Chapter 243-1: Etherbreath World, Calamity Rampant (1) |
Etherbreath World, Lifebreath City.
From high above, the city looked like a colossal living organism, crawling across the earth.
The city’s outline was not forged from metal or stone but woven from countless flowing, translucent biological tissues.
Through the flesh-like surface one could see vessel-like structures that transported energy to every corner of the city.
The buildings inside took on all kinds of forms, all seeming alive, squirming and breathing.
The city streets were not traditional stone or asphalt either, but more like biological material resembling muscle tissue.
At this moment, within Lifebreath City.
Warriors gathered and assembled from all directions.
They were war weapons transformed by biotechnology, cold and efficient killing machines.
Their heads were encased in biological helmets, the front a grimacing mask bared with two rows of sharp teeth, with only a pair of blood-red eyes exposed.
Fine blood-colored tendrils extended from the backs of their heads, hanging down like hair.
Atop the central tower of the city, the City Lord looked down on the assembled warriors. His sonorous voice resounded over the city.
“We were born as raiders, as conquerors, as the embodiment of a will to destroy.”
“Our blades will tear the enemy’s flesh and crush their souls. For survival, for the immortality of Etherbreath inheritance, we crave slaughter, plunder, and growth. Let the enemy’s wails become our battle song, let their destruction become our nourishment.”
The City Lord’s voice echoed above with an unquestionable authority.
Every word fell like a heavy hammer into the hearts of the warriors gathered below, igniting the killing desire within them.
“The new march of conquest is about to begin. We need no pity, no mercy. We were born to devour all things. Let Etherbreath witness you. Let the enemy’s world tremble beneath our feet, and turn their civilization to ashes.”
As the City Lord’s words fell, all the warriors roared in unison, and the whole city trembled.
“For Etherbreath, for immortality.” The warriors shouted in chorus, their voices filled with fevered zeal.
At this moment the City Lord continued.
“Await Etherbreath to open the road of glory. Together we will forge a new brilliance for the Etherbreath race. You will all be recorded in the annals of Etherbreath.”
Roars.
Explosive roars rose one after another.
Just as the warriors of Lifebreath City were preparing to head to the designated battlefront as ordered by the City Lord, hoping for the cross-border war to arrive.
From the sky shrouded in thick cloud, dense figures suddenly fell.
The quiet regional voice channel was instantly flooded with all kinds of chatter.
“Hahaha, the Calamity is coming. We are para-dropping in. By the way, why do I not have a parachute? This high-altitude ground-smash arrival is way too violent.”
“Any monster build players here? Let’s make a team. It is time for us monster build players to shine in an instance world.”
“So tragic. Our squad had more than 30 brothers, but only five made it in. The rest got reversed back to the starter village due to packet loss during the data transfer into the sub-instance. We lost more than half before the fight even began. Whatever, I will enjoy myself first.”
“There happens to be a city below. Hehehe. Last time we were saviors, this time we have really become Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons.”
“Mm, the air in this small world instance is so turbid. I did not embed Qi Eater to filter air, I am about to suffocate. The detail settings are pretty reasonable though. Air quality obviously cannot compare to Monster World.”
—
Players rushing here from the five spatial nodes descended into the small world one after another.
Although the vast majority were swept away by spatial backflow during transmission and returned soul to Emperor’s Mound Village, that did not dampen the players’ enthusiasm.
The Lunar Eclipse race’s officials had already made it clear.
This small world instance had just been completed, so optimization issues were perfectly normal.
The players who successfully entered Etherbreath World were in high spirits and began recruiting teammates mid air.
Below, seeing the figures dropping from the sky, the City Lord of Lifebreath City wore a look of shock.
With just one glance he realized the problem. This was an external invading force.
“Prepare for battle.”
Suddenly he lowered his head and let out a roar.
At that instant, a jet-black fireball the size of a meteor fell from the sky and smashed down on the tower where the City Lord stood.
“Why are you standing so high? Get down.”
An angry shout came from the sky.
Boom.
Inkflame surged and burned. The City Lord of Lifebreath City was instantly engulfed by Inkflame and let out a miserable scream.
No matter how he rolled, he could not extinguish the Inkflame on his body. The protective organs stored in his body were completely useless.
Afterward, players crashed down into Lifebreath City one after another.
Facing the invasion, all Etherbreath warriors turned and pounced toward the players making airborne entrances.
War broke out at the slightest touch.
Toward the center of the city.
A player plummeted from high altitude at extreme speed, his body rubbing against the air and sparking blazing flames.
He drew an energy trajectory through the sky and smashed toward the ground like a meteor.
Boom.
With a thunderous crash, the player slammed heavily into the ground. Stones flew and dust billowed.
A deep pit dozens of meters in diameter was gouged out of the ground. From within the dust, the player’s figure slowly rose.
His gaze swept over the Etherbreath warriors closing in nearby. He grinned.
“Game on.”
As he spoke, his body twisted and swelled. Black scales surfaced across his skin.
A piercing hiss split the heavens. The player instantly transformed into a black giant serpent dozens of meters long.
Under the sunlight, the scales were as smooth as obsidian, each one reflecting a cold gleam.
The player’s head lifted high, scarlet eyes like two burning fireballs, overlooking the Etherbreath warriors below who were as small as ants.
His maw opened, revealing sharp fangs. Fluorescent venom flowed over the fang surfaces.
He bared his fangs to look fierce, snapped a selfie, and casually forwarded it to the guild group.
“Brothers, I have arrived safely. Do not worry.”
The Etherbreath warriors’ sharp claw blades struck his body, throwing off sparks, but could not breach the surface defense of the Black-Scaled Serpent player at all.
Closing the interface, the player’s massive body coiled and wound, standing in the city center like a black mountain.
With a light sweep of the tail, the surrounding Etherbreath warriors were instantly slammed into pulp, and the nearby buildings collapsed like papier-mâché. Building debris whirled through the air.
The terrifying force swept the surrounding Etherbreath warriors clean in an instant and even slapped a long gouge into the ground.
The excited player threw back his head and hissed, making the oncoming Etherbreath warriors in the distance feel a suffocating pressure they had never experienced before.
After the first exchange, the player in Black-Scaled Serpent form began to roam wantonly through the center of Lifebreath City. His body was like a moving mountain. Every sinuous glide brought destructive devastation.
The rasp of scales scraping the ground was like a symphony of death, echoing in the ears of every nearby Etherbreath warrior.
The Black-Scaled Serpent’s tail swept again. A towering bio tower collapsed in an instant.
The biological tissues that made up the tower tore like paper, fragments fluttering in the air. The energy core inside the tower exploded amid the collapse, releasing a blinding light.
Then the player transformed into the Black-Scaled Serpent opened wide and swallowed it in one bite, sending it straight into his personal inventory.
“Awoo, awoo.”
After analysis showed the energy stone was worth 300 sacrificial power, this player grew so excited he once more threw back his head and roared.
Not far from the Black-Scaled Serpent player, a white raging bear lifted a paw and slammed down on a building woven from flesh-vine tendrils.
The building’s defense mechanism activated instantly. The surface bio tissue rapidly hardened in an attempt to resist the impact.
But the power of the Roar form far exceeded the building’s load limit.
The flesh-vines snapped beneath the bear paw’s strike and collapsed with a crash, green fluid spraying out.
“Kill.”
The Etherbreath warriors below rapidly organized a counterattack. Their claw blades flashed with cold light as they used nearby structures to leap and pounce toward the player in Roar form.
At that moment the player suddenly lowered his head, opened his mouth, and inhaled. His chest slowly swelled.
Roar.
The Roar trait activated.
A shockwave swept the earth in an instant. Dozens of leaping Etherbreath warriors were shattered to pieces midair. Fragments of flesh were thrown back and slapped down on the ground like raindrops.
“How is this possible?”
Not far away, a Etherbreath warrior retreated in terror.