Ares's figure shot forth like an arrow loosed from a bow, charging first into that twisted dark red.
His charge had no fancy techniques—only the purest power and speed. That bone blade formed from ribs traced a pale white trajectory through the air, and where it passed, three stitched flesh masses were neatly sliced apart. Thick black liquid gushed from the cuts, splashing onto the scorched earth with sizzling corrosion sounds.
But those monsters felt no pain, no fear.
The flesh masses cut in half writhed on the ground, flesh buds extending from the severed ends attempting to reconnect. Ares's tentacles followed immediately, entwining, tightening, exerting force—squelch! The flesh mass was forcibly squeezed until it exploded, minced meat and black blood splattering everywhere.
"Their weak points are the head or similar core!" Ares roared, his voice almost drowned in the storm of howls and mad laughter, "Destroy them completely, or they'll regenerate!"
Tang Wulin understood.
The Golden Dragon Spear trembled in his hand, as if craving something. He strode forward, the Golden Dragon phantom charging with him, golden light blooming like the sun in this dark red world.
The first wave surging toward him were those beasts with only bones remaining.
Their bones were black as ink, eye sockets burning with ghostly green flames. Extremely fast, they ran across the scorched earth almost silently, only the clicking sound of bones grinding together. More than a dozen pounced from different directions, sealing off all space for dodging.
Tang Wulin didn't dodge.
The Golden Dragon King bloodline boiled within him. He let out a low roar, sweeping his long spear horizontally. No technique, only power—the purest, most savage dragon race power.
Boom!
A golden shock wave spread in a fan shape. Those black-boned beasts began disintegrating the instant they touched the light. The flames in their eye sockets danced wildly, seemingly trying to resist, but before the pure destructive power of the Golden Dragon King, all resistance was futile. Bones shattered, flames extinguished, turning into black dust.
But more monsters surged forth.
The tumors in the sky ruptured, and from them fell those floating shadowy giant mouths. They had no physical form—physical attacks were almost ineffective against them, yet they could devour energy. One shadowy giant mouth opened, swallowing a sacred arrow Qian Renxue had shot, then its size expanded by a circle, emitting a satisfied hiss.
"Physical attacks are ineffective—try this." Bibi Dong's voice was ice-cold.
She raised her hand, purple-black death aura condensing into countless fine threads shooting toward those shadowy giant mouths. This time, the shadowy giant mouths tried to devour, but the death aura produced violent conflict with their own energy. The shadowy giant mouths entangled by the fine threads began twisting, deforming, finally popping and exploding, dissipating into black smoke.
"Death can restrain them." Bibi Dong concluded. The Rakshasa God phantom behind her grew even more solid. Her hands formed seals, and a massive purple-black array unfolded beneath her feet. Countless ghostly shadows of departed souls surged forth from it, shrieking as they pounced on the surrounding monsters.
These departed souls were what she had collected through the long years—some were enemies' souls, some were wandering undead from battlefields. Originally her source of power, they now became weapons against the Abyss.
The departed souls tore at the monsters' bodies, devouring their energy. Although for every monster devoured, a departed soul would be contaminated by Abyss power and dissipate, Bibi Dong didn't care at all. Deep in her eyes flashed cold light, as if saying: merely some consumables.
Dai Chengfeng chose another tactic.
He didn't fight the monsters head-on, but transformed into a streak of cyan light, shuttling through the battlefield. His goal was clear—those monsters climbing out from the fissures that were larger in size and stronger in aura.
One monster had just half emerged from a fissure.
It had a humanoid torso but six spider-like segmented limbs, its head an inverted triangle with three compound eyes flashing evil red light. Its aura was equivalent to a second-level god. The moment it appeared, the surrounding air grew even more viscous and heavy.
Dai Chengfeng appeared before it.
Before the monster could react, the sword was already drawn.
There was no sound.
Only a cyan line, starting from the monster's head, extending vertically downward through its entire body, then disappearing into the depths of the fissure.
The monster stiffened for an instant.
Then, along that cyan line, its body neatly split in half. The cut was smooth as a mirror—even the internal structure clearly visible. No blood, only constantly writhing black flesh buds attempting to connect.
Dai Chengfeng sheathed his sword, not even looking, and turned to charge toward the next one.
What he pursued was one-hit kills—precise, efficient, leaving no room. This was his pride as the Wind God inheritor—the essence of wind is freedom, being unrestrained, but when wind condenses into a blade, it is also the sharpest weapon.
Qian Renxue's battlefield was in the air.
Her six wings fully spread, each wing burning with sacred flames. She hovered in mid-air like a small sun, illuminating the battlefield below. The weaker monsters directly turned to flying ash under the sacred flames' illumination, while stronger monsters would also be weakened and slowed.
"Sacred Domain, unfold."
She said softly, but her voice spread throughout the entire battlefield.
Centered on her, a radius of three hundred meters was enveloped in golden light. Within this domain, all Abyss creations' power was suppressed by thirty percent, while Tang Wulin and the others' power received a slight enhancement.
This wasn't a simple halo—this was a divine technique, one of the Angel God's core abilities: Domain Amplification.
"Qian Renxue, conserve divine power!" Tang Wulin shouted from below, "This is only the beginning!"
"I know." Qian Renxue answered calmly, but the domain's light showed no sign of weakening, "But I can feel Isis's consciousness calling. She is in pain, she is struggling, she is waiting... we must hurry."
Tang Wulin gritted his teeth, the Golden Dragon Spear dancing even faster.
He charged into the most densely packed area of monsters, the long spear transforming into thousands of golden lights. Every thrust pierced a monster's core; every sweep cut down swathes of monsters. The Golden Dragon phantom roared behind him, every roar accompanied by the release of dragon might, making surrounding monsters' movements sluggish and trembling.
But this was far from enough.
There were too many monsters, endless and inexhaustible.
From the fissures, from beneath the scorched earth, from the tumors in the sky, they surged forth without cease. Kill a hundred, a thousand would fill the gap; kill a thousand, ten thousand would appear. This land itself was an extension of the Abyss, the Abyss's reflection in the Divine Realm—here, the Abyss's power was nearly infinite.
"At this rate we'll be exhausted to death!" Bibi Dong said sharply. She had already consumed thirty percent of her divine power, but the monsters' numbers showed no sign of decreasing.
Ares killed his way to her side, his bone blade pinning a shadowy giant mouth that had tried to sneak attack onto the ground.
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)