Chapter 331 Absolute Deterrence, Divine Illumination Skill

The core components were already damaged, and the energy supply was substandard. Naturally, its performance was less than ideal.

‘If they don’t come out to put out the fire, they’ll probably burn through their energy in ten minutes or so.’

The funny thing was, the joint governing forces cowering inside had already lost all will to resist.

Under the intimidating presence of Su Chen, Dongfu City’s number one, the already fractured joint governing forces had scattered like birds. Some fled for their lives, others turned on each other, and battles even broke out in some central areas.

Before Su Chen could even witness his cold-white True Flame completely corrode through the Barrier’s nodes…

Xiaohu could no longer hold back.

VMM!

With a Flame Jump, he teleported to a spot ten meters outside the Barrier. The next instant, he reached into his Soul Pocket and violently pulled out an oversized Annihilation Bomb.

“Here, catch!”

BOOM!

The Annihilation Bomb flew from his hand. The fiery runes on its surface instantly flared with a scorching light. The moment it touched the Barrier, a terrifying, explosive wave erupted from it.

A small mushroom cloud rose from the blast.

The Barrier completely collapsed inward. The horrifying wave of destruction even vaporized more than ten defensive towers and a Spirit Core Well behind it.

“That thing… packs a real punch.”

Many of Dongfu City’s experts were witnessing the effects of this Annihilation Bomb for the first time.

Feng Jialun had long heard that Dongfu City was developing a secret weapon of mass destruction, and now he was finally getting to see it in action.

His eyes flickered, his expression one of fascination.

Although he didn’t know the principle behind it, he had learned from intel that its creation was related to the Blast Bombs from the Rune Store.

‘Pursuing Magic Guide technology is the right path.’

He had already recruited goblin researchers from the Mercenary Camp for this purpose, but openly buying Blast Bombs in bulk from Dongfu City would be a death wish.

‘It’s still a little lacking.’

Su Chen, hovering in the air, made a practical assessment of the attack’s power.

‘It’s definitely much stronger than my current Melting Core Collapse Technique.’

‘I wonder if getting Gravity Skill and Holy Light Skill to Lv. 10 would have this kind of power.’

The moment this thought flashed through Su Chen’s mind, his figure blinked and warped, instantly slipping through the shattered opening in the Barrier.

His Resonance Perception was fully active.

In an instant, after establishing a mental connection with elements like light and darkness, he scanned and detected numerous hidden figures, including furtive ones concealed in the seams of reality.

And that wasn’t all. A vast wave of Telekinesis, like an invisible tsunami, spread out from him, piggybacking on the power fluctuations of his True Spirit Dominator. It swept forward, plowing through every possible hiding spot.

Some figures, who had already been too intimidated by Su Chen to show themselves, had their weak fighting spirit completely shattered. Struck by this wave of pressure as if by lightning, they could no longer muster a single shred of resistance.

“Run!”

Some of the ambushers who had been lying in wait even broke ranks and fled.

“That old bastard Bader already ran off! Don’t think you can get us to die for you with these scraps!”

The Bader this person mentioned was none other than Matel Lorenz’s younger brother.

After the old family head, Matel, stepped down from his position as chairman two years ago, his younger brother took over.

But clearly, his figure was not among those making a last stand here.

Even Su Chen couldn’t find him.

This Five-Star Hell Arbitrator was extremely cunning. He had actively forced an arbitration and signed a special agreement: in exchange for completely sealing his own combat abilities, he gained absolute cloaking immunity, rendering him undiscoverable by any Perception-type ability.

You had to admit, the old bastard knew how to play the game.

He had little talent for combat to begin with and had always disdained fighting and killing.

For him, giving up his combat power in exchange for a life hidden from the world, leaving no trace, was a flawless, perfect plan.

“Keep an eye out for Bader. He must be killed.”

Captain Zhang’s low voice sounded in the encrypted earpiece, his tone uncharacteristically solemn.

“That old bastard is holding the Bronze Blood Vessel. It can refine the flesh and blood of others to nourish his own body—not only does it heal injuries, it can also plunder innate talent and extend one’s lifespan.”

In terms of growth potential, at least, it was far more dangerous than other Soul Artifacts.

The reason some people were able to reverse their aging was also an effect of this Blood Vessel.

However, the old man was nowhere to be found.

A key member of the Lorentz family, however, held the Human Skin Drum, his face filled with indignation. With bloodshot eyes, he knew there was no escape.

He stood atop a Rune Tower, his ten fingers moving like a madman’s as he beat furiously upon the Human Skin Drum Soul Artifact.

DUM! DUM! DUM!

As the drum sounded, the world fell silent.

This sound wave, laced with a terrifying psychic rhythm, bored directly into the ears of all living creatures nearby.

Once the Human Skin Drum was played, it forcibly synchronized with the heartbeats of all living beings within a 200-meter radius.

Even more terrifying, the drumbeats were also wrapped in high-density psychic shockwaves, like a billion steel needles piercing the Sea of Consciousness. Demonic sound assaulted the ears, tearing the mind apart.

Compared to the people of Dongfu City who had come prepared, this indiscriminate attack ended up harming many of his own men. Numerous nearby guards immediately clutched their heads and screamed in agony, blood pouring from their seven orifices as their Seas of Consciousness were shattered by dense cracks.

Under the indiscriminate area-of-effect, this junior Lorentz member didn’t care if his comrades lived or died; he only wanted to drag everyone down with him.

However… it had little effect on Su Chen.

The characteristics of his Rune Demon Body doubled the buffs to his high five-core physical attributes, and his True Spirit Dominating Armor negated the mental damage.

Just as the drumming reached a frantic crescendo, ‘Awakening of Insects’ suddenly activated. Trillions of cells throughout his body instantly released a powerful electric current, an effect that even negated all externally applied abnormal statuses.

‘Four seconds. Enough time to kill you twenty or thirty times over.’

With a single Aurora Flash Technique leap, before his opponent could even react, he was struck by the five-layered wave of Attached Damage carried by the Silent Extinction Sword.

His speed was so extraordinary that the hysterical opponent only felt a chill on his neck before half of his Demon body was pulverized by the Sword Momentum.

Of course.

Relying on the damage transfer and even the attached regeneration effect granted by the bonded Soul Artifact, all the waves of sword light Su Chen unleashed were redirected.

But it was not without a cost.

In just a few short seconds, most of the soul fluctuations enveloping the Human Skin Drum had been depleted.

WHOOSH!

A silent vortex materialized from thin air. Five vectors of gravitational force converged, instantly sweeping the enemy’s ravaged body into the sky.

The man thrashed his limbs wildly, trying to escape into the Void, but he was caught by the vortex’s grasping force field, his body continuously torn apart.

“If you won’t accept your fate, then you’ll have to endure the torment,” Su Chen said ruthlessly.

“Okay.”

Little Zeus, following close behind, saw that Su Chen didn’t need him to watch his back or deliver finishing blows. He completely let loose, transforming into a streak of lightning and speeding across the battlefield.

Ruoruo, positioned beside Su Chen, continuously drew her bow and fired arrows.

Logically, after her emotions were restored, her Frenzy state should have made it impossible for her to remain completely rational, making it difficult to calmly and efficiently kill her enemies.

But the ‘Absolute Focus’ class trait of the Spirit Hunter Chief Priest fundamentally negated this shortcoming.

Furthermore, the Lv. 8 Spirit Element Rune, ‘Divine Illumination Skill,’ that she had consumed today also played a part. This skill briefly increased her consciousness processing speed, Intelligence, and Perception Attribute by 350%, allowing her to enter a state of Super Heart Stream focus.

It also automatically filtered out mental corruption and whispers of fear, minimized her neural response delay, and granted her extraordinary combat intuition and the ability to predict her target’s movements.

Clearly, this was a Spirit Element body-enhancement Rune.

The spare Lv. 8 Spirit Element Rune in Su Chen’s possession also happened to be a Divine Illumination Skill.

He had absorbed it directly during the day.

This effect seemed to overlap with ‘Awakening of Insects,’ but it actually focused on strengthening the Intelligence and Perception Attributes, which were precisely the components that were missing.

A three-in-one body-enhancement Technique was also in the works. As for the Lv. 8 Frenzy Skill he obtained from the Matel family head, he had given it to Ruoruo.

He was personally hoping for Earth Element and Gold Element body-enhancement Runes to increase his external skin or bone strength, so the Frenzy Skill wasn’t on his list.

‘This should be enough for tonight.’