Chapter 616 - Sinking Into Endless Tyranny

The ceaseless rain bounced off Eye Devil's shoulders, but it was not the source of the chill that seeped from the depths of his heart. It swept over his entire body, making every joint stiffen. Eye Devil's body trembled as he suddenly realized he was afraid.

He did not fear Simone, who had gained that dreadful strength, but the terrifying power itself. The mysterious aura flowing over it seemed to display the sheer gulf in life essence. He felt like a rotten log in front of an iron axe.

Eye Devil Carlos finally understood what Simone had said. He revered the Golem Sect's master. What did he revere? He revered that frightening strength! He revered the terrifying realm the Golem Sect's master had achieved within Covert Martial Arts! That was all...

Boom!

The entire ground shook and the muddy pit sank inch by inch. A tank-like black figure charged straight at Eye Devil Carlos.

Bang!

A powerful fist outlined with black Qi smashed downward.

Clang!

Eye Devil abruptly slashed up with his sharp cross-sword, drawing a semicircular arc. The sharp sound of the sword cutting through wind echoed like the wail of vengeful spirits.

Ding! Boom!

A figure in a black cloak was flung violently backward, trailing what seemed like blood in its wake. He landed with a heavy

thud

, his feet digging deep trenches into the ground. Even his hard boots were on the verge of splitting apart.

Eye Devil jerked up his cross-sword and suddenly noticed scratches and faint chips along its edge. That earlier slash had felt wrong; the moment the blade had cut into that mass of black Qi, it was as if it had entered water thick with coarse sand. The brute force of his swing had been almost completely dissolved, causing no effective damage.

Worse still, when he had drawn back the sword to defend, his sword had been noticeably impeded. As a result, he had failed to block Simone's punch and a bluish-purple fist mark was branded on his chest. Two ragged holes gaped in the front and back of his black cloak.

A rapidly approaching voice exploded in his ear. "I'll leave you an intact corpse, Eye Devil!"

Through his Heart Eye, Eye Devil Carlos saw that Simone, wreathed in black Qi, had somehow appeared within three meters of him. His powerful body was angled forward as killing intent burned in his eyes like a flame. His swelling arms were spread wide, cords of thick muscle writhing like pythons lunging to bite!

"Too late!"

Eye Devil's heart pounded as hot blood rushed to his arms. His veins bulged blue as he gripped his sword and swung ferociously!

But Simone answered this hasty counter with a single punch!

Clang!

The cross-sword vibrated and flew up, powerless to cut further. However, Simone's second fist was already upon him, the Qi on his arm burning like fire.

Eye Devil felt a shadow of death envelop him. "No!!"

Boom!!!

A figure suddenly charged in from the left and slammed straight into Simone like a falling meteor, sending him flying. A terrifying shockwave burst out as the figure of a burly elder gradually emerged. His entire body was diamond-hard, like he had armor on. The white hair on his head stood up like steel needles as he radiated fighting intent. He gave off a sense of authority without anger.

"So there's actually an expert like you in Golem Sect aside from the sect master," Shadow Crane said, slowly opening both fists, his fingers forming a crane's beak. "Then taste my Shadow Crane Assassination Fist well... Eye Devil, you go first. Leave this place to me."

"Eye Devil?"

"Eye—"

Shadow Crane suddenly turned to look at Eye Devil still standing nearby. Simone slowly turned to look at Eye Devil as well.

"I'm sorry, you arrived a step too late. He is already dead..."

The rain drenched them as Eye Devil Carlos stood holding his sword in one hand, its tip slanted against the ground. His five fingers were clenched tightly and his posture was still taut, as though he would attack the very next second.

Yet a pitch-black hole had pierced straight through his heart. A faint red tunnel stretched a dozen meters through the air behind his body. It was made of torn out heart tissue and copious amounts of blood flung out by immense force. Even the black rain could not wash it clean for a while.

Shadow Crane's eyes widened. He could scarcely believe what he saw. "Eye Devil..."

Eye Devil Carlos was ranked third among the five General Kings, and not far beneath the second, Black Mask. Even after losing his handy battle treasure, the Spiral-Eye Sword, and dropping in overall strength, he was still at least a top-tier combat artist. He was absolutely not easy to kill.

Shadow Crane himself, even at full strength, would need considerable effort. Yet Simone had slain Eye Devil Carlos right before Shadow Crane's eyes! And Shadow Crane had not even sensed it!

Shadow Crane snapped his head around, ferocious Qi gathering between his brows. "You!"

Simone stood wreathed in black Qi. His Golem Sect combat suit was slightly puffed out, but he still seemed outwardly calm. Beneath the suit, his burly body was covered with a web of cracks and red threads of blood tugging from all directions. To wield power that did not belong to one's level naturally demanded a price.

The Golem Seed's Qi that Cassius had given him, once unleashed, brought unimaginable strain upon the bearer's body. The more it was used, the greater the damage to the body. That was unavoidable unless the bearer possessed a perfectly robust physique.

The Golem Sect had many such physique experts during the fifth time-travel, but that came after about two years of development. The Golem Sect in the present clearly lacked those conditions.

Thus, Simone had to grit his teeth and bear the pain. His sudden burst to kill Eye Devil had nearly pushed his body past its limit. Now, he had to face Shadow Crane, the first General King who was stronger than Eye Devil... If they truly fought, the dreadful power granted by the Sect Master might not lose, but Simone's body would certainly collapse first.

Therefore, Simone had to stay calm and hide the fact that he had been weakened. Sometimes, acting was also an essential skill for the strong.

Shadow Crane and Simone faced each other beneath the black rain. Shadow Crane's eyes were locked on Simone, and his already fierce face became even more ferocious. Gray Qi surged out from the needle-like silver hair atop his head, forming a twisted vortex.

A faint shadow of a crane suddenly appeared in the darkness behind Shadow Crane. The shadows twisted and merged in a profoundly eerie sight. Then, a spike-covered crane beak grew from the shoulder of Shadow Crane's shadow.

A terrifying killing intent locked onto Simone. Clearly, Shadow Crane was going to strike—if not this second, then the next!

Simone's heart palpitated. He clenched his fists until they bled. Deep inside, a voice seemed to surface.

"Then bring it on! To trade one last move with the Gate Organization's First General King! Alth—"

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

The ground beneath their feet suddenly began to quake violently. It was as if ten thousand elephants had turned over. In the air, an unseen but powerful shockwave rippled to every corner of the Rainy World.

At that moment, everyone looked toward Black Rain Manor. Shadow Crane, and even Simone, had the same thought.

What... happened over there!?

That suffocating standoff was broken, and the two simultaneously turned their gazes to Black Rain Manor. One was utterly bewildered while the other had an inkling.

Simone knew that the Sect Master had gone to Black Rain Manor. The terrifying commotion was surely connected to him!

Vmmm...

A mysterious wave blanketed the entire Rainy World and the Anta Mountains. Mystical runic tracks started to light up one after another, forming a vast array diagram. Metal pillars glowed golden at the array's center as the liquid inside them slowly drained away.

At the central point of the array, a slightly damaged platinum Rune of Life was branded on the back of a hand, emitting blazing light. Yes, the vast array provided by the Book of the Devil was not powered by some energy source, but by a person!

Golem Sect's master Cassius was the core of this colossal array. The immense energy required by the array would be supplied by none other than Cassius himself.

That... could not be better, could it? Was not the greatest energy source in this world precisely a Holy Fist? Not to mention it was mobile, too.

Gururu...

Streams of mysterious energy gathered from all directions, forming a small vortex above Black Rain Manor. The next instant, a terrifying force shot up from the Baptism Chapel and poured into the vortex. In a flash, the entire vortex swelled and expanded rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, it shrouded the whole sky above Black Rain Manor. The air warped subtly and a dreadful aura descended on the earth.

At last, the vortex dispersed and the formless energy condensed. Normally, others could not see this array's power. However, the vortex had sucked in a great deal of clouds. Thus, when it condensed, it took on a visible form. That brought about an extremely terrifying sense of oppression.

A giant black cloud-hand slowly reached toward the sky from Black Rain Manor. Its five huge fingers tightened around the void. Half the hand lay below the clouds, and half above. It seemed intent on wrenching the entire sky down by brute force.

Rumble...

The space covered by the hand rippled like water. Some enormous object was slowly being drawn like a magnet toward the giant cloud hand.

Suddenly...

Ding!

The sky seemed to shatter. No, the entire sky cracked like a mirror. An immense complex of buildings emerged from the void like a colossal meteor descending. Violent air currents blasted out, shredding the thick clouds and revealing what lay above.

Black Rain Manor! It was a Black Rain Manor identical to the one on the ground!

It was clutched firmly by the giant cloud hand that stretched from the earth to the sky. The hand drew back, dragging the manor in the sky toward the manor on the ground.

An inexplicable sense of shock welled up in every heart like they were watching a myth unfold before their eyes.

Shadow Crane's eyes bulged out of their sockets.

"That is!!!"

At the moment, he could no longer pay attention to the equally stunned Simone beside him. He suddenly broke into a mad sprint toward Black Rain Manor, his pupils reflecting the giant hand seizing the manor.

At the same time, every faction halted its mutual slaughter across the Rainy World. All of them began rushing toward Black Rain Manor. It was like a swarm of crazed ants converging.

Indeed, they were like ants. The closer they got, the more they felt like ants!

Their level of shock deepened step by step. At first, the scene was visible from afar. As they neared, they had to look up more and more. Eventually, even looking straight up, they could see only the lower half of the giant hand; nothing above was visible.

The nearer the people of every faction drew to Black Rain Manor, the smaller they felt. Even the six-meter stone statues and the ten-meter Moon God sculpture were mere specks before that gigantic hand.

The palm's grooves were deep as a canyon, its texture like winding streams. Inconceivably mysterious and terrifying energy flowed across its surface. One could not help but feel intense fear. They feared the giant palm might suddenly collapse, smashing the earth and everyone upon it into shards without mercy.

Crack... Boom...

High in the sky, the struggle grew ever fiercer. The true Black Rain Manor was resisting; it did not wish to be dragged into the surface world. However, Cassius felt like it rather wanted to come. Otherwise, why would Black Rain Manor's projection revive in the surface world time and time again? Clearly, it could not let this place go. Or rather, something here was attracting it.

Hence, Cassius would give it a hand. If the manor could not come, Cassius would forcefully pull it across. The method was rough, the process savage, and the outcome tragic. But the intention was good! Wasn't that enough?

"Come on, come on... Come down... Sink into my endless tyranny..."

A terrifying Will swept through the clouds, as though a deity were pronouncing Black Rain Manor's fate.

Bang! Bang!

Black Rain Manor struggled even harder. At that moment, the entire Rainy World seemed to gently whisper, as if from the dreams of a person.

Collapse upon blue thorns, enjoy the scarlet fever. You are fire, clad in flame. Flames of pain, burn the living. The ash of the living, a love poem for the dead...