Chapter 473 - Sacred Artifact, Moon God Statue (1)

Two figures locked onto each other in a vast open space inside the church's prayer hall. In an instant, they both realized that the other was an adversary!

Two Qi fields silently expanded, gradually occupying the left and right sides of the hall. The atmosphere froze, and even the stench of blood seemed to fade.

Odo felt excellent, better than ever before. He had underestimated the power of his fist technique; only slaughter could the Illusory Moon Fist reveal its charm. The more he used the Fractured Moon Force to shatter dark creatures, the more Odo felt his thoughts grow clearer as his emotions invisibly vented.

When in use, the Illusory Moon Fist appeared to have a bewitching power over one's emotions. The more one killed, the more entranced they became; the more one trained, the more addicted they grew.

If an ordinary person were to train in this demonic fist technique, they would likely become an utterly obsessed killer in no time at all. They would relish the pleasure of slaughter, trapped in the ecstasy of shattering flesh and unable to free themselves.

Only a determined individual like Odo could resist part of that temptation, transforming it into the drive to grow stronger instead of becoming a complete slave to the technique. At present, he consciously allowed a portion of his emotions to run wild, aligning himself with the fist technique.

As a result, his temperament became more maniacal.

Boom!

A single stomp shattered the hard marble floor near the underground entrance. Odo moved in a strange, brisk arc as he sped toward the Black Moon Clan Leader. Traces of blood-spattered mist still lingered in the air.

Odo's eyes were bloodshot, laced with a chilling glare. His powerful arms sliced through the air with ease, forming a fleeting white arc and causing the air to tremble.

Clang!

The metallic hum of an impact rang out from the center of the hall. Odo's fists came smashing down, yet they were blocked by the Black Moon Clan Leader's raised arms.

The outer edge of those translucent arms were mantis-like crescent bone blades, studded with spines at their edges.

Crackle... crackle...

The Fractured Moon Force jolted into the blades in an instant, releasing a wave of energy that both clashed and destroyed. Ripples swept across the blades like a rushing current, dissolving it into white mist.

As the energy-laden ripples skimmed over the floor, a series of crackling explosions ensued. In mere moments, chiseled-looking fissures marred the floor one after another.

In the church, the half-translucent black figure flipped backward, spinning three hundred sixty degrees before landing solidly.

However, just as the Black Moon Clan Leader dispersed the force of the impact, the crimson figure ahead continued to rush in. Each time Odo's foot touched the ground, his body traced an odd curve. Linking those arcs together helped him move forward swiftly, like a pebble skipping across the water's surface.

Swoosh!

Odo's arms swept forward as two fractured moon-shadows tore through the air, slashing diagonally upward. They aimed precisely at the gap beneath the Black Moon Clan Leader's arms, rather than colliding head-on with those strange crescent blades. The moment Odo caught a momentary opening, a fleeting afterimage laden with menace closed in, swift as lightning.

The Black Moon Clan Leader's crescent pupils twisted bizarrely, locking onto Odo's. Energy erupted, and its vicious two blades chopped down abruptly.

Clang!

Once again, it was a direct clash of equal sharpness! Odo let out a muffled groan and stumbled backward more than ten paces. His hands hung low with blood dripping steadily from slashes across his left palm and right hand.

Opposite him, the Black Moon Clan Leader was also flung back a second time with his arms spread wide. The sharp bone blades carved a third of the way into each heavy pillar. The Black Moon Clan Leader shook its arms, dropping from midair to land on its feet.

Its expression grew grim as it glanced at its arms. Cracks had formed on the once-impenetrable bone blades, spreading from the tip to the base. Even the skin on its arms shows tiny cracks, causing black blood to seep out drop by drop.

"If I don't focus on suppressing it, the wound won't heal at all..." The Black Moon Clan Leader murmured, sensing real trouble. The foreign force invading its body was hindering its immortality and keeping its wounds open. It needed to divert attention to healing in order for its immortality to overcome that shattering force and expel it.

Drip, drip.

Droplets of black blood infused with Fractured Moon Force fell to the ground. They detonated like gunpowder-laced bullets, one after another, upon impact.

As the blood-mist cleared, egg-sized craters remained.

"

Heh heh heh...

You feel the pain now? This is the power the Director of the Treatment Ward rewarded me with, specifically for hunting immortal creatures like you..."

"Savor it to your heart's content~" A trace of madness and cruelty appeared on Odo's refined, youthful features.

The lenses of his glasses were smeared with blood, concealing his eyes. Yet, one could see the slight curve of his lips and his bared, ivory-white teeth.

"You think you've already won?!" The Black Moon Clan Leader seethed in fury. If it hadn't been gravely wounded by that mysterious figure at the top of the cathedral, there was no way it would be forced to fight at only sixty percent of its strength. If it was at its peak, how could this arrogant human possibly be its match?

A glass vial shattered with a

crack

as the Black Moon Clan Leader gulped down the Blood Moon Serum. It aimed to heal and return to full strength. Then, it would kill its foe at top speed and head into the cathedral's underground.

There was a statue of the Moon God in that underground chamber that the Black Moon Clan had worshiped for generations. When activated at a critical juncture with blood or moonlight, it would wield inconceivable power.

Legends said that the Moon God was a dreadful being from the World of Calamity. By offering blood sacrifices and harnessing faith through the facade of a secular church, the Eclipse Society had maintained a certain link with that being.

After being struck down by that terrifying palm earlier, the Black Moon Clan Leader knew deep down that it had to employ the Moon God statue to escape its predicament! Otherwise, the entire Eclipse Society's northern force would be wiped out.

Hiss...

The Black Moon Clan Leader exhaled a searing white vapor, sensing a blazing current surging inside its body. Its internal injuries began healing quickly, rekindling its life force. Power flooded through its body like a raging current.

Zing! Zing!

Suddenly, it jumped sharply to dodge Odo's attack. Instead of facing its foe, it swung its blades at a nearby wall. Two strikes cut open a gaping hole, and cool white moonlight slanted in from the outside.

"Die together with your henchmen! Roaring Moonlight!!!" The Black Moon Clan Leader raised its arms wide, just as it did atop the cathedral, attempting a large-scale destructive ability. It was going to repeat the maneuver but this time, with no one to stop it.

Crash...

The sound of falling water drowned all else out inside the church. Bands of visible moonlight surged in through the gap in the wall as though drawn by an invisible force. They glistened dazzlingly like intricate grains of stardust.

As the moonlight was absorbed into the Black Moon Clan Leader's body, the starry specks on its skin lit up.

The Black Moon Clan Leader's crescent pupils turned into full discs with a resounding

hum

! Two white rays blazed like flames in its eyes.