At this moment, the only thing Haoyun could do was to continue capturing the residual Mould Spirit energy leaking from the corpses under the protection of his battle armor's shield. He aimed to delay Er's further strengthening as much as possible. With this in mind, Haoyun once again urged himself to focus all his energy on capturing the leaking Mould Spirit energy. However, just as he concentrated on the targets around him, he was suddenly struck by a terrifying force that sent him flying.
The attacker was the Annihilator. The sheer power behind the Annihilator's blow greatly exceeded Haoyun's expectations. Having engaged with the Annihilator just the previous day, Haoyun had a clear understanding of his strength, making it all the more perplexing how the Annihilator had gained such formidable power overnight. Knocked several meters away into a stone wall by the Annihilator's punch, Haoyun couldn't help but feel bewildered.
Despite the Annihilator's attacks reaching new heights in power, he still couldn't breach the battle armor's shield or inflict substantial damage on Haoyun. However, the Annihilator's attacks disrupted the collection of Mould Spirit energy, preventing Haoyun from continuing his capture efforts.
Another major reason for the interruption of the Mould Spirit energy collector was its limited range. Once the Mould Spirit energy exceeded the designated distance, the collector would cease to function. Therefore, in addition to quickly repairing and reactivating the Mould Spirit energy collector system, Haoyun needed to climb out of this predicament to continue capturing the Mould Spirit energy.
However, the Annihilator wouldn't allow Haoyun to easily climb out of the large hole in the stone wall. After knocking Haoyun into the wall with a powerful punch, the Annihilator transformed his entire left arm into a massive and immensely powerful claw. He inserted this claw into the hole, firmly gripping Haoyun's shield and pinning him against the pit in the stone wall.
Haoyun naturally wouldn't sit idly by. However, he quickly realized that this giant claw not only possessed tremendous strength but also exceptional resilience. Even with all his strength, Haoyun couldn't sever the claw with his Stealth Stab. Even the marks left by his Speed and Passion Blade on the giant claw were quickly repaired by the tough fiber growing from it.
After several unsuccessful attempts to free himself from the grip of the giant claw, Haoyun gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it! How did the Annihilator become so powerful overnight? What did he do?"
Considering Er's ability to replenish himself with negative energy from the corpses, Haoyun naturally thought of how the Annihilator might have similarly replenished his energy overnight. However, unlike Er, the Annihilator had been wounded by Dream Jia's hunting bullets. Recovering from such sustained damage overnight was already unimaginable, let alone enhancing his strength simultaneously. This made Haoyun even more incredulous.
With these thoughts came an inexplicable sense of crisis flooding Haoyun's mind. Given the Annihilator's terrifying rate of strength growth, coupled with Er continuously increasing his own strength, how long the battle armor's shield could withstand their combined attacks had become an unknown factor.
"Black Gate! What are you doing?! Let go of me! I command you to release me immediately!" Just as Haoyun worried about his current situation, Er's angry voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
"Hmph! You've absorbed enough energy already! The remaining energy belongs to me!" replied the Annihilator in a firm and impatient tone.
"Black Gate! You bastard! These energies were clearly discovered by me! They belong to me!" protested Er.
"What do you mean yours? What's yours is mine! Don't forget, it was you who split from me! Moreover, when you left, you took away a lot of my power! So, consider this energy as compensation for what you owe me!" asserted the Annihilator in an irrefutable tone.
"What?! Didn't I already give you Amutsun? Do you want everything? Do you have no shame?" retorted Er angrily.
"Hmph! What do you mean everything? Let me make it clear to you! Everything here belongs to me! And if it weren't for me, how could you even exist? I could allow you to live independently, which is already my greatest mercy to you! Don't push your luck! Otherwise, don't blame me for ending up like Amutsun!" threatened the Annihilator with a menacing tone.
"Haha! Are you threatening me? Don't think I'm afraid of you! If we really come to blows, who knows who will disappear!" Er retorted defiantly.
"Fine! You can try it! I'd like to see where you find the courage to defy me!" the Annihilator responded disdainfully.
"Hmph! Alright! You're tough! But this isn't over! Remember, I am the king here! I am the true master here!" Er's words were still strong, but he made a compromise with the Annihilator between the lines.
"Let go of me! I can walk on my own!" Er shouted angrily again, full of reluctance and dissatisfaction. With that, he broke free from the Annihilator's claw that had imprisoned him and walked straight out of the secret room without looking back.
After watching Er leave the secret room, the Annihilator nodded in satisfaction. He stretched his body first, then slowly spread his arms. Immediately, the negative energy throughout the room seemed to sense something, ceasing their chaotic and disorderly drifting and instead flocking orderly towards the Annihilator. As these negative energies approached the Annihilator, they formed into organized groups swirling around him.
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All the negative energy in the secret room gathered around the Destroyer and formed a huge vortex around him. Then, the Destroyer uttered in a low, rapid voice a spell that sounded extremely ancient. This spell, as if from a distant realm, was like a lifelike stream, blending with the black mist emitted by the Destroyer and integrating into the surrounding negative energy. Soon, all the negative energy flowing counterclockwise stopped abruptly, as if someone had pressed the pause button, freezing them in place instantly.
After about three seconds, a powerful suction suddenly erupted from the Destroyer's body. It swiftly sucked all the surrounding negative energy, air, and the scattered flesh and blood of corpses on the ground into his body. Even more astonishingly, the furnishings in the secret room, the scattered rubble and wooden crate fragments from the previous battle, and the heavily armored soldiers guarding the door were all sucked in by the Destroyer. They were crushed into pieces by the powerful suction force and pressed tightly around the Destroyer until they were all pulverized. Then, the mixture of dust, wood chips, and bloody water was also sucked into his body.
Watching the indiscriminate destruction wrought by the Destroyer in the secret room, Hao Yun once again harbored huge doubts about the extent of the Destroyer's power surge overnight. At the same time, Hao Yun understood why the Destroyer, who had been feared by Er the King just yesterday, had now become the one who instilled fear in Er.
As the Destroyer continued to absorb the surrounding negative energy, Hao Yun's Mold Spirit Energy Pursuit System also immediately detected changes in the Destroyer's Mold Fortune Level. According to the repeated confirmations by the system, the Destroyer's Mold Fortune Level had smoothly risen from the initial five and a half stars to a level approaching infinity close to six-star level. The reason why the Destroyer's Mold Fortune Level had stopped at a level approaching infinity close to six stars was that, after the Destroyer's actions, all the bodies stored in this vast secret room had turned into blood and all the negative energy left in the bodies had been sucked into his body.
At this point, the powerful suction created by the Destroyer finally ceased, and the secret room returned to calm. Hao Yun also finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, "Fortunately, Er absorbed quite a bit of negative energy here before the Destroyer arrived. Otherwise, the Destroyer's Mold Fortune Level might have officially risen to a six-star level!"
Thinking of this, Hao Yun couldn't help but smile wryly. Because he realized that his so-called relief was only because the Destroyer had not made a qualitative change in his strength by replenishing a large amount of negative energy. But whether the Destroyer's Mold Fortune Level was at the level of five and a half stars or had reached the level of six stars, Hao Yun was completely no match for the Destroyer. Therefore, instead of feeling relieved, Hao Yun should feel fortunate that his dire situation had not worsened to the point of being completely defenseless.
"Hehehe, Lord Hao, I kept you waiting." Just as Hao Yun felt at a loss about his predicament, the Destroyer's voice, as dry as rubbing dry grass, sounded in his ears again. Immediately after, Hao Yun saw a tall figure covered with countless tentacles, gradually emerging triumphantly from the dissipating black mist. The person who appeared was naturally the Destroyer, but his appearance had undergone earth-shaking changes at this moment. Moreover, the giant claw that had firmly clamped Hao Yun, which had been on the Destroyer's arm, had now turned into a huge claw attached to his waist.
The Destroyer approached the large hole in the wall, pretending to be concerned as he leaned in to check on Hao Yun's condition. Then, with a sudden flick of his body, the Destroyer pulled out the massive claw attached to his waist, along with Hao Yun who was gripped by it, from the hole. Next, the Destroyer directly tore off the massive claw attached to his waist along with the arm it was gripping Hao Yun with. However, despite being severed from the Destroyer, the arm did not lose its vitality. Instead, it immediately wriggled actively and, like a giant python, swiftly wrapped itself around Hao Yun's protective shield.
The strange arm and giant claw woven from grass and fiber by the Destroyer became even more powerful at this moment. As this severed arm transformed completely into dozens of tough vines and tightly wrapped around Hao Yun's protective shield, Hao Yun immediately noticed fine indentations appearing on his shield due to these vines. At the same time, the system provided feedback to Hao Yun that the armor's shield was exerting an extremely powerful suppressive force.
According to the analysis of the Mold Spirit Energy Pursuit System, although the armor had enough energy to support the shield against the pressure from these vines, the vines were so powerful that the armor would consume more energy to resist them. Therefore, if Hao Yun couldn't quickly find a way to escape from the entanglement of these vines, the armor's shield would at most hold out for another twenty or so days before being completely shattered by these vines.
After reading the system's estimated warning, although Hao Yun understood the seriousness of the situation, it also eased his nervous mood slightly. Because now he could rely on this armor to hold out for more than twenty days, which was a few days more than the previous seventeen days he had to find a way out of this predicament.
So, Hao Yun calmed down again and asked the Destroyer, "Even if you imprison me in these vines, what can you do? Believe me, your schemes won't succeed! I advise you to stop as soon as possible. Who knows, the Spirit Realm might show leniency towards you."
"Hahaha! Lord Hao, you really know how to joke! Although we Mastanians have limited overall intelligence, we are not so foolish as to think that the Spirit Realm will show mercy to us. Moreover, instead of worrying about us, you should be more concerned about your own safety. You see, although your shield is very troublesome, it is not indestructible. As long as I gain more power and spend a little more time, I will find a way to destroy this shield layer." The Destroyer responded casually as he walked around Hao Yun, hands on hips.
"Hmph! I didn't expect that after so many years, although the armed capabilities of your Spirit Realm have improved, you priests have turned into cowards who only hide behind protective shields and babble nonsense! Tsk tsk tsk, it's quite disappointing to me!" The Destroyer continued to attack with disdainful words.
Watching the Destroyer contemptuously disregard him, Hao Yun wished he could immediately tear apart that mouth of his, full of densely packed teeth resembling a piranha. Unfortunately, the truth was that the Destroyer was right—Hao Yun could only hide behind his shield and engage in verbal sparring because he couldn't defeat him. Therefore, in the end, Hao Yun could only glare angrily and helplessly at the Destroyer, cursing him in his heart, but choosing not to respond to the Destroyer's remarks anymore.