monster! A true monster!
In some, madness overcame fear. They shouted and roared, raising their weapons to charge at Joshua. Though the warrior before them was powerful, he was certainly not at the Ultimate-rank. As long as they dared to strike, there was surely a chance!
But the moment they took a few steps, Joshua turned his head and swept his gaze across them. Every cultist present felt a cold stare pass over them, their every weakness completely exposed. The warrior casually picked up the silver-white greatsword stuck at the edge of the ritual array and strode unhurriedly toward the nearest cultist.
After a long rest, the Chaos Warden had returned to his battlefield. This battlefield was filled with evil whispers and the stench of decay. Blood and slaughter followed like shadows. Perhaps a normal person could not endure it.
But for a warrior, it was perfectly suited.
The cultist before Joshua, overwhelmed by immense psychological pressure, could no longer bear it. With a roar, he struck first. He swung a broad-handled cross hammer, tearing through the air and raising a hazy, bloody wind. If this blow landed solidly, it could flatten an iron block into a pancake, reduce solid rock to powder—let alone a human body.
But it was far too slow. So slow that the warrior could only sigh. With that sigh, the silver greatsword in his hand traced a dazzling arc of light through the air, cleaving the cultist, who had only just begun to swing his warhammer, into two halves.
Before the scattered blood could even hit the ground, it was evaporated into bloody mist by the crimson Battle Qi. But the attacks of the other cultists followed in quick succession. Amid furious curses, the sound of bowstrings being plucked was unmistakable. Several arrows instantly pierced the air, flying toward Joshua's vital points. Meanwhile, several cultists wielding longswords and hand axes roared as they charged. Behind them, evil energy was gathering and pulsing—the next degenerate Divine Art was about to be unleashed.
But facing this perilous scene, the warrior merely let out a grim laugh. He allowed the arrows to strike his body. With a clang of metal, the arrows fell weakly to the ground, their sharp tips completely bent and useless. The powerful defense granted by the Steel Armor Breathing Art could easily resist any non-enchanted weapon. Joshua strode forward, swinging the greatsword, as tall as himself, at the cultists' heads.
Instantly, flesh and blood flew. The originally evil sacrificial site turned into a bloody slaughterhouse. The cultists' heads and severed limbs, along with fragments of their weapons, littered the ground. The weapons in these black-robed men's hands could be considered fine pieces, but against Joshua's strength and the indestructible edge of the Divine Mechanism, they were as fragile as paper.
This could hardly be called a fight; it was merely a one-sided massacre. In a few breaths, all the weapon-wielding cultists had become a pile of minced flesh. Blood mixed with entrails flowed freely across the floor. Human fat, baked by the high heat of Battle Qi, emitted a nauseating, rancid stench.
"Ah, aaaaah!!!!"
Seeing their companions all die so miserably in an instant, the last cultist, a spellcaster, could no longer hold her staff steady. She had not feared death before, but in Joshua's presence, what had once been a resilient will melted away like ice in boiling water. Her entire body trembled, and a puddle of urine appeared beneath her. She had completely lost her combat capability.
Dragging the greatsword, its blade scraping against the stone floor and sending up sparks, Joshua silently walked to this utterly broken cultist. Then he raised the greatsword, swung it down, and cleanly severed her head.
It was over.
Flicking the blood off the blade, he thought to himself. Though a bit late, at least not a single one had escaped.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
But a violent, pounding heartbeat came from behind Joshua. An immensely evil aura, carrying the suffocating stench of sulfur from a bottomless fiery abyss, suddenly emerged. The warrior frowned. He turned to look behind him, a hint of doubt in his mind.
—I clearly left the giant axe, the incarnation of Lin, embedded in the ritual array to obstruct its operation. How did the summoning still succeed?
But what he saw next dispelled his confusion.
In the air, a crimson blood mist permeated. The scattered, broken corpses of the cultists were rapidly shriveling, turning into dried-out skins and shattered bones. These streams of blood formed new lines, completing the sacrificial array that Joshua had previously damaged, restarting its operation. The black heart, having absorbed the blood and souls of all the dead cultists, pulsed powerfully, causing ripples in space-time.
"Wuuuhaaaaaa!!"
A void rift was torn open out of thin air. A roar, so shocking that it could drive ordinary people insane, emerged from within. It was not a sound any human could produce, carrying a chilling aura of fear.
Joshua remained unmoved. Such mental attacks were merely a gentle breeze to him. He stared at the void rift. Anyone could tell that a terrifying existence was using this heart—which could vibrate space-time and emit coordinates—to traverse the vast void and arrive in this world.
And it was an old acquaintance.
"Hmph, hahaha!"
A cold snort, followed by a mocking laugh. Amid the glow of Battle Qi and the blood mist, Joshua's expression was ferociously twisted. He bared his teeth and muttered to himself: "I didn't expect it to be an old acquaintance. Heart-Eater, Despair Heart Lardanas. So it's you who got summoned."
"Old friend, long time no see."
Step by step, he walked toward the array. Casually, he pulled out the giant axe, the incarnation of Lin, from within it. Now that the summoning was complete and the coordinates of the Despair Heart had been set, the array was useless. Joshua looked up at the space-time rift suspended in midair. The void had been torn open by some mysterious force, creating a small opening. Through it, one could vaguely see a massive, ferocious silhouette behind it. Its enormous single eye was also fixed on the other end of the passage.
Seeing a human figure, the terrifying existence let out a roar. It extended its giant claw, crossing the space-time passage, and struck at Joshua like lightning. But how could the warrior be afraid? He sneered, neither dodging nor evading. Instead, he even thrust his greatsword and giant axe into the ground, meeting the attack with both hands.
Boom!!!
An explosive shockwave rapidly spread from the point of contact. The blood mist in the small room was instantly blown away. The Heart-Eater's armored fingers were as thick as Joshua's arms, but the result was disappointing. The warrior easily caught the opponent's attack, as if he had not even used his full strength.
This was natural. The enhancement from the Azure Orb had already tempered Joshua's body to an inhuman degree. He could now overpower a dragon in a contest of strength. Even an Abyss Demon could not surpass him in pure physical power.
"You coward."
Amid the demon's stunned expression, Joshua let out a cold laugh. Then, he planted both feet into the stone floor, flexed every muscle, and fully activated his Battle Qi. In an instant, he erupted with immense, overwhelming force. As if in a tug-of-war, he forcibly began to pull the opponent out of the Abyss.
"Come out, face me."
(To be continued.)