Chapter 127 - 3 days of slaughter
The first roar didn’t echo, it stacked.
BZZZZZZZZTTTTTT!
.It was the sound of rolling thunder.
Layer upon layer of sound crashed through the frozen mountain range until the air itself seemed to solidify.
And suddenly the mountain did not feel vast anymore. Instead, it felt crowded and suffocating as every ridge, every cliff face, and every jagged outcrop teemed with movement.
They were already coming.
Over ten thousand Qi Beasts with an average level of Level 50 responded to the call of their Alpha as like a coordinated army, they surged towards the duo of Demon and Wolfkin floating in the sky.
Despite the fact that she already prepared herself mentally for the challenge of the 50th realm of Dragon’s Tooth, Theodore still didn’t prepare for this.
"...!" Her eyes widened in fear but unlike before, she didn’t cower in fear.
Faced with the challenge, she felt a slumbering pride bubbling inside of her.
She was surprised. ’Since when did I have pride as a warrior?’ She didn’t know when but apparently, somewhere along the line she already developed the pride of a true warrior.
And despite the fact that ten thousand Qi Beasts were currently rushing toward her, intent on tearing her apart and devouring her, Theodore didn’t feel scared.
Instead, she thought with a grin. ’Bring it on!’
Her whole being brimmed with fighting intent.
She wanted to test her limits, she wanted to see where exactly the threshold of her power was, and she wanted to push past that limit with impunity.
She wanted to evolve alongside Lord Zaratul.
Below, the mountain boiled.
RUMBLE!
The snow did not fall as instead, it was kicked upward in choking plumes as over ten thousand Qi Beasts surged forward at once, with aerial beasts choking the air with the sheer quantity of their numbers.
The ground trembled in a constant, violent vibration that crawled up the spine and into the skull.
Suddenly, for the Demon and Wolfkin, there was no horizon anymore.
Only bodies.
And eyes, so many eyes.
With his Dragon Wings unfurled and levitating in the air, Julian floated at the center of the narrowing world, his breath fogging in sharp bursts as inside his killing intent quietly surged.
He was literally facing an expression of death in its rawest form, yet Julian showed no fear. His Dragon bloodline meant he was incapable of showing fear.
Fear only served to stimulate him and make him even stronger.
And then...
KABOOM!
The first rank broke through the storm!
Frostmaws- hulking wolf-like horrors with elongated jaws spilt into layered mandibles snapped and shrieked madly as they leapt into the air to bite at them.
Their breath crystalized mid-air into shards that rained like glass.
Behind them, towering Iceback Gorillas slammed their fists into the ground, sending shockwaves that fractured the frozen terrain and launched entire packs forward faster than their legs alone could carry them.
Above...
A shadow passed, then 2, then 3, and then dozens!
Glacier Drakes dove from the cliffs in response to their Alpha’s summons, their wings shedding blades of ice with every beat as the sky became a collapsing ceiling of fangs and talons.
Julian watched all of it with an impassive look on his face, a look filled with murderous bloodlust and defiance, and then...
BZZZZZZZZ!
His red qi flared around his body like a tsunami, erupting and spreading out in all directions.
Slow!
The world slowed.
Stop!
The world stopped.
Fear Projection!
Dominion Aura!
The world shuddered in fear.
Aether Bolt! ×10,000!
Aether Threading!
Spell Echo!
Dragon Breath- Fire Blanket!
BZZZZZZZZ!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sky shuddered and then shattered as destructive spells wreaked havoc, cutting through the atmosphere like a hot knife through butter, slicing through hundreds of Qi Beasts in the process.
DING!
The Debauchery System lit up with a ton of system notifications at once as...
~----~
[Congratulations! You have killed...!]
[You have gained EXP...!]
...
[Congratulations! You have killed...!]
[You have gained EXP...!]
...
[Congratulations! You have killed...!]
[You have gained EXP...!]
...
[Congratulations! You have killed...!]
[You have gained EXP...!]
...
[Congratulations! You have killed...!]
[You have gained EXP...!]
...
[Congratulations! You have killed...!]
[You have gained EXP...!]
~----~
Destructive qi wreaked havoc, the world burned, and amid the flames, Theodore finally snuck out, infiltrating the ranks of the endless tide of powerful Qi Beasts as she began making use of her insidious set of skills.
For this battle, she was purely support.
Even for her, damaging Level 50+ Qi Beasts was a hassle not to talk of actually killing them. This was why instead of attacking directly like Lord Zaratul, she settled for support and she played her role to perfection.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With Theodore supporting him, Julian was free to go all out in perhaps the most deadly battle of his lives.
His firepower was incredible, but against so many powerful Qi Beasts, it was impossible to keep all of them at bay.
And soon, some of them slipped through his tight net.
From just some at first, the numbers increased in the next round and soon enough, dozens of Qi Beasts were already breaking through the tight net and finally, they sank their fangs into the Demon.
But they quickly learned that the Demon was not an easy prey to devour.
Thick red qi flared around him like a tsunami.
Recursive Shielding!
Kinetic Shield!
Qi Armor!
Dragon Scale!
Psychological Invisibility!
Julian tanked the collective attack of dozens of Level 50+ Qi Beasts.
He didn’t just defend though. At the same instant that he defended, he also went for a deadly counterattack as his qi flared again.
This time, he struck with his weapon, the Hell Piercer.
Elemental Infusion!
A few Qi Beasts tried to escape, but Julian was faster.
Forest Roots!
Thick forest roots emerged in mid-air, binding the smart Qi Beasts from escaping as Julian feasted on them.
He went all out, using all his skills without leaving anything behind.
And yet, despite this, killing a single enemy Qi Beast among the tens of thousands felt like climbing an uphill mountain.
Despite this, Julian wasn’t dismayed.
He locked in alongside Theodore who was his support in this crazy battle.
...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The world rocked in the wake of the epic battle between the Qi Beasts of the 50th realm and the Demon and Wolfkin who were looking to make history.
The first hour of the clash felt like the end of the world.
By the 10th hour, it felt like the world had forgotten how to end. And by the 3rd day, it felt like nothing existed anymore except the battle.
Yes, 3 days.
Julian spend 3 days conquering the 50th level of Dragon’s Tooth.
At the beginning, the mountain had been suffocating as he faced walls of fur, gang, and ice pressing in every direction. He had carved space for himself in violent bursts, each spell buying him seconds before the tide crashed back in.
But slowly, he adapted.
Slowly, he hit the zone state and once he was there, he never left as he lost track of time and perception of reality completely.
All that remained in his mind was slaughter.
Julian slaughtered and kept on slaughtering till he felt himself deriving immense pleasure from every subsequent Qi Beast that died to him.
DING!
~----~
[Congratulations! You are in an excited state!]
[Your EXP gain for each kill has doubled!]
~----~
Julian lost himself completely in the depths of slaughter.
He stopped thinking in terms of enemies. There was only movement. Anything that moved toward him- burn it, break it, survive it.
And with Theodore supporting him from the dark, he did it.
By nightfall of the first day, the ground was no longer visible due to the level of destruction that was already caused.
Bodies were left frozen into the earth, crushed into ice, or burned into blackened hollows that steamed in the freezing air.
The Qi Beast died in droves.
Far slower than the speed at which Julian conquered previous realms, but still in droves. Yet, they never stopped charging forward.
When the frontlines died, those behind climbed over them without hesitation. Frostmaws snapped at his throat even as their hind legs were dragged down by the weight of the horde behind them.
Glacier Drakes fell from the sky in burning spirals, only to explode into shards that became weapons for the next wave.
And through it all, the Alpha watched, right until the 3rd day.
On the 3rd day, the mountain-sized Polar Bear moved and instantly, the storm parted just enough for it to step forward at last.
Each step from it shook the world.
KABOOM!
The colossal Polar Bear descended into the battlefield like an avalanche given form. Each step crushed what remained beneath it, clearing space not by mercy, but by sheer inevitability.
When its gaze locked on Julian, thunder rumbled.
It struck and the sky screamed in protest, but Julian didn’t as he met its attack with a concentrated Fire Lance blast from his mouth.
The world broke from the impact of the collision as ice surged outward in a tidal wave, freezing everything it touched in an instant. While on the opposing side, the Demon met it with flames that consumed.
The collision erased everything between them.
CRKSH!
Sound vanished. Color vanished.
And for a single, suspended moment, there was nothing but opposing forces tearing at reality itself.
And then...
Infernal Impale!
The storm died slowly as snow settled in hesitant drifts. And the mountain which was once alive with tens of thousands, stood still at last.
No movement, no breath, no sound.
And at the center of it all stood a battered Demon who was flanked by a Wolfkin with swollen, red, and tired eyes.
They were the last men standing at the end.
DING!
The Debauchery System lit up with more notifications.