Chapter 772. Last Request
"Spread out!"
Amon gave everyone the warning and jumped away just as the colossal worm burst out of the ground. Not many were fast enough to heed his warning. These slow ones suddenly found the ground below them turning into a deep abyss. This abyss rushed upward, and before they knew it, they were inside the mouth of a gigantic creature.
The colossal worm closed its mouth and swallowed the cultivators trapped inside.
Amon observed that this colossal worm had layers of carapaces similar to those of the other Cryanids. He surmised it must be another of the Cryanid’s strains. From its aura, Amon gauged its power to be at the level of a Lower Primordial Beast.
The Cryanid Burrower’s body dropped back to the ground after soaring high into the air. Those who failed to move away in time were crushed by its massive body. Those who managed to dodge immediately retaliated. However, their attacks bounced off the beast’s tough carapace.
The Cryanid Burrower opened its mouth again. Many long tentacles shot out from that mouth. These tentacles spread and latched onto the nearest humans. Those caught by the tentacles were immediately pulled. These captives entered the Cryanid Burrower’s mouth and became the second round of people who got swallowed.
Amon stayed in the air. Aside from the first assault, where the Cryanid Burrower utilized momentum to shoot into the air, it didn’t appear to have the ability to stay airborne.
Amon sensed something approaching fast. He turned and saw one of the humanoid Cryanids zooming over. The humanoid Cryanid performed a kick once arriving. Amon blocked it, but the kick still sent him flying. His opponent chased after him, attempting to finish him.
The humanoid Cryanid who attacked him was the one with the Intermediate Fiendish Stage. But from the kick, Amon knew that it was stronger than the average cultivator with the same cultivation level. Amon speculated that it must be because of their physiology. This humanoid Cryanid had a body much stronger than that of a normal human.
Amon also noticed that the other humanoid Cryanid with the Peak Fiendish Stage cultivation was attacking Xou Liang. They must have identified Xou Liang and him as the pack leaders. The two of them were at the forefront of this assault. The humanoid Cryanids probably thought the others would be demoralized if they were taken out. The stronger humanoid Cryanid chose Xou Liang because he had a higher cultivation level than Amon.
"Big mistake," Amon uttered with a grin.
Amon’s Intermediate Lord Stage was roughly the same power level as his opponent’s Intermediate Fiendish Stage. But as the opponent was stronger than the average cultivator of the same level, Amon was too. His body was much tougher and stronger than that of a normal human. He had also performed the body-strengthening meridian points technique before charging over.
He stopped the humanoid Cryanid’s second kick with a kick of his own. The two’s legs collided, and to the humanoid Cryanid’s surprise, it was the one who staggered back.
Amon followed up with a roundhouse kick, which struck the side of his opponent’s head. He continued his assault by slashing the Moonfire Dagger. Flashes of light radiated out. This was another martial art Amon had created. He named it White Slash. The martial art produced multiple energy slashes that could hit distant targets with a single slash. From the enemy’s perspective, it would be like seeing a net made of light coming at them.
The humanoid Cryonid put both hands up, and a wall of ice appeared. The flashes hit the ice wall and caused it to crack, but it didn’t break.
’It can even use arcane art?’ Amon thought in astonishment.
After making direct contact with the humanoid Cryonid, Amon was sure the insectoid appearance of his enemy was its true body, not the result of a transformation art. Hence, its display of using an arcane art astounded him. A spirit beast couldn’t use an art, even when it could transform into a human. He had tried teaching it to Lin Li. She couldn’t learn it, no matter how much she tried.
’Something with the internal characteristics of a human but possesses the outer appearance of a spirit beast,’ Amon thought. In this sense, the opponent before him was a perfect hybrid of a human and spirit beast.
The humanoid Cryanid realized it was not Amon’s opponent after those few clashes. It flew back as several Cryanid Flies arrived to provide cover.
"You won’t flee!" Amon exclaimed. He slashed while lunging forward. White flashes glimmered around him. The incoming Cryanid Flies split apart into tiny pieces.
More Cryanid Flies arrived. Amon saw that even more were on their way here. The humanoid Cryanids must have issued a command to call the Cryanids to return once Amon’s group reached this place.
Seeing no choice, Amon decided to use his personal force. He called Lin Li and the Sun Ray Hawk out of the black space ring. He also released a small portion of his puppet army.
The humanoid Cryanid was surprised when a large number of battle puppets suddenly materialized. The battle puppets clashed with the Cryanids and joined the other human cultivators in preventing more Cryanids from helping the humanoid Cryanids.
Amon sent Lin Li to help Xou Liang because he noticed that Xou Liang was having trouble with his opponent. The Peak Fiendish Stage humanoid Cryanoid he was facing could also use arcane arts and seemed a better combatant than Amon’s opponent. Lin Li manipulated the winds to fly toward Xou Liang.
Amon himself chased the weaker humanoid Cryanid, who tried to distance himself from Amon. Amon rode the Sun Ray Hawk. With the hawk’s speed, he quickly drew near his prey. The Sun Ray Hawk fired a few fireballs before Amon turned into a flash and zoomed forward.
The fireballs cut the humanoid Cryanid’s escape path, allowing Amon to catch up.
The humanoid Cryanid again used the ice-element art. Several ice walls covered its body, forming a defensive prism. Amon flashed a few times at high speed, dispersing countless swordlights as he zoomed past. The ice prism couldn’t endure the relentless punishments. It broke after Amon ended his flashes with one powerful slash. The slash also cut the humanoid Cryanid’s left arm.
The humanoid Cryanid let out a screech of pain as the stump in its left arm burst into flames. When Amon was about to deliver a follow-up slash, it yelled, "Human! You will regret this!"
Hearing the humanoid Cryanid uttering human language surprised Amon to a pause. During this pause, he sensed a menace from behind. He turned back and saw the massive mouth of the Cryanid Burrower heading for him. His prey had lured him close to the ground that the Cryanid Burrower could reach him.
Amon zoomed away. Tentacles shot out of the Cyranid Burrower’s mouth. They were too fast.
Amon used the Elder God Veil before the tentacles grabbed him. Six flying knives enhanced by the shadows of his arcane art also flew out. Together with the dark tentacles on his back, the knives struck the Burrower’s tentacles, stopping them from reaching him. Some still did, but his protective shadow suit eroded the tentacles, preventing them from getting a good grip.
Amon sent a command to the Sun Ray Hawk when he began making the evasive move. The Sun Ray Hawk turned into a giant fireball and shot forward. The long tentacles on its head emitted electricity that coursed around the fireball as it sped forward.
The ball of fire and lightning crashed into the side of the Cryanid Burrower. Upon impact, the accumulated energies of the fire and lightning were released in a powerful detonation. The explosion shoved the massive Cryanid Burrower to the side, causing the tentacles from its mouth to move away from Amon. Its thick carapace was cracked at the point of impact.
The Cryanid Burrower suffered no serious wound but was halted by the Sun Ray Hawk’s attack. This allowed Amon to chase after his prey again.
The humanoid Cryanid he was targeting had fled to his stronger comrade. They were conversing in their clicking language while beating back Xou Liang and Lin Li. They dashed in a different direction from Amon. Amon also perceived a change in the movement of the Cryanids.
’They are retreating,’ Amon thought.
While this was the result he promised Xou Liang and Jin Fung, it was not one he wished for, at least not so soon. If he failed to capture one of these humanoid Cryanids, there would be no progress to his mission.
He quickly reviewed the situation. The Cryanids were everywhere. The two humanoid Cryanids made good use of their minions. They fled where many Cryanids had gathered. More were coming, including those who had entered the city. With these Cryanids’ interference, he didn’t think he could achieve his objective.
He preferred to delay this, but it seemed fate had dictated otherwise. His mind went into his black space ring and spoke to Yuka, "Are you ready to carry out my last request to earn your freedom?"