Chapter 59: Slaughter
Above the Abyss of Anos, black clouds churned incessantly, deep purple lightning bolts crisscrossing between the thick fog and the curtain of rain. The light from these flashes occasionally illuminated the dark sea, revealing countless whirlwinds saturated with abyssal aura forming cyclones beneath the cloud layer, becoming tornadoes that leveled everything in their path, bridging the sea and the sky.
"Woo—woo—"
Amidst the flickering light and shadow, a colossal vortex of magical power took shape in midair. Beneath it on the sea surface, an immensely huge black shadow was swimming at tremendous speed, and as a series of long, sobbing cries echoed through heaven and earth, a terrifying pressure began to spread across the surroundings.
As if summoned by these cries, one enormous black shadow after another emerged from the seawater. But compared to that massive silhouette, these were like leaves next to a giant tree. As its swimming speed increased, the great shadow began to accelerate its ascent. Its black bulk arched up massive waves, causing the displaced seawater to form miniature tsunamis that spread outward.
The enormous back broke the surface first, followed by a serpentine head and neck rising upward. In the darkness, one could not clearly see the true form of this colossal beast, but anyone could tell that this part emerging from the sea was merely the tip of the iceberg. Without even making a move, the beast's terrifying pressure had already completely dominated the surrounding ocean.
Looking up at the demon dragon's body, numerous monsters let out clamorous roars, their voices even drowning out the thunder. In response, the black giant beast let out another long cry, and the corrupted sea beasts, obeying the commands of this overlord of the sea, converged like a tide toward the target it had designated.
"Those who disturb the Deep Sea Dragon's slumber shall surely fall into the abyss."
After issuing its command, the enormous dragon coldly watched the monsters swim away into the distance. It drew upon the magical power of the black sea, gathering it at its head. But then, the originally pitch-dark sea suddenly burst into radiance. In an instant, a black-red lightning bolt shattered all the water spears head-on. It extinguished several tornadoes and then collided with the last one.
Without a doubt, the tornadoes that could tear apart anything were utterly helpless against this black-red lightning. Having had their magical nodes completely destroyed, they could only dissipate with the wind. But the lightning did not pause; it accurately and directly closed in on the demon dragon's position at terrifying speed.
The dim black-red light was inconspicuous against the overcast sky where the sun was blocked, but at this moment, it seemed to be the center of the world. This lightning completely ignored inertia, racing across the sea surface along a bizarre trajectory that inspired fear. It unerringly locked onto the massive black shadow beneath the sea and then crashed into the water with a thunderous impact.
"Boom! Splash—"
A high-pitched sonic wave swept across heaven and earth, even forcing the rain clouds to retreat. One after another, shrieking sonic booms only now caught up to their master, appearing in midair. All nearby sea beasts that still retained consciousness instinctively shrieked and retreated, but they could not hear a single sound of their own voices. An instant later, a terrifying shockwave like a meteor impact spread across the sea surface in a ring shape. The originally surging giant waves were obediently replaced by this even greater force, and one could immediately see a ring-shaped wall of water roaring as it spread into the distance.
The sea churned violently. The impact from the black-red lightning's advance threw the entire sea region into chaos.
And a moment later.
A humanoid figure wreathed in black-red battle qi flames emerged from the sea, carrying a completely crushed serpentine dragon head, rising into the air above.
Even though it was crushed, the dragon head still brimmed with power. The demon dragon let out an indistinct roar and then bit down at the monster that was gripping its flesh, dragging it up from beneath the sea.
This was no human, the demon dragon firmly believed. No human could possess such violent power and such terrifying will.
But how could Joshua be bitten?
He looked at this colossal beast, completely twisted and corrupted by the power of the abyss, and let out a cold smile.
The Deep Sea Demon Dragon before him had its head covered in dense tentacles. These small appendages, equipped with blood-sucking suckers, had been trying to breach the warrior's defenses during his attack, draining his flesh and blood. Between these tentacles, one could see six enormous yellow eyes, each the size of a house. Between the eyelids, parasites the size of a human body could be seen scurrying back and forth.
Although the demon dragon's head compared to Joshua was like a massive castle, and a single scale on its body was several times larger than the warrior's entire frame, compared to its body, this head was far too small. The demon dragon's body was a round, thick disc, while its neck and head were merely a long, thin rope. Joshua grabbed its dragon head and forcibly hauled it up from the sea, nearly snapping its neck. This limp and feeble bite was nothing to him, let alone to an ordinary Gold-rank warrior.
Without hesitation, he braced his arms, pressing his hands against the demon dragon's upper and lower jaws, effortlessly withstanding its bite force. Under the shocked gaze of the dragon—four of its six giant eyes had just been shattered by his strikes—he shook his arms, and with terrifying strength combined with battle qi, he wrenched the dragon's jaws apart.
"Woo! Woo!!!"
From the pain, the Deep Sea Demon Dragon's long neck, like that of a plesiosaur, writhed wildly. Its lower jaw had been dislocated by the earlier shock, and nearly half of its teeth had been shattered. The warrior's attack had penetrated deep into its flesh, striking bone and nerve.
Joshua's body was now the sturdiest of weapons. Even back when he was at Gold-rank, he could withstand a Black Dragon's breath head-on, letting molten steel flow over him. Now that he was at Ultimate-rank, having comprehended the Ultimate Essence of Force, how could the bite force of some mere demon dragon compare to his power? Even if it had bitten down properly, the result would have been a mouthful of shattered teeth.
Without wasting more time tangling with this demon dragon, Joshua took a breath. The battle qi flames coiling around him instantly blazed even fiercer. Battle qi was the power of life. Originally, Joshua could never have possessed such immense vitality, but due to the Azure Orb and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Chaos monsters, his battle qi reserves could no longer be estimated by conventional standards.
He raised his palm. The violent black-red light flames instantly swelled, forming a beam of light dozens of meters long. Joshua swung his hand repeatedly, then withdrew the light pillar. The demon dragon's originally frantically twisting neck immediately stiffened, then snapped into seven or eight segments, falling into the churning black sea.
A thick stench of blood assailed him. The warrior could see that within the Deep Sea Demon Dragon's flesh, aside from its deep blue blood, it was filled with silvery-white wriggling worms. These worms coexisted with the dragon, replacing its circulatory and excretory systems. The abyssal derivatives were precisely their product.
But even after severing the dragon's head, Joshua did not relax at all. He silently stared at the demon dragon's body on the sea surface, which was preparing to dive back into the sea, and then transformed into a streak of light, heavily stomping onto its back.
A crisp sound of a spine breaking rang out. A huge depression appeared on the Deep Sea Demon Dragon's back. Its nearly three-hundred-meter-long body convulsed in that instant, no longer able to sink into the sea. One could even hear the sound of blood surging wildly within its body. But Joshua did not stop his attack. Though his body was merely a speck of dust compared to the demon dragon, this speck of dust could effortlessly kill the massive dragon. The warrior once again raised his battle qi, condensing it on his fists.
And so, walking along the exposed spine through the demon dragon's ruptured flesh, Joshua delivered blows that seemed casual. But each strike accurately destroyed a part of the dragon's body structure—perhaps a rib, perhaps an internal organ. Accompanied by the silent, agonized howls of the demon dragon, now headless and neckless, the warrior calmly dismantled every key point of this colossal creature's body, killing it bit by bit.
A long time later, when the Ark Time Vessel arrived at this sea area, all the people on board could only see a vast expanse stained with deep blue blood, and a warrior standing on the sea surface, not a single stain on his body.
"...Joshua?"
Loranda stood at the ark's railing, looking at the warrior standing solemnly in the rain. She subconsciously asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"The Deep Sea Demon Dragon's head is merely a feeding mouthpart for convenience. Even blowing its entire neck to pieces is useless. Its brain is completely inside its body."
Hearing his friend's question, Joshua was silent for a moment, then shook his head with a regretful expression: "If I'd known, I wouldn't have wasted that effort."