The crimson armor he wore couldn't endure the ravaging of the flame torrent. It had already been turned liquid, dripping towards the ground. The rest of the metal had fused with the Butcher's skin and flesh, turning into an inseparable part of his body.
The Bloodhand Butcher had charged out of the fire with his arms covering his face. They had received the impact from the torrent head on. Not a single piece of flesh remained on his arms. The molten gauntlets and bracers coated his white bones with a layer of golden metal.
He uncovered a vile and horrendous face when he put his skeletal hands down.
He no longer had a face. His hair, nose, skin, and even the flesh of his face had all been vaporized. Only a black, bleeding hole remained where his right eye once was.
The Butcher stared at Greem with the only eye he had left. His gaze etched the hatred and resentment into his soul. The exposed teeth screeched as he ground them together. It was almost as if he wanted to eat Greem alive.
Two adepts in odd costumes slowly walked out of the forest behind him. One took the left, and the other walked towards the right, subtly limiting the space that Greem could maneuver.
Having missed his opportunity to kill the Bloodhand Butcher, Greem stopped moving. The Infernal Tyrant rose its arms and stood on guard beside him.
One against three!
The situation was undoubtedly extremely disadvantageous for Greem!
He quickly called for Alice in his heart, but he didn't get a response. It was hard to verify her status through the crude soul contract they had.
Greem's heart sank.
His extreme anger and the close call with death provoked him. Rage boiled within his body, and the blood in his body rose in temperature. Thump. Thump. The sealed heart in his chest sounded the drums of war.
"You killed Alice?" Greem's voice was unnaturally low and hoarse as if he was trying his best to suppress his emotions.
"Do you mean that adorable girl?" The adept on the left pushed his hood back and revealed a hissing snake's head, "She tasted pretty good!"
This enemy was a powerful bloodline adept!
Even Greem, with all the ruthless killing intent currently bubbling in his heart, couldn't help but be shaken when faced with a bloodline adept. These were, after all, the adepts who were most known for their combat prowess.
Esoteric Adepts were undoubtedly the weakest in the four branches of adepts.
They were good at golem creation, or potion concoction, or alchemy and magical enhancements, or otherworldly summonings. It didn't matter which it was. If an esoteric adept wanted to become good at their craft, they would have to spend half of their lives on research.
That was why the specialized esoteric adepts were the weakest in combat!
The elementium adepts and the body-refining adepts had similar advantages and disadvantages to their strengths.
Elementium adepts had exceptionally high Spirit, which allowed their elementium spells to become extremely powerful under amplification from their potent Spirit. However, their Physique was often weak, being the most significant flaw of elementium adepts.
Body refining adepts forged and refined their bodies as if it was a human-shaped magical tool. They filled every single action with strength and power. Unfortunately, their means of attack were mostly limited to close-range physical attacks. The way they fought was similar to warriors or assassins of other worlds.
Bloodline adepts, on the other hand, usually fought like elementium adepts. The only difference was their lack of variety in the spells they had mastered. However, the moment they successfully called upon their bloodline origin, they would instantly turn into an ancient magical creature, possessing both the long-ranged attacks of elementium adepts and the muscular bodies of body refining adepts.
Thus, the strongest of the four branches of adepts were the bloodline adepts!
The bloodline adepts would always be the most dominant and oppressive in a fight of adepts of the same Grade!
The adept on the right also took his hood off, revealing a pretty woman's face. A diamond-shaped tarot gem was embedded between her eyes, letting out a colorful glow under the moonlight.
She seemed to be an elementium adept that took the path of illusion!
The two adepts coldly assessed the Butcher's pathetic appearance. Even though they put up a facade of confidence, the hint of caution in their eyes gradually became thicker and thicker.
The two of them might have had tricks of their own to deal with the Butcher, but it wasn't easy to reduce him to this terrifying state. It seemed this Greem person had fearsome powers that could rival their own. Consequently, they didn't leap into battle upon arriving. Instead, they started circling Greem and the Tyrant.
"Which one are you gonna take?" The snake-headed adept turned to look at the female illusionist.
"You are the most powerful of us all. Of course, you should be the one to deal with that Greem guy. I'll deal with the elementium giant!" The illusionist beauty smiled seductively. Even Greem could feel his heart beat faster at the sight of her smiling.
"Hmph! Your charms and illusions are useless against an elementium being, aren't they?" The snake-headed adept snorted in dissatisfaction. Still, it was clear that he was glad about her respectful attitude.
"Hehe, you, sir, are the one dealing with him after all! I merely need to delay this giant for a bit, and I'm sure you will already have defeated the opponent. Why would I ever be in any danger that way?" The beautiful illusionist spoke casually as if this was the way it should be.
"Hmph."
The snake-headed adept couldn't be bothered to deal with the woman any longer. He turned and glared at Greem. His odd, amber-colored vertical pupils were calm and composed. Greem's figure reflected in them.
Greem turned around and the two locked eyes. He instantly felt his Spirit stall, and discomfort crept up his body!
At the same time, a blaring alarm had gone off in Greem's mind.
"Warning. Warning. The intrusion of foreign energies detected. Host's body is taking damage! Instructions requested from the host. Expel energies?"
Eye powers?
The discovery unsettled Greem. He could feel the slight numbness in his body. Without any hesitation, he quickly gave the order, "Immediately expel the energies. Chip, can you determine the nature of his eye power?"
"Beep. Foreign energies expelled. Initial estimates suggest the effect of the energies to be petrification!"
Eye of Petrification!
Was this the racial talent of the opponent's bloodline?
"Chip, can you determine the opponent's bloodline origin?" Greem gave the order as he summoned a Lava Shield to obscure the opponent's gaze.
The existence of the snake's head and the Eye of Petrification were big hints. The chip should be able to deliver some information.
"Beep. Data reference and examination complete. There are a total of eleven ancient serpentine bloodlines with the Eye of Petrification. The opponent has fine and tightly packed scales. The color of the scales is dark gray. The opponent's eyes are amber in color, with the existence of some dirt-brown spots. According to trait analysis, the initial estimates are as follows: Giant Black Mamba, earth elementium creature, 66% compatibility. Giant Serpentman, a branch of the ancient Medusas, 27% compatibility. Other matches have less than 1% compatibility and will not be listed here…"
"Show me everything related to the Giant Black Mamba!" Greem was practically screaming at the chip. However, communication on the Spiritual level was always the quickest. It didn't matter how sophisticated the thought was; it would be able to get through in the blink of an eye.
The very next moment, all the information the chip had on the Giant Black Mamba displayed in Greem's mind.
The data wasn't complete, but it was enough to give Greem an idea of the strength and terror of this ancient creature.
Giant Black Mamba. Earth elementium creature. An ancient apex predator. One of the most dangerous and terrifying
species. They embodied superior physical strength and terrifying Spiritual powers. They were able to inject the energy of petrification into their enemies through the use of their eyes. The innate talents they possessed included the Eye of Petrification and Stonefall Purgatory.
As Greem slowly stepped backward, the serpentine adept hissed as his entire body started to swell and grow in size. In the blink of an eye, he turned from a humanoid adept to a black snake ten meters long. Its body was as thick as a water tank.
The giant snake lifted its head and trained its terrifying gaze on Greem. Dirt-yellow dust rose from the ground, forming an armor of rock around its body. Mysterious and profound patterns filled its armoring.
The snake raised its body high up, now that it had completed its combat preparations. Its mouth split open to reveal the white fangs and forked tongue within.
"Flame Demon? What an arrogant title! This name will no longer exist after today!"
The snake spat out its declaration of war and lunged forward. It bared its massive fangs and bit at Greem, who was already shrouded in destructive flames.
The battle erupted!
Chapter 302
Colorful lights illuminated the forest.
When the light faded and darkness once again fell upon the earth, the Infernal Tyrant had already vanished from its spot. It had disappeared.
And neither was the female illusionist.
An illusion? A sealing spell? Or some other strange occurrence?
Greem had no time to think. He cast Fire Teleportation, disappeared, and reappeared a hundred meters away from where he was earlier.
Crunch.
The serpent the bloodline adept had turned into snapped its jaw closed. A tremendous noise echoed through the woods. A massive tree where Greem had just been standing under had cracked in half. Shattered wood splinters went flying in every direction. The tree creaked as it fell towards the ground.
The dark woods continued to rumble as the giant serpent's body charged through, crashing into the trees in its way and knocking them down like a berserk golem. It rapidly slithered towards Greem. It crushed everything in its way. The grass blew away, and a trail of dust had appeared behind the snake.
The oppressiveness of its presence, the ferocity of its might. Not even Greem dared to imagine the consequence of being hit by such a massive creature!
Greem shouted when he saw the massive shadow closing in on him. He stared at the pair of strange amber-eyes that glowed brightly in the inky night. An endless stream of abyssal flames surged out of the Flame Fiend's Heart along with the throbbing of flame energies. They coursed through his veins and quickly traveled throughout his body.
Flames emerged from Greem's body as he quickly increased in size.
The skin on the surface had cracked from the violent energies, causing wounds to appear all over. However, surging lava quickly filled in these wounds, turning his body into a Flame Fiend's body forged of flesh, fire, and lava.
Two thick, wickedly curved horns slowly appeared above his head. Greem painfully moved his body. His massive hooves stomped upon the scorched earth. The intense heat instantly caused the moisture in the dirt to evaporate.
Red lava flowed from beneath the earth. It quickly gathered and formed a massive pool of fire and magma beneath Greem's hooves. More and more lava and fire gathered in Greem's right hand. An unbelievable, exaggeratedly large executor's blade had formed in just a short moment.
Burning flames, red lava, dense black smoke, and the pungent odor of sulfur.
A five-meter tall Flame Fiend rose up in this terrifying world of black and red magma. The inside of its body was red hot lava, while solidified magma composed the surface. Wicked magma spikes could be seen growing out of its oversized joints.
The transformed Greem roared at the charging Giant Black Mamba. Smoke and flames vented from his large mouth and nostrils. Its terrifying aura of might was equally as shocking as that of the serpent!
"Die!"
The flame giant roared, and the two colossal titans clashed.
A low, muffled boom rang out in the woods.
The violent shockwave rippled outwards. Everything caught in it was shredded to pieces and blown away. All the trees, grass, bushes, and even the flames.
The two large bodies were entangled with each other as they stumbled for a distance.
The Giant Black Mamba raised its long neck and let out a pained screeching noise. The Flame Fiend burned the snake wrapped around it as if the Fiend was a boiling pillar of magma. Its scales and flesh were practically roasted above a pit. Black smoke enveloped the snake as its body turned bright red from the heat.
Still, it didn't dare to loosen its grip. In fact, it contracted every single muscle in its body and bound the Flame Fiend as hard as it could. The Flame Fiend's body creaked under the tension.
The serpent coiled its body and placed its giant face before the Flame Fiend's blazing head. Its eyes gazed into the eyes of the Flame Fiend.
A dirt-yellow surge of petrification energy took advantage of the Spiritual connection that had been formed and extended towards Greem's mental world!
If it directed the Eye of Petrification in a particular direction, it would petrify and turn the enemy's body to stone. Of course, the degree to which it would be able to cripple the enemy depended on the enemy's resistance. However, if it channeled those petrification powers towards the enemy's mental world through a Spiritual or soul connection, the enemy would instantly lose all ability to resist. They would be completely vulnerable and exposed to all other attacks.
Greem would never just sit around and wait for this disaster to occur. The Flame Fiend reached forward and grabbed the serpent's neck, calling upon the abyssal flames in its body to burn and wound the snake. At the same time, a surge of fire energy made its way to the Flame Fiend's eyes, and two terrifying Solar Ray beams shot out towards the snake.
The brown beam from the Eye of Petrification clashed with the blinding red Solar Rays.
The clashing energy moved back and forth in the air. It moved towards Greem at one moment, and at the next, it would push in the serpentine adept's direction. Every time it inched towards one of them, the person would immediately let out a wild roar and draw out as much energy to push the beam backward.
A giant serpent and a blazing demon. The two titans remained entangled with each other as they rolled in the sea of magma. Their fearsome eye powers were still locked in an intense struggle. For a short while, the two engaged in a stalemate.
In a section of the dark woods, the severely wounded Butcher was swallowing as many potions and regenerative brews as he had with him. He used every single spell and treasure he had on him that could help regrow his flesh and muscles.
Sadly, as he was a body-refining adept, most of his physical potential had already been drawn to its limits. Stimulative drugs and regenerative potions had minimal effect on him when compared to other adepts.
The Butcher barely managed to use his blood energy to extinguish the fires on his body. After a series of medical treatments, he was able to stabilize his wounds. An intolerable itch and stinging pain came from all over his body. The muscles on his body were quickly regenerating and recovering. He didn't look as grotesque and terrible as he did before!
He called upon his blood energy to rapidly heal his broken body. Meanwhile, he looked on at the battle in the distance with the one eye he had left.
Only a short time had passed, but already the fight between the two giants had shifted nearly two kilometers away. The ground quaked, and fires blazed in the sky. Their match was even, and the outcome undecided.
The Butcher felt fearful as he looked on.
If…if that Greem person had used this against him right at the start of the battle, how long could he have endured in that fiery hell? Fifteen minutes, or seven?
Disregarding the fearsome Flame Fiend form, just the abyssal flames, and streams of fire shrouding his body would have been too much for the Butcher to
bear. The Flame Fiend wasn't known for its strength, but it still had 12.3 points in Strength, not to mention its robust Physique.
The Butcher was sure that he was nothing more than cannon fodder when put in front of a monster like this one. Bloodhand Butcher also had 17 points of Physique and 14 points of Strength. He was an elite adept even among the First Grades.
However, he knew very clearly that even the elite adepts were divided into several tiers.
The elite adepts that only had one attribute above 10 points were known as faux-elites. They might be able to demonstrate dominance in a specific aspect, but they were not all-rounded talents and had inconsistent performance. Thus, most people didn't consider them proper elites.
Only those who had managed to gain 10 points in every attribute could be considered elite adepts. These adepts were also the main military force in the more prominent clans. It didn't matter whether it was a planar war or a clan war. They were always the vanguards.
Strictly speaking, Bloodhand Butcher was also one of these elites.
His Physique had exceeded the threshold of 15 points and was at a total of 17 points. Unfortunately, his Strength, Agility, and Spirit still lagged behind. There were adepts above himself. Those were the elite adepts that had managed to cross the 15 point threshold for every single attribute. These individuals were often the reserve strength of adept clans, kept in safety to attempt an advancement to Second Grade. Clans often hid them and kept them a secret from the outside world. It was rare for these individuals ever to go outside.
However, whenever such an adept appeared, they could single-handedly crush any ordinary adept!
This strength was why the Butcher couldn't help but feel his body and soul and tremble in awe when he watched two adepts of this level battling before his eyes.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and help!"
A Spiritual voice suddenly boomed in his mind. The voice belonged to that of his companion, the serpentine adept.
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