Free Web NovelChapter 28: Martial Lord
The flooded chamber fell into a profound, heavy silence.
The ancient black spotted Frogman cultivator stared at Roy’s extended hand, his bulbous eyes reflecting the cold, dual-colored light of the human’s irises.
For decades, he had watched his people suffer, bleed, and line the pockets of the market guilds, all while maintaining the facade of a broken, low-tier slave to keep them from Norona City.
"I’ll be honest. I do not trust your god... I do not trust the true gods," the old Frogman paused, "But if he’s the father of all beastmen as you claim, he’s a lesser evil compared to the God of Misfortune."
Slowly, the old man shifted his weight and lowered his feet into the shallow pool.
He did not take Roy’s hand to shake it; instead, he stepped off the mossy boulder, sank to one knee in the cold water, and pressed his webbed palms together in a deep, traditional salute of submission.
"The mud of the trenches has blinded me for too long," the Elder murmured, his deep, croaking voice carrying a sudden, resonant clarity that shook the loose moss from the ceiling. "If an entity of your caliber is willing to plunge into this den of filth to shatter the Troll King’s designs, then hiding any longer is nothing short of cowardice. I, Elder Croak, formally pledge my remaining breath and my Martial General core to your cause."
Roy smiled down at him, a faint flicker of golden-crimson mana pulsing around his fingers as he signaled the old man to rise. "An excellent choice, Elder. Your strength will not be wasted in the dark."
Elder Croak stood up, his posture shifting.
The tattered, mud-stained robes still hung loosely from his frame, but the frail, helpless aura was entirely gone, replaced by the sharp, unyielding presence of a true battlefield veteran.
"Do you speak ancient Lydora?" Roy asked.
Elder Croak’s lips curled faintly, "Do I?" the elder chuckled.
"I’ve lived for over a hundred and fifty years. Do you think someone like me wouldn’t have learnt the language of the spirits?" Elder Croak asked.
"I see," Roy smiled once again, "Pray to the God of Beasts and accept his truth into thy heart."
"Repeat after me with your eyes closed," Roy instructed and the Elder obeyed. Elder Croak closed his eyes, bending his head down.
Roy’s eyes flickered for a second. "Blessed hath thou O Great Eternal One," his lips twitched.
"Blessed hath thou O Great Eternal One," Elder Croak repeated.
"Thy name, Varanus, is the truth."
"Thy name, Varanus, is the truth."
"You are the Great Primordial of the Feral Domain."
"You are the Great Primordial of the Feral Domain."
"You are the Principal of the Fractured Mind."
"You are the Principal of the Fractured Mind."
"You are the God of Beasts and Men, Who Shall Devour All."
"You are the God of Beasts and Men, Who Shall Devour All," the moment Elder Croak finished the incantations.
A transparent cyan panel flickered before Roy’s eyes.
[Ding!]
The status window shimmered.
[You have gained a new follower]
[You have gained 5 Faith Points]
’Five faith points?’ Roy raised an eyebrow, ’Is it because Elder Croak is a Martial General?’ He lingered, still observing the old cultivator.
The status window wasn’t done yet.
[Would you like to deploy a divine blessing?]
[Yes] [No]
’It seems the old man is worthy enough to be recognized by the system.’ He sighed deeply. Roy wasted no time clicking the [Yes] icon.
[Your Divine Domain: Ruler of Beasts resonates with this Follower]
[Deploying Divine Blessing: Sacred Awakening (Level 1)]
[Consuming 20 Faith Points]
[Current Balance: 185 FP]
’That was much.’ Roy growled. He wasn’t happy but there was nothing he could do. He had to see this to the end.
[Target: Elder Croak - Bloodline Restructuring Initiated]
[Accessing Target’s Faith...]
[Faith Status: Dedicated Follower]
[Choose a beastification genetics to synchronize]
[Uploading List of Beastification Genetics available]
-Unholy Phoenix
-Demon Beetle
-Holy Griffin
’Flame Dragon isn’t here anymore. I guess it can only be used once and I used it on Eurenia.’ Roy sighed, ’Let’s pick Demon Beetle.’
He clicked the [Demon Beetle] icon.
The air inside the tunnel didn’t just grow cold—it completely froze, locking the moisture on the stone walls into a thin glaze of frost.
Elder Croak was barely a quarter of the way up the steep ascent when his webbed hand snapped back against his chest.
His bulbous eyes widened to an unnatural size as the emerald light within his pupils violently fractured.
"What the hell is happening, Jarden?" The Elder’s body shuddered.
[Ding!] ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The status window shimmered once again.
[Bloodline Mutation Success]
[Black Spots Frogman -> Spectral Demonic Sea Insectar]
[Passive Skill Acquired: Intimidation of the Apex Predator]
[Active Skill Acquired: Tyrant Sea Lord]
[Subject has awakened his fourth mana core]
[Follower’s Evolution has begun]
[Enlightment Status: Initial Stage]
[Cultivator Status: Martial Lord]
"WHATT??" Roy’s eyes widened in shock, "He’s evolving into a..." Roy gulped hard, watching in silence.
Thump.
A sound like a heavy war drum resonated from inside his torso, throwing a visible shockwave through the tunnel that shattered the loose stone overhead.
Elder Croak dropped to his knees, his webbed palms slamming into the steps as cracks webbed out from beneath his fingers.
"Elder?" Roy stopped, his dual-colored eyes narrowing.
"The... the bottleneck..." Croak gasped, his deep voice tearing at his own throat. "Centuries of stagnation... it’s all breaking!"
But this wasn’t just a breakthrough.
Roy stepped closer, and as he did, a sudden, blinding pillar of golden-crimson light descended directly through the solid bedrock of the mountain.
It didn’t damage the stone; it passed through the earth like a phantom, slamming straight into the kneeling Frogman.
The divine energy of Varanus flooded the narrow tunnel. It was the exact same cosmic weight that had rewritten Alpha Eurenia’s destiny in the slums—the undeniable mark of a god claiming a loyal blade.
Inside Croak’s dantian, his three existing mana cores began to spin at a suicidal velocity. They imploded, drawing their density into a single point of gravitational collapse.
Then came the chime of absolute evolution. A fourth core snapped into existence right at the center of his spiritual sea with a deafening metallic ring.
Unlike the soft green of his previous cores, this fourth core was a dense, iridescent obsidian, anchoring the others into a perfect diamond matrix of a Martial Lord.
The birth of the fourth core triggered a violent, agonizing restructuring of his physical flesh as the god’s blessing aggressively reversed centuries of physical decay.
Resonating with his soul; he’s finally stepping into the realm of a middle-stage cultivator!
The ancient, tattered gray skin of the old frogman began to crack like old porcelain.
Beneath the peeling layers, a smooth, flawless obsidian-green flesh was exposed. His hunched, frail spine straightens with a series of sharp, explosive cracks as his bone density doubled.
His short, stunted limbs lengthened, filling out with thick, corded muscle.
The heavy, exhausted lines of his face melted away, his jawline sharpening into the fierce, angular visage of a youth in his absolute prime.
As the divine light peaked, the blessing pushed his biology past the boundaries of a standard beastman, mutating him into a high-tier Frogman Demon Beetle.
An Insectar, a combination of a beastman race with the insectoid race.
A thick, metallic-black chitinous armor erupted from his skin, molding perfectly over his chest and shoulders like a set of forged plate armor.
His soft, webbed hands hardened and fused, reshaping into three massive, razor-sharp obsidian beetle claws.
His large, vulnerable frog eyes receded, replaced by multi-faceted, glowing crimson compound lenses that snapped into focus.
Along his spine, a set of heavy, reinforced beetle wing-covers locked over his back, humming with a low, sub-audible vibration.
When the transformation concluded, the blinding pillar of divine light vanished, leaving only a suffocating, heavy atmospheric pressure that naturally distorted the gravity around the stairs.
The ancient, helpless slave was gone.
Standing in the tunnel was a towering, broad-shouldered demon humanoid radiating the unmistakable power of a true Initial-enlightened Martial Lord.
The youthful demon beetle stretched his new claws, looking down at his resurrected youth in utter awe.
He didn’t hesitate.
He knelt instantly on the cracked stone stairs, his heavy chitinous armor clanking against the floor, and bowed his head flat against the stone right at Roy’s feet.
"A Martial Lord..." the youth murmured, his deep, resonant voice shaking the bedrock. "My Lord Varanus... his blessing has rewritten my very soul. This new life, this fourth core... it belongs entirely to your shadow."
Elder Croak couldn’t control the beads of tears which dripped down his cheeks. freёweɓnovel.com
"Praise be to the God of Beasts!"
