Chapter 308: Anointing the Victorious Wolves With Blood
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Sila immediately assessed his situation, searching for a way out. By circulating qi in his head, the Cloud Part helped him formulate a plan. He became aware of what to do first and next.
Spears, swords, sabers, halberds, lances, axes were drawn and poured toward Sila. He spun his body like a spinning top while striking the weapons down using his hands. While he was at it, subtle flashes glittered from his fingers. Flying out of them were materialized hidden weapons. The clan’s members had to retreat a few steps to block them tumultuously.
Having secured some distance, Sila called forth one of the swords in his collection provided by the Twin Souls Weaponized Protection. One of the armor’s abilities was to let Sila summon artificial swords out of cards.
The Twin Souls Weaponized Protection was a strange kind of set item, apparently influenced by the Mechanical Evil God’s Protection. Based on the main ingredients used in its creation, the Twin Souls Weaponized Protection was supposed to be the combination of armor and a sword, or at most two swords for dual-wielding. However, as Sila used four swords as ingredients, the system couldn’t determine a solution for him to wield all of them simultaneously. Thus, it came up with a compromise.
[(S) Twin Souls Sword Collection.]
[A set item. Has to be equipped together with the Twin Souls Weaponized Protection.]
[The user can convert a monster card into a card containing a sword-type weapon. The converted card can neither return to its original form nor be transferred to others.]
[The user can summon a sword out of the card. In the sword form, the card will not show its effects.]
A glass-like card appeared on Sila’s palm. In fact, he had never tried using this ability before. He felt the situation was like when he used the Greed Card though. The card broke and a sword was materialized in his hand. Still, it wasn’t the sword he pictured. He intended to summon the Crystal Divine Sword, not this one.
The sword currently in his hand was a short sword, only reaching one cubit in length. Only one side of the blade was sharp. The blade itself curved slightly. Just a quick glance could tell that it was created with great craftsmanship as it looked so beautiful that one might mistake it for an ornamental accessory. A light blue glow of mana stably enveloped the blade.
Sila wanted to ask for a time-out, but there was no way his request would be granted. The next wave of attacks was coming. He struggled to brandish the sword as he had never used a short sword before.
Blue sword waves formed themselves around Sila before flying away, ramming into players on the frontline and knocking them down. No one was injured though.
“What kind of skill is that?” Someone asked while some others muttered, “What is that sword?”
Let alone them, even Sila himself also asked himself those questions. Luckily, he had a certain knowledgeable dragon accompanying him. As he was pondering how to make use of the sword, Zarnak’s voice rang out in his head.
“Don’t you know how to use a sword, my amateurish master? That sword is a magic-type weapon. It can form sword waves in mid-air. The longer you delay their release, the stronger they will be when they strike. You’re really poor at using magic, aren’t you? For magic-type skills, you have to rely on—”
“—Timing. I got that. However, why did the Crystal Divine Sword become like this?”
“The explanation will be quite long. Are you sure you have time for that, my hasty master?”
“Tell me while I deal with this!” Sila gritted his teeth as he replied in a hurried manner.
Now that he knew what the sword was capable of, Sila quickly waved it around, forming more than a hundred sword waves. They became a wall, blocking off his opponents’ lines of sight.
The attacks from players soon flooded once more. The sword waves disappeared with just a mere touch. It made Sila realize that those sword waves weren’t meant to block incoming attacks. It wasn’t a sword suitable for the situation he was in.
‘Let’s go with the Crystal Demonic Sword, then.’
Sila intended to summon the Crystal Demonic Sword into his left hand. The same situation unfolded. A glass-like card appeared and broke, becoming a physical sword in his hand. Fortunately, this time the sword was the standard length. It was a black knightly sword resembling a sword used by knights in medieval times. The sword was a straight, double-edged weapon with a single-handed, cruciform hilt and a blade length of about eighty centimeters. However, this sword was also weird. Its blade seemed nicked, rusty, and old, making the wielder think that it might break as soon as it comes into contact with just about anything.
‘What the heck? Again?’ Sila let out a groan, barely managing to suppress it so no one heard. He didn’t have many choices though. He strengthened the sword with his qi and struck the nearby players. Their blood splattered on the ground, and the sword seemed to let out a happy grunt. For the record, Sila felt his power rise ever so slightly. It was so subtle that he wasn’t sure if he had imagined it instead.
“That sword is a psychic-type weapon. The more you kill, the more powerful it will become. It’s the sword that is best suited to this kind of situation.”
“Zarnak, I said explain!” Sila pressed for answers.
“You indeed say so, my obsessive-compulsive disorder master. Please take a look yourself.”
A small system window floated up, showing Sila’s set of equipment. The two swords were currently registered in the main weapon slot.
[(S) Morning Star Sword [Artificial Weapon]]
It has an extremely low chance to drop from the King of Thousand Weapons, Maximus, also known as the Emperor of Magical Objects.
The Morning Star Sword can slice through anything, given that the charging time is sufficient. The time that the sword waves formed by it can remain functional is relative to the user’s Delay Spell skill. The sword waves’ attack range is exactly ten meters.
If the unreleased sword waves are attacked, they will be easily destroyed.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[Morning Star Card]
+ Increase the duration of your Delay Spell skill by 100%.
- While you’re delaying a spell, your movement speed is reduced by 10%.
[(S) Bloody Demon Sword [Artificial Weapon]]
It has a 100% drop rate if you slay the Demon Lord in the Castle of Pain.
The Bloody Demon Sword can accumulate blood from creatures that are harmed by it. The sword’s attack power will increase by absorbing the blood. The wielder can use the accumulated blood as a resource when a skill requires you to sacrifice health points, your own blood and flesh, or take damage. The accumulated blood will be used in place of these, provided enough has been absorbed.
The accumulated blood is a temporary resource. It will be reset to zero once you unsummon the sword.
[Bloody Demon Card]
- The value of your maximum health points is decreased by 1.
+ Converts 50% of the damage done to the target into health points.
Sila quickly swept his eyes over the descriptions. Meanwhile, the Bloody Demon Sword let out a howling scream as its blade sliced through the air and generated friction, making his opponents tremble with fright.
“Your swords were converted into cards. However, there is no such thing as a card that represents an actual sword in Monster Soul. Thus, the Creation God confiscated your four swords and compensated them with three existing cards in Monster Soul, with each of the cards possessing an ability closest to the sword they replaced.
“The Crystal Divine Sword had an ability that was related to Delay Spell, so the card that is closest to it is the Morning Star Card.
“As for the Crystal Demonic Sword, you’re truly lucky. The Demon Lord is one of the ultimate life forms who has never made a direct appearance. There are only legends about him, claiming that he lost to the Sealed One and possessed might comparable to God. Out of all the items that drop from him, even the worst one would still be S Grade.
“Lastly, the Magic Discord Card is a special card that can normally be obtained by exchanging the Solaria Card and Dorolia Card for it at any card shop. You can summon dual swords out of it.”
After hearing Zarnak’s explanation, Sila became more confident. He was now the Victorious Wolves Sect’s mortal enemy. However, it was still the first day of the war. He didn’t want to feed them too much information about him.
His main objective was to stop the bomb. As for killing, he wouldn’t hesitate, but he also wouldn’t bite off more than he could chew.
Using an unfamiliar sword turned out to be Sila’s new challenge. The black sword was in his right hand and the short sword was in his left. He activated the Great Flow and brandished the Bloody Demon Sword, beginning his counterattack with a heavy blow.
Heaven’s Dismissal — Fourth Sword Style, Demonic Gales.
A rapidly expanding black whirlwind of power, caused by the sword, was so fierce as if a typhoon exploded in the room. All items inside the room broke into pieces and spun around with Sila as the center. Some players were blown away while the others had a hard time standing. The pressure from the cyclone was already bad news. However, the complexity of Sila’s move didn’t stop there. Rather, he was using two Demonic Gales in a single instance.
Generating a fierce cyclone through his right while creating gentle breezes with his left.
Small sword waves as calm as gentle breezes intermingled with the cyclone. They were two different kinds of wind. In a state where the players had to push through the pressure from the fierce vortex, some light wind breezed past them and cut them on their wrists, ankles, and necks. Dozens of slashing wounds appeared on their bodies. The lifeless bodies continued to collapse on the floor one after another.
A terrible bloody stench was enveloping the entire room. Sila pulled his swords back and thrust them down into the floor.
Heaven’s Dismissal — First Sword Style, Vast Underworld.
The Great Flow exploded, tearing apart the floor made of wood into sharp debris. The floor could no longer support his weight as it cracked and broke apart.
The ankles of some still surviving players shattered from the impact of landing. Sila cancelled the sword in his left hand before materializing a whip made of qi. He dragged the unconscious Hermit down with him to the first floor.
For the record, all of his opponents had prioritized protecting Lone Wolf from the start. That was why Sila could easily make his move on the abandoned Hermit.
Meanwhile, Hong Tong had been busy redirecting Sila’s attacks away. He had burdens called Ratri and the injured Lone Wolf, so he had little room to perform a counterattack. All he could do was use Yizichan to nullify Sila’s attack power coming at him. In any case, he couldn’t help but be amazed that such a powerful player they were up against was someone who started the game not long ago.
“Hahaha! Hermit is done for!” Sila’s roar came from the hole.
The players became enraged. Seeking revenge, they unleashed their qi and jumped down without a care for their lives.
Hong Tong shouted out a warning, “Don’t go! It’s a trap!!”
However, Hong Tong was too late. The players, still in mid-air, took a look and found that Sila was holding Hermit in his left hand while his right removed the white mask. His lungs were filled with air.
Racial Skill — Slime’s Breath.
A burst of fire came out from Sila’s mouth. At such a close range, Sila’s magic skill became significantly more powerful. In addition, magic power dominated qi by nature, so the players’ qi reinforcement turned out to be quite ineffective. Most of them were burnt to ashes during their descent.
The building was set on fire. A pillar of flames shot toward the sky, brightening the entire city. Sila didn’t allow anyone except for himself to make a move. Constantly be on offensive and shut down the opponent’s chance to strike back. Such was the concept of Mora’s Nine Sun-Melting-Fists.
The wooden pillars supporting the building began to collapse. The building itself sent out a creaking sound and showed signs of breaking apart. Sila pressed his feet on the ground and jumped high into the air. He landed Genesis Punch on the ceiling, turning it into a mass of dust before compressing it into a ball. His eyes wandered around the place, looking for Zazae and Ratri.
“Shit. He’s gone,” Sila swore in a soft voice.
It was to be expected. In such a chaotic battlefield, it was an easy task for Zazae to escape. Sila still had a little hope that the truth might come to light if he could just manage to capture Zazae. However, now that Zazae had left, no one could prove Sila’s innocence regarding Lone Wolf’s injury anymore. Even if he were to explain, he bet everyone would think that he had killed that lone eyewitness in the previous exchanges.
In any case, Ratri became the last problem Sila absolutely had to take care of. In fact, killing Ratri wasn’t a difficult task for him. Even though Hong Tong was protecting her, there was a limit to how much the man could prevent. To be honest, Hong Tong would have a higher chance of victory if he abandoned the woman and confronted Sila directly.
What brought a headache to Sila was the fact that he wasn’t sure who was holding onto the detonating switch.
If it was with Ratri, killing her would solve everything. However, if it wasn’t, killing her would be for naught.
There was a high probability that the switch was in Ratri’s possession. However, Sila still couldn’t rule out the possibility that Ratri had kept it somewhere else other than her system window. At a time like this, Sila missed Mamon’s presence. With Mamon’s ability, finding the switch would be a piece of cake.
“It seems I have no choice.”
Sila tossed the compressed ball of wooden dust toward Hong Tong, who was especially vigilant and refused to take the ball head-on. Such a choice was what Sila had anticipated. Hong Tong parried the ball with Yizichan, but the ball broke so easily as soon as Hong Tong’s power touched it. It was too easy, even.
Hong Tong observed the mass of dust, then looked at the flames. A certain thought rushed to his head, making him clad his body with qi reinforcement in a hurried manner.
BOOM—!!!
The dust caught on fire and exploded. The explosion tore the room apart and finally brought the building down. Meanwhile, Sila had protected himself with qi reinforcement in advance. He even extended his range of protection to Hermit.
On the other hand, Ratri had been sharing a part of her power to protect and heal Lone Wolf. The injury on him showed no signs of disappearing though. When Sila noticed this, Zarnak quietly informed him that the Skeleton Dragon’s Scales had the ability to weaken a target upon contact. However, if the target was attacked in that state, the inflicted injury couldn’t be healed using ordinary means, leaving the target to a slow and painful death if they weren’t treated by a healing expert.
Seizing the moment when the explosion started to subside, Sila leaped to Ratri. Her protective aura became thinner due to the force of explosion. He flicked his wrist using the spin technique of Six Moon-Grabbing-Claws, throwing Ratri to where Hong Tong was, then pulling Lone Wolf into his right hand.
“Release him, p-please!” Ratri shouted, her eyes welling with tears.
“Don’t worry. Lone Wolf and Hermit will be taken care of to the best of our hospitality... in the Mansion of Secrets.”
Sila spoke apathetically before hanging the two of them over his shoulders and departing. Given his current speed, if he set his mind on escaping, no one aside from Zero could easily catch up to him.
Sila took Lone Wolf and Hermit as hostages. He was certain that as long as Lone Wolf was staying in the mansion, the Victorious Wolves Sect’s members would never dare to detonate the bomb.