Volume 3: Global Vanguard & The Advanced Pinnacle
Chapter 243
Nether Hell Black Wolf Breakthrough to Peak Commander Tier
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The shockwaves from the volcanic sandstorm explosion were still frantically ravaging the ancient underground mausoleum space. The entire granite arched ceiling, three thousand meters deep underground, had completely collapsed, exposing the blood-red Western Desert sky where swirling desert sandstorms howled like ten thousand ancient grievances. Masses of molten magma smoking pitch-black rained down upon the earth like an apocalyptic firestorm. The air was thick with the choking stench of sulfur and the bone-chilling, fishy reek of archaic demonic blood.
Mo Fan stood towering atop a shattered black rock mound, his pitch-black combat cloak snapping wildly in the howling wind and firestorm.
His chest rose and fell in rapid, heavy gasps.
Just moments ago, to disperse the colossal, world-destroying blood sandstorm onslaught unleashed by the giant beast, Mo Fan had channeled his multi-elemental magic to its absolute limit. Both the Nirvana Demon Thunder and the Primordial Dragon Flame had been drained of a third of their capacity in a split second to erect a heaven-defying defensive barrier. At this moment, the magical currents inside his starlight nebula were falling into a brief mana recovery hiatus—a fateful tick that any mage must face right after casting a massive, high-consumption ultimate spell.
And an ancient, brutal creature that had survived a thousand years of imprisonment, like the Blood Sand Flame Demon Emperor, would never let go of this fatal opening!
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!”
A savage roar tore the underground space asunder. Seeing his proud, glowing volcanic sandstorm technique neutralized by a mere tiny human, the Blood Sand Flame Demon Emperor went completely berserk!
In the eyes of the ancient desert sovereign, humans were nothing more than lowly worms crawling beneath its feet, born solely to serve as sacrificial sustenance. Yet today, the majesty of an Ancient God-Beast Emperor had been trampled underfoot by a human youth! That immense humiliation transformed into a blazing fury that scorched away every shred of remaining rationality in the giant beast.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The Flame Demon Emperor’s towering body, standing over a hundred meters tall, suddenly shook violently. The thick layer of volcanic rock armor across its chest glowed fiercely red, with protruding veins of molten magma bulging like giant, writhing fire serpents beneath the stony skin. The surrounding temperature instantly soared to several thousand degrees Celsius, turning the red sand beneath its feet into a boiling, bubbling liquid glass.
The giant beast swung its massive right arm high into the air!
That was an arm as colossal as a towering volcanic ridge, its five lava claws stretching over ten meters long, entwined with ghostly crimson lightning arcs. As it whipped downward, the air pressure ahead was compressed to the extreme, generating an ear-splitting screech that tore through eardrums as it smashed straight toward Mo Fan’s head!
The blow carried the crushing weight of an entire mountain range and thermal energy capable of evaporating a deep lake in the blink of an eye!
The space around Mo Fan was completely locked down by Commander-tier pressure. The atmosphere thickened like sticky glue, and every inch of joints in his body emitted groaning cracks under the immense load. Beneath his feet, the ground subsided in concentric circles, crushing sand and stone into fine powder.
“Mo Fan! Get out of the way!”
In the distance, Deputy Commander Meng Zhan roared in despair. He wanted to rush to the rescue, but the wound on his chest burst open, sending fresh blood gushing out and forcing him to his knees on the stone floor. Ye Xinyuan bit her lips hard, pouring all her Spiritual magic into her magic staff to erect a barrier, but before the destructive might of the monarch beast’s paw, those newly formed silver beams shattered like soap bubbles.
The distance was less than ten zhang!
The scorching gale blew against his face with a stinging burn. Mo Fan wanted to deploy Spatial magic to teleport, but the space within ten meters had been melted and distorted by the extreme heat of the Flame Demon Emperor, fracturing the spatial trajectories completely!
Mortal doom was imminent!
Right at that split-second of life-and-death peril...
“ARROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
A howl of bitter hatred, roaring fury, and ultimate unyielding will tore through the screen of fire and smoke, echoing thunderously throughout the underground grand hall!
Right before Mo Fan’s chest, the purple-silver magical radiance of the Contract Summoning suddenly burst forth brilliantly of its own accord without needing its master’s command. The gate of the dark dimension swung wide open, and a pitch-black streak tore through the wind, darting out at astonishing speed!
The Nether Hell Black Wolf!
Mo Fan’s most loyal battle wolf had broken the spatial contract seal all on its own, defying everything to leap out and save its master!
It did not retreat, did not hesitate, and lacked even a shred of fear before the hundred-meter-tall ancient giant beast. Its jet-black body, nearly eight meters long, lunged straight into mid-air, its four dark claws gripping into the shattering void, its entire mane bristling like iron-black spears as it blocked squarely between Mo Fan and the world-destroying lava claw!
“Black Wolf! Fall back immediately!”
Mo Fan’s pupils constricted violently as he roared a warning. That was the full-power blow of a Monarch-tier Beast Emperor; a Mid-tier Commander-tier creature like the Black Wolf would undoubtedly be smashed into a bloody pulp of broken bones if it collided head-on!
Yet, the Nether Hell Black Wolf did not look back once.
Through the unshakeable soul bond between the summoner and his contract beast, Mo Fan clearly felt an ironclad, heart-wrenching will transmitting from the battle wolf’s consciousness.
“Master... even if I die, I will never let anyone lay a finger on you!”
This was a soul symbiosis forged through hundreds of bloody, life-or-death battles. From the very first days when the Nether Hell Black Wolf was merely a shivering Servant-tier wolf cub trailing behind Mo Fan’s footsteps in the dangerous wilderness, to charging alongside him on the battlefield of Bo City and tearing apart demon packs at the desert border...
How many times had Mo Fan shared his soul essence, nourishing it day by day with the Primordial Dragon Pendant? And how many times had the Black Wolf used its own body as a shield, tearing skin and muscle to block vicious blade strikes aimed at its master’s back? The bond between them had long surpassed an ordinary contract. It was companionship in arms, life-and-death confidants, sharing life and death together!
CRASH!
The Flame Demon Emperor’s colossal lava claw slammed heavily into the defensive dark barrier that the Nether Hell Black Wolf had just erected! The barrier of darkness shattered into pieces like thin glass. The heaven-shaking residual force of the giant beast struck straight into the Black Wolf’s body!
“AWOOOOOOO!”
The Black Wolf let out a howl of agony. Across its body, its ribs emitted horrifying cracking sounds, flesh tearing apart as dark wolf blood splattered wildly across mid-air, staining Mo Fan’s cloak. The battle wolf’s entire body was crushed down against the rock slope, its hind legs sinking deep into the hard rock ground, gritting its teeth to withstand the myriad-jun weight of the giant beast’s claw to protect the space behind its back!
Seeing the battle wolf’s blood dye the stone floor red, seeing those beastly eyes brimming with bloodshot veins yet staring unflinchingly forward without yielding half a step, a boiling, churning wave surged deep within Mo Fan’s chest.
“BLACK WOLF!”
Mo Fan roared, and the Primordial Dragon Pendant on his chest suddenly vibrated violently!
At this exact apex of life-and-death pressure, when the body had to endure the crushing force of a Monarch-tier strike, a heaven-shaking transformation erupted deep within the Nether Hell Black Wolf’s body!
For a long time now, following Mo Fan in sweeping across the Western Desert battlefields, the Nether Hell Black Wolf had devoured countless remnant souls and essence souls of Warrior-tier and Commander-tier desert beasts. That colossal energy had long been compressed at the bottom of its demonic core, unable to be fully refined due to the overly sturdy bottleneck barriers of the Mid-tier Commander rank.
Furthermore, throughout months of soaking in the pure aura emanating from the Primordial Dragon Pendant on Mo Fan’s chest, its dark bloodline had long absorbed wisps of ancient Dragon Might, simply waiting for a spark!
And now, the crushing pressure of the Flame Demon Emperor coupled with its unyielding grief and unwillingness to see its master perish became the fateful spark that burned away every single one of those shackles!
SNAP!
A crisp, shattering crack echoed from deep within the Black Wolf’s soul!
The shackles of the Mid-tier Commander realm... OFFICIALLY CRACKED WIDE OPEN!
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
From deep within the Nether Hell Black Wolf’s dantian, tens of thousands of accumulated beast remnant souls detonated simultaneously, transforming into a brutal ocean of energy surging violently through every meridian! At the same time, the Primordial Dragon Pendant on Mo Fan’s chest released a brilliant golden beam of light, shooting straight into the battle wolf’s glabella, fusing the Dragon Clan’s spiritual energy into the boiling dark bloodstream!
“ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
The Black Wolf’s roar abruptly changed! It was no longer the lonely howl of a desert wild wolf, but had transformed into a thunderous roar carrying the tyrannical majesty of an ancient True Dragon blended with the all-devouring greed of an archaic vicious beast!
BANG!
A pitch-black pillar of dark energy mixed with golden lightning and fire shot straight from the Black Wolf’s body up into the nine heavens, tearing apart the dusty clouds across the Western Desert sky! The erupting combat aura was so violently savage that it flung the Flame Demon Emperor’s colossal lava claw backward into the air! The hundred-meter giant beast staggered back two steps, volcanic boulders crashing down from its shoulders as its blood-red eyes shook violently.
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering molting evolution was taking place right before their eyes!
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!
The Nether Hell Black Wolf’s bones twisted and regenerated at a dizzying speed. Its body began to expand crazily! From its initial length of seven meters, its form swelled to ten meters... fifteen meters... twenty meters... and finally stopped at a terrifying length of over TWENTY-FIVE METERS! The bulging muscles beneath its skin were as hard as ancient granite, and its muscular shoulders bulged like a small mountain range of iron and steel.
But the most shocking part was the surface of its body!
The soft, dark fur originally covering it completely fell away, replaced by scales of jet-black obsidian dragon armor, sharp and glossy as black jade gemstones, densely packed from the nape of its neck all the way to the tip of its tail! Each dragon scale overlapped the other in flawless perfection, radiating an impenetrable, gloomy frost aura capable of neutralizing both elemental magic and physical attacks!
Around its four massive claws, as large as chariot wheels, gouts of purple-black dark thunder-flame burned fiercely, emitting crackling explosions that tore the surrounding space apart. At the top of its head, a sharp, pitch-black obsidian horn grew straight upward, glowing brightly with ancient runes of the Dragon Clan!
The aura emanating from its body leaped frantically!
Mid-tier Commander...
High-tier Commander...
And surged straight toward the supreme threshold: PEAK COMMANDER — HALF-STEP MONARCH!
Total metamorphosis! Reborn from the jaws of death!
At this moment, it was no longer an ordinary Nether Hell Black Wolf, but had officially awakened the bloodline of an ancient fierce god, incarnating into: THE VORACIOUS DESERT WOLF KING!
Desert whirlwinds howled around the Black Wolf’s massive twenty-five-meter frame. Its eyes had now transformed into two blood-red torches burning with overwhelming murderous intent, deep within whose pupils revolved the shadow of the Devouring Vortex!
It stood guard before Mo Fan, its towering physique acting like an unshakeable, impregnable dark wall. Sensing the soul bond growing ever deeper, Mo Fan smiled slightly, an arrogant grin appearing on the corners of his lips:
“Well done, old friend! It’s time to settle accounts with this monster!”
In response to Mo Fan’s words, the Voracious Desert Wolf King raised its head toward the sky and unleashed a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar:
“ROAAAAAAR!”
The sound wave carrying Dragon Clan majesty and the ferocious wildness of the Voracious Beast swept across the thousand-zhang battlefield, cracking the rock armor on the Flame Demon Emperor into massive chunks!
The Blood Sand Flame Demon Emperor flew into a towering rage. As a thousand-year desert overlord, how could it endure being roared at in the face by a Commander-tier creature? The giant beast roared madly, its lava-clawed hand once again condensing blood lightning, tearing through the wind to smash down toward the Black Wolf’s head, intent on grinding this arrogant creature into powder!
Yet, the speed of the Voracious Desert Wolf King had now reached a completely new realm!
WHOOSH!
Its massive twenty-five-meter frame suddenly blurred and vanished right on the spot, leaving behind only a pitch-black afterimage!
Dark Teleportation!
In a fraction of a second, a freezing gale materialized directly above the Flame Demon Emperor’s right arm. The Voracious Desert Wolf King stepped upon the void, the obsidian horn on its head glowing brightly, and its four claws wrapped in dark thunder-flame lashed out with a sky-tearing slashing strike!
“NETHER HELL DEMON CLAW — VORACIOUS DESTRUCTION!”
SLASHHHHHHHHHHH!
Five pitch-black dark claw marks over thirty meters long shrieked through the air, colliding head-on with the Flame Demon Emperor’s lava claw!
SNAP! BOOM!
The ear-piercing shriek of grinding metal mingled with the deafening crash of shattering boulders! The sturdy volcanic rock armor—which attacks from Advanced-tier mages couldn’t even scratch—was now, under the razor-sharp claws covered in thunder-flame of the Voracious Desert Wolf King, as brittle as dried mud!
All five of the Flame Demon Emperor’s lava fingers were cleanly sheared off! Tons of heavy molten magma splattered in all directions, and the giant beast’s black-red demonic blood gushed like a torrential rain!
“ROOOOAR!”
The Flame Demon Emperor shrieked miserably, excruciating pain causing its massive body to tremble violently. But the punishment did not stop there!
The black shadow of the Voracious Desert Wolf King did not pause for even half a beat. After tearing through the giant beast’s hand, it leveraged the recoil to plunge downward like a black meteor, skimming beneath the Flame Demon Emperor’s belly at supersonic speed.
Its target: The fatal weak spot of the humanoid giant beast!
RIP!
The Voracious Desert Wolf King opened its bloody maw, bristling with hundreds of sharp obsidian fangs wrapped in lightning, and chomped down hard onto the tendon of the Flame Demon Emperor’s left hind leg! The bite force of the Voracious bloodline could crush even diamonds! The sound of snapping tendons echoed crisply. At the same time, the dark thunder-flame fire from the wolf’s fangs poured wildly into the wound, scorching and destroying the giant beast’s entire lava meridian system from within!
“ROAAAAAR!”
The ultimate agony transmitted straight into its soul, causing the Flame Demon Emperor to completely lose control over its body. Its tendon-severed left leg had no support, and the hundreds of thousands of catties weight of the hundred-meter giant beast instantly lost its balance!
CRASH!
The desert ground shook violently. The huge left knee of the Blood Sand Flame Demon Emperor smashed heavily into the pile of red sand, sinking more than ten meters deep into the earth! The towering body of the giant beast tilted, forced to its knees before the Voracious Desert Wolf and Mo Fan!
This shocking fall not only shook the entire ancient mausoleum area, but also caused the thick lava armor protecting the Flame Demon Emperor’s chest to fracture open into a colossal gap. Deep within that glowing red fissure, a magical core crystal as large as a house was beating heavily, radiating a dazzling light like an ancient nuclear reactor!
The Flame Demon Emperor’s Demon Core—the source of life and power of the giant beast—had completely exposed itself outside its defenses!
A fateful, exposed opening! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity forged by the very blood and claws of the loyal contract beast!
The Voracious Desert Wolf King unclasped its jaws dripping with demonic blood, its four paws kicking off the giant beast’s shoulders to vault outward, turning its head to unleash a resounding roar to signal its master.
On the high rock outcrop, Mo Fan had already been standing there for who knows how long.
The brief window of time bought by the Black Wolf had allowed Mo Fan to completely recover his mana across all his nebulas. Not only that, witnessing the heroic rise and evolution of his battle comrade had ignited the battle intent in Mo Fan’s chest to an unprecedented peak!
Around Mo Fan’s body, the space suddenly grew bizarrely still.
Drip! Drip!
Wisps of black-purple lightning from the Nirvana Demon Thunder condensed from the void, wrapping around his right arm like a berserk thunder dragon. At the same time, the brilliant golden flames of the Primordial Dragon Flame erupted on his left arm, turning into a divine fire lotus scorching all things. Two supreme destructive powers began to fuse and rotate in a heaven-defying order!
The destructive aura compressed to the point where the space around Mo Fan’s hand collapsed into tiny black holes puffing out black smoke. Mo Fan’s gaze was as cold as a death reaper’s blade, piercing through thousands of zhang of sand and dust, locking dead onto the glowing, heaving Demon Core within the Monarch beast’s chest!
“Black Wolf, well done!”
The corners of Mo Fan’s lips curled into an arc brimming with murderous intent, his feet flexing slightly as his entire body lunged forward into the air like a world-destroying shooting star:
“Now... it’s my turn to send you to eternity!”
Thunder and fire intertwined and roared, shaking heaven and earth. Mo Fan’s ultimate finishing blow, pooling all his strength, was drawn and ready, about to crash straight down into the desert sovereign’s fatal meridian!