Volume 4: Super-Tier Awakening & The Ancient Capital Calamity
Chapter 360
Before the Threshold of the Shrine: The Roar of the Blood Puppet Monarch
Dust and debris billowed and dispersed into the deathly stillness of the ancient plaza. The colossal bronze gates, weighing tens of thousands of catties, collapsed, shattering into thousands of razor-sharp fragments that embedded deep into the jade-stone slabs.
From the dark, fathomless depths of the grand hall, a devastating wave of deathly pressure—heavy and viscous—suddenly descended. It was ten times, no—a hundred times stronger than the might of the Mountain-Cleaving Corpse Monarch earlier! That momentum felt like an entire starry vault collapsing, pressing down onto every fiber, every blood vessel, and deep into the soul of everyone present. The surrounding space seemed to freeze; even the howling wind outside abruptly ceased before the appearance of a supreme lord.
“Rumble... rumble... rumble...”
Heavy footsteps resounded like sledgehammers slamming straight into chests. With every step the creature took, the earth shook violently, and dense, deep cracks spread across the plaza, transmitting terrifying shockwaves straight to the ground of the Ancient Capital a thousand meters away.
Emerging from the gloomy fog of the grand hall was a gigantic humanoid behemoth, towering sixty meters tall. Its entire body was clad in Blood Armor glistening dark crimson like thick blood, its surface carved with ancient dark runes flickering with an eerie red light like a beating pulse. This was none other than the Blood Puppet Monarch!
It was the strongest, most brutal guardian general guarding the eternal slumber of the Ancient Emperor from thousands of years ago. Deep within the hollow sockets of the giant’s eyes, there were no pupils; instead, two ghostly blood-red flames burned fiercely, radiating an utter, boundless hatred toward the human world.
Its combat prowess... was that of an Upper Monarch Tier! An entity standing at the apex of the magical beast food chain, powerful enough to single-handedly flatten a major human city within a day and a night!
In its massive hand—resembling a city shield—the Blood Puppet Monarch tightly gripped a thirty-meter-long blood-encrusted bone greatsword. The blade dripped with dark fresh blood, emitting the pungent stench of an ancient battlefield that had once buried millions of souls beneath its slaughtering edge.
Professor Zhang Yuanming stood in the rear, his entire body trembling so violently that his legs turned to jelly, unable to support him. He looked up at the towering giant before him, his face drained of all color, his voice choked and stuttering in extreme terror:
— The Blood Puppet... Monarch... The slaughterer of myriad armies in ancient times... It... it actually exists! Furthermore... it has been forcibly awakened by the forbidden magic of the Black Vatican using tens of thousands of resentful souls!
Not only Zhang Yuanming, but even the Super-Tier powerhouses accompanying the archaeological expedition felt a chill run down their spines, cold sweat drenching their backs.
The crimson aura rising from the monster billowed, transforming into a domain of blood that weighed heavily upon the entire space. Within this ten-thousand-square-meter radius, the magical energy within every mage’s body was abruptly suppressed to the extreme. The magic halos that had once revolved smoothly suddenly became sluggish and heavy, as if swimming through thick mercury.
Mu Ningxue’s face turned pale, her delicate brows knitting tightly together. She bit her lower lip until it bled, channeling her entire Ice-element magical energy to condense a thick layer of ice shield around herself. Yet, under the destructive pressure of the Upper Monarch, that exquisite ice layer continuously fractured with spiderweb-like cracks.
Beside her, Tang Yue took a deep breath, her sharp phoenix eyes flashing with unprecedented resolve. Her hand gripped a fiery longsword carrying world-destroying flames, yet her hands could not help trembling slightly. The gap between a Great Monarch and an Upper Monarch was simply too vast—as vast as an unfathomable abyss that could not be bridged by ordinary courage.
— Too strong... This pressure far surpasses any magical beast we’ve ever faced before. If it truly strikes, I’m afraid all of us will be buried here in the blink of an eye. — Tang Yue whispered, her voice tinged with profound anxiety.
Yet, standing at the epicenter of this despair, one man remained as upright as an ancient pine before a howling gale.
Lin Feng slowly stepped forward, bypassing the positions of Mu Ningxue and Tang Yue. The wind swept past his black hair, fluttering wildly in the gray smoke. His expression retained a terrifying calmness from start to finish, without a single ripple of fear in his dark, cosmos-like eyes.
On the contrary, deep within those eyes burned a raging battle intent that scorched the surrounding space!
He raised his head to gaze straight at the sixty-meter-tall giant standing like a mountain of blood before him. Sensing the destructive energy surging within the Blood Puppet Monarch’s body, the corners of Lin Feng’s lips involuntarily curled into a faint smile, carrying supreme arrogance and wild ambition.
— I was wondering if I wouldn’t find a worthy opponent to test my new strength... Never did I expect the Black Vatican to thoughtfully prepare such a massive gift for me. — Lin Feng’s voice sounded deep and warm, yet carried soul-piercing power that echoed throughout the grand hall.
He gently raised his right hand. Instantly, eight magical battle banners of eight different brilliant colors simultaneously manifested around his body, radiating a dazzling light that dispelled a corner of the gloomy blood domain.
The Wind element churned into swirling emerald tornadoes; the Lightning element crackled with tens of thousands of purple-black bolts dancing across his shoulders; the Fire element transformed into a blazing sea of fire around his feet; the Water element condensed into a roaring torrent; the Space element warped the surrounding light; the Chaos element formed black holes swallowing everything; while the Light and Shadow elements intertwined to form an absolute protective armor.
Eight Super-Tier magic elements! All of them had been pushed to the consummate realm, perfectly fused with the formidable soul body of a true Archmage!
— Just in time... Ever since my breakthrough, my eight Super-Tier magic elements haven’t truly been unleashed in battle. Today, I’ll take your head to whet my sword and see just how strong an Upper Monarch really is! — Lin Feng roared, his voice shaking the azure sky, directly clashing against the Blood Puppet Monarch’s momentum!
Hearing the arrogant provocation from the tiny ant beneath its feet, the two ghostly flames within the Blood Puppet Monarch’s eye sockets blazed with redoubled fury. It felt the majesty of an ancient general being gravely violated by a weak human.
“GGOOOO—!!!”
The Blood Puppet Monarch threw back its head and unleashed an ear-splitting roar. The terrifying soundwaves transformed into visible shockwave rings that swept away every stone pillar and surrounding wall into fine powder.
It swung its millions-of-catties blood-encrusted bone greatsword high into the air. The sky above the plaza was instantly dyed in the brilliant red of blood and killing intent. A colossal blood-red shockwave slashed down from the blade, tearing through space and carrying world-destroying might straight down toward Lin Feng’s group!
Before the attack even landed, the pressure from the blade’s wind caused the ground beneath their feet to sink three inches!
— Everyone back! Leave this to me! — Lin Feng stepped forward, his gaze as sharp as a blade, his hands forming seals at lightning speed.