Legacy of Hatred

Andrew had been shocked multiple times in a row.

The instantaneous, all-devouring blackness Liam released had melted Andrew’s dome and armor despite the difference in their level. Andrew was literally using two defensive spells fueled by his superior cultivation, but a single one of Liam’s attacks had almost pierced them both.

The dome was only a rank 2 spell, but the all-devouring blackness’ power still made no sense, especially due to what followed.

Massively destructive techniques usually exacted heavy prices, going from longer casting times to debilitating injuries. It was why Andrew’s armor had no outstanding offensive capabilities, at least compared to its other properties.

Something had to give, but Liam had been able to continue his assault with no recovery whatsoever despite having unleashed such an incredible technique.

The other two exchanges were somewhat understandable. The fan’s prowess was outstanding, and the greatsword was bulky enough to pose a threat, especially when someone as physically strong as Liam wielded it.

What had come after was the issue.

It had only been for a fraction of a second. Still, Andrew had seen the completely inhuman expression on Liam’s face before he had gone for the bite, the emotionlessness of cold-blooded predators who only knew how to kill, eat, and digest.

And, as it soon turned out, Liam’s fangs weren’t for show. They had easily pierced the innate defense that Andrew’s Qi posed, and what they released into his bloodstream was far, far worse.

The burning sensation was hellish, but what it represented somehow surpassed that torture. Death was spreading inside Andrew, eating his body alive. His tissues were melting before his Qi could even realize what was happening, let alone try to stop it.

Truth was, the inhuman attack had felt strangely normal for Liam. The Divine Cult had beaten the beast out of him, but he had retrieved it after his time in the battle cages, and that wasn’t all.

A bite had actually been Liam’s winning move against the Divine Cult’s jailer, and he had foreign instincts stemming from his very bloodline guiding his hands, or fangs, now. He was the son of the Ancestral Snake, and that was how snakes hunted their prey.

Nevertheless, the sensation was an illusion, an echo from an immensely distant ancestor with no legs, arms, or limbs to speak of. Liam might have venom-releasing fangs, but they weren’t suitable tools for a human body.

Even with a hole and multiple layers turned into toxic slime, Andrew’s armor worked, and he wasn’t dead. His arms had also finished dealing with Liam’s weapons, meaning they could go for him.

Liam felt as if his belly was about to burst when what was left of the armored arms slammed on his sides, debilitating shockwaves accompanying the blows. His figure shot backward, his mouth leaving Andrew’s shoulder, but its job was done.

In that brief window, Liam had emptied his venom glands into Andrew’s body, and that wasn’t the end.

The armor’s damaged state had lowered its power output, but the hit had been direct. Liam could stop himself sooner than before, but blood was leaking from his mouth nonstop.

In comparison, Liam’s superficial layers were quite intact. His skin was in pieces, and the muscles underneath were torn, but not as much as they should have been after enduring so much.

The breakthrough’s empowerment, coupled with the Primal Urge, was showing its effects, keeping Liam in one piece and functional without relying on his Qi, but he had still lost control for a brief window.

However, Andrew had been unable to exploit that window since Liam had left him a present before leaving his shoulder. Actually two.

Andrew’s first instinct was to retreat right after throwing Liam off, but two pills had somehow appeared in the hole in his armor, and the shockwaves his fists had unleashed set them off.

Yellow clouds enveloped Andrew, fumes slipping under his melted armor. He was still dying due to what ran amok inside his body, but an outside assault had joined it.

That wasn’t even the end.

Andrew tried to retreat, only for the armor to melt beyond the breaking point. His figure fell into the toxic lake, its slimy, black waters reaching his chest, adding black veins to his caving flesh.

Nevertheless, Andrew showed his experience even in that terrible predicament. As his Qi went wild to fight the multilayered infection, a glassy amphora appeared in his hands, and he brought it to his mouth before the lake could devour his arms.

Andrew immediately started to recover. His skin inflated as healthy flesh formed underneath, and the black veins that had started spreading over his body receded.

Yet, before Andrew could finish drinking the amphora’s contents, he jerked his head back, and the item exploded while still in his mouth, blown apart by the hulking piece of metal that had been about to behead him.

Waves formed the dense lake due to the might the greatsword unleashed, but it wasn’t alone. Andrew’s hand snapped up, and the folded fan stabbed his palm, threatening to pierce it completely.

But the greatsword was already swinging again, moving far too quickly for an item of such size and weight, forcing Andrew to deflect it with his bare arm.

While Qi protected Andrew’s arm, nothing could stop that direct blow. The limb didn’t even get the chance to bend before the greatsword cleaved it off at the elbow.

The greatsword obviously didn’t stop there. Nothing could block it once swung, but Andrew sacrificing his arm had bought him a fraction of a second, enough for him to disappear.

Even with the hyper-clarity, Liam briefly lost track of Andrew. It was actually thanks to the fan still stabbed in his hand that Liam found him so soon. He was high in the sky, a transparent liquid floating beneath his feet, acting as a platform of sorts.

That speed surpassed Liam’s fan, and the shockwave that followed sent it flying off, allowing Andrew to use his remaining hand to grab the amphora he had just summoned.

Yet, for some reason, a silver spear started descending upon Andrew, one Liam recognized. It was the rank 3 weapon Rachel had brought with her, but a dark-red aura shone from it now.