The kuroxet fell from the sky with a loud pained screech. The other sky hunters and kuroxet slaughterers flinched as the power of his fear aura dramatically increased. Many of the lone sky hunters simply fled but those ridden by the kuroxet were quickly brought under control and steered towards Kal.
The falling kuroxet twisted its body with surprising grace and rolled as it hit the ground. The fall still injured it and the flames continued to burn at its flesh, but it recovered quickly and started sprinting towards Kal’s position.
Kal didn’t waste any time and continued sending the wrath-infused rocks at the coming sky hunters.
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 21] - no experience granted due to killing a lesser being.
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 22] - no experience granted due to killing a lesser being.
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 24] - no experience granted due to killing a lesser being.
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 24] - no experience granted due to killing a lesser being.
He managed to kill all but one of the coming sky hunters forcing their kuroxet to leap from their mounts to avoid his flames.
Kal’s fast extermination of the sky hunter quickly replenished his wrath to nearly full so he kept Wrath Incarnate active as he leapt from the spire towards the coming kuroxet slaughterers drawing his blunt sword and serpent fang from inside his potion belt.
They all recovered quickly with only a few burning with his Flames of Wrath. The flames ate at their flesh but they appeared to simply ignore the pain and continue their dash towards him.
Their bodies were almost identical to their lesser variants but that caustic spit didn’t only pour from their mouths but instead also poured from their claws and even from the chest wound the first had received.
You have slain [Garghound Sky Hunter | Abyss Spawn 24] no experience is granted due to killing a lesser being.
Kal didn't care either way as he clashed with the first.
Like its weaker variants, the slaughterer went for the face and limbs with most of its attacks. With his two weapons, Kal was able to block and deflect each attack but annoyingly each strike splashed him with the caustic liquid and he immediately felt it begin to burn his skin.
His health was only dropping slowly, not fast enough to require regeneration so he simply ignored it and flared his Flames of Wrath. The flame spread up his arm at his command, engulfing him in crimson fire.
Even with his amplified attributes, he was only just able to keep up with the slaughter's speed which became even more of a problem as the rest of them arrived. With his Flames of Wrath active, however, it was simple to punish the onslaught of attacks with his fire.
Kal leaped around the terrain, preventing the slaughterers from surrounding him as he punished any overreaching strikes with his overwhelming strength and crimson flames. One leapt for his throat another clawed at his offhand. Both were met by dulled metal and serpent's fang followed by an intense burst of flame.
Whenever one was close enough to deal damage without retaliation Slayer’s Intent was enough to delay them and deal worse than he got.
He was disappointed in their terrible display. They were fast but far too weak. His neutral expression became a sneer as the fight continued but then something changed. After Kal deflected a strike for his throat and slammed his blunt sword into the slaughterer's side, shattering its fragile frame and sending it backwards a dozen feet. He felt something change in the air around him.
All of the kuroxet slaughterers backed off suddenly. Each of them dripped with caustic blood, making the ground sizzle and smoke. They were all badly wounded by now and had slowed significantly giving Kal much more time to punish their reckless attacks.
Health:
1632/2140
Stamina:
2421/4040
Wrath:
1802
Kal grunted, irritating. His wrath had dropped significantly since he hadn’t killed anything since the sky hunters. Slayer’s Intent was keeping things steady for now but he needed to end things quickly.
He was about to charge the closest kuroxet but his will broke through the savagery of his wrath and deactivated Wrath Incarnate and activated his mana sight. Kal’s less reckless thoughts immediately scanned the slaughterers and spotted a strange concentration of mana gathering in their chests and hands.
That’s when he noticed what was happening to his wounds. It was subtle at first but now that he was less blinded by his birthright’s savagery what was happening was clear. The caustic liquid that had been injected or splashed onto him with nearly every attack wasn’t just burning his flesh. No, it was also injecting hostile caustic mana into his body. He would never have noticed it if he hadn’t dropped Wrath Incarnate as at first the pain was barely noticeable, but now the slaughterers were amplifying it somehow.
Kal immediately activated Wrathful Regeneration and changed towards the closest kuroxet. To his surprise, it didn’t resist or even move as he slammed the serpent's fang into the top of its head.
You have slain [Kuroxet Slaughter | Abyss Spawn 43] - bonus experience awarded due to killing a higher leveled entity.
Before Kal had pulled the fang from its head the demons exploded, showering Kal with its caustic blood. All of it brimming with the same hostile mana, drastically increasing the damage he was taking from the liquid.
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The remaining slaughterers reared their heads back and hissed into the sky as the concentrated mana glowed even more brightly and before his eyes, he saw the majority of their wounds begin to mend themselves.
“Fuck!” Kal grunted as he turned and reactivated Wrath Incarnate. He needed to end this fast before they finished whatever the fuck was happening.
Kal moved as fast as he could kill the next slaughterer but before he had gotten close they all screamed into the sky their eyes burned with green flames and the mana concentrating within them grew to a new height.
No longer caring for his injuries Kal channeled his flames once more and moved amongst the enemy hacking and stabbing every limb within reach, spreading his flames over their pathetic bodies.
You have slain [Kuroxet Slaughter | Abyss Spawn 42] - bonus experience awarded due to killing a higher leveled entity.
Blood spurt from Kal’s mouth as he felt his insides beginning to dissolve. Disgusted with his body's weakness he flared his flames ever brighter, his wrath plummeting. But as his flames poured from his body he changed their direction and fed them into his own wounds.
The agony grew tenfold as his own flames burned through his body but as his body was flooded with flame he felt hostile mana burn away. Coughing up more blood as he stopped the internal incineration he glared at the still coming slaughterers.
Health:
532/2140
Stamina:
1421/4040
Wrath:
213
As they got closer they suddenly slowed dramatically and their glowing eyes suddenly went out as the last of the hostile mana was consumed by the flames. Then their apparently healed wounds began to burst back open, spraying even more of their blood into the air.
The air of course quickly became horribly acidic but nowhere near as potent as it was before and the kuroxet were clearly much weaker as whatever skill they were using suddenly failed. Kal didn’t let his sudden advantage go to waste as he quickly moved amongst the wounded slaughterers, piercing skulls and burning what was left.
You have slain [Kuroxet Slaughter | Abyss Spawn 47] - bonus experience awarded due to killing a higher leveled entity.
You have slain [Kuroxet Slaughter | Abyss Spawn 43] - bonus experience awarded due to killing a higher leveled entity.
Level up!
You have slain [Kuroxet Slaughter | Abyss Spawn 45] - bonus experience awarded due to killing a higher leveled entity.
You have slain [Kuroxet Slaughter | Abyss Spawn 41] - bonus experience awarded due to killing a higher leveled entity.
Mutilation Bonuses applied.
As the last slaughterer died Kal leapt away from the caustic cloud deactivated his Wrath Incarnate and spent the extra wrath he gained from the kills with Wrathful Regeneration.
Health:
834/2140
Stamina:
1505/4040
Wrath:
2410
“That,” huff, “was way too close.” The fight had been far closer than Kal had expected. His body was in a terrible state, covered in corrosive burns, and scanning his internals was not a pretty sight. He knew that if his vitality was any lower the hostile mana and corrosive attacks of the slaughterers would have killed him.
Luckily his reckless darker self had managed to burn away the hostile mana, something that without the savage recklessness of his birthright he doubted he would have ever tried. It had burned him as well but far less than it should have, but he guessed it made sense since it was his own resource with an altered purpose.
Kal spent all of his wrath bringing his health back up to eight hundred and four, then started siphoning to increase it further while thought. After experiencing the potent corrosive effect of skills used by the kuroxet Kal quickly decided he wanted his next trait to be acid resistance. If it wasn’t for those skills the fight would have been easy. He was far stronger than them, and his endurance and vitality gave him plenty of room to take the occasional slash or stab due to their impressive speed. But the acid was a major problem if he ever had to fight several at once again.
And this were just six of them. Kal had no doubt he would be coming across many more of the slaughterers during the rest of the trial and probably even stronger variants. He opened up the optional objective again and read the name of the kuroxet anchor.
Kuroxet Bonedrinker
Hmm, I wonder how it drinks bones, Kal thought to himself. Even his thoughts reeked of sarcasm. Yep, acid resistance it is.
Health:
1434/2140
Stamina:
4040/4040
Wrath:
800
Now that he was at a more appropriate level of health Kal stood up and went back over to the dead kuroxet and started gathering what bits of flesh he could. For some reason, the thought of eating these things was significantly more disturbing. Maybe it was because they were generally humanoid in shape or the fact that a couple had tried to talk to him at this point, but either way his stomach rebelled at the thought.
There was no way he was going to eat these things raw. He didn’t really want to dwell on the whole thing and just decided to get it over with, cooking it all with his Flames of Wrath and eating what he could.
When he was finished he checked the progress on his Abyssal Consumption skill.
Abyssal Consumption [Rare]
A slayer must feast and one in the midst of battle has limited options. Your past consumption of abyssal flesh has provided sustenance for now, but are you willing to take it further? Upon reaching a certain threshold of flesh consumed, gain a particular passive trait associated with the consumed creature.
Once gained a trait can never be removed, and only one trait can be gained this way per tier.
Active Traits: Greater Fire Resistance
Progress:
Garghound 15%
Kuroxet 36%
Completed:
Dark Serpent 100% | Average Rarity Consumed: Rare | Integrate? Y/N
“Damn, I really have to eat like nine or ten more of those things?” Getting through that was hard enough already, ten more was going to feel like torture. Yes, he probably should have eaten them raw but that was a bit too fucked up in his mind. Maybe he should use Wrath Incarnate next time.
No, that wasn’t a good idea. Using that skill anywhere out of combat sounded like a slippery slope to start on. Flashes of churning blood and gore came to Kal’s mind and the screams of thousands seemed to surround him as his attention faded slightly.
Kal shook his head, No, stop it. Don’t think about all that, idiot. He squeezed his temples for a second before standing back up. He needed to keep moving, there was no time to waste thinking.