Chapter 67: Chapter67-Emerging from the Depths
"Ah!" Lucas's agonizing scream echoed through the great hall, chilling to the bone.
As the Thorned Rock Serpent bit into Lucas, John's staff flashed again with a yellow-green glow.
Sharp fangs within the gaping maw of the serpent began to grow wildly; in the blink of an eye, dense, thorny spikes pinned Lucas firmly within its jaws.
Blood rained down from above, staining the serpent's head a deep crimson, making its already fearsome visage even more brutal and terrifying.
Lucas frantically swung his blood sword at the Thorned Rock Serpent.
The sharp blade met little resistance, slicing into the serpent's body.
Soon, Lucas had inflicted numerous wounds on the serpent.
Just when it seemed Lucas might escape, what happened next shocked everyone present!
The serpent's wounds began to heal at a visibly rapid pace.
The cuts made by Lucas's blood sword were healing almost instantly!
Everyone gasped in astonishment.
This was a terrifying echo of the Crimson Count's abilities, but it appeared that this serpent's healing speed was even more horrifying!
Everyone looked at John as if they had seen a ghost.
Baron chuckled bitterly, "It used to be House Carter that disgusted others with their superior healing abilities. I bet they never imagined they'd one day be on the receiving end of someone else's terrifying regenerative powers!"
Albertus clicked his tongue in wonder, "How did he ever think to combine such skills? This is just twisted!"
Eldritch, stroking his snow-white beard, laughed, "This skill fusion technique is indeed quite fascinating. Its self-healing ability is very similar to that of the Crimson Count. However, the Crimson Count uses the HP stored in blood crystals and his body to heal his wounds, while this little fellow from Hidden Stars uses his own MP to continuously heal the serpent's injuries.
Though different, the two methods share a peculiar similarity."
Alexander nodded, "It seems he drew inspiration from Lucas, hence this skill fusion technique. This newcomer from Hidden Stars, whether in terms of talent or observational skills, is terrifying indeed."
The others also marveled, already foreseeing Lucas's grim fate.
And indeed, the trial proved them right.
Above Lucas's head, damage numbers kept rising!
"-5194!"
"-5083!"
"-5025!"
...
Such damage would have been enough to kill Lucas ten times over, yet the fellow was still very much alive, even the parts bitten off by the Thorned Rock Serpent had been restored to their original state.
However, at the same time, the blood crystal on Lucas's forehead was visibly dimming.
John had long noticed that the blood crystal on Lucas's forehead was his power source.
He knew that with his attacks alone, it would be difficult to kill Lucas here, which led him to the idea of fusing with the Thorned Rock Serpent, and the result was better than he had imagined.
Although John relied on his own MP to heal the serpent's wounds, his consumption was less than Lucas's.
John had calculated that before his own MP was exhausted, Lucas would be barely clinging to life, if not dead.
Lucas quickly realized he could not afford to continue this battle any longer.
Although he didn't know how long John could hold out, he dared not gamble with his own life.
Enduring the intense pain, the blood crystal on his forehead flickered wildly as his blood sword suddenly burst into dazzling light.
He swung his sword fiercely at the Thorned Rock Serpent!
"Boom!!"
A massive blood blade materialized, its powerful force cleaving through the serpent's head.
Despite the Thorned Rock Serpent's terrifyingly rapid healing, Lucas seized the opportunity to pry open the serpent's massive jaws and escape.
Covered in blood, Lucas was a far cry from his earlier arrogance and pride.
Gasping for air, his gaze towards John was filled with venomous hatred, as if he wished to devour him alive.
"What a pity," Seraphina said, her tone laced with regret.
She had thought John's strike would have been the end of Lucas, but he had managed to escape.
The others also felt it was a missed opportunity, unlikely to come again.
By now, the effects of John's Bloodlust, Berserk, and Gold Mail Armor skills had worn off.
With Lucas's escape, they feared another difficult battle ahead.
John, however, appeared unfazed.
With a thought, the Thorned Rock Serpent, now fully healed, stretched its massive body and charged at Lucas once more.
Lucas had escaped once; John didn't believe he could do it a second time.
Lucas's expression darkened as he suddenly released a powerful surge of energy.
Just when everyone thought he was about to fight desperately, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded.
Lucas transformed into a streak of blood light, not even looking back as he dashed towards another direction of the palace corridor, his speed so fast that only a trail of blood light could be seen cutting through the air!
He was actually trying to flee!
The onlookers were stunned.
During Lucas's escape, his form rapidly returned to normal, and the blood crystal at his brow lost its initial brilliance, quickly becoming dull and lifeless.
It was then that everyone realized.
The effects of John's skills had ended, and Lucas, too, had expended a great deal. He could no longer maintain his transformed state.
Lucas was running on fumes, but John still had MP left; naturally, he wouldn't let Lucas escape so easily.
John's hands lit up with a glow of intertwining purple and red spells, and a light spear burning with a blazing white flame quickly materialized in his grasp.
"Blazing Light Spear!"
With a sharp gaze, John gripped the light spear, swung his arm with all his might, and hurled the Blazing Light Spear towards Lucas with full force!
"Boom!"
The air vibrated!
The Blazing Light Spear turned into a streak of light in mid-air, carrying a terrifying sound as it shot straight towards Lucas!
The noise from behind caught Lucas's attention.
When he saw the Blazing Light Spear heading his way, his pupils dilated suddenly.
All the hairs on Lucas's body stood on end, a tremendous sense of death looming over him!
Death, real death!
Lucas was terrified, using all his strength to try and dodge this dreadful strike.
But the Blazing Light Spear's speed was simply too fast!
With a "pfft," the blazing white light flashed and vanished in mid-air.
The blood-colored longsword fell from the sky.
The right half of Lucas's body was almost instantaneously evaporated by the Blazing Light Spear, and onlookers could even see his charred organs through the wound.
"Roar!!!" Lucas's face twisted in an inhuman scream of pain and rage as he fell from the sky.
John seized the opportunity to press his attack, moving as fast as lightning towards him, determined to kill Lucas on the spot.
"Crack!" However, at this critical moment, the blood crystal on Lucas's forehead suddenly shattered.
A blood-colored shield rapidly enveloped him, and Lucas, who had seemed utterly powerless, transformed into a streak of blood light and vanished from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.
John stopped in his tracks, frowning.
"These imperial guys are damn hard to kill," he thought, amazed that even at this point, there was still a card left to play for survival.
Catching up, Seraphina asked, "Do we continue the chase?"
John bent down to collect Lucas's fallen blood sword into his storage ring.
Hearing Seraphina's question, he didn't hesitate.
"Chase! We can't let him off so easily!"
Lucas's blood crystal arcane had been broken, and with such severe injuries, it was impossible for him to recover quickly.
"There will come an end to Lucas's arcane," John thought, "As long as we keep up the chase, his death is certain."
Seraphina nodded, saying nothing more.
The two quickly pursued in the direction Lucas had fled.
Onlookers watched the scene unfold, speechless amongst themselves.
Who could have imagined that Seraphina and her companion, once seemingly trapped in a dire situation, not only survived but also turned the tables to become the hunters?
And Lucas, who had been overwhelmingly strong, now reduced to a desperate flight.
The crowd said nothing, merely watching the chase unfold silently on the screen.
In a corner among the spectators, the Black Ghost steward and arraymancer Owen exchanged glances, both understanding that the outcome was now all but decided.
If nothing unexpected happened, the inheritance would undoubtedly go to John.
The corners of the Black Ghost steward's mouth curled up, revealing an inscrutable smile.
"It seems," he thought to Owen, "that the person in the coffin will be very pleased with their inheritor! Notify the people outside the secret realm to begin preparations. Once the lord inside is revived, we move. Then, no one will be able to stop us!"
"Yes!" Owen respectfully accepted the order and then, while unnoticed by the others, quietly made his way to a nondescript corner of the Withered Forest.
He found the array marker left in advance and placed an envelope inside it.
An ancient tome appeared in Owen's hands, seemingly out of nowhere.
As he recited incantations, the tome lit up, activating the prepared magic array.
The envelope in the center of the magic array vanished in an instant!
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