Chapter 357 - 260: Corrosion, Erosion, and the Star Beast

Chapter 357: Chapter 260: Corrosion, Erosion, and the Star Beast

Of course not.

HISS!

Just as the purple tentacles wrapped around Corrosion and began to drag it into the sea, the sound of sizzling flesh echoed out, followed by the agonized wail of the Mysterious Star Beast from the depths!

"GYAAAAH!!!!"

A sharp, explosive cry erupted from beneath the waves, and the sea’s surface instantly grew even more violent!

The Star Beast tried to retract its tentacles, but it was too late. The ones that had wrapped around Corrosion were already completely eaten away. Moreover, where the tentacles had been severed, a deep purple aura lingered, rapidly spreading toward their base!

Wherever the purple aura passed, flesh and blood dissolved into a haze of violet Magic Power!

SNAP!

Corrosion’s Authority was powerful, but the Star Beast’s combat experience was also remarkable. It severed both tentacles in an instant, preventing the bizarre power of the two Authorities from reaching its main body.

That’s right—the Star Beast had severed two tentacles in that instant!

The reason was that, on the other side, tentacles had also wrapped around Erosion. But just like with Corrosion, this was a deliberate move. Once enveloped, Erosion’s Authority activated instantly. The purple tentacles turned a sinister green, the color spreading outward from where Erosion was held.

Watching from a short distance away, Caesar’s expression was one of surprise. ’Their fighting style...’

’So insidious!’

’However...’

’Insidious, but correct!’

According to the classifications of the Path of the Extraordinary, Dimension Apostles should be considered a type of Demon. They possess Magic Power, a nearly Infinite amount of it, in fact, but...

The nature of Dimensional Magic Power is quite singular. The range of Magic they can cast is very small, which isn’t enough for them to become Wizards. At least, it wouldn’t be an easy path to success.

Therefore, they can’t wield the power of their Authority the same way a Wizard can.

Thus, to unleash the power of these two Authorities, they have to engage in close-quarters combat. This fighting style is extremely perilous. For instance, although the two of them just executed a brilliant counterattack, it wasn’t as simple as it looked.

In reality, they had just walked the line between life and death. If their Authority had failed to injure the Star Beast, their situation right now would be far from ideal.

But Caesar could understand their method of combat. If he also possessed an Undying Body that could be infinitely revived, he would use the same fighting style!

And that was one of the reasons why he had only dodged himself, without taking Corrosion and Erosion with him.

WHOOSH!

SPLASH! SPLASH!

Even though the Star Beast had severed its tentacles, Corrosion and Erosion had no intention of letting it off the hook. They transformed into streaks of light, plunging into the sea one after the other and charging toward the Star Beast’s true body beneath the waves!

"SKREEE!!!!"

A cry that was three parts terror and seven parts shock erupted from underwater. Then, a massive torrent of silver light surged from beneath the waves, instantly evaporating all the seawater for hundreds of miles around!

A gigantic cavity instantly appeared on the surface of the sea!

The surrounding seawater, as if gone mad, roared as it rushed in to fill the void!

Caesar, however, didn’t spare the resulting tsunami a single glance. A natural disaster of this scale might be a concern for a Tier One or Tier Two Wizard, but to him, it was of little consequence.

At that moment, Caesar’s attention was entirely fixed on the octopus-like Star Beast hovering in midair, its body wreathed in a silver, flame-like aura.

Specifically, on that silver aura!

Star Power!

It was a special type of Magic Power, one of the main reasons Star Beasts were so large and powerful. It was also their greatest asset for crossing the cosmos!

Star Power was an energy that had evolved under the radiation of a Star God’s Divine Power, and it bore some resemblance to it. As a result, its quality was exceptionally high. For instance, the Octopus Star Beast had just now simply released its Star Power, and the silver aura instantly vaporized the surrounding seawater!

Utterly terrifying!

Of course, this alone wouldn’t have been enough to capture Caesar’s full attention. As a Divine Favored—a particularly special one, at that—and a powerful practitioner of the Path of the Faith Knight, Caesar’s own Divine Power was not much inferior in quality to this Star Power.

What Caesar was focused on was Star Power’s ability to greatly enhance the physical body!

Though he was a brute, his family had, after all, produced two High-level Mages. He had spent a great deal of time with one of them, and through constant exposure, he had naturally picked up a bit of the Wizard mindset.

Thus, the moment he saw this Star Power, Caesar began to wonder: could this Star Power be used in the development of his army?

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Listening to the whoosh of the Octopus Star Beast’s flailing tentacles, Caesar stroked his chin. He felt the idea had great potential. ’Although Star Power brings some nasty side effects along with its physical enhancement, but...’

’That’s not my problem to solve. That’s a job for Cheryl. What I need to think about is how to build such an army in the first place. That’s the real headache.’

’Cheryl just has to figure out how to solve the side effects of Star Power. I, Caesar, have a lot more to worry about...’

While Caesar was lost in thought, the battle was already turning. Despite unleashing its incredibly high-quality Star Power, the Octopus Star Beast had failed to gain the upper hand. In fact, after only a few seconds of engagement, it was already showing clear signs of defeat!

The reason was simple: its Star Power was high-quality, but the quality of Isaac’s Dimensional Magic Power was nothing to scoff at. Especially after so many rituals had been performed, its quality had become even greater.

Not to mention, they were currently empowered by their Authorities!

Dimensional Magic Power already possessed a powerful corrosive nature. Aided by the two great Authorities of Erosion and Corrosion, this corrosive power was amplified even further.

Within seconds, the Octopus Star Beast’s body was in tatters, its ruined form dotted with specks of green light.

Corrosion broke through its defenses, creating an opportunity for Erosion to establish control. Erosion then created an opening for Corrosion to inflict damage. Their coordination was perfect, enough to pull the Octopus Star Beast apart until it was dead!

"SKREEE~~!!!"

With death imminent, even a creature of the Star Beast’s limited intelligence knew to flee. It was just that...

The battle had been brief, but thanks to the perfect coordination between Corrosion and Erosion, at least a third of its body was now tinged green. Control over that third had fallen into Erosion’s hands. It wanted to flee, but its body could barely move at all!

Death was approaching...

Watching from the sidelines, Caesar nodded slightly. ’So that’s the weakness of a Star Beast,’ he thought. ’Their bodies are powerful, their Star Power is dense and wild, but their intelligence is too low. They are born from the lingering Divine Power of a dead Star God, making it extremely difficult for them to master an Authority.’

’At the very least, a Tier Three Star Beast can’t possibly master an Authority. They generally need to reach Tier Four to accumulate sufficient intelligence, and only at Tier Five can they awaken an Authority. Until then, they can only rely on pure Barbaric Strength.’

’Even more barbaric than a close-combat brute like a Knight.’

The battle ended quickly. Corrosion and Erosion collected the bulk of the Octopus Star Beast’s corpse into the Dimension World, storing it carefully in the Demon-Free Area. A rare creature like a Star Beast held considerable research value.

Even though the Star Beast’s body was incomplete, it was still of significant research value to Isaac and Soron—especially to Soron.

’Even though our starting point was higher than Soron’s,’ the two thought, ’we know that in the Lord’s eyes, we can’t possibly compare to him. Never mind the Miracle of his wisdom and perseverance, climbing his way up from a Demon Goblin, one of the Low Level Demons. The simple fact that he shares the same Path of the Extraordinary as the Lord—Legendary Mage—is enough. That alone cemented Soron’s status in the Lord’s heart—a status far higher than ours.’

’If we curry favor with Soron, maybe we’ll be able to hold on to these two Authorities and keep this power forever!’

This thought grew even more intense after they successfully took down the Octopus Star Beast.

’This was a Tier Three Demon!’

’And a relatively strong one at that!’

’Back then, the aftershocks of a battle like this would have been enough to kill us.’

Desire, like a boulder rolling down a mountain, can never be stopped once it begins to fall.