Chapter 655: Nine-Venom Castellan ( Bonus )

But just as Two turned toward a platform in the east, the ground beneath the path ahead of them split open.

CRAAAACK!

A large part of the plain collapsed, and ancient stone pillars along with huge white roots appeared from beneath the ground. More groups of Withered also emerged from the new cracks.

Some were between Level 35 and Level 40, but there were also larger creatures among them that were nearly four meters tall and were climbing up the walls with their mutated limbs.

Rindo prepared his Ten Star Spear.

"Lian, I don’t think we can get through here without fighting."

Lian looked around.

To the north, several rocky platforms were still intact, but the western paths had collapsed, and a large group of Withered was approaching them from the south.

"Apparently not." He climbed down from the Eight-Disaster Wolf’s back. "Two, take Rindo to the northern platform. I’ll clear the path."

The huge wolf jumped across the crack with a long leap and landed on the northern platform with Rindo.

At that moment, a Level 45 Withered attacked Lian from the left.

[Frost Dominion]

Cold spread across the ground, and the creature’s legs became trapped in ice. The Withered tried to free itself, but Lian reached it before it could succeed.

BAAANG!

His fist destroyed the creature’s head.

[You have killed a Level 45 Withered.]

Two more attackers approached from the right, but Lian simply turned his hand.

[Glacial Reaper Claw]

A huge claw made of solid ice formed in the air and passed through the first creature’s body. The second tried to retreat, but the claw changed direction and blocked its escape path.

[You have killed a Level 37 Withered.]

[You have killed a Level 41 Withered.]

Lian looked toward the northern platform.

Two had pushed several attackers back with its huge paws, while Rindo used his spear from the wolf’s back to stop the weaker creatures from getting closer. When two Level 40 Withered approached them, the wolf entered the battle itself.

They’re fine for now.

But another shaking occurred in the ground.

Several cracks connected to each other, and dozens of new Withered began climbing out through the hot steam.

"This is getting ridiculous."

Lian held out his hand.

[Core of the Fallen Star Activated]

Mana flowed into the Core of the Fallen Star and changed the gravity acting on several huge stones.

The falling stones slowed down in the air for a moment. Then, as the direction of gravity changed, they moved toward the path the Withered were using to climb out.

BOOOOM!

Several large stones struck the wall and blocked the attackers’ main path.

Lian had no intention of closing the entire crack; doing so would consume a lot of mana and would probably become useless again after the next shaking.

But just as he was about to move toward Rindo, the sound of a heavy impact came from the west.

BAAANG!

A huge Withered was thrown backward from among the rocks and struck a broken pillar.

Lian turned his head.

Roderick Ashen appeared from the dust.

His battle armor was damaged, and white and golden mana was still moving around his right arm, but something about his appearance had changed.

His hair was messy, blood had dried on his chin, and his fingers kept opening and closing. His shoulders sometimes tightened without his control, but his gaze did not leave Lian even for a moment.

"Vorhelm..."

Then the corners of his mouth rose.

"Ha... hahaha..."

Lian frowned.

What the hell is wrong with him now?

Roderick lowered his head, but his laughter became louder.

"Finally... I finally found you!"

And he attacked without the slightest warning.

[Tyrant’s Advance]

BOOM!

With three steps in a row, he closed the distance of several dozen meters and threw his right fist toward Lian’s face.

The young Vorhelm moved his head a few centimeters to the side. The fist passed beside his cheek, but Roderick immediately followed with another attack using his elbow and knee.

CRACK!

Lian blocked the strikes and answered with a direct punch to Roderick’s chest.

BAAANG!

The young Ashen moved several meters backward.

But he did not even stop to regain his balance.

"Hahaha! That’s it!"

Despite the blood coming from the corner of his mouth, he ran toward Lian again.

This behavior was different from the Roderick Lian knew. He had always been an intelligent fighter who could adapt and examine his opponent’s tactics, but now he did not even care about getting injured.

He only attacked.

A Level 47 Withered approached him from behind, but without turning his head, Roderick struck the creature’s face with his elbow and immediately turned toward Lian again.

"Vorhelm!"

Lian caught his next punch.

"Roderick, can you hear yourself?"

"Haha... shut up!"

The young Ashen even tried to strike his face with his forehead.

Lian moved backward and created some distance again with a short punch to his stomach.

But Roderick continued laughing.

This doesn’t even look like his fighting style anymore.

Before Lian could decide how to stop him, a deep shaking came from the east.

The Withered near one of the cracks suddenly stopped moving. Some even tried to retreat against the force pulling them toward the center.

Lian glanced in that direction.

What’s happening?

Green steam rose from the depths and reached one of the rocks.

The stone surface began to corrode.

After activating [True Sequence], Lian observed thin mana flows inside the steam that were entering the structures of objects.

Poison?

At that moment, Roderick attacked him again.

"Look at me, Vorhelm!"

Lian redirected the punch and pushed the young Ashen several meters backward with a strike to his shoulder.

Roderick lost his balance, and his other fist struck a rock.

The stone broke.

But when he saw the blood on his fingers, he only laughed louder.

"Hahaha! Good... very good!"

Lian narrowed his eyes.

He’s really going crazy.

At the same time, a Level 47 Withered entered the steam.

The skin on its legs turned dark, and the tissues of its body began to break down. The creature tried to retreat, but its muscles tightened, and it fell to the ground.

Then an armored hand appeared from the crack.

A moment later, a tall figure wearing black, worn armor climbed up from the depths and landed on the rocky platform with a controlled movement.

Steam of different colors came out from the gaps in its armor, and two glowing eyes examined the surroundings from behind its twisted face.

A window appeared before Lian.

[Nine-Venom Castellan]

[Race: The Withered]

[Rank: Unholy]

[Level: 25]

An Unholy?

The Nine-Venom Castellan was only Level 25, but its Unholy Rank showed that its body structure and abilities were very different from those of ordinary monsters.

Lian looked at the steam around the creature.

So this is what made the others run away.

The Castellan raised its right hand.

Green steam moved directly toward the fallen Withered and covered its body.

A muffled sound came from the creature’s throat.

Then its skin, muscles, and bones began to break down almost at the same time.

In less than one second, nothing remained of the Withered.

But the steam did not spread away.

Dark green threads returned from the place where the creature had been destroyed toward the Castellan and entered the gaps in its armor.

With [True Sequence], Lian noticed that these threads contained part of the Withered’s life force.

The old cracks in the Castellan’s armor closed, the light in its eyes became stronger, and the mana pressure around it increased.

It absorbed its life energy?

It seemed that after breaking down the victim’s body, the Castellan could use part of its life force to recover and strengthen itself.

On a battlefield with hundreds of Withered, such an ability could be extremely dangerous.

The Castellan raised its head.

Its gaze passed over the surrounding Withered, moved past Rindo and Two, and did not even stop on Roderick, who was still laughing.

Finally, its glowing eyes became fixed on Lian.

The young Vorhelm gave a faint smile.

"What an interesting creature."

But the Castellan showed no reaction.

It simply raised its right hand.

Green steam moved directly toward Lian.

Not toward Rindo or even Roderick and for sure not the Withered that were only a few meters away from it.

Only Lian.

Oh? So you’ve chosen me?

The young Vorhelm moved out of the steam’s path, but the Castellan changed the direction of its hand, and the poisonous stream followed his new path.

Lian moved behind one of the broken pillars.

The steam struck the pillar, and the stone surface began to break down within a few moments.

Then another stream of steam came out from the Castellan’s left hand.

This one was dark purple.

By examining the mana flow, Lian noticed that the green poison mainly destroyed the body and defensive structures, while the purple poison could disrupt the target’s mana flow.

And both were moving directly toward him.

At that moment, loud laughter came from behind him.

"Hahahahaha!"

Lian turned his head.

Roderick was standing with his head lowered. His eyes had turned red, and an unnatural smile could be seen on his blood-covered face.

"Even the monsters want to kill you, Vorhelm!"

Then he laughed louder.

"Hahaha! But no!"

He clenched his fingers.

"You’re mine!"

Lian paused for a moment.

What?

Roderick charged toward him with a loud roar.

[Tyrant’s Advance]

This time, he did not even try to stay away from the poisonous steam.

He ran directly through a thin part of the poison, and the protective layer of Ascended Mana around his leg began to weaken.

But his laughter did not stop.

"Hahaha!"

His fist moved toward Lian’s face.

The young Vorhelm moved out of the strike’s path, but the Nine-Venom Castellan also sent another stream of steam toward his new position at the same time.

Damn it.

Lian opened his [Wings of God] and lifted himself off the ground.

The poison passed beneath his feet and broke down the stone surface.

But Roderick did not retreat even in this situation. Using Ascended Mana, he launched himself into the air and sent another punch toward Lian.

"Come back!"

Lian raised his forearm.

CRACK!

The two strikes collided.

Then, with a short turn, the young Vorhelm moved away from Roderick and kicked him in the chest.

BAAANG!

Roderick was thrown toward the ground but even while falling, he was laughing loudly.

Lian remained in the air for several seconds and moved his gaze between the two enemies.

On one side was Roderick, who seemed to have lost all his instinct for self-preservation and only wanted to attack him.

On the other side stood an Unholy creature that could break down its enemies’ bodies with poison and absorb part of their life force; a creature that had chosen no target other than Lian since the moment it appeared.

And around them, hundreds of Withered were moving across the collapsing ground.

Lian let out a short sigh.

This situation isn’t good at all.