Chapter 405 - 389: [Mind Shock]

Chapter 405: Chapter 389: [Mind Shock]

Seeing their leader’s desperate counterattack and hearing his inspiring roar, all the fear and despair in the hearts of the surviving Gray Dwarves were instantly replaced by a more primal, more ferocious emotion.

The fires of vengeance.

"For Durag!"

"Kill them all!"

Earth-shaking war cries once again echoed through the cavern, this time filled with catharsis and power.

They were no longer on the defensive. Like wild beasts freed from their Chains, they brandished their War Axes and Warhammers, savagely pouncing on the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish that were still writhing in pain and moving sluggishly.

The tide of battle had completely turned.

Without the protection of that strange Force Field, these ancient Demons revealed their vulnerable side.

The Gray Dwarves’ weapons could finally land solid blows on their pale bodies.

Sharp War Axes easily tore through their slick skin, and heavy Warhammers shattered their hard skulls.

Every swing was accompanied by a spray of dark purple blood and the sickening thud of flesh being ripped apart.

The Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish, which had previously floated through the air like untouchable phantoms, were now lambs to the slaughter, falling and breaking apart one by one under the Gray Dwarves’ furious assault.

But the battle was far from over.

Only a small number of the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish that had gotten too close had been dealt with.

More of the ancient creatures still swayed in the rear. Their cold, compound eyes locked onto the crowd below as more pale Energy Beams began to form. The Shadow of death loomed once again.

Seeing this, Roland rubbed his temples, which throbbed with a stabbing pain, and helplessly shouted in Duraga’s direction.

"Duraga! I told you, I’m Roland!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, he was already focusing his mind again.

This time, it was no mere small-scale test.

His Spiritual Energy erupted like an invisible volcano, transforming into a pure, tyrannical shockwave aimed at consciousness itself. It spread out from him in a fan shape, violently blasting toward the swarm of swaying Demon Fish in the air before him.

From Duraga’s perspective, he saw no light and heard no sound, yet he clearly felt the air around him seem to freeze for an instant, carrying a silent, scalp-numbing roar.

Immediately after, the dozens of Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish in front, who had been preparing their next volley, suddenly froze in place.

It was as if their conscious cores had been simultaneously struck by countless invisible sledgehammers.

At the same moment, their massive bodies went into violent, uncontrollable spasms and convulsions.

Their long, narrow eyes instantly lost all light, becoming as vacant and dull as shattered glass beads.

Then, like dumplings being dropped into a pot, they rained down from mid-air—PLAP, PLAP, PLAP—and smashed heavily onto the rocky ground.

A few of the stronger ones still writhed their tentacles in vain.

But most lost all responsiveness, collapsing limply to the ground as if their very "consciousness" had been forcibly erased in that instant.

At the same time, lines of golden text flashed continuously in Roland’s vision.

[You have successfully cast Mind Shock, gaining one experience point]

[You have successfully cast Mind Shock...]

[You have successfully cast...]

That was right. The reason Roland could make the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish lose their ability to resist was precisely because he had used the Spiritual Energy technique he had tortured out of the Heartstealer.

[Mind Shock]

Back when he had encountered the Heartstealer in Wailing Gorge, it had used this very move to instantly incapacitate Galvis and the others.

’Just as I thought...’

Gazing at the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish that lay paralyzed on the ground, being slaughtered by the Gray Dwarves like lambs, Roland took a deep breath.

When he had first fought these ancient creatures—never before recorded in any ancient texts—he had keenly analyzed their characteristics.

But that only led to deeper confusion.

They not only possessed near-absolute physical resistance and complete immunity to Magic, but also had astounding mobility and lethality. They were, in a word, perfect.

However, if the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish were truly so invincible, why would they lie dormant in the depths of these subterranean veins?

With such terrifying strength, they could have secured a foothold on the surface even without any tactics to speak of.

Since that hadn’t happened, it could only point to one conclusion.

These ancient creatures must have a weakness, and an extremely fatal one at that.

And although Roland hadn’t been on this continent for very long, he had already gotten a general grasp of the main types of attacks.

Besides the common physical and magical methods, there were also direct attacks on the spiritual level.

Therefore, when he noticed in battle that the release of Dragon Mighty and a Flaming Arrow enhanced by Dazzling and Enchanting had caused a momentary hesitation in the Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish’s movements, combined with the near-human glimmer of intelligence in their long, narrow eyes, he had made his judgment almost instantly.

’Unfortunately, the knowledge of Spiritual Energy I got from the Heartstealer is too vast and complex. Even though I’ve been studying it diligently, I’ve only just scratched the surface,’ he thought, rubbing his still-aching temples.

’Otherwise, if I could master a more lethal Spiritual Energy technique, I should be able to annihilate these monsters instantly instead of just temporarily incapacitating them.’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Roland fought through his exhaustion and gathered his Spiritual Energy once more.

The next moment, another invisible Spiritual Shockwave swept toward the remaining swarm of Demon Fish.

With his powerful support, the battle became completely one-sided.

The Gray Dwarves’ morale soared. Their war cries were deafening as they swept through the struggling, falling Demon Fish like an unstoppable force.

The swarm of Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish, which had just moments ago filled almost the entire cavern with their menacing presence, was now being rapidly annihilated at a visible rate.

The surviving Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish clearly sensed their impending doom. They tried to break free from the Entanglement and flee into the Darkness deeper in the cavern.

However, just as they gathered momentum to escape, a precise Mind Shock would arrive right on cue, mercilessly shattering their consciousness and casting them back into the abyss of despair.

Under Roland’s complete control and Spiritual Energy suppression, they couldn’t find the slightest opening to escape.

Just as the group was about to completely wipe out this ancient threat, with the last few Demon Fish wailing and trembling under the axe blades...

...a completely different, low-pitched sound—like countless ancient echoes layered together—invaded Roland’s mind without any warning, carrying an inhuman coldness and weight.

Stop...

The instant the voice faded, an indescribably vast presence enveloped the entire cavern.

The pressure was so heavy that even the air seemed to freeze.

"Duraga! Stop! Everyone, fall back!"

Roland shouted without hesitation.

Though they were in the heat of battle, Duraga didn’t hesitate for a second to follow Roland’s command.

He immediately let out a sharp whistle. All the Gray Dwarves moved at the command, swiftly disengaging from combat and retreating in an orderly fashion.

They ended up with their backs to the silent Shell Ship, reforming their defensive formation.

The moment after they completed their retreat, a faint glimmer of light appeared without warning in the deep Darkness not far away.

At first, the light was like a distant star, but it rapidly expanded and brightened, like an approaching, cold sun, eventually filling their entire field of vision in the gloom.

When Roland saw the source of the light, he couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath, a flash of horror crossing his eyes.

It wasn’t an ordinary light source at all, but an...

...unimaginably huge, serene eye, as vast as a lake.

It floated in the absolute Darkness, its pale pupil like a cold vortex, reflecting the faint light of the scattered Crystal Clusters in the cavern, as well as the figures of these tiny, mortal beings.

Just a single eye was far larger than any of the previous Bottom-dwelling Demon Fish, making it impossible to imagine how colossal its full body must be.

Just then, the voice from before echoed once more in the depths of his consciousness, this time laced with confusion and a cold, questioning tone.

Human... did I not already give you what you desired?

A thousand years have passed... Why have you returned to this place?