Chapter 1283: Forbidden Spell Unleash |
Urhan realized something when he saw the direction Souta was heading.
He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Go! Stop him!"
With a flash of light, he shot after Souta.
Armante raised his staff, and his energy surged as he prepared to cast high-tier spells.
Whoosh!!
Souta glanced over his shoulder and saw Urhan pursuing him. He sneered inwardly before accelerating once more.
With all the buffs, equipment skills, and blessings he had activated, there was no way Urhan could catch up to him. Furthermore, he was clad in his Emperor Armor, and his speed was approaching the limit of an Advanced Fifth Stage Monster.
Ordinary advanced Fifth Stage Monsters and Ninth Shackle Realm experts couldn’t hope to match his speed.
Souta looked ahead and locked onto the Eighth Shackle Realm expert standing in his path.
[Fourth Form: Lightning Critical Enhancement]!!
The Eighth Shackle Realm expert saw a flash of crimson light.
He immediately conjured several barriers, but they shattered in the next instant.
His vision turned black.
Then his entire body disintegrated.
Swoosh!!
A condensed bolt of blood lightning burst forward with overwhelming momentum, carving a massive gap through the ocean.
"An Eighth Shackle Realm expert trying to block my attack? You overestimate yourself!"
Souta sneered and continued his advance. His body transformed into a streak of crimson light as he charged straight toward another nearby Eighth Shackle Realm expert.
Whoosh!!
A streak of blood-red lightning tore through the battlefield.
"No!!"
An Eight Shackle Realm expert roared and unleashed a massive tidal wave infused with immense elemental power.
The water surged forward like a raging beast. Yet it changed nothing.
The blood-red lightning pierced through the attack effortlessly, splitting the enormous wave in half as if it were paper.
Bang!!
The expert’s eyes widened. Then a sword pierced through his chest.
Silence.
For a brief moment, he stared at the crimson blade protruding from his body.
Then his flesh began to crumble, his bones disintegrated, his energy collapsed, and his entire existence broke apart into countless particles before vanishing completely.
Not even dust remained.
BOOM!!
On the rear lines, Black Water Lord felt his blood run cold.
His body trembled uncontrollably. All he could see was a crimson flash zigzagging through the battlefield.
Again and again and again.
Every time the red lightning struck someone.
Someone died.
There were no corpses, no remains, and no chance of recovery.
Those unfortunate enough to be hit were erased completely.
A destruction that reached the atomic level.
Even powerful regeneration abilities became meaningless.
The Eight Shackle Realm experts fell one after another.
Some activated secret techniques.
Others used powerful combat arts capable of destroying mountains.
None of it mattered.
Nothing could stop Souta.
Not for a minute.
Not for a second.
Not even for a single heartbeat.
The battlefield became a slaughterhouse. The Seventh Shackle Realm experts suffered even worse. A single surge of blood-red lightning would sweep across the battlefield and they would disappear instantly.
Entire formations collapsed, defensive lines shattered, and desperate screams echoed everywhere.
"Stop him!!"
"Retreat!!"
"Save me!!"
Their voices were swallowed by the raging storm of crimson destruction.
Everyone was dying.
Eight Shackle Realm experts and Seventh Shackle Realm experts.
People who had spent decades climbing to the peak of power.
Beings revered as legends by ordinary people.
Yet before Souta they were no different from blades of grass standing before a wildfire. The more they resisted, the faster they fell. And as the number of deaths continued to rise, the pressure radiating from Souta only grew stronger.
...
On the other hand, Armante glanced at Sea Devourer and Aldemaran.
"Come back to your senses! Our people are dying! It’s either kill or be killed!" Armante said firmly.
The two glanced at the president and nodded with grim expressions.
The president was right.
It was kill or be killed.
This was a fight for survival.
And their enemy was a legendary figure.
"I’ve finished building it," Armante’s voice echoed.
He waved his staff, and a massive magic circle appeared beneath his feet. Terrifying energy swirled around the circle, and the entire atmosphere quickly changed.
A Forbidden Spell.
Armante locked onto Souta’s position and cast the spell.
[Descension of the Sword God]!!
Ohm!!
Everyone throughout the country couldn’t help but look up.
Immense energy fluctuations swept across the entire territory, making it feel as though a higher-dimensional being had descended upon the world.
People in distant cities were terrified as the ground began to shake.
Souta, who had been on a killing spree, suddenly paused.
He raised his head and looked upward.
"This level of energy fluctuations... A Forbidden Spell cast by a Ninth Shackle expert."
Then a smile formed on his face.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
The space above the battlefield suddenly collapsed.
Dark cracks spread across the heavens like shattered glass, stretching for dozens of kilometers.
Then something emerged.
A colossal phantom sword descended from the fractured space, its length spanning dozens of kilometers.
Its sheer size was overwhelming.
Compared to it, mountains looked insignificant. Compared to it, cities looked like grains of sand. And compared to it, the countless experts gathered on the battlefield appeared no larger than specks of dust.
The terrifying pressure radiating from the sword caused the surrounding water to tremble violently.
Many Seventh Shackle Realm experts felt their hearts sink. Even some Eight Shackle Realm experts turned pale.
This was the power of a Ninth Shackle Realm expert.
Below the descending blade, Souta raised his head. His crimson eyes reflected the enormous sword hanging above him.
The [Orb of Arcane Seal] spun rapidly beside him, releasing strange ripples that distorted the surrounding space.
Then Souta released his grip on his sword.
The weapon floated beside him.
He slowly spread his arms as blood-red lightning surged wildly across his body, illuminating the battlefield with a crimson glow.
The surrounding blood gathered toward him like rivers flowing into a hue storm.
[Third Form: Blood Lightning Barrier]!!
The lightning condensed.
Layer upon layer of blood-red destruction accumulated before him.
[Fourth Form: Lightning Critical Enhancement]!!
BOOM!!!
The barrier transformed once more.
The density of the blood lightning increased dramatically. Every strand crackled with enough destructive power to annihilate powerful experts.
At this moment, the colossal sword descended.
BOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!
The whole nation shook.
The phantom blade crashed directly into the Blood Lightning Barrier.
A blinding explosion erupted.
Golden light and crimson lightning consumed the battlefield.
The resulting shockwave exploded outward with catastrophic force.
Seventh Shackle Realm experts were thrown away like leaves caught in a hurricane. Even Eight Shackle Realm experts struggled to maintain their footing before being blasted backward.
Initial and Intermediate Fifth Stage monsters fared no better.
Many were hurled several kilometers away by the impact alone.
The surrounding water vanished.
Entire regions of water evaporated instantly. Space itself fractured under the pressure. Cracks spread through reality as violent spatial turbulence devoured everything nearby.
The battlefield transformed into a region of pure destruction.
Far away, Aldemaran stared at the scene with awe.
"So strong..."
His voice was barely audible.
A Forbidden Spell cast by a Ninth Shackle Realm expert was truly monstrous.
Now he understood why such techniques were feared throughout the Depths of Banquet.
If such a spell had been unleashed before the world’s enhancement, before mana density increased and the laws strengthened, the resulting destruction would have been even more unimaginable.
Entire countries might have ceased to exist.
Eventually, the giant phantom sword began to dissipate.
Fragments of golden light scattered across the battlefield before fading away completely. The vacuum left behind immediately drew in the surrounding water.
Massive currents surged inward.
At the same time, the spatial cracks greedily swallowed everything nearby, creating chaotic whirlpools of distorted space.
The nearby experts and monsters quickly retreated several kilometers.
No one wanted to be caught in the aftermath.
Those farther away could only stare in stunned silence.
Their eyes were filled with awe and fear.
The might of a Ninth Shackle Realm expert was simply beyond comprehension. After all, the Ninth Shackle Realm stood only a single step away from the legendary Tenth Shackle Realm.
The Freedom Realm.
The realm of beings who had broken free from every shackle imposed upon them.
"Huff..."
Armante slowly exhaled.
His expression remained grave as he lowered his gaze toward the battlefield below.
Then he raised his staff once more. Mana surged around him. A massive magic formation began to unfold beneath his feet.
The energy gathering around him rapidly climbed to a terrifying level.
Another Forbidden Spell was being prepared.
On the other hand, Urhan dashed forward with raging energy, rushing toward the battlefield as countless boulders formed behind him.
’I need to break through his defense...’
Urhan thought inwardly. He knew that Souta possessed a defensive skill from an Archetype capable of blocking even his attacks. A Forbidden Spell alone wouldn’t be enough, so he had to seize this opportunity.
’A monster that wields an Archetype...’
His grip on his trident tightened. Pulling his arm back, he gathered immense energy around the weapon.
[Archetype: Thousand Lands into One]!
[Second Stance: Purgatory Beneath the Land]!!
The surrounding space cracked apart, and thousands of boulders surged forth like a tsunami.
In the span of a single second, the entire area was filled with boulders. They covered a vast region several kilometers wide before rapidly converging and fusing together into an enormous sphere of rock.
"Explode."
Urhan’s cold voice rang out.
BOOM!!!
The enormous sphere of rock detonated.