Chapter 280: Bloodblade, the Ferocious Saber

Beneath the torrential black rain, the armored figure slightly twisted its wrist. Fine raindrops struck the blade, producing faint, delicate hums. Whenever the dreamlike crimson blade swept through the air, it left a winding trail of red that lingered like a bleeding wound that refused to fade.

There was no trace of violence or ferocity coming from it, yet simply staring at that pure crimson hue was enough to send a chill through the bones, as though one had been plunged into an icy abyss.

Deep within the fortress, the corner of Frederick’s eye twitched involuntarily as he held his breath. As the largest arms supplier in the far north, Northwind Workshop produced everything from top-tier Supreme Benevolence control platforms to alchemical bullets and armor. Unlike many other craftsmen, they had never rejected modern firearms, and their development of such weapons had never ceased.

However, the true foundation on which Northwind Workshop had built its reputation was the forging of weapons. That was precisely why Frederick felt a level of horror and dread far beyond what anyone else could have experienced.

Where the fuck did that thing come from?!

Since ancient times, the fastest, most effective, and most immediate way to increase the power of a weapon had always been something remarkably simple. All you had to do was offer blood sacrifices. One had to kill, slaughter, take lives. The more blood one spilled, the stronger the weapon became. One simply had to keep killing.

In order to make the best possible use of blessings such as Warforged Edge, many techniques and methods had naturally been developed over the years. There were blood-bathing rituals, soul-forging, ash-smelting, bone implantation, and every other method imaginable.

After generations of craftsmen pooled their ingenuity, not a single part of a victim went to waste. Everything from head to toe and from the inside out had a use. Even leftover hair could be braided into sword cords that accumulated ferocious energy, which could later be transformed into spirit consciousness.

That alone said plenty about the average moral standards of craftsmen.

However, no matter how poor those standards became or how low their ethical bottom line sank, there was still one unavoidable problem. Blood sacrifice always came at a price. You could not have everything without paying for it, and sooner or later, the consequences had to be borne.

The more lives a weapon claimed, the stronger it became, but it also inevitably grew increasingly sinister and violent. It was only natural that such a weapon would eventually retaliate against its wielder. Even when used with the utmost caution, most weapons of this kind ultimately became unable to bear the burden and self-destructed. After all, both materials and blessings had limits to what they could endure.

In this case, those limits seemed to have vanished altogether. It was almost as if even the materials and blessings that formed the weapon’s foundation had themselves been reversed and turned into sacrificial offerings!

The dreamlike crimson blade in the intruder’s hand appeared beautiful and almost weightless, but under a craftsman’s insight and observation, it looked like a living hell forged from countless wailing souls melted together!

From the moment it appeared, the level of threat it posed increased at a terrifying rate, showing no sign of stopping. It was impossible to imagine what kind of horrifying slaughter could have given birth to such a savage creation.

The weapon was like a blood-red vortex that expanded ceaselessly, greedily absorbing every soul and every trace of blood within its reach. There was not the slightest sign that it had ever been carefully cultivated or maintained. Every last bit of it had come from blood sacrifices. Living beings had been sacrificed again and again, over and over, without end. Ji Jue had abused blood sacrifices until the weapon was on the verge of bursting.

And yet, despite all of that, the aura of Supreme Benevolence within it remained astonishingly clear and pure. Even after so many blood sacrifices, there was still no sign of mutation or aberration whatsoever.

What made that last strike so terrifying was not even its destructive power, but how effortlessly it had been delivered. The savagery of the Swarm had been brought completely under control. Not the slightest trace of murderous rage or violent frenzy had leaked out. It had been tamed to an almost unbelievable degree!

Even if Frederick scratched his head bloody, he still would not have been able to figure out how the fuck Ji Jue had managed this.

Sorry, but that was simply how Fluid Alchemy worked! No matter how much Ji Jue loved showing off, even he was not about to start broadcasting an explanation to his opponent about just how profound and ingenious his techniques and plans were in the middle of a fight.

Quite the opposite. The moment Ji Jue realized his attempt to catch the opponent off guard had failed, his entire offensive strategy changed. If there was no way to take a shortcut, then he would simply meet his opponent head-on!

Scarlet light flared across Assault Horsey’s steel face. Its engine roared into overdrive. Mercury boiled with a deafening rumble, while the spirits of evil creatures trapped inside the spirit matter batteries let out piercing screams.

The armor charged forward like a comet, whipping up a storm across the ground. Crimson mercury seeped from beneath the armor and flowed across its surface, coating the massive frame until it looked drenched in blood.

In the blink of an eye, that rampaging crimson comet plunged straight into the enormous formation of countless puppets, moving too fast for the naked eye to follow. All that announced its presence was a winding streak of blood-red light carving its way forward.

Wherever it passed, every obstacle shattered beneath the sweep of its blade. Everything in its path was annihilated as effortlessly as hot steel cutting through wax. Only when it changed direction could anyone catch a fleeting glimpse of its form.

Protected by six layers of liquid mercury that absorbed and cushioned the pressure, Assault Horsey completely disregarded the effects of gravitational acceleration. Finally, it revealed the terrifying dominance of powered armor on a head-on battlefield.

It was practically a supersonic fighter jet that had grown two legs and started sprinting across the ground. Wherever it passed, it did not even need to swing its blade. The shockwaves created by its movements alone were enough to crush countless mass-produced puppets into fragments!

The only heavy weapons powerful enough to damage the armor could not even lock onto its position. It was fast, far too fast!

After collecting the data from the previous battle, Ji Jue had once again modified and upgraded the armor. He removed several heavy armor plates that offered little practical benefit, reducing the weight even further, and added two more sets of directional thrusters to push its speed to the absolute limit.

This was the newly upgraded Assault Horsey Unit Three!

As more blessings became available and points increased, the destructive power of craftsmen would only grow more extreme. Unless ordinary metal armor was reinforced by defensive blessings of comparable strength, it was almost useless.

Because of that, Ji Jue had decided it was better to leave the defense to Iron Essence and Ultimate Resilience. Those would protect the armor from attacks moving too quickly to evade, and even if the armor was damaged, mercury could be used for temporary repairs to keep it operational.

Then, every remaining reserve of spirit matter and power could be devoted entirely to the engines and weapons! That was how he would maximize destructive power. As long as he killed everything on the other side before they killed him, there was no need for defense!

Even though Frederick knew that Ji Jue’s defenses were barely stronger than a sheet of paper, he simply could not lock onto his position. Even spirit matter targeting struggled to acquire a lock under the interference generated by the strange, deadly blade’s swirling vortex!

Within mere moments, the outer defensive layers that relied on sheer numbers had been carved through as easily as vegetables on a chopping board. Without even pausing to catch its breath, the armor abruptly arrived before the rapidly sealing gate.

Crimson light surged from the long blade, leaving explosions in its path!

For a single second, the Solid Alchemy restraints formed by the spirit circuits along the blade loosened. When that happened, the monster created through the slaughter of countless aberrant creatures and the sacrifice of every evil creature opened its eyes from the darkness. It gently stretched, manifesting a colossal, blood-red tree. Its branches spread in every direction before converging, becoming a crimson torrent that unfolded from earth to heaven!

There was no thunderous explosion, only a faint, almost choking reverberation spreading through the air as the blade slashed. Cracks appeared in the fortress as runes flashed briefly into existence. The fortress shook violently, and a fissure several meters deep appeared across the iron and stone.

The gate had been severed cleanly through the middle. It toppled backward toward the sky. Beyond it, war horns sounded once more. Empowered by numerous blessings and enhancements, the reborn heroes drew their swords and abandoned all restraint as they swarmed the armor. Ji Jue found it difficult to take even a single step forward.

Spirit circuits poured around like a cascading waterfall. The moment Frederick realized he could no longer stop Ji Jue by ordinary means, he mobilized the entire workshop, shifted its runes into place, and formed the secret runic structure of Northwind Workshop.

The suppressive power of Origin emerged from raging wind and rain. Frost erupted on the ground, sealing off the surrounding area and freezing the steel in place!

Faint, illusory chains appeared throughout the air. Frederick had clearly been preparing them for some time and was waiting for Ji Jue to walk straight into the trap of his own accord.

The Bloodblade, which had just been unleashed, slashed forward once again. This time, it did not produce an overwhelming torrent from before. Instead, a single phantom-like streak, as elusive as shadow and dew, flashed past and carved a perfectly straight path through the raging storm.

The invisible chains shattered and the frost was swept away, as a crimson tide stemming from the countless bodies and severed limbs still suspended in the air surged into the sky.

Assault Horsey charged forward with savage momentum. Its engine roared as it broke through the workshop’s restraints and blockade, then plunged straight into the forest of blades ahead, ignoring the spears and blades that pierced through its armor. The Bloodblade in its hand swept forth, unleashing more than a hundred times as much blood in return.

Not a single drop of scarlet reached the ground. Before it could fall, the blood gathered around the blade in midair and was swallowed whole.

One of the war giants roared and brought its enormous axe crashing down, but before the axe could land, the Bloodblade had already crossed its path. The massive weapon snapped cleanly in two, and so did the giant’s arm made of iron and stone. Its head was severed as well.

Under Assault Horsey’s relentless advance, the giant toppled backward toward the sky.

Boom!

A flash of lightning tore through the darkness, and a vast torrent of thunderous electricity surged forward like a flood. Crimson light intertwined with lightning as Assault Horsey charged ahead, sending countless scarlet streaks spraying through the air. The armor had been heated until it glowed red, radiating terrifying heat.

From the gashes where blades and spears had pierced through it, droplets of crimson liquid trickled downward. It was impossible to tell whether they were mercury or blood. Either way, it made no difference.

The armor simply reached up, casually pulled out the weapons embedded in its body, and tossed them aside. Flowing silver light emerged from the wounds and completely repaired the damage, instantly restoring it to full health.

Frederick, who had been preparing for this moment for so long, found his face twitching and twisting uncontrollably. “This madman…”

Only now did he finally see through the truth concealed beneath the armor.

The moment Ji Jue stepped into the workshop, he had entered Frederick’s perception and observation. From that point on, none of the changes taking place could be concealed from him, including the circulation and exchange of blood energy between Ji Jue and that Bloodblade.

There was practically no distinction between them. No, they were not merely connected. They were fundamentally one and the same!