Chapter 427: Gathering

Chapter 427: Gathering

His teammate was about to be instantly killed, which gave him an immense headache. He was frantic, but limited by the Abyssal Creature before him, he had no other options. Its body was incredibly hard, pitch-black in appearance, just like high-strength forged black iron. When his weapon struck it, there was no sensation of cutting into flesh and blood at all.

Tangling with it was already his limit; taking it down further was something Oss felt was very difficult… More importantly, even if he could defeat it, it would require a long time. What would happen to his teammate by then?

Boom—

The remaining few Abyssal Creatures were swallowed by a ball of Explosive Flame. Under the surging blaze, their speed was hampered. These flames were not ordinary fire; the intense Fire Element within the blaze itself could produce a powerful slowing effect, no less strenuous than running through water.

However, Zheng Yichen was somewhat surprised that these Abyssal Creatures seemed a bit special. Their bodies actually possessed extremely unusual Magic Resistance. This level of Magic Resistance allowed them to charge forward even through the raging flames. Watching their ferocious appearance, Zheng Yichen simply raised Flame Judgment. He pointed the weapon at the sky. A layer of fire clouds appeared from above, and then flames gathered from intense Fire Element crashed down.

The overwhelming pressure from the Judgment’s descending flames slammed those Abyssal Creatures hard onto the ground. The flames that had previously enveloped them were also pressed into the earth by the subsequent crushing pressure of the Judgment’s fire. The suppressed Abyssal Creatures were pinned tightly against the ground, which had become like molten lava. Their bodies, like meat on a hot iron plate, were blasted with cracks from the pressure of the falling flames. Those cracks were filled with surging flames that gushed outward.

As the crushing pressure from the descending flames vanished, the moment they stood up, flames erupting from underground blasted them all into the sky. The power of the Magic Arms, enhanced and perfected by Irene, was no longer as simple as before. This released Judgment was far more powerful than the version Zheng Yichen had used in the past. With extremely high Magic Resistance and robust bodies, they could withstand the initial wave of flame bombardment. But after unleashing the foremost attack of Flame Judgment, it was something they could no longer resist.

Abyssal Creatures were also living beings; they weren’t invincible and could die… Besides, as long as the current Magic Arms had sufficient Mana and could summon a one hundred percent complete version, it was equivalent to Irene attacking here herself. Depending on the amount of Mana injected, the attack could be even stronger. If it could reach Irene’s Mana output, it would be equal to her unleashing a full-power attack here!

Difference… Well, there certainly was one. After all, her level of understanding of magic was evident. Something released not by her own hand definitely lacked certain adaptive special effects.

Mana output? Zheng Yichen indicated that with his Magic Weapon Summoning Book, he didn’t need to worry about insufficient Mana output at all. So, these Abyssal Creatures were strong, but that was it. High Magic Resistance? They couldn’t withstand the penetrating power of the flames released by Flame Judgment!

Before the flames erupting and surging from underground had even disappeared, these Abyssal Creatures were completely annihilated within them. Zheng Yichen watched the briefly sustained eruptive flames and wondered if Flame Judgment should be renamed something like “Purgatory Blood Slaughter.”

“Oh my God, Magic Arms are this powerful…!?” Gale stared dumbfounded at those flame creatures burned to ashes, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. Oss, in the midst of battle, was equally shocked to the extreme. Unfortunately, the growth progress of his Magic Weapon Summoning Book was currently very slow, and he was still only using Low-level Magic Weapons. After all, he had no Mana or Battle Qi. Bloodline Power was very powerful, but its quantity ultimately couldn’t match forces like Mana or Battle Qi, so his proficiency increased very slowly.

With no worries about the rear, Oss focused on fighting the Abyssal Creature before him. This was the first time since obtaining these eyes that he encountered an opponent who wasn’t relying on numerical attrition but was truly an individually super-strong enemy. This foe was worth a fight!

“Hmm… Indeed, the Dragon’s Mana.” After the flames dissipated, Zheng Yichen felt the faint residual Mana in the air. This Mana was very faint; if it weren’t his own Mana, Zheng Yichen would have had difficulty detecting it. “If creatures were all this awesome… humans in the past really had it hard.”

Seeing that Oss’s fight was lively and intense, Zheng Yichen stopped paying attention to his situation and instead looked toward the Sanctuary Church side. The battle there was now extremely fierce, with a greater number of pitch-black Abyssal Creatures appearing there. Don’t think Zheng Yichen easily wiped out these Abyssal Creatures with one Judgment; that was only because the attack just now was equivalent to Irene attacking here. The penetrating power of the magic was top-tier.

Even if not one hundred percent ignored, it could disregard most of those Abyssal Creatures’ Magic Resistance. Even so, they could still hold on for a short time within the flames. So, while his process of killing them was easy, it didn’t mean others would find it easy to deal with them.

“These really are Abyssal Creatures… Has the Containment Barrier malfunctioned?” Achille frowned deeply, staring at the surrounding Abyssal Creatures. The number of appearing Abyssal Creatures was several times theirs. Moreover, these creatures’ physiques were very special. Don’t think Abyssal Creatures are evil creatures; those Abyssal Monsters indeed have very low resistance to Light Element or Holy Element magic, qualifying as evil beings.

But although Abyssal Creatures are pitch-black and not good, harmful to humans, they truly aren’t of the so-called evil physique! At least most aren’t. So, there’s no magic attribute that particularly counters them. Of course, although Abyssal Creatures possess nearly perfect bodies and Magic Resistance that can keep up with the Dragon Clan, they have no spellcasting abilities. What they use are ‘Arcane Arts,’ different from human Arcane Arts. Human Arcane Arts are improved magic or utilize magical principles to achieve characteristics magic cannot reach.

They are essentially related to magic. Abyssal Creatures’ Arcane Arts are different; in terms of variability, they aren’t as rich and diverse as human magic Arcane Arts. However, their Arcane Arts excel in intensity and purity, which leads to many human Arcane Arts being defeated when encountering theirs.

After all, the source of human Arcane Arts came from researching and developing from these Abyssal Creatures. Fortunately, these appearing Abyssal Creatures had no ‘Boss’ among them. Although troublesome, dealing with them was just a matter of wasting some time, but this wasn’t a good sign. If only this many Abyssal Creatures appeared now, it meant stronger and more troublesome ones would appear later!

Moreover, once these Abyssal Creatures escaped, the harm they could cause wouldn’t be less than that of an Evil God.

While pondering, Achille felt intense Fire Element fluctuations from behind and couldn’t help but glance back. His expression turned somewhat startled. When he looked back, he happened to see several Abyssal Creatures that had appeared near Zheng Yichen being burned to ashes by flames erupting from underground: “…This Magic Pharmacist has issues too.”

A Magic Pharmacist could be this awesome? What a joke. Even with the power of Magic Arms, he shouldn’t be this formidable. Yet Zheng Yichen took down those Abyssal Creatures with one move, seemingly not too tired afterward. As for the Abyssal Creatures on their side, encountering a group of high-end combatants from the Sanctuary Church, even though they outnumbered them several times, the battle ended in less than five minutes.

This was also because these Abyssal Creatures could mobilize the corrupting energy within the Containment Barrier. This was also why, after driving back the Abyssal Creatures in the past, they didn’t counter-attack into the Abyss. Inside there, the Abyssal Creatures’ home-field advantage was too great!

The corpses left by the slain Abyssal Creatures were quickly erased by the Containment Barrier, leaving not a single trace. Although all appearing Abyssal Creatures were dealt with, none of the combatants present felt happy. The most worrying problem had still emerged!

“Heh, after so many years, you Abyssal Creatures not only haven’t progressed but have become increasingly inferior. In a few hundred years, will you even be able to defend your own den?” Sensing the outside Abyssal Creatures were completely annihilated, the Undying Witch couldn’t help but sneer. Truly a high-end combat force organized by the Sanctuary Church. Even facing Abyssal Creatures, ignoring the suppression of the Containment Barrier, and even with a degree of home-field advantage, they were so quickly crushed.

Those people were still cautious of her presence when acting, not using their full power. Moreover, because of her presence, they didn’t waste their strength excessively. Otherwise, the resolution would have been even faster!

“That’s none of your concern, Witch. Just wait.” The eye that emerged from the passage closed again. Soon, several Abyssal Creatures with bodies shrouded in Aberration aura walked out of the expanded passage. The Undying Witch glanced at the bottle storing Mana in her hand. The cannon fodder sent out earlier was mostly just a probe by the Abyssal Creatures.

They simply wanted to use numbers to see her level of control over the Mana from Zheng Yichen’s body. Abyssal Creatures wouldn’t compromise so easily. But since she dared to do this, how could she let the Abyssal Creatures succeed?

“The Mana you gave isn’t enough. If you want us to stall until you’re satisfied, at least twenty times the Mana. Even using cannon fodder isn’t consumed like this.”

“That’s your business. I’ll only give a fixed amount of Mana. Your final performance determines how much you receive.”

“…” The dozen or so appearing Abyssal Creatures didn’t speak further. The Undying Witch’s firm stance didn’t elicit any dissatisfaction from them; dissatisfaction was meaningless. She also wasn’t foolish to that extent. If she really gave twenty times the Mana, they wouldn’t need the Undying Witch anymore. For now… they had to work hard!

Seeing the subsequent Abyssal Creatures, the people from the Sanctuary Church held no contempt; instead, their mood worsened. These later-appearing Abyssal Creatures were the ‘Bosses’ they were very worried about.

“This environment is truly terrible,” an Abyssal Creature shrouded in black aura said. The Mana the Undying Witch gave them was calculated too precisely, allowing their strength to be utilized but with no surplus. As for relying on this portion of Mana to return to the Abyss, they hadn’t not tried, but doing so was meaningless. The Undying Witch had long set up corresponding measures nearby.

As long as she held the largest share of Mana, that Mana could be drawn back to her, completely beyond their control. The Abyssal Creatures had long discovered this and knew the Undying Witch would definitely choose to betray them later!

But they had no other choice; this was essentially a gamble… So, the second time these Abyssal Creatures appeared, they were already prepared to be cannon fodder. Two of them stepped forward. The black aura on their bodies burned violently. The Black Mist within the Containment Barrier fluctuated intensely under the influence of this aura. Corrupting Aura was just an aberrant product of a certain aura radiating from the Abyss Entrance.

It differed greatly from the environment inside the Abyss. This difference made the Corrupting Aura unaffected by the Containment Barrier because the Corrupted Creatures influenced by Corrupting Aura weren’t Abyssal Monsters or Abyssal Creatures. Strictly speaking, they were still creatures from the outside world, thus unaffected by the Containment Barrier.

Of course, if the Corrupting Aura reached a certain intensity, it indeed could cause these Corrupted Creatures to transform toward Abyssal Monsters. However, that would definitely trigger the effect of the Containment Barrier, killing as many as appeared. But bringing those Corrupted Creatures’ transformation to a critical point was sufficient. This could maximize their power, enhance their combat capability, and ensure stronger control by the Abyssal Creatures.

With these dozen or so special Abyssal Creatures exerting force together, the Corrupting Aura throughout the Containment Barrier fluctuated violently. The Corrupted Creatures hidden within the Containment Barrier no longer concealed themselves; they all left their hiding spots, roaring at the sky. Their bodies underwent more drastic changes, becoming grotesque and distorted. Those Abyssal plants also underwent new changes under the influence of the fluctuating Corrupting Aura, detaching from their rooted locations.

Furthermore, some Professionals active within the Containment Barrier were affected by the suddenly mutated Corrupting Aura. Their eyes turned blood-red, their minds frenzied. These transformed Corrupted Creatures and Professionals, under an invisible will, all hurried toward one direction. Those ashen-faced Professionals encountered along the way were all ignored. These were the cannon fodder created by those Abyssal Creatures, beings close to Abyssal Monsters. Their combat capability… Under normal circumstances, they differed somewhat from Abyssal Monsters. But now, under special conditions, their combat capability far exceeded that of Abyssal Monsters!

All Corrupted Creatures inside the Containment Barrier were gathered together!

The deeper the area, the thicker the Black Mist. Rare clarity appeared within the Containment Barrier. The Corrupting Aura accumulated here over the years was all concentrated. People with good eyesight could see the situation inside the Containment Barrier from atop the Border Great Wall… provided it was daytime.

The current time was night.

“This is troublesome…” Dekoff narrowed his eyes slightly, scanning the surroundings. The Mist created by the Undying Witch wasn’t something that could be broken through in a short time. Those Abyssal Creatures stood at the edge of the Mist; taking just a slight step back, they could enter. Clearly, once they appeared, Dekoff could take them down with one burst!

But their position… made it difficult. Simultaneously, these Abyssal Creatures’ methods took effect. All Corrupting Aura from other places was gathered and, using their unique Arcane Arts, made extra active by these Abyssal Creatures, approaching Abyssal Aura extremely closely, not like the previously passive, inert-gas-like Corrupting Aura.

Not to mention, all affected Corrupted Creatures throughout the Containment Barrier were pressing toward them. The Containment Barrier’s range was vast. The number of Corrupted Creatures here, including those flying, running on the ground, hiding underground, living creatures, plants—just counting the larger ones that could be tallied—was estimated to be over a hundred thousand. This didn’t even include small poisonous insects and such, which were truly countless!

They surged over in a massive tide, more than just frightening. Although this was the number accumulated over the years within the Containment Barrier, normally the Border Great Wall garrison would conduct additional cleansing operations; otherwise, the number could multiply dozens of times… Exaggerated?

Not at all. Corrupted Creatures only needed Corrupting Aura to sustain existence, so without any need for food, numerical growth was no issue.

“Whew… truly formidable!” On Oss’s side, he finally caught a flaw in the Corrupted Creature before him. A Blood Qi Blade was thrust into a Weak Point he had observed for a long time, barely piercing it. Even with its robust body, the Blood Qi Blade erupting inside still took its life. Then came the Blood Essence absorption…

“Uh!? What is this!?” Oss’s eyes suddenly widened. Zheng Yichen, observing from the sidelines, glanced back. After Oss defeated that Abyssal Creature, those in the Mist looked over.