Chapter 254: The Hammer of Crushing

Chapter 254: The Hammer of Crushing



Ryan's exceptionally high spirit power allowed him to clearly sense the strength of the male Naga before him, which far surpassed that of ordinary male Nagas. This was evident from the creature's massive size, towering over Ryan by at least two heads and with a much larger build.

Additionally, the aura of intimidation that the Naga exuded was something Ryan had never experienced, not even from the peak human Great Knights.

It was clear that the Naga's strength far exceeded that of everyone present, including Ryan and Captain Bartholomew.

The commotion among the sea creatures further confirmed Ryan's suspicions.

Even the female Naga holding a wooden staff and the other sea creatures bowed their heads towards the giant Naga and spoke in unison in a strange language:

"We pay our respects to you, Lord Lurgatz, the Sea-Piercing Spear! (Naga Language)"

Alasha whispered to Ryan, "This monster's nickname is the Piercer, Lord Ryan. If you were to face him, please be extra careful."

Ryan glanced at Alasha, slightly taken aback. He thought to himself, Didn't Javier say that his young daughter Alasha was an alchemist? How does she seem like a scholar of ancient languages, understanding the language of the sea creatures?

Moreover, Alasha, standing next to Ryan, Alasha showed no signs of fear before the impending battle, but instead, her eyes sparkled, her nose glistened with sweat, and her cheeks flushed, clearly displaying her excitement and unwavering faith in Ryan.

This couldn't help but make Ryan smile wryly in his heart, 'Thank you! Young lady, for having such faith in me!'

However, the formidable aura emanating from the Naga left Ryan with no hesitation.

The dramatic entrance of Lord Lurgatz, the Sea-Piercing Spear, instantly boosted the morale of the sea creatures!

The white-scaled fishmen and Nagas turned to look at Ryan's human team with expressions devoid of concern, instead wearing smirks as if anticipating a show.

It was as if they were saying, 'Haha, humans, your fate is sealed!'

Surprisingly, the female Naga holding the wooden staff spoke in the Common Tongue, albeit with some difficulty: "Humans, surrender! Surrender, and you will suffer less pain."

"Otherwise, Lord Lurgatz will make you experience the excruciating pain of being pierced!"

Ryan was taken aback.

He had already noticed this female Blood Curse Naga, whose attire differed from the one he had previously slain. She held a long wooden staff, indicating she was likely a wizard, requiring a certain level of erudition.

Could she even speak the Common Tongue?

The scene before them caused Captain Bartholomew's already solemn expression to grow even more grave.

He fixed his gaze on the massive Naga slithering towards them and spoke in a deep voice, "Remir, lead everyone out. I'll hold this one off."

"Captain, let me join you."

"No! Even with all of us together, we won't be a match for it." Captain Bartholomew waved his hand, interrupting Alvis.

"Remir, prepare to move out!" As Captain Bartholomew finished speaking, he swiftly drew a bottle of crimson-colored potion from his pocket and poured it into his mouth.

"Captain, no! You... You took the Crimson Quake Devil Potion?" Remir exclaimed in shock.

"This is a potion that pushes the body to its limits, and even under normal circumstances, it can cause severe illness, resulting in weakness for at least some time. But given the current condition of the Swordmaster Captain, taking this potion is akin to suicide!"

Alasha, despite her young age, was already an advanced alchemist, and she immediately recognized the potion Captain Bartholomew had consumed. She whispered to Ryan, "That's the Crimson Quake Devil Potion. It forces the body beyond its limits, often leading to severe illness and weakness. In the captain's current state, taking it is essentially a death wish!"

Ryan's eyebrows arched slightly, his expression conveying his deep emotion.

His heart was profoundly touched at that moment.

Regardless of Captain Bartholomew's reasons, whether it was for the empire's glory,

the squad's mission evaluation,

or something else,

Ryan respected the captain's decision, even though he wouldn't have made the same choice.

The captain was a true knight!

At that moment, Ryan sighed in his heart.

Given the circumstances, he felt he should do something as well, and the recently rewarded 2 Golden Skill Points would not go to waste.

After all, there was no reason to leave his teammates to fight alone.

He decided to give it a try, hoping to break through the current predicament.

However, 2 Golden Skill Points were insufficient to upgrade either of his Intermediate High Techniques to Advanced.

Upgrading Tokkar Hammer Technique and Bear King Breathing Technique to lv16 would require 4 Golden Skill Points in total, including the initial 2 points and an additional 2 points for the upgrade.

Similarly, upgrading Roar War Cry would also need 4 Golden Skill Points, with 1 point to raise Bear King Breathing Technique to lv16 and an extra 3 points for the upgrade.

In both cases, Bear King Breathing Technique needed to be upgraded.

As for the Hammer Technique, it remained his strongest Extraordinary Insight.

Without hesitation, Ryan spent the 2 Golden Skill Points to upgrade both Tokkar Hammer Technique and Bear King Breathing Technique to lv16.

In an instant, a surge of training memories flooded Ryan's mind. Although this skill point allocation hadn't improved Ryan's Shockwave to Advanced High Technique, it had significantly increased its power.

Since the allocation was complete, it was time to take action!

As Remir anxiously pondered how to break through the blockade of the sea tribe in front of him, a hammer-wielding figure suddenly rushed out beside him.

Remir's pupils constricted, and he froze in shock!

A flash of electricity passed through his mind.

This... Is this Ryan?

Damn it, this guy is looking for trouble! Seeing others doing it, I should have followed suit!

Now, his eardrums were torn with excruciating pain. Fortunately, Ryan had already infiltrated the crowd of White-Scaled Fishmen, and this move was at a considerable distance from Remir.

Otherwise, at this moment, the White-Scaled Fishmen beside Ryan would have been Remir's fate.

Ryan saw that the White-Scaled Fishmen around him were falling in a circle, all bleeding from their ears, noses, and eyes. Even the seven or eight Male Blood Curse Nagas were caught off guard, covering their heads and wailing in pain.

The commander of the Boulder Squad, Bartholomew, who was keeping a close eye on the giant Naga from a distance, was also startled by Ryan's roar.

He seemed to want to turn back and look, but he didn't dare, fearing an ambush from the big guy.

At this moment, a sharp sound of metal clashing filled the air behind them.

Immediately following was a sizzling sound of intense friction!

Ryan glanced back and saw Bartholomew holding a steel shield, leaning forward slightly, in a full defensive posture.

Behind him were trenches carved by steel shields.

And the left hand of the giant Naga, Rulgarz, the Tide Piercer, remained in a state of casual strike!

Rain keenly noticed the other party's left hand, a nearly two-meter-long spiky conch, which was currently emitting a faint light, surrounded by several strands of water that appeared out of thin air and wrapped around it.

The strike that repelled Bartholomew was likely a perfect combination of a water-based Seer Wizardry talent and physical strength.

Bartholomew, without turning his head, shouted again, "Remir! Get everyone out of here, I can't hold on much longer!"

Remir, who was in a daze, finally reacted to Bartholomew's words.

Everyone instantly understood that if no one could defeat the giant Naga, the tide of battle would not turn in their favor.

Remir, while skillfully casting a certain Seer Wizardry, suddenly created a large cloud of fog in front of him in the next second. Remir swiftly waved his short staff, and the fog rushed into the midst of the battle between the Nagas and the crowd.

"Retreat!" Remir shouted as he threw several grenade-like objects from his hand.

Upon Remir's warning, everyone, including Rain, immediately engaged in a heavy clash with the Nagas in front of them and used the momentum to fly backward.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The explosion once again generated a choking cloud of smoke.

The combination of thick smoke and fog instantly obscured the view of the scene in front of the Blood Curse Nagas.

Rain also realized that the grenade-like explosion he heard earlier was caused by Remir.

It had to be said that using Seer Wizardry with these small objects was quite effective for retreating.

Alasha looked at Rain, who was flying backward rapidly beside her, and couldn't help but feel regret.

"Even someone as strong as Lord Rain is unable to turn the tide and win?"

"Reality is not a fairy tale after all," said Alasha, who was dedicated to research.

Rain, even with Alasha, ran at an extremely fast pace and soon reached the front of the group.

However, when he was not far away, Rain immediately turned back after turning the corner.

"Please protect Alasha, I'll be right back," Rain said to the crowd following him.

"Lord Rain," a female knight reminded him, unable to bear the thought.

Although Lord Rain was already considered very strong in their eyes, no matter how strong he was, he couldn't possibly be a match for the giant Naga!

Everyone couldn't help but pause at the corner, watching Rain turn back and rush forward again.

In fact, Rain had been waiting! He was waiting for the system's prompt.

After he turned the corner, the system prompt finally arrived:

[You have experienced a battle, Weapon Master (Legendary) experience +1113]



[Congratulations, you have defeated a powerful enemy and obtained 2 Golden Skill Points!]



Rain had been waiting for these 2 Golden Skill Points.

The system's mechanism was somewhat similar to the games he played in his previous life. After observing carefully multiple times, he discovered that the system would only conduct experience rewards and calculations after disengaging from combat.

If one didn't disengage, the system would consider it as continuous combat.

That was why Rain had rushed forward earlier.

As Rain charged towards the fog, he didn't hesitate to add these 2 Golden Skill Points to the Intermediate High Technique 'Shockwave'.

To upgrade the Intermediate High Technique 'Shockwave' to Advanced High Technique, the following conditions must be met: 1. Tokkar Hammer Technique lv16 or higher; 2. Bear King Breathing Technique lv16 or higher; 3. Consume 2 Golden Skill Points.

Rain had already fulfilled the first two conditions previously.

And now, the third condition was also fulfilled! Instantly, a flood of Shockwave training memories rushed into Rain's mind! It was as if Rain was single-mindedly practicing the hammer technique 'Shockwave' in a mysterious space for over a decade, perfecting it.

"Shockwave?"

"Advanced High Technique!"

A smile couldn't help but appear on Rain's lips! On the Weapon Master (Legendary) panel, the Hammer Technique 'Shockwave' changed to 'Crushing Hammer'.

The icon also changed.

The pattern transformed into a dark black heavy hammer smashing a giant rock, turning half of it into tiny pebbles that scattered away, vividly depicting the crushing process! The small text in the lower right corner of the icon also changed accordingly:

Crushing Hammer (Advanced High Technique) Effect: Utilizes a special hammer swing technique that combines primal force and ultra-high-frequency vibrations to deliver a powerful strike capable of crushing most tangible objects.

(Note: To upgrade Crushing Hammer to Top-tier High Technique, the following conditions must be met: 1. Any Extraordinary Hammer Technique lv18 or higher; 2. Bear King Breathing Technique lv18 or higher; 3. Strength 45 points, Agility 38 points, Constitution 40 points or higher; 4. Consume 4 Golden Skill Points.)



"This..."

"Has it started to transcend specific hammer techniques?"

Rain keenly noticed the difference in the Advanced High Technique 'Shockwave'.

The Advanced High Technique 'Shockwave' no longer specified the need for Tokkar Hammer Technique lv16 or higher.

Additionally, to promote it to Top-tier High Technique, there were more conditions: 1. Any Extraordinary Hammer Technique lv18 or higher; 2. Bear King Breathing Technique lv18 or higher; 3. Strength 45 points, Agility 38 points, Constitution 40 points or higher; 4. Consume 4 Golden Skill Points.

As Rain sprinted, he glanced at the system's attribute panel.

Name: Rain Calan

Constitution: 32

Strength: 33

Agility: 32

Intelligence: 39

Remaining Attribute Points: 13

Remaining Skill Points: 1

Golden Skill Points: 0

Just as Rain returned to his original position, he saw an injured male Blood Curse Naga.

However, without the interference of the thick fog, he immediately noticed that the human youth who had made him fearful did not flee but instead charged towards him.

His expression changed instantly!

He was very afraid of the combat power Rain had displayed earlier.

However, after a second thought, he believed that as long as he could block the human youth's attack, his brothers would arrive, and the opponent would have no chance to escape.

In that case, Stasha would probably reward him with extra favors, perhaps ten times?

But the idea was good, and reality was cruel!

When he swung his trident with all his might to block Rain's hammer strike.

He suddenly realized that Rain's hammer was seemingly slow but actually fast. Before his trident could even reach his chest, Rain's dark and heavy hammer had already touched his forehead.

How could he not have blocked it?

This was his last thought before death, and his face still held a puzzled expression.

The next second, his entire body shattered!

Yes!

It was his entire body!

From head to toe, his entire body!

Hard bones, resilient cartilage and tendons, and solid muscle tissue, all burst into tiny pieces of flesh and blood.

Seeing the effect of this attack, Rain couldn't help but be stunned!

The Shattering Hammer was terrifying!

Even the resilient tendons were shattered, and this shattering power made Rain feel it was too domineering!

Somewhat unreasonable!

However, Rain also felt a sense of weakness and soreness in his muscles and tendons.

He realized that using the Advanced High Technique 'Shattering Hammer' required exceptionally high physical qualities, but it was reasonable.

After Rain became a Swordholder, he had heard that even peak Great Knights did not all master Advanced High Techniques.

His current situation was a typical case of 'a small horse pulling a big cart'!

He had mastered the Advanced High Technique, but his physical qualities were barely at the level of a Senior Great Knight.

Therefore, the current situation occurred.

Rain could feel that with his current physical qualities, he could only use the Shattering Hammer twice before being unable to use it a third time.

At this moment, the second Male Blood Curse Naga charged out with a proud stride.

However, when he saw Rain and the pool of blood mist on the ground and hadn't figured out the connection between the two, he followed in his brother's footsteps.

"Bang!" he too became a pile of flesh and blood!

Without hesitation in the face of physical exhaustion, Rain added a point to his stamina.

His physical state returned to its peak!

After that, Rain followed the rhythm of two hammers and one point.

'Bang bang bang!' After several sounds, he had finished off all the Male Blood Curse Nagas.

At this moment, the Naga Commander Stasha held a wooden staff, with a layer of blue light surrounding her and a constantly rotating water shield, rushed out of the thick fog.

When she saw five pools of flesh and blood on the ground but didn't see her several spouses, she suddenly became puzzled.

The next second, she finally snapped out of it, her face filled with a mix of shock and anger, pointing at the ground of rotten flesh and screaming:

"You you killed them all?!"

In response to Stasha's question, Rain's reply was a direct 'Shattering Hammer'!

"Bang!"

Instantly, the pale blue light of the water shield technique was struck and shattered into darkness in one blow!

The power of this hammer strike made Stasha's face go pale in an instant!

She was well aware of her shield's defensive capabilities, and her several spouses must have fallen victim to Rain's attack.

Additionally, Stasha was almost certain that if Rain struck with the same force as before, he would definitely break through her water shield technique!

So, at this moment, her heart was filled with shock and horror!

Indeed, if it were an ordinary Great Knight, even if they had mastered the Advanced High Technique, their power would not be as exaggerated as Rain's was at this moment.

The main reasons were twofold. First, others might not have Rain's lv. giant strength talent, and second, Rain had the talent of 'Intermediate Giant Strength' as a bonus.

The combination of these two factors made Rain's hammer technique extraordinarily powerful!

"Snap!" The water shield shattered like an eggshell!

Stasha screamed in shock, and a slightly rushed mental attack hit Rain. Almost simultaneously, Rain's hammer, after breaking through Stasha's water shield, struck her head.

Stasha immediately went soft and fell to the ground.

Rain frowned, and his entire body slightly shook, and he felt a dizzy sensation in his head.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a robust human knight flew out of the thick fog.

The opponent was carried by the huge impact force, sliding all the way to a few meters in front of Rain's feet before finally stopping, and immediately began vomiting blood.

It was Bartholomew, the captain of the Boulder Squad, who had been left behind to cover their retreat.

At this moment, the thick fog gradually dispersed, revealing the Giant Naga, Tide Piercer Rulgarz, whose massive figure emanated a dangerous aura. He continued to approach with a relaxed yet unhurried pace, winding like a snake.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end