Chapter 536: Sand Lizard
North of Karnak, within the royal tomb of Rahman, as the physical form of the Sand Giant Lizard was completely shattered, a figure leaped down from the beams of the catacombs, aiming directly at the essence of Chabakunka with the intention of performing an aerial assassination. However, Chabakunka reacted swiftly, commanding his chicken-shaped Wilderness Spirit to emit another ear-piercing soul shriek.
In an instant, the powerful scream of agony enveloped the entire catacomb, causing the heavily injured Shahab, who was guarding the commandments, to directly crumble under the impact of this second wave of soul shrieks. For a moment, both he and his subordinates were enthralled, their souls violently shaken, leaving them frozen in place with vacant and dazed expressions.
The sharp, soul-piercing scream resonated from the mouth of the Wilderness Spirit, instantly penetrating Nephnis’s soul. The pain she had just experienced, originating from her very essence, hit her with unbearable intensity, amplified by her proximity to Chabakunka.
In her descent, Nephnis instinctively covered her ears, yet this did not stop the assault on her soul; instead, it threw her off balance, and she realized she could not succeed in her assassination attempt on Chabakunka and was at risk of crashing heavily onto the ground.
In a critical moment, Soul Whiskers took control of Neve’s body. As another Wilderness Spirit, it possessed a greater resilience to the shrieking. Under its guidance, Neve adjusted her posture mid-air, landing gracefully and lightly on all fours like a cat, without sustaining any damage—she appeared just like a real cat.
With a low growl, Neve pounced towards Chabakunka like a wild beast, baring her teeth. Chabakunka remained unfazed; with a calm gesture, he summoned a common spirit-summoning array beside him. From this array, dozens of grotesque undead burst forth, shrieking as they charged towards Nephnis, penetrating her body and vying for control over her. In an instant, Nephnis was rendered completely still, unable to move as the undead interfered with Soul Whiskers’ ability to control her body.
Not far in front of him, Chabakunka observed Nephnis standing still. He swept his indifferent gaze over her, as well as over Shahab and his soldiers nearby, and spoke calmly.
“I am the Landmark, your Landmark…”
As soon as Chabakunka’s words fell, Shahab and his soldiers of the Savior Faction opened their mouths, unleashing soul flames that flew towards Chabakunka. One by one, these flames fused together, entering his mouth. After extracting their souls, Shahab and his men fell lifeless to the ground, their eyes wide open and unblinking.
Meanwhile, Nephnis was once again shaken as her soul trembled under Chabakunka’s voice, being fiercely drawn out of her body. A semi-transparent projection of her spiritual form detached itself and drifted towards Chabakunka, poised to be consumed along with the souls of other fallen soldiers.
At that moment, from Nephnis’s corporeal form, the mountain cat spiritual form emerged. Soul Whiskers left its lower half inside Nephnis’s body, while its upper half stretched out long, transforming into an incredibly slender cat-like shape. It grasped Nephnis’s departing soul with its elongated foreparts, resisting Chabakunka’s pull and pulling her back into her body.
“Meow!”
After successfully retrieving Nephnis’s soul, Soul Whiskers let out a roar from inside her. It forcefully expelled all the gathered vengeful spirits within Nephnis that were hindering it. The cat’s howl instilled fear in the vengeful spirits, causing them to flee, helping Nephnis regain a semblance of consciousness amidst her dazed state.
“Can you also communicate… with the spirits of your homeland…” Observing the extraordinary phenomenon exhibited by Nephnis, Chabakunka furrowed his brows, his expression turning severe. He began to perform an ancient ritual dance, moving his arms energetically as he spun around.
“Ah… all mortal souls are wayward winds… all the dead have a place to return… Spirits of the Wilderness… this is not your domain… obey the great will… and return!”
Chanting in Spiritual Seal Language, Chabakunka danced the Shamanistic ritual. Hearing the lyrics, Soul Whiskers realized the gravity of the situation and took over control of Nephnis, preparing to launch another assault towards Chabakunka.
Just as Nephnis’s claws were about to reach Chabakunka, the finale of his dance approached. His last movement was to thrust his palm towards the rushing Nephnis. This palm stopped a meter away from her, yet Nephnis seemed to be struck by an invisible force, her charge interrupted as she was sent flying backward. Simultaneously, a translucent spiritual body was expelled from Nephnis and hovered in mid-air; it was Soul Whiskers.
Soul Whiskers tumbled through the air several times before stabilizing itself. Then it began swimming in mid-air, attempting with all its might to return to Nephnis’s body, but Chabakunka denied it the opportunity.
“Return!” muttering, Chabakunka waved his hand, and a magical array appeared beneath Soul Whiskers. This array was similar to a spirit summoning array, yet had its own distinctions. As the array emerged, Soul Whiskers, swimming in mid-air, appeared to crash into an invisible wall, retreating as it held its nose, unable to proceed.
Then, the array began to emit a stronger glow, revealing a dark vortex within. A powerful sucking force emanated from this vortex, drawing in Soul Whiskers, which struggled desperately to grasp the edges but was ultimately pulled in against its will. After that, the black hole disappeared, and the array vanished, banishing Soul Whiskers from the mortal realm.
“Well then, it’s time to end this…”
Observing Soul Whiskers’s banishment, Chabakunka raised his arms slightly. The swirling dust in the air swiftly gathered around him, enveloping him completely. As the sand thickened around him, the previously shattered Sand Giant Lizard began to reform. Before long, the massive Sand Giant Lizard reappeared, with Chabakunka completely shielded within its colossal form.
Now controlling the Sand Giant Lizard, Chabakunka charged towards Nephnis, who had just managed to rise from the ground. Faced with the approaching beast, she barely stabilized her mind and dodged with all her might. However, evading such a large creature’s wide-ranging attacks was no simple feat.
At that moment, black, viscous “black water,” resembling oil, suddenly erupted from the soft sand beneath Nephnis. This strange “black water” lifted her into the air, allowing her to float and quickly move away. Thanks to this assistance, Nephnis successfully avoided an attack from the Sand Giant Lizard.
“What is this…”
Seeing the “black water” uplifting her, Nephnis gazed around in surprise. Not far above, she saw Doro, sitting on a levitating steel board, dressed in a robe and mask, now stepping out from the shadows to join the battlefield!
Upon witnessing Chabakunka’s true power, Doro realized that this was not a foe merely to be dealt with by Nephnis alone, as it could lead to a situation where not only would they fail to defeat it, but Nephnis herself could fall into danger.
In light of this, Doro boldly decided to abandon the idea of providing remote support and instead joined the fight in person. Without the aid of the Enlightenment Mark Temple, many of her abilities required her presence to function. At this moment, Doro used her magnetic ability to manipulate the iron sand contained in the earth, gathering it to aid Nephnis. This “black water” was comprised of tiny iron particles.
“Neph, prepare to chant!”
Seeing Nephnis in shock, Doro communicated through the information channel, calling out. Nephnis paused, then quickly understood what she meant.
“Chant… I understand…”
Witnessing her attack miss, the Sand Giant Lizard roared, launching another offensive towards Nephnis. Doro controlled the iron sand cushion beneath Nephnis, swiftly moving to evade the beast’s charge. While dodging, Nephnis caught sight of the fearsome giant lizard and cried out in Spiritual Seal Language.
“Ah… Great Judge of Heaven… forgive the sins of us… The fallen are preserved… The traitor for loyalty…”
The “Song of the Dead’s Remorse,” derived from ancient powerful undead’s secret transmissions, was being recited by Nephnis in Spiritual Seal Language. Upon hearing this forbidden knowledge, the pursuing Sand Giant Lizard emitted a wail of agony, and both Wilderness Spirits within it staggered in instability, with the chicken-shaped spirit’s buildup of shrieks interrupted, while the lizard form began to show signs of losing control.
Using poison recognition to counteract spiritual forms was a plan Doro and Nephnis had previously discussed, and it seemed to be effective as both Wilderness Spirits became impacted. Yet as an experienced old Shaman, Chabakunka was not without countermeasures.
Within the Sand Giant Lizard, Chabakunka, possessing Moen’s essence, opened his mouth, producing a loud, chaotic noise that filled the area. Although it did not create the same soul-shuddering effect as the previous shriek, it effectively concealed the surroundings and rendered him and the Wilderness Spirits immune to external noise.
By creating noise to block the secret transmission recitation, Chabakunka successfully shielded himself and his spirits from the effects of poison recognition. Once he stabilized the Wilderness Spirits’ condition, the Sand Giant Lizard recovered, charging towards Nephnis with renewed ferocity.
“d*mn it… poison recognition had no effect; this guy was prepared…”
Watching the unaffected Sand Giant Lizard, Doro frowned as she contemplated. After her first assault proved futile, she quickly initiated her next move, pointing a finger at the Sand Giant Lizard pursuing Nephnis and unleashing a brilliant bolt of lightning. With a crackling sound, the bolt tore through the darkness of the catacombs, striking the enormous creature. The Sand Giant Lizard let out a howl, losing some of the sand that constituted its body, leaving Chabakunka, who was sheltered within, astonished.
“This is… lightning… spiritual lightning… and combined with that secret transmission… it belongs to the Judge of Heaven Church!”
Realization washed over Chabakunka as he muttered, and he began distributing several souls he had absorbed to the Wilderness Spirits, providing them extra spiritual energy. Instantly, the spiritual energy of the Sand Tongue that constructed the Sand Giant Lizard was restored, and the scattered sand re-merged with it. It roared, redirecting its attack towards Doro.
Seeing the Sand Giant Lizard charging at her, Doro wasted no time, unleashing two bolts of lightning at it. Yet this only caused the creature to stagger slightly in its advance before continuing towards her. Though Doro’s lightning could damage the spirit body, Chabakunka had the ability to consume and regain energy quickly, allowing him to promptly repair the damage. As a result, Doro’s lightning merely interrupted the creature’s movement. Fleeing from the Sand Giant Lizard’s offense, Doro maneuvered her magnetic flying carpet deftly.
“The direct lightning strikes are ineffective… I can’t pinpoint Chabakunka’s position within the Sand Lizard… This is troublesome…”
Realizing her lightning had minimal impact, Doro felt increasingly vexed. She understood that staying in the catacombs and continuing to engage with this powerful enemy was no longer feasible. With that monster’s wide-ranging soul trumpet still operational, once it recharged, she wouldn’t be able to evade it. If that trumpet were to frighten her soul, she would be left waiting for her essence to be extracted.
Resolving this in her mind, Doro decided to flee the catacombs, planning to rethink her strategy. Outside the catacombs, she could unleash her powerful Dragon Roar to attempt to shatter the Sand Giant Lizard, but using such potent magic inside the catacombs would collapse the entire structure, entombing both her and Nephnis.
With determination, Doro directed her magnetic carpet, along with Nephnis, to fly swiftly towards the exit of the grand catacomb. Confident she could outpace the sluggish Sand Giant Lizard, she aimed for a successful escape.
However, sensing its prey attempting to flee, the Sand Giant Lizard did not pursue but instead focused intently on the exit, slamming its claws down onto the ground. Instantly, a surge of yellow sand erupted from beneath the exit, gathering at the door and quickly forming a thick, massive sand barrier, sealing the catacombs entirely!
The Sand Tongue was a regional control-type Wilderness Spirit adapted to desert environments, similar to Wood Hoof. Such spirits could dominate their habitats or the regions they invaded, and with an unending supply of spiritual energy, they could deepen their control, gradually morphing the area into their own body.
From the start, Chabakunka had maintained a constant supply of spiritual energy to the Sand Tongue, significantly fortifying its control over the battlefield. Initially, it could only form its body from sand, but now it had progressed to the point of creating sand walls remotely.
Under the enhancement of the Phantom Pulling Lamp, even though Chabakunka was fighting in possession mode, his power was nearly equivalent to his original form, vastly exceeding the strength of other Red Tier clones! This demonstrated the crucial roles that divine artifacts played in rituals.
Facing the obstruction ahead, Doro’s expression darkened, and she immediately halted the flight of her carpet to avoid crashing into the thick sand wall. Turning her head back, she spotted the Sand Giant Lizard roaring and charging towards her, causing her expression to shift to one of grave concern.
With her escape route blocked and trapped alongside an almost indestructible beast, what could she do!?
In the face of the impending crisis, countless thoughts raced through Doro’s mind, eventually anchoring on a specific point.
That was an altar at the rear of the catacomb, leading up to a colossal stone door. There, an incomplete ritual was laid out, with five copper lamps already lit and a final lamp awaiting its flickering flame…
