Chapter 55: Legendary Wanderer
A drop of demon blood fell onto the silvery chains.
As if infused with a powerful magic, this demon blood ignited upon touching the silvery chains, burning like gasoline. The Balroth Fire Demon crazily stared at Soren, taking another step forward, causing streams of demon blood to pour from its wounds, further fueling the flames that engulfed the silvery chains. The spiritual light on the chains was gradually dimming, as if this demon blood was corroding its power, eating away at the ancient runes inscribed upon it.
Soren, who had been preparing to take action, stopped, standing still as he watched the Balroth Fire Demon with a hideous expression moving forward step by step.
Demon True Blood!
The source power from a Greater Demon, it is a bloodline ability innate to them.
This power is incredibly valuable. In the Bottomless Abyss, only after the other demons under command have made significant contributions will the higher-ranking demons grant them this power, promoting the weaker demons. Such a promotion decreases some of the higher demons’ power, making it a rarely used ability for the inherently brutal Greater Demons. More often, lower demons need to rely on slaughter to gradually advance, stepping up from the weakest Coward Demons to mid-tier demons.
Although demons possess physical forms, they are essentially creations of souls, transformed entities from their souls.
Thus, their growth can be explosive!
The power the Balroth Fire Demon was currently unleashing was the demon true blood. This blood was not only its life force but also a part of its strength, using it as a cost to break the seal restricting it.
In simple terms.
If it were Soren trapped right now, what he would be losing was not just health points; along with his health points, he would also lose the Killing Experience gained from past battles. This loss of power is permanent; lost health points can gradually recover, but lost Killing Experience must be regained. The Balroth Fire Demon was breaking the seal in this manner, and the cost would be a decrease in its power, potentially even dropping a rank directly.
The Balroth Fire Demon was willing to pay such a price, representing Soren’s astonishing value in its eyes!
Once confirming that the enemy was using demon true blood to corrode the chain seal, Soren instead took his time to refrain from attacking. Despite the Balroth Fire Demon being currently bound by chains, its combat power was not significantly impaired. As long as Soren approached within fifteen meters, the Balroth Fire Demon could explode into a fierce attack at any moment, transforming the nearby area into a sea of flames.
Soren waited silently.
He awaited the moment the Balroth Fire Demon would break the seal, when its power would be at its lowest after the seal was completely lifted.
At that time, his odds of victory would be higher than now!
Both sides wanted to kill each other.
In the eyes of the Balroth Fire Demon, Soren possessed incredibly delicious divine power. In Soren’s eyes, killing the Balroth Fire Demon, which also held a “Weakened Divinity,” would greatly enhance his own power.
The Slayer Form limited Soren’s spell-casting ability.
This was somewhat unfavorable for his combat. The transformation into a Slayer was somewhat akin to ‘Tamson’s Transformation,’ allowing his combat ability to convert to that of an equivalent-level warrior, but it consequently prevented him from casting spells. Soren could only unleash the powers granted by his divinity and the spell-like abilities from his innate talents. (Note: Casting spells requires focused will and a clear mind. The hunger for slaughter greatly affects spell-casting ability.)
However, Soren’s odds in his heart remained substantial.
Otherwise, he would not be standing there waiting. Back then in the Bottomless Abyss, he had challenged the Balroth Fire Demon and was well aware of the combat style of such a formidable monster. The narrow terrain here limited its flying ability and restricted its combat skills with large weapons. Without sufficient open space to execute, the over two-meter-long Abyss Beheading Sword’s power was significantly reduced.
Soren would never engage in a battle without confidence!
Only when his odds surpassed fifty percent would he dare to take the risk.
Boom!
The Balroth Fire Demon roared as it stepped forward again; the silvery chains on its back had been tightened to their limit. The silver runes glowed dimly, and the demon true blood transformed into a blazing fire, gradually melting the chains. The source of the Balroth Fire Demon’s power is fire; its demon true blood is the hottest flame from the Bottomless Abyss, which even the seals left over from the Arcane Empire could not withstand.
Crack!
When the Balroth Fire Demon’s massive body, exceeding 5000 pounds, stepped forward again, the already weakened chains snapped outright. With a roar, it lifted the Abyss Beheading Sword and charged towards Soren. Although the moment of breaking the seal was its weakest, it was simultaneously the moment of the Balroth Fire Demon’s most powerful momentum. After the heavy cost of breaking the seal, a wild battle intent emerged in the Balroth Fire Demon’s frenzied expression.
This powerful battle intent, combined with its massive size and the innate 35 points of strength it possessed.
Sufficient to crush any enemy with overwhelming damage; it even felt confident that a single sword strike would decapitate the insignificant mortal before it!
35 points of strength.
This is a terrifying power that mere mortals could never aspire to reach!
Its strength comes not only from its spell-like abilities but also from the massive attributes brought by its Greater Demon bloodline.
Rumbling!
The Balroth Fire Demon charged like the fiercest warrior, wielding the over two-meter Abyss Beheading Sword as if it were weightless while the Flame Whip swept in from the side, sealing off all of Soren’s evasive options. No matter from which angle he tried to dodge, Soren could only choose between the Abyss Beheading Sword and the Flame Whip.
Never underestimate any Greater Demon; the Balroth Fire Demon, despite its seemingly cumbersome body, actually possesses 25 points of agility. (Note: Adult dragons only have 10 points.)
Moreover, it mastered the skill of Advanced Dual Wielding!
Setting aside any spell-like abilities, relying solely on its attributes, talents, specialties, and combat skills, the Balroth Fire Demon could easily overwhelm a legendary-level orthodox warrior. Unless there were some hacking existence capable of killing it with a single strike, even a deity’s avatar, the Saint, would need to pay a price to deal with the Balroth Fire Demon!
—”Powerful Strike!”
The Abyss Beheading Sword of the Balroth Fire Demon was engulfed in searing flames, resembling a massive torch ablaze, with the sword’s edge hidden within the raging fire. It cut directly towards Soren’s head.
The Flame Whip came in from a bizarre angle, despite being two attacks from different directions, it was executed with such ease.
—”Shadow Leap!”
—”Shadow Assassination!”
A trace of eerie blood-red light appeared in Soren’s eyes. In the face of the Balroth Fire Demon’s ultimate accumulated strike, his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
He had been standing in the shadows.
In the next moment!
Soren’s figure appeared in the shadow behind the Balroth Fire Demon, having jumped less than six meters. Then he suddenly drew the Curved Blade “Ice Death” and stabbed into the enemy’s back.
The more ferocious the attack, the harder it is to pull back!
The Balroth Fire Demon’s fully powered strike hit nothing but empty space, and the Abyss Beheading Sword split the ground with a thunderous roar, creating a terrible gash. A piercing pain shot from its back as the Balroth Fire Demon let out a crazed roar, instantly recoiling the Flame Whip back toward its own back. The whip, a highly flexible weapon, and the Abyss Beheading Sword, a very domineering weapon, both have a high mastery difficulty, and only the Balroth Fire Demon could wield them so effectively.
—”Sword Intent [Heavy Split]!”
Facing the incoming Flame Whip from the side, Soren’s expression showed no change. The searing flames enveloped him; this was the fierce fire of the Balroth Fire Demon, and ordinary people couldn’t even dare to come close to such a terrifying monster. However, Soren was not afraid of this fire, for the Curved Blade “Ice Death” was emitting a peculiar silver glow. No flames could approach his body, and even the nearby magical flames were extinguished by this legendary weapon.
Time stood still in that instant.
The Flame Whip whistled as it swept in. Soren quickly rolled to the side and slipped under the Balroth Fire Demon’s tremendous body, which stood over 12 feet tall and weighed more than 5000 pounds, providing Soren ample space to perform the ground-slicing technique from the Underdark. Accompanied by a cold and merciless icy light, Soren directly unleashed the Sword Intent [Heavy Split] under the Balroth Fire Demon’s body!
Splat.
Blood gushed forth!
Then it seemed like an unstoppable fountain. Amidst the Balroth Fire Demon’s agonized and shrill screams, Soren cut a thirty-centimeter-long gash into its groin.
The massive size endowed it with terrifying strength!
Yet this very size provided Soren with plenty of space to maneuver; in this life-and-death struggle, he cared nothing for any semblance of face or dignity.
No matter how dishonorable the technique, Soren would not hesitate to employ it.
“Damn mortal!!!”
The immense pain made the Balroth Fire Demon’s body tremble. No male creature could continue fighting as if nothing happened after receiving a cut to the groin.
Soren’s cold gaze remained unchanged. As he rolled to evade beneath the Balroth Fire Demon, he appeared right in the opponent’s direct blind spot, also within the attack range of the Abyss Beheading Sword. The Balroth Fire Demon, skilled in Dual Wielding, flicked its Flame Whip, instantly retracting it while raising the gigantic Abyss Beheading Sword, bringing it down toward Soren. It wanted to cleave the damned mortal in front of it in two, confident that with 35 points of strength, it could crush the enemy with a single sword.
With a sweeping sword intent!
Soren suddenly slapped his palm against the ground, the immense force creating a visible handprint in the solid ground. The reaction force from the ground propelled Soren half a meter into the air. When the blade of the Curved Blade “Ice Death” angled at approximately thirty degrees upon contact with the hard rock, a second wave of reaction force took effect, allowing him to pivot and move about a meter in a 360-degree rotation.
In the next moment!
The massive Abyss Beheading Sword came crashing down, leaving over a two-meter-deep crack in the ground.
Narrowly avoiding the sword’s edge without the slightest hesitation, Soren slapped the ground again, the massive force allowing him to leap back, directly sliding almost five meters away.
As the world’s top Legendary Wanderer back then, his combat skills were far more than just sword intent abilities!
Though he lacked [Shadow Plane], lacked [Shadow Step], and could not unleash the unpredictable strike capabilities, his attributes were strong enough for Soren to utilize many extraordinary combat techniques.
No wanderer can easily stand at the peak!
Back when he challenged a Saint, relying solely on the mere specialties of a wanderer would undoubtedly be suicidal!
—”Sword Intent [Horizontal Slash]!”
—”Shadow Assassination!”
Combat techniques from the East require ‘Qi’ to sustain them; a Monk’s ‘Gale Step’ (a non-invisibility ability), ‘Silent Step’, ‘Chain Step’ can allow them to rapidly approach enemies. Although as a Wanderer, Soren did not master these special combat techniques, he had other ways to achieve similar effects.
Suddenly, Soren pushed off the wall, and his figure shot out like an arrow.
Charging from the left side of the Balroth Fire Demon, the Curved Blade “Ice Death” transformed into a streak of light piercing straight for the enemy’s heart. The repeatedly thwarted Balroth Fire Demon appeared to go mad, almost not dodging at all, swinging its sword toward Soren as if intending to take them both down together. The Balroth Fire Demon’s strong physique meant it would not die easily, and its fiery body was no longer a mortal’s. However, piercing its heart wouldn’t immediately kill it; conversely, it would be difficult for Soren to withstand the force of a single decapitating strike from the Balroth Fire Demon.
—”Shadow Leap!”
Once again, time froze.
Soren propelled himself forward like a sharp arrow, and this seemingly fierce attack aimed at the Balroth Fire Demon’s heart appeared after he had advanced about three meters, as Soren’s figure entered the reflection of the underground ruins above the stalactite. In the next instant, Soren vanished into the shadows and reappeared from within the shadows behind the Balroth Fire Demon.
Shadow Leap, 7 meters.
The top-tier Wanderer’s combat techniques were on full display at this moment; Soren successfully performed a Shadow Leap within less than a millisecond after entering the shadows, appearing behind his enemy.
—”Sword Intent [Waist Cut]!”
—”Shadow Assassination!”
In an instant, Soren gripped the blade with both hands, horizontally slashing at the Balroth Fire Demon’s body, hot demon blood mingled with flames pouring over him.
Even at that moment, he remained expressionless!
Yet he appeared so cold and merciless, akin to the most terrifying killing machine!
This was the strength of his true peak period!
Only after transforming into a Slayer could Soren’s fundamental abilities support his real explosive legendary combat power.
………………
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