Chapter 59: Constantly Evolving Through Combat

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Riven smiled as he took a confident step forward and sliced through the archers with effortless precision. Their arrows never came close to touching him because he moved faster than gravity itself could pull them down. Abyssal Assault, Blade of Thousand Venoms, and Frost Emperor’s Touch were all he needed. He combined sharp ice conjuration, explosive flames, and cutting tornadoes of pure sword energy into one continuous assault.

As the Dark Infantrymen Archers flew in every direction, already cut into pieces, the three Demonic Headless Knights greeted him with a Triple Demonic Assault. The effects of Berserk were already beginning to wear off, and they regained some of their lost intelligence while activating their strongest skills.

"Hah, come at me."

Six enormous blazing demonic swords struck his body from left and right at the same time. His metallic body absorbed every blow without flinching. Then he punched their blades with raw force and shattered them into countless fragments.

He quickly conjured two enormous Ice Axes and threw them at the knights on his left and right. The weapons pierced straight through their chests and exploded into pure frost. Sharp icicle spears erupted outward and pierced the cores of both knights.

As for the third knight standing in the middle, Riven cut it down with a single powerful horizontal slash through Abyssal Assault. That was all he needed. The Demonic Headless Knights dropped dead behind him one after another.

The Dark Specter and its accompanying Ghosts were still searching for Daniela and Noir. They completely ignored Riven at first because they believed the knights could easily take him down.

But when they finally saw what he had done, they roared with pure fury. Ghostly flames and dense shadows immediately encompassed him and bathed his entire body.

"Tsk."

Riven had little to no natural defenses against soul attacks, so he did his best to avoid taking direct damage. He activated Veil of Invisibility the moment its cooldown finished and then reappeared behind the ghosts. He cut them down one after another by combining Explosive Poison with Blade of Thousand Poisons.

The Dark Specter instantly disappeared from his view. It roared and laughed at him while unleashing dozens of gigantic black hands covered in eyes. Red beams of pure death energy rained down toward him like a deadly storm.

"Why don’t you come down for a second?"

He loaded explosive power into his legs and shapeshifted them into powerful raptorial rabbit-like limbs by combining the essence of the Whispering Scream he had previously devoured. It was something he had only recently begun to discover he could channel through shapeshifting to a limited extent.

RUMBLE!

The ground beneath him exploded into pieces as he launched himself upward and reached the Dark Specter in an instant. His blade sliced cleanly through its spectral body. The ghost had foolishly believed Riven could not hurt it and paid the full price as its entire form was torn apart. Countless smaller ghosts escaped from the remains in panic.

"Dark Specters are C- Rank monsters of incredible rarity," Riven said calmly as his blade caught the giant black pearl-like core and shattered it into pieces. "You evolve from Giant Ghosts when you devour over a hundred smaller ghosts or human souls. Your curses are incredibly powerful, and anyone under C Rank would die just by facing you... not me though."

Riven ate curses like they were simple poison. His Titan Physique made him incredibly resistant and allowed him to build further resistance while he endured their temporary effects.

For a brief moment he felt completely blind and surrounded by darkness. The next moment he was fully paralyzed. The next moment sharp migraines stabbed through his mind. The next moment he suddenly lost all his memories. And then, just as quickly, he was completely fine again.

"It adapts faster than I imagined. Could it be the bonuses from Fenrir’s Authority?"

Fenrir was a deeply cursed being. Anyone under his authority could easily absorb, reflect, and destroy curses the stronger they grew under his power.

As Riven fell back toward the ground, he saw the next group of monsters approaching. Aside from the ones he had already slain, there was yet another new type waiting for him: a Death Knight.

Death Knights were giant skeletons wearing heavy black armor. Unlike Headless Knights, who were more like zombies or Dullahan that either had floating heads or carried their own heads, Death Knights were super-evolved giant skeletons clad in black armor and holding weapons made of pure ghostly energy and death energy.

And there were five of them at once, bringing along an army of sixty Dark Infantrymen.

"This is like playing Dynasty Warriors."

After landing firmly on the ground, Riven took a single step forward. One vertical swing of his blade sent dozens of Dark Infantrymen flying away in broken pieces. Abyssal Assault began to rapidly evolve the more he used it, becoming more and more a natural extension of his own body and will.

He smiled as he felt something new beginning to stir from deep within him. He put that new sensation to work right away, channeling his Endless Hunger Aura at the same time. Red and black fire suddenly appeared around his blade, containing the pure essence of gluttony.

"This is... new."

He smiled wider. The Death Knights unleashed long-ranged sword attacks through their Deathblade Skills and attempted to destroy both his soul and body in one coordinated assault.

Riven swung his blade horizontally and then vertically. The sword energy imbued with death magic was stopped mid-air and then disappeared instantly, as if it had been eaten by something invisible.

No... it was no longer invisible. These undead, with their supernatural senses, could now clearly see it.

A monstrous creature had appeared — the living embodiment of Riven’s "Hunger."

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