The terrifying power that even space recoiled from and sought to suppress...
A force so potent it could seemingly defy the very rules of space...
Even a mere glimpse of the faint light emanating from the blade would make a person’s breath catch painfully in their throat!
This was Apophis, the Demon Sword, Apophis!
Fang Senyan's fingers first stretched wide, then one by one, they curled around the hilt of Apophis. Immediately, the palm gripping the hilt turned crimson and translucent, and a sharp long spike began to sprout from the grip. A forceful clench would pierce the skin of his palm, sinking deep into his artery. Apophis would then begin to absorb the user's blood to unleash its horrific might! Even the gods would tremble before it!
What was even more remarkable was that Fang Senyan could currently unleash the maximum power of Apophis because he possessed the Awakened reward ability, "Talent." Since this Awakened already carried the negative trait of being permanently unable to use any shield-like items, the Talent attribute allowed him to seamlessly switch between various melee weapons, maximizing their power even without the requisite proficiency.
More importantly, when it was consumed, the Demon Sword Apophis was also upgraded to +4. One must not underestimate this +4 enhancement, as the price paid just to enhance this demonic sword to +4 was terrifying enough.
This meant... the Demon Sword Apophis currently in Fang Senyan's hands was a monstrously enhanced +10 weapon!
Beyond the significant boost to attack power, the +10 Demon Sword Apophis possessed two major enhancement increases compared to before. First, the negative effect of the active ability, "Apophis's Sneer," was greatly reduced: the chance of becoming a slave to Apophis after the duration ended dropped from 33% to 7%.
Secondly, the "Annihilation" effect was amplified. Previously, upon dealing damage to an enemy, there was only a certain chance of triggering the Annihilation effect. Now, the first successful hit on an enemy was guaranteed to trigger it. Then, the next successful damaging attack had a 2% chance to trigger Annihilation, the one after that 4%, the next 8%, and so on, climbing until it reached 100%! Once the Annihilation effect was triggered at any point, the trigger chance would be forcibly reduced back to 3% to begin the cycle anew.
This made triggering the Annihilation effect largely controllable. Setting aside the first strike, even with terrible luck, the Annihilation effect was guaranteed to be triggered after successfully hitting the enemy eight times!
Blood, drop by drop, descended from the sky.
It fell upon the soil of the parched earth, thirstily absorbing it in the shortest possible time.
Fang Senyan, first and foremost, endured the enemy's frontal assault with his own body!
The Pain Bringer fully displayed the terrifying power of its bizarre long limbs. Its right hand instantly swelled and hardened, its fingers transforming into growths resembling fangs, and with a swift whoosh, it slammed into Fang Senyan’s right chest. Despite Fang Senyan’s current formidable defense, he could offer no resistance to this powerful strike. His right chest was instantly completely pierced, bone and flesh peeling back to reveal a massive, horrific wound!
Not only that, his neck was savagely attacked again by that unknown, transparent, bizarre assailant. A huge swath of flesh was ripped away, exposing the stark white cervical spine and the violently pulsing carotid artery amidst the mangled gore.
The hallmark of a Forger was the ability to transmute parts of the body into perfect weaponry... yet this Pain Bringer had clearly achieved perfect transformation, capable of unleashing terrifying power with every move, reaching a rank surpassing that of a Forger!
"You fool, you’re two ranks higher than me, two whole ranks!" Fang Senyan ground out internally, teeth clenched.
But just then, the silently enduring Fang Senyan found his perfect opening. The Pain Bringer, having struck successfully and fueled by pain—its very source of power—was not focusing on defense. Its guard was completely down, its vulnerability obvious!
Therefore, Fang Senyan instantly gripped the hilt tighter, the sharp sting focusing and heightening his mind. He felt his very flesh and blood essence being greedily sucked away by Apophis.
Then he slashed downward.
The entire world instantly dissolved into a deep, thick sea of blood. His nostrils were choked with an intensely rich, bloody aroma—the smell of fresh blood heated to near-boiling, accompanied by the roaring whistle of air being violently torn apart!
And then there was that light—a terrifying radiance as if a billion vengeful, wailing souls had simultaneously exploded!
A ceaseless, blood-red giant waterfall of a strike cleaved down!
A meter from the Pain Bringer’s surface, Apophis suddenly encountered resistance, as if slicing into something viscous and sluggish. However, around the blade of Apophis, a fierce, deep crimson light shimmered. This light was minuscule yet incredibly sharp; nothing could withstand its cut, and nothing could persist before it for even a single, fleeting second!
This was the might of Apophis, the terrifying power of the incomparably potent mutated, blood-soaked general-grade sword.
That flash of... speed!
That flash of... power!
An indescribable shriek echoed through the air, yet Fang Senyan's cut was still not sated. It continued slicing into the Pain Bringer’s hip, carving through with unstoppable force, even severing the connection between the thigh bone and the pelvis. But finally, the formidable flesh forged by the Blade Queen took effect; the muscles near the wound twisted violently, clamping down on the blade of Apophis. The strength Fang Senyan had channeled through Apophis, now at its limit, was finally exhausted.
However, after that single blow, although the Pain Bringer’s right leg was not completely severed at the upper thigh, only a layer of muscle and callus only two to three centimeters thick remained attached to the main body. Thick, yellow fluid poured out in torrents, foaming massively upon contact with the air, attempting to seal the wound.
Fang Senyan, having delivered the strike, barely had time to draw a breath before he was slapped away by the Pain Bringer, sent flying over ten meters. He rose onto one knee, realizing the entire side of his facial bone was shattered. He could not speak, and blood seeped steadily from his facial orifices.
The Pain Bringer then began to cackle:
"What a powerful attack! What horrific damage! Ah, I am already intoxicated by this surging agony! It ignites my power, awakening within my core! You will soon taste double the torment I grant you, fool! You have no comprehension of Her Majesty the Blade Queen’s greatness. Such a wound might have been fatal to the former me, but my mighty recovery power will show you that all, all attacks are utterly futile against me!"
"You!! Are!! Not!! Worth!! Mentioning!!!"
"Are you so sure?" A strange, sinister, blood-colored light suddenly flared in Fang Senyan's eyes.
In that instant, he clearly saw the trajectory of the sword slash he had just executed—bloody, dense, distinct, and imbued with an indescribable, resolute sharpness!
Floating on the Pain Bringer's back was a distorted, constantly shifting transparent phantom. This phantom seemed capable of morphing into all manner of shapes, and Fang Senyan clearly understood this thing was what had caused his previous inexplicable injuries.
But now, a horrific fissure had appeared on this transparent phantom. The energy around the fissure seemed desperately trying to repair it, yet strangely, Arabic numerals—zeros and ones—kept flickering intermittently out of the rent. Once the fissure seemingly healed, something bizarre occurred: the original wound site displayed a strange, blood-red mark, akin to the mosaic effect seen during moments of intense visual interference, though retaining its crimson hue.
As soon as the transparent phantom finished healing, the blood-red light flashed again, instantly restoring the wound exactly as it was before. During this restoration, huge quantities of phantom zeros and ones appeared, and the mosaic-like, bizarre crimson light transformed into something resembling a stream of digital code, impacting the wound repeatedly!
The transparent phantom, unable to heal despite repeated attempts, emitted a terrifying and desperate shriek!
The exact same scene was unfolding at the root of the Pain Bringer’s right leg. Its muscles twisted and writhed, striving to regenerate. But every effort was wasted. As soon as the wound began to close, the horrific power residual from Demon Sword Apophis transformed into a string of code, a stream of data, forcefully overriding and preventing regeneration!
This was the formidable power of the Demon Sword Apophis; this was the terror of its signature skill: Annihilation!
Fang Senyan looked utterly battered, scarred from head to toe, facing an opponent two full ranks above him—an envoy of the Blade Queen.
Under such circumstances, no person, regardless of who they were, would feel remotely comfortable or at ease.
Yet, Fang Senyan now found himself smiling. He brushed the dust from his clothes, then performed a polite, low bow toward the Pain Bringer, who was roaring and struggling to stand ten meters away, only to fall back down repeatedly. He then said casually:
"Although it may sound presumptuous and discourteous, sir, it is time for us to say goodbye. I wish you good health and a pleasant journey."
With that, Fang Senyan, as light-hearted as a backpacker, strode into the depths of the jagged mountain range.