The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 86 - 69: Killing

Chapter 86: Chapter 69: Killing

Rod’s spirit was tenser than it had ever been before.

The Plague Demon was being pummeled one-sidedly, as green poison fog filled the entire area, but bubbles from Eve filtered out the deadly toxins.

Keith had turned into a green giant, his body packed with muscles that exploded with force, as he gripped the Plague Demon and battered it crazily, while the combatants beside him furiously hacked at its Achilles’ heel.

In the distance, several others were firing crossbow arrows in volleys, the bolts smeared with a potent corrosive substance that could weaken the monster’s defenses, creating opportunities for Bach’s heavy strikes.

A warrior with a large shield stood in front of Rod.

Above them floated a red sun that not only provided illumination like a tracer round but also restored the state of his allies.

Roger’s swift and accurate commands also made the team’s cooperation highly efficient.

The Plague Demon, however, was slow to react and sluggish in movement.

The green giant burst the purple human heads on its body like pus-filled boils, and Bach’s Moonlight Arrows could always permanently take away a part of it.

The Plague Demon’s soul was riddled with holes, and its soul waves were chaotic and indistinguishable.

Rod was unable to judge what level the monster was.

However, Bach was a Sixth Level combatant, Keith was Seventh Level, and all the others were Eighth Level combatants. Except for him, the outlier, all were battle-hardened veterans.

The very fact that so many people had formed a Hunting Squad to besiege one heavily wounded monster spoke volumes.

Another point was that in its soul text, the "threat assessment" was "certain death," higher than the "Evil Black Crow" from before.

"Threat assessment" is based on the gap between one’s own soul strength and that of the opponent. Rod had become much stronger than before, which also indirectly proved that the "Sufferer of Ausway" was far stronger than the "Evil Black Crow."

In that case,

Was its soul a "powerful soul"?

[Soul Firewood] required an average soul, a powerful soul, ten parts humanity, one part divinity, a Radiant Stone, and ten parts monster ash.

Monster ash and Radiant Stone could be purchased; he already had the average soul, humanity, and divinity.

He only lacked a "powerful soul."

Rod had originally planned to gather its substitute over the next ten days.

But if he could obtain the Plague Demon’s soul right now, it would save him a great deal of effort, and he could use the ten days to further improve his strength.

Wouldn’t his chances of surviving the invasion then be even higher?

Rod watched the Plague Demon intently as its soul trembled under the heavy strikes, with black Spiritual Energy desperately defending it. The chaotic waveforms were like a pond in a torrential downpour, rife with flaws.

But, where should I hit it?

Rod hesitated.

He tried a shot, but it only splattered a bit of blood.

As expected, this monster was not one to be resolved with a Spirit Gun.

Luckily, he had also brought out the Thunder Stone.

Rod reached into his pouch to charge the Thunder Stone with Spiritual Energy, planning to pick a moment to try his luck, to see if he could blast it to death.

Everything was going smoothly until Eve cried out, "I’m running out of Spiritual Energy!"

"What?" Roger turned sharply, "What about the Soul Red Crystal? Haven’t you been taking it?"

"I’ve been eating them! But the poison fog is getting thicker, and the Purification bubbles are being used up fast. Haven’t you killed it yet?"

Roger glanced at the battered Plague Demon and urged, "Soon, just hang on a little longer."

Eve gritted her teeth and said, "Okay."

She waved her arm forcefully, sending more blue bubbles toward every person in the arena.

Roger shouted, "Everyone, put more effort into it, finish it off quickly!"

He pulled out a Spirit Gun similar to Rod’s and fired fiercely at the Plague Demon.

But it seemed the Plague Demon had finally awakened from its daze; it forcibly broke free from the green giant Keith’s entanglement and melted into the poison fog like water.

"It’s transforming!"

Roger yelled.

"Scouts, report position!"

Rod also tensed up, maintaining the Eye of the Soul with all his might, he saw a huge spirit sliding through the green mist.

"Over there!"

Roger urgently said, "Location! Angle! If you’re not sure, report the clock hour! Use me as the coordinate!"

Rod instantly realized, recalling the numbers on a clock face; here a day was sixteen clock hours, one rotation, with midnight and sixteen o’clock at the same position, and true North at midnight.

"It’s moving from the six o’clock position towards the nine o’clock position! Twelve yards high, a hundred and ten yards away."

Roger said joyfully, "Good!"

He raised his hand, and a beam of red light shot towards the southwest, marking the Plague Demon’s location.

"Continue!"

"Seven o’clock now, seven thirty, eight o’clock, it’s turning back, seven o’clock again," Rod rapidly reported.

As Rod directed, the red light firmly pinpointed the Plague Demon’s location, crossbow arrows followed like a shadow, the green giant also thumped after it, and Bach methodically shot his Moonlight Arrows, hitting the target with every shot.

Rod saw clearly that the soul waves of the Plague Demon were growing weaker.

It was about to die.

Just then, many monsters identical to the Plague Demon emerged one after another in the green fog.

In Rod’s eyes, they were made of pure Spiritual Energy, lacking a soul.

"Fakes!" he shouted, "They’re all fakes! The real one’s at thirteen o’clock!"

Keith roared, "Good! Worthy of being a full Spiritual Visionary! That idiot in the elite combatant cluster took a quarter of an hour and still couldn’t find the real one until it finally got away! It killed me, we should have called you over sooner!"

He turned abruptly and charged at the dozens of newly spawned monsters.

These were offshoots of the Plague Demon, not phantoms but combatants with fighting capabilities; someone needed to contain them.

However, there were only two people at the front, and as the number of offshoots of the Plague Demon increased, they quickly reached the middle and back ranks.

That’s when Roger’s tactical arrangement truly demonstrated its power; the shielded warrior scooped up Rod and rapidly moved to the rear. His large shield perfectly covered his whole body, blocking the fierce blows from the offshoots of the Plague Demon.

Rod saw his large shield covered with Spiritual Energy. Clearly, this was no ordinary defense; it had some tricks up its sleeve.

The mid-rank controllers dropped their crossbow arrows one after another, forming the second line of defense, fending off the assault of the derivatives and ensuring that Bach’s attack went uninterrupted.

The situation remained under control.

Roger raised a second red fireball, intending to finish the battle before this cluster of flames extinguished.

He swallowed a Soul Red Crystal, and the sweet, blood-like essence echoed in his mouth. His nearly depleted Spiritual Energy recovered slightly. He lifted his Spirit Gun and fired towards the direction the young, full-fledged Spiritual Visionary had indicated.

The Silver Bullet hit the Plague Demon, hidden beneath the green fog, but only caused a tiny bit of damage.

Pity.

He thought.

If I had the money, I could buy True Silver Bullets. They burst into such beautiful silver light that could easily replace the guidance of red light.

It’s alright. After this hunting mission is over, the reward from the Military War Department will be lucrative. I’m only a little bit short of the amount needed to redeem Eve’s guilt. If she could return to the academy, perhaps she wouldn’t have so much resentment.

Then find her a husband like that young, full-fledged Spiritual Visionary, and I can live out my days in peace.

Ha, ha, I should be able to enjoy thirty more Bright Festivals. Just the thought is exciting.

Roger couldn’t help but reveal a slight smile. He continued to shoot at the same location. The Plague Demon had stopped moving for a while, and the number of derivatives on the scene had dwindled.

It must be dying.

That was when he suddenly heard Rod shouting urgently, "Its soul is boiling! I see strong fluctuations in Spiritual Energy, I don’t know what it’s going to do!"

Roger snapped back to reality, shouting, "Run! The Plague Demon is about to howl!"

But it was already too late. The green fog vibrated violently, and invisible ripples swept across the field.

Everything went dark before Roger’s eyes, as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer, his mind feeling like it was being torn apart. Ominous, terrifying memories from the depths of his heart flooded in, the intense noise, mutterings, and whispers reverberating layer upon layer in his ears, the maddening sound of scratching glass piercing to his very soul.

His sanity melted away like ice and snow, and chaotic darkness rushed at him.

No.

He struggled to remember every day bathed in sunshine, the days when the warm fires illuminated the Royal City, the images of his parents.

In the end, Eve’s smiling face took over his entire vision.

His sanity returned.

He opened his eyes.

Fortunately, everyone was severely injured and had lost a lot of Spiritual Energy, but no one had gone mad.

The body of the Plague Demon had emerged from the poisonous fog, lying in a heap like a mound of rotting flesh, its body slackening, as if its final ounce of strength had been drained by its wail.

However, there were still two derivatives not yet annihilated.

Roger’s index fingers crossed, and red light burst out from his body. His Soul Trait was "Warm Fire," capable of dispelling many negative effects on the soul.

"Hang in there, block the derivatives! Bach, kill the Plague Demon, it’s out of Spiritual Energy!"

But everyone was already drained, both physically and mentally. Keith’s muscles had collapsed, barely able to withstand the heavy hits of the derivatives, and Bach’s bow simply couldn’t be drawn.

Roger gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone hold on, we’re almost there!"

Keith kept roaring to encourage himself, but his depleted Spiritual Energy couldn’t support his swollen muscles.

With a bang, his arms were broken by a heavy strike, and he fell to the ground.

The derivatives charged towards the rear. The mid-rank controllers had no choice but to abandon their crossbows and engage in close combat.

Though not as strong as the original, the derivatives had the same physical combat ability. The mid-rank controllers were injured one after another, but no one retreated.

Roger ran out of bullets. Clenching his teeth, he pulled out a long knife and charged as well.

In the entire scene, only Rod was in the best condition. His Spiritual Energy was recovering quickly and he had hardly any consumption. For some reason, the Plague Demon’s howls seemed to have no effect on him.

After the howl, the Plague Demon’s Spiritual Body fell into complete disarray. Its soul was like a house with holes, leaking from all sides.

It was clear that it was on the brink of death.

Opportunity!

This was the best chance!

If he could throw a Thunder Stone over, maybe it would really kill it.

Rod’s heart raced.

The only problem was, there was still a derivative guarding around the Plague Demon. If the Thunder Stone were blocked by it, then it’s all over.

Rod shouted, "I still have two Thunder Stones, can anyone block that derivative for me? I might be able to blow it up."

Bach released his Moon Bow and rushed forward,

The Shielded Warrior lifted his large shield, saying nothing and following behind.

Roger knew this might be the best chance and called out, "Eve, Barrier."

Eve gritted her teeth and said, "Okay." Raising her hand, a transparent bubble wrapped around the two men.

Rod swiftly ran towards the side of the Plague Demon.

The derivative had already engaged them in combat, and the situation was dire. Bach was not good at close quarters combat and was quickly knocked down, the Spiritual Energy on the Shielded Warrior’s shield was barely visible, and the shield was dented by a punch from the derivative, its arms broken. But he bit down on the large shield, holding it off.

Rod knew he couldn’t rush; he had only one chance. He ran with all his might towards the original.

With another punch, the warrior’s teeth shattered, his jawbone broken, but he leapt up, blocking another second with his chest.

This is it!

The angle and distance were perfect, it couldn’t be blocked.

Time waits for no one, Rod pulled out the Thunder Stones, infused his hands with Spiritual Energy, and threw with all his might.

Two fully lit Thunder Stones broke through the air, hitting the Plague Demon’s body at incredibly high speed.

Boom!

A massive explosion echoed, the fierce lightning of the Thunder Stones blasted apart, shattering the huge mass of rotting flesh.

A line of text emerged at the bottom of his vision.

[The Soul of the Ausway Sufferer]