Chapter 76: The Decisive Battle, Sacred Artifact, Ancestor's Mace

Chapter 76: The Decisive Battle, Sacred Artifact, Ancestor's Mace

Lin Zeyu was pinned against the cold wall, his neck gripped tightly by Lei Jin Hao.

He struggled, but Lei Jin Hao's strength was overwhelming, leaving him no room to resist.

The metahuman blessed by the Dark God's favor possessed formidable power, far beyond what an ordinary metahuman could withstand.

Moreover, Lei Jin Hao had unleashed his Rampage Skill, making him a god-like existence at this moment, even capable of rivaling Overlord-class demons.

For the first time in his life, Lin Zeyu felt the fear of death.

This fear wasn't about death itself but the helpless struggle and despair before it.

His gaze met Lei Jin Hao's eyes, filled with murderous intent, and he thought this man was insane.

If he had a hand grenade at this moment, he would choose to take Lei Jin Hao down with him, but the decision was no longer his to make.

He coughed up blood, his eyes pleading for help as he looked away from Lei Jin Hao and towards Lu Heng.

Seeing Lin Zeyu's desperate plea, Lu Heng's heart raced as he recalled how he might have died in his previous life.

After a quick calculation, Lu Heng made his decision. He raised the Aurora Blade, forcing Lei Jin Hao to turn and defend himself.

Just a second ago, Lin Zeyu felt like he was in hell, but in the next instant, Lu Heng pulled him back from the brink of death.

Lei Jin Hao's goal was to lure Lu Heng into fighting him, and he had succeeded.

A sinister smile spread across his face as he threw Lin Zeyu aside and unleashed a punch towards Lu Heng.

Lin Zeyu fell to the ground, coughing violently, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Wang Xiangfeng rushed over, picked up Lin Zeyu, and retreated from the temple.

...

Lei Jin Hao's Rampage state lasted only three minutes, and he knew he had to make the most of this time to defeat Lu Heng, or he would miss his chance.

So, he unleashed his full power, launching the most ferocious attack on Lu Heng.

Lu Heng displayed his micromotion techniques and swordsmanship, engaging in a fierce battle while gradually moving towards the center of the Great Hall, seeking an opportunity to disrupt the resurrection ritual.

Amidst the intense combat, Lu Heng's mastery of body techniques and swordsmanship steadily improved.

...

Inside the Barton Temple, humans, demons, and Banser Clan warriors were engaged in a chaotic battle.

Su Muyu used her Scout Eagle to reach the crossbeam at the top of the Great Hall, a position where only flying Wyverns could reach her.

She took out her crossbow and began shooting demons with Elemental Arrows, prioritizing the Wyverns in the sky over the demons on the ground.

While shooting, she maintained her invisibility.

Many demons on the ground were struck by her arrows multiple times but couldn't locate her.

Yado, the woman in black stockings, had been searching for Su Muyu's position since the beginning and finally spotted the arrows coming from the temple's crossbeam.

Her eyes flashed with a ruthless and disdainful glint, and she fired a Mental Shock at Su Muyu.

Su Muyu felt a tap on her head, followed by a brief ringing in her ears, but the impact ended there, causing no further harm.

She turned to see the black-stockinged woman using a skill.

This skill, which Su Muyu had seen many times before, was the D-Class Mental Shock.

When using this skill, the user needed to perform a mental check on the target, and the effect of the shock was determined by the mental attribute difference.

The black-stockinged woman's attack had caused the lowest damage, equivalent to zero, only causing Su Muyu's ears to ring momentarily.

This indicated that Su Muyu's mental attribute was higher.

With a negative mental attribute difference, the skill could only produce the minimum effect.

Yado had intended to knock Su Muyu off the crossbeam with one strike, but the outcome was entirely different from her expectations.

Her eyes narrowed, and she ran along the wall like a gecko, then jumped onto the crossbeam and drew her pistol, aiming at Su Muyu at close range.

Bang!

Su Muyu raised her hand and activated the Prism Tower Shield, blocking the pistol bullet, then swung her crossbow, knocking Yado to the ground.

Thud!

The crossbow sent Yado tumbling.

Yado struggled to get back up, surprised.

"Do you think I'm still afraid of you?" Su Muyu asked, stepping on her and pinning her to the ground with the crossbow aimed at her abdomen.

Whoosh!

An Elemental Arrow shot into her abdomen, igniting flames.

"Ah!"

Yado screamed as her hair flew up, wrapping around Su Muyu like tentacles.

Su Muyu quickly retreated, dodging the entangling hair.

Yado persisted, rolling forward to attack again.

But as she rolled, dark thorns suddenly sprouted from the ground, binding her—the C-Class Dark Thorn Trap.

The dark thorns on the vines grew barbs, tearing at her skin.

She struggled desperately, but the more she struggled, the tighter the vines constricted.

No matter what tricks she tried, she couldn't harm Su Muyu in the slightest, and instead, she was completely restrained.

At first, she cursed and complained, but when she realized that Su Muyu was much stronger than her, she quickly changed her attitude and pleaded, "Good sister, I was wrong. Let's talk this through. Can you please let me go first?"

"Do you take me for a fool? Last time at Gardenia Beach, I didn't understand anything and was afraid to kill. Do you think you can deceive me again? Get lost!"

Su Muyu's gaze turned cold, and with a kick, she sent the woman plummeting from the thirty-meter-high beam.

"Ah! You cheapskate..."

The woman screamed in terror as she fell from the beam, hitting the ground with a loud thud, her screams abruptly cut short.

Su Muyu didn't even spare her a glance, turning back to continue her assault on the demons.

...

On the other side, on the second-floor platform of the great hall.

Lu Heng and Lei Jin Hao had been fighting for two minutes, their battle evenly matched and neither gaining the upper hand.

Under normal circumstances, the average attributes of an 18th or 19th-level mutant should be around 36 points.

In his rampage state, Lei Jin Hao's attributes all exceeded 45 points, even higher than an overlord-level demon, and with the aura of a Fighter's Combat Class, his combat power was terrifying.

If it were any other mutant, they wouldn't last a single round against Lei Jin Hao.

Lu Heng, with his 'Graceful Dragon' Talent, had an agility of 48 points when the average attribute of mutants of the same level was only 36 or 37 points.

Despite his disadvantage in strength, Lu Heng relied on his superior agility, speed, and micromotion Body Techniques and Swordsmanship to firmly suppress Lei Jin Hao.

The more Lei Jin Hao fought, the more shocked he became. He had initially thought that in his rampage state, crushing Lu Heng would be as easy as crushing a chicken.

But when they truly clashed, he realized just how powerful Lu Heng truly was.

Lei Jin Hao's heart was filled with unwillingness. He had taken on the traitor task to receive the infusion of the dark god's energy.

He had thought that with this infusion, he would become an unparalleled existence among mutants, but he was still being suppressed by Lu Heng, even when using his rampage skill.

He couldn't understand why. He had climbed out of the mire, step by step, to reach his current position, resorting to any means to gain strength.

Yet, in the end, he was still no match for the person before him.

In this moment, all his efforts seemed to lose their value.

His rampage state was almost over, and he knew it was all over.

A sense of fatigue surged through his body, and his attacks slowed. Despair filled his mind.

Lu Heng noticed his slowing offense and guessed that he had probably given up. Once his rampage state ended, a single sword strike would be enough to finish him.

At the same time.

The resurrection ritual in the temple's great hall was nearing its conclusion, and the dark god Barton was about to descend upon the abyss once more.

When that happened, this world would completely turn into hell, and both humans and Banser people would perish.

At the heart of the resurrection ritual, the Flame Horn Devil Overseer was still overseeing the final step of the ritual, selecting a body to host the dark god Barton's heart.

The Flame Horn Devil Overseer raised his hand, summoning a devout Flame Horn Devil to kneel before the dark god Barton's heart, ready to receive this blessing.

Upon seeing this, Lu Heng immediately distanced himself from Lei Jin Hao and dashed towards the altar with a swift arrow step. He swung his sword, slicing the horn demon meant to host the dark god's heart.

The Flame Horn Devil Overseer roared in fury and raised his flaming claws to strike at Lu Heng's head.

Lu Heng kicked off the ground, utilizing his micromotion technique, and dodged the claws with a left-step retreat, then swung his sword towards the dark god's heart.

The sharp blade, just as it was about to touch the heart, was suddenly seized by an enigmatic force, unable to pierce even a fraction.

The dark god's heart possessed power beyond their expectations.

Immediately following, a wave of mental pollution surged towards them, flooding into Lu Heng's brain, causing his spiritual power to rapidly decline, and his head to buzz.

Being too close to the dark god's heart, he couldn't withstand this mental pollution.

Lu Heng quickly retreated, avoiding the mental pollution.

The Flame Horn Devil Overseer roared in anger, but as he was overseeing the resurrection ritual, he couldn't pursue Lu Heng. He could only command his subordinate horn demons to charge forward and surround him.

Meanwhile, the Flame Horn Devil Overseer selected a second body to host the dark god's heart and continued with the final step of the ritual.

Lu Heng slashed down over a dozen Flame Horn Devils, taking a deep breath to calm himself, and prepared to step forward again to halt the ritual.

Just then.

Lei Jin Hao's figure flickered, blocking Lu Heng's path, his eyes emitting an eerie glow, and behind him, a trail of black energy connected.

"I don't believe you can beat me this time either!" Lei Jin Hao's face was filled with ferocity and brutality.

Just then, he had indeed felt despair as his rampage was about to end.

However, after Lu Heng killed the Horn Demon carrying the heart, the energy bestowed by the Dark God descended once more, significantly extending his rampage time and granting him an even greater power boost.

Lu Heng noticed the eerie red glow in Lei Jin Hao's eyes and guessed what had happened.

Originally, it was already difficult for Lu Heng to determine the winner in a fight against Lei Jin Hao in his rampage state. Now, with another energy infusion, it would be even harder to get past him to stop the resurrection ritual.

"Damn it, another energy infusion! Is that all you know, accepting the Dark God's energy?" Lu Heng cursed, not wanting to get entangled with him. He quickly scanned the surroundings, thinking of ways to stop the ritual.

"I'll beat you, and that's all I care about!" Lei Jin Hao's face showed a near-maniacal smile.

His prolonged rampage state, though fueled by the Dark God's energy infusion, was actually draining his own life force.

Once the energy infusion ended, he would also die from excessive life force depletion, causing his flesh and blood to decay.

But until then, he was a killing machine without pain or fear.

Lu Heng charged left and right, trying to get past Lei Jin Hao to find an opportunity to disrupt the ritual.

However, Lei Jin Hao remained steadfast, guarding the ritual array without moving an inch.

The Dark God's will had invaded his mind, robbing him of the ability to think, and he relied on his instincts to defend the ritual array.

Furthermore, in his rampage state under the energy infusion, he felt no pain or fear, making him a fearless and ferocious beast.

If this continued, the resurrection ritual would be completed, and the battle would be a total failure.

Just as Lu Heng was pondering his next move, the temple's main gate collapsed with a thunderous boom.

Iron Arm, leading the Banser Clan warriors, broke through the gate and charged in.

Lu Heng immediately shouted to Iron Arm, "Hurry! The ritual is almost complete!"

Iron Arm let out a fierce cry, brandishing his war hammer as he charged towards the altar and swung it at the Blood Feast Chalice.

The Flame Horn Devil Overlord roared and met him, engaging in a fierce battle. The clash of their weapons echoed with a loud 'Bang! Bang! Bang!' as they fought intensely, neither gaining the upper hand.

This created a two-on-two situation in front of the altar.

Even with Lu Heng and Iron Arm working together, it was challenging to break through Lei Jin Hao and the Flame Horn Devil Overlord's defense.

The stalemate continued.

At this moment, Mia smashed a Horn Demon's head with her hammer and rushed into the altar. She swung her war hammer, striking the Blood Feast Chalice at the altar's center.

Bang!

The clash of the war hammer against the chalice reverberated with a crisp sound, causing the blood inside to slosh about. However, the ritual was not yet complete.

The Flame Horn Devil Overlord let out a furious roar, summoning the Horn Demons back to defend. A chaotic battle ensued around the altar.

Mia turned and smashed another Horn Demon's head with her hammer. She then swung her war hammer towards the dark heart of the Dark God, but as she raised and brought it down, a mental shockwave hit her.

Her body trembled, and she felt an intense headache. The war hammer dropped limply, and she covered her forehead with her hand, gritting her teeth in pain.

"Mia! Come back quickly! You can't withstand Barton's mental pollution!" Iron Arm shouted urgently.

Mia hurriedly dragged her war hammer out of the altar's range and then joined her father in a joint attack on the Flame Horn Devil Overlord.

Under their combined assault, the Flame Horn Devil Overlord steadily retreated.

Iron Arm raised his war hammer and unleashed a thunderous strike, severely injuring the Flame Horn Devil Overlord and sending him flying. Then, he turned to look towards the altar.

At the altar's center, a chosen Horn Demon tore open its chest and held the dark heart, placing it inside.

The resurrection ritual was about to be completed.

Seeing this, Mia shouted, "Father, I'll hold off the demons! You stop the ritual!"

Iron Arm didn't have time to worry about anything else and rushed towards the altar's center, shouting, "Where's the sacred artifact? Give it to me!"

Lu Heng immediately took out the Banser Ancestor's Mace and threw it to Iron Arm.

Iron Arm caught the Banser Ancestor's Mace and rushed towards the Dark God's heart, thrusting the mace into it.

The Ancestor's Mace broke through the heart's outer layer but couldn't penetrate its core.

Iron Arm raised his war hammer and slammed it down on the Ancestor's Mace.

Clang!

The Ancestor's Mace pierced the Dark God's heart, sinking half an inch deep.

Iron Arm raised his war hammer again, but at that moment, a surge of mental pollution flooded his mind.

He felt as if countless evil spirits and demons were howling and roaring.

"Brave Banser Clan warrior, never yield!" Iron Arm roared, pushing aside the mental pollution in his mind. He swung his war hammer down again.

Bang!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end