Free Web NovelChapter 380: Chapter 248: A Combo to Control Until Death
Stalling for time was never going to be an easy task.
Based on the current information, the normal instance plot would have Akita Town destroyed by Satan on Christmas Eve. Afterward, the instance would Reboot, resetting everything to eighteen days prior.
But Zhou Chen and the others had no idea when the Reboot would actually happen. It could be in an hour or two, at the stroke of midnight, or even in the small hours of the morning.
Even in the best-case scenario, they had to hold out against Natas for two to four hours.
Just because Yao Hu fought a grueling battle with Natas for nearly a day didn’t mean stalling for time was easy. Yao Hu was a fighter in a class of his own. As a Strength Type Ascender, he had virtually no weaknesses, save for a lack of flashy Extraordinary Abilities. His Power, speed, burst, defense, and Endurance were all maxed out. His Spiritual Power was comparatively weaker, but it was still formidable and had been rapidly shored up after his breakthrough to Tier Three. That was the only reason he could fight for so long against the endlessly regenerating Natas.
In truth, battles in the Extraordinary Realm were typically swift affairs. Every move was lethal, and the outcome could often be roughly determined in the first exchange. Most fights were over in less than fifteen minutes. A battle like the one between Yao Hu and Natas, which lasted for more than ten hours, was an extreme rarity.
Based on pre-battle estimates, Zhou Chen, Liu Ling, and Chengzi combined could hold out for an hour at most. That was unless Zhou Chen, disregarding the risk of exposure, continuously wished to be restored to his peak condition—but that would be far too conspicuous.
To maximize the time they could stall, the three of them used this period to create quite a few "little trinkets."
Leaden storm clouds covered the entire sky, hanging oppressively over everyone’s heads, making it hard to breathe.
A massive, five-meter-wide, pale Fireball smashed down, and scorching flames instantly engulfed Natas. The intense heat, hot enough to melt steel, surged and incinerated everything in its path, igniting fur and melting scales. From within the Fiery Fire, a burning pain originating from its very Soul made the creature let out a heart-wrenching shriek that rolled across the night sky, startling the residents of more than half the town. fгeewebnovёl.com
On a rooftop, Zhou Chen took a moment to catch his breath before once again blasting out a surging, massive Fireball. Before this, he had used a one-time enhancement-type Alchemy Tool that Han Danqing had given him before leaving.
—Spiritual Attack power increased by 20% for ten minutes.
—Power increased by 20% for ten minutes.
—Essence recovery speed increased by 40% for thirty minutes.
—Mind strengthened, granting immunity to bewitchment for thirty minutes.
At the same time, Zhou Chen made a few wishes in his mind.
—On top of the buffs, Cyan Flame will deal double damage for five minutes.
—Weaken Natas’s maximum Blood Volume. To put it in gaming terms, if Natas’s original max Blood Volume was "100," it was now directly reduced to "80."
—Reduce Natas’s connection to its power source by 20%, fundamentally weakening its recovery speed.
—Reduce all of Natas’s Attributes by 20% across the board.
It was as if a game developer had taken a huge cleaver and mercilessly nerfed Natas, again and again.
These were covert wishes, not outwardly apparent. If any observation instruments detected Natas’s Weakness, Zhou Chen could later brush it off by citing the unique properties of his Cyan Flame.
The cost in wish value, however, was brutal. Seventy percent of the massive amount of wish value Zhou Chen had accumulated since the Sword Forging Competition was instantly wiped out. Fortunately, thanks to his outstanding performance, his wish value had begun to rise again.
Now a raging inferno, Natas plummeted from the sky like a meteor, smashing a large crater into the street. Under the incineration of the Cyan Flame, the Demon’s body began to wither and dry out, as if all its moisture had evaporated, leaving it no different from a shriveled husk.
Cyan Flame was already incredibly lethal to one’s mind and will. Now, amplified by both an Artifact and his wishes, its power was unimaginable. The resulting pain drove Natas to the brink of madness.
Although Natas had obtained immense Demon Power, its mind, in some respects, was still within the realm of an ordinary person. For example: its pain tolerance.
The hideous Demon rolled and roared within the Fiery Fire. Every movement carried terrifying Power, making the earth RUMBLE. Building after building shattered and collapsed as terrified citizens scattered in all directions.
With the crackling sound of burning firewood, deep fissures appeared on Natas’s withered, emaciated body. Eerie black smoke seeped out, only to be instantly incinerated by the flames. ƒrēewebnovel.com
That was Natas’s Dark Soul—now, it could also be called its Demon Soul—the very source of its power. Just as an ordinary human Soul faces the danger of collapse if it becomes more than 50% damaged, Natas’s Dark Soul would also begin to crumble if it sustained damage beyond a certain threshold.
Cyan Flame... was burning the Soul!
This surprised Zhou Chen. The damage from Cyan Flame was Mental Damage, an attack on a creature’s mind and will. It was still a ways off from being able to burn a Soul. He thought he would only be able to reach that level after ascending to Tier Three. He never expected that after wishing for its power to be doubled, it could actually achieve such a terrifying effect.
Unfortunately, the existence of a spiritual pollution connected Natas invisibly to everyone in Akita Town. It was frantically drawing upon the power of sin nurtured by Akita Town to sustain its life force, preventing its Soul from being annihilated by the Cyan Flame.
"Liu Ling, you’re up!" Zhou Chen shouted as he leaped across rooftops. To conserve Essence, he chose not to use Flame Jump and instead ran toward Natas’s crash site. He was still moving fast.
