Chapter 461 - I’ll Commit Indecent Acts With Your Mother

Swoosh...

A deathly stillness of black and white was replaced by a riot of colors, followed by a violent explosion. A moment later, sound returned.

The dense clouds in the sky were swept aside by the violent explosion, revealing an azure dome overhead. If viewed from above, it would have looked like a flash flood.

A purple-red waterfall had surged downward in a massive fan shape, starting from a narrow point and spreading wider as it flowed down!

On the southern slope of the forested mountain, a purple-red patch suddenly appeared, covering most of its surface. It shimmered under the sunlight with a radiant yet perilous hue, resembling glass or perhaps amber.

It carried a deadly allure, like scattered flakes of gold. Countless hectares of forest that once grew beneath it were obliterated in an instant as they were devoured by that purple-red cascade.

One could still vaguely see a ring of emerald rime drifting around the summit, scattering toward the distance. In truth, that was the remnants of disintegrated green leaves and foliage floating in the air.

"Time to run!!!" Aaron, who had just scrambled to his feet, felt like his heart had been seized by a giant fist, nearly robbing him of breath. He stared in terror at the roaring torrent of power surging toward him from afar, the hairs on his skin standing on end. Without the slightest hesitation, Aaron started to sprint downhill.

His steps moved with a distinctive, rapid rhythm, touching the ground with his toes. This was clearly the lunging footwork of the Silver-Pistil Sword, used only at the brink of life or death.

Its main purpose was to activate the muscles in both legs in an instant, pushing them to three hundred percent capacity to create a terrifying burst of speed. It was originally intended for agile maneuvers in close combat to go in for the kill, yet Aaron was now using it to flee. He could only hope it would give him more speed, taking him further from that purple-red torrent that threatened to devour everything!

He raced through the forest with his Silver-Pistil sword drawn, gripping it tightly in his hand and striking repeatedly. He was not attacking an enemy but cutting down every obstructing branch, leaf, or boulder in his path.

Swoosh!

The gleaming, razor-sharp sword pierced the air, tapping against a waist-high green rock. The millstone-sized stone instantly shattered, exploding into fragments that rained down in a cloud of dust.

A nimble figure charged through the dust with elegant, almost aristocratic footwork, but he was drenched in sweat, pale-faced, and panting heavily. Aaron could not fathom how simply watching a fight had turned into a life-threatening ordeal. He had been two kilometers away!

He felt rather unlucky, having tracked that suspicious figure from Florence all the way to Rika City. He had nearly killed himself in the process. He had not even begun his investigation or earned any credit before he spotted a group of monsters from who knew where, suddenly fighting for no apparent reason.

Each one possessed unfathomable strength, with power comparable to a brawl involving multiple Radiant Hunters from the Hunters' Association. The terrifying aftermath had frightened Aaron so thoroughly that he did not dare to get close enough to even see the fighters clearly. Which force did they belong to? Were they male or female? Human or otherwise? He had no idea.

Regardless, that information was worthless at the moment! Aaron fled, hoping to hurry back and report his findings. He intended to inform the Chief Mechanist of the situation as soon as possible!

Swoosh!

A figure darted from the woods at the foot of the mountain and fled into the distance. Up on the mountain, the sonic booms from the fierce clash had faded away, leaving only the patter of falling rubble.

The ground immediately around the collision was as smooth as a desert, marred only by a deep pit as large as an entire basketball court that was still emitting black smoke. It still radiated a heat like magma that twisted the air.

A tall, imposing figure stood amid the billowing smoke. His single hand was extended forward, palm shaped like the claw of a dragon about to grasp.

A cold gust of air swept in from afar, carrying away much of the smoke at once and revealing Cassius. His cloak was in tatters, its edges still singed by flames. Cassius stretched his rugged, muscular right arm which was marred by countless bloody wounds. His palm, in particular, had lost all its flesh, revealing a bone-white skeleton.

Straight ahead, the ground sloped inward, as if the Sonic Fang Force had truly plowed out a riverbed. Two skeletons drifted silently in circles within that channel of terrifying purple and red.

Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman were dead. Their deaths had been swift, without any lingering struggle. If one's strength could not match up in an all-out confrontation, there was no recourse. If one's offensive capacity failed, it simply failed! There was no room for luck or negotiation. Once defeated, they would face death head-on.

It was unfortunate that both of them were top-tier Great Shamans from the Totem Temple. They would have been absolute powerhouses anywhere they went. However, their target had been Cassius, who was an elite among the elite and just beneath the realm of Holy Fist. There would have been only a handful of such powerhouses in any given era.

They were also fortunate in a sense to be slain by Cassius's trump card, Sonic Fang Force. It was a privilege Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman could take pride in. Only those deemed a true threat were given the chance to witness that technique.

Bang, bang, bang, bang...

Above the battlefield, two figures clashed at high speed. One was the Northern King, shrouded by an immense ice bear, while the other was the Evil Mother with six arms. One sought to flee while the other prevented him from doing so. Both possessed the rarely seen prowess of top-tier combat artists, leaving them locked in an evenly matched struggle.

The Northern King's usually icy, handsome face now showed an unprecedented anxiety and panic. He was the only person to witness the apex collision of those three at close range, and the peril of that instant peril far exceeded what Aaron had experienced.

When that purple-red waterfall had erupted from Cassius's body, the Northern King understood immediately. This guy was not merely a top-tier combat artist, but an extreme combat artist!

There were only two such monstrous individuals within the Gate Organization which had power all across the continent, and one had barely reached that state through special means.

One was the Holy Fist Demon Phoenix, who was the current deputy leader of the Gate Organization. The other was the First General King, who had obtained a sinister relic called the Soul-Blood Covert Box in the Southern Reef Continent. It held the blood of various powerful individuals and creatures, and each portion stored the original owner's might.

The First General King had absorbed it and experienced a massive increase in strength, attaining a level between top-tier combat artist and extreme combat artist. Unfortunately, while that blood carried the Qi and memories of its original owners, it also disrupted one's mind, potentially driving them to madness.

As a result, the First General King's combat ability had diminished. Even so, he remained invincible among the Seven King Generals in sparring matches. The Northern King had personally crossed fists with him once, only to be swiftly defeated.

If a flawed extreme combat artist could be so formidable, there was no telling how strong Cassius, who had legitimately stepped into the realm of extreme combat artists, was.

The Northern King sensed a profound malice toward all living creatures in that surging extreme force. Those purple-red streams were enemies of mortal bodies and living beings!

Hence, the moment the explosion subsided, his first instinct was to flee. He also planned to give that bastard Luo a thorough beating once he returned. However, he was intercepted by the Evil Mother, who had been lying in wait.

The Northern King was shocked to find that this dark creature, which had hidden its aura since the beginning of the battle, was no simple foe! It was a top-tier Cataclysmic Spirit level dark creature, which was on par with a top-tier combat artist!

Luo, you fuck! You had better hope I don't make it out alive, or I’ll be committing indecent acts with your mother!

The Northern King, somewhat withdrawn by nature, had been peacefully shattering boulders a few minutes ago to prepare the upcoming dark creature test site. At that time, he had been constructing a pool and channeling groundwater into it, intending to soak and see if it had any particular effect.

Luo had burst in before he could even take his pants off, his head covered in blood, shouting that extremely fierce enemies had arrived to kill them. Furthermore, both Hu Yue and Xue Shi had already perished. The opponent was a top-tier combat artist!

The Northern King couldn't stand hearing that someone had dared to bully the Gate Organization, which had only ever bullied others. If the enemy was a top-tier combat artist, so was he.

Pressed for time and taking into account how dazed and bloodied Luo was, he had only asked a few questions before rushing out to engage the approaching foe.

The result was his current predicament.

If Luo's party had been too weak, Cassius would not have needed to reveal his extreme combat artist strength. The strength of a top-tier combat artist would have sufficed. The Northern King had to admit this had caused a gap in the intelligence he received.

However, another dark creature with top-tier combat artist strength had appeared, nearly causing the retreating Northern King to cough up blood in frustration.

So they only reported the opponent's strength, not their numbers, huh? Was one top-tier combat artist the same as two?! If the Northern King had known there were two, he would have fled straight away, regardless of whether anyone hid their true power!

Living to fight another day was always the better choice. But now, it was too late; he was already trapped.

In truth, Luo was not entirely at fault. He had almost had his brains bashed out by one of Cassius's punches, leaving him concussed during the chase. It was remarkable that he could still speak coherently after rushing into the cave. Since he had only caught a glimpse of an enemy of his enemy at the last second, Luo naturally thought it was a golden opportunity.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He reported to the Northern King, omitting information about the enemy's full numbers, but also omitting the appearance of two formidable allies. In theory, it canceled out. Superficially, it might have even given the Northern King an advantage.

Ultimately, Cassius concealing his extreme combat artist strength was the deadliest factor. It was like walking in the dark while showing only a small dagger. Naturally, everyone else assumed that the dagger was his only weapon. Hence, two or three thugs with daggers had closed in, thinking they stood a chance. But instead of using that dagger, he suddenly pulled out a pistol from his waistband and fired away!

Bang bang bang!

It was the finest trap.

***

Cassius paid no attention to the fight between the Evil Mother and the Northern King. Although he had slain Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman, he still maintained his Sonic Fang Force.

His keen eyes scanned the hundred-meter gap, locking onto the golden totem etched onto those two skeletons. Had Cassius been a normal extreme combat artist, he would have withdrawn by now.

However, he practiced the Golem Covert Martial Arts, which was modeled after the Golem, an Ultimate Dark Form. It allowed him to sense the life magnetic field of dark creatures. At that moment, Cassius vaguely detected a menacing presence, like a colossal beast drifting beneath the ice.

The corpses of Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman lay atop one another, the totems on their skeletons resembling gold symbols twisting like earthworms. They radiated an ancient, mysterious aura as they merged at astonishing speed.

Many elite shamans believed that Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman were their greatest security. Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman had believed that activating the golden totem by absorbing vast vitality and their disciples' totems was their ultimate trump card. In reality, only the Totem King who bestowed the golden totem knew its true lethal purpose.

If Gale Shaman and Thousand-Beast Shaman could cooperate to kill their target, all the better. However, if they failed and died instead, the golden totem's real function would emerge of its own accord.

There were ten strongest Cataclysmic Spirit level dark creatures beneath the Ultimate Dark Forms. Ranked sixth among them was an entity called Evil Remains!

The golden totem was not the true body of Evil Remains. Rather, the Totem King had branded and imitated Evil Remains' abilities with his terrifying totem abilities, creating Evil Remains in the form of a totem.

Dark creatures of this level usually possessed unique, defining traits. The totem version of Evil Remains could not wield one hundred percent of the original's power; nevertheless, it still existed in the realm of an extreme combat artist.

However, such explosive strength could not last long, much like ice in the sun. Cassius watched indifferently as the golden totem assembled rapidly, unleashing a sudden burst of wicked power. It instantly transformed from a totem into a terrifying skeleton demon.

In other words, it had become a genuine dark creature's body. But what terrifying reaction would occur if a dark creature was bathed in Sonic Fang Force designed specifically to counter undead traits?

Zzzzzz... Aaaaargh...

A mushroom-cloud surge of white vapor rose into the sky as Evil Remains remained wrapped tightly in Sonic Fang Force. Every inch of its body was subjected to a violent spiraling force, fierce vibrations, powerful explosions, and drastic decomposition.

Viewed from above, one could see how the purple-red torrent from Cassius's palm had unconsciously carved the ground into a bizarre flower in full bloom. Each petal formed a reservoir the size of an estate, all interconnected and converging upon the central point.

The totem version of Evil Remains lay in the largest central crater!

Since Cassius had already sensed a faint, lurking danger, how could he sit idle and allow his foe to evolve unimpeded?

Naturally, he had prepared in advance!