Free Web NovelChapter 479: Chapter 476 – White Flame and Roar
The next two hours passed in mounting tension, like storm clouds gathering before the eastern dimensional rift. The sun had climbed higher in the sky, yet its light seemed blocked and weakened by the thickening dark purple mist enveloping the mountains. The usual warm golden-orange rays now felt cold and gloomy, piercing through gaps in the fog like pale needles of light. The air grew increasingly stifling and heavy; every breath felt like inhaling poisonous vapor. The stench of rotten blood mixed with sulfur and decaying flesh assaulted everyone’s noses, causing several party members to feel nauseous and repeatedly drink high-grade antidote potions.
All team members had prepared themselves thoroughly. Party Wild Bear double-checked their thick armor, now covered in scratches, and applied sharply scented anti-corrosive ointment to their greatswords, war axes, and massive shields. Their muscles were tense, sweat mixed with dust dripping down their rugged faces. Gorn Thunderfist growled softly while tightening his armor belt, his gaze occasionally flicking toward Sylvia with a mix of resentment and reluctant admiration.
Party Eternal remained calmer but no less vigilant. They recharged their glowing mana crystals, arranged backup formations, and distributed high-grade healing and anti-poison potions that shone blue. Elara Silverwind, her long silver hair fluttering gently, walked among her members while giving firm yet gentle instructions. Her sharp eyes never left the increasingly unstable rift.
Sylvia stood slightly apart from the group, her red eyes closed as she channeled mana into her cold undead body. Dark and holy energies mixed within her, creating a slow pulse that only she could feel. Sol and Qilin sat beside her, both emitting faint holy auras of gold and white to help purify the air around their small group. Sol occasionally purred lowly, ready to leap at any moment, while Qilin shook his small horns, holy magic prepared to be released.
Alicia and Stacia stayed right next to her. Alicia slowly twirled her silver staff, the new runes sparkling as she tested its stability. Stacia quickly flipped through the pages of her grimoire, her lips moving softly as she memorized backup spells. Through group telepathy, the three of them continued discussing strategy.
"Your white flame will be the main key against its blood," Alicia said quietly in their minds. "I’ll focus on debuffs so they don’t get a chance to regenerate."
"And I’ll maintain buffs and diversion illusions," Stacia added. "Don’t waste too much mana, Sylvia. Mušmaḫḫū is definitely much stronger than the 4-headed Hydra."
Sylvia only nodded slightly without opening her eyes. "I know."
"Everyone is ready," Elara said firmly after checking her team one last time. Her voice cut through the tension like a knife. "We’ll enter gradually. Don’t rush. Team safety is the priority."
Sylvia opened her faintly glowing red eyes and nodded toward Elara. The two of them then looked at Stacia and Lirien, who were still maintaining the Spatial Lockdown with strained expressions.
"Stacia, Lirien," Sylvia called out coldly but authoritatively. "Release the barrier."
Stacia and Lirien nodded almost simultaneously. They raised their hands; the grimoire and runes in the air glowed brightly before slowly fading. "Spatial Lockdown – Release!"
The thick spatial magic wall at the mouth of the rift vanished like shattering glass. The moment the barrier disappeared, a wave of blood monsters surged out like a living flood of dark red water. Horrifying roars and screams filled the air, accompanied by disgusting splattering sounds of slime.
"Wild Bear, advance!" Gorn Thunderfist roared from the front line, his voice thundering like lightning. The five burly party members moved like an unshakeable living wall. They raised their massive shields and collided head-on with the emerging blood monsters. The sound of heavy impacts echoed across the entire mountain slope BRAAANGGG! CRAAASSHHH! Their powerful bodies pushed back the first wave with brutal force. Corrosive blood sprayed in all directions like acid rain, causing the surrounding rocks to hiss and smoke, but their anti-corrosive armor withstood most of the attacks, even though some shields began melting at the edges.
Sylvia and Elara nodded to each other, then followed from behind in a tight, disciplined formation. Alicia and Stacia stayed at Sylvia’s sides, ready to provide support at any time, while Sol and Qilin kept watch.
The moment the entire team entered the dimensional rift, the atmosphere changed completely. The interior was far larger than it appeared from outside a giant cavern with walls that pulsed like living flesh, dark purple veins spreading everywhere. The entire floor, walls, and even ceiling were covered in pulsating blood monsters. Pools of dark red blood flowed like living streams, constantly spawning new roaring, hungry creatures with fierce glowing red eyes.
"Switch weapons! Discard corroded shields!" Gorn bellowed. Several Wild Bear members immediately threw away their heavily melting shields and pulled out spares from their storage spaces. The sounds of clashing metal and monster roars filled the stifling cave.
Alicia raised her silver staff high. Soft blue light spread widely. "Debuff Area: Decay Flesh, Slow, Corrosion Weakness!" A wave of blue magic spread like cold mist, drastically slowing the blood monsters ahead. Their liquid bodies began to rot and emit foul-smelling black smoke.
Stacia opened her grimoire wide. The pages spun rapidly. "Buff Party: Mana Reinforcement, Elemental Ward, Speed Boost!" Grayish-purple light enveloped the entire team, making their bodies feel lighter, increasing their strength, and sharply raising their resistance to dark elements and poison.
Party Eternal also didn’t stay idle. Elara and her members unleashed a barrage of long-range magic attacks: ice spears that froze blood pools, slicing winds that cut tentacles, and lightning that cleansed approaching monster groups. Their main goal was to protect Sylvia, who was concentrating mana in both hands.
Sylvia stood firmly in the center of the formation, her red eyes blazing like hellfire. The white flame in her palms grew larger and more compressed, its light becoming so bright it dazzled anyone who looked directly at it. Blood monsters tried to approach her like moths drawn to light, but Alicia, Stacia, and the Eternal team promptly blocked them. The sounds of magical explosions, weapon clashes, and monster screams echoed endlessly.
BOOM! SCHLAAAKKK! CRRRAAACCCKKK!
For a full three minutes that felt like eternity, Sylvia continued gathering power. The mana around her vibrated violently, the air growing hot and shimmering from the concentrated holy flame. Cold sweat dripped from the foreheads of the other team members, but they held their ground.
"Prepare protective spells!" Sylvia suddenly shouted, her voice firm and cold, cutting through the chaos.
All the mages in the team reacted instantly. Elara, Stacia, Lirien, and the others raised their hands together. "Multi Layer Barrier!" "Holy Ward!" "Spatial Dome!"
Layer after layer of protective magic formed around the entire team, shimmering like a strong, beautiful rainbow dome that shielded them from corrosive blood sprays and falling stone fragments.
Sylvia raised both hands with graceful yet powerful movements. The white flame orb in her palms was now the size of a human head and spinning at high speed, radiating purifying holy heat. "War Sun Flame – Dragon Breath!"
With an elegant throwing motion like a dancer of death, she unleashed the white flame forward. It wasn’t a blind, destructive explosion, but a living, breathing stream of holy dragon fire. The white flame surged forward fiercely, splitting the air with a sharp roar resembling a holy dragon’s cry. It swept across the entire area ahead like an unstoppable tidal wave of holy light. freewёbnoνel.com
WOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHHH!!!
The white flame burned everything it touched with terrifying sanctity. Blood monsters screamed in agony before completely vanishing into fine white ash that scattered in the wind. Blood pools evaporated instantly with loud hissing sounds. The cavern walls, which had pulsed like living flesh, were scorched black and died. The purple veins withered and dried up. Blinding white light filled the entire area, purifying corruption across a wide radius of dozens of meters ahead.
After nearly a full exhausting minute, the white flame gradually subsided. The entire area in front of them was now completely clean. Not a single blood monster remained. The scorched black ground emitted thin wisps of smoke rising toward the cavern ceiling, and the air felt lighter even though it was still filled with a pungent burnt smell.
All team members let out long sighs of relief. Some Wild Bear members leaned on their half-melted shields, sweat mixed with corrosive blood dripping down their tired faces. Elara smiled wearily while wiping sweat from her forehead, her pointed ears trembling slightly from mana exhaustion.
"In... incredible," one Eternal member muttered in a trembling voice full of awe, eyes still wide as he stared at the sea of white ash ahead.
However, that moment of peace and relief lasted only briefly.
GRRRRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!
A thunderous roar filled with ancient rage and power exploded from deeper within. The sound was so powerful that the entire cavern shook violently, small cracks appearing in the ceiling as pebbles and dust rained down like a stone shower. An oppressive dark aura suddenly surged, causing everyone to instinctively step back. The remaining blood on the floor began to boil and move as if alive, forming strange patterns.
All eyes turned toward the dark corridor at the end of the newly cleared area. From that darkness, a pair of giant red eyes glowed brightly, followed by the silhouette of a colossal body emerging seven heads, a mountain-like moving body, and an ancient aura that made the air feel as heavy as lead.
It was the roar of Mušmaḫḫū.
The ancient monster created by Tiamat had finally fully emerged.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes. Small white flames reignited at her fingertips. A thin, cold smile formed on her lips, her red eyes burning with fighting spirit.
"It’s time."
