Chapter 738: Chapter 481: [Harvest Festival] Erupts, Unleashing Full Power! (2)

BOOM!

Cracks spiderwebbed across the black Armor on Azklos as the endless Abyssal Demon Energy within him erupted, transforming into billowing black smoke that soared into the sky. Simultaneously, a more powerful and horrifying aura that sent a shudder through all living things spread out.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!

Instantly, every Fierce Beast in the forest, regardless of size, let out terrified roars. Driven by instinctual fear, they fled madly in all directions, creating a thunderous stampede.

CRACK! CRACK!

Azklos’s appearance changed drastically. Its body swelled to over five meters tall, covered in blood-red scales, and its original six arms became extraordinarily robust. Furthermore, two bony lumps swelled around its neck, looking utterly grotesque and horrifying, as if new heads were about to burst forth from them at any moment.

More importantly, the Abyssal Desecration Aura around Azklos surged by several magnitudes, forming a terrifying force field that even caused a stabbing pain in Fang Zhou’s Soul Eagle Eye.

"Human, this is my true strength. That state was merely a seal to facilitate entry into this world’s point of convergence, suppressing the vast majority of my Magic Energy."

"Consider yourself fortunate to witness my full power. You can die in peace."

"So that’s it," Fang Zhou nodded slowly. "No wonder you were so weak. What Snake Demon Lord? What legendary bloodline? Pathetic."

Though his expression was disdainful, Fang Zhou’s mind was completely focused, knowing his opponent had been driven into a corner. He clenched the Soul Shattering Magic Ball as the Rune Resonance for Harvest Festival shone with a blood-red glow beneath his skin. Fang Zhou had been continuously hunting and killing Fierce Beasts in the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, amassing a sufficient charge.

In that instant, he consumed the entire accumulated charge. His Spirit Main Attribute leaped from just over 400 to more than 800, and his mana fluctuations surged in turn, reaching the Upper-level of the Bronze Tier. Simultaneously, the Death Energy Scroll ignited a ghostly fire on the surface of the Soul Shattering Magic Ball. Under the boost from the Dusk Array, the Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear absorbed the support of the entire Undead Legion, and undead mana coalesced into a swirling vortex at its tip.

At that moment, Olaf suddenly abandoned his defense, using his shattered Blood Armor to lock down three of the Snake Demon’s arms. The instant the Spirit Slayer Blade cleaved open the Berserker’s chest, Fang Zhou released his Bone Spear. This was no traditional throw, but a dimensional strike that used the wrinkles in space itself as a slingshot.

"Go!"

The moment the Bone Spear left his hand, the Tier 3 Gemstones in his Radiant Set overloaded and shattered, bathing the entire battlefield in a brilliant light. The Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear was Fang Zhou’s most powerful single-target Attack Skill. Empowered by Harvest Festival, the Dusk Array, Skeleton Tutor, and the Death Energy Scroll... this was the most powerful attack Fang Zhou could currently unleash!

The blade of magic energy from the Spirit Slayer Blade collided with the flying spear. The resulting shockwave tore up the ground within a radius of several dozen meters, flinging it three meters into the air as dirt and debris filled the sky. Naturally, the outcome was Fang Zhou’s overwhelming victory.

As Azklos shed its skin a third time, its newly formed scales were already dull and lusterless. Fang Zhou activated the Guardian Bronze Bell. A bronze shadow enveloped the battlefield, forcibly suppressing the chaotic gravitational field. Twelve Corpse Knights mounted their mutated steeds, their Iron Wall Aura imbuing their Bone Spears with an obsidian sheen.

"Death Command: Doomsday Charge!"

The formation of Knights transformed into a torrent of steel. The mangled bodies of the Corrupt Hatreds disintegrated during the charge, only to be forcefully pieced back together by Undead Resurgence. As the first Bone Spear pierced the Demon Pattern on the Snake Demon’s left abdomen, Tiamat’s Deadly Dragon Breath swept across, charring the flesh that was attempting to regenerate. The instant iron hooves shattered the sixth Demon Blade, twelve Bone Spears coated in the Iron Wall Aura pierced through all of Azklos’s energy nodes.

"You deserve to die!"

The Demonic Core within Azklos’s chest throbbed violently as it attempted a final self-destruction. However, Fang Zhou gave it no chance for mutual destruction. Soul Shock surged in reverse along the Demon Pattern bloodline, interrupting all of Azklos’s movements.

"Farewell, bastard."

The residual energy of the Skeleton Heart-Piercing Flying Spear erupted at this moment, and Azklos’s head instantly froze.

"...How could this be...!"

Azklos’s roar caught in its throat. Its head exploded like a supernova, the shockwave vaporizing the three closest Corpse Knights.

BANG!

Azklos’s headless body sprayed endless black Abyssal Demon Energy. The Demon Blades in its hands shattered, and its body crashed backward, its fading demonic roar filled with intense unwillingness. It had not yet revived the Six-armed Snake Demon clan, had not yet grown into a Holy Sanctuary Demon Monarch. How could it die in a backwater place like the Fierce Beast Mountain Range, slain by a human Mage of a lower Tier?

As the life faded from Azklos, Fang Zhou finally exhaled. He slowly suppressed the burning mana within him, only for a profound sense of weakness to wash over him. The weakness was as intense as if he had fought eighteen battles a day with Instructor Su Xinyan for several days straight.

When the moonlight spilled down once more, the battlefield had become a scene from Purgatory. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Olaf was dead. Its mangled body knelt on one knee, the Soul Splitter War Axe buried deep in the rock, its handle encrusted with purple-black Blood Crystals. Azklos’s headless body knelt in the center of a crater, surrounded by seven broken Demon Blades stuck into the ground, forming a bizarre Array. The remains of the Corrupt Hatreds and the Knight Bone Armor had melted together into an alloy that glowed with a sinister dark-red hue under the moonlight.

All the Rubies on Fang Zhou’s Magic Robe had shattered, and the surface of his Soul Shattering Magic Ball was also covered in cracks. He bent down to pick up the shards of the Spirit Slayer Blade. His Soul Eagle Eye watched the Demon Lord’s insignia fade from the surface of the fragments.

With a slight wave of his hand, Fang Zhou released the fierce beast essence blood he had accumulated in his Space Storage Capsule, allowing Tiamat and the undead creatures to recover from their wounds. The few Corpse Warriors who had escaped serious injury used their Bone Blades to search the battlefield, packing the soil stained with the Snake Demon’s blood into a storage capsule. A Demon Lord’s blood was excellent material for researching and creating artificial undead.

Snapping his fingers, he casually conjured a Skeleton Throne and collapsed onto it, panting, his expression grave.

Why do the side effects of Harvest Festival get worse the further I progress?

As his power level and mana intensity grew more terrifying, Fang Zhou discovered that the Harvest Festival Rune Resonance he had obtained during the Apprentice Stage was struggling to keep up. Harvest Festival could break the limits on his Four-dimensional Attributes, which had played a huge role in his previous battles. But as Fang Zhou grew stronger, the drawbacks of Harvest Festival became more and more apparent.

At the Upper-level of the Apprentice Tier, he could sustain intense combat for over ten minutes. But after reaching the Lower-level of the Bronze Tier, a mere half-minute burst left him weakened for half a day. This time, the burst of power was still terrifying, and with the support of his Undead Army, he had killed the full-powered, six-armed Azklos in a single strike. However, the resulting weakness was also far more severe.

Fang Zhou estimated he would need at least two days to recover. This was despite him only using the burst for half a minute, and his recovery ability had already been enhanced by his ever-increasing physical attributes.

Clearly, the enhancement from Harvest Festival has a limit. The lower my power, the stronger the enhancement. Now, my own strength has surpassed its augmentation limit. However, this problem should be solvable. When I get back, I’ll research how to upgrade and enhance Gallows I to Gallows II. Upgrading all three component runes to the Mid Level should patch the flaws in Harvest Festival and perhaps even make it stronger.

At this thought, Fang Zhou felt reassured. He decided to rest for a while longer before cleaning up the battlefield and taking inventory of Azklos’s spoils.

Just then, a notification appeared on his attribute panel.

"You have slain the Six-armed Snake Demon Lord, who was greatly favored by the Abyssal Will. You have been afflicted by the Desecration Curse from the dying Six-armed Snake Demon Lord."

"You possess the World Rune Heart Steel II and are immune to Silver-tier and lower mind control effects. The Desecration Curse has failed."

"Lingering Desecration Power detected. Consume a certain amount of Soul Power for Purification?"

I can purify Desecration Power again! Fang Zhou felt a surge of excitement.