Chapter 174: Intense Bloodlust And Evolving Trait (Part 9/11)
Normally, it was very difficult for class-level warriors who were not even close to reaching level 20 to use an Essentia Art.
This was not only because learning an Essentia Art was extremely difficult, but also because executing one required a vast amount of energy.
Generally, even if someone had a very high affinity with cosmic energy, they would only possess around 115 to 125 points of cosmic energy at level 14.
However, due to his monstrous affinity with cosmic energy and the mid-level breathing method he cultivated, which increased his total cosmic energy by forty percent, Azrael’s cosmic energy had already reached nearly 230 points.
As a result, for him, it was not impossible to execute the entry level of the SkyRift Slash Essentia Art.
The SkyRift Slash required a sword to be used. Thus, while rushing forward, Azrael summoned the Fallen Star into his hand.
When the group of enemies, including the gray-haired woman who was an epic-level curse power user entered his sight, Azrael immediately activated his True Focus skill.
In that instant, everything before his eyes slowed down. Even though he was still two hundred meters away from the group of people, in his slowed perception, Azrael saw every minute detail of the group, their weapons, their movements, the fluctuations of power emanating from them. His mind registered everything with absolute clarity.
The black greatsword in his hand suddenly began to glow with a deep green light and within less than a second, the glow became so intense that the Fallen Star appeared entirely green, its black blade completely consumed by the radiance.
A strange, vivid green rune flashed within Azrael’s pupils as he calculated the speed and trajectory of the group.
Then, without hesitation, he swung his sword in a horizontal slash.
The instant he did, nearly two hundred points of his cosmic energy vanished, and the green glow covering the Fallen Star faded away.
Still under the effect of True Focus, Azrael observed in slow motion as Melissa—the grey haired woman’s expression twisted into utter shock.
She opened her mouth, clearly intending to warn the others. But before even a single word could escape her lips, a fifteen meters long horizontal rift—as thin as a strand of hair opened just a meter ahead of the running group.
From that rift, a condensed wind blade shot forward, appearing like an impossibly sharp, wire-thin thread of green light.
The group was still in mid-run when the rift appeared so close to them. As a result, before they could even comprehend what had happened, the thin wire-like blade of wind passed cleanly through all of their bodies.
For the briefest moment, confusion flickered across their faces. Then, their vision shifted strangely, tilting as though they were falling.
In that fleeting instant, the group of people saw their own lower halves still sprinting forward while their upper bodies, from the waist upward began toppling toward the ground as the blood sprayed out without stopping.
Only then did the horrifying realization dawn upon them that their bodies had been sliced perfectly in two.
The speed of the wind blade was indescribably fast. Before the upper halves of their bodies even had time to collapse, the blade had already reached Melissa at the very back of the group.
For Azrael, the sequence unfolded slowly, each detail drawn out under True Focus. But in reality, from the instant he slashed to the moment the wind blade reached Melissa, not even two seconds had passed.
Sensing the razor-sharp, condensed energy surging toward her, Melissa’s hair stood on end. Her instincts screamed danger and with desperate urgency, she activated a skill, conjuring a pitch-black shield before her.
Yet, the SkyRift Slash was no ordinary attack; on top of that, it had been amplified by a 60% attack boost from the Fallen Star’s Sword Domination ability.
As a result, the attack carved through her hastily conjured shield as if it were paper and continued forward toward her body.
A look of horror flickered across Melissa’s face, and just as the wind blade was about to cleave her in two as well, the pendant hanging around her neck suddenly shattered.
A golden barrier erupted outward, enveloping her and halting the SkyRift Slash in its tracks.
The barrier dimmed noticeably from the impact, but as an epic-level defensive prop, it successfully blocked the attack.
Azrael, watching from afar, showed no surprise. As an epic-level warrior and one of the Transcendent Organization’s most important figures, it was only natural that Melissa would carry a life-saving treasure and he had expected as much.
Thus, after unleashing the SkyRift Slash, he did not stop his assault. Instead, just after launching the attack, he gripped the Fallen Star in his hand like a javelin.
His remaining cosmic energy drained away as violent wind currents coiled tightly around the greatsword, encasing it in a rotating vortex.
Taking a throwing stance, Azrael’s muscles bulged as he used the Force Utilization Technique, drawing out nearly one hundred and sixty percent of his raw strength.
A cold, merciless light flashed in his eyes as he spun his body in a full 360-degree motion to build momentum and the very next instant—
The World!
He hurled the Fallen Star with all his might, simultaneously activating the World Ability of his Soul Armament.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion, as if hundreds of grenades had detonated at once reverberated through the entire settlement. Propelled by rotating wind currents, the greatsword shot forward in a blur, its speed monstrous despite the increased weight.
Although the World Ability multiplied Fallen Star’s weight by four, Azrael’s overwhelming strength, combined with the rotating winds still propelled the weapon across two hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Melissa, who had just breathed a sigh of relief after surviving thanks to her prop suddenly froze as a sense of unprecedented crisis gripped her heart.
Her eyes widened in horror as she barely caught a glimpse of something streaking toward her with world-shattering force before her attention shifted involuntarily.
The bisected bodies of her subordinates, which had not yet fully collapsed suddenly burst apart into a crimson mist as the Fallen Star tore past them in its unstoppable charge.
Her epic-level barrier, already weakened after blocking the SkyRift Slash met the brunt of the attack and—
BOOM!
The barrier lasted less than a microsecond before it shattered completely.
Even after destroying the barrier, the Fallen Star did not stop and surged onward, its momentum unchecked.
BANG!
The sword made contact with Melissa’s body and in an instant, she exploded into a cloud of blood mist, scattering in every direction as the violent gusts of wind shredded her remains into nothingness.