Chapter 115: Fear Erupts
Soren did not hesitate at all.
When the shadowy black tentacles entangled the enemies near Gloria, he swiftly drew his blade and retreated, the curved blade slicing through the air, killing those trapped by the energy tentacles. Wizards are never the main damage dealers; they only memorize a small number of area-of-effect destructive spells, and even the true damage spells are often single-target deadly spells similar to Finger of Death. The role of finishing off enemies in battle is always left to melee professionists; a single spell of energy damage is not as effective as controlling the enemy and letting a warrior deal the killing blow.
More and more enemies appeared nearby.
The number of enemies completely exceeded Soren’s estimates, and even Gloria’s expression turned grave as she said in a low voice, “I can’t handle this many enemies with my spell slots.”
There were over a hundred enemies.
It appeared that all of them were second tier or above. They were believers of the God of the Hunt, significantly stronger than the guards of White Horse City.
The followers of deities definitely have stronger combat abilities. If the God of the Hunt were not in a slumber, it’s likely that there would be beings among these monsters who could cast divine techniques. The powers of weaker deities are diminished significantly during tumultuous years; they only bestow divine techniques on their core followers, the priests. Other neglected believers lose the ability to use divine techniques. These monsters hold the hunting ritual also to awaken the deity’s attention; as long as they prove their worth, the God of the Hunt may regard them as more useful believers and grant them divine techniques.
Those worthless believers will be stripped of their divine technique abilities because the God of the Hunt’s power is also declining!
In tumultuous years.
The divinity levels of all deities are in decline. If their divinity levels are depleted, they will fall to the mortal realm. Weaker deities fall faster. Only after the energy storm of the tumultuous years ends can they recover their divinity levels and return to the divine kingdom. Deities walking among mortals take the form of saints; they have no divinity levels and only retain their initial profession level, so some of them may be very weak. Some of them gained divinity through luck and do not possess particularly powerful abilities, merely around high-level legend. With the abilities granted by their divinity levels, they managed to surpass level 40 total.
Thus, there have been instances where weaker deities defeated stronger deities due to the minor difference in strength after losing their divinity levels!
However, deities who descend to the mortal realm in the form of saints generally have average attributes above 25 points. Even without the powers granted by divinity levels, they completely overshadow any mortal in terms of attribute differences. A small number of powerful deities can have attributes as high as 50 points, so when facing the magic goddess with an intelligence of 50 points, even legendary wizards feel like their spells are mere tricks! Among the abyss demon gods, there exist those who excel in strength, moving mountains and filling seas using raw brute force is not a joke!
………………
The followers of the God of the Hunt are increasing in number.
Soren has already realized the seriousness of the situation. Gloria’s spell slots cannot handle this many enemies, and just as he was preparing to cover Gloria for a teleport getaway, a loud wolf howl suddenly came from behind. Following that, the elven ranger they had encountered before rushed out, looking extremely disheveled, with seven or eight wounds on his body, his handsome face marred by claw marks, nearly disfigured. He held a longsword in his palm, gripping it in a very peculiar way, and upon closer inspection, it became clear that one of his fingers was broken.
It seemed that his little finger had been bitten off by some beast!
Upon seeing Soren and the others, the elven ranger immediately showed surprise in his eyes, but his expression then turned vicious as he suddenly leaped away from the back, which was evidently much stronger than the hunters, while rapidly approaching them. It turns out that he himself was the target of the God of the Hunt’s followers, and behind him were clearly stronger hunters and trackers.
A group of monsters abandoned Soren and the others and charged towards the elven ranger ahead!
He was the most important target.
They absolutely cannot let the elven ranger escape. Otherwise, this hunting ritual would be considered a failure.
—”Death Fear Technique!”
The elven ranger executed no casting action, not even a single incantation. He simply pointed a finger, and a spark of spell light appeared. Immediately, a wave of fear energy erupted among the enemies blocking the way. This was not a divine technique usable by high-level rangers, nor an arcane spell cast by wizards, but a special ability akin to a spell, possibly a talent he inherently possessed!
A large area of creatures became rigid in place.
Then, many of the enemies showed fear, as if something terrifying was making them flee in panic.
Some even turned pale and dropped dead on the spot!
They were scared to death!!!
With a single use of fear technique, the elven ranger dispersed the enemies ahead and then suddenly accelerated towards Soren, getting closer and closer.
“Damn!”
Soren’s expression suddenly turned dark, and Gloria beside him looked grave as well, for with just that one kind of spell-like attack, they had confirmed the identity of the elven ranger before them.
—”Son of Fear!”
Aside from the Demon Son of Fear, they couldn’t think of anyone else who could casually cast fear techniques and achieve the effect of scaring enemies to death.
A completely black wolfman, resembling a shadow, appeared. It licked its crimson tongue along its mouth, its metallic claws glinting coldly, sneering, “The flesh and blood of the son truly is remarkable! I feel a vigorous vitality! Perhaps after completing the ritual and killing him, we can have a feast ourselves!”
An immensely strong mixed beastman strode out of the forest, wielding a giant battle axe weighing nearly two hundred pounds, roaring, “He is prey for our lord; we must decide how to treat his corpse after the ritual is completed.”
Soren tightened his grip on the curved blade, his gaze fiercely focused on the approaching elven ranger.
The intention of the other party was extremely malicious!
They actually planned to lure those hunters to their location. Soren’s killing intent was overwhelming as he said in a low voice, “When he gets closer, find a way to control him—I’ll take responsibility for killing him!”
Gloria nodded slightly, her eyes also filled with killing intent.
Killing this guy might stop the attackers, and even if the chances are low, it’s worth a try. Moreover, this guy running towards them definitely is not doing so with good intentions. The elven ranger drew closer. But just before entering Gloria’s spell range, he stopped, leaped high up, and shouted to the believers of Mara everywhere, “I am not the only son! That little girl over there is also a Son of Fear!”
“Impossible!”
“Look over there.”
He seemed to activate some special ability as he pointed towards Soren.
A wave of fear energy erupted!
Terrifying images flooded Soren’s mind. There were mountains of corpses, seas of blood, piles of bones, and various brutal and horrific scenes. However, how could his will be so easily shaken? In just an instant, he suppressed that fear. Meanwhile, a series of data flashed before his eyes:
“You are affected by fear energy!”
“Will Check triggered! … Successfully passed the Death Shock death check! … Successfully resisted the effects of the fear technique! …”
………………
Gloria’s will was evidently also extremely high; she was only slightly stunned before quickly recovering.
However, what no one expected was!
Vivian, standing behind Gloria, suddenly trembled all over and then opened her eyes wide, her cute little face turning pale. She seemed to be slightly blue from fear, as if trying hard to suppress something. When her emotions accumulated to a certain limit, she suddenly let out a shocking shriek!
—”Ah!!!”
An invisible sound wave spread out, with Soren at the forefront. His ears buzzed, blood seeping out from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Then it hit Gloria, standing beside him. Her face turned extremely pale, as if triggering some spell on her body; a protective aura enveloped her, and her figure swayed nearly toppling over.
The terrible sound wave expanded.
Nearby believers of Mara fell like wheat being cut, at least half died directly under the sound wave, while others all bled from their orifices, their figures clearly becoming unsteady. The only ones less affected were the powerful hunters; they were fourth-tier professionists, and such an attack could only injure them, but was not enough to be fatal.
A vicious smile appeared on the elven ranger’s face. He sneered, “Did you see? She is also a Son of Fear!”
“It seems that the two people beside her are not doing well. Newly awakened sons of fear are very weak; why don’t you finish them off first? Killing them should be easier than killing me, right?”
The pitch-black wolfman showed a vicious smile, glancing at the prey before him, and with a sinister expression, said, “I admire your wicked heart!”
“But offering two sons as sacrifices definitely guarantees rewards from our lord!”
………………
An invisible sound wave rapidly spread, causing all beasts within a five-kilometer radius to flee in a wild panic.
In an ancient cave, a druid meditating with eyes closed suddenly opened them.
He slowly stood up; as an elf, he was exceptionally tall and strong, resembling a solid rock. He stepped heavily out of the cave, looking at the distant chaotic forest, murmuring, “Who frightened them?!”
An eagle descended from the sky, landing and transforming into the form of a druid, humbly lowering its head and saying, “Your Excellency, the Earthwalker!”
Further away.
In a dark underground chamber, a black-robed priest at the altar suddenly opened his eyes, a gleam lighting up them as he fervently declared, “The first son has awakened!”
“Let the Hand of Despair set off! Find him at any cost!!!”
Time froze at that moment.
Soren’s eyes suddenly filled with innumerable blood vessels, as the power erupting within caused blood to surge, his heart racing to extreme speeds, adrenaline flooding, over-blooded causing his pupils to turn blood-red, and his face twisted, showing a hideous expression. The injuries he had sustained began to heal gradually, and as he consumed a large amount of killing experience, his wounds lightened, and his figure became more and more blurred, as if about to vanish into the shadows.
Behind him, Soren’s shadow warped!
In the next instant.
He charged towards the elven ranger, his figure inexplicably disappearing from sight, and the entire material plane completely lost track of him in that brief moment!
—”Shadow Plane Traversal!”
………………
(PS: This chapter was written slowly, revised repeatedly for half a day, so the update is half an hour late. Two updates today, and tomorrow’s additional update will be explosive.) (To be continued ~^~)
